Books List

Reading some longer stuff this week so didn't get as much in.  All worth a look.

Promissory Payback by Laurel Dewey is a solid if unremarkable mystery in the continuing saga of Denver Police detective Jane Perry.  Dewey shows herself to be a solid enough writer after an opening to the book that struck me as awkward and uneven.  She uses a quote from Ayn Rand (whom I dislike intensely) that is appropriate for the story and has great potential but never really gets a full exploration.  Even in novelette form she has the room to really give this story a little more depth.  It might have taken it from solid to exemplary.
The story itself in timely enough (a small time Ponzi scheme) and the characters are clear enough.  There's not a lot of "whodunit", my bet is you'll see the answer pretty quickly.  I'll give her this - there is a little bit of a twist in the ending so it wasn't completely obvious.
In Jane Perry I think Dewey has a solid character that can carry readers from story to story.  There's something in Perry's past that drives her forward that isn't explained in this story but sounds like a story her readers will look forward to exploring.  Dewey has the skill to make the experience an enjoyable one.
If you've never read anything by Laurel Dewey (and her writing credits include the Jane Perry stories, at least one Western and a couple books on plant medicine plus a boatload of other stuff) this will probably decide to keep you eyes open for her in the future.
Rating - ***

Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming - Roger Zelazny & Robert Sheckley  Nothing like bringing two of the best writers in the world of Science Fiction in the second half of the 20th century together and then giving them a really fun story to play with.  In this case it's re-telling of the Prince Charming story.  Except that the Prince and his beloved (not Sleeping Beauty this time, just the Napping Princess) are basically Frankenstein's monster types created by a demon named Azzie who is trying to win a contest at the turn of the first Millennium.   The Prince has to overcome his coward's heart and to be honest the Princess is a little on the whiny side.  And yes, it is great fun.  Sheckley was one of the great comic short story sci-fi writers and Zelazny was an incredible creative talent.  If you're looking for some fun, light reading this is a great choice.
Rating: ****

Haunted Destiny - Ellie James - Have to admit that this book surprised me.  I will sometimes take a risk on a book just based on the blurb.  Looking at the title I figured it was either romance based or Young Adult (YA).  The description said it was a mystery though and I took a shot.  Turns out the author has a solid pedigree as a romance novelist and this was her first YA foray.  Haunted Destiny is the first of a series called Midnight Dragonfly.   If this is any indication of what's to come it will be well worth you time to read.  This makes 3 books that I've read recently set in New Orleans.  I was there just a couple years ago and when James describes a certain part of Jackson Square she put me right back there again.  Solid characters, good writing, great story telling.  I really enjoyed this.
Rating: ****