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REVIEWS
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Fiction coffee leads to a delicious quickie and ulti- serious crimes, lands another baffler after
Oxford painting conservator Emma Jevons
mately to the inevitable relationship-
killing confession. The tension plays out as apparently dies from smallpox. The possible
Daughter of Aithne Luke’s hurling team prepares for interna- revival of that disease is disturbing enough,
Karin Rita Gastreich. Orb Weaver, $16 trade tional competition. Fans of lightweight but Declan and his colleagues are even more
paper (386p) ISBN 978-0-9972320-2-8 fluff will consume this story in a single alarmed when the infectious disease spe-
The first two books of Gastreich’s Silver sitting. cialist raises the prospect that Emma was
Web fantasy trilogy followed the magic- killed by a genetically modified virus that
wielding Eolyn from a childhood with the The Emperor and the Spy would be resistant to vaccination. Graff
old witch Ghemena to her adult life as the Stan S. Katz. Horizon Productions, $19.95 maintains suspense by providing the per-
leader of the magas (female mages) and the trade paper (540p) ISBN 978-0-9903349-6-5 spectives of Emma’s stalker and “a wealthy
queen of Moisehén. She’s married to her Katz’s promising debut, a fictional Russian megalomaniac.” Vivid character-
long-time love, King Akmael, and together account of real-life American spy Sidney izations complement the solid plotting.
they raise their children. When the trusted Mashbir, is hobbled by an overwhelming
Ghemena inexplicably kidnaps Eolyn’s number of editing errors and patches of Love, Murder & Mayhem:
stepdaughter, Princess Eliasara, dark forces weak prose. After helping the U.S. settle Cosmic Tales of the Heart Gone
conspiring to destroy Eolyn, Akmael, and the conflict with Pancho Villa in 1916, Deadly Wrong
the magas seize the opportunity to strike Mashbir takes assignments that send him Edited by Russ Colchamiro. Crazy 8, $4.99
with chaos and death. As the situation to New York, to Japan in the interwar years e-book (292p) ASIN B072W6GYDL
grows more dire, Gastreich raises the stakes (where he befriends high-level officials, For this light and breezy collection,
by restricting Eolyn’s magic and keeping including Emperor Hirohito), and to Colchamiro (Crossline) gathers 15 high-
most of her allies all but powerless. Eolyn Australia during WWII to help the war energy and sentimental stories of love, fatal
is a standout character, and her desperate efforts in Southeast Asia. Mashbir is por- crimes of passion, and paranormal trouble-
and cunning attempts to save her kingdom trayed here as a talented mediator for peace making. Among several routine terrestrial
and family enhance both her development who moves in impressive circles; Charles and interstellar police procedurals, standout
and the prose. Gastreich retains the best Lindbergh, generals Pershing and stories weave in urban fantasy, time travel,
elements of love, war, and plotting from her MacArthur, Charlie Chaplin, and F.D.R. all superheroes, and rogue robots. In
previous books while deepening Eolyn with appear. The characterizations of these his- Colchamiro’s own trippy “The Hardwicke
grief and war-weariness that add to her torical figures are wonderfully conceptual- Files,” an interdimensional PI partners with
determination to make peace. Fans of the ized, though their dialogue can come across an arson investigator on the eve of
trilogy won’t want to miss this hard-hitting as awkward (“Shucks, it’s gotten me into a Astropalooza to learn who killed an amo-
finish. heap of trouble in the past”). Editing prob- rous singer. In Glenn Hauman’s short and
lems also proliferate, ranging from typos creepy “Make It Didn’t Happen,” a teenager
Earning It and formatting inconsistencies to a regret- receives a message from her future self that
Angela Quarles. Unsealed Room, $3.99 table overuse of italics and ellipses. Readers warns of an impending attacker. In Patrick
e-book (161p) ISBN 978-0-9905400-8-3 who can overlook those flaws will be Thomas’s romantic “As Time Goes By,” an
Quarles’s taut little contemporary sets up rewarded with an enthusiastic take on the ex-con who can manipulate time turns his
a steamy affair with a forgivably contrived life of a little-known but influential person- skills to saving his wife’s life. Lois Spangler’s
case of mistaken identity. After a 10-year ality in American history. melancholy murder investigation, “A
absence, newly minted sports doctor Pepper Matter of Principle,” finds AI detective
Rodgers returns to her hometown of The Golden Hour: Dani questioning an older model AI who
Sarasota, Fla. Even before she hangs out her A Nora Tierney English Mystery admits guilt but wants to protect her
shingle, an old friend sets her up on a blind M.K. Graff. Bridle Path, $12 trade paper beloved employer. In “DuckBob: Killer
date. What harm can come from coffee with (316p) ISBN 978-0-9908287-8-5 Service,” Aaron Rosenberg continues the
a good-looking lawyer named Rick? And In Graff’s fast-paced fourth mystery fea- slapstick adventures of his duck-headed
the man sitting alone at a table in the Mocha turing expat American Nora Tierney (after alien abductee, now at the mercy of his
Cabana looks more like a young god. 2015’s The Scarlet Wench), Nora, the suc- literal-minded and murderous automatic
Pepper’s just been through an unceremo- cessful writer of a series of books for children house system. Colchamiro’s crew provides
nious breakup and a long dry spell, and just featuring a band of fairies in England’s Lake an entertaining mix of styles for fans of
the sight of this guy is arousing. The looker District and the mother of a 10-month-old cross-genre SF/F.
in question is in fact Pepper’s high school son, comes to believe that she’s being
nemesis, Luke Haas, a retired SEAL, and he stalked. For help, she turns to her signifi- Must Love More Kilts
sees no harm in pretending to be Rick the cant other, Det. Insp. Declan Barnes of the Angela Quarles. Unsealed Room, $4.99 e-book
lawyer after Pepper mistakes him for the Thames Valley CID. Meanwhile, Declan, (202p) ASIN B0753G6P2Q
person she’s supposed to meet. But the who has a reputation for successfully solving Quarles returns to late-17th-century

55a BOOKLIFE, JANUARY 22, 2018