The Lost Book of Salem by Katherine Howe

While clearing out her grandmother's cottage for sale, Connie Goodwin finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane. And so begins the hunt to uncover the woman behind the name, a hunt that takes her back to Salem in 1692 . . . and the infamous witchcraft trials.

But nothing is entirely as it seems and when Connie unearths the existence of Deliverance's spell book, the Physick Book, the situation takes on a menacing edge as interested parties reveal their desperation to find this precious artefact at any cost.

What secrets does the Physick Book contain? What magic is scrawled across its parchment pages? Connie must race to answer these questions - and reveal the truth about Salem's women - before an ancient family curse once more fulfils its dark and devastating prophecy . . .

Apparently, over in the States, the book is called The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane, which certainly has a ring to it.

Either way, the book is such a special treat.  It is a dual narrative, set both in our "modern" time as well as in 1692, working forwards from there, giving us snippets of Deliverance Dane's heritage to her daughters and granddaughters.

What struck me the most about Ms. Howe's novel is the quality of the writing - it borders on poetry in some instances when she describes this hidden house the main character, Connie, has to live in whilst clearing it.  I got a great sense of place and luxuriated in the description of the house and the tanglewood garden.  What also helped was that the novel takes place over Summer so the writing has a cloying, dreamlike feel which suited the narrative perfectly.  I loved Connie's character and the mystery surrounding the fantastically named Deliverance Dane.  I could just imagine someone like Jethro Tull or even Fleetwood Mac writing a song in her honour.

US Cover and title - very pretty!

I digress. The novel is wonderfully layered as we have Connie who is quite pragmatic and sensible working on her big dissertation for her Phd.  She grew up in unusual circumstances as her mum travelled with her a lot.  Her mum is a seeker and is convinced she can heal people by the laying on of hands.   Connie can't help but feel like her mum is play-acting at it all and that she runs away from confronting the reality of life.  Case in point, leaving her grandmother's house to lay undisturbed for several years, acruing taxes, before doing anything about it - i.e. asking Connie to go clear it out over the Summer holidays and get it ready to put on the market.

On the one had we have a pretty rubbish situation for Connie, a personal dilemma, and on the other hand, we have her very demanding tutor at university asking her to start work on her dissertation and to work hard at getting hold of some kind of original source.

As Connie finds evidence of Deliverance Dane in her grandmother's old cottage and she starts researching Deliverance, we move backwards and forwards in time in an attempt to make sense of both their stories.  I read another review that said the novel was weighed down by description.  One person may have thought that but I loved it.  I found it interesting and enjoyed Connie's process at figuring out what exactly was going on even if she occasionally came across as being a bit silly when it came to making sense of personal names and different spellings of items listed in old catalogues and diary entries.  I suspect the author showed Connie making mistakes like this to prevent us from thinking that Connie was a knowitall and we all know no one likes a knowitall!

It is a novel that looks at the past and how it informs us in present.  It is a story of a young woman who discovers much about herself in the process of the novel and can be seen as a rite of passage novel.  The research she goes in to to discover what she needs to find about Deliverance Dane and her own family history is thoughtfully written.

If I am pushed, I'd say that I genuinely did not like her mother.  I know why the author wrote the character the way she did, but I found myself skipping the dialogues Connie ended up having with her mum.  She was maybe a bit too new agey and it didn't ring true to me.

I can definitely recommend this as a lazy summer's read by the pool or on the beach.  It is a fun historical novel, firmly anchored in the witch trials of Salem but told in a very private and beautifully evocative way.

Find Katherine Howe's website here.  The Lost Book of Salem is available (and has been for some time now) in the UK from Penguin.

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

1348.  Plague has come to England.  And the lies you tell will be the death of you.  A scarred trader in holy relics.  A conjuror.  A musician and his apprentice.  A one-armed storyteller.  A young couple on the run.  A midwife.  And a rune-reading girl. 


A group of misfits bands together to escape the plague.  But in their midst lurks a curse darker and more malign than the pestilence they flee. 

I've seen Company of Liars around for a while now and I eventually succumbed to buying it in desperation - I wanted something different to read.  Something historical with little or no romance in it.  Something dark and gritty.  I thought this would be it.  And I was right.

The novel opens with a group of unknown people in an inn/pub discussing how best to kill a witch.  The conversation goes backwards and forwards and there is this underlying sense of awful menace that it's real, it's something they're definitely going to do. But we leave them behind for the opening chapter in which we meet the character who will be the narrator of Company of Liars.

We know very little about him.  We never learn his name, we only know him as Camelot, which is not actual name as we know it, but more a name for someone who is a peddler or hawker of goods that were not always genuine or thieved from somewhere else.  We know his face is badly scarred from a battle long ago and he's lost an eye because of it.  But he is our narrator and such he is our guide to this era and to those he meets along the way, who ultimately come to form the Company.

Camelot forms an easy friendship with the Italian musician Rodrigo and his handsome apprentice Jofre after he helps them find lodgings at an inn. He learns that Rodrigo and Jofre have been let go from the household of a noble lord and that they are keen to find somewhere to over-winter.  Camelot is hesitant to do so, but eventually agrees to have Rodrigo and Jofre accompany him for a while.  He soon realises that they are very much unprepared for spending time on the road.  Next to join the company is Zophiel, a thoroughly nasty piece of work.  He is the conjuror.  He is single minded and selfish, suspicious of everyone else, rude and antagonistic.  He is also a huge bully and seems to dislike women and anyone who does not conform to what he sees as right. Zophiel's joining of the loose company is not so much a joining for friendship as it for convenience sake.  He has a wagon and a horse and with the help of Rodrigo, Camelot and Jofre, they manage to keep the wagon on the road and the horse fed and in a straight line along the treacherous paths.  Shortly after Zophiel the lovers join the company, Adele and Osmond.  Adele is far gone with child and she is weak, undernourished and of delicate constitution.  Osmond is handsome, brave, thoughtful and caring of his young bride.  They discover that he is a painter and is good with making things, such as wooden toys.  Next to join the company is Pleasance, a mid-wife and a woman of even temper and caring nature.  With her is a young girl called Narigorm, the rune-reader.  Camelot meets Narigorm very early in the book, in the first chapter, before he even meets Rodrigo and Jofre and the child is too eerie for words.  She freaks him out a bit and he's none too pleased when she turns up again.   The final person to join the Company is Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller.

It's a pretty mixed bunch of people - a lot of rivalries and arguments take place as they try to outrun the plague.  They travel north, then east, then north again for a while, stopping off at various villages and towns to trade goods or buy food and supplies.

I had the impression that Ms. Maitland had a blast stripping away the "handsome clean peasants" image we tend to carry of medieval life thanks to movies and tv-shows.  Here we are knee deep in the mud and mire with the characters.  They are cold and wet for say 98% of the book as the weather during this time was dire - there was no summer to speak of and the plague spread fast in the wet unpleasant weather.  Everyone hoped that the cold of winter would stop the plague, that was the big gamble most people took.  The crops died in the fields, entire villages were decimated by sickness and those fields who did survive to bear crops were left to wither / grow mouldy and die.

But, having said that, the focus of the novel is not the plague but the characters and their respective stories.  It is a story with many other stories contained within.  Some of the stories are bleak and unpleasant but for instance Adele's story was wonderful and heartwarming and sweet even if it was full of heartache.  The stories represent the characters they belong to and it must have taken the author ages to get these to fit the cast so well.

There is a twist in the tale - of course there is! - but it is done so well that if you're not paying attention really closely, the twist comes as a pretty big surprise.  But it is the last page that is the kicker and your insides clutch and you go: oh crap, no!

Someone asked me to categorise Company of Liars into a genre.  I can't do that - it is a literary historical with elements of crime (more than a bit) and a bit of fantasy (the stories within stories).  But even more important than this is that it is a fantastic read and one I unreservedly recommend to readers who are in the mood for darker grittier historical fiction.

Find Karen Maitland's website here.  She has another book out at present: The Owl Killers.  I'll be looking to buy that to read too as I think I've just come over all fan-girly!

Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Warning Spoilers!

Synopsis

The final heart wrenching episode at St Vladimir's Academy.

Rose is on trial for high treason and the death of Queen Tatiana. Someone is trying to frame her and it looks like even Dimitri might not be able to save her now.

So, here we are at the close of the Vampire Academy series and Rose is, as usual, in trouble. Luckily for her she's got friends at court and doesn't have to languish in jail for long. A carefully masterminded plan sees Rose, Dimitri and Sydney heading off to West Virginia to hide out. However, Rose isn't a safety kind of girl. She's determined to follow up the note that Ambrose passed to her at her pre-trial and find the person who could unlock Lissa's future. Unfortunately, only Rose thinks this is a good idea and so her struggle begins. I was pleased to see that Rose is taken out of court and away from Lissa to work relatively alone although they soon seem to gather quite an entourage. What with that, Lissa's bond and Adrian's dream walking abilities all the characters are fully involved in this last book.

This is a difficult review to write as I'm keen not to give away much of the plot so as not to spoil it. However, so much happens in this final book that what I will say won't effect the enjoyment. Victor and Robert reappear and their help is invaluable to Rose. They all head off on their mission but Victor and Robert have their own agenda and reasons for trying to help Lissa. Back at court Lissa, Christian, Eddie and Abe try to find out who really did kill Tatiana. To help buy Rose some time Lissa is nominated as one of the possibilities to become the next Moroi queen. The strength of Last Sacrifice is similar to Blood Promise; both Rose and Lissa's plots are equally engrossing. Lissa has to undergo a series of trials which are traditionally set to ensure that she is up to the task of ruling. These tasks really show how far Lissa has come as a character. She's adept and confident now rather than hiding behind Rose or worrying about the effects of spirit.

Meanwhile, Rose's efforts start to get results but her plan also begins to unravel. She's juggling her feelings for Adrian and, of course, for Dimitri. It becomes obvious that she's going to have to choose what's right for her. I really admired the way that Last Sacrifice didn't try to give all characters a happy ending. Like life, there are winners and losers and Mead isn't keen on sending all her characters off into the sunset. There's one in particular that I would love to see carry on in a spin-off series as I'm betting they would have an interesting back story.

I enjoyed Last Sacrifice enormously, it was everything I was hoping it would be. I must admit that in the closing chapters I had tears in my eyes. Rose stays true to herself, I never felt that she was compromising her beliefs or adapting to suit others. Sure, she grows and matures but she remains that impulsive girl that sold the series to me in book one. Lissa also surprised me in this book. She has grown more confident and self-assured but her monarchy trials intrigued me and I found that I looked forward to them as much as Rose's story. The series as a whole has been a pleasure to read. I was slightly daunted when I looked at them all a few weeks ago but each book has zipped by and I found I was glad I had the next book to hand. In terms of a vampire series, Vampire Academy is one of the best I've read. Obviously having a strong female lead is what kept my attention but it also has a fine story arc that holds the series together, strong secondary characters and brilliant world building. I hope that these gorgeous new covers bring new followers to the world of Vampire Academy.

Heroes in the Wind: From Kull to Conan by Robert E Howard, edited John Clute

Synopsis:

Howard's swashbuckling fantasy stories feature the adventures of the enigmatic Conan: a free barbarian from distant Cimmeria who ventures into the splendid kingdoms of the south to find his fortune in the lost eons of the Hyborian Age between the sinking of Kull's Atlantis and the dawn of history. Cunning thief, captain of mercenaries and corsairs, lover of sultry temptresses, Conan follows his destiny into demon-haunted treasure towers and across the plains of death. And at last, like Kull before him, he slashes his name across the scrolls of royalty as King Conan, usurper-lord of imperial Aquilonia.

I came to Conan quite late in life - purely because of the movies made starring Arnie. My dad however had read the novels and was a big fan of Robert E Howard and had read his westerns. Yes, you read that correctly - the creator Kull and Conan wrote pulp westerns. And I subsequently read them because those were some of the only books my dad allowed himself to buy.

When I received my copy from Penguin to read and I flicked through it, I felt like I was sitting down with an eccentric uncle with an even wilder imagination than mine. I loved how John Clute portrays Howard, bashing out these stories through the night on his typewriter, shouting out the words, much to the shock and horror of his neighbours. I never knew much about Howard and the introduction revealed that he was an incredibly prolific writer, deeply committed and eccentric. I also didn't know he killed himself and this fact really made me feel sad and even more driven to get into these stories.

Heroes in the Wind is a collection of some of Robert E Howard's stories as chosen and edited by John Clute. These may not be to everyone's taste but I would say that they are definitely worth a read, as an introduction to Conan and Howard's writing. You may think you know Conan's stories through the movies but here we have four of his adventures and it is plain to everyone who is a fan of epic pulp fantasy that Howard's characterisation and prowess as storyteller rubbed off on many of the first generation writers of epic fantasy. The descriptions aren't just graphic violence, some of it is genuinely lyrical and there is a simplicity of language in some places which gives you chills.

My favourite line has to be: "Spears bent his armor and swished empty air, and his sword sang its death-song."

I can do worse than point you to this page on Wikipedia, which has the content for this book listed, as well as a breakdown of plot for each along with some art work.

These stories follow amongst others Kull the Atlantean and Bran Mak Morn, King of the Picts, viscerally depicting their struggles and wars, whilst "Queen of the Black Coast" is overrun with pirates and dark deeds.

We run the gamut of stories and emotions here and I loved it. I sort of regret receiving a copy as I think this will make an interesting present for Mark. He's a big enough fan already!

Howard's writing is unashamedly masculine and riddled with fantastic cliches but he writes with such obvious energy and enthusiasm, creating his own worlds and genuinely seeming to live in them, that he can be forgiven for forgetting that us girls are readers too. These short stories will be a perfect treat for any older teen son, husband or dad who secretly would like to wave an axe about themselves.

Heroes in the Wind is out now from Penguin in the UK.

Death Wore White by Jim Kelly (Guest Review)

I met the amazing Fiona J Mackenzie online on Twitter and after much chatting to and fro, offered her a book to read as she was at a bit of a impasse on what to read. I had a bit of an excess and sent her a copy of one of the newly published book by Jim Kelly (Penguin), Death Wore White. And then she went and surprised me with a review which I am hugely grateful for!

I am hoping, like Tina and Amber that Fi will be able to make regular guest appearances on MFB blog as a) it's always nice to have someone new stopping by and b) she's an author and therefore her reviews are a lot more techinical and concise than mine, for instance, so it is a tremendous learning curve for me to indulge in reading her work.

Without further mutterings from me, the review for Jim Kelly's Death Wore White:

Synopsis

At 5.15 p.m. Harvey Ellis was trapped – stranded in a line of eight cars by a blizzard on a Norfolk coast road.

At 8.15 p.m. Harvey Ellis was dead – viciously stabbed at the wheel of his truck.

And his killer has achieved the impossible: striking without being seen, and without leaving a single footprint in the snow . . .

For DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine it’s only the start of an infuriating investigation. The crime scene is melting, the murderer has vanished, the witnesses are dropping like flies. And the body count is on the rise . . .

A blizzard rages on the Norfolk coast and eight cars are trapped in deep snow on a country road. In the lead vehicle the driver has been brutally murdered, there are no footprints in the snow and at the same time within half a mile of the stranded vehicles another dead man is washed ashore.

It is bitter cold, but that’s not the only bitterness in the air. Detective Inspector Peter Shaw, a ‘whiz-kid with the fancy degree’ and veteran copper Detective Sergeant George Valentine are ‘West Norfolk Constabulary’s latest investigative duo’. They have been paired up for just one week by ‘some joker in admin. …who knew the past and didn’t care about the future.’

Trouble is, Shaw and Valentine share a history; there’s a ten-year-old cold case that resulted in the disgrace of Shaw’s father and the demotion of Valentine ‘a man whose career trajectory looked like a brick falling to earth.’ Now Valentine has to come to terms with the younger man giving the orders.

Many questions arise from the two deaths, not least of all is whether there is a link between the two victims, and Shaw and Valentine have to battle against more than the Norfolk winter to find the answers. There is a complex cast of characters, each with their own agenda. Subtle clues are thrown up in a steady and accomplished way as the ingenious plot unfolds and all the while the cold case festers in the background.

Death Wore White is a traditional ‘whodunnit’ but with a contemporary update to the ‘locked room mystery’. The crime scene of the trapped cars means that the murder has been committed under apparently impossible circumstances and the murderer seems to have vanished into thin air. Suspects, motives and opportunities ebb and flow throughout the narrative like the Norfolk tides.

Written with a keen eye for detail the central characters are well defined, as is the bleak backdrop of an icy winter in Kings Lynn. The plot has plenty of twists and turns, not to mention more bodies, along the way. Unlike many fast and furious mystery novels, the style of writing has more depth and breadth and flickers with descriptive passages, similes and metaphors, occasionally at a slight cost of pace.

It is thoroughly researched, well written and with enough puzzles to demand the attention of the reader.

Jim Kelly’s earlier Philip Dryden series was awarded the 2006 CWA Dagger in the Library Award for producing a body of work greatly enjoyed by fans of the genre.

Death Wore White, about which Kelly says ‘I hope that I have captured the genuine spirit of detection,’ is the first in a new series featuring DI Peter Shaw (who was first introduced in Kelly’s previous Dryden book ‘The Skeleton Man’) and DS George Valentine. Fear not, with writers like Jim Kelly around the ‘spirit of detection’ is in safe hands.

Find author Jim Kelly's website here. And find our lovely reviewer, talented author and inspiration, Fiona McKenzie's website here. Can I just say how much I love this paragraph from her bio:

My default mode is shallow and frivolous, happily distracted by anything girlie; fashion, handbags, shoes, perfume, cosmetics and fresh flowers. I have elements of OCD but my desk is a mess. Go figure. Traces of geek manifest in my adoration of all things Apple. Did I mention shoes?

The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw

Synopsis

An ancient artefact is discovered in a dusty antiquities shop in Alexandria, Egypt - the long forgotten trinket soon becomes the centre of the most deadly archaeological hunt in history.

The 20,000 year-old relic is inscribed with what appears to be the long lost language of Atlantis. Only one man would seem to be able to decode its meaning - the world's foremost linguist, Dr Thomas Lourdes - but only if he can stay alive long enough…

Meanwhile, an earthquake in Cadiz, Spain, uncovers a most unexpected site - one which the Vatican rush to be the first to explore… Perhaps the lost city of Atlantis is finally ready to be found?

But is the world ready for her secrets?

I am a very determined reader. Even if it takes me three months to read, I'll try not to give up on a book. In this instance it took me a week. I kept picking it up and putting it down again, undecided about finishing it. In the end I left it as I did not have the time to dedicate to it as I have so much else to read.

The novel has so much going for it - a fantastic high concept, interesting sounding characters and evocative settings and it is my favourite kind of genre, a quest novel, action adventure and some dodgy people from the Vatican thrown in to boot.

The Atlantis Code did not work for me because of the author's use of language. It was stilted and archaic. The story did not flow, the characters' dialogue was genuinely tough to read as it was just too over the top dramatically. I could not suspend my disbelief and found some of the actions the characters take in the novel very hard to equate with them.

I can give the author his full due when it came to thinking up a good twisty story but the writing let the concept down - very badly. The main character was too perfect in many instances - there wasn't enough conflict within him and between others whom he meets to keep him interesting and the story going. There is also a devastatingly static love scene in the novel which had my eyebrows climbing into my hairline. And the bad thing is, I could tell why the scene was put in there! It was purely to prove that Thomas Lourdes was a dab hand (sic!) in the bedroom and to create a bit of interest between the two female characters which attach themselves to Thomas Lourdes.

It follows so many - now very old - tropes in the action adventure genre that even if it wasn't for the unskilled writing and odd turns of phrase used, I would still have been disappointed with it. There is nothing new here to explore. Admittedly the setting of what they assume is Atlantis is new but others have been there and done it so much better.

I hope that someone else with fresh eyes can pick this up and find merit in the novel. I am devastated that I did not like it - as regular readers know I am a sucker for these books and have got an entire two shelves dedicated to action adventure and quest novels.

I am in fact going to set a challenge - I am prepared to send my unfinished copy off to anyone who would be keen to read it and let me know their view. So, if you are interested in proving me wrong, let me know either by commenting or sending me an email and I'm happy to post this onto anyone anywhere, not just in the UK. I will also be happy to blog your review!

I have been unable to locate a website for the author and will therefore only be able to point you to Penguin UK's website which be found here. The Atlantis Code will be published in the UK by 4th June.

The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski

Synopsis:

Carved into the towering cliffs of central Greece, the Metéora monasteries are all but inaccessible. Holy Trinity is the most isolated, its sacred brotherhood the guardians of a secret that has been protected for centuries.

In the dead of night, the sanctity of the holy retreat is shattered by an elite group of warriors carrying ancient weapons. One by one, they hurl the silent monks from the cliff-top to the rocks below — the holy men taking their secret to their graves….

Halfway across Europe, Richard Byrd fears for his life. He has uncovered the location of a magnificent treasure. But there are those who are dedicated to protecting it, and they will stop at nothing to prevent its discovery.

Hoping to save himself, Byrd contacts two colleagues,Jonathon Payne and David Jones, and begs for their help. The duo rushes to his aid and quickly find themselves caught in an adventure that will change their lives forever.

I present you: a quest novel.

One of my absolute favourites novel types, by one of my favourite authors. Chris Kuzneski has snuck into the adventure and UK market with two of his other books, The Sign of the Cross and Sword of God, both of which I own, slightly worse for the wear and much read. Kuzneski's writing has proved to be hugely popular here in the UK and he's been here to take part in the Crime Writing Festival (kicks herself for not going). Read snippets of news in Kuzneski-Land here.

The boys, as I fondly refer to Jonathan Payne and his colleague and good friend, David Jones, reprise their roles as adventurers (one time military men with Payne being the leader of an elite special forces team) in this non-stop action novel about missing treasure, where Chi does indeed mark the spot, eccentric historians, deadly warriors who cling to an ancient way of life, crazy Kafka drinking Finns, an Interpol agent and mysterious Greek Orthodox Monks.

The reason why the two main characters work so well (this being Payne and Jones) is that their banter is such fun to read. The dialogue had me on more than one occasion laughing out loud. They form a good unit, complimenting each other’s strengths whilst working towards negating their weaknesses.

In this instance Jones and Payne find themselves in St Petersburg (Russia) helping Alison uncover the mystery surrounding the death of her employer Richard Byrd. I have to say that the author knows how to tease out the clues, set up scenes and create an atmosphere of Bourne-like thrill and adventure, even if you are sitting on your train commuting into work. The action moves from St Petersburg to Greece at breakneck speed as the clues are reasoned out and the next stage of the plot is revealed.

What I loved about this is that the author walks away from the now tired set-up of the Crusades, Templars, blood of Christ and Mary Magdalene, the scripture, lost scrolls in the Holy Land etc., and has found a new enigma for our seekers to hunt. It makes a brilliant change and allows other parts of history to be examined by readers who might not be as familiar with the “new” treasures being sought.
I found the history of the Lost Throne very entertaining and genuinely enjoyed how the author incorporated a well known eccentric historian, Heinrich Schliemann (he “discovered” Troy and Mycenae) who used Homer’s books as inspiration for his discoveries, into the storyline.

I am hesitant to make comparisons, but I can’t help but point out that if you like Scott Mariani, Steve Berry, (the most dreaded comparison of all) Dan Brown, Will Adams, David Gibbins and Sam Bourne, then you will thoroughly love and enjoy Chris Kuzneski’s The Lost Throne.

It is a well researched novel and it takes an interesting (and I hope fictional) view of an ancient warrior society in Greece. I found that the author treated the monastic society in the Aegean with great care, never vilifying them, which made a nice and interesting change from a reader’s point of view, leaving you with enough information in the novel, to make your own mind up. I really am looking forward to the next novel as there will be repercussions from the end of this one to follow through. (note to author: hurry up and write!)

I would highly recommend reading The Lost Throne for good escapist fun, especially if you like your adventure stories with good dollops of history, lost treasure and a bit of conjecture. Find the author’s site here. Read an extract over here from Penguin UK who were clever enough to scoop Chris up when he first appeared on the scene.

Midnight's Daughter, Karen Chance

Synopsis:

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir, the daughter of a vampire and a human woman. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs are born barking mad and live very short, very violent lives. So for five hundred years, Dory has been fighting to maintain her sanity by unleashing her homicidal tendencies on those demons and vampires who deserve killing. But now Dory's vampire father has come back into her life. Her uncle Dracula, notorious even among vampires for his cruelty and murderous ways, has escaped from prison, and her father wants Dory to work with the gorgeous vampire dueling champion Louis-Cesare to put him back there. Vampires and dhampirs are mortal enemies, and Dory prefers to work alone. But Dracula is the only thing on earth that truly scares her, and when Dory has to go up against him, she'll take all the help she can get...

I have not read any of Ms. Chance’s books in the past, not due to anything else but the fact that the tottering TBR pile of books that were there before. However, Penguin UK took pity on me when I spotted this newest offering in their PR sheets and sent me a copy of Midnight’s Daughter to read and review and I have to say: I am thrilled that they did.

Karen Chance knows how to spin a pretty involved story with an amusing, wry and flamboyant main character. I gather from talking to some friends, that the story takes place in a world which the author already created in her Cassie Palmer books, with some characters from that series appearing in this one.

To be honest, I’m pretty sure that the previous books do not need to be required reading to enjoy Midnight’s Daughter. You get caught up pretty quickly with the main elements, the various characters and then the story just exploded – literally – with nonstop action and well written sequences that will make John Woo want to pick up the rights for a script.

Dory’s character as dhampir is handled and explained satisfactorily, she is given a range of emotions to explore within the novel and what makes it work is the fact that you can see her motivations. In fact, you realise that there are ripples to these motivations which stretch further than you might expect. Even her father, Mircea’s reasons for roping her in to sort out old dear Uncle Drac’s behaviour, is hinted at and then explored.

One thing is very clear throughout the book – Karen Chance knows how to write. Not just the action scenes, or having the butt-kicking heroine throw out pithy one-liners but the set-up is clever, the involvement of the various factions in the simmering war is well thought-out as are the repercussions to the various actions characters take in the book.

You can find Karen’s website here, with Penguin’s site here.