The Almighty Accused by Steven Donahue


The Almighty Accused by Steven Donahue
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

God is put on trial by a group of middle school students after a fatal shooting at their school.

Traumatized by the loss of his twin sister during the school shooting, 13-year-old student Nolan Mitchell convinces his history teacher to allow their class to reenact the fabled WWII trial of God by Jewish prisoners of war.

The mock trial explores the issues of God’s responsibility to Man, and Man’s responsibility regarding free will. The trial draws the ire of parents, students, residents, and school administrators, while also attracting the attention of news reporters from across the country.

What will the jury decide?

Will they find Him guilty?

Will their lives ever be the same again?

Grief is inescapable in life, but maybe it can teach a few lessons along the way.

Nolan was a heartbroken and angry teenager who had endured more suffering in his short life so far than some people decades older than him have known. I appreciated how much time was spent developing his backstory and personality, especially when it came to what he thought about topics such as bullying and what responsibilities bystanders have when they witness something like that occurring. The nuances that were added to my mental image of him as I read those scenes only made him feel more three-dimensional and lifelike to me.

This was also a good example of how to round out secondary characters and give them a chance to shine. While Nolan’s devastating loss was rightfully given most of the attention, other people in his life had suffered their own tragedies that helped to explain how they became the people they were and why they reacted in certain ways when the narrator dug a little deeper into their backstories. It honestly made me wish for a sequel written from one of those other perspectives as I took note of several characters who could have done well as a protagonist in the future given what the audience had already learned about them and what questions I still had about their lives.

Based on the title and blurb, I started reading the first chapter under the assumption that this was probably an inspirational title, but the approach the characters took to the question of whether or not God should be held responsible for the evil in the world ended up being much more philosophical in nature. I enjoyed the complexity of the arguments on both sides of the trial and thought Mr. Donahue did an excellent job of framing every claim and rebuttal. The existence of suffering is one of the most difficult topics to discuss, especially for teens who have less life experience to rely on than older generations do. While I can’t share much about the conclusion in my review without giving away major spoilers, I did find it satisfactory and thought provoking.

The Almighty Accused explored a sensitive subject with logic and empathy. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Snow Fall by Jorn Lier Horst


Snow Fall by Jorn Lier Horst
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

When true crime fanatic Astri Arctander disappears, Detective William Wisting is called upon to investigate.

Alongside her fellow amateur sleuths, Astri had been trying to uncover what really happened to Ruby Thompson, a backpacker whose body was recently discovered in Palamós, Spain.

Astri was ready to unmask Ruby’s killer. Then she vanished.

Wisting is determined to solve the case – to find justice for Ruby, and to bring Astri home unharmed.

But he soon finds himself at the heart of a dark and twisted cat-and-mouse chase, that will take him from the snowy depths of Norway to the hot Catalan hills.

Wisting is willing to go to extreme lengths to find the truth.

But his enemy will go further to keep it buried – and the closer Wisting gets, the more dangerous they become . . .

When a woman from Australia reaches out via email to the Norwegian police force requesting a wellness check on a friend of hers, William Wisting isn’t too worried when he initially checks and no women matching the description given is in any recent reports. Soon though, he is drawn into not only the missing Norwegian woman but the case she was looking into – that of a murdered Australian woman in Spain.

I have been a big fan of this Scandinavian Noir series for many years – it’s the first Norwegian crime/mystery series I ever read. I’m very pleased it remains as good today as when I first discovered it over a decade ago. This book in particular is a little different in a delightful way.

Not only is Wisting and his investigation brought solidly into more modern times with a large portion of the case occurring online in forums and discussion boards, but also this case is quite global – with people from over the world having a critical role online but also the adjacent case occurring in Spain but the missing woman being in Norway. All these items circle together – weaving realistically together and making for a complex and intense investigation and I was thrilled by it all.

Readers looking for a modern slightly gritty police murder mystery should definitely give this book – and series – a try. This book can absolutely be read as a stand alone but if you enjoy the tone and style of this I can easily recommend the rest of the series (most – but not all – have been translated into English).

An interesting murder mystery and a complicated plot that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) by Will Okati


Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) by Will Okati
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Dark Romance, LGBTQ, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Dona Nobis Pacem. God Grant Us Peace.

Voiceless Donnell and defrocked priest Nathan are outcasts and strangers at the turn of the century. Despite his handicap, Donnell has made a life for himself as a businessman and owner of a saloon. His heart goes out to those whom life has dealt an unhappy hand. When Nathan arrives in this former gold-rush town, horsewhipped and ill to the point of collapse, Donnell is the only one to offer help.

Barely ordained before being accused of unnatural desires, Nathan has been sent to travel a faux road to Damascus as penance. He did not expect to survive the trek, and longed for the peace he might find when his body gave up the fight.

He never expected to meet someone like Donnell. Despite his lack of voice, Donnell is the teacher Nathan has hungered for all his life, and the lover he never dared seek out. Triumphing over a lifetime’s worth of threatened damnation will not be easy to overcome, but Donnell’s not giving up. The passion they share is what both men have always craved, but never found. When they’re discovered, standing together is the only thing that will save them both.

Peace comes in many forms.

Donnell and Nathan had sizzling chemistry that was evident from the very first time they met. Seeing those sparks between them slowly develop into something much deeper was rewarding and is exactly the kind of pacing I love to see in this genre. While they had wildly different backgrounds in certain ways, both men shared some things in common that I wasn’t necessarily expecting to find. This only made me root for them even more strongly than I already was.

The strong and memorable world building made me briefly wonder if this were part of a series, but it does seem to be a standalone work after all. I particularly appreciated how much time was spent explaining the origins of Nazareth, the small community where Donnell was born and raised. Little details like this went a long way in not only explaining why some residents behaved the way that the did but also helped to round out the main character’s backstory and personality in ways that other readers should discover for themselves.

What ultimately convinced me to give this a full five-star rating was the ending. Not only did it wrap up all of the conflicts satisfactorily, it gave readers some strong hints about what to expect from these characters in the future regardless of whether not we ever get a sequel about them. While I’d want to be the first person in line to read more about them, I was also quite satisfied with how everything ended and thought the author did a great job of wrapping it all up.

Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) was everything I wanted it to be and then some!

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths


The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths
Publisher: Quercus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

There’s nothing forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway hates more than amateur archaeologists, but when a group of them stumble upon Bronze Age artifacts alongside a dead body in this gripping murder mystery, she finds herself thrust into their midst—and into the crosshairs of a string of murders circling ever closer.

Ruth is back as head of archaeology at the University of North Norfolk when a group of local metal detectorists—the so-called Night Hawks—uncovers Bronze Age artifacts on the beach, alongside a recently deceased body, just washed ashore. Not long after, the same detectorists uncover a murder-suicide—a scientist and his wife found at their farmhouse, long thought to be haunted by the Black Shuck, a humongous black dog and a harbinger of death. The further DCI Nelson probes into both cases, the more intertwined they become, and the closer they circle to David Brown, the new lecturer Ruth has recently hired, who seems always to turn up wherever Ruth goes.

DCI Nelson is called out onto the coastline in the middle of the night when a group of enthusiastic metal detectorists discover a body washed up on the shore. The case quickly turns difficult as a cache of Bronze Age artefacts – complete with a skeleton – is simultaneously found nearby, and Nelson calls Ruth in to ensure the skeleton is old and none of his concern. But when an apparent murder suicide quickly occurs, Nelson and his team need to uncover what’s really going on.

I have been a fan of this series for a number of years and found this to be an excellent addition. Nelson and Ruth’s long term – and extremely complicated – relationship gives a solid tension and backdrop to the mysteries – both old and new. In some respects this book gave the feel of things beginning to come full circle and settle down, and I admit I really liked that. The ongoing will they/won’t they tension between Nelson and Ruth does sometimes get me a bit down and frustrated. While I admit no actual progress was made between them, this books ending really gave me the impression that some sort of resolution wasn’t too much further into the future. Considering the book ends at Christmas 2019 (and we all know what followed sharply after THAT event) I have a feeling things will shift pretty firmly one way or the other in the next book.

Readers who are familiar with this series will know to expect a blend of history/archaeology and British police procedural murder mystery. This book does fulfil that – though I must admit the archeology takes somewhat of a back seat in this book, being more focused on Ruth and her teaching career. I thought the digs and field work were not quite as prominent as they sometimes are. I didn’t mind this – the characters, both old and new – were a lot more front and center and really there were almost two mysteries in this book, the washed up body and the apparent murder/suicide. These two cases gave the book a solid feel of plenty going on and adding on a big archeological scene on top of that would have felt too full in my opinion and might have detracted somewhat from the focus and plot.

While I do feel this book can be read by itself, there is a long and complicated history between the characters – particularly Ruth and Nelson – and while I think this is an excellent book I do feel a better understanding and emotional connection will be achieved if readers have at least a few of the other books under their belt first. This book is towards the end of the series and while discovering this series would be fantastic, I do think it might be prudent to start a little closer to the beginning.

I found this to be a well written and solidly plotted mystery with a strong element of archaeology. The characters are layered and deep – and the main relationship in particular is complicated and not for the faint hearted. A brilliant series and one I will be sad to wrap up in a few books time. Recommended.

Peaches in the Rain by Aurelia L Imeri


Peaches in the Rain by Aurelia L Imeri
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romance, Poetry, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What if the person you ruined is the only person who ever felt like home?

Dear reader, Orion did what people do when regret becomes too loud to ignore.

He went looking for the ghost he had spent a decade pretending not to love.

At Glasgow Airport, shaken by seven impossible weeks and a heart he can no longer control, Orion boards a flight back to London. Beside him sits Ava: anxious, wounded, funny, and far too perceptive for a stranger. As the plane claws through turbulence, their conversation becomes a confession.

There is L.

The woman he loved before he knew how to keep love safe. The woman he hurt. The woman whose voice still lives in the quiet rooms of his mind. The woman who may not be a fantasy after all.

Through airport fog, borrowed cars, rain-slicked A-roads and the brutal intimacy of things left unsaid, Peaches in the Rain asks whether love can return after the damage is done.

Is it delusion to still feel someone after ten years?

Or is it only delusion if they do not feel it too?

Raw, lyrical and painfully intimate, Peaches in the Rain is a novel about longing, guilt, second chances, and the dangerous hope that some love does not die.

It waits.

Regret is a heavy load to carry.

Orion and L both struggled to form and maintain emotionally healthy relationships. This isn’t something I typically find in romance novels, so I was eager to find out if one or both of them would develop the emotional and communication tools necessary to change this by either seeking professional help or finding the right workbook to help them figure out why they reacted the way that they did.

It would have been helpful to have more information about why these two characters should try to be romantically involved with each other for a second time. The stories Orion shared about the way he treated L disturbed me, and when I finished those scenes I hoped they’d both do quite a bit more healing before deciding whether to get back together. This is something I’m saying as a reader who virtually always roots for the main characters to live happily ever after, but in this particular case I didn’t have enough evidence that these two were good for each other at this precise moment in their lives.

I applaud the author for not wrapping up all of the loose ends of this romance the way such a thing would generally be written for this genre. There’s something to be said for playing around with the audience’s expectations of what should happen next and allowing the characters to develop naturally instead, even if it was in a direction that wasn’t particularly common. This was my first experience reading their work, and it has piqued my curiosity about what else they have already published or will publish in the near future.

Peaches in the Rain was a creative take on a difficult relationship.

Silver Spider by Lena Austin


Silver Spider by Lena Austin
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Dark Romance, LGBTQ, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The secretive Duke of Aberystwyth has invited Madge Majesty to a murder mystery party, but he’s the first victim!

Madge is a harpy, mystery writer, and amateur sleuth with a nose for murder. At her side is her faithful chauffeur, Hayden, who is a telekinetic ex-thief — and a confirmed bachelor.

Now it’s up to Madge to solve the whodunit. Her suspects are a motley assortment of inverts and very nervous heterosexuals, all of whom have more than just their sexual foibles to hide. Is it the cross-dressing vampire, the packless werewolf, the voyeuristic doctor, the gargoyle majordomo, or the promiscuous man who seems bent on getting everyone into his bed, including Hayden?

Some parties can never be forgotten.

This was a good example of how to include a wide variety of characters in a storyline that probably would not have otherwise crossed paths with each other. It was interesting to see how they all interacted, especially the characters who weren’t human and who therefore weren’t necessarily bound to the social norms of this era, much less the typical behavior of human beings in general. While I can’t go into detail about this without sharing spoilers, I was pleasantly surprised by how this played out and how it affected what certain characters wished to do.

I would have liked to see more character development in this piece, though. Sometimes I had trouble keeping track of who everyone was because of how little time was spent describing what they were like. Given how many characters were interacting with each other in the various scenes, this was something that kept me from fully immersing myself in the plot.

With that being said, I thought Ms. Austin did an excellent job of combining the erotic and mystery genres. They both kept the storyline chugging along smoothly and fed into each other in all sorts of creative ways. When combined with what appeared to be a 1910s or maybe an early 1920s setting, there were some fun plot twists involving hijinks both in and outside of the bedroom in a time when people tended to be more reticent about certain things…at least in public.

Silver Spider – A Paranormal Murder Mystery Romance was a wild ride.

Freedom Quest – A Love Story by Debora Masterson


Freedom Quest – A Love Story by Debora Masterson
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Romance, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

FREEDOM QUEST: A Love Story follows Michael Griffin, a gifted musician whose journey through the Southern California music scene of the 1960s-80s becomes a cautionary tale about artistic integrity, the pursuit of stardom, and the cost of chasing dreams. From backing up strippers in North Beach, San Francisco, to nearly landing a Capitol Records deal, from fronting his band Freedom Quest to losing the love of his life, Grace, Michael’s story captures the raw reality of what it means to live and breathe music.

Their story begins in 1965, when an instant spark ignites between them in a San Fernando Valley music shop. As Michael chases his musical destiny amid the counterculture revolution, Grace becomes his anchor, his muse—and the love he can’t live without. But the struggle between artistic integrity and commercial success, betrayal, and the chaos of the times tear them apart, sending each down separate and often harrowing paths of self-discovery.

FREEDOM QUEST is a sweeping and emotional odyssey. A love story that survives separation, success, failure, and illness and reveals the redemptive power of music. At its heart lies a timeless truth that true love does exist.

True love is eternal.

I adored Ms. Masterson’s creative approach to the second chance romance trope. Micheal and Grace were young lovers who never quite got over each other even after life pulled them in wildly different directions. It was engrossing to see where they both ended up and how their paths continued to cross years after their first relationship disintegrated. The conflicts that kept them apart were realistic and understandable, but I also liked how nostalgic these characters were about those years and how much they wished that things had turned out better.

There were times when I wished for more character development in this book. Michael’s life was filled with romance, adventure, and, in some phases, deep trauma, and I kept hoping he’d go into more detail about how they influenced him not only in those particular moments but also decades later as he began reflecting on what he had and hadn’t accomplished. While I still wish his innermost thoughts had been given more time to shine, the author’s note after the final chapter softened my opinion on this. I highly recommend taking a moment to look back at some of those scenes with a fresh perspective after reading it as it does put certain plot twists in a new light!

The ending was what made this tale so memorable in my opinion. Kudos to the author for being willing to take risks with this genre that stayed true to both her characters as well as to the decades-long journeys they’d just undertaken. This sort of writing that stretches the boundaries of what love could look like and how it can transform a character’s life no matter how many plot twists have already appeared is why I continue to include romance in the types of books I read.

I didn’t want Freedom Quest – A Love Story to end. It was beautiful.

The Cuillin Dead by J M Dalgliesh


The Cuillin Dead by J M Dalgliesh
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Life is full of choices. Death… is chosen for you…
When the body of a missing tourist is discovered slain in the foothills of the Cuillin Mountain range beside Loch Coruisk, it falls to D.I. Duncan McAdam and his small team to discover how he came to be there and who would have a motive to kill him.

The summer season is a welcome distraction following a brutal and challenging winter. The Isle of Skye is booming with a revitalised tourist trade after a tough few years, and the Misty Isle is on course for its best year for visitors on record. But one person has not received the warm greeting the islanders are famed for. Here, on the inner Hebridean island, long-held secrets, past crimes and burning resentment are set to be unveiled in the most brutal fashion.

Some people come to the island to experience a return to nature, others to detach from their hectic lives seeking a simpler existence. And then there are those who wish to escape their past and begin again. These people believe they are making a fresh start but overlook one universal truth, their sins come with them… and there will be a reckoning…

When the body of a tourist is discovered at the foothills of the Cuillin mountains DI Duncan McAdam and his small team need to uncover why the man was in that spot and who would have a reason to kill him. Visiting with friends for a stag do, it doesn’t appear anyone at a first glance has a reason for wanting the tourist dead. Can DI McAdam persevere and uncover the truth?

I have been enjoying this series and find the rural setting of the Isle of Skye a wonderful atmosphere. With a small population and huge open spaces I really like the wildness the scenery conveys to me when I read these mysteries. Additionally, I love the depth and often the complexities of these plots. While a Scottish police procedural, and the plot being more deduction rather than action/adventure, I do feel like I can keep up with everything as the mystery deepens rather than just feeling like I’m keeping up which often happens to me with more action orientated stories.

I also really appreciated how with this novel I felt a number of the characters really progressed in their personal storylines. While the mystery was absolutely front and center, I definitely felt with this novel that Duncan was beginning to grow a bit more as a character and take some more mature steps. I really enjoyed this and hope it continues into the next few books.

Readers looking for an interested and complex murder mystery plot should absolutely find this book fits the bill. While this is part way through the series I strongly feel this stands well alone and readers shouldn’t be shy about picking it up even if the author and series is new to them. With a beautiful atmosphere and scenery and interesting characters this was a great read and one I can easily recommend.

Space Station Halcyon – “Now Under New Management!” by Matthew C. Lucas


Space Station Halcyon – “Now Under New Management!” by Matthew C. Lucas
Publisher: Sky Dog House
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Welcome to Space Station Halcyon!
(Management is not responsible for anything that happens to you)

Joey Mumbai’s down on his luck and over his head. To pay off his gambling debts, he’s forced to run an old space station at the end of the galaxy as a “legitimate business” for the mob. All Joey has to do is make money—and not attract any attention. But Space Station Halcyon is like a floating death trap, with a rage-filled manatee, a psychotically cheerful computer, and a sports bar that may or may not be possessed.

When a government code inspector and her enforcerbot drop by the station, Joey must bluff, bribe, and connive his way through interstellar bureaucracy, laser gun fights, and the worst beer in the galaxy. Can Joey turn his derelict station and degenerate crew into something resembling legality? Or is the whole place going to explode in a cloud of code violations? Or maybe both?

Sometimes bureaucracy is the best place to begin.

I adored Mr. Lucas’ tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, especially when it came to the ridiculous aspects of a workplace whose rules sometimes didn’t make any sense at all. Joey would have had nothing to do with Space Station Halcyon if he could have helped it, so the fact that he was stuck dealing with a neglected space station filled with a motley crew of loyal workers, human and otherwise, made all of the hoops he needed to jump through even funnier.

There were hints that this may be the beginning of a new series. While I don’t know for certain if or when the second book may be en route, I enjoyed the way the characters were introduced, especially when it came the first few employees that Joey met when he arrived at his space station. The descriptions of them were vivid, engaging, and often hilarious, but also left plenty of opportunities for further development. This isn’t always an easy balance to strike, so I must tip my cap to the author for making me care about Sherrod, Auntie, Daryl, and Natalie so much already as I learned what roles they played onboard and why each of them was vital to the future of the station as a whole. At no point was this more true than when things began going terribly wrong and they had to band together to try to figure out a solution.

The logic of this tale reminded me of Douglas Adam’s work. It had a dreamlike quality that made it impossible for me to stop reading, but it also made sense within the context of Joey’s zany adventures as a character who, to be honest, had not always made the most honorable choices in the past and who had a lot of growing up to do even thought he was technically already an adult. I loved seeing how he responded to things that generally wouldn’t be expected to occur and how he maybe even started to mature a little as a result of him stepping up to improve how this station was run.

Space Station Halcyon – “Now Under New Management!” was thrilling.

Deceived By The Light by Damien Boyd


Deceived By The Light by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

An innocent man framed. A case closed. A serial killer free to kill again.

It is 1985. Detective Inspector Mungo ‘Bob’ Willis is being forced out of Avon and Somerset Police on medical grounds. His career is in tatters, his body broken, his mind shattered, and his partner—DS Lizzie Harper—dead in a sting operation gone wrong.

Their last case is closed, but Bob is convinced an innocent man has been framed, leaving a serial killer cruising the A303 with impunity, free to target lone women who have broken down by the roadside late at night.

The killer knows the police aren’t looking for anyone else in connection with the murders. What they don’t know is what Bob will do next.

And when another woman is killed in horrifyingly similar circumstances, Bob launches his own—unofficial—investigation. Can he stop a sadistic killer before they kill again? And again…

DI Mungo “Bob” Willis is an average police officer. With no real career highs (nor lows) he has been mediocre – and comfortable with it – his entire life. Until the night he and his DS Lizzie Harper faced down a serial killing pair alone in a layby lane on the A303. With Lizzie dead and Bob barely released from the hospital weeks later Bob is fired by something he’s never experienced before – determination and revenge.

I have greatly enjoyed this author’s other series so when I found out he’d begun something new I eagerly jumped in. I was a little surprised that this book was set back in 1985 – an find it mortifying that at 40 years ago now, this is classed as a historical mystery – but I still found it an exciting and engrossing read. Even with no modern technology – no license plate readers, no CCTV, no mobile phones, but instead people using telephone booths – I loved how the author made the story about the plot and characters and still kept everything relevant and interesting.

I found it highly enjoyable that even without so many of the new tricks, this book strongly contained solid police work and character driven emotions. I found both of these critical elements helped keep this a gripping read and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I’m pleased to see there’s another book and hope the author sticks with this. The older time setting helps keep this series feeling different and fresh, but I absolutely think there’s enough mystery and interesting characters to keep modern readers attached and eager for more.

A new series from an author I am well versed in, this is a great read and one I can highly recommend.