Showing posts with label futuristic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label futuristic. Show all posts

Sunday, February 4, 2024

My Murder by Katie Williams

I saw this on the Books We Love list for 2023 and thought it looked interesting. We meet Lou who is a clone but who has all the memories of her previous body. As you can imagine, there is some dysmorphia over whether she really is "her" and some exploration of what it means to be yourself.
With four other women, Lou was brought back by the Replication Committee. All five of them were killed by a serial killer whose name is now famous and he is in prison. They are all trying to figure out what it means to have been brought back with all of their memories, with their same faces, but with a gap missing of what actually happened at the end (ascribed to trauma.)
Lou is having problems since the daughter who she wasn't even sure about before she died certainly wants nothing to do with her now that she has returned. She's also struggling in her job which seems to be virtual cuddling (human touch in a virtual age.)
A really interesting book that was a little disturbing a points but overall an interesting read. 

Four stars
This book came out June 6, 2023
Borrowed as hard copy from Library
Opinions are my own

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Random in Death by J. D. Robb

A young girl is attending an under 21 concert at a local club. Someone elbows her harshly, but it's the needle stick masked by the movement that kills her. She ends up dying in the arms of the lead singer.
In the way of things in the "In Death" books, that lead singer is Jake, amour of Eve Dallas's friend, Nadine. He is able to get ahold of Eve so that she becomes entwined in the story. The bigger problem of this story that this girl is only the first. Someone out there is targeting teens but there is no discernible connection between the victims. 
It will be up to Dallas and Peabody to figure out what is going on before the killer takes any more lives.
This is one of the Dallas stories where we see the point of view of the killer so we know a little more than Dallas does. There are also a number of characters from past stories and they are becoming more and more entwined as the Dallas stories go on. A few too many people (felt like some were shoehorned in) but a solid addition to the In Death series.

In Death #58
Four stars
This book comes out January 23, 2024
Followed by Passions in Death
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby February 2024

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

Mrs. Brown is leaving Eternity for a few days and leaving Mallory in charge. This shouldn't be a big deal but there is a delegation of humans, including the new ambassador who are arriving soon. 
The station has been unsettled and Mrs. Brown is hoping to fix that, but things get worse before they get better including the fact that Mallory knows several of the people who have arrived on this ship and, where there are coincidences for Mallory, there is usually murder.
Her best friend from high school, Amy, and Amy's twin brother Parker are among the group. However, it takes Mallory quite some time to remember Parker at all. Their older brother Reggie and his husband Max are there as well as is Oscar Daye, a basketball coach at North Carolina (where the rest of them are from as well) who also runs a gossip blog. Oh, and of course, Jessica, the new ambassador who seems to know quite a bit about Xan and Mallory.
The story does get  a bit convoluted but so was the first. It's still highly enjoyable and, especially if you loved the first book, you should read this one.

Four stars
This book comes out November 7, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Payback in Death by J. D. Robb

The first two chapters of this book show us a rare glimpse of Eve and Roarke on vacation. But the relaxed mood is short-lived. The night they return to New York, Eve gets a call from an old friend, one who needs a favor. His mentor is dead and it has been set up to look like a suicide. But there are a number of reasons to believe it is a setup. 
Because the deceased was an IAB (internal affairs) detective, he had many enemies over his long career. So Eve, Peabody, and the team begin the long process of crossing names off. And there are many people who do still bear grudges but just as many who seem to have moved on.
There are some side stories with more being done on Mavis and Peabody's house; one of our side characters getting a promotion; and an IAB cop who seems to have it out for Eve. 
A lovely addition to the series

Four stars
This book comes out September 5, 2023
Followed by Random in Death
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby September 2023

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Connections in Death by J.D. Robb

Eve Dallas has a friendship with former bouncer, now club owner, Crack. So she is astonished to see him at a Nadine Furst's housewarming party with a lovely woman at his side. She's even more surprised to find out that Roarke knows Dr. Rochelle Pickering. It seems she was a top contender to be running the new facility for homeless teens. Now that the first choice had to move, she is the choice. Dr. Pickering is delighted. As is her brother. A former gang member and drug abuser, Lyle knows better than anyone how hard life can treat you and having a home like this will give these children a leg up in the world. Three hours later, Lyle is dead. Supposedly of a drug overdose. But Eve smells a set up. Especially when she finds out that a former associate of Lyle's was seen outside his door just before he OD'd. The story takes her deep into the bowels of gang territory where a bid for power means one gang member trying to start a war.
This was an interesting In Death book because the murder doesn't actually happen until Chapter 4. Instead, we get a nice long introduction to a new character as well as catch up with many of the series favorites.I didn't feel like the gang war story line was well put together but it was overall a nice addition to the series.

Three and a half stars
This book came out February 5, 2019
Follows Leverage in Death
Followed by Vendetta in Death
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own



Friday, June 16, 2023

Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik

We met both Lexie Bowen and Nilo Shoren in previous books in this series. And I do believe it would help to have read the other two books. I know I've read at least one of the two and still felt like I was missing some information. Besides, Mihalik is a fun writer and you might as well enjoy them all.
So, Nilo took a job from Lexie (and that is, frustratingly, never really talked about to clear up exactly why but maybe it was in the book I haven't read) and she's concerned he's about to do it again. Instead, he is on Valovia to save her from a trap. And they go from one adventure to the next. There is not a lot of relationship building in this story but it is still a fun read and I feel like there might be more coming in this series. 

Four stars
This book comes out June 20, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyage and NetGalley
Opinions are my own



Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Encore in Death J. D. Robb

Big time star Eliza Lane has fulfilled her dreams and is living her best life; even returning to the play that made her a star, this time as the mother. She is throwing a party to celebrate but it soon turns into panic when her husband, Brad Fitzhugh, big time star himself, dies. 
Dallas and Peabody are thrown in among the bright stars, many of whom have secrets to hide, some of them decades old. But is the motive for this murder rooted in the past or the present? And who really was the intended victim? 
There were a lot of red herrings and unexpected twists in this story. I was very much reminded of a particular Agatha Christie mystery which I won't name because I think there are hints to the ending of the story. Some of the red herrings were dealt with a little too quickly but overall I really enjoyed this addition to the Dallas series.

Four stars
This book comes out February 7, 2023
Followed by Payback in Death
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

The Spare Man Mary Robinette Kowal

I've really enjoyed Kowal's books in the past and, upon hearing that this was like a sci-fi version of The Thin Man, immediately reserved the book from my local library. And this is like the movie (the book didn't have as much comedy) in that you have now "retired" detective who has married an heiress. In this book, we get more from the wife since the book is told from her point of view.
Tesla and her new husband are on a planetary cruise when a murder occurs. Though she is recognizable to the point of creating a horde, she has been able to fly under the radar to this point. The ship's security is less than stellar and, not knowing who she is, immediately pin their gaze on her husband as the guilty party. Tesla is less than impressed and decides (against her attorney's direct orders) to investigate herself. How else is her husband supposed to be freed?
This book is good but it is very much the first in a series and there is a lot of world-building. I do hope there are more in the series though as I have enjoyed Kowal's characters in the past and I think this book will improve when there are more books in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book came out October 22, 2023
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own



Sunday, December 25, 2022

Divided in Death by J.D. Robb

We've seen Roarke's secretary, Caro, in previous books. She's a savvy, competent woman who was skeptical of Eve but has grown to appreciate her through the series. And it's good, because her daughter, who also works for Roarke, is now under investigation for the murder of her husband and his lover.
Of course, first appearances can be deceiving and Eve trusts that Roarke knows his employees and digs deeper, discovering that the husband and his lover were not who they really seemed and perhaps there is more to this death than mere jealousy.

Four stars
This book came out January 26, 2004
Follows Imitation in Death
Followed by Visions in Death
Hard copy I didn't keep 
Opinions are my own

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik

I feel like we missed some character development in this book that I don't remember from the first book. The book starts off sort of slow with Kee Ildez deciding to get off the ship and go to gather information. Does that get her away from Varro Runkow who she is mega-attracted to? Yes. So that will help since he doesn't seem interested in her. There is a little bit of exposition and story building and then, a bombshell. And from there, it is non-stop go, go, go. I enjoyed both parts well enough but it was a little jarring and left little time for us to really see how Kee and Varro connect. 
More of the plot to restart the galactic war is revealed with at least one rather shocking fact thrown in the mix.

Three stars
This book came out July 12, 2022
Followed by Capture the Sun
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Sweetwater and the Witch by Jayne Castle

When the book begins, Ravenna Chastain is a profiler for the FBPI (Federal Bureau of Psi Investigation). She's not really supposed to be in the field but she volunteered to pose as a witch. Well, as the type of woman a specific cult is targeting as witches. But the FBPI isn't exactly knocking down the door of the cultists to rescue her. It's a good thing she has her fire talent and a dust bunny she names Harriet who ends up being an inveterate pen collector. It's that night that causes her to pivot into matchmaking. It's there that she meets Ethan Sweetwater. He has, of course, lied on his application making it hard for Ravenna to find him a match. But, they both have events coming up that would be nice to have someone else at. So they agree to go as each others dates.
This is a plot point that Castle has used a lot in this series. And this book feels like a mishmash of a number of other books she's written (which, at this point, is probably really hard not to do.) The whole time I was reading this book though, I was thinking of Filomena from "The Main Attraction"; she is basically the same character as Ravenna. Small, red haired, volatile (the scene with Ravenna's family felt like a major Krentz throwback; heroine embarrasses herself by being too emotional while the hero is uber calm and makes the family love him even more than the actual family member.) Overall, the book was fine but it felt like a lot of retread to the 90s with shallow characters and a plot that was not as tightly woven or fleshed out as more recent books. 

Three and a half stars
This book come out September 20, 2022
Follows Guild Boss
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group
Opinions are my own

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Desperation in Death by J.D. Robb

Ufda. This one was a hard read. Robb often deals with dark subjects and this particular book hits close to home for Eve.
The first chapter opens with a little history for Dorian Gregg. She was taken off the streets and now lives... exists... in the Pleasure Academy. She's not sure how long she's been their but she knows she doesn't like it. Well, most of it. The French is okay but the pleasure classes? A no go. So when she meets Mina and Mina has a plan to get out? Dorian is all in. Except that they don't make it far. Mina dies and now Dorian is on her own, hurt, in New York City.
Lots of characters from the past come back though we do get a little bit of character growth for Dallas as well as one of her employees. Hard reading; justice in the end (though it could have lasted a little longer.)

Four stars
This book came out September 6, 2022
Followed by Encore in Death
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Reread August 2023

Monday, August 1, 2022

Zinnia by Jayne Castle

Zinnia Spring's life hasn't been going real great lately. Her parents died, her family is pressuring her academic brother into being CEO of the family corporation, and then a wealthy husband and wife set her up as his mistress to cover up their menage a trois resulting in Zinnia being branded the "Scarlet Lady." And now, trying to track down a matrix talent she's held the focus for (her prism is well suited for matrix talents), she encounters a psychic vampire.
Nick Chastain is a powerful matrix talent but not a psychic vampire. Even if. He did sort of "jump" Zinnia's prism on the psychic plane. Luckily, she works past it (pretty fast, actually) and is able to work with him not only to figure out what happened to her original matrix, but to discover what happened to his father... a decades old murder. 
Better than the first book in the series, Castle starts to find her rhythm in her new world.

Three stars
This book came out May 1, 1998
Follows Amaryllis
Followed by Orchid
Audiobook from Audible
Opinions are my own

Monday, June 27, 2022

Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik

Captain Octavia Zarola has not had good interactions with the Valoff race. So when former general Torran Fletcher asks for her help in finding a thief. Octavia very much would like to turn the man down (Valoffs on her ship for the next two months? Blergh) but he is offering a buttload of money. And her team needs it. She might have been labeled a hero in the war between the Valoffs and the humans but that doesn't mean it came with a monetary reward. Nor does she feel particularly heroic. And that can be a problem since the Valoffs can read minds and Tavi has a lot of secrets.
Of course, she also gets to know more about the handsome Torran. It seems he has a lot of secrets as well. And his secrets are even more deadly. 
This book definitely sets up a series that I think is going to be very interesting but this book definitely suffered from having to do a lot of world building. There were repetitious points that never went anywhere in this book.

Three stars
This book came out 
Followed by Eclipse the Moon
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own


Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Orchid by Jayne Castle

Rafe Stonebraker is a strat-talent. He should have been the one to take over his grandfather's corporation but he got out when he was young, knowing that he could not work for his grandfather. But now that his grandfather is about to retire, the only person in line to be CEO is his vengeful cousin who wants to take the company down. Rafe is ready to step back into the picture but the board is fairly conservative and, in a society that prizes marriage, he's going to need at least a fiancée for the board to consider him. Since his marriage counselor seems hesitant, Rafe decides to find a bride himself by hiring out local prism agencies to help him in his work as a private investigator.
Orchid Adams is a romance writer by day and a prism for hire by night. She is a special kind of prism, a rare ice prism. There are few in existence and, awhile ago, three were used by a local lab to see if their particular prisms could help focus for crazy people and maybe make them sane again. That didn't work. But now Orchid's old life is crossing over with Rafe's current investigation.
I like Zinnia and Nick's romance a little bit better but this story is the best in the trilogy.

Three stars
This book came out May 1, 1998
Follows Zinnia
Audiobook from Audible
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Abandoned in Death by J.D. Robb

Flipping between past and present, the latest of the "In Death" series starts with a young mother at the end of her tether and then her now-grown-up-son who just wants to replace her. And he's doing so by kidnapping women who look similar to her. When these women fail to live up to his expectations though, he kills the "bad mommy."
Eve is brought into the story when the first body is found at a playground not far from Mavis and Leonardo (and Peabody and MacNab's) new house. They are still going full bore on renovations and the proximity shakes Dallas. There seems to be no sign that any of her friends will be affected but she doesn't want to take that chance. 
I don't remember another book in this series doing a similar thing with the past and the present overlapping in the same book (especially while rotating through third person narration with both Eve and one of the victims) but, then again, after fifty-three books, I definitely don't remember them all. It's not a favorite plot device of mine but I appreciated Robb trying something new and it worked for this particular book, especially give who the killer ended up being. 

Four stars
Follows Forgotten in Death
Followed by Desperation in Death
This book comes out February 8, 2022
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Reread as hard copy from the library August 2023

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews

This book is technically a standalone and you really don't need to have read the other two books in the series to have read it since it doesn't really reference either at all. It sort of plops you down in the world of the Kinsmen but there are some rather large gaps in the story anyway (it's typical in the series) so you don't necessarily notice the things that are unexplained.
The book starts with two people whose families are mortal enemies and have been for generations. Matias Baena is shocked to hear Romana Adler is in his boardroom. Their companies have been developing technology sort of parallel to each other and now their respective spouses have run away with the information and it seems that they are going to be selling it to space pirates. 
Yes, it's overdramatic and yes, I mentioned the gaps but it was still really fun and I plan on rereading the last 25% before I send it back to KU.

Three stars
This book came out November 23, 2021
Follows Silver Shark
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews

Part of an elite group that works (and sometimes kills) by hopping onto a biological computer network and then romping around Hackers style, Claire Shannon knows that she is a powerful psycher. It surprises her that her side loses the war but doesn't surprise her that the man next in line above her kills her team and tries to kill her as well. Now she is part of the refugee group sent to a new planet that is vividly colorful and filled with kind people, she is understandably shaken to be sent to the company owned by Venturo Escana, the one place where her skill might be uncovered.
For his part, Venturo is delighted to have someone climb the ranks so quickly that she becomes an indispensable right-hand. Too bad she works for him. And that he is so intrigued by the woman that he's met online.
Like the first book in this series, there are great leaps in time and gaps in the story but it is still worth reading. We see a woman who knows her own worth but is just trying to survive but who grows to care about other people as well. 

Three stars
This book came out September 14, 2011
Follows Silent Blade
Followed by Fated Blades
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews

This is a very short story with a lot of gaping holes and yet the Andrews pair makes it work. I can see why other people say this is one of their weaker series but it's like the authors sort of decided to just leave out wide swathes of the story in these books. But it is Andrews and thus still worth reading.
Meli Glades is an assassin. On a planet, in a world, where there are people with enhanced powers, she is one of the very few that has innate powers. Except that Meli is doing one last job and then retiring. And that job is finished in the first chapter of the book. But her family has pulled her back in for another kill, one that would be more personal since it is the man she was once engaged to but who rejected her before they even truly met. 
Celino Carvana meets a mysterious woman who makes him fall in love over the course of a few days. But then she disappears and he discovers that she was closer than he ever knew...

Three stars
This novella came out June 2, 2009
Followed by Silver Shark
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb


It's Christmas time in New York, but that doesn't mean that murders are going to stop. In fact, it now seems that Santa's on a tear; getting into people's apartments, killing them, and then leaving a gift linked to the Twelve Days of Christmas and given to "My One True Love." All of the murdered victims were part of a dating service, Personally Yours, which is run by a brother/sister team, twins who seem a little bit closer than Eve would like to see.
A great addition to the Dallas/Roarke line. Peabody and McNab are butting heads. Both get to go undercover as Personally Yours clients. It's really fun to look back on their relationship now that we ar 40+ books later in the series. 
The killer is maybe a little unfairly clued but still an enjoyable story for the holidays.

Four stars
This book came out June 1, 1998
Follows Vengeance in Death
Followed by Conspiracy in Death
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own