Still Life With Murder

                                                
                                                                                Still Life With Murder

When governess Nell Sweeney is charged by her employer to solve a gruesome murder, she must confront her own past to find the answers.
  
Author: P.B. Ryan
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While the character of Nell is a little anachronistic in her knowledge of medical and police procedures, she is a likeable and believable heroine. This story is well written and features good characters with depth and complexity. There is excellent use of language and the writing is well edited. Best of all, I didn't know whodunnit until the end - even my suspects were wrong! Book one of a series, but it stands alone and has a satisfactory conclusion. FREE ON KINDLE at the moment. Absolutely worth getting.

Caution (and mini-spoilers) - This book is not for the timid.  It describes American Civil-War era prisoner of war camps, details of drug use, bloody murder, marital infidelity, and prostitution.  If any of this offends you or makes you shy away, you may want to pass on this one.

Amazing art for an amazing story!

The Phoenix Requiem

When children find a wounded man in the snow during a festival, the village nurse, Anya, must fill in for the absent doctor. Once healed, the man presents a fascinating enigma: he is both courteous and gentlemanly, but also makes casual references to his own madness and time spent in an asylum. Anya finds herself drawn in to solving the mystery of her patient, and how he is connected to a strange rotting plague that is spreading quickly from town to town.

Author: Sarah Ellerton
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Once again, Sarah Ellerton's artwork and story-crafting skills truly shine. After following this webcomic since its first pages, it is a delight to have my own hardcopy. The interactions among the characters, and the complexity of the world make for a fascinating read, while the illustrations bring everything to life.

Bride of Fae

Bride of Fae (Tethers, Book 2)

A love more powerful than magic or time.

Beverly Bratton has a safe, mundane life. No drama. No magic. Since her parents died, she’s cared for her little sister Marion and worked at the Tragic Fall Inn. When a fairy’s charm sends Beverly a hundred years into the past-and into the path of a banished fairy prince-nothing will ever be mundane or safe again.

The regent of the Dumnos fae is turning the court from light to dark, and there’s nothing the rightful king, Prince Dandelion, can do about it. The mystical coronation cup which he needs to become king has fallen into human hands. When he meets a human woman with access to the cup, everything changes. Beverly is fascinating as well as useful-but of course Dandelion doesn’t love her.

Love for a fairy is rare. Love with a human, impossible. But when Beverly and Dandelion are thrown together in a battle against both wyrd and fae, they learn that in Dumnos the impossible happens every day.

Author: LK Rigel
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This was an entertaining book with lots of intriguing characters and a richly developed fae realm.   There is plenty of drama; a nice blend of magic, sex, and lust; and a dash of tragedy to keep the balance just right.  The time travel is well-written and is not at all confusing, and the characters have depth enough to make each one distinct.  Even though I have not read the first book in this series (and now I really want to!) I was able to follow the plot and characters with no problems.

This book kept my attention and interest - I read it in one afternoon!  It is well written and imaginative, and I would love to read more in this series.

Welcome.

I am a new book reviewer, and am super excited about the chance to read books I haven't already read several times!  I especially like fantasy, science-fiction, and mystery stories with an occult twist.  Let the reading commence!