Category: Books-Fiction

When Gods Die (Sebastian St Cyr) – C.S.Harris

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When Gods Die – Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series – Book #2

 

I often joke that if I was ever on Jeopardy and the Final Jeopardy category was English Royalty I should just be prepared to be a loser!! When it comes to that category, in the infamous words of Sgt Schultz of Hogan’s Heroes fame, “I know NOOOTTTHHHHING!” But I do know a bit more after reading When Gods Die by C.S. Harris.

When Gods Die is the second historical murder mystery featuring Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin. Set in Brighton and London in June of 1811, Sebastian is charged with the task of solving the murder of the beautiful Guinevere Anglessey. The young Marchioness of Anglessey was found dead in the arms of George IV, Prince of Wales and from early in 1811 Prince Regent of Great Britain. She had been stabbed with a dagger from the family’s collection, The dagger once belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie. The quest to find the killer becomes personal for Sebastian, when he discovers that Guinevere was wearing a necklace that belonged to his mother and vanished with her on the day she was lost at sea!! In addition to solving the murder Sebastian is also is thrust into the middle of a plot to overthrow the monarchy!! Needless to say the Viscount Devlin has a lot on his plate. Helping him out are his lover actress Kat Boleyn and his new servant reformed pickpocket Tom.

This is the first book that I have read from C.S Harris and one of the few historical novels I have read in recent memory and I can tell you it will not be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a real page-turner and I love both Sebastian and Kat!!

Bottom Line: When Gods Die was a 4 to 5 star book for me I really, really liked it! The plot was well-developed and kept me guessing who the killer was until the very end of the book. I will be going back and reading book one of the series What Angels Fear.I need to know what happened in that story when Sebastian was accused of the murder!!

Book 13 of 2015 and Book 2 on a goal of 5 in my Historical Fiction Challenge!

Green-Eyed Lady – Chuck Greaves

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Green-Eyed Lady –  Chuck Graves – Jack MacTaggart No 2

 

Green-Eyed Lady from Chuck Greaves has a great opening. Liberal Democratic candidate for the Senate in California Warren Burkett three weeks before the election, encounters a damsel in distress. The young lady’s pursue and keys have been stolen by an unknown assailant. Burkett offers to give the beautiful green-eyed lady a ride back to her mansion. Reminiscent of another Democrat, this one was elected President, Burkett’s libido doesn’t stop. He believes he has hit the mother lode with this young woman! So much so, he helps break into her mansion (remember her keys were in her purse, which was stolen!) But when the door to her bedroom bangs open,  where a lust-filled Burkett  lies in wait for a thankful young woman to repay her debt it’s not the damsel who enters the room, but the police. They had responded the break-in at the mansion! When the dust settles, the green-eyed lady is gone along with a 2 million dollar plus painting and  maybe Burkett’s hopes of winning the election!

In steps attorney Jack MacTaggart,, who is hired to defend Burkett and unravel the mystery! When the painting surfaces in a most unusual place, the election is rocked again! And it appears that MacTaggart has stepped into some deep, you now what, as he takes on not one but two swarmy politicians, a mobster, and an urban artist! This tale has lots of twists and turns and it’s hard to tell who the good guys are. Hint it may not be the politicians!!

I started this book early in the month and liked it, but I set aside, and I raced through both Alex Kava’s Breaking Creed and Parnell Hall’s Safari.When  I came back to the book, within a few pages of where I had left off, Greaves hooked me and he didn’t let go until the final pieces of the puzzle f ell into place! Douglas Preston says this about the book…..

“GREEN-EYED LADY by Chuck Greaves is the wickedest read of the year, smart, real, vivid as hell, and so plausible it could be in the Times. Greaves is a master of the language. I loved this book.”

Green-Eyed Lady is the second book in the Jack MacTaggart series. Book One is Hush Money which may soon be on its way to me from my library!!  Hush Money won the Southwest Writers International Writing Contest and was named a finalist for several national honors including the Rocky Award from Left Coast Crime, the Reviewers Choice Award from RT Book Reviews and the Audie Award from the Audio Publishers Association.

Bottom Line: Green-Eyed Lady was definitely a 4 star out of 5 book for me. I really enjoyed Jack MacTaggart and his associates. The story was well-crafted with lots of twists and turns and you really didn’t know who was responsible for the various murders, and there are a few. Mr. Greaves who was a trial lawyer for 25 years certainly knows both his stuff – both the law and writing!..So here I go again with another series to follow and one of the few that features a lawyer!!

Breaking Creed -Alex Kava

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Breaking Creed – Ryder Creed #1 – Alex Kava

Alex Kava has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read A Perfect Evil, the debut Maggie O’Dell novel. That was one helluva way to start a series. Over the years, Kava wrote 10 more Maggie O’Dell books, each one a wild ride.

In Breaking Creed, Kava introduces a brand-new character to her fans: Ryder Creed. Like Maggie’s debut, Ryder’s first outing is a gripping, well-crafted thriller that pulls you in from the start.

Introducing Ryder Creed

Ryder Creed is a retired Marine who rescues homeless dogs and trains them to sniff out contraband and track down criminals. In this case, Ryder is called to search the Choque Azul, a ship suspected of carrying drugs. Working with his fearless Jack Russell Terrier, Grace, Ryder searches the hold beneath the ship’s fish catch. What he finds isn’t drugs — it’s something far worse: children being trafficked. The discovery upends Creed’s life and puts him in the crosshairs of dangerous people.

Enter Maggie O’Dell

Meanwhile, Maggie and the FBI receive a gruesome package: a body floating in the Potomac, accompanied by a promise of more to come. When Ryder is called in to help Maggie locate the murder scene, sparks fly — both professionally and personally.

The pairing of Maggie O’Dell and Ryder Creed feels natural, much like Karin Slaughter blending her Grant County and Will Trent series. The chemistry between the two suggests this won’t be their only case together — and fans will be glad for that.

Why It Works

One of Kava’s trademarks is giving her characters unique, high-stakes challenges — from Ebola exposure (years before the 2014 outbreak) to tangling with violent cartels. That carries over here, with Creed and O’Dell facing off against ruthless criminals while relying on the specialized skills of Creed’s dogs. Grace, in particular, is a standout character you can’t help but root for.

The Bottom Line

Breaking Creed earns 4 stars from me. Ryder Creed is a welcome addition to the thriller genre — a memorable, compelling character with a unique skill set. As author Gayle Lynds put it:

“Creed is special, a memorable character — he trains homeless dogs to sniff out contraband and hunt criminals. When he teams up with Kava’s iconic FBI forensics specialist Maggie O’Dell, you’ll discover the most exciting crime-solving duo of the year.”

And with Grace at his side, he’s even harder to beat. So check them out — this is the start of something special.

Book 11 of 2015015

 

 

 

 

 

Safari – Parnell Hall Stanley Hastings (Book #19)

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Safari (Book #19) is the first Stanley Hastings mystery set outside the United States. Most of the series takes place in New York City, where Stanley works as a private investigator for negligence attorney Richard Rosenberg, much to the annoyance of NYPD Sergeant MacAullif.

The only other book set away from New York was appropriately titled Cozy, in which Stanley and Alice vacation at a bed and breakfast in New England.

The Story

In Safari, Stanley and his wife Alice are finally on the trip she’s dreamed about forever — a safari in Zambia. Stanley, of course, is less enthusiastic. They book with Clemson Safaris, a budget outfit led by the gung-ho great white hunter Clemson. The tour offers up-close encounters with elephants, lions, hyenas, and other wild animals. But soon, a spotter working for Clemson is found dead — supposedly from a falling fruit from the sausage tree. Then a tourist dies in her sleep. Both deaths are soon determined to be murder, and Stanley is called upon to solve the case… though as usual, he doesn’t have a clue!

What Makes It Work

Parnell Hall’s strength has always been dialogue — witty, funny, and full of wordplay. Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times Book Review noted:

“The Stanley Hastings mysteries depend on subversively sly wordplay. In the violent verbal world he inhabits, Stanley would be happy just to win an argument.”

The San Diego Union wrote:

“A light-hearted romp, drolly told, and made pleasant by its deprecating, much put-upon and wholly charming hero.”

And when reviewing Stakeout, Booklist observed:

“Stanley, who seems to have more in common with Barney Fife than Sam Spade, is actually a pretty fair detective, and, more important, his narration is witty, self-deprecating, and observant. The plot is logical in a convoluted sort of way, and the resolution is satisfying. Stakeout continues the Hastings tradition of murder with a wink and a smile.”

Bottom Line

Safari was a three-star book for me. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it was one of Hall’s very best. Still, it’s a cozy, light, quick, fun mystery — and fans of Janet Evanovich and other humorous authors will definitely enjoy it

Author’s Website
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Parnel Hall - author of Stanley Hastings and Puzzle Lady novels

About Parnell Hall

If you like a little humor in your books….

You might enjoy these authors:

Tim Dorsey
Janet Evanovich
Christopher Moore

Whether you’re solving crosswords with Cora or running from the mob with Stephanie Plum, these authors prove that a good mystery is always better with a side of laughter.

Hard Rain – Barry Eisler (John Rain # 2)

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Hard Rain – Barry Eisler – Book 9 for 2015

 

It’s been a while since I visited Japan and the world of assassin John Rain. In fact it’s been so long that I have forgotten most of what happened in Rain Fall, Book 1 of the Barry Eisler series, when I started Hard Rain Book 2 in the series. What I didn’t forget was that the half-American, half Japanese Rain was a killer and a good one. What he is particularly good at is making his hits look like the victim died of  “natural causes” I also remembered that he has rules, no children, no one else is involved except rain and his client, and the victim has to be a principal, someone of importance!

When Hard Rain opens John Rain has left his Tokyo home for Osaka and is considering getting out of the business. But a former nemesis from the Japanese FBI, Tatsu doesn’t want him to retire, in fact, Tatsu has a job for him. The hit is on an assassin at large, who unlike Rain has no rules and kills indiscriminately.  Before Rain will take the job though, he goes to Tokyo to determine how difficult the hit will be. When Rain arrives in Tokyo he meets with his friend, a hacker, named Harry. Harry has a new girlfriend that seems way out of Harry’s league and that doesn’t sit well with Rain. Rain’s first assumption is that someone is setting Harry up, as he investigates he discovers Harry is also being followed,,,,,, soon Rain is sucked back into the world of violent criminals, and US government officials. The hit may be the most difficult  that Rain had ever faced and the deadliest!!!

John Rain is one of those characters that I would never like in real life, but hey, when he is going up against the Japanese underworld, and shifty CIA agents I’m going to root for the guy! He’s loyal to his few friends and he knows his job, as does Barry Eisler. Eisler does a great job of making Tokyo come alive and the descriptions of Japanese culture, the fights and surveillance tactics were great. The one thing that did bother me  was that Rain dispatched more people than I thought necessary, Not that they didn’t need it!

Bottom Line: Hard Rain is a solid four stars (really liked it). I like John Rain and will continue to read the series, which is now up to book 8. I book 6 Requiem for an Assassin is on my TBR shelves but I do think I will try to read the books in order! I  also hope I can shorten the time between visits with Mr. Rain!

The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien

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The Things They Carried  – Tim O’Brien (Book 8 of 2015)

 

For those of us who like me, were lucky enough to have a high draft number, (mine was 306), and escaped the war in Vietnam, Tim O’Brien has shown us slices  of  life in it,  in his novel The Things They Carried. And it’s everything that we thought it was, everything that we protested to end.

About The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried is a collection of short stories, several of which were published prior to being incorporated into the book, that paints a vivid picture of the Vietnam experience, which for the most part it wasn’t pretty. The book follows the exploits of the men that Tim O’Brien served with the one’s who died like: Curt Lemon, Ted Lavender, and Kiowa and those who made it through, alive, but changed forever like: Lt Jimmy Cross, Norman Bowker, and the narrator who has been writing about the war, since it ended, hoping some how that the stories will save him.

While all of the stories were amazing little slices of life in Vietnam, the one that got me was Chapter Four “On the Rainy River” where Tim is confronted with the being drafted to fight in a war that he really didn’t support and contemplates going to Canada. As I mentioned previously, I was lucky enough not to have to face that dilemma, but through the years, I have wonder what I would have done. In my mind, I always go to Canada, but in reality I don’t think that would have happened. I really don’t know how I could have handle even a tenth a hundredth of what Tim describes in The Things They Carried. At best maybe I could have been a Radar O’Reilly, I know wrong war, but you get the picture. My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives either in Vietnam or after they returned.

After I finished the book I thought, you know, the book really had no plot, no hook that catches you and keeps you reading. But then I leafed through the book, and realized that you can reread any story and get something from it, and that is wonderful. Each story provides a slice of life in Vietnam, some sad, while others just fascinating.

I read through the quotes about the book and this one from the Richmond Times Dispatch comes the closest to how I feel about the book….

“The Things They Carried is more than “another” book about Vietnam….It is a master stroke of form and imagery…. The Things They Carried is about life, about men who fought and die, about buddies, and about a lost innocence that might be recaptured through the memory of stories. O’Brien tells us these stories because he must. He tells them a they have never been told before…. If Cacciato was the book about Vietnam, then this is the book about surviving it”

Bottom Line

: The Things They Carried is an A++ book. I guess that is why the book won the prestigious French Prix du Meilleur Livre Erranger award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award! huh! Everyone who wants to know more about the Vietnam War or life in general should read it!!

 

Feb1995 Reads- Novels from Bill Pronzini, Frank McConnell and Vince Kohler

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Originally posted Feb 2015 updated Nov 2025

 

Tonight I started thinking about books that I’ve read, and decided to look at my Goodreads Bookshelf to see what books I finished in February of 1995, 20 years ago,yeah right!  

Books Read in February 1995

  • February 4 – Liar’s Poker – Harry Garnish #4 – Frank McConnell
  • February 21 –  Banjo Boy Eldon Larkin #3 – Vince Kohler
  • February 25 I Shackles a Nameless Detective # Bill Pronzini.

Shackles – Nameless Detective #16 – Bill Pronzini

Of the three Shackles was my probably my favorite. While I don’t remember all of the details I do remember that it was a great read! In fact the book was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Novel (It lost to Thomas Harris; Silence of the Lambs, tough competition!

About Shackles from Goodreads…..

Who is the slightly overweight, Italian-American private investigator who never reveals his name? He is the “Nameless Detective”. This time the San Francisco Bay area’s hottest sleuth finds himself the victim of a ruthless, fiendish, and unknown enemy’s revenge.

That revenge involved shackling Nameless in a remote mountain cabin!! I just remember that it was a page turner that i finished in 4 days!

Bill Pronzini;s Nameless detective series was a staple of my reading in the 90s. Quicksilver, the 11th book in the series was the first Nameless Detective book I read. I read it in 1990, by the year 2000, I had read 11 more.books including:

Here are the Nameless Detective books I read through the ’90s and early 2000s. For the full series and more recent updates, visit my Bill Pronzini author page.

Deadfall (Nameless Detective, #15)
Jackpot (Nameless Detective, #17)
Hoodwink (Nameless Detective, #7)
Breakdown (Nameless Detective, #18)
Quarry (Nameless Detective, #19)
Epitaphs (Nameless Detective, #20)
Demons (Nameless Detective, #21)
Shackles (Nameless Detective, #16)
Sentinels (Nameless Detective, #23)
Boobytrap (Nameless Detective, #25)
Illusions (Nameless Detective, #24)

In the 2000s I read two more Nameless novels Crazybone (Nameless Detective, #26) and Nightcrawlers (Nameless Detective, #30). As I look over the Nameless Series at Goodreads, I see that June 23rd is the anticipated release date for book number 39 in the series Vixen!

Maybe I can get back into reading the series again by then…..I just found the book Mourners (the book that follows Nightcrawlers on my TBR bookshelf

  I guess I should start there, or maybe I should start with Book 1 The Snatch!! What do you think??

2025 Update: Since writing the original post, I did go back to the Nameless series. I finally read Mourners (#27), which follows Nightcrawlers, and just this month I finished Savages (#31). I’m working on a new post about Savages now — I’ll link it here once it’s live. But I still haven’t read Snatched!

Frank McConnell – Liar’s Poker – Harry Garnish #4

The  Frank McConnell book that I read Liar’s Poker was the 4th and final book in the Harry Garnish series. The series featured Sister Bridget O’Toole, a nun who inherited her father’s investigative agency, and Henry Garnish, her chain-smoking, hard-drinking, salty-mouthed assistant and they were great, really funny, as well as, exciting. I always wished that McConnell had written more, for years if I was at the library and was looking for a good book I’d remember these books, and go and look to see if there was anything new.. Just tonight I found out why there were no more books,. Mr McConnell died in 1999. You can read more about Frank McConnell here. Seems like he was a terrific teacher and writer!

Vince Kohler – Banjo Boy (Eldon Larkin #3)

Finally, Banjo Boy by Vince Kohler….Banjo Boy was the third book in Vince Kohler’s series featuring Eldon Larkin.

From Mystery File:

Vince Kohler wrote four books, Rainy North Woods (1990), Rising Dog (1992), Banjo Boy (1994), and Raven’s Widow (1997). All four featured journalist Eldon Larkin who worked as reporter/photographer for the South Coast Sun, the local newspaper for small town Port Jerome, Oregon. Educated, he reads French classic literature in the original language, but proving how useful his education is, Eldon is a loser when it comes to the important things in life — women, cars, and career. He left Berkeley California and an ex-wife behind, and now dreams of the big story that will get him a job with a big city newspaper. Continue Reading

I have read three out of the four Eldon Larkin books with Raven’s Widow being the one I missed, maybe I should go back and read it!! like the other two series I remember enjoying the series.

Anyway, if you pick up any of the books by Bill Pronzini, Frank McConnell or Vince Kohler, I don’t think you’d be disappointed!! So check them out!!

Revelation Space – Alastair Reynolds

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Alastair Reynolds  – Revelation Space (Book 7 of 2015)

Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds

 

So as I was coming to the end of Alastair Reynold’s Revelation Space when I thought to myself; which character am I rooting for?? I image that it’s supposed to be Dan Sylveste, who throughout the book has been obsessed with the Amarantin civilization. A civilization that was destroyed 900,000 years ago! Sylveste has spent a lifetime on Resurgam trying to uncover what happened to the Amarantin civilization. From what he has uncovered it appeared that The Event that destroyed their civilization occurred shortly after the civilization had achieved space flight!

I don’t think I should be rooting for  Ilia Volyova a member of the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity, who along with her crew are headed for Resurgam to capture Sylveste and his father Calvin to force them to help restore the Captain of their ship who is a victim of the melding plague and  is now no more than an amorphous being!!  And then there’s Khouri, an assassin who was recruited by the Mademoiselle to kill Sylveste. Why?

So after the first 300 or so pages, I felt like……

 

Wtf wasthat

 

But I continued on and I think that around page 500 plus…… I think I finally understood what was happening maybe and then again maybe not??

Yes there were times when I thought that things were just a tad too confusing, especially when things went back and forward in time over the first half of the book, but like Sylveste I plodded on because I wanted to find out what was happening. I

needed to know why the Sun Stealer wanted Sylveste to continue on and why Mademoiselle wanted him dead! Which side was the right side?

Should Slyveste  be stopped no matter what, what would happen if he did discover how the Amarantin civilization perished!

Bottom line: Revelation Space was a 3 out of 5 book for me. DId I like it, yes. Was the final resolution satisfying for the most part yes. Did it leave me thinking about the history of the universe. Yes?

Do I want to read more books in the series? yes.I think really the main aspect of the book that I didn’t like was that there really wasn’t any character that I cared about!

 Links for Further Exploration of the Works of Alastair Reynolds and Revelation Space

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Throne of Glass – Sarah J Maas

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Throne of Glass – Sarah J Maas – (Book 6 for 2014)

 

So the question is: Can a 63 year-old grandfather love a book that features an eighteen year-old kick-ass female protagonist? The answer is a resounding hell yes!! The book is Throne of Glass and the heroine is Celaena Sardothian the Adarlan Assassin who has been captured and sent to a slave labor camp. Celaena has amazingly survived 1 and 1/2 years in the Endovier Salt Mines, when the story begins. The novel opens when Crown Prince Dorian Havillliard of Adarlan visits and makes Celaena and offer she can’t refuse return with him to Rifchold and be his champion in a competition to be his father, the King’s Champion! If she wins and serves the King for four years, she will be set free. Soon Celaena is on her way to join a competition against twenty-three killers, thieves and warriors to become the King’s Champion and ultimately be set free.

Soon Celaena is in the competition of her life against not only the assembled competitors but against an evil that is lose in the Castle. An evil that is brutally slaying the competitors one by one. But Celaena is not in the fight alone, along the way she is helped by the spirit of the first Queen of Adarlan Elena, and from Princess Nehemia Ytger of Eyllwe, Celaena’s naive land. A land that has been subjugated by Adarlan forces. Celaena’s presence upsets the whole castle as Crown Prince Dorian sees her as more than just his champion in the competition and Chaol the Captain of the Guard must not only protect Celaena from danger, but also Dorian from the dangerous Celaena!!

I thought that the book was a well-written page turner with just the right mix of mysticism and suspense. I enjoyed all the main characters Celaena, Dorian, Chaol and Nehemia. I also thought that the attraction between Chaol and Celaena and Dorian and Celaena was handled just about right!

Here’s a quote from Kirkus Reviews that sums up my thoughts about Throne of Glass fairly well…..

“Woven in the vein of a Tolkien fantasy….This commingling of comedy, brutality and fantasy evokes a rich alternate universe with a spitfire young woman as its brightess star.”

Bottom line: Throne of Glass is a strong 4.5 out of 5 book. It was exciting and entertaining throughout the book. It was a great choice for my first exploration of the Young Adult genre and I look forward to checking out similar books! I already have the second book in the series checked out of the library. I don’t know if I can put off reading it long enough to finish some of the other books that I am reading or planned to read!! Oh, what the hell maybe I’ll just start it. What do you think??

Links for Further Explorations of Sarah J Maas and Throne of Glass

Sarah J Maas Website
Facebook: Throne of Glass
Twitter: Sarah J Maas
Amazon:Sarah J Maas

Storm Front (Dresden Files Book #1) – Jim Butcher

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Storm Front- Jim Butcher

Storm Front Book #1 of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, is the fourth book that I have read in 2015.

This is the first of Jim Butcher’s books that I have read. Reading Storm Front counts as a book read for several of my 2015 Reading Challenges. First  Storm Front has been on my to be read (TBR) pile for several years now (don’t ask me why!!) so it fits into the TBR Pile Reading Challenge. It is a murder mystery so it count toward my goal for the2015 Clock and Dagger Reading Challenge. And since Storm Front features Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, a wizard  and the series spawned a TV show on the SciFi Network it definitely belongs in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category!

Harry’s ad reads….

HARRY DRESDEN – WIZARD
Lost Items found. Paranormal Investigations
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other
Entertainment

 The Story

In Storm Front, Harry  is called in by Chicago Police  Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, director of Special Investigations to help solve the gruesome murder of Tommy Tomm, bodyguard for Chicago mobster Johnny Marcone  and Jennifer Stanton an employe of The Velvet Room escort service. (their hearts were ripped out) in the Madison Hotel. That same evening, Harry is contacted by Monica Sells to help  find her husband  Victor,  who just packed some things and left his home. Monica believes, that his disappearance has something to do with his new-found interest in magic, hence she has called on a wizard rather than the police to help find him!!

Since the murders required some very powerful black magic, Harry has become a prime murder suspect, not of the police (at least at first) but by the White Council that watches Harry and other wizards to assure that they do not bend or break any of the Laws of Magic! If the White Council finds that Harry did commit the crime he would have broken the First Law of Magic and would be executed!!  So Harry is soon on the trail of  a very powerful practitioner of black magic maybe even a little more powerful than Harry but without they years of training or the willingness to obey the Laws of Magic!!

My Take on Storm Front

Obviously this debut book was a winner and has led to a succesful series that now stands at 16, soon to be 17 books. Book 16 Skin Game finished at #3 in this years poll at Goodreads for the Best Fantasy Book!

I love Storm Front both as a murder mystery and as a suspenseful fantasy novel  with a great lovable protagonist in Harry Dresden battling some pretty challenging demons!

Bottom line: Storm Front

Bottom line: Storm Front is certainly a very strong 4.5 to 5 star book! A well crafted fast-paced page turner that works as both a mystery and fantasy book with a wonderfully humorous main character! I am definitely ready for Book 2 Fool Moon!!

Post Update 2026

By the time I read Storm Front in 2015 there were 15 books in the Harry Dresden series! And sadly I haven’t read any of them! I guess I need to create a new Reading Challenge!

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