Waiting on Wednesday – Vendetta by Sarah Barrie

On July 19, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an awesome upcoming Australian thriller from an outstanding local author, with Vendetta by Sarah Barrie.

Vendetta Cover

Due my geographical location, I am a massive fan of Australian fiction, especially as there are so many talented authors here creating some amazing and elaborate reads. I particularly enjoy Australian crime fiction that set dark and compelling stories in locations I am more familiar with, as this usually results in some truly outstanding reads. One of my favourite Australian crime fiction authors at the moment talented writer Sarah Barrie, who has been killing it over the last couple of years with her fantastic novels.

Barrie is a veteran author with several compelling Australian series under her belt. I am personally familiar with her due to her amazing Lexi Winter series, which so far features two great books. These novels follows titular protagonist, Lexi Winters, a vigilante hacker turned police officer, who uses her computer talents to take down the worst criminals around Sydney, often behind her superiors back. The first book in the series, Unforgiven, saw Lexi attempt to destroy a child paedophile ring that was connected to her own childhood abuse, while in Retribution, she faced off against a notorious crime family who were getting in the way of her vengeance. Thanks to their clever mysteries, complex characters, and very dark story content, both Unforgiven and Retribution were very impressive reads and they were some of the best Australian fiction I read in 2021 and 2022 respectfully. I am now a firm fan of this series and I was very happy to hear that a third Lexi Winter novel is coming out later this year.

This new Lexi Winter novel is titled Vendetta and is currently set for release in early November 2023. Vendetta looks set to continue several of the storylines from the previous two books, with the protagonist struggling to determine whether she is a vigilante or a police officer. This new book will also apparently dive deeper into her hidden criminal/vigilante past as she is forced to return to an outlaw motorcycle club she used to work for, this time to save some of her friends. It looks like Lexi is once again going to go rogue in her attempts to get justice and help the people she loves, and this should result in some compelling and emotionally charged storylines, especially as she tries to work out just what side of the legal fence she is on. The inclusion of a deadly motorcycle gang that the protagonist used to be a part of should also be an interesting feature, especially as they will find themselves at war with their former president who is out for his own form of justice. This outstanding plot has a lot of potential behind it and it should make for quite the awesome read.

This sounds like such a fun book and I am really glad that we are getting another Lexi Winter novel in a few short months. Barrie has really proven herself to be such a talented and intense crime fiction author and I cannot wait to see how she continues to explore her complex and damaged protagonist. I already know that I am going to love this book and I am very excited to see how Vendetta turns out.

Plot Synopsis:

Cop or criminal? When you’re undercover, the lines can get a little blurry. Former vigilante Lexi Winter, returns in a fast-paced, suspenseful crime thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Shelley Burr

Ace hacker, former sex worker and vigilante, Lexi Winter is now a cop and not keen to revisit her criminal past. But when old friends invoke the wrath of a local motorcycle club – the same club Lexi herself used to work for – she races to help them the only way she can: undercover.

If Lexi is to save a child’s life, she is going to have to go back – back to a life she thought she had outrun. Back to the person she used to be. But her timing isn’t great. Former club president Arthur Cronin has finished his long prison sentence and is out for revenge for the death of his wife and child. As he launches a series of bomb attacks on the club members who set him up and the cops who took him down, Lexi is caught in the middle.

Torn between old loyalties and new responsibilities, she must decide once and for all which side she’s on, but even if she does decide to break free, are her old criminal friends ready to let her go?

Waiting on Wednesday – Holly by Stephen King

On July 12, 2023December 28, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday25 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight the next upcoming book from the master of the horror and thriller, Stephen King, with the intriguing read Holly.

Holly Cover

Amazon

Stephen King is an author who needs very little introduction thanks to his epic and extensive collection of thrillers, horror novels and other awesome books that cover a variety of genres. With over 50 years of writing experience and innumerable books under his belt, King is am amazing author who I have been getting into lately. I have had a lot of fun with some of his latest books, including the fun coming of age horror book Later, the intriguing fantasy read Fairy Tale, and the captivating thriller Billy Summers. As such, I am always very keen to see what King writes next, and he has a very interesting book coming out in a couple of months’ time with Holly.

Holly, which is currently set for release in early September 2023, is a pretty fascinating upcoming book that has already grabbed my attention in several different ways, not least because it brings back one of King’s favourite protagonists at the moment, Holly Gibney. Holly was first introduced as a supporting character in Mr. Mercedes before having a major role in the rest of the Bill Hodges trilogy and the more recent novel, The Outsiders. I had actually meant to try and read some of these preceding novels before getting to Holly, although I doubt I am going to have the time at this point. Still, I am very confident that King will ensure that Holly is very accessible to new readers, and I cannot wait to dive into it.

It looks like King has cooked up another excellent plot for Holly and it is one that I am very excited to explore. This time Holly, as the main character and primary detective, is investigating the disappearance of a missing girl in mysterious circumstances. However, as she investigates, she runs afoul of a pair of devious octogenarians who are hiding something very sinister in their basement which may be connected to the missing victim. I love the sound of this plot, especially as I am now exceedingly curious about what is in that damn basement. I am also very keen to see just how dangerous an old married couple can be, as King is painting them out as exceedingly ruthless criminal masterminds.

All this, as well as King’s very well proven track record for writing and the complex protagonist that is Holly Gibney, should make for quite an impressive read and I am very excited to dive into Holly the second I get it. Holly is already one of my most anticipated reads for the second half of 2023, and I have very little doubt that it will end up being a top book of the year. Holly has so much damn potential, and I look forward to getting dragged into another insane and addictive tale from the legend that is Stephen King.

Plot Synopsis:

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Make sure to check out my review for Holly here.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso

On July 5, 2023July 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday10 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of the most exciting fantasy books of 2024 with The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso.

The Last Hour Between Worlds Cover

Amazon

Last week I had a lot of fun listing the top fantasy books of 2023 that I was most excited for, and frankly the rest of year is looking very strong in terms of fantasy fiction. Due to how much I focused on 2023 in recent weeks, I thought I’d take this opportunity to look at fantasy fiction coming out in 2024. In particular, I wanted to take a look at an awesome book from March next year that I think has a lot of potential, The Last Hour Between Worlds by the talented Melissa Caruso.

Caruso is an exceptional author who has been one of the top authors of fantasy fiction in recent years. Debuting back in 2017 with the first book of her Swords and Fire trilogy, Caruso has been unstoppable ever since. I deeply enjoyed her first trilogy which followed an odd-couple duo of a clever young noblewoman and the ultra-destructive mage bound to her. This amazing trilogy was really good, and I loved all three books, The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir and The Unbound Empire. Caruso followed this series up immediately with her cool Rooks and Ruins trilogy, which was set in the same universe. I haven’t had a chance to read this sequel trilogy yet, which is something I deeply regret, but that won’t stop me from checking out Caruso’s compelling new book when it comes out in 2024.

This new book, The Last Hour Between Worlds, features an outstanding and intriguing new story that feature some unique time travel elements. This fantastic book will apparently follow two fun protagonists, an investigator and her thief rival, as they find themselves investigating a series of killings and a deadly, time altering clock. This book sounds pretty damn awesome, especially as it features rival guilds, unique magic and cool characters, all set around a fantastic and dark murder mystery plot. While I am already a pretty big fan of Caruso and her books, the plot for The Last Hour Between Worlds has made me even more excited for this upcoming book and I have a strong feeling this is going to be one of the best books of next year. 2024 honestly cannot come soon enough, especially with epic novels like The Last Hour Between Worlds coming out.

Plot Synopsis:

Follow a star investigator and her rival as they journey through layers of reality to save the world as they know it in this whip-smart adventure fantasy about rival guilds, reality-bending magic and unexpected mystery.

Kembral Thorne is spending a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy the party no matter what. But when the guests start dropping dead, Kem has no choice but to get to work. She’s a member of the Guild of Hounds, after all, and she can’t help picking up the scent of trouble.

She’s not the only one. Her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is on the prowl. They quickly identify what’s causing the mayhem, a mysterious grandfather clock that sends them down an Echo every time it chimes. In each strange new layer of reality, time resets and a sinister figure appears to perform a blood-soaked ritual.

As Kem and Rika fall into increasingly macabre versions of their city, they’ll need to rely on their wits – and each other – to unravel the secret of the clock and save their city.

Waiting on Wednesday – Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher

On June 28, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I check out a fun upcoming urban fantasy novel from a rising star with Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher.

Long Past Dues Cover

Amazon

Last year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the excellent urban fantasy book, Dead Man’s Hand, the first book in the Unorthodox Chronicles and the debut novel from new author James J. Butcher. Butcher, the son of legendary fantasy author Jim Butcher (check out some of my recent Throwback Thursdays), did a really good job with his first book, producing an intriguing and fast-paced urban fantasy read that I had a lot of fun with. Following a relatively powerless magic user (an Unorthodox) with minor spells who finds themself in the middle of a massive magical conspiracy in Boston when he is accused of killing a powerful magical law enforcement officer and must team up with the victims retired partner to solve the crime. Dead Man’s Hand was a very interesting and compelling first novel from Butcher, and it ended up being one of my favourite debuts of 2022.

Due to how impressive Butcher’s first book was, I have been keeping an eye out for any potential sequel for a while now and I was quite excited to see that Butcher had follow-up novel coming out later this year with Long Past Dues. Set for release in October, the second Unorthodox Chronicles book will continue to follow the protagonist from the first novel as he settles into the world of magical law enforcement. The new plot below sounds very compelling and I look forward to seeing the protagonist engage in a proper investigation, one loaded with magical rituals, hidden secrets and other cool aspects of this great magical world. Based on how good Butcher’s first novel was, I am already quite keen for this fantastic sounding sequel and I know I am going to have a great time reading this book. Long Past Dues has a ton of potential and I cannot wait to read the next book from this awesome new author.

Plot Synopsis:

Grimsby, the newest Auditor in the magical Department of Unorthodox Affairs, finds himself in hot water when he intercepts a friend’s case in this fast-paced and thrilling urban fantasy.

Against all odds, Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby has become an Auditor, enforcing laws about magic for Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. But Grimsby soon realizes the daily grind of his job is far removed from the glamour he imagined. Overlooked for every exciting case, Grimsby tires of being told to handle mundane magical troubles, and appropriates a case file intended for a friend.

Alongside Leslie Mayflower, the temporarily unretired Huntsman, Grimsby aims to crack the case and discover the origin of a strange, unfinished ritual—one that seems to imitate the handiwork of a foe Mayflower put down twenty years ago.

Together, they’ll have to deal with escaped werewolves, a cursed artifact, and a perilous journey to the mysterious subterranean city below Boston, all to uncover the shocking truth. At any cost, Grimsby must stop this ritual from finally being completed. Yet the cost may be paid not by himself but by his friends. . . .

Waiting on Wednesday – Rebellion by Simon Scarrow

On June 21, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I check out an upcoming entry in one of my favourite long-running series, with Rebellion, the next Eagles of the Empire book by Simon Scarrow.

Rebellion Cover

Amazon

I’m in a real historical fiction mood at the moment, so this seems like the perfect time to look at the next upcoming book from one of my favourite authors, Simon Scarrow. One of the most prolific current authors in the historical fiction genre, Scarrow has been producing exceptional novels for over 20 years and I have long been a fan of his outstanding dives into some of the darkest and most violent periods of history. It’s already been a good year for Scarrow fans, as he released his compelling thriller set in Nazi German, Dead of Night, which I deeply enjoyed. However, Scarrow still has more planned for 2023 as he is continuing his amazing Eagles of the Empire series.

The Eagles of the Empire books are one of the best ancient Roman series I have had the pleasure of reading, especially as it thrusts the reader into the heart of several of the most iconic Roman campaigns in history. Following two grizzled soldiers, Prefect Cato and Centurion Marco as they travel from one bloody battlefield to the next, this series has been a real treat from the very start. I have had a great time reading every book in this series, including The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile, The Honour of Rome and Death to the Emperor, and all of them have been pretty epic and really fun reads.

As such, I am always excited for that time of the year when Scarrow drops his next Eagles of the Empire book, and that time is nearly now with the next entry, Rebellion, coming out in November 2023. The 22^nd novel in the series, Rebellion will follow on in the immediate aftermath of Death to the Emperor, which saw the start of Boudica’s rebellion and the destruction of the protagonist’s home at Camulodunum. Death to the Emperor was one of the stronger recent entries in the series, and I loved how the author left it on a cliffhanger with Marco presumed dead at the hands of the vengeful Boudica. As such, Rebellion should start of very strong and I cannot wait to see how this one turns out.

Plot Summary:

AD 60. Britannia is in turmoil. The rebel leader Boudica has tasted victory, against a force of tough veterans in Camulodunum.

Alerted to the rapidly spreading uprising, Governor Suetonius leads his army towards endangered Londinium with a mounted escort, led by Prefect Cato. Soon it’s terrifyingly clear that Britannia is slipping into chaos and panic, with ever more tribal warriors swelling Boudica’s ranks. And Cato and Suetonius are grimly aware that little preparation has been made to withstand a full-scale rebellion.

In Londinium there is devastating news. Centurion Macro is amongst those unaccounted for after the massacre at Camulodunum. Has Cato’s comrade and friend made his last stand?

Facing disaster, Cato prepares his next move. Dare he hope that Macro – battle-scarred and fearless – has escaped the bloodthirsty rebels? For there is only one man Cato trusts by his side as he faces the military campaign of his life. And the future of the Empire in Britannia hangs in the balance.

Based on the description above, it looks like Rebellion is going to be a pretty damn epic read. The long-awaited focus on Boudica’s rebellion was always going to be awesome and Scarrow exceeded my expectations with the start in Death to the Emperor. As such, I cannot wait to see how this new novel turns out, especially as there still some big battles to come. If Scarrow keeps up his usual form, it won’t take long for the carnage to begin and I am very excited to see what emerges. I am also very keen to find out the fate of Marco after the last book. While I am not as worried as the author wants me to be, I am still a tad apprehensive, especially as Scarrow did go on a bit of a killing spree in the previous book, so perhaps I’ll be surprised here.

Honestly, due to my very long history with this series and Scarrow’s outstanding writing, there is no way I won’t be getting a copy of Rebellion later this year and I already know I am going to love it. This series has been nothing by awesome for me over the years, and this upcoming book looks set to continue this trend. I cannot wait to see how Rebellion turns out, especially as Scarrow did some outstanding set up in the previous book, and this is easily one of the novels I am most excited about in the second half of 2023.

Waiting on Wednesday – Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker

On June 14, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I take a look at an upcoming fantasy novel that I am particularly excited for, the sure to be hilarious novel, Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by acclaimed author K. J. Parker.

Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead Cover

Amazon

I am always in the mood for a fantasy novel that utilises humour and comedy to enhance the story, and to my mind few current authors manage that as well as exceptional talent K. J. Parker, a pseudonym of author Tom Holt. Parker/Holt has been delighting authors for over 35 years and his intriguing reads blend his unique sense of humour with some elaborate and well-thought fantasy or historical fiction scenarios. I have only so far had the pleasure of reading one of his trilogies, but that was more than enough to make me a massive of his.

This series was the very clever and captivating The Siege series, which includes some of the funniest books that I have ever read. Set around a siege of a massive city, all three books told a unique story of its long and deadly besiegement, that were loosely connected to each other and told from the perspective of a different unreliable narrator. The first book in the series was the very impressive Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of my favourite books of 2019), which saw an amoral engineer take command of the city’s defences and use a mixture of mechanisms and bluffing to keep out the enemy. This outstanding read was followed up by the extremely funny How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It (one of my favourite books of 2020). Set years after the events of the first book, this sequel followed an actor in the still besieged city tasked with impersonating a dead war hero, and who then uses his position to take over everything. Parker masterfully finished the trilogy off last year with A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (one of my favourite books of 2022). This outstanding finale saw a scribe and scholar from the city manage to use his unique array of obscure knowledge, as well as a strong understanding of basic human nature, to overthrow a nation and then the entire world in a brilliant sequence of manipulation and cleverness. I have so much love for this exceptional trilogy, and I really grew to enjoy Parker’s unique sense of subtle humour and the fantastic and entertaining stories he was able to craft using it.

Due to how much I enjoyed The Siege trilogy, I have been keen to see what cool series Parker would right next, and boy does it look like he has something very special planned for us, with his upcoming Corax trilogy. Starting in a few months’ time with Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead, this intriguing new trilogy looks to follow another complex protagonist as he finds himself stuck in a deadly situation.

Plot Synopsis:

There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armor, arrows – and the bodies, of course.

Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead.

Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.

I have to say that I am already really in love with this cool sounding book and I have some very high hopes for Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead. An adventure novel that follows a battlefield scavenger is going to be very intriguing, and you know that Parker will really dive into the unique elements of this trade, with fun anecdotes looking at the best and worth moments the protagonist has experienced. Having a compelling protagonist like this at the centre of the novel will ensure that Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead is going to be a very fun read and I look forward to seeing what sort of compelling and entertaining plot the author can come up with to match him. I have no doubt it is going to be something pretty damn awesome especially when combined with Parker’s brilliant humour and relatable observations about the human condition.

Based on how much I enjoyed Parker’s previous series, there is no way that I am missing this fantastic new trilogy, especially as Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead sounds so damn good. It also looks like Parker has plans to release all the books in quick succession, as the titles and covers for the rest of the Corax trilogy have already been released. Both the second book, Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, and the third book, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder, already have 2023 release dates, and if that holds true, then hopefully we can read the entire trilogy in the space of a few months. If this is the case, I am very, very excited, as I have no doubt all three are going to be pretty exceptional. I look forward to finding out what new craziness and fun Parker has cooked up in his new trilogy, and I fully expect Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead, and possibly its two sequels, to top my best books of the year list for 2023.

Waiting on Wednesday – Cave 13 by Jonathan Maberry

On June 7, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I dive into one of my most anticipated books for the second half of 2023 with the awesome new thriller by Jonathan Maberry, Cave 13.

Cave 13 Cover

Amazon

I have made no secret over the last few years that I am a massive fan of talented thriller author Jonathan Maberry who always wows me with some elaborate and over-the-top novels. I first got into Maberry when I started reading his iconic Joe Ledger series, which follows a paramilitary agency who take out villains with ambitious technological plans. The Joe Ledger series was so damn cool and featured a range of stories that set the protagonist against zombies, realistic vampires, eldritch horrors, alien spacecraft and insane terrorist groups. All the books in this series were extremely epic and I loved all of them, including Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory, The King of Plagues, Assassin’s Code, Extinction Machine, Code Zero, Predator One, Kill Switch, Dogs of War and Deep Silence.

Maberry has also dived outside the thriller genre many times and I have had the pleasure of reading several of these books recently. This includes the fantastic horror novel Ink (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020) and his recently released Kagen the Damned dark fantasy series. This series includes the outstanding and brutal novel Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and his early 2023 book, Son of the Poison Rose. I have had a wonderful time with each of these novels, and I honestly expected that the next Maberry novel I would have the opportunity to read would be the third Kagen the Damned book probably coming out next year. However, it looks like we’re going to be lucky to get two Maberry books this year as there is a very intriguing thriller coming out in a couple of months.

This upcoming book is Cave 13, which will be the third book in Maberry’s ongoing Rogue Team International series. The Rogue Team International books are a sequel series to the Joe Ledger novels which follows the same protagonists as they engage in more international escapades against some very deadly foes. This sequel series has proved to be an excellent continuation of the Joe Ledger books and I have had a lot of fun with these new novels, including Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019) and Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021). I have been waiting for the third book in the series for a while now and I was very excited to discover that Cave 13 is coming out in late August 2023. I mentioned this book in my Winter TBR list last week, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight it again in a Waiting on Wednesday post.

Plot Synopsis:

Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International plunge into mortal peril as this new and deadly arms race threatens to ignite new wars throughout the Middle East.

After years of searching, a new cave filled with Dead Sea Scrolls is found, and among them are bizarre books of actual magic. Terrorist groups and multinational corporations scramble to acquire these treasures in the hopes that magic is the true WMD of the 21st Century. But everyone who goes near those scrolls goes insane. The fabric of reality is shredding. Is this the result of ancient magic, or is it a new bioweapon that fractures the mind of anyone exposed?

Cave 13 pits Joe Ledger against warring factions of ideological terrorism, corporate greed, and massive international crime syndicates in what might well become a new Age of Miracles.

While the details in this plot synopsis are a tad light, it definitely sounds like Cave 13 is going to be another epic book. Crazy diseases in an ancient cave filled with the Dead Sea Scrolls is a very intriguing concept, and it is one that I know Maberry can do some amazing things with. Pitting Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International against a group of deadly arms dealers, terrorists, criminals and corporate types should be pretty damn epic, and I look forward to seeing if any recurring enemies or organisations make an appearance. Maberry always makes such elaborate plots and conspiracies in his novels, and I am very interested in seeing how he manages to work this archaeological discovery into a world ending narrative.

On top of this awesome sounding story, I also am very keen to see what is happening to the main characters featured in the series. Maberry always does such a good job of building up his various cast members and dealing with their complex problems, and there are several ongoing storylines that I hope he picks up on again. I particularly want to see more of protagonist Joe Ledger, who has been going through even more trauma than usual in recent books, including going off the murderous deep end in the last novel. I am sure that this is something Maberry will dive into in some detail, and I am highly invested in finding out how this character is going and what mental chaos he is experiencing. It will also be very cool to see what new complex and motivated villain appears in Cave 13, especially after some of the compelling and unique figures Maberry has created in the past. While I am assuming that Cave 13 will probably feature a new antagonist, there is always the possibility that certain recurring bad guys can reappear here, and I love seeing the author diving into the deadly histories they have with Ledger and his team. There is one particularly deadly and chaotic villain I would love to see more of, although he might be a bit busy over in the Kagen the Damned universe to make an appearance here.

Look, if I am being honest here, there is absolutely no way in hell that I am not going to have an incredible time with Cave 13 when it comes out. Maberry’s trademark combination of elaborate storylines, over the top violence, and complex characters never fails to enthral me, and I have very little doubt that he won’t do that again in Cave 13. I am also already extremely hooked on the Rogue Team International books and any new entry that Maberry produces is going to be epic. As such, I am predicting that this will be one of my favourite books of the year and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy as soon as possible, especially in its audiobook format with Ray Porter narrating it.

Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday – Storming Heaven by Miles Cameron

On June 1, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out the epic upcoming fantasy novel, Storming Heaven, the latest book from acclaimed author Miles Cameron.

Storming Heaven Cover

Amazon

Few of my regularly consumed authors have such a diverse catalogue of books than the very talented Miles Cameron. The pseudonym of historical fiction author Christian Cameron (who has also released thriller novels with his father Kenneth Cameron under the joint pseudonym Gordon Kent), Cameron has released a huge number of books across the genres in recent years. While I love some of his historical novels, I have been really getting into his outstanding fantasy and science fiction books. Not only did he majorly impress me with his epic Master and Mages series, which featured Cold Iron and Dark Forge (one of my favourite novels and audiobooks of 2019), but I loved his first science fiction novel Artifact Space (one of my favourite books of 2021).

Cameron kept the hits coming last year with the amazing novel, Against All Gods, which served as the beginning of The Age of Bronze series. This awesome book was set in a dark new fantasy world ruled over by a dark pantheon of gods, who murdered the previous gods of the realm and keep the current inhabitants stuck in a permanent bronze age. The plot of Against All Gods introduced several desperate heroes who, after annoying the gods, become caught up in the webs of a trickster god with a serious grudge to destroy their all-powerful oppressors. I deeply enjoyed this outstanding book due to its great story and elaborate new setting, which combined to create quite a gripping read. Against All Gods was one of my favourite books of 2022 and I have been looking forward for the sequel for some time.

Well, it looks like I won’t have too much longer to wait as Cameron is releasing the second The Age of Bronze novel later this year, Storming Heaven. Storming Heaven will see the scattered protagonists from the first book engage in several plans to attack the gods and finally get the justice they deserve, while fighting off cannibals, divine agents, and the pantheon itself. Based on how epic Against All Gods was, I know that Storming Heaven is going to be pretty damn incredible and I have very high hopes for it. This is already one of my most anticipated fantasy novels of 2023 and I cannot wait to see how impressive and cool Storming Heaven turns out.

Plot Synopsis:

Before iron helmets and steel swords, when dragons roamed the world, was an age of bronze and stone, when the Gods walked the earth, and people lived in terror.

A scribe, a warlord, a dancer, a mute insect and a child should have no chance against the might of the bickering gods and their cruel games. But the gods themselves are old, addicted to their own games of power, and now their fates may lie in the hands of mere mortals . . .

By divine plan a plague of cannibals has been unleashed across the world, forming an armada which preys on all who cross their path. Meanwhile the people who allied against the gods have been divided, each taking their own path to attack the heavens – if they can survive the tide of war which has been sent against them.

All they need is the right distraction, and the right opportunity, to deal a blow against the gods themselves . . .

An original, visceral epic weaving together the mythologies of a dozen pantheons of gods and heroes to create something new and magical, this tale of the revolt against the tyranny which began in Against All God s is a must read from a master of the fantasy genre.

Waiting on Wednesday – Ripper by Shelley Burr

On May 24, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday4 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a great new upcoming Australian crime fiction novel from one of the breakout authors of 2022 with Ripper by Shelley Burr.

Ripper Cover

Last year I had the very great pleasure of reading the fantastic first novel from debuting Australian author Shelley Burr, Wake. Set in a dying rural town out in the middle of the Australian outback, Wake examined an infamous crime where a young girl disappeared from her house without a trace, never to be seen again. 19 years later, two determined people with their own traumas attempt to find out what happened to the missing girl, including her haunted twin sister and a professional investigator with secret reasons for trying to solve the mystery. Wake ended up being an outstanding novel and I loved how its compelling and intense mystery unfolded while also expertly showing off the desolate local landscape. This was such an amazing read and it ended up being one of my top debuts and favourite Australian fiction novels of 2022.

Due to how impressive her first book turned out, I have been eager to see what Burr would come up with next and I was very happy that details about her second book was recently released. This second book is Ripper, which is currently set for release in August 2023, and will take the reader to a new outback town with a murderous past, this time as the location of a serial killer’s final three murders.

Plot Synopsis:

Gemma Guillory has lived in Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny town’s ins and outs like the back of her hand, the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.

She knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason, and one reason only. That three innocent people died. That the last stop on the Rainier Ripper’s trail of death seventeen years ago was her innocuous little teashop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her police officer husband and their marriage to this day and that some of her neighbours are desperate – desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier’s reputation as the murder town.

When the tour operator is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma’s doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer’s wake turns to foreboding, and she’s drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland.

Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn’t she?

Ripper sounds like it is going to be quite an awesome book. I love the idea of returning to another town whose reputation has been tainted by a notorious crime, and the setting of Ripper is pretty cool with its connection to the Rainier Ripper. Seeing a dark tourist company coming to town, only to be targeted by a copycat at the place of the original killer’s last stand sounds fantastic, especially as it is going to reopen all the wounds the previous killings left open.

I have no doubt that Burr will produce an excellent mystery around that premise, however, the thing that is really interesting to me about Ripper’s plot synopsis is the reference to the prisoner Lane Holland. Holland was one of the protagonists of Wake, so it looks like Ripper is going to be a direct sequel to Burr’s first book. I am very interested in seeing Burr continue Holland’s story from Wake, especially as the character’s attempts to stop his terrible father saw him sent to jail, and it will be cool to see how the author brings him into this latest story. While I was definitely going to seek out Burr’s new book no matter what, the fact that is a sequel is a major selling point to me and Ripper is now one of the books I most excited for in the next few months. Ripper has a ton of potential and I look forward to seeing how this talented new Australian author follows up her first epic novel.

Waiting on Wednesday – Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

On May 17, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a fantastic upcoming novel that is likely to be one of the funniest and most compelling Australian reads of 2023 with Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson.

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect Cover

Amazon

One of the benefits of living in Australia as I have the great pleasure of receiving and reading multiple Australian novels each year, which has really introduced me to some fantastic writers. One of the most solid and fun in recent years is Benjamin Stevenson, who has really made his mark on the Australian crime fiction landscape. Previously known as a comedian with his twin brother, Stevenson made his crime fiction debut back in 2018 with the impressive murder mystery Greenlight. Released as Trust Me When I Lie and She Lies in the Vines outside of Australia, Greenlight was an excellent novel that followed a guilt-ridden true-crime documentary maker who might have gotten a murderer out of jail. This was an outstanding read and Stevenson followed it up in 2020 with the sequel book Either Side of Midnight (one of my favourite Australian books of 2020) which saw his protagonist investigate another elaborate murder made to look like a very public suicide. Both these books were extremely good and I loved the compelling combination of clever mystery and a complex protagonist.

While I enjoyed his original two crime fiction novel, I personally don’t think that Stevenson really hit his stride as an author until last year when he presented his epic read, Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone. Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone was a brilliant and captivating novel that saw the protagonist recount a complex family tale in memoir format of a very complicated family reunion at a ski resort where the guests started ending up murdered. Of course, everyone in the family is a potential suspect as, like the title of the book suggests, they have all been responsible for someone’s death in the past. Not only was this a very clever and entertaining story, but Stevenson also loaded the plot with a ton of humour while also making a ton of homages to classic whodunnits and locked room mysteries. Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone was an exceptional novel that got an easy five-star rating from me and ended up being one of the best Australian novels of 2022.

I really, really loved Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, as it was such a fantastic novel, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Stevenson was planning a sequel to it with the focus of this article, Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, which is set for release in October 2023. As the name suggests, this new novel will see the protagonist of Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone get involved in another series of murders, this time aboard a train setting.

Plot Synopsis:

Ernest Cunningham returns in a deliciously witty locked room (train) mystery.

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty:

the debut writer (me!)
the forensic science writer
the blockbuster writer
the legal thriller writer
the literary writer
the psychological suspense writer.

But when one of us is murdered, six authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.

Or commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

Oh dear, now this is going to be pretty damn hilarious. Look I was already hyped about Stevenson’s new novel well before I knew the plot details, but the above synopsis is so fun. There are so many layers to this upcoming story, including the clear Murder of the Orient Express homages, the setting aboard the iconic Ghan train, and the fact that every suspect on the train is a mystery writer of some variety. The idea that one of these authors (which includes the protagonist) is a potential killer and they are using their literary skills to get away with it is brilliant and has a lot of potential from a mystery and narrative perspective.

However, the thing that I am most looking forward to in Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is the way that Stevenson will no doubt lovingly lampoon every single one of these different crime fiction sub-genres in his own fantastic way. He did such an outstanding job of both satirising and exemplifying the whodunnit novel in his last book, which is what I assume he is planning for the sequel. Simultaneously examining and making fun of several different crime fiction genres is going to be a big ask from the author, but I honestly have no doubt he can pull it off and turn it into something special for all crime fiction readers.

Look, based on how good Stevenson’s previous novels, especially Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, was, there was very little chance that I wouldn’t have grabbed this book later this year. But the fact that Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is an awesome sequel to his previous fantastic novel which aims to further reference and examine fun crime fiction elements is a major selling point to me. Stevenson honestly gets better with every book he writes, and this new novel has so much damn potential as a result. As such, I have no doubts whatsoever that Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is going to be a remarkable read and I am fully expecting it to be one of the absolute best Australian novels of the year.