Sunday, October 23, 2016

Warchild - Karin Lowachee

Rarely do I award 5 stars to anything, but War Child deserves them. A sci fi book that delves into the horrors of child abuse and looks at how it colors their lives from thereon out. There are triggers for child abuse here, certainly, but it is handled carefully and in a non-exploitative manner. Kudos to Karin Lowachee for a masteful job. Along with the obvious, the tale is a space opera with a lot of action, a complex plot, and incredibly thoughtful character development. No paper cutout characters in this tale
Going to try to revive the blog. Books and travels. We'll see if I remember to post!

Monday, April 20, 2015

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.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

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.