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A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison
It seems that this sort of series fiction (other examples are the Anita Blake series and the "Southern Vampire Chronicles"--oh, and there was one by some woman, lived in New Orleans, what was her name? Some kind of cereal: Wheat, Corn, something like that . . .) tends to eventually either bore me or piss me off (Blake pissed me off, Southern Vampires bored me), either way losing my interest completely. Harrison's dodged the bullet several times over the course of the four volumes of this series, and I'm wondering how long she can keep it up?
Rachel Morgan, witch, and her partner Ivy ( a vampire) have been trying to lure their third partner, a pixie named Jenks, to come back to their business and friendship. Rachel joined with a werewolf insurance agent, acting as his alpha female (but not mating with him) in order to get her insurance cheaply. This has recently rebounded on them both as the local packs challenge Rachel for her pack status and the only spells Rachel can find that allow her to change shape are black magic. Already trying to avoid the attention of a powerful demon, Rachel is reluctant to try that option.
Then they discover that Jenks is planning to head north to rescue his son, who is somewhere "up north", in Michigan. Pixies don't handle cold weather well; this is something Jenks can't do alone. And Rachel has a perfect excuse to go along; the pixie kid is with her ex-boyfriend, who broke up badly with her and with whom she needs closure. A little bit of magic and soon Rachel and Jenks are on their way north. But things get really complex (as they should)--for example, there are more werewolves involved. A lot more. And Nick is, it seems, not exactly what he presented himself to Rachel as. Soon almost all of Rachel's friends are involved in the case.
While I can't say anything in this story enraged me, it may be that boredom is setting in. This story takes a break from the main plotline of the series (whatever it is that's going on with Trent Kalamack) and that should be good for the series, but whole chunks of this one just threated to put me to sleep. Also, the whole thing with Nick just bugged me--there's a sort of subtle racism involved in a lot of these stories, in that human/nonhuman (ie--vampire, werewolf, etc) relationships never seem to work out and people should just stick to their own kind. This isn't necessarely that sort of thing, but it feels like it. The shark hasn't been jumped yet, but I have the nasty feeling that the bike is on the ramp.
Cautiously recommended.
Hercule Poirot's Christmas: a Hercule Poirot Novel by Agatha Christie
A wealthy, elderly man invites his family to spend Christmas with him, including a granddaughter whose existance was never suspected and the black sheep son. Then he informs them all that he is changing his will. Then he is murdered--in a room locked from the inside (gasp)! Can Poirot etc etc, you all know the drill. She doesn't quite cheat in solving this one, but it does come close. Still, it's Poirot, and therefore fun anyway.
Recommended.