The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall – Review

Tags

4 stars, Alexis Hall, Book Review, fantasy, mystery

About The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters.

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.

When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark.

But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas’ stock-in-trade.

**********************

Review of The Affair of the Mysterious Letter

Sherlock Holmes as played by Shaharazad Haas and Dr. Watson as played by John Wyndham. Two very different people who end up as roomies.

A list of Miss Viola’s past, er, complications (i.e. the suspects) provides the map to tracking down a mysterious blackmailer. As each suspect is ticked off by way of an altogether too adventurous adventure (life and limbs are always at stake), Dr. Watson learns more and more about his new roommate. That is, she is absolutely insane. And brilliant. The adventures serve to develop the characters, describe the ridiculous multiverse they live in, and showcase the authors creative mind.

In the end, the only clue they needed was offered quite early in the book. I snatched it there and was not disappointed to learn I knew the blackmailer all along, though motive was not revealed to me until the end. Ultimately, most of the adventures with the suspects proved fruitless in identifying the culprit and were a waist of my reading time — except for the aforementioned outputs.

Still a fun read, though and I can give the book 4 stars for being extremely inventive and wonderfully weird.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add The Affair of the Mysterious Letter to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase The Affair of the Mysterious Letter:

 

**********************

 

Advertisements

No Rest for the Wicked (Mistress of None, #1) by Phoebe Darqueling – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, Chicago, clairvoyant, ghosts, historical, New Orleans, old west, Omaha, paranormal, Phoebe Darqueling, Sacramento, train ride

About No Rest for the Wicked by Phoebe Darqueling

Other people just think they’re “haunted by the past.” In Vi’s case, it’s true.

Clairvoyant Viola Thorne wants to forget about her days of grifting and running errands for ghosts. The problem? Playing it safe is dull. So when a dead stranger begs for her help, Vi jumps at the chance to dust off her hustling skills. The unlikely companions are soon tangling with bandits, cheating at cards, and loving every minute.

Then she finds out who referred him, and Vi has to face both a past and ex-partner that refuse to stay buried. Though she betrayed Peter, his spirit warns her of the plot that cost him his life. Vi’s guilty conscience won’t let her rest until she solves his murder. Though she’s spent her whole life fighting the pull of the paranormal, it holds the key to atoning for the only deception she’s ever regretted—breaking Peter’s heart.

**********************

Review of No Rest for the Wicked

A page or two into chapter 1 and I knew this would be a very entertaining book. Clairvoyance aside, heroine Viola Thorne is a larger-than-life character. As one would need to be to survive as an unattached woman in 1871 Sacremento. Vi is the owner of a bar and takes no crap from any of her customers. She is smart and brave, brazen and impulsive, and she has a heart of gold.

This does not mean she is completely in charge of her life. Her clairvoyant abilities tend to overtake her, as happens in the very first chapter when a ghost shows up asking for help. Vi really does not want to help. Really, all she wants to do is live a normal ghostless life. That is not to be.

No Rest for the Wicked has some truly great characters. In addition to Vi, there is Bonnie, the widow, who has the same adventurous streak as Vi, but has a bit more common sense. Peter is a ghost with issues. And George, the young boy that Vi has sort of adopted, is sweet and maybe a bit ornery.

The story line, although it took a while to get to it, revolves around Vi, Peter, George and Bonnie going back to New Orleans to help Peter resolve his ghostly issues so he can move on. They got sidetracked a few times, dealing with a rich, snooty, bigoted woman, a ghost on the train, and also explaining the great Chicago fire of 1871. While the fire was tied to more closely to the story, I thought it unnecessary.

The bad guys remained named throughout the story. There is a ghost who wants to haunt in a really big, bad way and manages to bring a trainload full of trouble to Vi and her friends. The ghost is under the control (sort of) of someone who seems to be even more wicked than the ghost.

Vi has the help of her Aunt Prudence, the wise relative whose advice will likely save Vi’s life. And Vi will have to grudgingly admit it. The dynamic between Aunt Pru and Viola was delightful, shedding some light on Vi’s past, present and probably her future.

After No Rest For the Wicked, there is a lot more of the paranormal coming. The story ends on a cliffhanger. In fact, they never even get close to the bad guys. The unnamed evil one does his “MwaHaHa” at the end. Which a great portent of things to come, but also irritating. Cliffhangers – don’t need them! Of course, not everyone has the same opinion of cliffhangers. And, with any luck, the next installment will not be too many months down the line.

This old west adenture/ghost story is PG rated. So no excessive violence and no sex. No Rest for the Wicked will entertain and delight readers who enjoy paranormal and historical fiction.

Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add No Rest for the Wicked to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase No Rest for the Wicked:

**********************

 

Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1) by Jessie Mihalik – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, Jessie Mihalik, scifi, scifi romance, series, space opera

About Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space opera adventure—the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.

In the far distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three High Houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.

Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.

When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.

But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .

**********************

Review of Polaris Rising

As a big fan of scifi romance, I am always please to find a new talented writer in this genre. Jessie Mihalik has nailed it! The combination of scific culture and geography, plenty of otherworldly action and a they-should-not-be-together-but-they-are romance had me racing through the pages of Polaris Rising.

There is great chemistry between Ada and Marcus (the princess and the soldier), both romantically and as partners in the adventure. Like I said, they should not be together. They come from two very different backgrounds. But they have similar attitudes about what is right and what is wrong and also about the Rockhurst (the antagonist).

Secondary characters, friends Veronica and Rhys as well as sister Bianca add to the depth of the story and the back-story for both Ada and Marcus.

Ada is high-tech. Conveniently so. Maybe too conveniently so. I found it a little hard to believe that all her communications to her sister were never intercepted or deciphered. But that may be the paranoid former IT worker talking. Ada and her multiple identities, codes and encryptions never got caught. Also, I often felt that complications were written just to make it easy for Ada to get out of. Rather than creating complications and then making it hard for the heroine to get around. In other words, Ada was too darn lucky to suit me.

The escalation of the political crisis seems to be what this series will be about. That, and the people that are affected by it. The futuristic political consortium of three ruling families laying claim to a vast area of space was written fairly simplistically. I will continue to read this series hoping to see more depth in the socio-political environment.

I wanted to read this because a) I read Mihalik’s The Queen’s Gambit and loved it and b) a fellow-reviewer said the romance was downplayed to make room for the main story, which also reminded me of The Queen’s Gambit. Polaris Rising has far more romance than The Queen’s Gambit, and while the main story line never suffered for it, I would not described it as downplayed. Maybe it was that constant attraction without doing much about it that got in the way of other things. Ada did a lot of over-thinking about her hot partner, when I thought she should have been thinking about a) the bad guy(s), b) the current political situation, and c) the significance of tech on board her stolen ship, The Polaris.

Despite my slight criticisms, all-in-all Polaris Rising is a great scifi story with a smoldering romance, making this book a truly fun read!

Through Edelweiss, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Polaris Rising to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Polaris Rising:

**********************