Plot or Premise

Victor Maitland is an artist of great passion and terrible interpersonal skills. When he shows up dead, knifed in the back in a low-rent painting studio, there are lots of possible suspects. Everyone hated his guts, as they say.

What I Liked

The original case had gone nowhere, looked like a faked robbery, but with no leads. Maitland’s uncle had some juice and put pressure on Thorsen to solve it, which pulled Delaney back in from retirement. Delaney starts working with Abner Boone and they make great partners and mentor/mentee with no BS, just hard talk.

I enjoyed the investigation into all the different possible suspects. And even into Maitland. Despite being a first-class jerk, Delaney admires his artwork. For the suspects, we meet his wife in denial, his art manager in greed, the art manager’s lawyer in possible cahoots, the son in anger, a model in ignorance, a model in luxury and notoriety, and his extended family in seclusion in the boonies.

It’s a great case to see all the moving pieces going nowhere fast, until you start to see some movement with some of the culprits. Fantastic procedural, particularly for the early times.

And I did not see the ending coming. Delaney has the nickname Iron B*lls for a reason.

What I Didn’t Like

There are a bit too many red herrings with so many suspects, most of which go nowhere useful, and there’s extra romance layered on for the home life of Delaney and Boone.

The Bottom Line

Even jerks deserve a homicide investigation

Plot or Premise

Harper’s future in a dystopian society is all mapped out. She’s an ace developer, and she’s expecting to get picked high for a great job in the annual Bid Day selection of who gets what jobs for life. Wealth, perks, clean living. Except she doesn’t get picked for the best job; she gets picked by no one, except for the last-chance job.

What I Liked

There are lots of other series that have a similar premise — selection to a specific group of young people. Except rather than ending up in the right house via a sorting hat or in the right faction by choice or volunteering to be tribute, this one has the opposite spin. The choice goes wrong instead of right. And Harper has to deal with her new life that is very different than she expected. There are signs that things in society are not all on the up-and-up, with hints of corruption at multiple levels. Until it becomes clear that even Harper’s bid day experience was rigged.

What I Didn’t Like

Unfortunately, her romance with Eli is rather predictable and some of the antagonists seem one-dimensional. The ending raises the stakes, but a bit too much of a gap for me from earlier, just jumps up too abruptly. I’ll still read more in the series, though.

The Bottom Line

Come for the dystopia, stay for the soldiering

Plot or Premise

Edward has left, leaving Bella to pine for him and find new ways to fill the hours. She takes new risks to feel alive, including getting closer to Jacob.

What I Liked

While it is obvious to the reader from the beginning that Jacob is a werewolf, the slow “build” that all the young guys that he hangs out with are a pack is fun. While it is commonplace for so many books now, it was great to re-read the twist that Meyer put on the franchise back in ’06. It’s fun to see the family worry about the connections, and even her dad and mom chiming in.

What I Didn’t Like

The trip to Italy is a bit over the top in places, while fascinating. The Discovery of Witches series does something similar, and is better handled than the excess shown here.

The Bottom Line

Come for the vampire, stay for the werewolves