Angela Marsons: Dying Truth

This is the 8th book in the series (wow I cannot believe that there are already that many), especially with this book you will need to read the previous 7 in order to understand the characters and their relationship dynamics. The previous 7 (Silent Scream, Evil Games, Lost Girls, Play Dead, Blood Lines, Dead Souls and Broken Bones) are all extremely well done and will keep you on the edge of your seat and don't blame me if you don't get anything done as you strive to finish Marsons' books:

Angela Marsons is back with another DI Kim Stone novel, where Kim is taken to an elite school where secret societies rule the school:

When teenager Sadie Winter supposedly jumps from the roof of an elite private school, DI Kim Stone is assigned to the case and nothing feels right to her right from the beginning. When another body of a boy turns up dead at the school, Kim is not about to step back and call it a coincidence like the school would like her to. Kim and her team discover what the school is hiding, a dark web with an even darker society where punishments are handed out if you go against your card. With more childrens' lives at risk Kim must consider the unthinkable that one of the kids peers is going on a murder streak all to protect that what the cards hold dear. Once a suit of cards, always a suit of cards.

This is the 8th book in a series and I think that I am reading and reviewing this book says a lot about Marsons as an author. There are so many choices and new authors and series to choose from these days that often people (myself included) start a series but never really stick with it, they can be forgettable. Obviously this is not true of Marsons' DI Kim Stone series, each book has had a unquie story line and while Marsons does have a bit of a formula by now, it is fluid enough that each book is very different, this is especially true in this book Dying Truth.

Is it weird for me to say Marsons got her groove back with this book? I found the previous 2 books not as compelling and interesting as the ones before them and focused a bit too much away from Kim, who is the main reason I read these books. Do not get me wrong they are still good reads just not as amazing or interesting as the ones before them. However, this book was something else, and had me reading well past when I should be. There was one really big change in this book than the previous one and that was that the team were focused on just one case this time, normally there are a few cases going on at once that the team is being forced to handle so it was a change to only see one case in this story line. So maybe Marsons is changing it up a bit.

We all know the characters well enough by now that there is not that much character growth that is occurring there are some opportunities within this book for that to happened, especially with the ending but I appreciate that each character knows who the are and what their role on the team is. There also is more of a team aspect with the group and how they work with each other, which I enjoy reading almost like the fifth member, lol.

I'm always a sucker for small town reads and well why not a school with a secret society. I love all the secrets and how once a member of a card always a member of a card and how this can influence life well after school is over. I also appreciated that Marsons acknowledged that sometimes Kids are bad people too and they are not to be over looked and underestimated by adults, which many of us still do, even with everything that goes on today. The one kid related aspect that I think that Marsons missed in this book is their use of social media. I'm not sure why is aspect was absent from the novel but I think it would have added an additional dynamic to the story and premise.

I think that Marsons took a real chance with this book, and you won't really understand that aspect until you read this book. I have been a big fan of Marsons since she started this series, and I continue to be one now. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Enjoy!!!!!!

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Nicholas Sansbury Smith: Hell Divers III - Deliverance

If you have not read the first two book (Hell Divers & Hell Divers: Ghosts) in the series, stop right now and go order them. They are both fantastic reads that you will not want to put down. This review will contain SPOILERS for both of those books and you really don’t want to do that to yourself, so just stop reading this now and start at the beginning of the series. Trust me you won’t regret it.

Nicholas Sansbury Smith is back with his killer Hell divers series and this time the divers are spending more time on Earth than ever before:

Team Raptor has been left behind on Earth by the Hive but they were able to find a new ship Deliverance to help take them to the last coordinates that Xavier “X” Rodriguez had given and hope that he is still alive after all these years. They are on a rescue mission that has zero chance of being a success but they have to hope for something and to prove to X that he was not left behind by everyone. While on the Hive Captain Jordan is losing control over the ship. The people are angry, supplies are running out and Hell Divers are in short supply. Jordan will do everything in his power to keep the ship in the air even if it means, lying, cheating and murdering to keep it that way. Team Raptor may be in danger from the nightmare creatures that now plague the Earth, but they also need to keep their eyes on the sky for danger comes from familiar places.

Honestly, this is hands down my favourite sci-fi series, granted I do not read a lot of sci-fi but any time I pick up a book in this series I know I am in for a roller coaster ride and I will not want to put the book down. Deliverance deliveries on all the things that I want in this series; Interesting world/characters, fast pace story, action scenes, you never know who is going to make it out alive and just overall awesomeness. 

As stated above, there tends to be some character turn over, also known as Sanasbury has a knack for killing people off, yes that also includes some of the characters you like, so it is always nice to have some fresh blood to the books. I enjoyed that this time we get to meet some new Hell Divers in training and each of their reasons for being their and the choices they have to make. It was also interesting have more of a perspective from Captain Jordan and the choices he makes. Honestly, even though he is made out to be the bad guy, some of the reason he has about not wanting to return to Earth make sense. However, many of his actions are based upon just having the power to do things and jealousy.

I really appreciated that we got some time to see what X had been up to and the progress he made while traveling as this was the bomb shell of the previous book that X was still alive and had survived somehow. X is on his way traveling to the coast but and due to Sansbury writing style  (and the fact that X's part are set in the past) you never know if X is still going to be there  but just the thought of finding out keeps you reading. 

Sansbury Smith really out did himself with the introduction of new creatures that have developed on Earth and how these creature differ from those inland. Makes you wonder what will be out there if one decided to venture further in to the seas, where the water is no longer water but sometime of sludge

Fantastic book and addition to this series and I cannot wait for the forth book, going to be some interesting times and challenges ahead for the Hell Divers and I cannot wait to go along for the ride with them. On to Wolves I go...

Enjoy!!!

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Jack Heath: Hangman

Jack Heath introduces readers to a very disturbing anti-hero who works for the FBI when they need the best and his payment is taken in Flesh:

When a 14 year old boy is kidnapped and there is a ransom call with a deadline the FBI have called in expert consultant Timothy Blake aka Hangman. Blake is not only a genius known for solving the impossible cases but he is also a sociopath. But Blake may have met his match on this case. The kidnapper is cunning and foils Blake at every turn. Along with his newly assigned partner (Blake doesn't work well with other), he has to be on his toes not only to find the kidnapper but to keep his dark secrets. You see every time Blake saves a life be gets to take one in return, and Blake needs his pounds of flesh in order to survive. Clock is ticking and who knows who will come out of this alive
 
Unfortunately with book has been moved to my DNF shelf and I am extremely bummed about it. I always hate when I cannot finish a book, I think every reader and reviewer hates the feeling where a book sounded promising but just couldn’t grab a hold of you. This is the problem I had with Hangman. I’m not sure where this book went wrong for me. It has an interesting and down right disturbing anti-hero, has a cat and mouse type “game”, a different type of premise and yet there I was having read 50% of the book and it felt like work to pick up the book to read it. And trust me I have so little time to read these days, I don’t want to have something I love feel like work, when I need it to be enjoyable.

I’m sure many people will love this book and I’m truly shocked I could not get in to this book or characters. Maybe I’ll revisit it later but right now not for me. Those  of you who would like to check it out, be warned it is not for the faint of heart. As mentioned above the main character is an anti-hero and let’s just say he has some Hannibal Lector qualities about him (and by that I mean the eating kind) as well as some Dexter qualities and truest me Heath is not sparse on the details for this and other aspects in this book. Timothy Blake is really like a marriage between Lector and Dexter but with even more socially awkward qualities and none of either of their charisma. See what I mean I should have loved this book....

Oh well you cannot win them all I suppose. On to my next read, I'm truly disappointed that I was unable to finish this book.

Cheers!!!!

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Mira Grant: Into the Drowning Deep

In the first in a new series Mira Grant takes the readers to the Mariana Trench where humans are on the menu:

Seven years ago the Atargatis is set off for the Mariana Trench to create a mockumentury about the existence of Mermaids. The voyage ended in tragedy with not a soul on the ship surviving. The footage that was shot on The ship has been locked away and those who have seen it cannot believe that it is real. Now the production company is sending another ship to that area to investigate what had happened and to prove once and forall if Mermaids do exhist. Everyone on the boat is going to get way more than they bargined for.

I have not read a Mira Grant series in a long long time, but it was Grant who intorduced me to reading zombie books, so it is really only fitting that she introduce me to Mermaids books as well. This book was amazing, it had aspects of mystery, horror and urban fantasy all rolled in to one. You really did not what was going to happen next and who was going to survive. I mean who does not love the idea of the deadly mermaids instead of the Disney style ones. Due to the fact that Grant has mixed a few genres within this book you might think that it is oversaturated with ideas but Grant he does not shy away from any of the genres and took the best aspectsnofneach to create this story. Some of the scenes are quite brutal in their description but these are countered with the scientific discovery aspects so there is a nice balance and Grant does not hit you with death after death. There is also a nice suspense aspect as there are so many points of view throughout the book that you are not 100% sure which views are going to be there in the end.

The imagination and research that Grant put in to this book was exceptional. She tried to cover all different types of angles when it came to mermaids from where they live to additional organizism that may be down in the mariana trench as well. You can also tell that Grant put in a lot of thought as to how the mermaids would be able to interact with human on both their territory as well as above the surface. The intelligence that they have is awesome and are basically killing machines that can work in groups or solo. I’m glad that Grant did not make them mindless killing machines, they have the ability to adapt and plan their attacks which makes them that much more interesting.

There are quite a few points of views in the book so you get a fairly rounded story as to why many of the individuals are on the mission to find mermaids, however, the most frequent point of view that we encounter is Victoria's. Victoria is on the ship for several reason, most importantly she wants to prove that mermaids exist as her older sister was on the maiden voyage of this research ship and no one from that vessel made it home. She is also a brilliant scientist who wants to use her knowledge of ocean sounds as a guiding tool for the discovery. In many ways Victoria is the scientist and is very calculating in everything she does. This does make her portrayed as naive at times And this is most seen in her relationships with people (I’ll say slightly typical for the scientist type to be portrays this way however, Victoria does gain more and more confidence the farther in to the book you get).

I love that this book is about mermaids and Grant’s idea of the mermaid is not the little mermaid that we all grew up with. These are deadly killers who have human meat on their menu and according to the mermaids it’s a tasty feast. I look forward to the next book in the series to see where Grant takes it.

Enjoy!!!

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Spencer Kope: Collecting the dead

 In the first in a new series Spencer Kope introduces readers to an FBI tracker that  is known as the Human Bloodhound:

When regular trackers are unable to find someone or a clue then the FBI calls in Steps and Jimmy. They are the elite trackers and are able to find anyone, even in remote locations, even when others have failed. Steps has a special vitality he calls shine that shows him where people have traveled to, what they have touched etc. He uses this ability to hopefully bring those who are lost, missing or kidnapped home safely. However, more often than not this does not happen. In their latest case Steps and Jimmy are called to a crime scene where Steps recognizes the Shine from a previous case. Based upon what Steps found they have eleven missing women who fit the same pattern and they are in a race against time to find them before its too late.

I have read other tracker based books before but those involved search and rescue dogs as part of the main story not just a person, so I did find this concept interesting. Kope does a good job of showing how Steps hides his ability while on a track but at the same time you have to think in real like these trackers do some amazing things, that maybe there is an aspect of realism to this idea; the ability to see what others cannot. Kope also does not shy away from the fact that not everyone makes it out alive when they are missing as well as having fairly detailed crime scene information as Steps details what happened.

Steps has the ability to see what he terms Shine. He has has it ever since a near death/he did die when he was a young child. Shine is the essence of an individual. It follows you where ever you go, each person has a different color/colors and this color changes based upon the living status of that person. This is how Steps is able to find people and clues that no one else is able to see. All of this makes Steps an interesting character with his gift / curse as he struggles with those times when he is not able to find the victim in time and Steps can tell mid-track if the person he is tracking is still alive or dead. This plays on his sanity and he struggles with whether he should continue on or not.

I will say that the secondary characters are not fleshed out as much asI would like them to be, even Steps’ partner Jimmy. This book is very much Steps’ story and that is where Kope decided to focus on with not only the plot but character development as well. For secondary characters you basically just get to know them/see them through their relationship with Steps.

This was a really good read with an interesting twist on the tracking idea. I like the idea of the elusive serial killer that Steps has been tracking for years but has been unable to find, this added an additional dynamic to the story as it does test Steps' focus. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

Enjoy!!!!

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Elise Kova: The Alchemists of Loom

In the first in a new series, Elise Kova takes the reader to with world of the Loom, ruled from above by the Dragon King:

Ari lost everything; friends, her lover, her way of life, when the five guilds resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now she uses the skills she learned in the resistance, her ability as an engineer and magical talents to be the White Wrath enemy to every dragon and known for contributing to a thriving underground Dragon organ market. That is until she meets Cvareh, a Dragon who claims to be on the side of those in Loom and he is willing to bargain something very precious, a wish,  if Ari is able to get him to the alchemists so that the resistance can start again. Ari knows she cannot trust Cvareh, and that the task may be near impossible as assassin after assassin is sent after Cvareh by the Dragon King, but a wish from a Dragon can give Ari the one thing that she desires most and hopefully the freedom for Loom.

I do not read many fantasy genre novles, but I was drawn to this book first for by the cover, second by the description of the book and third I haven't read a fantasy book in quite some time so I was excited to try something different. Kova uses a tried and true premise to frame the world and story around; one society/culture/people oppressing and abusing the other and those that try to take the power back. This is done in a completely fantasy world that had some very interesting and disturbing elements (think Frankenstein/plastic surgery to the extreme) and the thirst for power that goes along with it. Loom is divided into 5 different Guilds (Raven, Rivet, Alchemist, Revolver and Harvesters) and where you are born is what specialty you will grow up perfecting, if you show any sign of weakness or do not live up to the Dragon's standards you are killed (this mainly happens to children). Loom supports The Dragon's world above with the introduction of machinery and some magic, it were these aspects that the Dragons became aware of Loom and wanting to possess and control it. With all the machinery and magic this novel does have a very steampunk feel to it, especially with Ari and her engineer abilities.

I really like Ari as a main character, she is strong, confident, smart, often thinks the worst about people, has a past that we don't know too much about but she has a caring side especially when it comes to Florence. Florence is an awesome sidekick to Ari, she just needs to gain confidence in herself. She is probably the character that grows the most in this book, as she is forced in to circumstances that she has never been in before and many of them are a true test for her character both physically and morally. Cvareh is a good counter point to Ari with his obsession with things that are pretty and complaining about his clothes getting dirty or having to wear clothes out of fashion. He truly shows the differences between Loom and Nova. It is also interesting to watch Cvareh grow as a character as he tries to survive not only the threats on his life from other Dragons and Ari but also trying to navigate a new world in Loom.

I find that Dragons does not seem to be an apt description of the characters just based on the cover art of the books in this series, but also how they are described in the book. To me they seem that they would be more of Elfin or Fae or some other magic creature that Kova could have created. Based upon descriptors and the fact that they do not have wings or the ability to fly or shape shift in to what I would call traditional Dragon form. You say Dragon to someone we will probably all come up with some sort of similar image, and what is presented in this book is not that image. Maybe the reason they are called dragon is explained in the next books in this series but I think that is a slightly misrepresentation of these individuals.

I also could have done without the romance aspect that is hinted at. I mean why does there have to be a romance element? Ari and Cvareh they dislike each other in every way, yet drawn to the other individual as well. Why cant they just not like each other but are forced to work together for a common goal, why does that have to lead to attraction????

I still have a lot of Why questions after reading this book, which is not a bad thing as I know this is a series, however, quite a few of those questions are world based, so there are a few things that are not so clearly set out. I found the characters in this book to be very interesting and why I kept turning the pages to see what they would do next. I look forward to reading the second book in the series and hoping some of my questions are answered. 

Enjoy!!!

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