Singularity Minus Twelve by Karl Hörnell

August 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Singularity Minus Twelve by Karl Hörnell
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In a near future where artificial general intelligence has been achieved, AIs that develop self-awareness are becoming a problem. Difficult to contain, they are often hunted and destroyed, but a team of exceptional ones has been spared to take down the most dangerous rogue AI of all time.

Singularity Minus Twelve is a sci-fi thriller that delves into the near-term philosophical and societal implications of artificial intelligence, while having some fun playing with characters inspired by popular fictional AIs.

Intelligence isn’t always a good thing.

I liked reading about the societal changes that had taken place as people adjusted to spending time with robots that had feelings and could think independently. With humans being what we are, there were a wide variety of reactions to artificial intelligence, not all of which were necessarily positive. While I’ll leave it up to others readers to discover exactly what those reactions were, I thought they rang true to how people have responded to other big adjustments in our various cultures over time.

Having such a large cast of characters made it tricky for me to get to know any of them well. While this was a fast-paced, plot-driven piece and I wouldn’t expect anyone to spend too much time talking about themselves, it would have been easier for this reader to connect with the characters if I had more information about simple things like their personalities and interests. Knowing their occupations was certainly important, but there is so much more to any person than what they do for a living. I needed more details in this area in order to feel comfortable choosing a higher rating.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that explored what it means for a robot to be intelligent and sentient. Given how many different definitions can exist for both of those terms, there was plenty of space here to ask the audience and the characters to be more specific about what we mean when we talk about those ideas and how human understandings of them might not always translate well when we’re talking about machines instead.

Singularity Minus Twelve was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , ,

Ride ‘Em Cowboy by Anne Kane

July 28, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Ride ‘Em Cowboy by Anne Kane
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When Fiona sees a gorgeous cowboy ride up on his Harley, she figures it’s her lucky day. Bikers don’t do forever, right? Her perfect match!

She really isn’t in the market for a lover, or a partner, or some guy to give her a sappy-sweet happily ever after. Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it. They can tell each other a few lies, scratch each other’s itches, then go their separate ways.

The last thing she needs is to hook up with some guy she’ll smack headlong into at church tomorrow. She just wants a nice one-night stand. She plans to be long gone come breakfast time.

Simple, right? So how did it all go so very wrong?

Fiona is not in the market for happily ever after. What she wants is a one-night stand, a quick time to scratch an itch or two then never see them again is what she’s after. Seeing them again is not part of her very simple plan – so how did it all go so wrong?

I found this to be an enjoyable short story. This was a well written story with strongly believable, relatable characters and a fun, lighthearted tone. The chemistry between Fiona and Wyatt sizzled off the page and the heat between them was scorching. That also helped make Fiona’s lack of discipline when Wyatt turned up in her orbit again understandable.

I enjoyed the attraction and chemistry between the two main characters and found their back-story and reasons for being so firmly in the no-strings-attached category should be something most readers can relate to.

Modern and fast-paced, this an enjoyable and quick read. I was pleased that the story really revolved mostly around Fiona and Wyatt, so I feel that none of the previous Rooster stories need to be read to thoroughly enjoy this story. A quick and good read, I’d be happy to read more by this author.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Innocent & Sweet by Megan Slayer

July 22, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Innocent & Sweet by Megan Slayer
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Anissa Dunn wants one man — Kameron. He’s got looks, brains and a boatload of attitude… and all that muscle. A girl can only take so much, and he’s her heart’s desire. She’s not afraid to give as good as she gets and she wants him to be her teacher in all things carnal.

There’s only one catch — he’s her bodyguard and the rules state she can’t date the staff.

But rules are meant to be broken…

Anissa knew she wasn’t meant to want her bodyguard, Kam, but she couldn’t help herself. She might be a virgin, but she was certain what she wanted – now if only she could capture Kam’s attention. When her plan didn’t go exactly to plan Anissa figured she’d missed her chance, only Kam has finally caught on and now he’s being offered everything he wants he can’t deny either of them their chance to be happy.

This is a steamy and fun short story. In some respects, this book is a little cliched – but the author made both Anissa and Kam modern and relatable. With an understandable set of mutual goals – both the lusty and safety kind – this quick read had a solid plot and plenty of steam to capture most readers’ attention. Readers might not find this story as unique as they would hope, but the tone was light and fun – and just a little tongue in cheek in places – and the chemistry between Anissa and Kam was intense and satisfying.

Find yourself a nice cool drink and disengage your brain. Readers can just sit back, relax and enjoy being carried away by this short story and the shenanigans these two come up with together. The book is flirty and fun and just a little spicy, exactly what you’d want in a quick, short story.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

A Kiss In The Dark by Shelby Morgen

July 16, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Kiss In The Dark by Shelby Morgen
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Stranded. Nothing to warm her but the heat of his body. A stranger, holding her in the dark.

She wanted things she had no right to even imagine. Ever since she’d taken The Purity Test online the questions have been nagging her.

Have you ever:

* Had sex on the first date?
* Had sex with someone whose name you did not know?
* Had sex with someone whose face you never saw?
* Had sex with someone where there was an age difference of more than 20 years?

No. Not her. She hadn’t done anything. Ever. Until the storm of the century dropped her in the arms of a stranger. Now she can’t get him out of her mind…

Ever since a good friend showed her The Purity Test, Jen has struggled to get it – and her abnormally high score – out of her mind. So when a freak storm has her briefly stranded in the dark with a very warm stranger, Jen throws caution to the wind. Can a kiss in the dark between two strangers change everything for the both of them?

I really enjoyed this short story. While it began along a well-worn line I was pleased there were a few differences that set this story apart from many of its similar tales. The fact that neither of the main characters were young was an added bonus for me, and I found myself quickly and eagerly reading along to see how the rest of the tale would unfold.

While the Purity Test has been around for a very long time, I found this hint of nostalgia refreshing and quite an enjoyable vehicle to move the plot along. Readers looking for a comfortable but still sexy and fun quick read should find this absolutely fits the bill. I found the attraction between Jen and Tom believable – even with the speed with which they connected – and while it did feel a little like insta-lust to me I thought the author handled the plot very well and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

A quick and steamy story, this is a fun and lighthearted read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Black Summer by M.W. Craven

July 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Black Summer by M.W. Craven
Publisher: Constable
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time?

And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

A number of years ago, DS Washington Poe was instrumental in getting Jared Keaton – renown celebrity chef – put away for life for murdering his daughter, Elizabeth. So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station and all the blood work confirms that she’s the six years missing Elizabeth, no one is under more scrutiny than Poe. Racing against time before he’s railroaded with internal investigations, Poe and Tilly have to find answers for some critical questions.

This is the second book in the Washington Poe series, and I found it just as well plotted and well-paced as the first. Tilly is still hands down my favourite character – I don’t know how the author manages to get her to be so relatable and enjoyable while being so very different, but I find Tilly refreshing, delightful and just a joy to read. Obviously, I quite enjoy Poe as well, but I have to admit the first few chapters were very Poe-centric and while I found them good reading and I was happily sucked into the story, I noticed a real shift and heightening of my enthusiasm of the book when Tilly came more onto the stage.

I really felt this book had some solid twists and turns in the plot. While I could foresee a few of them, quite a few of the twists took me by surprise and this absolutely delighted me. I’ve read a huge number of mysteries and so I often don’t expect to be really taken by surprise by a plot twist. There were a few I didn’t catch in this book and that was lovely and refreshing to me.

While I did find this book slightly grittier than the more usual British police procedural style of mystery, I definitely didn’t find the pace to be action riddled. I thought this was certainly more of a step-by-step investigation – and those are the style of books I usually prefer – but the subject and the general air of Poe and his working methods were a little on the edgier and grittier side than many British books that I read, so I do feel that’s something readers should be conscious of before setting out in this series.

I thought this book stood very well by itself – as the second in the series there isn’t an enormous history or past to these characters and the mystery plot absolutely is well encased in this book alone and doesn’t have any lurking connections to other books. Readers should feel quite comfortable picking this up by itself and enjoying it in full. A solid mystery and I’m eager for the next in the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Lazybones by Mark Billingham

July 10, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Lazybones by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

The first corpse was found hooded, bound, and naked, kneeling on a bare mattress in a seedy hotel room. This was no ordinary murder but rather the work of a killer driven by something special, something spectacular. The fact that the dead man was a convicted rapist recently released from prison only increases the bizarre nature of the gruesome crime … and the police’s reluctance to apprehend the perpetrator. It’s the body count that troubles Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, as brutal slaying follows brutal slaying, each victim more deserving than the last. Though he has no sympathy for the dead, Thorne knows he must put an end to a cruelly calculating vigilante’s bloody justice before time runs out — and a horrifically efficient serial killer targets a life worth fighting for.

DI Tom Thorne and his team are pulled into a new investigation when a recently released convicted rapist is brutally murdered. While plenty of his colleagues feel this was simply justice being meted out, Thorne knows they still have a job to do. And when a second recently released rapist is killing in a nearly identical manner, Thorne knows things will only get more difficult from here on in.

I’ve been enjoying this slightly darker, gritty British police procedural series. I’m pleased that the main character isn’t some perfect hero – he’s a fairly regular guy and has his share of flaws. I also am enjoying getting to know Holland, Thorne’s colleague, and delve a little more into the complications of his personal life as Holland and Thorne become more friendly with each other.

I could understand if this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea. British crime novels often have a slightly different tone, and this series is no exception. A little grittier, a little harder in some respects I personally find this sort of story well worth the effort of reading. I admit that I guessed a few aspects to this mystery about halfway through the book, though I was wrong about a few of the other points that I missed so there was still plenty in this book that did keep me in the dark. I thoroughly enjoyed the complications and twists in the plot and ended up very happy with the final few chapters and everything untangling itself.

Readers looking for a different style of murder mystery book and who don’t mind the different British style of writing should give this series a try.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Murder In The Village by Faith Martin

July 8, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Murder In The Village by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A would-be politician is found battered to death in the kitchen of his expensive home in a lovely Oxfordshire village. His wife’s alibi is full of holes and there’s another woman in the background. And what about his seemingly mild-mannered political rival?

DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this perplexing murder. She certainly doesn’t think the prime suspect is as guilty as everyone thinks.

Just as she’s about to make a breakthrough, everything is turned upside down by a fatal development in another case she is working on . . .

Can Hillary find the murderer and will she survive a brush with one of Oxford’s most dangerous criminals?

DI Hillary Greene and her team is called in to investigate when a would-be politician is found battered to death in his own home. The complications arise almost immediately and Hillary is determined to get to the bottom of everything. But just as she gets traction in this case her world is upturned when events surrounding a different case take a deadly turn and soon Hillary has far more than one murder on her plate.

I have been really enjoying this series, and I felt this book was an excellent addition. Hillary is a character I really love – forty-something, logical and tenacious – I feel there’s plenty for many readers to enjoy. With a strong cast of interesting secondary characters lending Hillary support and a few intriguing across-the-series plotlines slowly gathering steam I am beginning to buy the subsequent books in this series more quickly as I eagerly read my way through.

I was particularly pleased that a few of the longer-running story arcs not only made headway, but a few even got some resolution which was very satisfying to read. I do admit there seemed to be two main plotlines to this story – Hillary’s murdered politician, but also a secondary investigation Hillary is drawn into. Between these two plots the book has a decent pace and a bit more action than I’m used to reading in a British police procedural style of book, but I found it exciting and well written so am eager to jump into the next book in the series.

Readers looking for an interesting and well plotted murder mystery series should enjoy this book, though I do recommend readers going back to book 1 and starting this series fresh.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Neon Prey by John Sandford

July 2, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Neon Prey by John Sandford
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Clayton Deese looks like a small-time criminal, muscle for hire when his loan shark boss needs to teach someone a lesson. Now, seven months after a job that went south and landed him in jail, Deese has skipped out on bail, and the U.S. Marshals come looking for him. They don’t much care about a low-level guy–it’s his boss they want–but Deese might be their best chance to bring down the whole operation.

Then, they step onto a dirt trail behind Deese’s rural Louisiana cabin and find a jungle full of graves.

Now Lucas Davenport is on the trail of a serial killer who has been operating for years without notice. His quarry is ruthless, and–as Davenport will come to find–full of surprises . . .

US Marshall Davenport is called in when what’s thought to be a small time criminal jumping his bail bond turns out to have a graveyard’s worth of buried – and some partially eaten – bodies in his back yard. Davenport and a few of his colleagues begin one of their stranger investigations into their very first cannibal and things only get stickier from there.

I’ve been a huge fan of this series for a number of years, and I found this to be an excellent addition to the series. While I feel it can be read by itself, I definitely think readers will get far more enjoyment out of it if they’ve read at least a few of the earlier books and have a decent understanding of the characters and how everyone links together. That said, I equally feel readers can catch up quite easily just with this book and this wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

I believe that readers looking for a fast paced, action orientated mystery should find this fits the bill. There are a few slightly icky parts to this book – though I felt nothing was overtly gory or too graphic – there would be a few warnings to this story (rape, murder and cannibalism). While each of these is mentioned nothing is given too much detail – though it’s not just glossed over either. I feel this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea but it’s quite simple to skip a few paragraphs if you’d like to, and still thoroughly enjoy the rest of the story.

I particularly enjoyed how the plot grew quite complicated as the manhunt continued. In some respects, I really felt this book was more complicated than many I’ve read recently and while towards the end I did begin to feel it was being drawn out a little too long – I have to admit this was not some simple, one-dimensional murder mystery but quite a multi-layered and complex plot. I really enjoyed that.

Readers who are fans of this series or have read other books by John Sandford should have a fairly solid understanding of what to expect and I admit I enjoyed the faster pace and more convoluted storyline. I found this an enjoyable story and am always up for another featuring Davenport again.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham

June 24, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

It was a vicious, calculated murder. The killer selected his victim at London’s Euston station, followed her home on the tube, strangled her to death in front of her child. At the same time, killed in the same way, a second body is discovered at the back of King’s Cross station. It is a grisly coincidence that eerily echoes the murders of two other women, stabbed to death months before on the same day.

DI Tom Thorne sees the link and comes to a horrifying conclusion. This is not a serial killer that the police are up against—this is two of them. Finding the body used to be the worst part of the job, but not any more. Now each time a body is found, Thorne knows that somewhere out there is a second victim waiting to be discovered. But while the killers’ methods might be the same, their manner is strikingly different. Thorne comes to realize that he is hunting very different people—one ruthless and in control, the other submissive, compliant, terrified.

Thorne must catch a man whose need to manipulate is as great as his need to kill. A man who will threaten those closest to Thorne himself and show him that the ability to inspire terror is the deadliest weapon of all . . .

DI Tom Thorne is part of a small team in London as part of the Serious Crimes unit. When the strangling murder of a young mother – in front of her three year old son – is brought to their attention they quickly link it with an almost identical strangling murder of another young woman carried out on the same day. But when a similar pattern is shown – in the stabbing murder of another two women some month’s previously, DI Thorne discovers it would not have been physically possible for the one killer to perform both these stabbing murders. As Thorne and his team conclude there must be two murderers acting together they soon realise this case it not going to be as straightforward as they first assumed.

This is the second book in the DI Tom Thorne series and I greatly enjoyed it. In many respects Thorne’s inner musings are somber and while I felt this definitely helped give the story a grittier edge, it’s not necessarily good or fun reading. That said, I have to commend the author on his excellent weaving together of the plot.

In the first half of the book it jumps back and forth from the two murderer’s childhood antics together and then forward into the present day and the murder cases. Often I find this gives a book a jarring or disjointed effect but I was really impressed with how well the author meshed this all together here. I personally felt the story was given a lot more depth with this background information and it helped me understand far more clearly why the second murderer in particular was so entangled in everything and ended up down this path at all. It really helped flesh out the story and made it a hundred times more believable to me so I was very impressed.

I also was really happy when in the later half of the book the pace increased markedly as the actual hunt began in earnest. Without all the detail, history and build up in the first half I don’t feel the rest of the book would have packed anywhere near the punch it did. Once this ball got rolling the story was a massive steamroller and I admit I lost quite a few hours sleep – unable to put it down once the pace really got cracking.

I found this to be an exceptionally written, if slightly uncomfortable, British police procedural murder mystery book. While not perfect, I felt the characters were relatable and realistic, and the plot was well woven and utterly believable. An excellent book that, towards the end, became unputdownable. This was a great read, and I can’t wait to start the next in the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Hangman Island by Kate Rhodes

June 19, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Hangman Island by Kate Rhodes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

ON A REMOTE ISLAND

When Jez Cardew’s boat is found drifting empty on the Atlantic Ocean, DI Ben Kitto and his fellow lifeboat crew members immediately fear the worst. After an extensive search yields no results, the team are forced to retreat to dry land as darkness sets in.

THE OCEAN IS MERCILESS

But Kitto can’t let it go. Why would Jez – an experienced sailor – get into difficulty when the sea has been calm for weeks? Unless his disappearance was no accident.

BUT SO ARE THE PEOPLE . . .

The gruesome discovery of a hand washed ashore on the beach confirms his hunch. Because a medal is attached to the index finger, and it can only have been placed there by the killer.

This strange clue is the only lead to an agenda as cold as the ocean itself. Kitto must work fast, before the small, isolated community closes ranks. And it’s only a matter of time before the murderer among them strikes again . . .

DI Ben Kitto is days away from his wedding, but he needs to leave preparations behind when the smashed boat of a local lifeboat rescue volunteer’s turns up. The owner – a seasoned though young seaman – is nowhere to be found and everyone is stumped since the sea has been calm for weeks and Jez was far too seasoned and careful for a simple accident to have caused this. Then the gruesome discovery of a hand has everyone fearing the worst. Can Kitto uncover what’s really going on?

I have been enjoying this series, and this latest installment is just as good as the others. I particularly enjoyed how there were snippets at the beginning of most chapters showing the perspective of another character – a close friend of the first victim and a potential suspect for the killer – as I felt this helped deepen the perspective of the reader but also broaden the viewing of the story.

I was pleased with the cast of characters, a number of them now beginning to recur in the series but still retaining that small coastal town feeling that I think will appeal to many of the readers. I definitely found this to be a solid, British police procedural style of mystery and one that I think can easily be read by itself even though it’s quite well into the series by now. While there is some history and back story – particularly around Kitto and his growing family life – this is quite a small community, and I feel the mystery aspect can easily be captured just with this story alone.

I found this to be an interesting and well written mystery, and a good addition to the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »