Never tell by Alafair Burke

Never tell is the fourth book in the Detective Ellie Hatcher series - however you can read this book without having read the rest of the series but it does contain spoilers for the previous books in the series so you may want to read Dead connection, City of fear (a.k.a. Angel's tip), and 212 first..

When Ellie and her partner J.J. Rogan arrive at the scene of an apparent suicide neither of them picks up any hints or clues that it is anything other than a suicide, with the homicide team called in because of the parents influence rather than their merit.  After a brief time at the crime scene they both leave - only to go back several hours later because the parents have been calling anyone over their heads who will listen, calling in favours and using connections to get them back to the scene.  When they return they discover something that seems out of place, something that Ellie completely missed the first time around.  It looks like a homicide, and sounds like a suicide - not the best combination for any homicide detective.

As Ellie and Rogan dig further into the life of teenage "victim" Julia Whitemire they discover that everyone in her life seems to be keeping secrets.  Her parents don't have a perfect marriage, Julia and her brother were abandoned too young to fend for themselves because of their mothers insecurities.  One of her friends is not what he appears to be, a young person trapped in the body of the wrong gender - a tough challenge for anyone to face, especially when they are living on the streets.  Added into the mix is the anonymous blog Second acts: Confessions of a former victim and current survivor.  It appears that there is a connection between Julia and the woman who has been posting her private pain in the open forum of the world wide web.  

Ellie and Rogan have their work cut out for them - not only because the elite are used to getting what they want, but also because the elite are used to keeping their secrets.  In only a few days Ellie and Rogan have the rug pulled out from under them time and time again as they try and get to the bottom of the mystery and discover if it was the suicide of a young girl who was left too much to her own devices, or if it was an act of murder committed by someone with their own secrets to hide.  

Never tell is the fourth book in the series about Detective Ellie Hatcher and seems to be an improvement on the previous book 212, which seemed to get a little lost and overly complicated.  Never tell is complicated in its own way, but seems much better at keeping up the momentum and the pace. One of the aspects of this series that I appreciate is that the case is approached more holistically - it is not just the police working the case, the district attorneys office is also involved.  My favourite book in this series is definitely still City of fear, partly because while Never tell does a brilliant job of keeping you guessing, it seems to do so at the expense of the some of the readability - it has something of the "trying to be too clever for its own good" syndrome.  

These are excellent books and seem to be based well on fact, but it does feel a little forced here - but that could just be my very critical eyes (having read so many books over the years).  My mother found this very readable, and as we have similar but diverging tastes that is a good sign that I am perhaps being a little too judgmental - I did finish it after all, and I did enjoy it overall.  One of the nice "evolutions" of the series is that Ellie is not the perfect golden girl in this book, she makes mistakes and continues to make them - doing more than just lose her temper and make inappropriate comments.  Her relationships are growing and evolving - with her lieutenant, her partner, her brother, and her boyfriend.

 If you like this book then try:

• City of fear by Alafair Burke
• Now you see her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
• Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
• The surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
• One step too far by Tina Seskis
• The postcard killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
• Normal by Graeme Cameron
• The survivors club by Lisa Gardner
• Private Oz by James Patterson and Michael White
• Look behind you by Sibel Hodge
• Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
• Kill switch by Neal Baer & Jonathan Greene
• The edge of normal by Carla Norton

Reviewed by Brilla

Moon called by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is not your average mechanic - and not just because she is a woman working in a job traditionally associated with men.  Mercy is more than your average human, mostly because she is a walker, able to take the shape of a coyote at will.  In a world where people know about the Fae but the vampires and werewolves still slink about in the shadows, it doesn't pay to stand out in the crowd - especially when the werewolves who know of her existence barely tolerate her presence, and she is too weak to avoid paying for the protection of the vampires.

It is a somewhat uncertain way to live, but Mercy is managing her tight rope act okay - until she intervenes to rescue a newly turned werewolf and sets a chain of events in motion that brings her world crashing down around her ears.  In a matter of days Mercy will face multiple enemies, and some of them will hide in the shadows as long as they can.  Mercy is no stranger to werewolves and their politics, but even her knowledge of dominance and social rules wont be enough to stop her walking into a war that no one saw coming.  

Moon called is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series, and after reading all the books in publishing order to date, I decided to snoop around and see if I could find a list of the books in the recommended reading order rather than the published order as there are some books that seem to be published slightly out of order. Armed with my list I decided to start reading from the start to see if I liked the series as much the second (or in this case third) time around.  The answer is yes, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first book in the series again - even though I could remember a good deal about what happened I was able to suspend the memories and enjoy the book like I was reading it for the first time again.  

This is a thoroughly believable world and Mercy makes one incredible anti-hero - she isn't perfect, she has a temper, and she enjoys rubbing people up the wrong way just a little too much.  Re-reading the series makes me realise that Briggs has been very clever in the way that she introduces certain aspects of her world - because Mercy tries to puzzle things out against her own experience we learn some of the "facts" as she remembers or studies what she already knows.  I know that I love the rest of the series which makes it even better re-reading the series - because I know I am going to like the next book!  If you have not already read this series then I highly recommend you give it a go - you wont be disappointed.

The recommended reading order is:

• Moon called
• Cry wolf (Alpha and Omega)
• Hunting ground (Alpha and Omega)
• Blood bound
• Iron kissed
• Bone crossed
• Silver borne
• River marked
• Fair game (Alpha and Omega)
• Frost burned
• Dead heat (Alpha and Omega)
• Night broken

And to fill in the gaps there are some new (and old) short stories in:

• Shifting shadows: Stories from the world of Mercy Thompson

If you like this book then try:

• Tinker by Wen Spencer
• Night shifted by Cassie Alexander
• Kitty and the midnight hour by Carrie Vaughn
• Dark descendant by Jenna Black
• Burning water by Mercedes Lackey
• Blood price by Tanya Huff
• Urban shaman by C.E. Murphy
• Spiders bite by Jennifer Estep
• Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison
• Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway

Reviewed by Brilla

Normal by Graeme Cameron

Life is a rare gift, and we never know exactly how and why it will end.  Some fall to illness or accident, while others fall prey to killers who take down people for sport.  One of those killers is about to find himself in a very interesting predicament when a carefully planned murder is derailed by an unexpected arrival at the crime scene.  What should have been a carefully sanitised murder scene is now the scene of an invisible kidnapping - the victim carefully stowed away in a dungeon buried beneath the foundations of a garage.  The serial killer is no stranger to keeping his prey alive, but he had no plans for taking a new toy and is somewhat uncertain about what to do about the angry and defiant young woman whose life now rests in his hands.

As if that is not complication enough, he has just found a woman that truly sees him, a woman that might just be the motivation he needs to stop killing and become "normal".  It seems as thought everything is conspiring against him though, from Erica the fiery and demanding captive, to the hooker he picks up on a whim, and the life that he saves instead of ends.  His carefully compartmentalised world is slowly crumbling around the edges, he is getting sloppy and careless - and that brings the attention of the police.  A world of carefully composed order can descend into chaos in the blink of an eye, and sometimes it is the smallest of things, the tiniest details that can be your undoing.

Normal was a true surprise, a book that has delicious little twists and turns that leave you wondering where the story will take you next.  The main character is our eyes and ears, the voice we hear as the events unfold in their own time - a mixture of fear, terror, confusion, and even humour.  It becomes clear quite early on that our serial killer is well versed in his skills and that there are plenty of victims who have never been missed, let alone discovered.  He is sick and twisted, but in many ways his life is completely ordinary and normal, talked about in a completely straight forward way that makes his explanations and doings seem almost tame and boring.  

Graeme Cameron has crafted a truly guilty pleasure here, one where you know you shouldn't connect with the character and that you should be pleased every time something goes wrong, but I just couldn't do it.  A life completely ordinary and controlled spins completely out of control in a matter of months, and the moments that should feel like a victory instead feel like the rug has been pulled out from under your feet.  Normal was an exceptional debut novel for a new author with an amazing depth of character development, and a true sense of building a world and experiences that make everything feel very real.  It could also have been almost anywhere in the world - until the names of the police are mentioned in which case it becomes clear that it is set in the United Kingdom.  There is a darkness here that is creepy, engaging, and utterly believable.  Hopefully Cameron is going to introduce us to more crime and creeps because he does it very well indeed.

If you like this book then try:

• Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
• The surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
• One step too far by Tina Seskis
• The postcard killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
• The basement by Stephen Leather
• The silence of the lambs by Thomas Harris
• Level 26: Dark origins by Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swierczynski
• Now you see her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
• Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
• The postcard killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
• Private Oz by James Patterson and Michael White
• The survivors club by Lisa Gardner
• Darkly dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
• Kill switch by Neal Baer & Jonathan Greene
• The edge of normal by Carla Norton

Reviewed by Brilla

From a high tower by Mercedes Lackey

From a high tower is part of the Elemental masters series and while it can be read on it's own as a stand alone novel I would recommend reading Blood red first as it introduces one of the characters and helps explain the world of the Bruderscaft.

Giselle was still inside her mothers womb when she was bartered away to Mother for the price of enough vegetables to feed her mother, father, and eight siblings through the winter.  For her father it was a bargain, a chance to save his children and their mother - but it was also the act that her mother could never forgive.  Mother was not a monster though, she has lovingly raised Giselle, teaching her about the Elemental magic that flows through her and that she will one day Master.  It is a somewhat lonely existence in the remote abbey where they live, but Giselle is never truly along because the elemental creatures of the Air are her constant companions.  Apart from the fact that she is destined to become an Air Master, Giselle has the most extraordinary hair that grows and a tremendous rate - washing it and returning it to braids could take an entire day, and Mother cut it regularly to keep it in check.  Mother truly has Giselle's best interests at heart, going so far as to lock Giselle's tower to keep her safe when she has to be away from the abbey.

When Mother is away one day a handsome stranger appears at the base of her tower and strikes up a friendship with Giselle - a friendship that proves false when Giselle helps into her locked tower and he attacks her.  Thrown forcefully out of the tower he vanishes without a trace, and Mother decides that Giselle will learn to defend herself.  Years later Giselle is a fine shot with a rifle, which is just as well because when Mother dies Giselle is left with property but no money with which to provide for its upkeep.  Cutting her hair short and wearing the clothes of a young man Giselle becomes Gunther, a disguise that works a little too well when "Gunther" is conscripted.  Seeing no other option Giselle drops her disguise, only to be forced to defend herself with fatal consequences.  Forced to run for her life Giselle finds sanctuary and purpose in a most unexpected place - but has she truly left her past behind her?

From a high tower is the latest in the Elemental masters series and like the previous book, Blood red, it leaves the shores of England far behind and settles into the forests of Germany instead.  This was a very welcome change and allows Lackey to explore a whole new world with fresh challenges, new Elemental creatures, and a society that is no where near as "proper" as the shores of dear old England.  It was a real pleasure to find a traditional tale turned on its head, with the role of the selfish old witch of the original Rapunzel turned into the caring Mother who saved Giselle from a life of poverty that might have been very short indeed.  The reason for locking Giselle in her tower was also one of kindness, protecting Giselle and the rest of the world from her uncertain powers during her tumultuous teenage years - the time when her powers are most likely to break free.

Obviously the plot is somewhat predictable - Lackey is reworking a traditional story after all - but the adventure takes some unexpected twists and turns as it leads you on a merry chase through the German countryside.  The appearance of Rosa from Blood red was also a welcome surprise - Lackey is known for her strong female characters and it was nice for the damsel to rescue the knight instead of the other way around.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Giselle's world, and the appearance of From a high tower in the same part of the world as Blood red leads me to hope that this is not the last we have seen of Rosa and Giselle.  A rollicking good read that deserves to be read in a single sitting!

If you like this book then try:

• The Fire rose by Mercedes Lackey
• The serpent's shadow by Mercedes Lackey
• Reserved for the cat by Mercedes Lackey
• Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey
• Firebird by Mercedes Lackey
• Deerskin by Robin McKinley
• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• Rose daughter by Robin McKinley
• Spindle's end by Robin McKinley
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Reviewed by Brilla

212 by Alafair Burke

212 is the third book in the Detective Ellie Hatcher series - however you can read this book without having read the rest of the series but it does contain spoilers for the previous books in the series so you may want to read Dead connection and City of fear (a.k.a. Angel's tip) first..

Detective Ellie Hatcher is serious about her job and doesn't let anything stand in her way - even when that something is an entitled rich lister who is more concerned about his carpet than the dead man found in the bed in one of his apartments.  It should be a relatively straight forward case, but Ellie and her partner J.J. Rogan keep running into resistance from the rich lister himself and some other unlikely sources.  Feeling the heat from her new lieutenant only makes the situation worse - it feels like it is coming from all sides at once.  

Having an ally in the district attorney's office doesn't really help - not when Ellie is determined to get her man.  When months have gone by with no real leads Hatcher and Rogan are assigned to what at first seems to be a completely unrelated case, but as they delve into the case they discover some rather unexpected links between the cases.  Detective Ellie Hatcher is about to discover that the rich and powerful don't always play by the rules - and they have some interesting expectations from the police and courts of law.  It is a race against time for Ellie to solve the case before another life is lost to a seething mass of dark secrets and secret lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed City of fear (also published as Angel's tip) so I was eager to get my hands on the next book in the series - and while I did enjoy it I was also partly disappointed.  City of fear was fast paced and seemed to arrow towards the conclusion from start to finish - whereas 212 seems to meander and get a little lost while it tries to be a little bit clever and distract you from making certain discoveries too early.  I will admit that I can be somewhat of a harsh critic at times because I read so much and discard so many books because they fail to grab and engage me.  212 grabbed me, but at times I found myself distracted and put the book down, meaning it took several days for me to read.  This is usually the sign that I am not fully "into" the book, and while the conclusion was satisfying it took longer to get there than I would have expected. 

212 was not as good as City of fear and some of the other books I have read lately, but it was perfect for what it was - a somewhat twisted escape into the world of a NYPD detective battling against the "bad guys" in a world that is still male dominated and doesn't take her too seriously.  Hopefully the next book in the series has a bit more of the oomph that made City of fear so appealing.

If you like this book then try:

• City of fear by Alafair Burke
• Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
• The surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
• One step too far by Tina Seskis
• The silence of the lambs by Thomas Harris
• Level 26: Dark origins by Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swierczynski
• Now you see her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
• The basement by Stephen Leather
• The postcard killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
• Private Oz by James Patterson and Michael White
• The survivors club by Lisa Gardner
• Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
• Kill switch by Neal Baer & Jonathan Greene
• The edge of normal by Carla Norton

Reviewed by Brilla

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Davy has the next few years planned to perfection, as a musical prodigy she will finish out her school years at Everton and then go on to study at Julliard and her boyfriend Zac will study nearby.  It is a simple plan but with her acceptance to Julliard already assured Davy has no reason to think it is a future that won't happen - until she gets the news she never saw coming.  Scientists have discovered the Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS for short) and have found a clear correlation between carriers of HTS and murderers.  It seems a pretty clear cut case that anyone with HTS has the potential, and are likely to, become homicidal maniacs.  Dr. Wainwright is leading the charge against HTS, bringing in screening tests that have identified thousands of carriers, including school students like Davy.

Suddenly Davy's world is tilted off its axis, she is uninvited (read expelled) from Everton and now has to attend the nearest local public high school that accepts HTS students.  Her world of music lessons and a future vanish with her diagnosis, and she is now assumed to be a criminal even though she has never committed a crime.  In her new world Davy is treated as barely human, caged and isolated from normal society - facing the risk of imprinting if she steps out of line.  Sheltered and protected by her parents and their money, Davy has never really had to figure out how the real world works, but now she has to learn how to survive in a world that sees her as a killer just waiting to happen.  The only other HTS carriers she has met seem to be exactly what people think she is - violent and on a hair trigger.  Davy has a lot to learn about her new world, and as events change the world around her she has to learn who to trust and how to protect herself.

There have been countless debates about nature versus nurture - are people violent because of the way they were raised or it violence in their DNA?  Uninvited takes you on a whirlwind ride in a world that has found a genetic cause for violence, a large proportion of violent offenders have HTS so therefore everyone with HTS must be violent - right?  Through the eyes of Davy we get to see a world that is slowly descending into chaos, a world where people with HTS are treated as less than human and where they have to be marked for everyone else's safety.  For sheltered and protected Davy this is a real shock, and ironically she is not violent or dangerous until she is confronted with harsh truths and treated like an animal that will attack with the least protection.

This is a bold choice of topic for Sophie Jordan, and there are echoes here of other times when people have been segregated or dealt with in a certain way because of their race, or for some other reason. Seeing the world through Davy's eyes makes the world more terrifying and unreal - how can she believe what the real world is like when she has only experienced life through the filter of her private school and her safe community.  I don't know if it was because of my life experiences and the topics I studied at school and university, but I saw a lot of what was coming before it happened, but rather than spoiling the story it actually made it more horrifying and intense.  It is no surprise that the American government of the future tries to turn HTS to their advantage, and it is also not surprising that the world Davy finds herself in is brutal and unforgiving - in a world where people are afraid that can quickly turn to hatred and attack, especially when the targets are so clearly labelled as dangerous by the State.  Again, I don't know if it was intended, but Davy's story made me wonder what would happen in a world where people with violent tendencies can be identified - would I push for them to be separated from society so the rest of the world can be safe?

I am now waiting to get my hands on the sequel Unleashed so I can see what happens next for Davy and the rest of her HTS brethren - it could go either way but I am sure the ride will be an adrenaline rush with Sophie Jordan behind the pen.

If you like this book then try:

• Unleashed by Sophie Jordan
• Pawn by Aimee Carter
• The testing by Joelle Charbonneau
• Breathe by Sarah Crossan
• The hunt by Andrew Fukuda
• When we wake by Karen Healey
• XVI by Julia Karr
• The limit by Kristin Landon
• Proxy by Alex London
• Legend by Marie Lu
• In the after by Demitria Lunetta
• The declaration by Gemma Malley
• ACID by Emma Pass
• Article 5 by Kristin Simmons
• Inside out by Maria V. Snyder
• Slated by Teri Terry
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• What's left of me by Kat Zhang

Reviewed by Brilla