Book: No Quarter

Genre: I’m going to say this one’s Crime Fiction

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:  Okay, so when I received this book from the friendly folks at Dark Star Books, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t think it was going to be a crazy whirl-wind tale of murder and intrigue in New Orleans. (Well, I did kind of guess the New Orleans part… I mean… just read the title.)

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I’m not usually a big crime fiction person beyond the occasional short story from Crimewavand CSI and Bones and detective novels… hmmm… maybe I do read a lot of crime fiction.

I digress… back to No Quarter. This book is a murder mystery which takes us deep into the world of the French Quarter, and believe me, the Quarter is it’s own little world. 

The first thing to know is everyone in the Quarter goes by a handle.  Like, some people call me “Scotty” (like “I can’t hold her much longer Cap’n”) because of my last name.  Well, these handles get much more interesting than that.  For example, the murdered woman is named Sunshine.  Her ex is called Bone and a bar friend and confident is called Maestro.  The list goes on.

The basic story is that when Sunshine is knifed with an ice pick in a dark alley, Maestro and Bone set out to find the killer.  This leads them on a wild adventure in which they discover a lot about themselves, about each other and they find just how low the underside of the French Quarter really hangs.

So, I say, go ahead and check out No Quarter. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Oh, and just a reminder, this blog doesn’t pay for itself unless you, yes you, take action and click on one of my links to purchase something at Amazon.com.  So, if you can, click on the links and go hog wild.

Book: Deadly Night

Genre: Murder Mystery/Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10

Julia Comments: I finally am getting around to reviewing Deadly Night by Heather Graham as I promised for horror month.  Deadly Night is the first in The Flynn Brother’s Trilogy and I, for one, enjoyed it.  The book contains murder, suspense, mystery and the supernatural.  It’s one of those books where you don’t know if there really is a supernatural element in it until the end. 

The book starts with the three Flynn brothers (who are private detectives) inheriting a large estate in New Orleans from a long lost relative (Amelia).  The eldest brother, Aidan, has pursued a run-away in the area and finds an old bone.  He and his brothers bring the police in to investigate and then head out to take a look at their inheritance.

The Flynns don’t know it, but a young local lady named Kendall Montgomery took care of Amelia until the old woman’s death is at the house, reliving some of it’s ancient secrets in a dead woman’s diary. 

In a happenstance meeting, the Flynns run into Kendall at their new plantation.  They find they have mutual friends and end up meeting quite a lot.  From the moment the Flynns meet Kendall on, there is no rest around the plantation.  Ghostly apparitions appear, people disappear, construction occurs and a freeloader living in one of the slave’s quarters is discovered.  Also, Aidan Flynn cannot shake off a deep attraction for Kendall – and she for him. 

When all is said and done, murders and a murderer is discovered, old ghosts are laid to rest and construction is completed.  But not without a cost.

As I said, I really enjoyed the book and recommend it.  If you want to, buy it at Amazon by following this link

Book: Dead Until Dark

Genre: Horror/Murder Mystery/Romance

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: Dead Until Dark is a cute and funny vampire romance/mystery.  I think it’s a little silly to call any vampire book “horror”, but from what I can tell, that’s how the bookstores classify it, so I put the mad combination up there in the “genre” section.

Dead Until Darkis a book about a world that has recently come to accept vampires.  Vampires have “come out of the closet” so to speak, since a new kind of synthetic blood has been produced and they no longer need humans as victims.  It’s the story of a beautiful young telepath (Sookie Stackhouse) finding comfort in another person who is also not quite human.  It’s also the story of Bill the vampire trying to reconnect with his human roots – lost over a hundred years ago.

But, while all this lovey-dovey romance is occurring, murders have hit the small town of Bon Temps where Sookie and Bill live.  The victims all have old vampire marks on them and all have been brutally killed.  Sookie’s brother, Jason, is a bit of a player and he has had sex with all of the victims, so is the prime suspect.  Sookie needs to find the real killer before Jason goes to jail – and she has to investigate Bill in her search.  But, as Bill points out, the girls would have been drained of their blood – not strangled.  Who is the murderer?  You just have to read an find out.

One thing I liked about the book is that while it explores some vampire sexuality, it’s not overdone to a deeply dramatic point.  Some books are almost pornographic and into how much pain and sex are intertwined when it comes to vampires.  Not so with this one.

Also, I started watching True Bloodthe TV show based on this book and I liked it. It mostly stays true to the books, which is always a relief.

10/17/08: PS: If you are into vampires, check out the vampire blog I helped set up. A friend of mine writes for it.

Book: Devil Bones

Genre: Murder Mystery/Thriller

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: I screwed up on this one… it’s not horror at all! However, I recommend it if you like the TV series Bones, because it’s a Temperance Brennan novel (she’s the main character of the TV show). Temperance is a forensic anthropologist that helps solve murders by examining dead bodies, reconstructing them as needed and discovering how they were killed, how long they were dead, etc.  She comes across two strange cases – one is a young lady’s skull found in a cauldron in the basement of a home that is “for sale”.   She also comes across a dead man with a pentacle imprinted on his back.  He’s found next to a coven of Wiccan witches. 

Temperance must discover who is involved in these two deaths – are they linked?  Is there satanism going on?  To top it off, a detective friend of hers who is working the case gets shot.  She has to find out why.

This novel has it all, witches, bible thumpers, dead bodies and more.  I don’t consider it horror, but some may.  Either way, it’s a fun read.

Author: Ellen Crosby

Genre: Murder Mystery

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:  This book is a masterpiece of imagry.  I’ve never been to the South, but this book made me see, feel and almost taste the air, the sunsets and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  If you love wine, curl up with this book and have a glass.

The author – Ellen Crosby – has a wonderful feel of Virginia, the history of wine making along with a passion for wine.  It makes this book a delight to read.

Now, down to the mystery in this book.  Lucy, a disabled young woman is called home to Virginia from France by her money obsessed brother as her father has died.  Her father – Leeland Montgomery - has left each of his three children the winery, house in Virginia and house in France in equal parts, with his good friend Fitz to oversee matters.  Lucy quickly discovers how desperate her brother is for money, along with how strange the circumstances of her father’s death were. 

She must find out what is going on in rural Virginia before anyone else gets killed.  Her search becomes more urgent as she becomes the main target of violence.

While reading the book, I not only became invested in the characters, but in the winery and house as well.  With all the history and beauty surrounding them, these two areas become major focal points of joy and pain, love and sorrow – indeed taking on their own personalities.

I recommend this book to all those who love murder mystery, wine and/or wonderful prose.

- An Embarrassment of Riches by Gerald Hansen - I’m almost done with this one.  Gerald asked me to review it and he was also nice enough to send me a copy of the book.  So far I would say I quite like it.  It’s not the kind of book I normally read as it’s not Sci Fi/Fantasy or Mystery, but my love for Irish culture and my childhood Gaelic classes came in handy (don’t ask me why I took Irish Gaelic at school).

- Daughter of the Drow by Elaine Cunningham - I stole this from my boyfriend during our move.  I love it so far and he accuses me of loving it only because the society is run by women.  Not so!  I swear!  That’s not the only reason I love it (lol).

- The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby - I bought this as an audio book, so I can listen to it in the car.  So far I love Ellen Crosby’s amazing imagery.  It makes me want to go out to Napa (California wine country) and sample wine all day.

- 2008 Writer’s Market Deluxe Edition - I think it’s pretty obvious why I bought this one.

- Problogger by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett - This is an excellent reference guide.  I follow the Problogger blog and the book gives a very complete insight along with great tools.

- Needful Things by Stephen King - I lost this in the move.  I’m sure it’s somewhere, but I’m in the middle of it.  Maybe I lost it intentionally because I’m not that enamored with it.  It’s extremely, painfully slow.

In Line:

- I’m Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti - A friend of mine said this book was weird so I would like it.  I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean – but I intend to find out.

- Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay - This is my next audio adventure!  Yay!

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Murder Mystery

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: Grahame commented ages ago, asking me to do a review of one of Agatha Christie’s brilliant works Ten Little Indians aka And Then There Were None. I’ve named this post Ten Little Indians because that’s the title I read it under several years ago. It was my first Agatha Christie book and it got me hooked on her fantastic writing.

Ten Little Indians is about ten people being invited to a home on an island. All of these people have a few skeletons in the closet. They are all invited by someone they know, and are surprised to see each other. Once they are seated around the dining room table, their host begins speaking through a gramophone. Not one person – not even the reader – knows who the host is until the surprise twist at the very end.

The novel has a little nursery rhyme in it that might intrigue you enough to pick the book up:

Ten Little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red hearing swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

Creepy, huh? Can you believe that’s a nursery rhyme? Anyway, that rhyme is what the story is based off of and it’s a really fabulous read. The ending is a total surprise and I adore it.

The Author: Agatha Christie

Julia Rating: 8 out of 10

My Comments:
I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, and I love that this one isn’t a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot book – I like to shake things up every once in a while. This book was fantastic. I don’t really like the info on the back of the book, so I’ll do my own blurb:
In a strange set of coincidences the mysterious Anthony Cade is commissioned by his friend to return to Jolly Old England to deliver a package of letters and a scandalous manuscript. Once there, he runs into all sorts of trouble with the manuscript and finds out that everything is connected to the elusive King Victor – a master criminal that the English Scotland Yard and French Surete are trying to catch. Becoming a suspect himself, Anthony becomes embroiled in the police search for King Victor. His only way out is to prove his innocence by finding the real King Victor.
I really enjoyed the book. It was compelling, with many twists and turns. The only reason I give it an eight is that the chain of coincidences Agatha Christie depicts are too good to be true for any fiction writer. It makes the story rather unbelievable, which is a shame, because I’d really like to believe it.