Cry wolf by Patricia Briggs

After years of violence and abuse at the hands of her former pack Alpha. Anna is slowly coming to terms with a brave new world - or it would be a brave new world if she felt braver.  Ripped away from everything she has known in Chicago it feels as though the ground is constantly shifting under her feet, especially when she learns more about Charles and his role as the Marrok's enforcer.  The monster she has heard about doesn't seem to match the wolf her wolf has chosen - although she is finding it a little harder to make her connection to the man.  The world of the Marrok's pack is strange and isolated, and there are undercurrents that she doesn't understand.  Leo's pack in Chicago was self destructive and violent, but there are subtle manipulations and power plays that take Anna out of her depth.

With Charles wounded and not fully in control of himself it is a dangerous time for his mate bond with Anna to be uncertain.  In a pack of outsiders and rogues, it is easy for the tension to rise - the perfect pack for an Omega to join, but not without complications.  When Charles and Anna are sent into the wilds to track a rogue wolf that appears to be attacking people they are not sure what to expect - a rogue or a conspiracy to prevent the Marrok from revealing the werewolves to the world.  Living in a world of werewolves is dangerous, even when you are one of the monsters.  Anna has a lot to learn about her world and she is about to get a crash test in what it means to be a werewolf, an Omega, and the mate of one of the most influential werewolves in North America.

Cry wolf is the first book in the Alpha and Omega series which is set in the same world as Mercy Thompson - something that takes a little getting used to if you like to read series in order.  I recently discovered the recommended reading order for both series on the Patricia Briggs website recently and started reading both series in the recommended order and I am not disappointed at all reading them for a second time.  I had forgotten how vulnerable and fragile Anna was in the early books, she is a survivor who is finding her place in the world - much in the same way as any survivor of domestic abuse and rape.  It was a little bit of a jolt to pick up the story where we do, I had forgotten that the story of how they met is one of the short stories in Shifting shadows, but you can easily follow what has happened even if you haven't read the short story.

You may find that this first book in the series is a little uneven - slow in places and fast paced in others.  All I can say is give the book a decent chance as the writing improves over the series and as you learn more about Anna and Charles, and Mercy's world, the series becomes very addictive and difficult to put down.  For first time forays into urban fantasy Briggs has done a commendable job that deserves attention - because although the beginning can be a little slow in places the ending is fast paced, action packed, and explosive!

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

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

The truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Everyone knows the story about Alice - how she slept with two boys on the same night, and that one of those boys later crashed his car because she was constantly texting him.  Everyone knows the story because Healy is a small town and no one has secrets in a small town.  Everyone knows the story and some are even willing to share what they know with anyone who wants to know the truth.

Elaine is the popular girl in school, the queen bee that everyone else follows.  She has influence and power, and no one is going to go against her opinion that Alice Franklin is a slut who deserves to be named and shamed because Alice made out with her boyfriend at a school dance and left Elaine embarrassed.  Joining her voice to Elaine's is Kelsie, Alice's former best friend, the one person who should have stuck by Alice.  Something terrible happened to Kelsie in the summer and that influences her actions - but does it excuse them?  Josh is one of the Brandon's best friends and was in the car the day it crashed, he knows what caused the accident and when Brandon's mom asks what happened he has to tell her.  The final voice is Kurt, the voice of the outsider who watches the humiliation and isolation of Alice as the events unfold - is he too afraid to reach out to her too?

Told thorough a series of shifting chapters that cycle through the main characters we get a real sense of what was happening for Alice as the people involved manipulate and twist the truth for their own reasons and their own gains.  Through Kelsie we see the former best friend who is so insecure she will say almost anything to keep her new circle of popular friends, including selling out the former friend who never judged her or made her feel like an outsider.  Through Elaine we see a petty and shallow queen bee who wants to get revenge and keep Alice on the outside, keeping her place is the most important thing.  For Josh it is protecting his friend, making Alice the scapegoat because everyone else already is - but is there more to it than just that?  Kurt seems to be the only voice that seems to be genuinely interested in the truth, but also seems to be the only person to see Alice as herself.

The truth about Alice is a powerful and engaging read, one that I didn't want to put down and read in one sitting.  The voices of each of the characters is clearly defined, and as the novel proceeds we get to see past the surface veneer of their caricatures and get to see the real people underneath.  The final voice is the voice of Alice, which is the perfect ending for a book that has been about her but otherwise excludes her.  This is a very human focused story, one that could have played out in any small town in the world, not just the small Texan town of Healy.  The teenage years are some of the hardest years anyone can go through, a time of discovering the adults we will become - but also clinging to the memories and safety of childhood.  Fear and shame are strong themes throughout The truth about Alice, fear of being an outsider and of people discovering the truth - shame about telling untruths and gaining through deceit.  While this is not the biggest novel in the world at only 199 pages, it was the perfect length to tell the story of Alice.

If you like this book then try:

• Hate list by Jennifer Brown
• Sold by Patricia McCormick
• Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher
• I swear by Lane Davis
• Rooftop by Paul Volponi
• Panic by Sharon M. Draper
• The mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Such a pretty girl by Laura Wiess
• Living dead girl by Elizabeth Scott

Reviewed by Brilla

Flesh and blood by Simon Cheshire

There's nothing remarkable or special about Sam Hunter - he's a pretty typical teenage boy.  The most remarkable thing to happen recently is that his family has come into some money and they are moving up in the world a little starting with a new address in a posh street.  The house is pretty amazing, even if it does seem a little empty with their limited number of possessions.  The local high school is just a few minutes up the road and it seems like it is just another neighbourhood - until Sam and the rest of the students stumble across a dead body on his first day!  

With a journalists eye for detail Sam soon realises that somerthing is not quite right in the sleepy town he now calls home.  The neighbours on his new street seem nice enough, although they seem oddly happy and all seem to have the same runny nose.  The exception is the Greenhills, a family of respected doctors and surgeons, whose daughter Emma happens to be in Sam's class.  Something niggles at the back of his mind about the family, starting on the night he hears a scream and sees something strange at the Greenhills home.  If he had stopped to think of the consequences, if he had stopped to plan better then the events that unfolded may never have happened - but hindsight is always perfect.

I picked up Flesh and blood after reading Frozen Charlotte, another book in the RedEye series and I was really surprised to find they were completely different (but equally enjoyable) reads.  Frozen Charlotte was a traditional ghost story, tantalizing and creepy in turn.  Flesh and blood has more in common with classic R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike - a twisted story that is more about people doing dark things and twisting you in knots as you try and uncover what is really happening and wondering how it will all end.  I was hooked right until the end of the story, partly because you never really know what is going to happen next or who the "bad guy" really is.  

Told from the first person perspective, Flesh and blood is really creepy and twisted.  Seeing events unfold through Sam's eyes adds to the suspense and the mystery.  Because it is first person rather than the "eye of god" you don't know what the other characters are thinking or feeling, you don't get to see their motivations - which is what makes the story so much more twisted.  I had my suspicions about how things were going to play out in the story, and I was mostly right, but I was also quite wrong about other things.  This is a book that deserves to be read in a single sitting (partly because it will drive you nuts trying to figure out what happens next).  

This is one of those great gender bending books - it is not a book for boys or girls - it is a book that will appeal to readers who enjoy a good book that is going to give them the creeps.  I have read Frozen Charlotte and enjoyed it, but I couldn't get into Sleepless by Lou Morgan which is in this same series, so if you don't like Flesh and blood try other books in the series as they are written by different authors with different styles and all have their own niche in the dark and creepy reading corner.

If you like this story then try:

• Blackbird by Anna Carey
• Every other day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• Sleepless by Lou Morgan
• Sister assasin by Kiersten White
• To die for by Christopher Pike
• Nearly gone by Elle Cosimano
• Rosebush by Michele Jaffe
• Anna dressed in blood by Kendare Blake
• Don't stay up late: A Fear Street novel by R.L. Stine
• The hunt by Andrew Fukuda
• The killer's cousin by Nancy Werlin
• Proxy by Alex London
• Party games: A Fear Street novel by R.L. Stine
• Asylum by Madeleine Roux
• Locked inside by Nancy Werlin
• Thirteen days to midnight by Patrick Carman
• The kidnapping of Christina Lattimore by Joan Lowery Nixon
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• Altered by Jennifer Rush
• ACID by Emma Pass
• Burn bright by Marianne de Pierres

Reviewed by Brilla

City of fear by Alafair Burke

Being a female detective is hard enough - being young, blond, attractive, and assumed to have slept your way into your promotion is even worse.  Ellie Hatcher is the newest member of Manhattan South homicide and is already on the wrong side of her lieutenant, not the best place to be when you are the new kid on the block and looking to make a good impression that will keep you in your chosen career.  When she stumbles across the body of a young murder victim on her morning run she has no idea that she is about to land herself in the middle of a very tricky and sticky murder case.

One cute, young, and blond murder victim will always attention, even in a sprawling metropolis like New York - especially when the victim is from out of town and her family and friends are willing to keep the case in the media spotlight in an attempt to help the NYPD catch the killer.  When the father of another murdered girl reaches out to Ellie she can't help but feel that there is a connection between the two cases, and when a second girl is found she starts digging into the cold cases that one of her now deceased colleagues thought might be related.  It is a dangerous career move though, her lieutenant wants her to stop digging and the district attorneys office is happy with the suspect they have.  As she digs deeper Ellie discovers more clues, but will she be in time to stop the killer from taking down his final target?

I discovered City of fear by accident, and I was pleasantly surprised.  I had already started reading when I discovered that it is the second book in the Ellie Hatcher series and not the first, and while I was worried that it wouldn't make sense of things would be missing, there is enough information peppered throughout the novel that you don't feel like you have missed anything if you haven't read Dead connection.  It seems as though there is a trend to have more of the how and why behind the "bad guy" - making them three dimensional in their flaws rather than just evil.  It also seems to be like the "heroes" are becoming more human, that it is more acceptable for them to have flaws and weaknesses.  The more you get to know the characters the more it feels like you are really in their world - and Burke has managed to turn out some well developed characters here that will stick with you long after the book is closed.  

I read a lot of crime, mainly because it tests your ability to solve the puzzle ahead of the agent/detective, and there is some really amazing crime being written at the moment - and there are also some amazingly badly written crime novels that are a (ahem) crime against the genre.  I have picked up and discarded quite a few in the past week or so, discarding them because they are trying to be too clever, because the authors have drowned the introduction with too much detail, or just because it felt wrong.  I was hooked from the start with City of fear, partly because it starts with the perpetrator of the crime, a faceless individual who seems to want you to come along for the ride.  By the time Detective Ellie Hatcher joins the party it feels like you have to keep reading for those delicious glimpses of the dark mind that is trying to make his twisted point.

I am waiting with eager anticipation to see what is next for Ellie Hatcher and the other members of Manhattan South homicide.  Alafair Burke has a real flair for writing and for bringing her characters to life, and I sincerely hope there are many more to come.

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 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

The taking by Kimberly Derting

It was supposed to be a night of celebration, but it turned into a nightmare instead.  When Kyra's dad offered to drive her to the team celebration after the big game, she knew that it was going to be time for a talk she didn't want to hear - think about your future, think about a different college, don't plan everything around your boyfriend Austin.  Demanding to be let out of the car seemed like such a harmless thing, until the bright light comes swarming around her and then the darkness closes in.  When Kyra wakes up the next morning she stumbles home only to find a stranger in her house, and when she turns to her boyfriend she discovers that more than a night has passed - she has lost five years of her life.  

Everything is different, her boyfriend and best friend have moved on with their lives and left her behind, her parents are no longer together, and Austin's l;little brother Tyler is suddenly the same age as Kyra and sets her heart racing in a way that her boyfriend's little brother really shouldn't.  Things are confusing enough, but on top of the personal dramas Kyra also has to deal with her dads alien conspiracy theories and a federal agent who seems to have a very unhealthy interest in her case - unhealthy for Kyra that is.  Caught between the mother who wants her to be what she was, the father who seems desperate to prove his alien abduction theories, and the need to be herself Kyra is walking a knife edge of hope and despair.  The more she discovers the more she realises that her life is no longer her own - and she is running out of time.

The taking was one of those out of the blue books, an amazing read that I was not expecting and one that I didn't want to put down once I picked it up.  Kyra is the perfect point of view for this wild ride, through her we experience every discovery, every shock, and every moment of hope and despair.  It is clear from the beginning that something has happened to Kyra, but there are teasing hints of what it might be, what it might have been - hints that last until you are so buried in the action and the mystery that it feels a little like you have been sideswiped by the truth.  This is not your "typical" alien abduction story, there are layers to the story and the aliens when they "arrive" are not the little green or grey men you might have been expecting.  The strength of the story lies in the fact that you are reading a story about a young women who has essentially been taken out of time and returned to a very changed world, a young woman who is trying to uncover the secrets around her and the feelings she has for her boyfriends younger brother - oh, and by the way there are some aliens involved.

There is a definite feeling that there is going to be a sequel - although personally I think it is a little sneaky to have a series without sign posting it on the first book!  Characters and world building are what make great books and excellent reads, a world peopled with characters that make you loose yourself in their story and suspend belief.  I had no problems leaving my world behind to join Kyra and her world, and while the main character her is a girl this is one of those great books that easily appeals to both the boys and the girls.  There is plenty to like her and I hope that there is a sequel soon so we can see what happens to Kyra and her world.

If you like this book then try:

• The last girl by Michael Adams
• The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen
• The darkest minds by Alexandra Bracken
• Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
• The hunt by Andrew Fukuda
• When we wake by Karen Healey
• The lab by Jack Heath
• The rules by Stacvey Kade
• Adaptation by Melinda Lo
• Proxy by Alex London
• In the after by Demitria Lunetta
• The 100 by Kass Morgan
• Arrival by Chris Morphew
• Revived by Cat Patrick
• Altered by Jennifer Rush
• Inside out by Maria V. Snyder
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• Stung by Bethany Wiggins
• What's left of me by Kat Zhang

Reviewed by Brilla

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

It started as a daft joke, a Ouija board phone app that Jay downloaded to show Sophie - but it didn't stay a joke for long.  The only person Sophie can think to contact through the Ouija board is her cousin Rebecca, who died when she was only seven years old.  Her memories have stirred because she is due to spend some time with her cousins while her parents are on holiday in San Francisco.  It seems such a harmless thing to do, she doesn't really believe in magic or spirits, but once you have made a connection to the otherside  it is not so easy to sever it.  Weird messages come through the board, messages that Sophie is convinced is a hoax.  As the session gets creepier and creepier, all the lights in the cafe plunge into darkness followed by a terrifying scream - and a promise that Jay will die that very night.

When Jay is found dead the next morning it seems like Sophie has woken up to a living nightmare, but it is about to get even worse.  Her parents want to cancel their holiday and stay with her, but Sophie insists on going to her cousins house sop her parents can enjoy their holiday and not loose the money they have already paid.  It seems as though the trip is destined to be a failure from the start with her arrival shrouded in rain and wind - and she receives a distinctly lukewarm reception from two of her cousins.  Cameron is cold and distant, reluctant to welcome Sophie into their home.  Her youngest cousin Lilias is flighty and nervous, with a phobia of bones that derails Sophie's welcome dinner, and who insists that Sophie has brought Rebecca home with her.  The only cousin who seems happy to see Sophie is Piper, who can't seem to be helpful or friendly enough.

The old house where the family lives was once the Dunvegan School for Girls and there are reminders all around the old building still, photographs and a display case full of Frozen Charlotte dolls that were once plastered into the walls of the basement.  The building has an spooky feeling, a sense that there is something stirring and whispering in the dark, a legion of Frozen Charlotte's that seem determined to come out to play - with needles, and knives, and blood.  The more time Sophie spends in the house, the more she realises that something is very wrong with the family, something simmering under the surface.  There is a darkness in the house, something twisted and rotten, and if Sophie can't figure out who to trust then she may never leave the island - alive.

I am not a big reader of horror stories, partly because they seem to focus on cheap thrills and gore to win over their readers, but there was something tantalising about the blurb for Frozen Charlotte that made me want to try it - and I am very glad I did.  There is incredible depth and thought behind Frozen Charlotte, a deftly woven story that blends together a believable back story with a mystery in the current time.  Sophie is an interesting character to connect with because her recent loss makes her vulnerable, but also because she is the focus of the manipulation and story.  I also find it interesting that Sophie means "wise" - maybe unintentional on the part of the author, but maybe not.

This is a well written and substantial book with plenty of creepy moments and little events that make you wonder if you really know what you think you know.  Interestingly Sophie's uncle, the one adult who is in the story on the island, seems distant and not involved - making it a story focused almost exclusively on the Frozen Charlotte dolls and the cousins.  I was hooked on this story from the start because it was well crafted and because there is always the little niggle that you are missing something important, or that you have something figured out only to find out you don't!  The book says it is not suitable for younger readers, but younger teens and 'tweens should be fine with it - just not children.  Hopefully there are more books from Alex Bell as this was a well crafted read that was impossible to put down once I picked it up.

If you like this story then try:

• Tighter by Adele Griffin
• The ghost of Sadie Kimber by Pat Moon
• Asylum by Madeleine Roux
• Anna dressed in blood by Kendare Blake
• The unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
• Thyla by Kate Gordon
• The forest of hands and teeth by Carrie Ryan
• Feral by Holly Schindler
• Daughter of smoke and bone by Laini Taylor
• Thirteen days to midnight by Patrick Carman
• Burn bright by Marianne de Pierres

Reviewed by Brilla

The glass arrow by Kristen Simmons

Aya has lived in the mountains her entire life, learning the skills she needs to survive from her mother.  It is a secretive existence, one where they must remain hidden or risk being caught and taken to the City - especially Aya, her cousin Salma, and little Nina because girls from the outskirts are a great prize to be captured and taken back to the City to be sold.  When her mother dies it is up to Aya to be the strong one, the one who can protect her family and keep them safe.  In a time when men rule society and women are traded and sold like livestock, it is dangerous to be a girl who knows her own mind and speaks it.  

When Aya is captured by Trackers and taken to the City her one thought is to escape back to her family, escape back to the freedom of the only life she knows.  Life in the Garden is life in a gilded cage where she is groomed and trained to be obedient and know her place - at least that's the way it is supposed to work.  Aya, renamed Clover, is rebellious and stubborn in her refusal to bend or break by the restrictions around her.  Every chance she has she acts out and refuses to obey, manipulating the situation as much as she can in the hopes she can one day return home.  The only bright points in her life are her times in solitary where she can escape the confines of the Garden and spend time with Brax, the wolf she has known since he was a puppy.

Times change though, and the head of the Garden is becoming wise to the ways of Clover and her tricks, and even a startling discovery may not be enough to save Clover from the fate she has fought so hard to avoid.  In solitary yet again, Clover meets one of the Drivers, a race of people known as too simple minded to even talk.  As she gets to know the silent Driver she names Kiran, Clover rediscovers parts of herself and begins to reconnect with the hope of escape.  In a world where trust is dangerous and hope can be deadly, Clover is about to discover that sometimes you need both if you are going to survive.

The glass arrow is the latest offering from Kristen Simmons, who has already explored one dystopian future in her Article 5 series and now takes a look at a future that seems darker and scarier.  I was really looking forward to reading the book because I enjoyed reading Article 5, so I was more than a little dismayed to discover that I didn't like the first part of the book that much - to the point that I almost gave up!  I persisted though, and I am glad I did because Aya is an interesting and completely realised character - who unfortunately has ended up in a world that seems too familiar and common because of the wave of dystopian and post apocalyptic books that have slavery and the ownership of girls/women at the centre of the story.  Simmons has created her own spin on the sub-genre, but it felt like I had been in the same story a few too many times already.

The relationships between Aya and the people around her are the high point of the novel and what makes the story worth finishing - along with the slightly more gritty and realistic approach of Simmons to what it really means to be a "slave" in this future society.  Some of the other reviews were talking about sequels and being eager for another book in the series, but for me this feels like a complete story in itself and it might actually ruin the story to have further adventure with what happens next.

If you love character development, and like a novel that has a strong (and stubborn) lead character then you will find a lot to like here.  If you don't mind a book that takes a while to get going, that takes its time world building, then you are also likely to find a lot here to like.  If you only like books that jump in with the action and keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire novel then this is probably not the book for you - Aya is such a strong character because Simmons takes her time to build the world and the character so strongly in your mind with lots of detail and background in the first few chapters.  An enjoyable distraction once it warmed up, but not one of my favourites - I found Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch and The Jewel by Amy Ewing to be much better examples of this sub-genre.  I do recommend you try The glass arrow though, because you never know unless you try, and I read so many books that sometimes I can be a little too critical of what I am reading because I have so many other book examples to compare them too.

If you like this book then try:

• Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
• XVI by Julia Karr
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• The testing by Joelle Charbonneau
• Renegade by J.A. Souders
• The hunger games by Suzanne Collins
• Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch
• Proxy by Alex London
• The Jewel by Amy Ewing
• Wither by Lauren DeStefano
• The 100 by Kass Morgan
• The forest of hands and teeth by Carrie Ryan
• In the after by Demitria Lunetta
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• ACID by Emma Pass
• What's left of me by Kat Zhang

Reviewed by Brilla