For this year I think I might try and catch up a little with old friends by concentrating on some of the many series I have ongoing. Maybe even finish a few if possible or at least bring some up to date. It won't be my only reading though as I'll still be picking off the odd stand-alone book from my tbr shelves or get distracted by the shiny & new.
Lamentation by
C. J. Sansom
Sixth book in the Shardlake series of historical mysteries. Everybody’s favourite hunch-backed lawyer once again finds himself embroiled in court intrigue when Catherine Parr asks him to find a book she’d rather not see the light of day. Stolen from a locked box to which only she has a key and the title page having been found clutched in the hand of a murdered printer Shardlake is tasked with finding the book and why it’s not yet seen the light of day. For if it does she would most likely follow the path of Henry’s previous wives and supporters of the Protestant faith that currently hold sway would be discredited at a time crucial to the future of the kingdom as the king draws near death.
The fictitious mystery is cleverly woven in with actual events of the time being set in the time of Anne Askew’s burning and includes mostly real people. Weighing in at over 700 pages this is another brick but there is hardly any let up in the suspense as the mystery unfolds. Although I’d guessed part of the ending I didn’t quite get to all of it. Another quality entry into a very good series. One more book to go! 4★'s
The Jennifer Morgue by
Charles Stross
After surviving his first couple of adventures as a Laundry Files field agent, Bob Howard has been promoted to SSO and has been tasked with attending a joint-liaison meeting in Germany with other EU agencies which perform similar tasks to his own organisation. Things quickly head sideways though when after arriving at his hotel he meets Ramona, an American assassin who also happens to be a succubus who works for the Black Chamber, and they’re supposed to be working together. Firstly to disrupt what’s about to go down and then to stop an evil genius who is about to raise something from the sea floor which shouldn’t be seeing the light of day. If this was the mission all along then why wasn’t he briefed?
James Bond meets H. P. Lovecraft with a dollop of geekdom thrown in for good measure make this an enjoyable continuation of this urban fantasy series. Bob & Ramona are great characters who play off each other really well and when you add Mo to the mix it really ramps up the ante. The villain is suitably Bondian through necessity as it’s all plot-driven and the author really exploits all the foibles you usually find in that franchise.
As with the first book there is also a short story with Bob back in the office with HR on his back. This time around he gets lumbered with an intern who does exactly what Bob tells him not to do and ends up trapped in an MMORPG. Unfortunately for Bob this particular intern got the position through nepotism and if he wants to avoid some nasty repercussions then he’s going to have to rescue him.
The way the series has started it could be a rival to the Dresden books for my favourite of the genre. 4★'s
www.theguardian.com
