The Keepers (Mace Reid K-9 Mystery, #2) by Jeffrey B.Burton – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, dogs, Jeffrey B. Burton, mystery, series, suspense

About The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton

Mason “Mace” Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains detection—that is, he trains dogs to hunt for dead bodies. He calls his pack of cadaver dogs The Finders, and his prize pupil is a golden retriever named Vira.

When Mace Reid and Vira are called in to search Washington Park at three o’clock in the morning, what they find has them running for their very lives. The trail of murder and mayhem Mace and CPD Officer Kippy Gimm have been following leads them to uncover treachery and corruption at the highest level, and their discoveries do not bode well for them . . . nor for the Windy City itself.

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Review of The Keepers

Mace Reid is the trainer/handler of the Finders.  In his position he gets into trouble with the bad guys.  Really it is Vira’s (short for Elvira) fault.  She is uncannily able to scent out the bad guys and does so in a loud and aggressive manner.  Which draws attention to Mace.

This time, the bad guys are gangsters with suspicious connections. Events build, dead bodies pile up and eventually, when Mace and Kippy (the cop that Mace has a thing for) are being hunted for a crime they did not commit they will have to go on the run with the dogs.

The overall plot was not terribly clever. Despite the fact that several characters began as nameless actors, it was easy to figure out who was who. There are more than a couple of bad guys that need to be brought down, so there is a lot of action in the story.  Some of it was quite violent.  If The Keepers was a movie, I would not watch it because of the violence.

While the presence of the dogs helps to lighten the mood, there are some very dark themes.  A psychopath along with mafia characters means everybody gets shot at.  Everybody, including the dogs, gets injured.  And the death of a semi-beloved character was heartbreaking. 

On the lighter side, the relationship between Mace and Kippy is cute, and moving along at just the right pace.  Very slowly.  I have high hopes for this couple.

I fell in love with the Finders in the first book of this series.  These dogs are oh so smart.  They are also very protective.  And they are dogs, doing dog things like chasing squirrels and rolling in stinky stuff.  The thing is, they have a terrible job as cadaver dogs, sniffing for dead bodies.  So they should get to dog things.  And get treats.  And get an even bigger role in these books!

Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Music and Mirrors (Songs in the Dark, #1) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

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5 stars, Book Review, Celine Jeanjean, Gaslamp Fantasy, historical fantasy, music, opera

About Music and Mirrors by Celine Jeanjean

Eric Asher has always dreamed of being an opera singer, instead of making his living seducing wealthy women out of their money. He finally gets his chance when he’s hired to join the chorus of the Grand Opera House.

He has never seen the owner of the opera house. She speaks from behind mirrors and has the most haunting voice he’s ever heard. But Eric still reckons he can charm her into promoting him out of the chorus and into a main role.

Ada Byron’s only true love is engineering, but as the daughter of England’s most infamous peer, she’s pressured into an engagement she doesn’t want. When she runs away to the Grand Opera House, the mysterious owner agrees to hire her to work on the special effects machinery.

But what at first seems like a dream come true for both Ada and Eric slowly turns to a nightmare as they realise that their mysterious employer is both jealous and deadly. She wants Eric all to herself, and she doesn’t take kindly to his fascination with Ada.

As Ada and Eric are drawn deeper into the opera house’s world of haunting music and secret passageways, it becomes clear that their employer has no intention of letting Eric go…

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Review of Music and Mirrors

You think you know the story because you have read Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera.  Or because you have seen the silent movie version starring Lon Chaney.  Or maybe you have seen the stage or screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.  You think you know the story.

And you do.  Music and Mirrors could also be called The Phantom of the Opera.  Having seen this story in all those iterations I mentioned, I was both excited and wary to read this retelling.  Excited because I love the story.  Wary….because I love the story.

Most of the events occur in the London opera house.  Built over an underground river, it is filled with secret passageways, dark hallways and mirrors.  Many, many mirrors illuminated by gas lighting.  Marian, the owner, uses the mirrors and lights to watch everything that goes on in her house without having to walk among the people that work there.  For those places that the mirrors don’t reach, she has Igor to spy for her.

Marian and Igor watch Ada and Eric.  Ada, because she is the girl who does not belong and Eric because he is the man Marian longs for. 

As the reader, I appreciate that both Ada and Eric actions are simply motivated.  Ada wants a life where her differences will not be so noticed.  Ada is both genius and extremely introverted.  As a titled young woman, her natural tendencies cause people (her mother) to think she is psychotic.  In order to survive, instead of being truthful, she has established a Code of Interaction and mathematical algorithms to deal with the people around her.  Eric’s motivation is his sister.  Tuberculosis keeps her bedridden and lack of any wealth means she cannot get the treatment she needs.  Eric will do anything he can to help her, even if that means being something he does not want to be.   

Ada and Eric find their place in the opera house.  Ada helps maintain the intricate stage equipment, which allows her learn the science behind the fantastic stage effects and to stay away from anyone that would institutionalize her.  Eric finds his musical muse in Marian who takes Eric under her wing and trains him become a great opera singer, which is what he truly wants for himself.  If you do not know the Phantom of the Opera story, you might even imagine that everything could turn out nicely for the pair.

But if you do know the story, you know that Marian is a jealous taskmaster.  Her jealously increases when Igor reports on Eric’s activities.  When tragedy occurs, the whispers of a phantom in the opera house are spread. As the truth is slowly revealed, more tragedies occur ultimately leading to a showdown.

As I read the tale, I kept thinking back to the earlier tellings, not for comparison, but to determine where I was in the overall storyline.  I don’t want to compare Music and Mirrors to anything.   Every story, every character, every fictional relationship is affected by the storyteller.  In Music and Mirrors, Celine Jeanjean has marked this classic tale with her personal stamp. Her vision brings a fresh feminist view to the story of the dark, scarred musical genius longing for a human connection. 

Many thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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Pearl of Wisdom (Dragons of Trakona) by Jody Wallace – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, fantasy, humor, Jody Wallace, magic, romance, series

About Pearl of Wisdom by Jody Wallace

Blackmailed by the only man who can heal her—what’s a Pearl to do?

Pearl Courtier is a nobody. A human from Tarakona who just happens to have a famous wizard brother. When a lab accident transforms her into a walking lie detector, Pearl travels across worlds to seek help from a wizard on another planet.

But the price of stiff-necked enchanter Everett DeBoer’s agreement to remove her curse is high. Pose as his companion during a business conference, and use her unique skill to tell him which of his colleagues are lying. What will Pearl do when she discovers how he’s been lying to himself—and how deadly that might be for both of them?

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Review of Pearl of Wisdom

Everett is my favorite type of hero.  A nerd. A Geek.  Often clueless, but never brainless.  He is, dare I day, sweet and cute but lethally smart.  Pearl is the perfect counterpart.  Cool headed,  observant and purposeful.  That these two get together can be attributed to a magical lab accident that infuses Pearl with the ability to know lies when she hears them and causes pain when it happens. Imagine if you could detect the lies of everyone within hearing range.  Add to that an extrovert’s desire to be around a lot of people and you can see that Pearl has a problem.

So Pearl’s need for a cure means she will first need to help Everett find out who is stealing and messing with his magical tech designs.  The story evolves at a magical tech convention filled with magic, intrigue, one-upping, personal attacks and, unfortunately for Pearl, lies.  Lots of lies.

I loved it when Pearl and Everett discover that close personal contact between them can help Pearl ignore all the lies, therefore keeping the pain away.  I will let you figure out what close personal contact may entail.

Add a well-meaning but obnoxious and totally clueless friend from Everett’s past and a well-equipped, resourceful gnome in the protection business and you have a thoroughly entertaining caste of characters that bring this mad-cap adventure to colorful life.  I was particularly charmed by Felvyn, the gnome, who had an unending source of weapons, food, and men (gnomes) at his disposal to help Everett and Pearl. Except when he didn’t.  Well, the hero and heroine have to get into and out of trouble sometimes.  Don’t they?

Pearl of Wisdom is the first book I have read in the Dragons of Tarakona series.  It reads just fine as a standalone, but I did miss the dragons.  I mean they are hardly present, though often talked about. I guess I will need to read more in this series.  If the series is as entertaining as Pearl of Wisdom, that will certainly be no hardship.

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book so that I could bring you this honest review. 

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