Miraz Jordan

The whole Halcyone series was excellent, and this final book was a good read that wrapped up the story. A Star in the Void: Halcyone Space Book 5 by LJ Cohen. 📚

I'm only sad to have finished this series, so I won't be able to hang out with these characters any more.

I like the characters and setting in this series but the plotting in this book is a bit hard to go along with. Hidden Agenda: Murder in the Clouds (Gina Santoro Mysteries Book 2) by Kay Hadashi. 📚

There are better things to do in Hawaii on a sunny day than go on a free skydiving trip. Just ask Gina Santoro while she parachutes into a murder mystery she'll never forget!

I'm not a big fan of the romance genre, but sometimes make an exception for lesbian romance. I read Midnight Rainbows Over the Little Village (Broclington Romances Book 4) by Ella Cook. 📚

The book felt a little 'off' and I almost abandoned it part way through, but did read to the end.

I see the author lives with her husband, and perhaps that was the problem with the book for me: it was written by a straight woman who first 3 romance novels were about heterosexual couples.

Overall a fair read — Gale Force Danger (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 2) by Lakota Grace. 📚

Rán Hollander, Investigative Consultant, returns from vacation to find her desk at the constable’s office usurped by a brash rookie cop determined to make his mark. When a dead body is discovered near Rán's childhood home, the young cop goes rogue, and chaos ensues.

I really recommend this book, on sale today: US$3.10. It's good for all adults, not just us older folks. Thriving Beyond Fifty (Expanded Edition): 111 Natural Strategies to Restore Your Mobility, Avoid Surgery and Stay Off Pain Pills for Good by Will Harlow. 📚

I'm 66% through, and it's superb!

A good read by an author whose previous books I've enjoyed. Lake Effect Murder (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 1) by Lakota Grace. 📚

When Rán Hollander’s sister calls with the news that their father had a tragic accident on Lake Michigan, Rán drops everything and returns to a small town that turned its back on her years earlier. Was the death an accident, a suicide, or something much worse?

A spot of editing would have been useful to catch stray weird words and a couple of minor inconsistencies.

By the end of the 11-book Sister Joan series I was sad to leave this world, though the last book dwelt rather on outright Evil. The Sister Joan Mysteries Books 9–11 by Veronica Black. 📚

After a shaky start in Book One I did enjoy this series very much.

Things are getting more complicated in the 4th book of an enjoyable series — Parallax: Halcyone Space, book 4 by LJ Cohen. 📚

knowledge brings new threats and Halcyone's crew is drawn more deeply into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy Ithaka and reignite a galactic war when they uncover the hidden power brokers who have been quietly manipulating the Commonwealth for decades.

The first story in Rogue Stars: 7 Novels of Space Exploration and Adventure (various authors) was somehow 'off'. It just didn't sit right with me. The second was too dark and gritty for my taste. I decided to abandon this free book. 📚

Jump into seven full-length novels exploring the last great frontier. Rogue Stars has alien invasions, artificial intelligence, galactic intrigue, and heroes that will defy orders to do what is right.

I was a bit iffy about the first Sister Joan book, but when the chance came to buy 9 books for less than $2 I decided to risk more in the series, and I didn't regret it. The series grew on me and I'll read more yet. The Sister Joan Mysteries Books 1–9: Nine utterly gripping crime mysteries by Veronica Black. 📚

One captivating box set, steeped in the atmosphere of the wild and windswept Cornish coast …

Meet Sister Joan, a rebel nun who solves baffling crimes.

A jolly good read — Star Nomad: Fallen Empire, Book 1 by Lindsay Buroker. 📚

Steal a dilapidated and malfunctioning freighter from a junkyard full of lawless savages. Slightly suicidal, but she believes she can do it. Her plan, however, does not account for the elite cyborg soldier squatting in the freighter, intending to use it for his own purposes.

I see more from this series in my future.

The adventure continues in Dreadnought And Shuttle: Halcyone Space, book 3 by LJ Cohen. Our team of heroes are enterprising and creative. Another good read. 📚

As the former shipmates track Maldonado down, each course they plot endangers the life of his hostage, threatens to reveal Ithaka, and uncovers conspiracies that could brand them all traitors.

Another good read in a series I enjoy — Critical Traces (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries Book 10) by D. L. Keur 📚 :

An injured horseback rider, then two missing ATVers, a gunshot through the engine of one of the machines--thus begins a strange series of wildland trail incidents, all of them on the county's public lands.

This is a slim book in the way a surgeon's scalpel is slim — and equally effective Understanding Te Tiriti. 📚

A handbook of basic facts about Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

No 200 page academic treatise, this book cuts right to the point, clarifying what led to Te Tiriti, what it says and what that means.

Buy it, read it, if you are in any way engaged with Aotearoa.

Another enjoyable adventure with this young group of friends — Ithaka Rising: Halcyone Space, book 2 by LJ Cohen. 📚

When Barre's brother Jem disappears, Barre and Ro race to find him before he sells his future and risks his mind for a black market neural implant.

I think someone on Micro.Blog mentioned Derelict: Halcyone Space, book 1 by LJ Cohen. 📚

Although I enjoy watching sci-fi I don't always enjoy reading it. This book though kept my attention and I enjoyed the characters and the story.

I'll definitely be reading more.

You probably don't want to read the this gripping psychological suspense, The Door at the Top of the Stairs by Alison Naomi Holt. 📚

I nearly stopped early on but persevered through the descriptions of terrible torture relived by a young woman.

The whole book was problematic, with key characters who were bullying and coercive. The fox hunting that went on in the background also didn't help.

The following disclaimer at the end of the book probably reflects one reason why I was so uneasy while reading:

Another in a series I really feel comfortable with, and an author whose writing I enjoy. This particular book seemed a little less than the others though and didn't quite grip me as much — A Poisoned Chalice (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 8) by Alison Joseph. 📚

St Bruno’s church is burning. … Was this the hiding place of the fabled Judas chalice? A priceless heirloom that’s been missing for decades.

Another very good read from a favourite author — Echoes on the Fens (Detective Nikki Galena Mysteries Book 15) by Joy Ellis. 📚

I really like these characters and how they go about things.

Three days. Three murders. No leads

I came across an older book I hadn't read from an author whose work I enjoy. This was a really good read: Alias by Cari Hunter. 📚

A car lies crashed below a Welsh mountain road. One of the young women inside it is dead, the other badly injured, with no memory of who she is or what just happened. All she has is a bus pass showing her photograph and a name she doesn’t recognise.

Heavy on the religious minutiae, it was interesting that Sister Joan was able to ferret out wrongdoing in spite of the enormous limitations of a very contained life. I may not read more.

A Vow of Silence (Sister Joan Murder Mystery Book 1) by Veronica Black. 📚

There are whispers of virgin sacrifice and suicide, and the mother prioress certainly wears pink nail varnish. And who is the young man hiding in the bracken?

This book grew on me as I read more, but it didn't entirely grab me. Blindsided (Grace Smith Mystery Book 2)by Liz Evans. 📚

When Grace Smith, a down-on-her-luck private investigator with an unimpressive track record, gets a call from an elderly man about a missing person, she’s not expecting much.

I really enjoy this series, in part for the very ordinary and likeable characters who work at the supermarket in small town Kingsleigh. The Missing Heirloom Mystery (The Supermarket Mysteries Book 5) by Rachel Ward. 📚

Several mysteries here and I suspected one perpetrator, but not the motive.

This series has such excellent writing — Cast the First Stone (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 7) by Alison Joseph. 📚

For example, this sentence in the middle of an intense and difficult discussion:

How brilliant: the silence muffled the traffic noise, not vice versa.

I think I'm done with this series: The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Books 11–15 by Veronica Heley. 📚

Book 12 in particular was a bit silly and repetitive. The others lacked the occasional writing sparkle that previous books had.

The stories have grown stale.