Scattershot by Bill Pronzini

by Carol1 Comment
Nameless is having a really bad week. Three cases, all of which should be quick, easy money, go awry, landing him in the hot seat. And, to top it off, thing are not going great with his girlfriend. I don't really have much to say about the book, even though I definitely enjoyed it. It's a quick story and I love how Nameless manages to solve the crimes. All three are basically locked room mysteries and getting to the answers take both seeing the clues and having that flash of insight. I also appreciated that even though we do have three mysteries, they're actually unrelated. Too often in mysteries, everything conveniently ties together; here they don't, which feels  more realistic to me. I could have done without the moping about the girlfriend. I'm pretty sure that his pressuring her was not helping their relationship. This is the first full-length Nameless story I've read, so I'm not sure how it compares to others, but...
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The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

by Carol5 Comments
To be honest, I don't really have much to say about this one. I enjoyed the first in the series, maybe partly because of the novelty but also because it was fun for the most part. This time around the Watson and Holmes were both a little more annoying and we didn't get to spend much time with the characters I liked. Maybe overall is was a little too full of YA drama for a mystery for me. Yes, you're angry and jealous and whiny - I'm tired of hearing about it. Yes, you have a variety of issues, few of which are your fault, but you should definitely see a therapist. Can we get back to the mystery? But then the mystery's a bit disappointing. And I hated the ending. The thing is, I really want to like this series. Since it's only a trilogy, I'll probably borrow the last from the library when it comes out and hope it makes up for...
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Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

by Carol4 Comments
Six Wakes is one I picked up based on the blurb - a locked-room mystery in space, a sci-fi mystery. The sci-fi hook this time around was cloning. The laws around cloning are strict, but basically, we have figured out how to make mindmaps, putting all of a person's memories, thoughts, personalities into a code that can be transferred into that person's cloned body, making an individual practically immortal and able to inherit their own belongings/money. There's some philosophical discussion about what makes a person a person, what is a soul, etc., but it's not really dealt with in depth. The mystery set up is great. Six people wake up in fresh clone bodies, with the clear evidence that their previous bodies had been murdered, obviously by one of them, since everyone else on the generational ship is in "storage." One or more of them is the killer, but no one knows who - their memories from the last 25 years have...
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The Invisible Woman by Rachel Stuhler

by Carol2 Comments
The women of Geek Actually are all going through tough times in Episode #2. The episode started with a bit of their group chat and to be honest I wasn't a fan of that style. I was happy the author went back to a regular narration quickly. Taneesha is still not being appreciated at her new company. I'm hoping she moves on soon. She is worth way more than they're giving her credit for. We're finally really meeting Christina and I'm not sure what to think of her yet. I think the new actress on set, Vivi, is definitely bad news for her, even if she's fun for the time being. Michelle's husband is officially out of the house, but she really is does spend too much of her energy on work and not enough on relationships. This is the second episode with a bit of a steamy section. Even though they're geeks, these women are pretty, smart and sexy. They may...
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Thursday’s Tale: Cinderella and the Furry Slippers by Davide Cali

by Carol2 Comments
This is a modern twist on the classic Cinderella fairy tale. Cinderella, per usual, spends her days cleaning and doing her stepmother's and sisters' hair. She sees the prince in a magazine and dreams coming to save her. When she finds out he's having a ball, she calls up a fairy godmother and makes an appointment. That's when it all starts to go awry. The godmother is not what she expects - and neither are the clothes. Even the ball is disappointing, and the prince - well, let's just say he was more attractive in the magazine. So she makes her own happy ending. I like the girl-power feel of this one, and the illustrations are bright and funny. I think this would make a good book to read aloud to any little girl, reinforcing that a girl can be whatever she wants to. And that pictures in magazines aren't always realistic. Thursday's Tales is a weekly event here at Carol's Notebook....
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

by Carol3 Comments
I really liked The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but I don't have much to say about it. Do you ever run into that problem. For the most part, we're hanging out with the crew of the Wayfarer who are an awesome group of "people" - humans and other species, even a sentient AI. They are wormhole tunnelers, which is can be tough, but this newest job is the chance of a lifetime. Often, it seems like sci-fi is about the politics or the weapons or the conflict, whatever it is. In The Long Way, all those things exist, but it's more about how the crew are a family, how they face the big issues. We tag along on their adventures in ports or planets where friends live. We worry with them when they face a crisis, but know it will work out, because together they can handle most anything. I became attached to them all. I may have...
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