Monthly Archives: January 2021

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Impossible Girl

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The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang (Goodreads Author)
Amy Caudill‘s review

In 19th century New York a young woman, born under less than auspicious circumstances, makes a living in a male-dominated profession-as a resurrectionist.  Cora Lee and her alter-ego Jacob know how to find the best marks-the subjects with the most interesting anatomic anomalies that will draw top dollar from local medical schools and museums, once they die that is. 

Cora would never help someone along to the grave just to earn a fee; she knows all too well that if her secret got out, her own corpse would be a very profitable commodity.   Unfortunately, it seems some of her competition is not nearly as scrupulous.  Several of her cultivated future marks go missing, only to turn up dead from unnatural causes, and already stolen from the grave before Cora’s crew gets the chance.

Just as someone discovers the double life she has been leading, rumors of a girl with two hearts get out, and a museum of curiosities is willing to pay top dollar for the cadaver.  Unfortunately, the girl with two hearts is real; she is not dead; and she is Cora.  Will she become the next victim of the murderer/resurrectionist?  Who else knows Cora’s secret?  Who can she trust?

This story presents a murder mystery that is unique in both scope and subject.  It contains some unusual elements, such as a brief chapter narrated by each victim-their final moments, their fears and regrets.  These little chapters add additional shadowing to the story, which is told mostly from Cora’s point of view.  While the victims share what they know at the end, and shortly thereafter, the reader is still left hanging to the very last chapters of the book to find the identity of the real killers. 

Cora’s double identity, as a proper young lady who deals with doctors, medical schools and curators, as well as attending endless funerals to “scope out” the dig sites, and as her twin brother Jacob, a rough and tumble, rude, crude and unsavory character who leads the crew of grave robbers, manages to show both sides of her personality.  Cora is strong but vulnerable; naïve and street-smart; romantic and hard all at once.  The author has done an excellent job portraying this complex character, someone who has led a life most of us could only imagine.

Lydia Kang has obvious spent a great deal of time researching the time period and her character’s “profession,” as shown through her knowledge of period medical terminology and treatments, the street slang of the grave diggers, and esoteric knowledge of lifestyles and habits of the time.

I award this story 4.5 stars, and recommend it to any fans of Victorian-era mysteries, star-crossed romances, and strong female protagonists.

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Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Cold Days

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Cold Days by Jim Butcher

Cold Days (The Dresden Files, #14) by Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author)
Amy Caudill‘s review

Having survived his own murder and then a trip through the afterlife (or a reasonable facsimile,) Harry now is somewhat ready to face his sworn duty to the Queen of Winter, Mab. 

At least, he better be.  After all, it appears the whole world is going crazy.  There is a conspiracy among the fae, and Harry will have enough trouble sorting out exactly who is on which side.  He also has to kill Mab’s daughter, the Winter Lady, because either Mab or Maeve, or both are crazy, and may be under the mind control of the Outsiders.  Not to mention, none of his friends or family know he’s actually alive.  It’s just another day in Chicago for Harry Dresden.

In a way, this book feels like it’s tying up loose ends of the series, though I know there are already three more books written to date.  Harry has a chance to revisit places he’s been and fought before, as well as come to terms with and forge new relationships with both old allies and adversaries.  He seems to finally be coming into his maturity, and is just realizing, with the help of some very austere advisors just exactly how much power he has at his disposal thanks to events of previous novels.

Harry is a wizard, the New Winter Knight, and now the Warden of an island that officially doesn’t exist but holds a terrifying secret that forces from outside the universe are scrambling to unleash.  He even edges closer to starting a romance with Karrin.  Not bad for his first day on the job as the servant of a Queen the Sidhe.

As always I greatly enjoyed Butcher’s trademark style: his protagonist is as well known for his wisecracks as his courage, heroism, and enormous power.  While Harry may finally be growing up from the immature lone wolf he was in the beginning of the series, the stories remain fresh as the author provides new plots, new situations, and new villains to torture him with. 

I award Cold Days five stars, and am sad I am actually catching up to the end of the series.  I recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy, paranormal adventure, and epic universes that would satisfy both science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts.

It’s a Brand New Year!

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Happy New Year!Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

It’s a brand new year, and we can all finally say good bye to 2020 which caused so much heartache and adversity to so many. Of course, our problems are far from over. Luckily, amid the political unrest and the continuing health issues, there is a glimmer of hope; a vaccine is on the way. Some have already received it, with more scheduled to do so in the next weeks and months. I pray that this vaccine will prove to be the cure we all need.

On the writing front, I have to apologize for the somewhat irregular timing of my posts of late. While I thankfully remain healthy, we are short-handed at my day job at a time of year when we tend to be very busy, meaning I’ve have had a lot of extra hours and days spent working away from home when I would rather be writing. Hopefully this situation will be resolved soon.

In the meantime, I intend to continue writing as regularly as possible. I will most likely continue to share book reviews as I post them to Goodreads. I have set my goal for the year at the same level as last year, which is 30 books, meaning I need to read 2-3 per month. This may not sound like a lot, but considering many of the books I’m drawn to tend to average 400-500 pages, I have to be realistic in setting goals based on the free time I have available.

I will also continue to post topics about random things that interest me and hopefully you as my readers, and I also have plans for when things calm down a bit to work my on personal writing, so hopefully I’ll have some short stories or story bits to share as the year goes on.

I hope all of you out there are healthy, and as happy as possible. I wish those of you who set resolutions the best of luck in achieving them. May this year be kind to us all. We certainly need it to be.

Amy

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Crooked River

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Crooked River by Douglas Preston

Crooked River (Pendergast, #19) by Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author), Lincoln Child
Amy Caudill‘s review

Aloysius Pendergast’s vacation just wants a vacation with his ward, Constance Greene, when the new assistant director of the FBI, Walter Pickett, interrupts to send him on the most baffling case of his career.  Over a hundred disembodied feet wash ashore on Sanibel Island, Florida, each wearing identical green shoes.

Pendergast agrees to take the case, with the caveat that Pickett will allow him to use his own substantial latitude in the investigation, unlike the handicap of regulations he was required to conform to in the last book, Verses for the Dead. Part of this “latitude” translates into recalling his partner in the previous case, Agent Coldmoon, who is still recovering from his injuries suffered in line of duty.

The tension is broken somewhat early in the book by a humorous scene where the Coast Guard Commander Baugh, who is the nominal head of the task force investigating, decides to cross into Cuban waters to get surveillance footage of possible beheadings related to the source of the feet.  Unfortunately for the commander but fortunately for averting an international incident, the “beheadings” he allegedly witnesses is actually a volleyball game between prisoners and guards in a Cuban prison.

Forensic evidence soon reveals that all the amputations are self-inflicted, which raises even more questions as to why?  What could possess these people, who are discovered to be immigrants trying to illegally cross into the US from Guatemala, to cause them all to sever one of their own feet in an eerily similar manner?

Each chapter takes a different point of view as a number of subplots and interactions between various characters, major and minor, add to the increasing complexity of the overall story line.  The authors, Preston and Child, have long mastered this style; often writing alternate chapters (according to their shared website.)

Three quarters into the story, the authors reveal that the title takes its name form a location in the Florida Panhandle, a river near the site of a trench where the feet were stored, and carried away during a flood.  What will the investigators, separated by different branches on inquiry, learn about this hidden location, and will they be able to stop this horrible fate from happening to anyone else?  The answers lie in a quasi-military base conducting banned experiments with psychotropic drugs.

I don’t want to give any more spoilers, but I will say that this novel equals any of the best previous in the Pendergast series, and there are hints of another epic book to come as Pickett plays interference again in the final chapter of Crooked River.

I award this book five stars and recommend this series to any readers of police procedurals, thrillers, and even paranormal detective stories, though those particular elements are light in this book.  The story could well be enjoyed by those not familiar with the series, but some nuances will escape those who have not read previous volumes, so consider going back and reading more of the series.