Review: School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

Theodora "Teddy" Cannon is in a tight spot. She owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling debts. And in Vegas, her home, she has been banned from most casinos not because she counts cards or anything like that, but because of the accuracy with which she reads people. In disguise, she goes into a casino and sits down to play poker. She's doing ok until suddenly she isn't. And it would appear she's been recognized. As she flees for her life, a rather large man stops her and convinces her to listen to him. In exchange for paying her gambling debts, she will need to attend a law enforcement school for psychically gifted people. Between a rock and a hard place, Teddy agrees to go to the school.

The people at the school have a variety of psychic talents. They are all getting the same basic training though - basic physical training and basic psychic training. They naturally divide into two groups. The group Teddy belongs to is the "Misfits." The other group is more physically fit and almost like a clique of the popular kids. The two groups are encouraged to vie with one another especially when it comes to physical activities.

As the school year progresses, things escalate competition wise. There is a conspiracy of sorts floating around the school. Some of the students go missing. The FBI might be involved somehow. The Misfits work together to try and solve what's happening. The pace increases towards the end of the book as things come to a head.

Generally speaking, I enjoyed the book. I kind of felt like it had a YA vibe to it but the characters were supposed to be of the age to qualify as New Adult. The competition between the groups reminded me a little of the competition in the YA book The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. The dangers were serious, but maybe not quite as many deadly dangers as in The Testing. The dangers were a little more focused on the conspiracy the students were investigating.

The characters were not all well developed but were developed enough to carry off the plot. There is some attraction between some of the students. There is some hooking up and possible romance. Nothing is explicit.

Overall, I give this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. I liked it and it was pretty good. There is definitely room for a sequel to this book. I deducted half a star mostly because the characters seemed to act more YA than early 20s a lot of the time. And a little because of how things wrapped up when they are investigating the conspiracy and the FBI. It's still a good read. And it's a good introduction to a new series. I would recommend it to people who enjoy paranormal YA/New Adult literature.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Review: Stiff Competition by Annelise Ryan

Stiff Competition by Annelise Ryan is the seventh book in the Mattie Winston mystery series. It's due out January 26, 2016 from Kensington.

In this book, Mattie Winston is a new mother just returning to work. On her first day back, there is a murder in a hunting area involving a bow and arrow. Lars Sanderson, a developer, seems to have many enemies and several girlfriends. There is no dearth of suspects. As that mystery progresses, Hurley's daughter Emily disappears. Hurley is Mattie's steady relationship and her son's father. They put off getting married because of difficulties Hurley has been experiencing with Emily as the two of them get used to being father and daughter. Hurley's gut tells him Emily's disappearance is not the usual cutting class. When she doesn't show up for days, it would seem that Hurley is right.

Dom keeps Matthew, Mattie's son, while she is at work. Izzy, her boss, is Dom's significant other. There is character development between the two of them as Dom reaches an important decision about whether or not he wants to have children in the future.

Basically, there are 2 mysteries going on concurrently. I wanted to know who killed Lars, but he wasn't a very likeable character. And we only got to know him from other's points of view after his death. Emily's disappearance gets a little less page play until about 80% through, but it is key to character development for both Mattie and Emily. Even Hurley's character benefits from this mystery in terms of growth.

The one thing I could have done without in this book was the amount of description given to Mattie's breastfeeding and the details as to what it involved. The rest of the book was fine. And I have nothing against breastfeeding, it just was too much information. I really didn't need to know what made her milk let down.

I gave this book 3.5 stars instead of 4 stars because of all the breastfeeding details going on. I still would read another book by this author. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Published November 10, 2015
by Grand Central Publishing

Crimson Shore is #15 in the Pendergast series. Pendergast and his ward Constance take on a mystery that on the surface seems to be about purloined wine, but ends up being about a much bigger mystery. They find a remnant of a skeleton that had been walled up in a wine cellar from a distant past. Who retrieved the skeleton and why? Who put it there in the first place? There is a mystery of the past as well as of the present. Exmouth, Massachusetts isn't the sleepy, idyllic town it would appear to be on the surface. The city has a seriously twisted past.

Was this a good book? Basically yes. But, I did find something problematic with it for me. The first two-thirds of the book was a well-written mystery book with a nod to Poe. It progressed swiftly and I read it eagerly. The mystery seems to be well wrapped up, then boom! There is a supernatural-ish plot tacked on for the last third of the book. The two parts of the story only seem loosely related. I still enjoyed the writing in the second part,  but was dismayed as to what seemed to be added on for specific purposes rather than to further the plot of the book. I guess I would say it most likely furthers the plot of the series.

If you've enjoyed books in this series in the past,  you will most likely mostly enjoy this book as well. I would not start reading the series with this book though.

I gave this book 3.5 stars out of 5. It's well written, but there is that problem with plot.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: The Dead Play On by Heather Graham

Published March 31, 2015 by Mira

Tyler Anderson plays the sax his friend Arnie Watson left to him and has a replay of some of the events of his life and death. Someone starts killing musicians from the French Quarter in New Orleans and stealing their instruments. Tyler approaches Danni Cafferty and Michael Quinn and asks them to look into Arnie's death because he knows it was murder and not the overdose it looked like. Also, Detective Larue invites Quinn in to look at the cases of the dead musicians. Something unusual is going on.

The key to this mystery seems to be the last few lines of the synopsis: They (Danni Cafferty and Michael Quinn) discover that sometimes, for some people, the line between passion and obsession is hard to draw. Only in uncovering the truth can they hope to save others—and themselves—from the deadly hands of a killer. 

The killer is convinced that somewhere in New Orleans is Arnie Watson's magic sax. And he will go through anyone to get it.

This mystery isn't quite as magical as the first 2 in the series. And most of the secondary characters from the first book are relegated to minor status in this one. 

The romance between Cafferty and Quinn is still going strong. The relationship between Billie and Hattie is mentioned, but not built on.

There are a lot of names in this book. A lot of band characters to try and keep straight. Danni, Quinn, and Billie join the local music scene to try and find out what's going on with the deaths and see if they can solve the mystery faster that way. 

I liked the book, but I was expecting something a little different from the mystery portion. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars because it was well written even if it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my  honest opinion.

Review: Pirate Vishnu by Gigi Pandian

Pirate Vishnu by Gigi Pandian was released February 11, 2014 by Henery Press. This is the second book in the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery series.

Treasure hunts seem to find History professor Jaya Jones. This one involves an old treasure map that appears to be of San Francisco's Barbary Coast written in the Indian dialect of Tamil and a familial connection to the mapmaker for Jaya.

The man who brings her the map is brutally murdered. Soon she is on the trail of the treasure. From San Francisco to India, Jaya pieces together the puzzle of this revered treasure while dodging a killer.

The book painted an interesting picture of what India was like back in the day as well as San Francisco just prior to the Great Earthquake. The details about the different cultures were great. My only wish was that some of the parts that were set in the past were longer.

Chapters alternate between past and present. Present day chapters also can't help but have information on culture since Jaya is half Indian and the mystery involves India and her family's past. The present day chapters are also told in her voice. This narration works well.

The mystery itself was handled well for the most part. I found, however, that I wasn't really satisfied with the resolution. I don't want to say more than that because it would be a spoiler.

There is a bit of a love triangle developing in this book, but it is not really a major issue yet. It's introduced and left to brew. It will be interesting to see what happens with it in the next book.

The quality of the writing up until the end was 4 stars, but the ending made me bring it down half a star. So, I gave this book 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.