Tag Archives: fiction

Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry (2011) – BR00193 (2021) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
June 9 2021

Plot or Premise

Jane Whitefield is a Seneca woman living in NY state. She honours her ancestors and helps those who are in trouble to disappear and start a new life.

What I Liked

The premise of the main character’s “job” of helping people escape bad situations and start a new life — serving as their guide — is a fantastic premise, and the first half of the book is primarily about how she goes about doing her job. While some clients are eased into the process a bit more gradually, her latest client is all-in from day 1.

What I Didn’t Like

You know as the story unfolds that something is going to go wrong, you just don’t know what or when. Despite some initial success, some of it seems even TOO easy for her to do with a minimum of fuss. Mid-book, the type of story changes considerably, as the hunted becomes the hunter, and it isn’t as good as her other books that have a bit more mystery to them rather than action.

The Bottom Line

A great first book in the series, Whitefield is awesome.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (2010) – BR00192 (2021) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
June 7 2021

Plot or Premise

A new trio of Jason, Piper and Leo has arrived at Camp Half-Blood and are ready to set off on a quest, but something seems off about not only them and their memories, but also about their participation in a ritual for the children of Greek Gods at all.

What I Liked

The new trio are fun, and there’s enough mystery in both who they all are and why they don’t remember to keep things interesting. Jason has a lot of power, and some knowledge but a goddess has stolen all his memories. Piper has a big secret, namely that someone is whispering in her ear and in her dreams, when all she really wants to do is be in love with Jason. Leo also has a past, too much fire, and he’s really into machines. All great powers to have, and nothing like what we had with the previous campers.

What I Didn’t Like

The amnesia thing for Jason lands a bit trite at times, as he remembers just enough to move the plot along but not enough to be totally useful. The wind gods start off interesting, as does the flying dragon, but eventually they become almost clichés. And the entire media thing is way too Neil Gaiman/American Gods for my taste.

The Bottom Line

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call but we’ll start with three for now.

The Twelve Apostles by William J. Coughlin (2016) – BR00190 (2020) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
March 25 2020

Plot or Premise

An elite law firm in NYC has 12 full partners, nicknamed the Apostles, and various members wheel and deal with big business clients as an opening comes available.

What I Liked

The story has a very strong “Wall Street” feel to it, but the back and forth between two companies with their punches and counter-punches are fast-paced and real. Most stories in the genre have one or two “business” tricks, but this is much more complicated and relies less on a single tool to advance the plot. The story mixes experienced Apostles, with participating associates gunning for a promotion, and even associates and junior partners slogging in the trenches.

What I Didn’t Like

The romance side of the story detracts from the business manoeuvres, as does the one-dimensional side of one of the business clients and their opposing counsel. In addition, there is some seriously flawed treatment of a sexual assault that shouldn’t be anywhere in the story, it’s completely superfluous to the outcome.

The Bottom Line

Great business dealings, lousy everything else.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (2018) – BR00189 (2020) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
March 22 2020

Plot or Premise

A woman dies at a party at a country resort, the solution obvious. But she was actually murdered, and a guest must solve the crime or never leave. Because the same day repeats each day, and each day the guest is in the body of someone else. He has seven chances to get it right.

** Note that when I bought the e-book, all the promotional material including the cover said “The 7 Deaths of…”. Now, a few months later, as I go to review it, the title has changed to the 7.5 deaths. I’m keeping the title I had initially. **

What I Liked

The Groundhog Day / time loop is rarely handled well in any genre (TV, movie, books), but Turton not only handles it expertly, he adds in a body jumping element that is brilliant. Each day he learns just a little bit more about the culminating murder, and about the reality he is trapped in, playing detective in a country resort. Some days he is completely new, other days he is locked into exchanges he witnessed the day before and must tweak them to ensure they end the same or differently. Can he prevent the murder? Can he solve the crime? And why does another guest seem to know he’s not himself? And who — or what — is stalking the guests?

What I Didn’t Like

It is a bit confusing at times, given the sheer complexity of the story. 

The Bottom Line

Expertly done — time jumps, loops, and body-hopping, oh my!

Murder at Hawthorn Cottage by Betty Rowlands (2018) – BR00188 (2020) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
March 21 2020

Plot or Premise

A mystery writer moves to the country to find some peace and quiet in her life to do some writing.

What I Liked

The feel is very much like an Agatha Christie-style small village with priests, neighbours and a local mystery, with a body dropping shortly after things get settled.

What I Didn’t Like

The romance side doesn’t work, as it’s hard to get a feel for the lead character’s age…one minute she seems like a woman in her late 50s and the next she seems like a girl in her early 20s. Worldly, calm, centred and then naïve, unsure, flighty. The ex and her son seem superfluous, and some of the other characters are a bit superficial with their secrets which are wildly apparent long before they are “revealed”. She isn’t as bumbling as, say, Stephanie Plum, but she’s hardly Miss Marple either, or even Jessica Fletcher. But these are minor complaints for a rich world and sense of Christie-like mystery.

The Bottom Line

Not quite Christie but I’ll read more in the series.

Note that the book was originally published as A Little Gentle Sleuthing (1990).