30. The Flinck Connection–Estelle Ryan

Genre: Art Heist Thriller

Rating:  Did I say I loved art thieves?

Fourth entry in the Dr Genevieve Lenard series.  Jenny is a high functioning autistic woman who has somehow acquired quite the band of former thieves.  Due to past incidents they work toward recovering stolen art, but pose as crooks and cons.

This time out, they are invited to a house to see a Flinck painting, and when Colin, the art thief, checks the place out, he finds a body.

I really enjoy this series. Interesting characters, lots of fascinating interplay among them, and the art heists are cool.

29. Labyrinth–Kate Mosse

Genre:  Thriller/ Historical

Rating:  Right up my street

A volunteer on an archeological dig uncovers a cave that holds two bodies.  She discovers a ring, and sees a labyrinth carved into the wall of the cave.

This begins a deadly earnest race between two organizations who want to control the ring and use it to discover the secrets of the Grail.

I can see why some folks might not like this sort of book, but I adored it. Puzzles, ancient secrets, theories and commonly accepted beliefs turned upside down. 

It is a complete book, and although it is part of a trilogy, could certainly be read on its own. I’ll undoubtedly read the rest of the Languedoc series.

28. The Alehouse Murders–Maureen Ash

Genre: Historical Mystery

Rating: Pretty Good for the Start of a Series

Bascot de Marins is a Knight Templar, returned from the Crusades, having been held captive and then served as a slave until he’d escaped. His faith has flagged and he’s taken leave of the Templars. He’s unsure what his future path is.

The Templars arrange for him to recover his health at the Castle of Lincoln. While there, three people are found murdered at the local Alehouse. The chatelaine of the castle asks de Marin to look into the deaths and discover what he can of them.

Quite interesting setting and seems quite well researched. But there are a few places where I felt modern ideas intruded into the atmosphere that bothered me a bit.

The mystery was pretty complex and I was unsure of the identity of the murderer until quite near the end, which is a surprise for me.

27. Pandora’s Star–Peter F. Hamilton

Genre: Space Opera

Rating: Whoa!

Humans are scattered throughout the Galaxy. Their civilization is surprisingly peaceful, prosperous, and integrated with multiple aliens.

But then a dyson sphere is placed around two worlds and they feel they need to discover if it  spheres are for protection from an invading alien race, or instead is it there to stop whoever is on those worlds from escaping.

Then things really begin to go wrong.

Great space opera, encompassing multiple societies and lots of surprising alien viewpoints.

My only complaint is the book ends with cliff hangers. But at least there is only one more book in the series.

26. Charming–Elliot James

Genre: urban/country fantasy

Rating: I’m liking it!

First in the Pax Arcana series.

A blonde walks into a bar.  And the bartender avoids her. He knows she’s not human. He’s not quite human. But when the vampire walks in they end up having to work together whether he likes it or not. And just how did she know his name was John?

So much for hiding out in a small NC town.

Fun and quite well developed world a bit reminiscent of the Dresden Files, in that John is a reluctant hero, but not a mage. Told in the first person, we learn not only about John’s problems but he gives an ongoing commentary about fighting vampires.

25. City of Bones–Martha Wells

Genre:  SFF, Post-Apocalyptic

Rating: Very Good

Quite an interesting take on post-apocalyptic fiction. With well drawn and complex characters, and an interesting world. the magic is intriguing also.  Too bad it’s a stand alone. I’d like to read more of this world.