Like many viewers, I loved the first series (season if you’re in the US) of ‘Downton Abbey’. The Edwardian period has always interested me, and the First World War even more so. I was thrilled when the a second series was confirmed, although I did watch the opening episode with a certain amount of trepidation. My expectations were high. Would it be as good as the previous series? While the first episode was thoroughly engaging and set several interesting storylines in motion, the rest of the series hasn’t been as strong. Still watchable, but not the tight, unpretentious programme I remember fondly. I know a lot of people outside Europe won’t have the opportunity to see the episodes until 2012, so here’s a spoiler-free list of what’s working and not working (for me) five episodes in.

The Pros:

Mary and Edith’s character development. Mary has come a long way from the bored, spoiled brat she was in 1912. Her interaction with a new female character is wonderful. Edith, too, finds a sense of purpose in this series, and this tones down her bitchiness and rivalry with Mary.

The War. The trenches feature in every episode, but only briefly. The majority of the action is still firmly centered on ‘Downton Abbey’ and its inhabitants. The men who’ve gone to war (e.g.: Matthew Crawley) have most of their scenes at Downton while on leave/work for war office/injured. By making Downton Abbey a convalescent home for wounded officers, the war is brought to Downton.

The Dowager Duchess of Grantham. Maggie Smith gets the BEST lines. My favourite was during a conversation with Edith when Edith wants to volunteer her services as a driver for the war effort: “Edith, you are a lady, not Toad of Toad Hall”. Priceless.

Thomas and O’Brien continue their scheming, only now one of them has considerably more power over the servants than they did in the last series.

The new female character I mentioned above. Not sure if she’s in the promo trailer, so I won’t say who she is. As a person, she’s not particularly interesting, but the effect she has on almost all the main characters above stairs is significant. She also generates some great lines from the Dowager Duchess.

The Cons:

‘Downton Abbey’ is getting a bit soapy. Whether or not you view this as a negative, it’s a criticism many viewers have of the current series.

The Earl. He needs to stop moaning about being too old to go to war. It was already becoming tedious by the end of the first episode.

The new maid. Gwen, the maid Sybil helped find a job as a secretary, isn’t in this series. Her replacement is a surly girl named Ethel. My take: if the writers want to build a character up to their inevitable downfall, they have to give them at least some redeeming features to make viewers care. Hell, even O’Brien and Thomas show their vulnerable sides on occasion.

The Bates-Anna-Person from Bates’s Past storyline. Can Bates really be that stupid? Yes, apparently he can. His determination to fall on his own sword is getting old. It’s unfortunate as the actor playing the person from his past is fantastic, but so far underused.

My Verdict: I’d give the first series 9.5 out of 10. Based on the first five episodes of the second, it’s more like a 7 out of 10. I’m still watching and liking it, but it’s not quite living up to the high standard it set for itself.

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My reading progress has been super slow of late. I’m in a phase where I stop reading a book if it’s not instantly engaging. In other words, the few books I finished are ones I enjoyed.

Among them are three mysteries by British crime fiction author, Elly Griffiths. Her protagonist, Ruth Galloway, is a forensic archaelogist. I ended up reading all three Ruth Galloway books over a single weekend. Ruth is an excellent lead character because…I like her. Main characters in mystery series tend to be either downtrodden (depressed, alcoholics, and so on), or super heroes. Ruth is neither. Here’s the cover blurb for the first book in the series, The Crossing Places:

When she’s not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist Ruth Galloway lives happily alone in a remote area called Saltmarsh near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants – not quite earth, not quite sea. 

When a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help. Nelson thinks he has found the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing ten years ago. Since her disappearance he has been receiving bizarre letters about her, letters with references to ritual and sacrifice.

The bones actually turn out to be two thousand years old, but Ruth is soon drawn into the Lucy Downey case and into the mind of the letter writer, who seems to have both archaeological knowledge and eerie psychic powers. Then another child goes missing and the hunt is on to find her. As the letter writer moves closer and the windswept Norfolk landscape exerts its power, Ruth finds herself in completely new territory – and in serious danger.

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I’m up to my neck in revisions for my WIP. I want to submit it by the end of November. One of my characters is not responding well to my editing efforts. I need to do some serious word wrestling over the weekend. Fingers crossed!

Are you, or will you be, watching ‘Downton Abbey’? Have you read any good books lately? I’m in the mood for a good mystery.

My usual way to get a handle on what’s popular in bookland is through word of mouth, blogs, and a select few review sites. Occasionally, I check the Amazon bestseller lists to see what the masses are reading. While these lists weren’t always helpful, I did discover the odd book I was interested enough to purchase. Lately, though, the Amazon bestseller lists are next to useless. The reason? They’re dominated by $0.99 deals, mostly by authors I’ve never heard of before. Instead of being guidelines for readers, the lists have metamorphosized into promo vehicles for authors.

I’m an unpubbed writer. I get that it makes sense for authors to avail of every opportunity to promote their books. Offering them at slashed prices attracts buyers. Fair enough. I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say I’d never contemplate selling a self-published work at a low price. But speaking as a reader, this trend irritates me, particularly the way in which in it affects the Amazon bestseller lists. When I look at the current lists, I’m instantly wary. Are these books top sellers because people like them, or simply because they’re cheap? Why are novellas and short stories on the same lists as full-length novels? As a writer, I get that it takes almost as much time to plot a novella as it does a novel. Writing short doesn’t necessarily mean writing fast. As a reader, though, it makes a hell of a difference to me if a novella is being sold for the same price as a novel.

And of all those $0.99 books on the lists, how many readers actually read them? Or were they purchased because they were a good deal, then promptly relegated to the digital TBR pile? I realise it’s impossible to know what percentage of purchased books are read, regardless of the sale price. But when it comes to the $0.99 deals, my inner cynic comes out to play.

What say you? Do you check Amazon’s bestseller lists? Do the number of slashed price books on the lists make them less useful? What’s your attitude to the $0.99 book?

I think — finally — I’m emerging from my fiction reading slump. I’ve read (or started to read) the following books since the beginning of April:

The Edge of Night by Jill Sorenson – Jill Sorenson is now on my autobuy list. I’ve read three of her books and enjoyed them all. Plus I love her voice, and I think she’s a writer to watch. Although I read a lot of crime fiction, I’m not a huge fan of romantic suspense. Those I read tend to err heavily on the suspense side, such as Karen Rose’s Vartanian trilogy, or Leslie Parrish’s Black CATs. Jill’s suspense plots are an integral part of her stories, but the focus is primarily on the development of the romantic relationships. In yet another case of “I don’t usually like X, but…”, her stories work for me.

Blaze of Memory and Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh – These are books 5 and 6 respectively in Nalini Singh’s Psy Changeling series. I have mixed feelings about the books. I love the worldbuilding and the story of the Psy, but I’m indifferent to the Changelings. Some of the romance storylines work better for me than others – if a Changeling is involved, they’re less successful. I’m just not a fangs and fur person. The continuing story arc about the Psy council and Psy rebels is the best part of this series for me.

Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon – A mystery slash m/m romance set in 1943 Los Angeles. The main characters are police Lieutenant Matthew Spain and crime reporter Nathan Doyle. It has a nice noir-ish feel to it. I enjoyed it, and I want to read more of Josh Lanyon’s books. I believe there is a second Doyle/Spain book in the works.

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – This is a re-read. I’m currently on page 149 of 800+, so I have a ways to go. I loved the first episode of the HBO adaptation of the novel. It reminded me of how much I liked the book when I first read it five years ago. I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did as I’m not a fantasy fan. I loathed Lord of the Rings, and I avoid books featuring orks, elves, etc. George R.R. Martin’s series appeals to me because it is heavily influenced by medieval history (there are huge parallels with the Wars of the Roses), and it’s more firmly grounded in reality than the other fantasy books I’ve read, or tried to read.

What are you reading at the moment? Have you read any of the books on my list?

Given the number of new or upcoming releases I want to read, I need more hours in the day!

Here a few titles I’m particularly interested in reading.

Edge of Night by Jill Sorenson (5 April 2011)

Blurb: In a sultry California city on the Mexican border, a brutal crime pushes a struggling young mother and an idealistic cop to the edge of passion—and beyond.

To support her small daughter, April Ortiz does what she has to do—which means waiting tables in a skimpy outfit at a popular nightclub in a gang-infested area of Chula Vista. When one of her co-workers is raped and murdered, April does what she knows she shouldn’t—she defies the neighborhood code by giving the police a hardcore gang member’s name.

Clean-cut cop Noah Young wants a shot at breaking this case more than anything in the world—that is, until he meets the unforgettable April Ortiz. When April gives Noah the tip, a spark ignites. As the fire between them threatens to blaze out of control, the two are dragged down further into the dark mysteries of the graffiti-lined streets, taunted by a crazed killer who could strike again at any time.

Why I Want to Read It: I recently read and enjoyed two of Jill Sorenson’s other books, Stranded With Her Ex and Crash Into Me. I’m not usually a fan of romantic suspense, but she does it well.

Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris (March 2011)

Blurb: Regency London: July 1812. How do you set about solving a murder no one can reveal has been committed?

That’s the challenge confronting C.S. Harris’s aristocratic soldier-turned-sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr when his friend, surgeon and “anatomist” Paul Gibson, illegally buys the cadaver of a young man from London’s infamous body snatchers. A rising star at the Foreign Office, Mr. Alexander Ross was reported to have died of a weak heart. But when Gibson discovers a stiletto wound at the base of Ross’s skull, he can turn only to Sebastian for help in catching the killer.

Described by all who knew him as an amiable young man, Ross at first seems an unlikely candidate for murder. But as Sebastian’s search takes him from the Queen’s drawing rooms in St. James’s Palace to the embassies of Russia, the United States, and the Turkish Empire, he plunges into a dangerous shadow land of diplomatic maneuvering and international intrigue, where truth is an elusive commodity and nothing is as it seems.

Meanwhile, Sebastian must confront the turmoil of his personal life. Hero Jarvis, daughter of his powerful nemesis Lord Jarvis, finally agrees to become his wife. But as their wedding approaches, Sebastian can’t escape the growing realization that not only Lord Jarvis but Hero herself knows far more about the events surrounding Ross’s death than they would have him believe.

Then a second body is found, badly decomposed but bearing the same fatal stiletto wound. And Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening the life of his reluctant bride and their unborn child.

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve loved the other books in Sebastian St. Cyr series.

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (March 2011)

Blurb: In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs’s career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard’s Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities, “not in the interests of His Majesty’s Government.”

When the college’s controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote’s death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance.

To unravel this web, Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain’s conduct during the Great War, and face off against the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei the Nazi Party—in Britain.

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve followed the Maisie Dobbs series since Book 1. The previous instalment changed the course of the series, and I’m curious to see how it works. I suspect I’ll either love or hate this one.

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (5 April 2011)

Blurb: Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home. Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too–and he’s certain he’s on the right trail. Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in.

Why I Want to Read It:  Michael Connelly writes compulsively readable thrillers. I’ve enjoyed his previous Mickey Haller books (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Brass Verdict and The Reversal), and I’m looking forward to reading this one.

The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis (1 April 2011)

Blurb: Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly-renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life.

But sexy Ford Walker has his own ideas, such as keeping Tara hot, bothered . . . and in his bed. And when her ex wants Tara back, three is a crowd she can’t control—especially when her deepest secret reappears out of the blue. Now Tara must confront her past and discover what she really wants. If she’s lucky, she might just find that everything her heart desires is right here in Lucky Harbor.

Why I Want to Read It: I enjoyed the first book in Jill Shalvis’s Lucky Harbor series and I definitely want to read the second.

Vienna Waltz by Teresa Grant (1 April 2011)

Blurb: Europe’s elite have gathered at the glittering Congress of Vienna—princes, ambassadors, the Russian tsar—all negotiating the fate of the Continent by day and pursuing pleasure by night. Until Princess Tatiana, the most beautiful and talked about woman in Vienna, is found murdered during an ill-timed rendezvous with three of her most powerful conquests…

Suzanne Rannoch has tried to ignore rumors that her new husband, Malcolm, has also been tempted by Tatiana. As a protégé of France’s Prince Talleyrand and attaché for Britain’s Lord Castlereagh, Malcolm sets out to investigate the murder and must enlist Suzanne’s special skills and knowledge if he is to succeed. As a complex dance between husband and wife in the search for the truth ensues, no one’s secrets are safe, and the future of Europe may hang in the balance…

Why I Want to Read It: Teresa Grant is the new pseudonym for Tracy Grant, author of the Charles and Mélanie Fraser books, Daughter of the Game/Secrets of a Lady and Beneath a Silent Moon. Vienna Waltz is a prequel to those books featuring Charles and Mélanie with different names (her new publisher wanted a stand alone book). In addition to Vienna Waltz, Tracy Grant has released a third book in the Charles and Mélanie series. It’s called The Mask of Night and is available from Amazon Kindle.

Bone Deep by Janice Kay Johnson (March 2011)

Blurb: The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Kat Riley’s husband has kept Grant Haller at a distance. Despite the strong attraction pulling him to her as police chief with that open missing person case he can’t afford to get close to her. Not with everyone in this small town watching. Still he waits for the day he can make his move. Then Kat finds a bone…and others start to appear. Once the remains are identified as her husband’s Grant has to consider her a suspect. Deep inside he’s convinced she’s innocent and he’s driven to clear her name. And when the threats against her escalate Grant must protect her…before it’s too late.

Why I Want to Read It: Janice Kay Johnson is one of my favourite category romance authors.

Which new releases are on your radar?

It’s that time of year when bloggers and readers are discussing their ‘Best Books of 2010′ lists. Looking at my reading spreadsheet, I see that the majority of the books I read this year weren’t published in 2010, so I’ve decided to list a few new-to-me authors I discovered recently whose backlists I devoured.

I started the year on a Gothic kick and read most of Mary Stewart’s novels. I’m still hoarding a couple of them to read on a rainy day. My favourite Stewart books so far are: Nine Coaches Waiting, Wildfire at Midnight and The Ivy Tree.

Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole mysteries were recommended to me by Keishon. They are all excellent, but I hold a particular affection for The Redeemer.

Fans of Nordic Crime Fiction should definitely try Arnaldur Indridason’s Reykjavik mystery series featuring the moody detective Erlendur. My favourite so far is The Draining Lake. Warning: While these books are not overly violent, they are extremely dark.

Lori Armstrong/Lorelei James was an excellent find. Lorelei James’ erotic contemporary romances are a ton of fun, but I especially enjoyed her mysteries written as Lori Armstrong. I read the Julie Collins series back-to-back and I want to read No Mercy, the first title in her new mystery series, over the Christmas holidays.

Pamela Morsi is well-known to many romance fans for her Western Historical Romances, but I first discovered her through her Women’s Fiction titles, Red’s Hot Honky-Tonk Bar and The Bikini Car Wash. Morsi explores issues which authors couldn’t “get away with” in traditional romance, but both these books are bound to appeal to fans of contemporary romance.

P.B. Ryan’s Gilded Age mysteries were brought to my attention when I was compiling my list of Mysteries for Romance Fans. At the time, they were out-of-print and on sale used for crazy prices. Within a couple of months, I stumbled across them on Smashwords and bought the whole series digitally. I thoroughly enjoyed them and can recommend them to romance and historical mystery fans alike.

Alexis Harrington’s Home by Morning is one of those books I’d like to go back and upgrade from a B+ to an A. There are some books that stay with you, and this is one of them. It’s a self-published historical romance set in Oregon in 1918 during the time of The Spanish Flu. Both Home by Morning and the author’s backlist titles are all available digitally from Smashwords and the Kindle Store.

Regardless of their publication date, which books you read this year made the most impact on you? Which authors/series did you glom this year?

I love discovering a new-to-me author with a substantial backlist. When it comes to books, I’m into instant gratification. Discovering a series late means I can read several of the books back-to-back. I find it’s easier to connect with continuing characters and an author’s style if I have the opportunity to read a few of their books one after the other. Every year, I find at least one or two authors to glom and I enjoy the experience immensely.

My latest glom authors are Lorelei James and Charles Todd.

Lorelei James writes the Rough Riders series for Samhain Publishing. They’re contemporary erotic romances featuring cowboys (and cowgirls) and are set in rural Wyoming. I’ve read the first four in the series and I enjoyed them. I had some reservations about the first book, Long Hard Ride, mainly to do with the resolution of the three-way romance, but I liked the other three a lot. My favourite so far is Cowgirl Up and Ride, the third title in the series. Here’s the blurb:

Goody-two boots AJ Foster has waited her entire life for her dream cowboy Cord McKay to see her as more than the neighbor girl in pigtails. Now that she’s old enough to stake her claim on him, she’s pulling out all the sexual stops and riding hell-bent for leather—straight for his libido.

Divorced rancher Cord has sworn off all women…until innocent AJ suggests he teach her how to ride bareback—and he realizes she doesn’t mean horses or bulls. Between his responsibilities running his massive ranch, missing his young son and dealing with the sexual shenanigans of his brother and cousins, Cord is more than willing to take AJ up on her offer. On a trial basis.

The fun and games tie them both up in knots. AJ isn’t willing to settle for less than the whole shootin’ match with her western knight. But for Cord, even though the sexy cowgirl sets his blood ablaze, he’s determined to resist her efforts to lasso his battered heart.

Sweet, determined AJ has the power to heal—or heel—the gruff cowboy…unless Cord’s pride keeps him from admitting their relationship is more than a simple roll in the hay.

Charles Todd is a mother-son writing team who write two historical mystery series set during and just after World War One. I started with the Bess Crawford series, of which there are just two books so far, and found them to be well-written, engaging reads. Here’s the blurb for the first book, A Duty to the Dead:

England, 1916. Independent-minded Bess Crawford’s upbringing is far different from that of the usual upper-middle-class British gentlewoman. Growing up in India, she learned the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty from her officer father. At the outbreak of World War I, she followed in his footsteps and volunteered for the nursing corps, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic.

On one voyage, Bess grows fond of the young, gravely wounded Lieutenant Arthur Graham. Something rests heavily on his conscience, and to give him a little peace as he dies, she promises to deliver a message to his brother. It is some months before she can carry out this duty, and when she’s next in England, she herself is recovering from a wound.

When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother’s last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his mother nor his brother Timothy seems to think it has any significance. Unsettled by this, Bess is about to take her leave when sudden tragedy envelops her. She quickly discovers that fulfilling this duty to the dead has thrust her into a maelstrom of intrigue and murder that will endanger her own life and test her courage as not even war has.

Having enjoyed the Bess Crawford books, I decided to give Charles Todd’s other series a go. This series features Inspector Ian Rutledge, recently returned from the battlefields of the Great War and struggling to conceal his shell shock from his superiors at Scotland Yard. The first book in this series is A Test of Wills:

In 1914, Ian Rutledge left a brilliant career at Scotland Yard to fight in the Great War. Now, in 1919, he is back, burdened with a heavy secret: he is still suffering from shell shock. With him almost constantly is the cynical, taunting voice of the young Scots soldier he was forced to have executed on the battlefield for refusing to fight.

In a desperate gamble to salvage his sanity, Rutledge takes up his duties at Scotland Yard. But a colleague, jealous of Rutledge’s pre-war successes, has learned his secret and maneuvers to have him assigned to a case that promises to spell disaster no matter what the outcome. In a Warwickshire village, a popular retired military officer has been murdered, and the chief suspect is, unhappily for the Inspector, a much-decorated war hero and a friend of the Prince of Wales.

Rutledge, fighting his malady and the tormentor in his head (who is the personification of his own doubts and guilt), doggedly goes about his investigation. He digs into the lives of the villagers: the victim’s ward, a young woman now engaged to the chief suspect; a local artist shunned because of her love for a German prisoner; the reclusive cousins whose cottage adjoins the dead man’s estate. But the witness who might be able to tell him the most is a war-ravaged ex-soldier who chills Rutledge with the realization that if he loses control of himself, he could become this man.

Have you read any books by Lorelei James or Charles Todd? Which authors have you glommed recently?

We still have a couple of months left in 2010 but I already have several 2011 releases on my “Must Read” list.

The Leopard by Jo Nesbø (January 2011)

Blurb: Two women are found murdered in Oslo – both of them have drowned in their own blood. What mystifies the police is that the puncture wounds in the victims’ faces have been caused from the inside of their mouths. Kaja Solness from Homicide is sent to Hong Kong to track down a man who is the Oslo Police Department’s only specialist on serial killings. The severely addicted detective has tried to disappear in the vast, anonymous city. He is on the run and haunted by his last case, the woman he loves, and creditors alike. His name is Harry Hole.

Why I Want to Read It: Jo Nesbø is a wonderful author with an excellent translator in Don Bartlett. I’ve loved the previous books in the Harry Hole series and I can’t wait to read this one.

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning (January 2011)

Blurb: In Dreamfever, Karen Marie Moning has left listeners with the most heart-stopping cliff-hanger to date. Shadowfever will answer all the questions fans have been dying to know in the final chapter of MacKayla Lane’s shockingly suspenseful and deeply satisfying adventure.

Why I Want to Read It: This series is like crack. I can’t pinpoint exactly why it works for me but somehow it does. Shadowfever is the fifth and last book in the series, so of course I want to read it.

Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris (March 2011)

Blurb: Regency London: July 1812. How do you set about solving a murder no one can reveal has been committed? That’s the challenge confronting C.S. Harris’s aristocratic soldier-turned-sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr when his friend, surgeon and “anatomist” Paul Gibson, illegally buys the cadaver of a young man from London’s infamous body snatchers. A rising star at the Foreign Office, Mr. Alexander Ross was reported to have died of a weak heart. But when Gibson discovers a stiletto wound at the base of Ross’s skull, he can turn only to Sebastian for help in catching the killer.

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve enjoyed all the books so far in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. There’s actually more to the blurb than I copied and pasted here, but it contains major series spoilers for people who haven’t yet read the earlier books. For those of you who want to read the whole thing, here’s a link to C.S. Harris’ website.

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (April 2011)

Blurb: Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home. Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too–and he’s certain he’s on the right trail. Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in.

Why I Want to Read It: Michael Connelly writes compulsively readable thrillers. I’ve enjoyed his previous Mickey Haller books (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Brass Verdict and The Reversal), and I’m looking forward to reading this one. I am, however, horrified at the notion of perma-shirtless Matthew McConaughey playing Mickey in the upcoming film version of The Lincoln Lawyer. Blech!

And a few more books I’m looking forward to next year but which are currently minus blurbs:

• A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (May 2011) – 8th book in the Maisie Dobbs series
• A Place of Blood by Johan Theorin (June 2011) – Book 3 in his Öland series
• Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook (November 2011) – Book 2 in her Steampunk series
• Book 7 in Arnaldur Indridason’s Reykjavik mystery series is supposedly slated for late 2011, but I haven’t had this confirmed

Do you have any “Must Read” books for 2011?

My blogging mojo is still AWOL. Thankfully, my writing mojo is not. My edits are going pretty well. While my book might not be as polished as I might like it to be, it should be ready to be submitted to the Golden Heart at the end of the month.

Reading is also going well. I’m still on my crime fiction kick, with the odd Gothic thrown in to add variety. I read Michael Connelly’s latest book this week and it was pretty good. Here’s the blurb:

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change sides and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder.

After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

The Reversal is his third book featuring Mickey Haller and the second to unite Haller and Harry Bosch. While it’s not my favourite of Connelly’s books, it’s a well-written pageturner with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the end. One criticism I had was the blatant sequel baiting towards the end of the book. I wish the last few pages had been included as a teaser for the next Harry Bosch/Mickey Haller book rather than included in this one. I’ll write up a proper review for it at some point, but I’m so behind in my reviews that I have no idea when that will be.

After I finished The Reversal, I decided to go back and start the Harry Bosch series from the very first book, The Black Echo. I’ve read several of Connelly’s novels but I’d only encountered Harry Bosch in the two Mickey Haller books in which he appears, The Brass Verdict and The Reversal.

Have you read any of Michael Connelly’s books? If so, what did you think of them?

I just saw that Kobo are offering several free romance ebooks on their site. Most appear to be from Dorchester Publishing. Among the titles on offer are:

Divorced, Desperate and Dating by Christie Craig

Squeeze Play by Kate Angell

Sweet Release by Pamela Clare

Noble Intentions by Katie MacAlister

Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton

You don’t need a Kobo reader to read these books. Any device which supports epub should work.

There are quite a few new books out in October 2010 that I want to read.

Simply Irresistible kicks off Jill Shalvis’ new contemporary romance series set in Friday Harbor, Washington.

In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother–a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.

Starting over won’t be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career–if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.

The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes–and mouth–are making it hard for her to remember that she’s sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie’s struggles to overcome the past, though she’s about to discover that there’s no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

The Iron Duke is the first full-length novel in Meljean Brook’s new Steampunk series.

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power — and fear — of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

Mina can’t afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys’s lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke’s ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.

But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans — and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

I enjoyed Australian author, Kate Morton’s, first two historical fiction novels, The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden. Her third novel, The Distant Hours, is out next month.

Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives with the return address of Millderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret.

Evacuated from London as a thirteen year old girl, Edie’s mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Millderhurst Castle with the Blythe family.

Fifty years later, Edie too is drawn to Millderhurst and the eccentric Sisters Blythe. Old ladies now, the three still live together, the twins nursing Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiancé in 1941 plunged her into madness.

Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Millderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time for someone to find it . . .

Although I haven’t yet read the first book in The Blades of the Rose quartet, Zoe Archer’s Scoundrel is on my October wish list. I am a sucker for series which are released back-to-back over a few months.

London Harcourt’s father is bent on subjugating the world’s magic to British rule. But since London is a mere female, he hasn’t bothered to tell her so. He’s said only that he’s leading a voyage to the Greek isles. No matter, after a smothering marriage and three years of straitlaced widowhood, London jumps at the opportunity—unfortunately, right into the arms of Bennett Day.

Bennett is a ladies’ man, when he’s not dodging lethal attacks to protect the powers of the ancients from men like London’s father. Sometimes, he’s a ladies’ man even when he is dodging them. But the minute he sees London he knows she will require his full attention. The woman is lovely, brilliant, and the only known speaker of a dialect of ancient Greek that holds the key to calling down the wrath of the gods. Bennett will be risking his life again—but around London, what really worries him is the danger to his heart…

Thanks to the joys of NetGalley, I’ve already read a few of the October releases I was interested in reading: Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin; Breathless by Anne Stuart; Killer Heat by Brenda Novak; Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn; and Trial by Desire by Courtney Milan.