The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

Recently, I read the Korean vampire mystery novel The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-ran and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads A bestseller in Korea, a biting, fast-paced vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness. When four isolated elderly people commit suicide back-to-back at the same hospital by jumping out of the sixth-floor window, Su-Yeon doesn’t understand why she’s the only one at her precinct that seems to care. Dismissing the case as a series of unfortunate events due to the patients’ loneliness, the police force doesn't engage. But Su-Yeon doesn’t have the privilege of looking away. Her dearest friend, Grandma Eun-Shim, lives on the sixth floor, and Su-Yeon is terrified that something will happen to her next. As Su-Yeon begins her investigation alone, she runs into a mysterious woman named Wanda at the crime scene. Wanda, hot on the trail of her ex-lover, Lily, gives Su-Yeon the answer: a vampire did...

Happy Halloween/Samhain everyone. As it is finally Halloween, I figured out I would post a review of the short story collection The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural by Agatha Christie, which I read earlier this month. Description from Goodreads From the Queen of Suspense, an all-new collection of her spookiest and most sinister stories, including an Agatha Christie story never before published in the USA, The Wife of Kenite! For lovers of the supernatural and the macabre comes this collection of ghostly and chilling stories from legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie. Fantastic psychic visions, specters looming in the shadows, encounters with deities, a man who switches bodies with a cat—be sure to keep the light on whilst reading these tales. The Last Séance gathers twenty stories, some featuring Christie’s beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, in one haunting compendium that explores all things occult and paranormal, and is an essential omnibus for Christie fans...

As I've heard so much about The Secret History by Donna Tartt, I couldn't resist reading it and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever. Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful. My Thoughts on the Book I really enjoyed reading The Secret History and it's one of those books that sucks you in. It's a sort of reverse-mystery, as we know from the start that a group of college students murdered one of their fellow students, a bloke nicknamed Bunny. The author's ...

Recently I read the dark academia novel If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio and today I'm posting my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Oliver Marks has just served ten years for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day of his release, he is greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, and he wants to know what really happened a decade before. As a young actor at an elite conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off – villain, hero, temptress – though he was always a supporting role. But when the teachers change the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into real life. When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless... My Thoughts on the Book If We Were Villains was a well-written novels that suck...

Recently, I read the paranormal cosy mystery The Vampire Knitting Club: Cornwall by Nancy Warren and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads A knitting shop in Cornwall—what could be more peaceful? Turns out, just about anything! When Boston-bred witch Jennifer Cunningham agrees to run a knitting and yarn shop in Tregrebi, a fishing village on the Cornwall coast in England, she worries she’ll be bored. Okay, she knows there are vampires living in a former tin mine, but she’s accustomed to vampires. They knit so fast that they make excellent customers and some of them are becoming good friends. Fascinated by the magic and myths in Cornwall, Jennifer’s falling in love with her new home. However, when she’s exploring a rocky beach one morning, she discovers a dead body. The man appears to have fallen from the cliff, but did he really die by accident? Or was he murdered? The more she discovers, the more Jennifer is convinced there’s a killer on the loose. And...

I recently read the paranormal cosy mystery The Vampire Book Club by Nancy Warren and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Quinn Callahan is having a doozy of a midlife crisis. She's stuck in a dead end job, going nowhere, but she's been fine with it. She's 45 and divorced. Her husband left her for her best friend—so cliche! But it was all good—until Quinn, a practicing witch, broke a major rule, and found her boring existence turned upside down. Suddenly, she finds herself thousands miles away from the bustling metropolis of Seattle and plunked down in the sleepy little hamlet of Ballydehag, Ireland, and proprietress of a charming little bookshop. Surely, there's no chance for a middle aged witch to get into any trouble here....right? Uh...... My Thoughts on the Book Nancy Warren is using her regular "formula" in this one, as well as there's a few cameos from The Vampire Knitting Club. While it's nothing wrong with th...

Last year, I read the most recent book in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series, Murder in a Mill Town by Helen Cox and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads When a violent murder shatters the otherwise peaceful idyll of Andaby near Hebden Bridge, DS Charlotte Banks can't help but suspect that her brother Ewan - recently released from prison and now living in Calderdale - is behind it. Ewan claims he's innocent, and even has an alibi to prove it, but DS Banks isn't convinced. So much so that she turns to the only people who can help her in an investigation this personal: Kitt Hartley and Grace Edwards, of Hartley and Edwards Investigations. On the hunt for the killer, Kitt and Grace discover the victim was choked to death on her old school sash. From this lead, Kitt, Grace and DS Banks are drawn down a dark trail littered with decade-old grudges, schoolyard secrets, broken hearts and bullies, and struggle to get closer to the truth. When a second vi...

Earlier this year I read the paranormal cosy mystery Mosaics and Magic by Nancy Warren and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Beware the crystal ball... When Lucy and Rafe are given a crystal ball as a wedding present, she’s shocked when it foretells doom. For the newlyweds, this was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. But when a terrible accident befalls one of their wedding guests, Lucy and Rafe must postpone their honeymoon. And as the evidence begins to unravel, it becomes clear this was no accident. Lucy and her undead knitters must navigate punting on the Cherwell River in Oxford, complicated and contentious relationships among their guests, and clues that don’t make sense. It may have looked like a random tragedy, but as every knitter knows, when you place the separate strands in a certain light, there’s always a distinctive pattern. This is book 14 in the Vampire Knitting Club series. There's no blood, gore, swearing or sex, just quirky cha...

Earlier this year, I read the paranormal cosy mystery Stockings and Spells by Nancy Warren and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads A Holiday Market With crafts, toys, hot chocolate And a killer! The Vampire Knitting Club decide to take part in Oxford’s Holiday Market, selling exquisite hand knit scarves, sweaters and gift items. Their most popular item is the hand knit Christmas stocking, brightly colored and extra long to squeeze in a few extra small gifts. But when a sales clerk in another booth is found strangled with one of the stockings, Lucy Swift and her undead detectives are on the case, determined to find out who would do such a terrible thing. And why. In the meantime, Lucy’s working hard at her spell book, learning to be a witch, with the help of her black cat familiar and her new assistant. Meritanum is a three thousand year old Egyptian witch and she’s having trouble with some of the concepts of modern life, such as traffic, Smart Phones and anything...

Recently, I read the cosy mystery Cat's Paws and Curses by Nancy Warren and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads When Lucy organizes a holiday knitting circle, it's good fun, Until someone's murdered... And the culprit must be one of the knitters... Knitting an ugly Christmas jumper at Cardinal Woolsey’s knitting shop in Oxford, is supposed to be relaxing. Until a knitter keels over. it’s soon clear to amateur sleuth Lucy that murder's in the air and the culprit is one of the knitters. This is a fun take on a classic closed room mystery. Of course, no room is every closed when vampires live downstairs. But are the undead knitters to blame? Or is there more to this Oxford knitting circle than lumpy Santas and light-up reindeer? This is a shorter holiday whodunnit. It was previously published in the collection: Six Merry Little Murders. More fun than an ugly Christmas jumper, this story is part of the Vampire Knitting Club series, though it can be re...

Earlier this year, I read the crime novel Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Easy Targets When Chief Deputy Ken Brody’s sweetheart goes missing in the mountains outside Timber Creek, Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, Robo, are called to search. But it’s mid-October and a dark snowstorm is brewing over the high country. And they’re already too late. By the time they find her body, the storm has broken and the snow is coming down hard. While Brody hikes down to bring back the forensics team, and veterinarian Cole Walker gathers supplies to protect them from the storm, Mattie and Robo find themselves alone, guarding the gravesite overnight in the early winter. And it’s only the first in a series of long, dark nights. As their investigation develops, Mattie, Robo, Brody and Cole find themselves in the middle of the killer’s stalking ground—where the hunters have just become the hunted. My Thoughts on the Book Stalking Ground ...

Tidligere i år leste jeg krimromanen Der isen sprekker av Ulrika Lundgren Lindmark og Jennie Lundgren og i dag kommer omtalen av boka. Beskrivelse fra forlaget Bok 1 i Bottenviken-serien. En småby i nord. Et barn i stor fare. En taushetskultur som rår. I det dramatiske landskapet rundt polarsirkelen, med øde veier og skog på alle kanter, får Irene Thorsdottir god tid til å bli kjent med sin nye partner Max Persson. Hun har nylig flyttet til Kalix fra Stockholm for å begynne som politi i operativ tjeneste. Norr- botten er enormt, og glissent nok til å være et perfekt sted for den som vil unndra seg loven. Den mannsdominerte kulturen på Kalix politistasjon er en utfordring, og Irene havner snart i konflikt med fordomsfulle kollegaer og overordnede. Snøen tiner, og dypt inne i skogen finner man en sykkel som viser seg å tilhøre en gutt som forsvant for en tid tilbake. Irene og Max er opptatt med å utrede saken idet en liten jente også forsvinner. For å oppklare sakene og finne i hvert f...

Earlier this year, I read the crime novel Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Deputy Mattie Cobb is working through issues from her past and has withdrawn from Cole Walker and his family to focus on herself, when she and her K-9 partner Robo get called to track a missing junior high student. Until they find the girl on Smoker's Hill behind the high school, dead. But that's only the start of trouble in Timber Creek, because soon another girl goes missing--and this time it's Sophie Walker. Hard as they search, Cole, Mattie, and Robo can't find her anywhere. Mattie's primary suspect, a strange man who lives near the wilderness area, calls to report he hears deer "screaming" in the woods. Suspecting the man might have lost touch with reality and be referring to something he's done to Sophie, Mattie takes Robo into the dense pine forest, hoping to pick up a trace of her scent. But whe...

Earlier this year, I read the crime novel Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Featuring Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo, Burning Ridge by critically acclaimed author Margaret Mizushima is just the treat for fans of Alex Kava. On a rugged Colorado mountain ridge, Mattie Cobb and her police dog partner Robo make a grisly discovery—and become the targets of a ruthless killer. Colorado’s Redstone Ridge is a place of extraordinary beauty, but this rugged mountain wilderness harbors a horrifying secret. When a charred body is discovered in a shallow grave on the ridge, officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are called in to spearhead the investigation. But this is no ordinary crime—and it soon becomes clear that Mattie has a close personal connection to the dead man. Joined by local veterinarian Cole Walker, the pair scours the mountaintop for evidence and makes another gruesome discovery: the skeletonized ...

Earlier this year, I read the crime novel Striking Range by Margaret Mizushima and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads A deadly secret is buried in the Colorado high country--and murder is only the beginning in the seventh gripping installment of Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 mysteries. He was suspect number one--the man who tried to kill Deputy Mattie Cobb and may have killed her father thirty years earlier. But when Mattie and cold case detective Jim Hauck reach the Colorado state prison where they will finally get to interview him, he's found dead in his cell. There's only one clue: a map leading to Timber Creek and rugged Redstone Ridge. Though she usually works with veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie's K-9 partner Robo has just sired a litter of pups, who require special, time-consuming care at Cole's clinic. Left to explore the map's clue without him, Mattie and Robo journey into the burned forest surrounding Redsto...

A while ago I read Paranormal Detective (Mona Livelong #1) by Valjeanne Jeffers and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads A Steamfunk Horror Novel A serial killer is snuffing out the lives of affluent people of color in Monterrey, North America. Hard-boiled, homicide detectives Curtis Dubois and Harold Lowe are assigned to the case. But when they realize that the killer may not be human, Mona Livelong, a young paranormal detective, is brought in to help solve the case. As Mona races to unravel the clues to save Monterrey, she finds herself caught up in a terrifying plot to change the very face of North America. My Thoughts on the Book Mona is a badass woman and I liked her from the start. The story and plot is interesting and engaging, which made it a fun read. It's also a fast-paced book, so it's by no means boring. I wish more people knew about this book, because it's an underrated book for sure.

Recently, I read the horror/mystery novella Harkworth Hall by L. S. Johnson and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads “Ask him about his wives.” Caroline Daniels must marry, and marry well. But in her remote corner of England eligible suitors are few and far between, and none hold a candle to her closest friend, Diana Fitzroy. When Sir Edward Masterson arrives, he seems the answer to Caroline’s financial worries, though she instinctively dislikes the reticent, older merchant. Soon Sir Edward has set his sights on acquiring both Caroline and the decaying Harkworth Hall. Caroline’s future seems secure, save that his enigmatic secretary hints at a dark secret, and Sir Edward shows an unusual interest in tales of monsters … and the blood in Caroline’s veins. My Thoughts on the Book Although I liked the concept of the book, I didn't find it that spooky, even if it had some eerie elements. Also, I can't say I liked the trans-unfriendly language in the cross-dress...

Earlier this year I read the paranormal cosy mystery Crochet and Cauldrons by Nancy Warren and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads Every family has annoying relatives; mine just happen to be undead. My Grandmother, Agnes Bartlett, used to own Cardinal Woolsey’s knitting shop in Oxford then died and left her shop to me, without informing me that she wasn’t actually dead. She’s a vampire and part of the world’s strangest craft circle – the Vampire Knitting Club. As you might imagine, this means she’s free to interfere in how I run the business that used to be hers. She’s trying to teach me to knit and it’s not going well. She’s also trying to teach me how to be a witch, since it turns out I’m from a long line of witches. Another tiny detail about my family that no one ever told me, along with the long-lost witch cousins I recently discovered. But I’m learning. I’ve got my family spell book, my black cat familiar, some powers that sometimes scare me, and an interest...

Earlier this year, I read the crime novel Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads When a young girl is found dead in the mountains outside Timber Creek, life-long resident Officer Mattie Cobb and her partner, K-9 police dog Robo, are assigned to the case that has rocked the small Colorado town. With the help of Cole Walker, local veterinarian and a single father, Mattie and Robo must track down the truth before it claims another victim. But the more Mattie investigates, the more she realizes how many secrets her hometown holds. And the key may be Cole's daughter, who knows more than she's saying. The murder was just the beginning, and if Mattie isn’t careful, she and Robo could be next. Suspenseful and smart, Killing Trail is an explosive debut that will have readers clamoring for more Mattie and Robo for years to come. My Thoughts on the Book It was so much fun reading this first book about Mattie and Robo....

Recently, I read the crime novel The Body on the Island by Nick Louth and today I'll post my review. Description from Goodreads He was never truly gone, only biding his time... Late on midsummer’s night there is a splash in the river Thames. A body is found on an island, asphyxiated and laced with strange markings. For DCI Craig Gillard it’s a baffling case. The victim’s identity is elusive, clues are scarce and every witness has something to hide. Meanwhile one of Britain’s deadliest serial killers is finally up for parole after a deal to reveal the location of two missing bodies. The felon has his own plans to get even with witnesses, accusers and the officer who caught him thirty years before. And who was that? A young trainee, by the name of Gillard. My Thoughts on the Book It was fun returning to Gilliard and following him resolving a murder or two. The murders were puzzling and the plot had a few twists and turns, such as a good crime novel should have, and the ending really...