Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 5 March 2020.
Make sure to also check out my extended review of The Museum of Desire.
Tag: Murder Mystery
The Holdout by Graham Moore
Publisher: Orion/Penguin Random House Audio (Audiobook – 18 February 2020)
Series: Standalone
Length: 10 hours and 15 minutes
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
From acclaimed author Graham Moore comes an amazing new thriller story that is one part legal drama, one part murder mystery and 100 per cent awesome: The Holdout.
The Holdout is an outstanding standalone book that I have been looking forward to for a little while now. I really enjoyed the sound of the premise when I first heard about it, so I was really glad when I received a copy of this book. Moore is probably best known as a Hollywood screenwriter, having written the screenplay for The Imitation Game, which won him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. However, Moore is also a novelist, having previously written two books, The Sherlockian and The Last Days of Night, the latter of which I read and enjoyed back in 2016. The Holdout is Moore’s first foray into contemporary fiction, and he has produced quite a fantastic read.
It was the trial of the century. Jessica Silver, the 15-year-old heiress to a vast fortune, vanishes and the prime suspect is her African American teacher, Bobby Nock, with whom she was having an inappropriate relationship. With substantial evidence against him, a verdict of guilty for Jessica’s murder seemed assured, until one juror voted not guilty. This one holdout, Maya Seale, refused to alter her verdict and was eventually able to convince the other jurors to change their votes. Their resulting decision would shock the country and change the juror’s lives forever.
Now, 10 years later, Maya is a successful defence attorney who has tried her hardest to move on from the infamous trial that ruined her life, until Rick Leonard, her fellow former juror and secret lover during the trial, tracks her down. Rick has spent the last 10 years obsessing with case, believing that they let a guilty man go free. Now, to mark the 10th anniversary of the trial, a true-crime show wants to interview each of the jurors in the hotel they were sequestered at during the trial. At the end of the interview, they will be presented with new evidence that Rick has uncovered which he believes definitively proves Bobby Nock’s guilt. While initially reluctant to go, Maya ends up making an appearance, only to find Rick dead in her hotel room.
Now the prime suspect in Rick’s death, Maya is forced to relive the infamy that has dogged her for years. Determined to prove her innocence, Maya begins interviewing the only potential witnesses to the crime, the former members of the jury who were gathered at the hotel. However, her investigation reveals that Rick has been digging up dirt on each of the former jurors, and several of them may have had a motive to kill him. As she digs deep, Maya begins to believe that the solution to this current murder lies in the trial that brought them together. Did they let a guilty man go free all those years ago, and is that decision coming back to haunt them with lethal consequences?
Wow, just wow, this was a pretty incredible thriller novel. Moore has pulled together quite a compelling and complex read which presents the reader with a fantastic and intricate story that combines an excellent legal thriller with a captivating murder mystery to create a first-rate read.
The Holdout’s story is told in alternating chapters, with half of the chapters set back during the original trial in 2009, and the rest of the book is set 10 years later in the present day. The 2019 chapters are told exclusively from the point of view of Maya as she attempts to uncover who killed Rick Leonard, while each of the chapters set in the past are told from the perspective of a different juror as they observe the events surrounding the trial. This is a really clever storytelling technique as it presents the reader with two connected but distinct storylines. The storyline set during the original trial is a legal drama-thriller in the vein of 12 Angry Men or Runaway Jury, and it shows various points of the Bobby Knock murder trial and the jury deliberations that followed. Through the author’s use of multiple perspectives, the reader is able to see how the various members of the jury came to their ultimate verdict, what factors influenced their decisions and what they thought about the various people involved in the case and their fellow jurors. The storyline set in the present day, on the other hand, reads more like a murder mystery, and it deals with the protagonist’s hunt to find Rick’s killer in order to prove her innocence. Both of these separate storylines work extremely well together, especially as the Maya storyline explores the impacts of the events that occurred during the older timeline. I also think that Moore did an excellent job jumping between the various time periods and character perspectives, and this clever storytelling style helped to create a compelling read with a fun flow to it.
At the centre of this novel lies two fantastic and complex mystery storylines set around 10 years apart. The first one of these revolves around what happened to Jessica Silver in 2009, while the other involves the murder of Rick Leonard in 2019. Both of these separate cases are really intriguing, and they present the reader with some clever twists, compelling potential theories, alternative suspects and conflicting evidence, so much so that the eventual solutions to these mysteries are actually quite surprising. While both of these two mysteries work really well by themselves, the real beauty is in the way that they combine together throughout the book. The solution to the Rick Leonard murder is strongly rooted to the original 2009 trial with the jury, while the eventual revelation about Jessica Silver doesn’t come out until the events of the 2019 murder are concluded. I really enjoyed seeing both of these mysteries come together, and it was cool to see the motives for one case be revealed in a prior timeline, while the protagonist investigated in the present.
I also had a great appreciation for the legal aspects of The Holdout, as the author dives deep in the United States court system and shows off what happens during a murder trial. There are some tricky legal scenes throughout this book, and one of the major appeals of the 2009 storylines is seeing the entirety of the murder trial unfold. Moore also does a great job exploring how the jury system works and how jurors deliberate and decide upon a person’s innocence and guilt. There are some intriguing examinations of the jury system throughout the book, and it was interesting to see what information they are given and how a jury could come up with one verdict when the rest of the country has already decided. The use of multiple perspectives works well during the 2009 part of the book, and I quite enjoyed seeing how the disparate jurors had different opinions about the information presented to them. The 2019 storyline also contains some intriguing legal scenes which are shown from the perspective of Maya as a successful defence attorney. As a result, these scenes contain fascinating information about legal strategy and defence plans, and it was a little scary to consider innocent people being advised that their best legal strategy for a crime they didn’t commit was to claim self-defence. The Holdout also tried to show the chaos that surrounds a high profile court case, including examining the crazy media coverage, the impact of public perception, and the fact that people involved are often more concerned with making money or advancing their careers rather than finding out who actually committed the crime. All of this is extremely fascinating, and I enjoyed seeing Moore’s take on the current legal system, especially as he comes across as somewhat critical of it at times.
Moore has also filled this book with a number of complex and relatable characters in the form of the jurors, who you get to know throughout the course of both storylines. Thanks to the two separate timelines, you get to see how the events of the trial affected these people as each of them had their lives completely ruined thanks to one decision they made 10 years ago. Thanks to the use of multiple perspectives during the earlier timeline, you actually get to briefly see inside the mind of each of the jurors, and explore how events in their past lives, plus the stress of the trial helped influence their verdict. I also found it fascinating to see how the not-guilty verdict impacted on other characters associated with the trial, such as the family of Jessica Silver and the accused, Bobby Nock. This was especially true in the case of Bobby, who, despite being found innocent, was controversially prosecuted for another crime and was then subsequently hounded by the media for years, resulting in some compelling scenes around this character in the 2019 storyline. I also have to point out the underlying theme of obsession that the author expertly inserted into this story. Obsession with the trial affected several characters within the book, causing many of them to act in unpredictable ways to achieve their goals. This obsession came from a number of places, including from guilt, a sense of righteousness, a desire for revenge or to find justice, and it was quite compelling to see what this obsession drove some characters to do. One member of the jury in particular is driven to do some very dark things that were completely out of character to the person who was introduced in the earlier storyline, and this characters development was extremely fascinating to behold. Moore did an amazing job with these characters, and I really liked seeing how the events depicted in the book influenced and impacted them.
I ended up listening to the audiobook format of The Holdout, which was narrated by Abby Craden. The Holdout audiobook runs for just over 10 hours and I found myself flying through this novel, especially when I became obsessed with working out the overall solutions to this book. Craden is an excellent audiobook narrator, and I previously enjoyed her work on Recursion by Black Crouch last year. For The Holdout, Craden comes up with a number of distinctive voices for the various characters featured within the book. Each of these voices fit their respective characters extremely well, and I think that Craden did a good job portraying these character’s various ethnicities and genders. All of this really helped me to enjoy this incredible story, and this format comes highly recommended as a result.
The Holdout was an absolutely incredible read that does a fantastic job showcasing Graham Moore’s superb skill as a master storyteller. This amazing novel expertly combines together a compelling legal thriller with an addictive murder mystery in order to produce a first-rate story with some captivating twists and intriguing character developments. The Holdout gets a full five-star rating from me, and I am very excited to see what this remarkable author produces next.
The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman
Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 4 February 2020)
Series: Alex Delaware – Book 35
Length: 348 pages
My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Prepare for a compelling and intricate novel from one of the leading authors of the murder mystery genre as I check out The Museum of Desire, the newest novel from Jonathan Kellerman.
The Museum of Desire is the latest book in Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series of murder mystery books, which is the author’s main body of work. This series has been running since Kellerman’s 1985 debut, When the Bough Breaks, and the author has since released over 50 books, several of which he has co-written with either his wife or his daughter. I only started reading Kellerman’s novels last year when I picked up a copy of the previous book in the Alex Delaware series, The Wedding Guest, which contained a rather clever mystery that I had a great time reading. As a result, I made sure to keep an eye out for Kellerman’s next release and I subsequently found myself deeply intrigued when I saw the plot for his latest novel, The Museum of Desire, and really wanted to check it out. This latest Kellerman novel is the 35th novel in the Alex Delaware series and it contains another intriguing and complex murder mystery storyline that I had a lot of fun unravelling.
In the aftermath of a wild party in a Beverly Hills mansion, the cleaner assigned to the property makes a terrible discovery: a limousine containing four blood-soaked dead bodies. Each of the four has been murdered and artistically posed within the car, making for a grim and disturbed scene. To make matters even more unusual, the victims all appear to have been chosen at random, with none of the victims having any apparent connection to any of the others.
Realising that they are dealing with another special case, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis calls in his friend and frequent consultant, psychologist Dr Alex Delaware, to help unravel this mystery. Over the years that Alex and Milo have been working together, they have seen some particularly heinous and unusual murders, but these might be the most disturbing one yet. As the two begin running down the case, they find themselves on the trail of a vicious killer with a love for unusual art and a penchant for eliminating any potential witnesses to their crime. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that their killer is not yet done, and that many more people are going to die.
The Museum of Desire is another excellent release from Kellerman that delivers the reader an amazing and compelling murder mystery. The author has done a fantastic job with his latest mystery, coming up with a unique and interesting murder scenario, with four apparently random victims posed in a very distinctive manner. This turned into a quite a clever and complex mystery storyline that went in some very intriguing directions. Kellerman makes sure to fill the story up with a substantial number of twists, strong false leads and a raft of plausible suspects, making the real killer a bit hard to predict. I was certainly a bit surprised by who it turned out to be, but I thought it was quite a good twist. Kellerman makes sure to wrap this whole murder mystery storyline up with a memorable conclusion, which I thought was an incredible way to end this entire plot. The end result is a very captivating tale of passion, brutality and revenge, and I very much enjoyed unravelling this awesome mystery storyline.
One of the things that I really like about Kellerman’s books is the slower-paced, methodical style in which his protagonists investigate the various murders that they come across. Rather than coming to a massive conclusion off the smallest pieces of evidence, the two central characters slowly build up their case throughout the course of the book in order to work out what happened. This is mostly done by interviewing witnesses to the crime, as well as the friends and family of the murder victims, establishing what sort of people they were, where they spent their time and who they interacted with. With this information in hand, as well as some physical or forensic evidence and potentially some internet search results, they can create a rough picture of what happened and what sort of people they are dealing with in order to narrow down their suspects and come up with the necessary leads to identify the killers. This methodical approach to a murder investigation is quite distinctive and it makes the whole book feel a lot more realistic, like you are reading about a real investigation rather than one of those television shows where the crime is solved in a matter of hours. That being said, several breaks in the case are only coincidently revealed because the narrator happened to be driving by. This feeling of realism is backed up by the protagonists having to deal with things like delays in the lab, conflicting priorities within the department and a lack of manpower from overworked police officers who have multiple cases, all of which expands the investigative timeline out. I actually really like this style of crime writing from Kellerman, as it makes The Museum of Desire stand out from some of the other murder mysteries out there. I am a big fan of the realism that he installs in his work, and I feel that it makes the story even more compelling and enjoyable.
Another great part of the Alex Delaware books are the two main characters, Doctor Alex Delaware and LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis. While this is the Alex Delaware series, with Alex Delaware serving as the books narrator and point-of-view character, Milo is just as important to the series. Both Alex and Milo are great characters in their own right. Alex is the brilliant child psychologist whose insights into the human mind are useful for many of the cases seen in these books and who also serves as a bit of stand-in for the author, who himself is a noted psychologist. Milo, on the other hand, is an openly gay veteran homicide detective who is heavily respected by both his fellow officers and the wider community he has been serving for years. While on paper this seems like a bit of an unusual partnership, Alex and Milo have been working together since the first book in the series and have now formed a rather effective team and a close friendship. It is a lot of fun watching the two of them solve crimes, especially as play off each other really well during the course of the book, with Milo providing the police knowledge and experience, while Alex brings his outside view and professional expertise to the game. While both are serious when it comes to the crimes they are investigating, Milo has a bit of a comedic edge to him, which works well as Alex is a bit more of the team’s straight man. Their views of the various people they meet and circumstances surrounding the cases are usually amusing, especially when dealing with unusual situations. The Museum of Desire is a great example of this, as you get to see them deal with art snobs, disrespectful rich kids, fierce landladies, a socially different teenager and unhelpful witnesses, and they have some good discussions about them later. Overall, I am a massive fan of this team up (although I like Milo a bit more as a character) and I cannot wait to see what crazy crimes and people they go up against in Kellerman’s next book.
With his latest novel, The Museum of Desire, Jonathan Kellerman has produced another captivating murder mystery. Featuring a unique case, a fantastic and twisty mystery and Kellerman’s trademark brand of investigation, this latest novel is an amazing and enjoyable read that pits his great protagonists against a clever killer. This was another awesome addition to the terrific Alex Delaware series, and readers are going to have an amazing time getting to the bottom of his latest case.
The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
Publisher: Orbit (Trade Paperback – 6 February 2020)
Series: Fletch Phillips Archives – Book One
Length: 318 pages
My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
From debuting Australian author Luke Arnold comes The Last Smile in Sunder City, an absolutely superb piece of fantasy fiction that presents a unique and powerful story of loss, redemption and despair in fantastic new universe.
The Last Smile in Sunder City is the debut novel of Australian actor Luke Arnold. Arnold, who has appeared in a number of Australian television shows and movies, is probably best known internationally for playing Long John Silver in the pirate adventure series Black Sails. Arnold has now made the rather interesting career change to writing fantasy fiction with this first book, which is the start of a new series known as the Fetch Phillips Archives. I have actually been looking forward to The Last Smile in Sunder City for a little while now, as I liked the intriguing-sounding plot synopsis and I thought that this book had some real potential.
The continent of Archetellos has always had magic, with nearly every race or being having some access to the power that ran through the lands, extending their lives and giving them rare and amazing abilities. With these powers, the magical races ruled Archetellos, until the humans, the only race not gifted with magic, attempted to steal it for themselves. This resulted in the event known as the Coda, which saw all magic erased from the world. Overnight, the multitudes of beings who relied on magic for their very existence either died or were stricken down. The few survivors of these former magical races are now deformed, crippled and slowly dying in pain.
Fetch Phillips has been many things in his life (a guard, a peacekeeper, a soldier and a criminal) but now he is barely eking out a living as a man for hire in the former magical industrial hub known as Sunder City, which has been suffering ever since its magical fires went out. For a small fee Fetch will help you with whatever problem you have, although his sobriety will cost you extra. He only has only one condition: he won’t work for humans; his only clients are those former magical beings who need his help, because it’s Fetch’s fault that their magic is gone and never coming back.
Fetch’s latest case sees him hired by a school that specialises in teaching the children of former magical creatures. One of their professors, an ancient vampire who is slowly turning to dust, has gone missing, and the school is desperate to find him. Diving into the shady underbelly of the city, Fetch attempts to find some trace of the vampire or anyone who wanted to hurt him. But when one of the vampire’s students, a young siren, also disappears, Fetch needs to step up his game to find them. However, even without magic there are still monsters in Sunder City, and Fetch may not be able to survive his encounter with them.
This was a really impressive piece of fantasy fiction. With The Last Smile in Sunder City, Arnold has absolutely nailed his debut, presenting a clever and captivating fantasy mystery which makes full use of its inventive setting and excellent central protagonist to create an impressive and memorable book. This is a truly enjoyable story that contains a fascinating central mystery that blends extremely well with the book’s fantasy elements. I had a great time unravelling the full extent of this intriguing story, and Arnold takes the plot in some very interesting directions, producing some excellent twists and clever false leads. This is less of an action-based novel and more of an exploratory story which sets out the world and features a man of the city running through his contacts to investigate a curious disappearance. I think this worked out extremely well for this book, as it fitted into the book’s classic PI vibe while serving as a great introduction to the city which is no doubt going to be the main setting for any future books in this series. Arnold has also created a couple of fantastic subplots which not only help to explore the world but also help to expand on the compelling darker tone that has been injected into this book.
Without a doubt, the major highlight of this book is the deeply inventive and fascinating new world that Arnold has produced. When I first read The Last Smile in Sunder City’s plot synopsis about a world where magic no longer existed, I was intrigued and thought that it sounded like an interesting idea. However, I was not prepared for just how impressive and creative this turned out to be. In order to tell his story, the author first created a detailed fantasy world that was filled with a huge variety of classic magical creatures of all shapes and sizes, where magic was the ultimate power and in which humans, who have no access to magic, are second-class citizens. While this would have been an interesting place to set a fantasy mystery, the author immediately flips this setting on its head by showing how humans attempted to steal the magic from its source (via an animation intended for children that was cut across by the protagonist’s memories, which was a fantastic way to introduce this plot point), and how their intrusion resulted in the complete destruction of magic.
This of course leads to a very interesting world, as now all the creatures and beings who previously survived on magic have had their lives irreversibly altered. Arnold spends a good part of the book exploring the impact of this loss of magic, examining the impacts on the previously immortal elves who all suddenly died from old age, the werewolves and other shapeshifters who found themselves deformed and stuck at the halfway point between human and animal, the vampires who all lost their fangs and are slowly crumbling to dust, sirens whose human husbands all simultaneously left them, and so much more. There are also some cool examinations of the change in status quo, with humans now becoming the dominant species on the continent thanks to their superior numbers (humans were not affected by the Coda) and their ability to use technology as a substitute for the magic that used to run everything. Of course, humans being humans, there are a couple of examples of humanity taking revenge against the magical creatures that previously dominated the continent, which the author does a good job of working into the plot. All of this proves to be an extremely fascinating and enjoyable overarching backdrop to the story of The Last Smile in Sunder City, and I really have to congratulate Arnold on his amazing imagination. Every detail about this creative world was really cool, and I loved seeing how his vision of a fantasy realm bereft of magic come to life.
The main location of this book is the titular Sunder City. Sunder City is a former magical metropolis which has suffered in the post-Coda period. Once a place of marvels and magically-powered industry, the city is now a shell of its former self, with most magical beings now living in slums and struggling to get by without their abilities. There is a bit of a Depression-era vibe to Sunder City, especially as Arnold does an excellent job of imbuing much of the city with a sense of despair, resentment and hopelessness. This really turned out to be a fantastic city to serve as the book’s primary setting, and I really enjoyed the protagonist’s exploration of it as he attempts to find the missing people. There are some really intriguing elements to this city which are worked into the overarching mystery plot extremely well, such as a hostile police force, businesses catering to former magical creatures and gangs of humans trying to cause trouble. All of this is pretty amazing, and I look forward to seeing more adventures and mysteries take place in Sunder City, especially if the author spends time looking at new types of former magical creatures that weren’t featured in this first book.
In addition to the compelling story and outstanding settings, Arnolds rounds out this awesome book with an intriguing central protagonist, Fetch Phillips. Fetch, who also serves as the book’s narrator, is a drunk, depressed and broken man, who is essentially a classic noir PI in a fantasy world. While Fetch can at times be funny or entertaining, mostly due to his sarcastic and confrontational style, his defining characteristics are his overwhelming guilt and despair. This is due to the fact that he is largely responsible for the humans destroying magic, which resulted in so much death and suffering. The full story behind Fletch’s involvement in this atrocity is chronicled in the book through a series of flashbacks which show his origin, the friendships he formed and the events and emotions that led up to his darkest moment. Due to his role in the causing the Coda, and the fact that he betrayed the trust of several friends, Fletch is filled with all manner of self-loathing and must now deal with his complicated emotions towards other humans, who he detests, and the former magical creatures he is compelled to help, most of whom now hate him. Despite all this darkness, there is a little bit of light within Fletch as he struggles against his demons and his past to find redemption and live up to a promise he made. I thought that this portrayal of Fletch was a great part of the book, and I loved the complexity that Arnold has imparted on his protagonist. I also really enjoyed the way that the author showed off the character’s past, centring the flashbacks on the four tattoos he has on his arm, and exploring the meaning behind them. This mixture of the mystery in the present and the look at the events in the character’s past worked really well together, and they help show off an amazing central protagonist who is going to be a fantastic centrepiece for this series going forward.
The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold is a superb and highly addictive fantasy mystery that presents the reader with a fantastic and thrilling story. While the book is mostly a clever and enjoyable mystery, its true strengths are the unique and captivating settings and the complicated, well-written protagonist, both of which help to transform this amazing novel into a first-rate read. Thanks to this excellent debut, Arnold has proven that he is a talent to be reckoned with in the fantasy genre, and I am looking forward to seeing what he produces next. The Last Smile in Sunder City comes highly recommended, and I think many people are going to enjoy this exciting new Australian author.
Waiting on Wednesday – The Grove of the Caesars and The Return
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 article I take a look at two upcoming historical murder mysteries which I believe are going to be really incredible. Both of these historical mysteries have amazing-sounding plots set in the ancient Roman Empire, and they have been written by two of my current favourite historical fiction authors, Lindsey Davis and Harry Sidebottom.
The first of the books I will be looking at is The Grove of the Caesars by legendary Roman historical fiction author Lindsey Davis. The Grove of the Caesars is set for release in early April 2020 and will be the eighth book in Davis’s Flavia Albia series, which is itself a sequel to Davis’s long-running Marcus Didius Falco series. The Flavia Albia series follows its titular protagonist as she investigates a series of murders and other crimes in ancient Rome, and is distinctive thanks to its intriguing mysteries, fantastic depictions of the city and its often humorous tone. I have long been a fan of the Flavia Albia series, having been lucky enough to receive a copy of the first entry, The Ides of April, back when it was first released. I have since gone on and read the rest of the books in this series, and I currently have reviews for the last three books in the series, The Third Nero, Pandora’s Boy and A Capitol Death, on my blog. For this upcoming book in the series, Davis has come up with another amazing sounding plot premise, which is sure to result in an excellent and enjoyable read.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Too many people tell Flavia Albia, ‘Don’t go to the Grove’. Such warnings will only lure her to the place she is warned away from, Julius Caesar’s Gardens, where she finds more than one intriguing mystery.
Someone has buried tattered scrolls here, by unreadable ancient philosophers. Hardly has she taken an interest in what looks like book collecting fraud, when far worse happens. A present evil stirs in the undergrowth. A man holds a birthday party that goes terribly wrong, exposing a long series of neglected crimes.
Albia learns that a serial killer has haunted the gardens and grove for years targeting women. It isn’t her place to investigate; that’s the job of a dubious vigiles cohort, beefed up by the sinister imperial agent, Julius Karus who she thinks is vile. But sympathy for the dead women and their grieving relatives resonates with Albia. Even if she has to work with Karus, nothing will stop her until the serial killer in the sacred grove is at last caught and brought to justice.
I really like the sound of this great book and cannot wait to get my hands on it. Not only has Davis apparently come up with an intriguing story which sets its fun protagonist against a deadly serial killer, but it looks like she will weaving some interesting historical details about Ancient Rome throughout the book. Davis has featured a number of fascinating and unique aspects about parts of ancient Rome into her books before, and I look forward to learning more about Caesar’s gardens, as well as how ancient book collecting fraud would apparently look.
Based on my previous experiences with Davis’s work, the moment I heard that there was going to be another Flavia Albia novel coming out I knew that I was going to enjoy it. This series is extremely entertaining, and I always have a great time unravelling the clever mysteries that Davis comes up with, especially as they often result in large-scale farcical fights. This new story sounds particularly fascinating, and cannot wait to see how it unfolds.
The second book is The Return, the latest novel from the innovative author Harry Sidebottom, who has been doing some cool things with the Roman historical fiction genre in the last couple of years. Sidebottom is an excellent historical fiction author who has primarily written Roman historical fiction since his debut in 2008. While I am a big fan of his original Warrior of Rome series, his most recent work has been particularly interesting to me, as he has been mixing in distinctive thriller elements to his books. This started with his 2018 release, The Last Hour, which was essentially 24 in ancient Rome as his main protagonist races against the clock to stop the assassination of his Emperor. He followed this up last year with The Lost Ten, which utilised military thriller elements to create quite a compelling story about a group of Roman soldiers infiltrating an impregnable Persian fortress. Both of these books were amazing pieces of fiction and I really enjoyed reading them. His upcoming book, The Return, sounds like it is going to be an intense and compelling read, as Sidebottom is apparently attempting to work elements usually associated with Scandi-noir fiction into this historical fiction tale.
Goodreads Synopsis:
145BC – CALABRIA, ANCIENT ROME. Gaius Furius Paullus has returned home after years of spilling blood for Rome. One of the lucky few to survive a lifetime of brutal battle, he intends to spend his remaining days working quietly on the family farm.
But it seems death has stalked Paullus from the battlefield. Just days after his arrival, bodies start appearing – murdered and mutilated. And as the deaths stack up, and panic spreads, the war hero becomes the prime suspect. After all, Paullus has killed countless enemies on the battlefield – could he have brought his habit home with him?
With the psychological effects of combat clouding every thought, Paullus must use all his soldier’s instincts to hunt the real killer. Because if they are not brought to justice soon, he may become the next victim.
The Return is set to be another amazing and intriguing read from Sidebottom, and I am looking forward to seeing how he combines historical fiction with a dark murder mystery. The whole idea of a troubled and traumatised Roman solider returning home and being forced to try and investigate a crime is pretty darn cool, especially as the after-effects of war start to have an impact on his psyche. I have to say that I am very curious about this one, and I am expecting The Return to be one of the most unique novels of 2020. The Return is due to be released in early June 2020, and I will have to make sure I get it as soon as I can.
Both of these amazing sounding upcoming books should prove to be real highlights of my early 2020 reading year. The Grove of the Caesars and The Return have some extremely awesome plot concepts behind them, and I am really excited to read the latest books from two of top historical fiction authors in the world today.
Waiting on Wednesday – The Holdout by Graham Moore
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’m going to take a look at a deeply thrilling and intriguing-sounding upcoming murder mystery, The Holdout by Graham Moore.
Graham Moore is an interesting author who has experience both as a screen writer and a novelist, having written the screenplay for The Imitation Game, as well as two previous novels, The Sherlockian and The Last Days of Night. I really enjoyed The Imitation Game a few years back, and I also read The Last Days of Night when it was first released, and was very impressed with the fantastic story it contained about the battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse (which has no connection to the recent Benedict Cumberbatch film The Current War). As a result of this prior work, I was very interested when I heard that Moore was releasing a new piece of crime fiction, and I was especially keen to check it out once I read its cool plot synopsis.
Goodreads Synopsis:
It’s the most sensational case of the decade. Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar real estate fortune, vanishes on her way home from school. Her teacher Bobby Nock is the prime suspect after illicit text messages are discovered between them–and Jessica’s blood is found in his car. The subsequent trial taps straight into America’s most pressing preoccupations: race, class, sex, law enforcement, and the lurid sins of the rich and famous. It’s an open and shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed. Until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, convinced of Nock’s innocence, persuades the rest of the jurors to return the verdict of not guilty, a controversial decision that will change all of their lives forever.
Flash forward ten years. A true-crime docuseries reassembles the jurors, with particular focus on Maya, now a defense attorney herself. When one of the jurors is found dead in Maya’s hotel room, all evidence points to her as the killer. Now, she must prove her own innocence–by getting to the bottom of a case that is far from closed.
As the present-day murder investigation weaves together with the story of what really happened during their deliberation, told by each of the jurors in turn, the secrets they have all been keeping threaten to come out–with drastic consequences for all involved.
The above plot synopsis sounds quite captivating, and I have a good feeling up this upcoming book. I really like the idea of a story that blends together a controversial jury debate from the past with a murder in the present. The true crime documentary series aspect of the story could also prove to be interesting, although it has become a bit of an overused device in recent crime fiction novels. Still, if handled right, it could help turn this novel into an enjoyable and exciting read. In addition, I am anticipating a lot of twists and turns throughout this novel, and I very curious to see how the mystery unfolds. The Holdout is set for release in early 2020, and it looks like it will be released in Australia in late February, so I will be probably checking it out then. This is an amazing-sounding piece of crime fiction that has some intriguing potential, and I really look forward to unravelling the entire story in a couple of short months.
The Night Fire by Michael Connelly
Publisher: Hachette Audio (Audiobook – 22 October 2019)
Series: Ballard and Bosch – Book 2
Length: 10 hours and 4 minutes
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
One of the masters of modern crime fiction, Michael Connelly, returns with another book in his bestselling interconnected crime universe. In The Night Fire, Connelly once again brings together the outstanding team of Ballard and Bosch for another exceptional murder mystery.
Back when he was a rookie detective, Harry Bosch was mentored by one of the LAPD’s best homicide detectives, John Jack Thompson, who helped stoke his internal fires of justice to ensure that no case ever goes unsolved. Now, years later, Thompson is dead, and at his funeral, the now retired Bosch is given a gift from his widow: a murder book for an unsolved crime. The case revolved around the murder of a young man in a gang-controlled alley nearly 30 years before, and it appeared that Thompson secretly took the book when he retired from the force. What was Thompson’s connection to the case, why was this one murder so important to him and why did he keep the murder book a secret for so long?
Determined to get answers, but already committed to helping his lawyer half-brother Mickey Haller defend his client in a tricky murder case, Bosch takes the book to Detective Renée Ballard for help. Ballard, Hollywood Division’s resident detective on the night shift (known as the Late Show), and Bosch have recently formed an unofficial partnership in order to work on some of Bosch’s old, unsolved cases. Identifying several inconsistencies in the cold case, Ballard decides to start digging deeper, while also investigating a suspicious death by fire that occurred on her beat.
Together Bosch and Ballard are an effective investigative team, and it does not take them long to identify a potential killer. However, the more they dig, the more they begin to realise that Thompson might not have taken the murder book to solve the murder, but to ensure that nobody ever tried to investigate it. Can these two detectives get to the truth, and what happens when their various investigations put them in the line of fire of some very dangerous people?
The Night Fire is the latest book in Connelly’s shared crime universe, which features the various adventures and investigations of several of his iconic protagonists. This new novel is a fantastic piece of crime fiction that once again combines together two of Michael Connelly’s most intriguing characters, Bosch and Ballard, after their outstanding first team-up in 2018’s Dark Sacred Night. This is the 22nd book featuring Bosch, Connelly’s original and most utilised protagonist, while Ballard has so far appeared in two prior novels. This book also briefly sees the return of Mickey Haller, another one of Connelly’s protagonists, who has appeared in several legal thrillers within the universe such as The Lincoln Lawyer (which was adapted into a film of the same name).
Just like in Dark Sacred Night, the plot of the book is shown from both Bosch’s and Ballard’s perspectives, as each of them gets a number of separate point-of-view chapters (about half each) to tell their respective stories. While there is a lot of crossover between the two characters, especially when they are working together on their joint cold case, both of them do their own independent investigations and have several chapters where they deal with their various personal issues without the other character being present. However, they also both appear in a number of chapters together, allowing the reader to not only get an interior view of the character but to see each of them through the other’s eyes.
One of the main things that I love about the Michael Connelly books I have read are the multiple cases that the protagonists investigate simultaneously, many of which may or may not be connected in some way. In The Night Fire for example, the story features one cold case that brings Ballard and Bosch together at the start of the book and which they work together on, while both characters have separate cases to work on. Bosch becomes involved in the legal defence of one of Mickey Haller’s clients who is on trial for murder, and this then evolves into the hunt for the murderer of a judge. Ballard on the other hand does most of the investigative work on the cold case, mainly because she is the one with access to the LAPD’s resources. At the same time, she is also investigating several other crimes that come across her desk during her night shifts at Hollywood Division. These include a homeless man who was burnt alive in their tent, the apparent suicide of a young girl and the discovery of a truckload of illegal immigrants. While some of these cases do not go anywhere or are investigated by a different part of the LAPD, Ballard does find herself fully investigating several different cases and getting some rather interesting results. I really enjoyed this cool combination of varied cases and examples of police work, especially as it combines together a decades-old murder with several recent crimes. There are some really complex and compelling mysteries involved with these cases, and I found myself getting drawn into each of them, as they all featured some clever police work and an intriguing bunch of potential suspects. The cold case in particular was great, as the reader not only needed to figure out who the killer was but also why Bosch’s mentor was so concerned with the murder. While it was a little disappointing not to get some follow-through on a couple of Ballard’s cases, I thought that all of these mysteries come together into an excellent overall narrative that does an outstanding job keeping the reader’s attention. I also loved how two of the cases eventually come together in an unexpected way, resulting in an explosive conclusion, while the results of another murder investigation had a very emotional impact on one of the protagonists.
In addition to the great mysteries and fictional examples of police work, one of The Night Fire’s biggest strengths is its two protagonists, Ballard and Bosch. Both of these protagonists are excellent characters with strong backstories, and I really enjoyed how the two of them played off each other. In this novel, both Ballard and Bosch are outsiders to the LAPD. Ballard has been banished to the night shift for reporting a sexual assault by a superior officer, and now has serious trust issues when it comes to many of her male counterparts. Bosch on the other hand, after a long career with the police, is now retired, and thanks to some of his actions that forced him out the LAPD, many of the police no longer see him as one of them, a point reinforced when Bosch helps Mickey Haller free a murder suspect. This outsider viewpoint makes the team-up between both of them a lot more interesting, as both characters are still learning to trust the other, even after the success of their first case. I really liked how the relationship between the two of them grew throughout this book, and their different viewpoints and experiences turn them into an effective duo. Both characters go through some big moments in this book, including some medical issues with Bosch, Ballard standing up to her attacker and the various emotional impacts of the case, and it was great to see how they helped each other out. This is definitely a team-up I want to see again in the future, and I really hope that Connelly continues more of these adventures with Ballard and Bosch.
Just as I did with Michael Connelly’s previous book, Dark Sacred Night, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of The Night Fire. This audiobook runs for just over 10 hours, and features the vocal talents of Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin. I quite enjoyed the audiobook version of The Night Fire, as not only did it allow me to power through this book is short order (I think it only took me three days to finish it off) but its use of two separate narrators was done really well. Throughout the course of the book, Welliver is the voice of Bosch (which is a good fit as Welliver actually plays this character in the Bosch television show), while Lakin is the voice of Ballard, and they each narrate the chapters for their respective characters, including most of the dialogue. Welliver and Lakin are exceptional vocal talents, who did an outstanding job of bringing Bosch and Ballard to life. Both of these narrators really get to grips with the characters and are able to capture a lot of their various nuances in their performances.
Another great thing about this audiobook was the amazing way they utilised the two separate narrators. I really liked how the book was split between them, and it ensured that both sets of chapters had a great distinctive feel throughout the book, and the reader was never left in doubt who was narrating the chapter. The only exception to this is any dialogue the other point-of-view character has in that chapter, as that character’s narrator will then speak instead. This means for example, while Welliver is the primary narrator during Bosch’s chapters, whenever Ballard speaks during these chapters you get Lakin’s voice. While it was a tad disconcerting at times to suddenly hear the other narrator’s voice in the middle of a lot of dialogue in the primary vocal talent’s chapter, it did save the reader from getting confused by having to listen to two different versions of the protagonist’s voices. Overall, I would strongly recommend the audiobook version of The Night Fire to anyone interested in checking out this book, and I know that I will be utilising this format again in the future for Connelly’s next book.
In his latest crime fiction masterpiece, Michael Connelly once again knocks it out of the park with this fantastic new addition to his connected crime universe. The Night Fire is an exceptional murder mystery that makes excellent use of its two main protagonists to tell a rich and exciting narrative, filled with a number of intriguing investigations and cases. This is probably my favourite Michael Connelly book that I have read so far, and it gets a full five stars from me. A fantastic new entry from the king of crime fiction, this is a must read for all fans of the genre.
Waiting on Wednesday – False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
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 check out a book that is sure to be on most fantasy fans’ November wish lists, False Value by the incredible Ben Aaronovitch.
False Value, which is set to be released in a few short weeks, is the eighth novel in Aaronovitch’s highly acclaimed Rivers of London series. This series follows its protagonist, police officer and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, as he attempts to navigate the various dangers of London’s magical underground, which is dominated by the powerful personifications of the various rivers running through the city, but which also features rogue wizards, hostile ghosts and talking foxes.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s brand new London start up—the Serious Cybernetics Company.
Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous ‘silicon roundabout’, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant’s favourite son.
Because Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden in the bowels of the SCC. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological—and just as dangerous.
I am really looking forward to checking out False Value, as the Rivers of London series is probably one of the best examples of modern urban fantasy around at the moment. Aaronovitch’s previous books have done an outstanding job of combining creative fantasy elements with police procedural investigations into intriguing mysteries to create first-rate reads. For example, the seventh book in the series, Lies Sleeping, was an absolutely incredible book that had me hooked from page one. This latest book has another fascinating-sounding story, and I look forward to seeing how the author combines magic with ancient and futuristic technology. Based on all of this, I am extremely confident that False Value will blow me away, and I am planning to grab my copy as soon as possible. I also have to say how much I like the new fluoro green cover; it is a very interesting look that ties in well with the series focus on ghosts and spirits.
Waiting on Wednesday – The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman
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 am going to take a look at the latest addition to a long-running modern murder mystery series that has a really cool plot synopsis with The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman.
The Museum of Desire will be the 35th book in Kellerman’s bestselling Alex Delaware series and is set to be released in February next year. The Alex Delaware novels follow psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware as he helps his friend, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, solve a number of complex and unusual murders in the Los Angeles areas. I am only fairly new to this series, having only read the 34th book, The Wedding Guest, earlier this year. However, I was very impressed by the way that Kellerman was able to produce a methodical and realistic police investigation centred on an intriguing murder. As a result, I decided to keep an eye out for the next book in this series and I was very happy that I did once I read the following plot synopsis.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis struggle to make sense of a seemingly inexplicable massacre in this electrifying psychological thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.
LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis has solved a lot of murder cases. On many of them–the ones he calls “different”–he taps the brain of brilliant psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware. But neither Alex nor Milo are prepared for what they find on an early morning call to a deserted mansion in Bel Air. This one’s beyond different. This is predation, premeditation, and cruelty on a whole new level.
Four people have been slaughtered and left displayed bizarrely and horrifically in a stretch limousine. Confounding the investigation, none of the victims seems to have any connection to any other, and a variety of methods have been used to dispatch them. As Alex and Milo make their way through blind alleys and mazes baited with misdirection, they encounter a crime so vicious that it stretches the definitions of evil.
The Museum of Desire is classic Kellerman at his psychopathological best.
Now, that is an intriguing-sounding mystery. I really like the hook of an exceedingly complex case, especially one that features the deaths of four unrelated people in a cruel and creative manner. As a result, I cannot wait to read this book and see how Kellerman sets this mystery out, and I have a feeling that The Museum of Desire is going to be a first-rate read.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Publisher: Tor (Hardcover – 10 September 2019)
Series: The Ninth House – Book One
Length: 448 pages
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
From debuting author Tamsyn Muir comes a very unique and compelling science fiction novel filled with death, comedy and necromancers in space, Gideon the Ninth.
Before I begin reviewing Gideon the Ninth, I have to point out how impressive the design of the hardcover copy I received was. When I previously featured this book in one of my Waiting on Wednesday articles, I mentioned how much I loved the cover art. Indeed, the drawing of the book’s titular redheaded character with her face painted liked a skull surrounded by exploding skeletons is pretty damn cool. The hardcover copy also has some excellent visuals, as the outer rim of all the pages is coloured black, which definitely gives prospective readers a noticeable visual hook, especially when combined with the all-black binding underneath the jacket, emblazoned with gold writing on the spine and a single golden skull on the front. I really liked this fantastic presentation style, and it definitely left an impression on me as I started to read the book.
In the far future, a vast interstellar empire is ruled by necromancers whose control over the various magical disciplines of death make them a powerful force. Eight noble houses serve under the First House of the Emperor, and each of them has just received a message from their ruler. The heirs to each of these houses and their cavaliers, loyal sword-wielding protectors and companions, must attend the Emperor’s planet in order to compete to become the next generation of Lyctor, immortal beings of vast power.
Gideon Nav is an indentured servant to the Ninth House of the Empire, a small and impoverished house that carries a dark reputation. A skilled swordswoman, Gideon wants nothing more than to enlist in the imperial army to leave the dark crypts, the strict occult nuns and the multitude of skeletons that make up the Ninth Planet far behind. However, when her latest escape attempt fails, she finds herself offered an irresistible bargain: act as the Ninth House’s cavalier for the period of the trials and be granted her freedom. There is just one minor problem: Gideon and the heir to the Ninth House, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, an extremely powerful bone witch, absolutely hate each other.
Forced to temporarily put their differences aside, Gideon and Harrow travel to First House, only to discover it is a near ruin, looked after by a few old and mostly unhelpful servants. They soon learn that the secrets to becoming a Lyctor lie hidden within the walls around them, and the representatives of various houses can do whatever they wish to learn them. Trapped on the planet, Gideon and Harrow begin to explore the First House and encounter the heirs and cavaliers of the other houses. As the mismatched pair from the Ninth House start to unravel the various mysteries and challenges before them, a gruesome murder occurs. Something powerful is lurking within the First House, and it has the heirs in its sight. Can Gideon and Harrow work together, or will their own turbulent past and the secrets of their house tear them apart?
Gideon the Ninth is a chaotically clever and massively entertaining first novel from Tamsyn Muir, who has done an excellent job introducing readers to her intriguing new world. Gideon the Ninth is the first book in her The Ninth House series, which already has two planned sequels in the works, with the first of these currently set for release next year. After hearing the awesome plot synopsis for this book earlier in the year, I had picked this as potentially being on the best books for the latter half of 2019. I am glad to see that my instincts were once again correct, as this was an awesome read that gets four and a half stars from me.
Muir has produced an outstanding story for her first novel, as the plot for Gideon the Ninth is an amazing combination of humour, universe building, emotional character moments and a captivating set of mysteries as the protagonists attempt to uncover not only the vast secrets of the First House but the identity of the person or being that is killing them off one by one. The author has stacked this book with all manner of fantastic twists, and there are a number of major and game changing developments that are well paced out amongst the story. There is never a dull spot within the book, as even parts where no substantial plot developments are occurring are filled with excellent humour from the sarcastic narrator with a huge vocabulary of various swear words. There is also a substantial amount of action throughout the course of the book. The various fight scenes blister and explode off the page, especially thanks to the unique magical system that Muir has populated this world with. All of this results in an addictive and electrifying overall story with a very memorable ending.
The real heart of Gideon the Ninth lies in its incredible main characters, Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus, and the complex relationship the two of them have. Gideon is the badass, rebellious, coarse, girl-loving mistress of the blade, who serves as the book’s narrator and only point-of-view character. Gideon is an absolute blast as a main character, as she deals with every situation she comes across with an abundance of disrespect, anger and exaggerated responses, resulting in much of the book’s humour. Harrow, on the other hand, is the dark noble necromancer heir to the Ninth House, whose reserved persona, obsession with necromantic research and abilities, and vindictive nature work to make her initially appear as a polar opposite to Gideon. The relationship between these two main characters is initially extremely adversarial, as both characters declare their absolute hatred for each other, and Harrow seems determined to make Gideon’s life a living hell. As the book progresses, however, Muir really dives into the heart of the relationship between the two characters, revealing a complex history and a twin tale of woe and dark secrets that has defined them for their entire lives. The combined character arc of these two main characters was done extremely well. While you knew from the very start of the book that the two characters would eventually work together, the exact reason why this occurred was handled perfectly, and the final form of this cooperation helps create an epic and tragic conclusion to the entire book. While their relationship is not explicitly romantic (Harrow’s sexuality really is not explored in this book), they do become quite close by the end of the novel, and both characters are written exceedingly well.
In addition to Gideon and Harrow, Muir has also included a range of different characters, representing the heirs and cavaliers of the other major houses in the Empire. This results in an intriguing assortment of side characters who add a lot to the overall story. The author has made sure to invest in substantial backstories for all these additional characters, and this has a number of significant benefits for the story. Not only are the readers now blessed with an abundance of viable and duplicitous suspects for the story’s murder mystery, but each of the various representatives of the houses have their own individual secrets and motives for being at the First House. Learning more about each of these characters is quite fascinating, and a number of them have some pretty amazing character arcs. I particularly enjoyed the storyline of Palamedes Sextus of the Sixth House, who treats his necromancy more as a science than a form of magic. Sextus is the most logical character out of all the people in the book, and he serves as a major driving force of the investigation into the murders. His connection to some of the other characters in the book is a major part of the book, and the ultimate conclusion of his story arc is really cool. Muir has done an incredible job coming up with the book’s various characters, and it is a major part of why this book is so awesome.
It is quite clear that Muir has an amazing imagination, as she has produced a grim and compelling new universe to set this book in. Necromancy and a futuristic science fiction setting make for a fascinating combination, and I really loved her examination of an empire built on worshipping an immortal, necromantic Emperor and the various secrets that come with it. The sheer range of different necromantic magic featured within this book is pretty impressive, especially as each of the Imperial Houses has their own specific form of necromancy, all of which are examined throughout the book. Not only are all these different types of magic really fascinating to examine but it also results in some diverse pieces of magical action, as many of the necromancers unleash their various forms of magic throughout the book, resulting in some fantastic sequences. I do think that the author could have done a slightly better job of explaining some of the unique elements of her universe at the start of the book, as I got a little confused at some points towards the beginning; however, this was quickly chased away by deeper dives into the universe’s lore later in the book. Muir has left open a number of questions and plot directions to explore in future books in the series, and I am really curious to see what happens next.
Gideon the Ninth is a wild and exciting novel that makes use of an intriguing concept, some compelling characters and an excellent story to create an exceedingly entertaining book that was a heck of a lot of fun to read. Featuring laugh-out-loud humour, intense action and major emotional moments, this is an incredible read that is really worth checking out. Muir has hit it out of the park with her debut novel, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
The Unseen Library 