Empire of Ruins by Arthur Slade

The Hunchback Assignments book 3

4 stars
YF

While once again the romance is mildly annoying, I really enjoyed this one.

The twists in the character development especially-- excellent.

And really, I'm a sucker for anything archaeology, so the Indiana Jones-esque feel is always a plus.

Definitely read the first two first, but don't stop there.

Hoping for a fourth installment... (and maybe even Mr. Socrates will stop being a dork).

It's a Little Book by Lane Smith

5 stars!

This board book companion to It's a Book is utterly adorable.  There's just no other way to say it.

I love all the different questions about the book.

"Is it for quacking?"

LOL

It's a book, silly.

:)

The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade

(Hunchback Assignments book 2)
4 stars
YF

Modo is back-- and this time it's shades of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a smidgen of The Invisible Man.

Seriously, how much more awesome does this get?!

Totally enjoyed this sequel.

**But, just in case you were wondering, love triangles are even more stupid when they invovle 15-year-olds.  Just sayin'.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

(Book 1)
4 stars
YF

The start of a fabulous new steampunk series!

Modo (yes, as in Quasi) is a shapeshifter-- raised by a mysterious man known only as Mr. Socrates to be a top agent.

Yes, that's right, the hunchback is a shapeshifting secret agent.  In a steampunk alternate past.

It totally rocks.

Throw in echoes of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, among other literary themes, and you've got quite the story.

I did feel like it was just a little slow starting out, but overall, good stuff.  :)

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

5 stars
R-2

Wow.

Okay, so if I'm being totally honest I have to say that I picked this up because a) it's not terribly long and b) I'm trying to clean off my shelves a bit and didn't expect to love it.

I guess it's good it's slim, because it is sooooo staying on that shelf.

What an interesting WWII story.  Or post-war... whatever.  Depends on how you look at it.

This book is chilling and utterly compelling, fascinating and terribly tragic.

And I loved it.

Totally fully whole-heartedly recommended.

The Malice Domestic Convention

The Agatha Award nominees!

2011

Best Novel:
The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews (Minotaur)
The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis (Berkley)
Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur)
Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best First Novel:
Dire Threads by Janet Bolin (Berkley)
Choke by Kaye George (Mainly Murder Press)
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown)
Who Do, Voodoo? by Rochelle Staab (Berkley)
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend (Berkley)

Best Non-fiction:
Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure by Leslie Budewitz (Linden)
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks by John Curran (Harper)
On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda (Princeton University Press)
Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel by A. B. Emrys (McFarland)
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

Best Short Story:
"Disarming" by Dana Cameron, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - June 2011
"Dead Eye Gravy" by Krista Davis, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press)
"Palace by the Lake" by Daryl Wood Gerber, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press)
"Truth and Consequences" by Barb Goffman, Mystery Times Ten (Buddhapuss Ink)
"The Itinerary" by Roberta Isleib, MWA Presents the Rich and the Dead (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Children's/Young Adult:
Shelter by Harlan Coben (Putnam)
The Black Heart Crypt by Chris Grabenstein (Random House)
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby (Scholastic Press)
The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey (EgmontUSA)
The Code Busters Club, Case #1: The Secret of the Skeleton Key by Penny Warner (EgmontUSA)

Best Historical Novel:
Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Murder Your Darlings by J.J. Murphy (Signet)
Mercury's Rise by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper)

Sad to say I've not read any of this bunch.  How about you?? 

My TBR list just grew.....

Crops and Robbers by Paige Shelton

5 stars
R- 2? maybe\
local author!

You know, I was worried about the sustainability of this series, but I didn't need to be.  Each installment has been just as fun.

And I really really liked this one.

Even with the love triangle-y bits.

Maybe even because of them.

(But don't tell anyone I said so.)

I CANNOT wait for the next one after where this leaves you hanging!