Book Beginning: On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen, August 1, 2017, Berkley Books
Genre: Royal Spyness mystery #11
Description: Royal sleuth, Lady Georgiana Rannoch, juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. Set in the Italian lake country. 

Book beginning:
Monday April 8, 1935
Kilhenny Castle 

Darcy has gone. Not sure what to do next.

I should have known it was too good to last. 
I had spent the last two months a Kilhenny Castle, Darcy's ancestral home. I had experienced the merriest Christmas I had ever known, with Darcy, his family, and the eccentric Polish princess Zou Zou Zamanska. ...

Page 56:
I must have drifted into sleep because I was awakened by the smallest of sounds. The click of a door latch. It can't be my door, I thought. I remember locking it....

About the book: An Italian villa, a pregnant friend, the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson, and other intrigues. 

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

It's Monday: Here's What I'm Reading

Visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date. Also visit Mailbox Monday. 

The Resurrector, author Layton Green
Published June 29, 2017
Genre: thriller, fantasy
A Dominic Gray novel, #6
A modern day Dr. Frankenstein, a secret society spawned by the greatest evil the world has ever known, two men racing against the clock to stop the spread of a horrific virus. 

Written in Blood, ARC, author Layton Green
Publication: November 7, 2017, Seventh Street Books
Genre: police procedural, crime fiction
Detective Joe -Preach- Everson, a prison chaplain turned police officer, tracks a literate killer of a bookstore owner in North Carolina. 

A tale of two kitties by Sofie Kelly
Publication: September 5, 2017, Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery in a series
Two magical cats have powers of detection that prove indispensable to librarian Kathleen Paulson…

I am still reading Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, 
                            Skeleton God by Eliot Pattison
                            Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
and a borrow from NetGalley, 
                            Walking With Peetey: The Dog Who Saved My Life by Eric O'Grey

What are you reading this week?

Book Review: Tahoe Payback by Todd Borg

Title: Tahoe Payback, August 1. 2017 by Thriller Press.
Source: author, for review
Objective rating: 5/5

The mystery features Owen McKenna, private investigator, and his harlequin Great Dane, Spot, with Owen's girlfriend, the entomologist Street. 

The novel tell much about the beautiful Lake Tahoe area and also deals with self defense methods, especially for women; search and rescue dogs, scams such as fake charities, and more. Add likeable, interesting personalities and a killer plot to the mix and you have another great Todd Borg thriller - suspenseful and unpredictable.  

Not only does McKenna have to solve an unusual murder or murders, but he has to protect Street from her homicidal father, now out of prison, who blames her for having him incarcerated in the first place.  McKenna and Spot do an admirable job of finding the killer as well as protecting Street. 

Book beginning: 

The person with the gun said,"Get out of the boat." The woman hesitated.

"Go!"

The woman's hands were tied behind her back. She had no way to catch herself if she lost her balance....

Page 56:

"Sergeant Bains calling. I was talking to Santiago at Placer County, and he said you and he have talked about a missing woman. I thought I'd give you a courtesy call."

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Review: Betrayal at Iga by Susan Spann

Betrayal at Iga by Susan Spann, July 11, 2017 by Seventh Street Books.
Setting: Kyoto, Japan in the 16th century
Genre: historical mystery
Source: book tour
Rating: 5/5

This is the fifth in the Shinobi mystery series set in 16th century Kyoto, Japan, and featuring the ninja/shinobi Hiro Hattori and the Portuguese Jesuit priest, Father Mateo.

About the book: The mystery novel shows the danger and tension between different samurai clans, their perilous way of life as warriors, and the violence that could erupt between and among them at any time. Hiro has to navigate in this setting and climate, carefully leading his charge, the Portuguese priest, around traps and keeping Fr. Mateo from making life threatening mistakes of protocol in his action or speech.

The plot: In Betrayal at Iga, Hiro takes Fr. Mateo to refuge in Hiro's home village with his clan in the mountains, Iga province. But there is no certain safety here, as a rival clan has arrived for peace talks with Hiro's clan. When the visitor clan's leader is found murdered, tensions and suspicions ratchet up and no one is safe, including Hiro himself, his mother, or even his former lover.

Hiro and Fr. Mateo, through interviews, detection, and observation, are hard pressed to solve the murder or risk the loss of innocent lives.

My review: This is one of the best in the series. The book has a compelling plot, in addition to the intriguing characters and the unusual setting of time and place.

I enjoyed learning about samurai culture, its dangers and its uniqueness in history. The author is able to immerse us in the culture, while giving us a suspenseful murder mystery that keeps us on edge.

Her love of the historical subject is evident in her writing and meticulous research into the time and place. I highly recommend the book, which can be read as a stand-alone novel, as well as the preceding ones, and look forward to the next in the series.

Book beginning: Autumn 1565

Hiro Hattori leaned into the wind that swept down the hill and across his face. He pulled his kimono tighter and glanced at the Portuguese priest beside him. "Remember you must eat everything set before you -."
"- because leaving food on the plate offends the host," Fr. Mateo smiled. " I have attended Japanese feasts before." 

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. 

Susan has a degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where she studied Chinese and Japanese language, history, and culture. Her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses.

Connect with Susan: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this novel. For other reviews of the book see the tour schedule. 

Meme: visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

It's Monday: Tahoe Payback and A Paris Apartment

Visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date.

Thanks, Todd Borg, for a review copy of Tahoe Payback, August 1. 2017 by Thriller Press.
I'm half way through the book and loving it, learning so much about the beautiful Tahoe area geography, about self defense, fake charities, search and rescue dogs, and so much more. Add a killer plot and you have a great thriller.  

I am also reading the ebook version of A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable, April 22, 2014.

A young antiques appraiser is asked to evaluate a Paris apartment, closed for seventy years, that contains a fortune in valuable art and furniture. Clever plot, a mix of history and art intrigue.

What are you reading this week? 

Review: When the Future Comes Too Soon by Selina Siak Chin Yoke

When the Future Comes Too Soon by Selina Siak Chin Yoke, July 18, 2017, AmazonCrossing
Genre: historical novel set in Malaya, 20th century
Rating: 5/5

I learned a lot about the occupation of Malaya by the Japanese during WWII, the difficulties for the Malayan people, and especially for women raising families during a time of  war and scarcity. The Chinese-Malayan women in the Malayan Series, two novels, show their strength and resilience during times of change and conflict and are well drawn characters in the novels.

I recommend the book for history buffs of the era as well as for those who enjoy novels featuring strong women who must adhere and be subject to multiple cultural traditions and changes at the same time.

Sunday Salon: The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds by Selina Siak Chin Yoke

My newest read is an ebook, The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds , an historical novel by Selina Siak Chin Yoke, the first of two in the Malayan series. 

Goodread's description of the book: 
"Chye Hoon, of mixed Malayan-Chinese descent, begins to appreciate the richness of her traditions, eventually marrying Wong Peng Choon, a Chinese man. Together, they have ten children. At last, she can pass on the stories she has heard—magical tales of men from the sea—and her warrior’s courage, along with her wonderful kueh (cakes).

But the cultural shift towards the West has begun. Chye Hoon finds herself afraid of losing the heritage she so prizes as her children move more and more into the modernising Western world. "

I have just started but find this period of time in Southeast Asia very interesting. 

I finished the Kindle edition of Man Overboard by J.A. Jance, and loved it.

Here's what I said on goodreads:

Two computer experts battle each other on the web in a murder mystery, one trying to find the other to put a stop to him, the other evading, with evil intent. Their struggle is complicated by a third party - an AI, an artificial intelligence online created by one of the men, which develops its own reasoning powers independent of its owner and acts on its own accord during the conflict. The three interact in compelling ways, in a suspenseful and intriguing novel. The themes of cyber bullying, suicide, and artificial intelligence and it's possible consequences, good or bad, are meshed in an intriguing and clever plot. I gave the book five stars! Weatherwise: The days are hot and muggy, with occasional rain. The garden looks good as a result but time outside is limited for me because of the heat. Luckily, we don't have the 100 degree weather of other parts of the country! What are you reading this week?

Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date , and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews..