Into the Vampire City by Phil Tucker ★★★☆☆

Kept me guessing!

Fiction – YA – Dystopian/Urban Fantasy

224 pages

Publication Date:  2012

Other Name: Vampire Miami

The Human Revolt #1

Selah Brown chooses to go to the only family she has left in the vampire controlled city of Miami when her father disappears.  Originally on the hunt for her father Selah’s course changes when she unexpectedly gets tangled up with the vampires and a unique gift she possesses reveals itself, putting her family and new friends in danger and even possibly starting a new Vampire War.

Right from the beginning the well-designed book-world and finely crafted characters shine through.  Selah is very dynamic and I found the examination of how people react in survival mode, either holding onto the humanity harder or going no holds bar, fascinating.  Also, having the story take place after things had settled in an uncomfortable holding pattern after the vampire wars was an interesting time to choose and gave the story a unique perspective.  The writing was not to my taste - I found it rough, raw and a bit crowded – but my love for the premise and plot overcame the writing and led to another late night trying fight off my obsessive need to continue the story.  Not only does this plot drip with potential for growth, but I never knew what to expect next during the whole story.  There was one very gross part that bothered me, but luckily it was short and the only one of its kind.  Thanks to www.bookbub.com I was introduced to another book I probably wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich ★★☆☆☆

A chore to read.

Fiction – Mystery(Cozy)

384 pages

Publication Date:  2004

Alex Barnaby #1

Alexandra (Barney) Barnaby is in pursuit of her wayward brother, Bill, in Miami.  She hopes to find him and save him from whatever fresh catastrophe he has gotten himself into this time.  During her search she runs into Sam Hooker, a NASCAR driver who is pursuing Bill for the theft of his boat.  They learn that Bill is in pursuit of a sunken treasure, but he isn’t the only one.  Together Barney and Hooker race to the finish line to find Bill before the  “others” can get to him and the sunken treasure he has found.

Try as I might I could never find the rhythm of the story and slip into it.  While things did get a little better as the story progressed it never reached the point of redemption and in the end just trying to finish the book was a real chore.  I never warmed up to Barney and as a first person narrative from viewpoint that was a real problem.  Barney’s character just didn’t feel authentic to me for some reason.  I found Hooker unlikable and got sick of his constant NASCAR references really quickly.  The secondary characters were rather disappointing, especially since I know that is one of the areas Evanovich tends to shine in.  The mystery itself could have been incredibly interesting, but the characters were just too distracting to really get into it.  I regret the time I spent on this one!

ISBN  0060584025 (ISBN13: 9780060584023)

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich ★★★★☆

I like it down and dirty!

Fiction – Mystery (Cozy)

320 pages

Publication Date:  January 1, 1994

Stephanie Plum #1

Literary awards:  Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel (1995), Shamus Award Nominee for Best First PI Novel (1995), Dilys Award (1995), The Crime Writers' Association New Blood Dagger (1995), Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel (1994)  Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel (1995)

Desperation is a great motivator and Stephanie Plum is feeling both desperate and motivated in One for the Money.  Laid off from her job and unemployed for the last six months Stephanie finds herself willing to do almost anything including taking a job as a bounty hunter for slimy cousin Vinnie.  To make things a little sweeter this bounty is for a cop turned murder named Joe Morelli; a man Stephanie has a rather complicate history with.  Sure the last time they met she hit him with her car accidentally on purpose and he may not be too happy to see her, but Stephanie is still almost confident she can handle him.  Even with zero bounty hunting skills, a prize fighter gunning for her and the clock ticking down on her trial week, Stephanie believes she can handle herself, but the question becomes can she handle Morelli too.

Evanovich weaves a sordid tale with a hilarious heroine, Stephanie Plum, who has the tenacity of a bulldog and is incredibly and unapologetically self-aware.  Stephanie is completely lovable, and realistic.  Evanovich has a gift for description whether it’s a person, place, thing, event or emotion, which makes the reader really experience Stephanie’s world.  Through these descriptions the reader is led to understand in an intimate way how Stephanie’s oddball family, the communities of Trenton and her interactions with Joe Morelli shaped her.  Stephanie’s world supported by a cast of colorful characters – Lula(who gains importance as the series moves a head), wacky Grandma Mazur, and mysterious Ranger –takes on a living breathing life of its own. 

I would call this book dirty, but in really good way.  There is nothing clean cut or pristine about it.  This story is completely blue collar and I really liked it.  Usually I’m more into the gentleman thief or savvy investigator type of stuff, but this book was great for the very fact it threw a normal person into odd circumstances and she behaved the way most normal people – with an extra helping of tenacity - would.   I found it very refreshing, smart and sassy and I plan to move right along to the second book.  (I love it when series have been out for a while and there is no need to wait for the next book to come out!)

Side note:  I am now several books into the series and have deemed it worthy enough to add to my Chosen Ones List.

ISBN13: 9780312362089

Sight Unseen by Robert Goddard ★★☆☆☆

Conflicted as the Main Character

Fiction – Mystery/Thriller/Crime

320 Pages

Publication Date: December 26, 2006

“It began at Avebury.  But it did not end there”

When retired policeman George Sharp goes to Prague and attempts to convince David Umber to come back to London with him and look into the crime that brought Umber and his wife, Sally, together 23 years earlier Umber is more than a little skeptical.  Umber has tried to put that event and Sally, who died five years earlier in a supposed suicide, behind him.  But with so many unanswered questions haunting him and the urgings of an anonymous letter signed by the long dead Junius – the subject of Umber’s abandoned thesis - Umber decides to give Sharp a chance.  As they start back down the old familiar tracks, strange things occur and the investigation takes a turn neither of them could have expected. 

I found the lack luster writing style and uninspiring characters bothersome.  The characters tended to be flat and not very dynamic, especially when it came to the dialogue.  These two major factors niggled at me the whole way through the book.  What kept me going was the actual plot.  Some other reviews I read complained the plot was too complicated and hard to follow, frankly I don’t agree with them. The use of the Junius figure, an eighteenth-century polemicist known for his scathing letters on the British government, and the interest in finding out his real identity coupled with the twist and turns of the investigation was fascinating to me.  Goddard slowly doles out information so you aren’t quite sure what will happen in the end in a way I liked and he did eventually answer the questions haunting Umber.

I debated long and hard about my rating for this book and I just couldn’t bring myself to give it three stars.  A good book should not only have a good plot, but also decent writing and strong characters; which is why I only gave Sight Unseen two stars.  I do want to state, however, I haven’t completely written off Robert Goddard and plan on giving him another try at some later date when some of my dissatisfaction has bled off.

ISBN: 978-0440242802