I can’t recall who recommended Thraxas to me, but the interest overlap was obvious: private detective in a fantasy world with a nod to Roman culture. I put it high on my TBR. What to Expect As it says on the cover, a hard-boiled-style story of a down-on-his-luck, drunken private investigator with magical education and […]
Detective
Book Series Review: Marcus Corvinus, by David Wishart
I’ve read and reviewed Ovid, the first in the series, about a year ago. It was awesome, so naturally I went down the rabbit hole of reading through the 20-volume series… I’ve even chased down Corvinus himself for a character interview. I’ve posted my reviews of each individual volume on Amazon and Goodreads, but below […]
Book Series Review: Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
I’ve previously read the first 3 volumes in the Dresden Files, then let it lapse for a while. This year I’ve been binge reading the rest of the series in order, and reviewing individual volumes on Goodreads and Amazon as I go. Below are my thoughts about the series as it stands to date. My […]
Excerpt: Memento Mori, by Ruth Downie
I’ve raved in the past about Ruth Downie’s excellent Medicus series. I’ve interviewed her protagonist Ruso, and at the end of the month we’ll be publishing a highly-entertaining interview with his wife Tilla on The Protagonist Speaks (I suggest you subscribe to that blog so you don’t miss it – the interview is delicious!). It […]
Book & Series Review: Erast Fandorin by Boris Akunin
I’ve recently finished reading the latest (to be translated) Erast Fandorin mystery – All The World’s A Stage. I’ve talked about this series before, so it’s a good opportunity to review both the series and the latest volume. Overall, this is one of the best historical-detective mystery series out there. It is intelligent, engaging, and […]
Book Series Review: Medicus Roman Mysteries, by Ruth S. Downie
I strikes me that while I have mentioned Ruth Downie‘s writing before, have interviewed her protagonist Gaius Petreius Ruso, and have even used him for a guest appearance – with permission! – in In Numina, I have never actually wrote a full review of her books. I’ve read the first two books a couple of years […]
Book Review: Black City Saint by Richard A. Knaak
Let’s keep it short, shall we? You’re here because you like historical-urban-fantasy. So stop reading, and go get your copy now. Still not convinced? Let me share some more details then. What to Expect Black City Saint is the first novel in the series from Richard Knaak. Set against the back-drop of Prohibition-era Chicago, Nick Medea […]
Harry Dresden – In and Out of Togas
After I first published Murder In Absentia and started to receive fan feedback, one common comparison (which I’ve since adopted) was that Felix feels a bit like Harry Dresden in a Toga. That made me curious to learn more, and I’ve since started to read the books. This post is about my impressions of this […]
The Immortality of the Mystery
A guest post I have written as part of Mystery Thriller Week, originally published on Rae’s “A new Look on Books” blog. What’s in common between the latest scientific research about virus propagation, genetic modification for interstellar colonisation, and ancient priests poking about in animal entrails to predict the favour of the gods? More on […]
Mystery Thriller Week
This is promising to be a fun one. For 10 days next February, we are going to celebrate everything to do with mysteries and thrillers. There will be several events spread out and about, so I suggest you save the dates. The main web-site is here: https://mysterythrillerweek.com/ The corresponding Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/mysterythrillerweek/ If you’re an author or […]
