The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, contemporary, Diane Les Becquets, dogs, mystery, nature, suspense

About The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets

Marian Engström has found her true calling: working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. Her first assignment takes her to northern Alberta, where she falls in love with her mentor, the daring and brilliant Tate. After they’re separated from each other on another assignment, Marian is shattered to learn of Tate’s tragic death. Worse still is the aftermath in which Marian discovers disturbing inconsistencies about Tate’s life, and begins to wonder if the man she loved could have been responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four women.

Hoping to clear Tate’s name, Marian reaches out to a retired forensic profiler who’s haunted by the open cases. But as Marian relives her relationship with Tate and circles ever closer to the truth, evil stalks her every move.…

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Review of The Last Woman in the Forest

My first review impressions of The Last Women in the Forest: Great story. Creepy. Hindsight. What do we overlook in the people we love?

Before I go on, there may or may not be spoilers in this review. This book is difficult to review without revealing a few things. Though I think the book blurb does automatically lead to you suspect Tate. And not far into the book, when Marion contacts Nick, the forensic profiler, you know that she suspects Tate. So, because of the way the story was laid out, there were no surprises. Any reader of suspense will anticipate many of the events up to and including the ending. At a certain point in the story (about one-half to two-thirds), I just want to be done to see if I was right. I was.

Before that point, I admired the detail presented from Marian’s viewpoint and from Nick Shepard’s viewpoint. Each had their own perspective. Marian as Tate’s former girlfriend, and Nick as a profiler who has studied the victims and perpetrator of the Stillwater murders for years. Marian loved Tate, but there was something about him that made her begin to doubt Tate. That prompted her to contact Nick. This makes my skin itch with suspicion. I think the author intended that way. Every time a suspicious Tate incident is described, the reader nods her head thinking, yep, bad guy. Even though Marian does not realize it. She loves him and is therefore prone to believe his excuses and even to make excuses for him. Her co-worker, Jenness, repeatedly warned Marian to be careful, but Marian ignored her.

It is Nick’s descriptions of the perpetrator that drive home the creepy tendencies of this serial murderer. Manipulative with a capital ‘M’. That is what I take from this. And that is exactly what Tate was – manipulative.

I give The Last Woman in the Forest 4 stars, losing one star for predictability. I anticipated the last two victims way too early. Maybe I was supposed to. I’m not sure. I prefer not to know how it will end. The discovery of the bad guy is irrelevant, as long as he is discovered. Everything up to that point is better if it is a surprise.

The review quote on the cover from Fiona Barton said “Beautifully paced and twisty.” Yes, to beautifully paced and yes to twisty. But not twisty as in unexpected turns in the plot. Twisty because serial killers are twisted.

I won an advance copy of this book in a contest. Thanks to Berkley Publishing for that contest.

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Links

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Riftmaker by Phoebe Darqueling – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, dogs, fantasy, feature, monsters, Phoebe Darqueling, Steampunk

About Riftmaker by Phoebe Darqueling

Save his boy, uncover a conspiracy, and master opposable thumbs—a dog’s work is never done.

Buddy’s favorite thing is curling up for a nap at the foot of Ethan’s bed. Then he stumbles through a portal to a clockwork city plagued by chimeras, and everything changes… Well, not everything. Sure, his new human body comes with magic powers, but he’d still rather nap than face the people of Excelsior, who harbor both desire and fear when it comes to “the other side.”

He discovers Ethan followed him through the portal and underwent his own transformation, and it becomes Buddy’s doggone duty to save him. Buddy finds unlikely allies in an aristocrat with everything on the line, a mechanic with something to hide, and a musician willing to do anything to protect her. Using a ramshackle flying machine, the group follows the chimeras deep into the forest and uncovers a plot that could reshape the worlds on both sides of the rift.

Review of Riftmaker

It is such a delight to find a new author that tells such a fantastic story. Fantastic as in really great, and fantastic as in highly imaginative. The concept of transformation while traveling through a dimensional rift gives Riftmaker that hook. And when a dog travels the rift and becomes human….well, have you ever wondered what your dog would be like if it could at least talk to you? Ms. Darqueling has done that and more.

Buddy has a magical talent. He knows a person’s true name. Dogs intuit our nature, don’t they. Our true selves. In as much as our name is associated with our true self, I love this about Buddy. I also love that he is almost always the upbeat puppy. Happy with everyone and everything. Except when his Ethan, or someone he cares about is in trouble. Then he is anxious. As a human, his behavior has a tendency to irritate some people around him. But he reminds me of my own dog so much, I love it!

Ethan and Buddy’s friends get into lots of trouble. There are the Travelers (shifters) that have established their own camp because they are ostracized by the rest of the people on this side of the rift. Their Commander has some, er, forceful ideas about loyalty and how all Travelers should live regardless of their current form – human or animal. Heaven forbid any of them that don’t fall in line. Ethan, as a dog, becomes hunted by the Commander. Trouble.

The Commander and his troops control the chimeras. Monsters that constantly change shape and seem to feed on anything that get in their paths. They wander the city streets every night, looking for the food the citizens put out to placate the chimeras. More trouble.

The wealthy of the city of Excelsior live apart from the poor. Safe from the monsters. Safe from knowledge of lives of the poor. One such person is Lord Corvid. Happy to use his money and power to manipulate life according to his whim. Yes, he is trouble too.

Buddy (who I consider to be the main character) does not even show up until chapter 2. Chapter 1 seemed out of place because it is chapter 2 that sets the tone for the rest of the story. Adventure, struggles, monsters, friends and, did I mention, trouble!

The characters are generally youthful and the lack of sex or explicit violence means this book could also be marketed as young adult. Even the protagonist are adults, common in YA fiction. However, the writing is not youthful. It felt very mature.

There was an overwhelming sense of wrongness about what was going on in the town. Why doesn’t anybody do anything about it? There are scientists and other smart people in town. There are also rich people. Why don’t the rich people pay the smart people to figure out a way to get rid of the chimeras? And how come nobody knows about the Chosen living outside of town. And of course, the bias against Travelers when they had no control over their trip through the rift is a shame. The residents of Excelsior use The Great Tragedy to explain all these other tragedies. What I like is that the heroes and heroines in Riftmaker find other explanations. And try to make things right.

Wait till you find out the origin of the chimeras. I did not see that coming.

Riftmaker is pure adventure full of colorful characters and an engaging story line. If steampunk and fantasy sound good to you, I recommend Riftmaker.

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For a limited time, Riftmaker is available for $1.99 from Amazon and a variety of other e-book retailers. So grab your copy before Feb 14! Print price is $18.99 from Amazon and the Our Write Side store.

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Find more character spotlights, book reviews, guest posts, and interviews with Phoebe Darqueling during the Riftmaker blog tour, Jan 24 – Mar 6.

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About the Author

Phoebe Darqueling is the pen name of a globe trotting vagabond who currently hangs her hat in Freiburg, Germany. In her “real life” she writes curriculum for a creativity competition for kids in MN and edits academic texts for non-native English speakers. She loves all things Steampunk and writes about her obsession on SteampunkJournal.org. During 2017, she coordinated a Steampunk novel through the Collaborative Writing Challenge called Army of Brass, and also loves working with authors as an editor. You can also find her short stories in the Chasing Magic and The Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales anthologies so far, and her next novel, No Rest for the Wicked is coming Spring 2019. She’s an equal opportunity Star Trek, Star Wars, and Firefly fan, but her favorite pastime is riffing on terrible old movies a la Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Do you like free books? Sure you do! Sign up for Phoebe’s newsletter and get a FREE COPY of The Steampunk Handbook right now.

You can find more of Phoebe’s antics on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion – Review

Tags

5 stars, Alexis Glynn Latner, Anna Hackett, Book Review, Carol Van Natta, cats, dogs, E D Walker, favorite series, Hero Dogs, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch, other worldly creatures, Pauline Baird Jones, pets, Ruby Lionsdrake, S.E. Smith, scifi romance, Tiffany Roberts, Veronica Scott

There are giant creepy spiders in one of the stories in Pets in Space 3. So I thought it was appropriate to post this review today. Happy Halloween!

About Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion by Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch, E D Walker, Ruby Lionsdrake, Tiffany Roberts, Veronica Scott, S.E. Smith, Alexis Glynn Latner, Anna Hackett

Eleven original, never-before-published action-filled romances that will heat your blood and warm your heart! Eleven authors combine their love for Science Fiction Romance and pets to bring readers sexy, action-packed romances while helping a favorite charity. Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space authors have donated over $4,400 in the past two years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 today!

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Review Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion

Since the beginning, when Pets in Space 1 was introduced to the Scifi Romance world, I have been very enthusiastic about these collections. The combinatin of scifi and romance was already a favorite thing for me, but when you add in an endearing pet….don’t expect me to say ‘no’ to these great anthologies.

There are so many remarkable stories in this 3rd collection. Everyone who reads it will pick out their favorites, and so have I.

Two of my favorite series are represented. Pauline Baird Jones’ Project Enterprise and Carol Van Natta’s Central Galactic Concordance. In an anthology with these two great authors and their familiar series, it is easy to pick my favorites.

In Jones’ Operation Ark USMC Sergeant Carolina City (Caro) is charged with repatriating a shipload of sentient beings that all bear some resemblance to animals an Earthling might be familiar with: turtles, eagles, pandas, etc. Along for the ride is Kraye, a human that was pretty much raised by robots.

So the human that was raised by robots has a hard time understanding other humans, especially a certain Sgt. City, his feelings toward her and her unspoken communication toward him. Luckily, he has Bull (robot) and Rocky (squirrel) (yes – moose and squirrel – Pauline did that!). Bull and Rocky try to coach Kraye, which leads to a few smirks, but ultimately, he is going to have to figure things out for himself.

Caro, the human that was raised by humans also has a hard time understanding Kraye. He may look like a human, but he has robot-like reactions and doesn’t pick up on any of her non-verbal communication. Bluntness may be required.

But before they can figure each other out, all sorts of adventure will keep them busy. Someone has betrayed the mission and the effort to take all their passengers to their home planets is anything but a ride around the park. Action-filled with spooky giant spiders, Operation Ark has humans, robots and other assorted sentient beings that are in for danger, tricky maneuvers, heroic actions, Greek alphabet code names and maybe, just maybe, a kiss or two. Pauline Baird Jones again succeeds in making me laugh out loud at her quirky humor, race through her action scenes and cheer when the spider gets it! Project Enterprise fans, buy Pets in Space just for this story!

Cats of War by Carol Van Natta takes place in the galaxy of telepaths, telekinetics and patterners where not having those skills seems to be a major handicap, but having them puts one on the CPS radar. In this story, we have two people who have avoided the CPS trap, but find that sometimes, using your talent for good is worth taking the risk.

Our hero, Kedron, is a quiet nerd who is not sure if he should open up to the lovely techie. He is pretty sure he should not, but that doesn’t keep him from saving up a weeks work of technical issues that will require her attention. Ferra is the heroine who is dodging a past by doing time – voluntarily – as an indentured worker. Kedron is definitely out her her league.

Their mutual attraction goes unnoticed, mostly, until circumstances force them to spend more time together. Whether it is fixing technical problems with dubious causes, saving animals or fending off the gangster indenturees, Kedron and Ferra make a good team. I think you could say they have chemistry.

Wait – I havn’t mentioned the pets yet. Flying cats. How cool is that. Plus they can communicate telepathically. How really cool is that! The cats are some of the animals that needed rescuing and they quickly worm their way into the hearts of Ferra and Kedron.

Cats of War is a sweet addition to the Central Galactic Concordance series, so if you are a fan, you should absolutely check it out.

This year’s edition of Pets in Space includes several newcomers to the collection – Tiffany Roberts, E D Walker, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch, Ruby Lionsdrake. Of note – JC Hay and Kyndra Hatch were among my favorites. Both told tales that included creatures in the canine family.  Also, both stories included secluded settings.  The takeaway – you are never lonely if your dog is beside you.

After the Fall by Kyndra Hatch tells a tale of the post-war interaction of between a male of Korth and a human female. In the war, they would have been enemies, but the war has been over for 10 years. A’rck has marooned himself, H’tch and K’mi on an unpeopled planet to forget what happened when invaders irrevocably changed his way of life in a senseless act. Lyra is an ‘invader’, or human, that has been sent to survey worlds for colonization and she just happens to find A’rck’s planet. This is going to be a battle. But K’mi, the young mohga has taken an immediate liking to the human and it appears, has bonded with her. That should be impossible. Mohgas bond only with Korthans. Between K’mi and her sire H’tch, the effort to bring the two enemies together becomes a plan. Large bear-like creatures and potential colonists add danger and conflict and the opportunity for A’rck and Lyra to grow close.

JC Hay’s Out of the Shadows feature umbra wolves being raised by Nafisi. Eventually the wolves will bond with Rangers and work side be side with them. Rafe is a retire ranger whose wolf died. He is sent to Nafisi’s ranch to assess the possibility that a criminal ring may have discovered it’s whereabouts and plans an assault on the ranch to steel the wolves. Nafisi and Rafe are both middle aged folks that are set in their ways and not open to other people’s interference. You see where this is going don’t you. Oh, there is a cute wolf pup, the runt of the litter, that takes a liking to Rafe. I don’t think Rafe is going to be able to chase the bad guys away and then just leave the ranch. Do you?

Have I given you enough to figure out if you would like to read Pets in Space 3? I hope so. Scifi, romance, pets and, oh by the way, a portion of the proceeds go to a great charity, Hero-Dogs.org. There are over 1,100 pages in this book, so I think it is fair to say you will be entertained for many hours!

I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Giveaway

Don’t forget the ongoing giveaway for the audiobook of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, or the print books of Catherine Cerveny’s The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck.  If you haven’t entered yet, you might be interested to know that commenting on today’s post helps qualify you for an entry – see the giveaway post for all the details.  Or go straight to the giveaway….

Click Here:  a Rafflecopter giveaway