Joyce

This story is told in two parts One in England and then moves to America in the west and then back to England. A man is killed and Sherlock is called in to figure out who did it and how. Of course he does it but then the story moves to America to fill in the story before the murder. I found the American part of the story a bit drawn out but by the end it was very satisfying.

Neil Gaiman did he own rendering of these myths from stories that are handed down in generations of retellings. The stories were really interesting about Odin, Loki, Thor etc. I had heard of the Norse Gods before but never in detail like this. Plus I listened to this and Neil Gaiman really narrates very well.

Commodore Weed to launch his new cruise line has given free passage to people who have done good things on his “Santa Cruise” which actually takes place after Christmas. Alvirah, Willey, Regan Reilly, Nora, Jack are going on this cruise. Of course there is trouble afoot. There are two prisoners escaping on board hiding until they can get far enough away that they cannot be extradited. Alvirah just smells trouble in the air and goes on the hunt for missing santa suits. It is always fun to read these stories.

I really loved this story. It keeps you entertained throughout the story. Eve is not your normal 12 year old girl. She is caught shoplifting and is brought to the police and gets an advocate since she is underage with no parents. What follows is her telling her story in a series of interviews.

This book was a little hard to get into initially. There are cats represented as people in almost all ways. That took a little getting used to. But I did jump into the series at #6. After a while it was fun the author sort of pokes fun with it. Lots of catnip use. LOL. The main cats Tilly and Hettie run a private investigation company. They are invited to join a music tour for a punk rocker named Patty Sniff. Of course there is a murder to solve. It was rather fun. I will be checking into the others in the series.

Cat is now dealing with being a full vampire instead of half breed. But she is still different from every other vampire as she gets nourishment from other vampires not humans. But she also gets their special ability for a while as well. There is a species war between the ghouls and vampires being stirred up by an old enemy. Bones and Cat are really great together. They exchanges are so loving and sometimes very funny. I really enjoyed Vlad in this as well. I am glad he's still around. Series is still great.

This was a fun read. I need to go look at the others in the series. Maggie is the town doctor with a 13 year old daughter. If that wasn't enough, her ex is coming for her after escaping prison. A sext FBI agent is guarding her, her daughter is being a 13 year old and her friends are a bit wacky. That's what you expect from Janet Evanovich though. LOL

Temperance Brennan is contacted to investigate some bones that may be possibly Jesus or in the family of Jesus. There are a lot of religious information which I found fascinating. I always love the forensic science in these books. These are different from the tv series Bones but I still really enjoy them.

Emeranth Greer has come to Shadowvale to find an aunt she recently found out she has. She finds that Shadowvale is a magical town and only lets certain people in of which she is one. She wants to stay and her aunt doesn't want her to get trapped here. She finds out she is a witch from a whole family of witches. Deacon Evermore wants to get out the town especially get his sister out. He makes a deal with Em's aunt to dissuade her from staying. The more Em is in town the more she loves it.

I could pretty much see most of the twists coming but I still enjoyed the world of Shadowvale. It is a great quick read. I will continue the series.

Two nuns have been murdered in a convent but who did it? The majority of this story is from Maura Isles medical examiner point of view. Rizzoli almost seems to be the sidekick in this one. Ex husbands and lovers come into both of their lives complicating this mystery even more. I enjoyed the story though. I will be continuing to read this series.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a story of Jules and her sister Nell. Jules is brought back to the town they were raised in for her sister's death and her niece. It centers around an area in the river called the Drowning Pool. It seems many women have died or committed suicide here.

Cassie Sheridan works for KEY news and has been relegated to doing mundane work in Florida covering hurricanes and small stories, far from the Washington DC stuff she use to do. During the latest hurricane story she uncovers serial killer and has to try to find them before they find her. It was a little formula driven but I didn't guess who the killer was until the very end which is a good mystery to me.

The world keeps shifting between magic and tech and during Flair ups the Kate has to clean up magic users use of bad magic. Every 7 years there is a major shift and gods and goddesses are trying to own the world and Kate is caught up trying to save a little girl, some maps and not get killed herself. Really interesting world. I like that she doesn't just fall into bed with the main good looking guy Curran. There is attraction but so far they are staying away from each other.

Eve Dallas has caught another unusual case. A priest was killed during a funeral service. But it seems the priest might not be a priest after all. Then another preacher is killed the say way. Do we have a serial killer? Eve unravels the mysterious killings in her usual way. Peabody and McNab are so good together in this book. They always make me laugh. Another great story for the series.

I found this book very difficult to read and follow the story. It had interesting bits but it seems to be all over the place in plot. Even after it is done I am not quite sure about what was going on. I preferred the last third as it seemed to have better pacing and more interesting story. There are parts that never were resolved. Almost seemed like two books that are connected.

I would say this is the first time I have given an anthology 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed all four stories. My least favorite was the last one but I think its because I wasn't as familiar with the author but I did enjoy it and want to explore the world a bit more.

The stories are:
“The Warrior” by Jim Butcher 5 stars
“What a Difference a Day Makes” by Simon R. Green 4 stars
“The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog” by Kat Richardson 5 stars
“Noah's Orphans” by Thomas E. Sniegoski 4 stars

Mia Snow is part of the group of police known as AIR. they hunt aliens infiltrating their world. Her partner is injured and near death. Kyrin en Arr who is an Arcadian promises he will heal Dallas if Mia frees his sister. Mia finds out that not all aliens are bad and is drawn to Kyrin despite swearing to kill all aliens. The story was a little formulaic but I still really enjoyed it.

The book is a little different from the Disney version everybody is used to. A bit more violent here and there but it was very interesting to read the original.

Amber Blackwood is the main character. She is a witch making toys come alive. Her shop is called The Quirky Whisker, which I just love that name. She sells herbal remedies, candles and toys. She tries to help her friend Melanie who has been feeling sick for a while. She is found dead and the local sheriff who distrusts her makes her the main suspect. She uses her magic to try to find out who really killed her friend. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for the next one in the series.

Briar Pryce has a magical talent of being able to change people's emotions by giving them a rose. She takes a job trying to save a princess' boyfriend. There is a magical section in New York called the Apple. This is not available to non magical people. She gets into quite a few scrapes trying to find out who took Rick. There seems to be more to the situation than she was told. I really enjoyed this story and am getting ready to read the next one in the series. It is a well fleshed out world and believable. I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lily Mason moves to Moonrise to lookup her only living relative. She is a werecouger and this is the first time away from her community full of supernaturals. She adopts a pit bull rescue dog or actually Smooshie adopts her. She gets the dog from Parker Knowles who runs a dog rescue center. She gets involved in the murder of Katherine who is the town bully and has dirt on everyone and is not afraid to use it to her best advantage. She is found murdered on Parker's land so Lily needs to try to find out who is actually the murderer.

It was a really nice cozy mystery. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Somebody is kidnapping and torturing women and writing the time they lasted on their body. This is similar to a case Eve was involved in many years ago. Unfortunately they are picking women all involved with Roarke so he's taking this very personally. Peabody and Ian are so funny like usual in this book. Although they seem to be annoying Eve a bit less. On to the next book.

Nora Pennington owns a Bookstore/coffee shop. She buys a special piece of pottery for her boyfriend from Danny who winds up dead in the river in the town. She and her friends all try to figure out how he died as they don't think it was an accident due to the torrential rains they have been having. She also befriends Sheldon who is great the customers in her shop. Sheldon is very quirky and fun. Even though this was the third book in the series I still was able to catch up with what was happening in the series. Very fun read.

This had a slow start for me. I almost gave up but then it picked up about a third in and I couldn't put it down after that.

Stephanie comes back from a trip to Hawaii early leaving both Ranger and Morrelli there with cuts and bruises and neither one too happy with Stephanie. She has a photograph put into her bag into the airport which every one seems to want. Plus Stephanie's usual antics trying to apprehend her bounties with Lulu and trying not to get killed. Loved this as much as all the other books. Series never gets dull.