Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries

This book by Heather Fawcett is not really an encyclopedia, although protagonist Emily Wilde, who has a PhD in Dryadology, is struggling to finish the one she is writing. This is a debut novel for adults by Fawcett who has previously written fantasies for children and young adults. This is the first in what is now a series of three "Emily Wilde" books.

Booklist opens their review: "Dr. Emily Wilde is a scholar visiting the remote Scandinavian nation of Ljosland to study the Hidden Ones, a species of faerie. She is joined by her faithful dog, Shadow, but otherwise is on her own to focus on her work until her Oxford [sic; it's actually Cambridge] colleague, the affable and too-handsome Dr. Wendell Bambleby, shows up..." and they conclude with this praise, "Told entirely through entries in Emily's research journal, Fawcett's first novel for adults is propelled by the voice of curmudgeonly Emily, whose hard outer shell slowly melts in the face of friendship. The full cast of characters, well-developed faerie lore, and pervasive sense of cold add depth to the delightful proceedings, which include scholarship, yes, but also danger and a hint of romance. Emily is an Amelia Peabody in snowshoes, and readers will be utterly charmed."

Publishers Weekly is somewhat less enthusiastic in their review: "In Fawcett's slow-moving but atmospheric debut adult fantasy... a socially awkward Cambridge professor heads to the frost-coated fictional country of Ljosland in an alternate 1909 where tangling with faeries is commonplace. The tale is presented as the journal of dryadologist Emily Wilde as she documents her research for the eponymous encyclopedia. These journal entries work well at giving readers a window into the voice and personality of an extremely introverted and detached heroine, but they don't make the aloof, academic Emily any easier to root for." But they still conclude, "In Fawcett's slow-moving but atmospheric debut adult fantasy (after YA Even the Darkest Stars), a socially awkward Cambridge professor heads to the frost-coated fictional country of Ljosland in an alternate 1909 where tangling with faeries is commonplace. The tale is presented as the journal of dryadologist Emily Wilde as she documents her research for the eponymous encyclopedia. These journal entries work well at giving readers a window into the voice and personality of an extremely introverted and detached heroine, but they don't make the aloof, academic Emily any easier to root for."

Similarly, Kirkus' review is more measured but finishes by saying, "A somewhat uneven novel that will nevertheless charm readers of cozy fantasies." The Guardian was positive: "A thoroughly charming academic fairytale, complete with footnotes and a low-key grumpy romance. "

 The New York Times praises the book: "Fawcett’s characters are delightful: Emily is meticulous, ornery and as oblivious to human mores as she is conversant in fairy ones, while Bambleby’s almost preternatural charm endears him to everyone. But there’s real loss and deep feeling in what could have been, in a different project, entirely about their push-and-pull dynamic. Fawcett’s sketches of academia and scholarship are sharply observed, and her depiction of fairies and their ways is often harrowing. The journal structure cultivates a careful rhythm alternating habit and surprise, and it all comes together in a delicious and satisfying whole."

I come down on the "charming" side and thought the characters and setting were well developed.

The Murder of Mr. Ma

This is the debut novel for John Shen Yen Nee, but co-author S. J. Rozan has numerous titles to her credit.  The two protagonists of this tale were actual people...who lived 1200 years apart. Judge Dee is based on Di Re Jie (630-700 CE), who was made into the protagonist of a mystery series (Judge Dee) by author Robert van Gulik in the 1940's and 1950's. Apparently, there is also a "Detective Dee" film series. Lao She was the pen name of Shu Qing Chun, an intellectual who navigated the Boxer Rebellion and died during the Cultural Revolution. In 1924, Lao She wrote Mr. Ma and Son, a father-son duo who, while living in London, confronted the duality of a British fascination with cultural artifacts and fear of a "yellow peril." Interesting pairing. What is even more interesting to me is that, although John came up with the idea and general plot line for the book, S.J. Rozan did all the research and writing. Living Kung Fu master teachers.choreographed the fight scenes in this book. 

Publishers Weekly says of the book, "a bewitching series kickoff that cleverly riffs on the Holmes/Watson dynamic" and concludes their brief plot summary with this recommendation: "The intricate plot, which is bolstered by vivid period detail and playfully riffs on real-life figures in Chinese history (including Lao), is enhanced by healthy doses of humor and well-orchestrated action. Readers will be clamoring for a sequel."

Here is Library Journal's review: Rozan and Nee "create a distinct sense of time and place in this brisk adventure. Lao She teaches Chinese at a London university in 1924 and leads a peaceful life--until Bertrand Russell sends for him. Lao anticipates a quiet discussion about China. Instead, he's sent to jail to impersonate Judge Dee Ren Jie, who was accidentally swept up when police arrested a group of Chinese agitators. After the pair stir up trouble and cause a riot, Dee involves Lao in his plans to solve a murder. Dee served in the Chinese Labour Corps in France in the Great War. One of his former compatriots, a merchant, has been murdered. Then two more Chinese men are killed, all with a butterfly sword. Along with Lao, Dee enlists a shopkeeper, a British thief, and a group of urchins in his investigation. Lao narrates their adventures as Dee impersonates a street legend, "Springheel Jack, the Terror of London," swinging from lampposts and launching himself across rooftops in search of a killer. VERDICT Fans of the Sherlock Holmes canon will appreciate this fast-paced, exciting novel."

Watch the official book launch and meet the authors, the Kung Fu master and see a "lion dance." There is an interview with both authors from the LA Public library

Harbor Lights

I have read at least half a dozen of James Lee Burke's books, most recently Every Cloak Rolled in Blood. As in that novel, many of the stories collected here deal with the evil and cruel nature of some humans, the supernatural, and unexpected protagonists. I think the review from Booklist sums up the contradictions. "There are so many joys in this new short-story collection from the author of the Dave Robicheaux mysteries...Though the plots diverge, they all share a darkness, a sadness, a feeling of desperation, and, also, a quiet belief in the power of everyday heroes. These stories... are as richly detailed and beautifully rendered as Burke's novels... this collection is a real treat for fans of the author." Publishers Weekly asserts that "Burke, best-known for his Edgar-winning Dave Robicheaux mystery series, proves his versatility as a storyteller in this textured collection...These impressive stories establish that Burke doesn't need a whodunit plot to catch a reader's attention." Kirkus concurs, saying "Eight stories...continue the author's career-long project of expanding the mystery genre to include bigger crimes like slavery and deeper mysteries like the nature of evil."

In summary, Library Journal offers, "Award-winning mystery writer Burke's (Dave Robicheaux series) eight-piece story collection shines, from the atmosphere found while cherry picking in a northwestern Montana orchard to the smell of summer watermelons in the South. Beneath all the vivid scenery of pewter skies and heavy rainstorms, the tales are full of depictions of the great evil and adult cruelty at work in the world, blending ancestry and history with more recent days. In the title story, set in New Iberia, LA, in 1942, a young son on a business trip with his father witnesses the impact of his father's affair. "The Wild Side of Life" explores the "blood for blood" culture at a Southern prison farm. "Strange Cargo" describes how true Southerners, whether soldiers, professors, or sheriffs, still do business, good or bad, by a handshake. These stories, while filled with dark themes, are bright with descriptive natural features, spanning from before the Civil War to more modern times, offering a look into the battlefield history of the South and how it remains alive. VERDICT For Burke's many fans and those who enjoy Southern tales."

Dead Mountain

This co-written novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is a fictionalized account of an actual event that took place in 1959--the disappearance and death of nine experienced winter hikers-- that has yet to be solved. Preston wrote an article about this story and it was later collected into his book, The Lost Tomb. The authors have moved the action from the Ural Mountains of Russia to the present day and the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico . This book is the 4th of a series by Preston and Child featuring archaeologist Nora Kelly and rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson. 

Swanson and Kelly are called in after a pair of fraternity brothers on a drunken joy ride crashed their car and took shelter in a cave; there they discovered an ancient skeleton and petroglyphs. When the forensic team and the archaeologists arrive, they discover that in addition to the native American artifacts, there are two relatively recent skeletons in the back of the cave that turn out to be two of the nine the students who went missing back in 2008 while on a winter hiking trip. That leaves just one body, so the case records show, who is yet to be located. Multiple complications arise as Nora works with the nearby tribe to whom the relics should be returned for a sacred burial. And then Nora's brother Skip gets cross-wise with a vengeful local sheriff who is seeking re-election and cares only about the publicity this discovery will bring him. Moreover, as they get closer to figuring out where the last body--the trip's official journalist and photographer --might be, powerful people and institutions do everything to stop them, including killing them if necessary.

The Winter Sea

When I first saw the length of this book, I was a bit daunted, but once I started, I could hardly put it down. Author Susanna Kearsley tells a story within a story, Her protagonist, Carrie McClelland, is a successful writer of historical novels and has come to the northwest coast of Scotland, both to visit her agent, Jane, who has a new baby, and also to pursue her research on a book she wants to write about the Jacobite effort in the spring of 1708 to bring the younger James back from exile in France to take his rightful place as their king. Carrie decides on Jane's advice to tell the story from a woman's viewpoint and so Carrie creates Sophia, an orphan who has been taken in by a distant relative, the Countess of Slains Castle, which Carrie has chosen for the setting of her novel. In fact, Carrie has rented a cottage in the town closest to the ruins of that castle to inspire her writing. "The chapters are intermingled throughout the book with numerical designations such as chapter 1, 2, 3, etc. for the present and Roman numerals for the historical segments such as I, II, III, etc." (NY Journal of Books).

I love the way that the New York Review of Books opens their summary and review. "The Winter Sea ... is a creative tour de force. Sometimes an author catches lightning in a bottle, and Susanna Kearsley has done just that." They go on to conclude, "The title—The Winter Sea—is also quite moving. When Sophia is alone and worried that she will never see Moray [her husband] again, his Uncle Graeme reminds her that without the desolation of winter there can be no ever-renewing hope of spring. It is a hard lesson about accepting the bad in order to appreciate the good, but it is a lesson worth learning and relearning throughout life."

Similarly, the Historical Novel Society offers this praise, "Kearsley handles modern Scots dialects adroitly... Overall, skillful writing and research make The Winter Sea more historical novel than romance. Although Cassie’s choices are at times predictable, readers will not be disappointed in Sophia’s enthralling story. Highly recommended."

How to Solve Your Own Murder

I have not read anything by Kristen Perrin previously as she wrote for a middle grade audience, but I certainly enjoyed her adult debut with it's very dual plot lines. Solving a cold case disappearance may well help to solve a present day murder.

Publishers Weekly wrote a laudatory summary and review: "Perrin's twisty debut revolves around a challenge issued from the grave. In 1965, Frances Adams develops a lifelong fear of being killed after a fortune teller at an English country fair warns her that "all signs point toward your murder." Decades later, a now-wealthy Frances summons her great-niece, Annie, to discuss her will in the sleepy village of Castle Knoll, even though the 25-year-old aspiring mystery novelist has never met her eccentric aunt. Minutes after Annie arrives at the estate with Frances's lawyers, they discover her dead body slumped behind the desk in her library. Frances's will states that she expected to be murdered, and that the first person to solve the crime within a week will inherit her assets and property; if no one cracks the case, it all goes to an unpleasant real estate developer. Annie leaps into action, quickly discovering that plenty of Castle Knoll locals have long coveted her late aunt's fortune. Perrin juxtaposes timelines, detailing Frances's provincial life in the 1960s while Annie's investigation grows increasingly treacherous in the present. The pace is quick, the red herrings are plentiful, and Annie's growth from timid wannabe writer to confident sleuth is beautifully rendered. Combining elements of Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz, and Midsomer Murders, this is a richly entertaining whodunit from a promising new talent."

Booklist elaborates on the character development. "Two of Annie's best features are her awareness of being an amateur sleuth and acknowledging that her mystery-writing might be a flawed foundation for finding a killer, even as she proceeds with conviction. The dual time lines are equally strong in exploring nuanced characters and in building tension around secrets, some possibly worth dying for, and the complex relationships are factored into both aspects."