LGBTQ+ – Carol's Notebook

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I read The Tainted Cup, the first in the series, last year, but apparently didn't review it. I loved it. The world building is amazing and Ana and Din make a fantastic team. I would read it before starting A Drop of Corruption though. This second kind of drops you into the world and Dinios Kol's life. The world revolves around the leviathans, giant sea creatures who "attack" the Empire every wet season. The Empire protects the people from these monsters, but the leviathans' blood has infused the soil, the plants, the creatures. The blood also fuels the Empire's power and technology. Ana Dolabra is an brilliant, but eccentric investigator. Din is her assistant, an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, but he is becoming more adept at putting what he learns together. This time, the two are investigating the disappearance and murder of a Treasury officer, but as soon as Ana...

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

April 25, 2025April 25, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles is the second novella featuring Mossa and Pleiti. We've colonized Jupiter, "Giant," but are still working towards one day returning to Earth. Mossa, our investigator, is on a missing persons case that takes her to Veldageld where Pleiti lives and works. She of course asks Pleiti for help, since it is one of the university students who seems to have disappeared. I can't decide how I feel about Mossa and Pleiti's relationship. Pleiti spends so much time picking over every little comment or decision Mossa makes that it get annoying. I like them together and I like how they have different strengths and abilities - I just want Pleiti to communicate better and be a little less insecure. I feel like that's what I always want in romances and why I don't usually read them. At least here the main focus is on the mystery and not their relationship. The mystery is put together well and I...

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

April 22, 2025April 22, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

I don't really know where to start with Death in the Spires. Jem, our main character/amateur sleuth, has just lost his job thanks to an anonymous letter accusing him of murder. It's not a surprise. He's been getting letters on and off for ten years and he is tired - tired of the insinuations, tired of the not knowing, tired of his empty room. So he decides it's time to ask questions and find a killer. Jem is not a "good" amateur sleuth. What he is is dogged and determined. The story is told from his point of view, both in the present, 1905, and ten years before. We see the school and the people through his eyes, and he's not without biases. It's a sad, moody book and even the weather plays along, with plenty of fog and drizzle, and clear, but melancholy, nights. We have a closed circle of suspects. It had to be one of the six...

Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin

January 14, 2025January 14, 2025 by Carol5 Comments

Paul, still grieving after the loss of his partner and not in a steady job, takes over a cookery class from his old friend, Christian, who has broken his arm. It's a residential cooking school held in an old mansion in Belgravia, just a short walk from Paul's own house. Paul is not thrilled with the situation, not only because he has no idea what he'll be paid, but all of the students are major Christian fans and are disappointed that Paul has taken his place. And then he discovers Christian's body, clearly murdered, and Paul becomes one of the main suspects. The mystery's good enough. Each of the students and even the cooking school owner have secrets and possible motives for wanting Christian dead. We have several clues and a few red herrings. It's a bit like a house party mystery, especially when Paul ends up having to stay there too. The suspects are limited to those in the...

The Bell in the Fog by Lev A.C. Rosen

March 21, 2024April 10, 2024 by Carol2 Comments

The Bell in the Fog is the second in the Andy Mills series and I do think it's best to read Lavender House first. It gives a good introduction to Andy and his world, along with a couple of characters who reappear here. Andy is set up as a private detective now, but because he used to be a cop the community doesn't trust him, so he's not getting much business. He lives above Elsie's bar, the Ruby, and he's costing it business too, so she's not making enough to pay the bribes that prevent raids. He needs the money, so when someone from his past wants to hire him to find out who is behind blackmail photos that could threaten his military career, Andy takes the case. The mystery itself is of course more complicated than it seems at first, and more dangerous. It's also so connected to Andy's past that maybe he's not seeing things as clearly as he should....

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

January 23, 2024April 10, 2024 by CarolNo Comments

YA Horror - not my usual genre, which is why I love reading challenges, they get me out of the mystery aisle occasionally. Tales of a cursed island in the Philippines bring a television crew hoping to gather footage to produce a new reality show starring a famous ghost investigator who needs to rehabilitate his image. No one lives on the island, but the film crew needs a guide and they find a teenager, Alon. Alon is the only one willing to help them, but even they tell the crew that it would be best for everyone to leave. Most of the legends are true and people could end up hurt. Alon stays and helps, though, as they believe that's the best way for the most people to survive. Within minutes of their arrival, a giant sinkhole appears, revealing a giant balete tree with a mummified corpse entwined in its gnarled branches. And the crew start seeing strange visions. The island...