This time with...slightly less murder
Slightly.
KJ Charles
Flight of Magpies
Despite enjoying the Magpie-books I took my time with reading them and I have eventually figured out why: I enjoy the stories themselves, I enjoy the side-characters, I enjoy Stephen and I enjoy Lucien and I enjoy their relationship...in the sense of I enjoy their bickering with each other. As soon as they are in the bedroom I aggressively Do Not Care. Which is partly a YKINMK thing but mostly...idk just not seeing any sexual chemistry between them? (I also do not care about what Silas and Dominic get up to in the bedroom in Seditious Affair but despite that, I can still see them working as a couple. Lucien and Stephen? Nope).
Sugared Game
Fortunately, no such problems were had in the sequel to Slippery Creatures. I even enjoyed it more than the first book for two three main reasons:
- the pulp mystery was less predictable this time around. Generally, I'm not that bothered if I can tell what's coming because...well I have read and watched more mysteries than is healthy and there comes a point when you have seen every single Shocking Plot Twist and can easily guess when the story you're currently consuming is heading towards something similar. But if I cannot tell every single twist 50+ pages in advance it's always a nice experience
- Phoebe. Kim's fiancee in book one. I liked her back then but came across a lot of Phoebe needs her own book!11!! screaming on FB/Twitter and I was...not quite as euphoric because Phoebe was...A Lot. And the thought of spending an entire book with her was not high on my wishlist. She's still Phoebe in this book and it doesn't feel like she's had a character transplant but she has a bigger role while still being...less loud? Idk it's hard to put in words
- Beautiful surprise easter egg cameo. I'm delighted
For the rest: pls refer to my squeeing about Slippery Creatures
Some Murder
Two more Crime Library Classics that were meh: Jefferson Farjeon's Thirteen Guests was the ever-popular murder at a house party in the countryside but the characters all stayed far too bland for me to care about them. Meanwhile, George Bellairs tried in Surfeit of Suspects a bit too much to make his characters memorable and ended up with every single one being an over-the-top-stereotype. I'm just never happy...except for
Maryla Szymiczkowa - Mrs Mohr Goes Missing
A lady amateur sleuth investigates in 19th century Krakow. She's not old enough for Polish Miss Marple and too old for the average cozy mystery heroine plus she's not the typical historical cozy heroine in general. If they are not full-on Not Like They Other Girls they are usually still very ahead-of-their-time and...have views that are still considered feminist by today's standards. Zofia, the MC in this book doesn't really. Her husband thinks it's not necessary that women get the right to go to university and so she doesn't see the point either. But she's also a 38-year-old woman who has no children and is now looking for a way to pass the time and once she has found something that interests her - aka crime-solving - she doesn't let anyone stop herself. And tbh that makes her character much more interesting than if she had just spend all her time preaching 21st-century feminism.
The mystery itself was fun but did drag a bit towards the end but the biggest surprise for me was discovering that Maryla Szymiczkowa is just a pseudonym and the book was actually written by...two guys. I would definitely not have guessed that.
Louise Penny - Fatal Grace
Two balance my joy at discovering a cool new series out this one was...not good. I do not like throwing the term Mary Sue/Gary Stu at everything but I can only take so much interior monologing by everyone on how amazing Inspector Gamache is...while the reader is also constantly informed how much everyone else sucks. Seriously. Gamache has a colleague who is also an inspector, who is married and has children...and who when asked to watch a movie (for plot-relevant investigation reasons) whines about how there are no explosions and how that means it's a stupid movie. I'm not kidding. I mean I know straight white men fall upwards on the career level but I think there are certain steps you only reach if you have slightly more emotional maturity than a teenage boy.
Josephine Tey - Daughter of Time
So Josephine Tey did some research on Richard III as a hobby came to the conclusion that he didn't murder the princes in the tower (Henry VII did) and wanted to share that with the world. But because she thought nobody would read non-fiction she gives the inspector of her mystery novel series a broken leg and lets him read some history books where he eventually comes to the same conclusion (while judging some other non-fiction on the subject).
I must say I admire that level of confidence. It's beautiful. (To be fair I haven't spent that much time with various theories on Richard...her reasoning does seem sound to me but I guess you could just as easily convince me of the opposite)
Fantasy
P. Djèlí Clark - The Haunting of Tram Car 015
The novella-sequel to Dead Djinn in Cairo which I enjoyed and so I had been looking forward to reading more. Only I didn't only enjoy it for the worldbuilding (which tbh is cool and intriguing) but also because I loved Fatma who was doing the investigating in that book. In Haunting the investigator is...some dude. He's not a bad guy and I think if I hadn't read Dead Djinn I would probably still have enjoyed Haunting because the worldbuilding is really amazing and the investigator (duo) is fun but I kept thinking: but...want cool worldbuilding and cool investigator from the last story.
Hamed and Fatma do meet at the end and I'm not sure if that is supposed to be a setup for future books in which they share the screentime? (Anyway I will very likely read future books in that world but I do hope for more Fatma)
Katharine Duckett - Miranda in Milan
This is a sequel to The Tempest that digs further into some of the aspects of the story that are somewhat problematic from today's POV (including some really unhealthy family dynamics and the colonialist...not-really-just-untertones), it is also about a girl who is dealing with discovering that her father is not who she thought he was and who falls in love for the first time (well the 1.5th time). And there's some action.
I listened to the audiobook which was less than 5 hours long. That's perhaps enough to dive into one of these issues deep enough to come to a satisfactory conclusion but not for all of it. So...the author isn't going on my stay-away-from-list but also not my to-look-out-for
T. Kingfisher - Swordheart
Just delightful. There is not much more to say. I do love fantasy books that are quite low-stakes for the world-in-general (even though in this case the stakes for the characters were still quite high). And the characters (and their bickering) were just delightful.
Elemental Magic
An anthology of four novellas (each inspired by one of the four elements) which I bought because one of those was Carol Berg and a prequel to her Rai-Kirah trilogy famous for the questionable cover that I dearly love. I did enjoy that story but I also think it doesn't have quite the impact if you haven't read the trilogy. Knowing it, it was really bittersweet but even though the story can stand on its own, it might feel a bit...weird if you don't know how it continues.
The other story that I enjoyed was Sharon Shinn's Bargain with the Wind. It's a gothic-ish tale about what Cinderella would have done if there was no fairy good mother I guess? It was somewhat cheesy but I did look for other books by the author afterwards.
Birthright by Jean Johnson might have worked is a full-length novel but as a novella, it was just...a problem appears! It is solved two lines later! The bad guy runs around with a neon sign saying I AM EVIL!
Finally, Huntress Moon by Rebecca York was...horrible. It's an erotic story about how *~* totes romantic *~* sexual slavery is and even if that's your kink...the iTunes terms and conditions are more exciting than those sex-scenes.
Sharon Shinn - Troubles Waters
Because I did check out her other stuff. It's set in a world where the magic is based around the elements (not connected to her story in the anthology) which is something I'm quite fond of and I did enjoy how it's done in this book. Each element has a "prime" - a person with incredible powers based around the element - and the MC of the book is the water prime. Only the primes have any magical power but the lives of the rest are still influenced by the elements. I enjoyed that part of the worldbuilding but other parts...annoyed me...or at least would have usually annoyed me? The MC is (at least) in her mid-20s at the beginning of the book when her father dies. Then her neighbour tells her "you should finally figure out how you want to earn your living, your inheritance won't be enough" which is...duh. (Other stuff: even homelessness is kind of an adventure and at court, the queen drags her toddler around everywhere including important dinners). It's...yeah. But somehow it didn't bother me as much as it usually does? So...idk perhaps it was too hot to think too much? Anyway, I've just started the sequel and we'll see.
Other stuff
Miles Jupp - Damien Trench: Eggs and Soldiers
You might remember my fondness for In and Out Of the Kitchen a radio comedy show about an easily worries cookery writer and his partner. I enjoyed it a lot and this is a fake-autobiography from said cookery writer. It did make me realize that I enjoyed the show because everyone on it has different quirks and you switch back and forth between each of them. The autobiography is...well just one and it got exhausting after a while
Ella Stainton - Best Laid Plaids
Setting: Scotland in the 1920s
Featuring: Ainsley, an academic who has been disgraced after claiming he could talk to ghosts. Joachim Cockburn who is really called that because subtlety is dead, who studies for a PhD in psychology and is writing on his thesis on delusions. Ainsley's lawyer friend. Ainsley's lawyer friend's gentleman border. Various relatives of Ainsley, some dead, some not
Lawyer friend: Oh woe is me! I have feelings for my gentleman border but I don't even know if he is also into men! And I'm a lawyer. If I make a pass of him and he has no interest and talks about it to someone else I'm ruined!
Ainsley: I am considered mad anyway. I will sexually harass him try to seduce him and if he shows interest I'll pass it on. If he's aghast nothing worse can happen to me than already happened.
Cockburn: I have been told that I should interview Ainsley for my thesis. I will visit him.
A *~*hillarious*~* misunderstanding: appears!
Ainsley: You must be my lawyer friend's gentleman border
Cockburn: WTF
Ainsley: I will basically fall on your cock now
Me: Sexual harassment. So romantic
The *~*hillarious*~* misunderstanding gets cleared up. But now we don't need to bother with both characters not being sure if the other is gay. Because as long as they aren't sure they can't fuck and that's boring.
Ainsley: OK you think I'm mad. I will bring you to various places and show you ghosts. Also, we will fuck
Cockburn: Sounds perfect
Ainsley's dad to Cockburn: Hi
Cockburn: whatever
One day later
Cockburn: Hey, I met your dad
Ainsley: You can't have. He's dead
Cockburn. Clearly, there must have been a misunderstanding and it was just another random dude who lives on your family seat.
Ainsley: Clearly. Also, let's fuck
Cockburn: yeah!
Ainsley: Look! A ghost!
Cockburn: it really is a ghost
Ainsley: Let's fuck
Cockburn: yeah!
Cockburn (later): It was dark and cold last night. It can't have really been a ghost. I was just confused
Ainsley: Look! A ghost!
Cockburn: it really is a ghost
Ainsley: Let's fuck
Cockburn: yeah!
Cockburn (later): It was dark and cold last night. It can't have really been a ghost. I was just confused
Repeat a few times until:
Ainsley: Look! A ghost! My brother who died in the war and btw I still feel responsible for the fact that he signed up in the first place but I will not elaborate on that.
Cockburn: it really is a ghost. And this time there is really no other explanation
Ainsley: Let's fuck
Cockburn: yeah!
Lawyer friend: remember me?
Ainsley: Bring your gentleman border friend to dinner
Cockburn: let's fuck
Ainsley: yeah!
The Dinner
Ainsley: I will now sexually harass the gentleman border
Cockburn: You are just discarding me. I hate you
Ainsley: why is Cockburn acting so weird?
Ainsley's sister: The answer will remain unsolved. Unless...could it be that you have failed to tell Cockburn about your plan?
Ainsley: oops
Sister: What are you doing in all that time you're together?
Ainsley: we fuck and don't talk
Sister: why did I ask?
Ainsley: Hey Cockburn. Let me explain
Cockburn: oh...let's fuck?
Ainsley: yeah!
Later:
Ainsley: So your thesis? You write about delusions? And were planning to write about me? But now you have seen ghosts yourself
Cockburn: Oh...but I Still need to finish my thesis. I can't just throw all my work away
Ainsley: I AM SO HURT
some more *~*tragic misunderstandings *~*
Me: It really would have been great if you spent some time thinking about your thesis before. I mean you believe ghosts are real for quite a while now. You should have realised that that topic would come up eventually
Cockburn: Yeah. But consider this: I had to fuck Ainsley. Or think about how much I want to fuck him
Me:...
Sister: Come on. You are reading a book called Best Laid Plaids in a series called Kilty Pleasures. What did you expect?
Me: *takes a big gulp of wine*
Cockburn: I will throw all my research away after all and write a different thesis after all. I will need more time but I can fuck Ainsley during that time so it's totes worth it.
Ainsley: yeah!
And they fucked happily ever after