Whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

The Murder of Mr. Ma
by John Shen Yen Nee (author), SJ Rozan  (author), Daniel York Loh (narrator)

A re-telling of The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle. The sleuthing duo are Chinese in this case, place of the action is London in the 1920s. Bertrand Russel and Ezra Pound make an appearance. The narrative tone and style are very close to the original.

Watson‘s name in this world is Lao She and his Holmes is Judge Dee Ren Jie. Lao She is a lecturer at the university. He boards with an English widow and her daughter Mary. His world collides with that of Dee and you know the rest, if you‘re a Sherlock Holmes fan.

Dee has come to London to investigate the murder of someone he knew during World War I, when they both served in the Chinese Labour Corps in France. It won‘t be the only murder Dee and Lao She stumble upon.

I knew that this would be a Sherlock Holmes story of some sort, but didn‘t know it would be inspired by The Sign of the Four. My favourite Holmes novella! Sadly, Toby is missing in this re-imagining. The murder story is deftly done, but didn‘t excite me much. Dee stayed a little bland for me. I liked the look at PTSD after WWI and how Chinese were treated and depicted by the West at that time (and unfortunately far into the 20th century). 

Dee, similarly to Holmes, is no stranger to drug use. It showed me again how generally bad my historical knowledge of the Far East is. I did some reading on the Opium Wars.

Bottom line, this was nice. I would probably pick up a sequel. Recommended for Sherlock Holmes fans and readers of historical mysteries.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. 🕵️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♂️½

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

From Norway to Australia… this bat has flown…

The Bat (Harry Hole, #1)
by Jo Nesbø

I finally picked up the first Nesbø. My dad read and loved the whole Harry Hole series and I did like the movie with Michael Fassbender. 

It took me 9 days to read 180 pages. It felt much, much longer. I have been reading this FOREVER. Sorry, boring. 40% into the book nothing serious has happened. Yes, character building, nightmares, backstory, some romance. Where is the sleuthing? This book has the suspense of a shopping list. DNF!

I will give the 2nd book of the series a try, because I already have it on my shelf. And the consensus of many reviewers seems to be that the later books of the series are much better.

Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is dispatched to Sydney to observe a murder case. Harry is free to offer assistance, but he has firm instructions to stay out of trouble. The victim is a twenty-three year old Norwegian woman who is a minor celebrity back home. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Harry befriends one of the lead detectives, and one of the witnesses, as he is drawn deeper into the case. Together, they discover that this is only the latest in a string of unsolved murders, and the pattern points toward a psychopath working his way across the country. As they circle closer and closer to the killer, Harry begins to fear that no one is safe, least of all those investigating the case.

from the book blurb

2024 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Book Releases

One of my reading buddies pointed us towards this list of 2024 speculative fiction releases…. I tried to ignore it for the past two days, but I just caved. So here just an excerpt of those books that tickle my fancy. Check out the full list at your own peril.

JANUARY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Told through the eyes of a murdered scientist whose consciousness has been implanted in a resurrected wooly mammoth and this story speaks to the folly of forcing nature down an unnatural path.

Yep, this novella is already on my to-read-pile for February. Sounds wacky. I have never read anything by the author before.

The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

A love letter to Black readers of science-fantasy, The Principle of Moments is a symphonic, centuries-spanning adventure – unmissable for fans of the spacefaring found family of Becky Chambers, the alternate London of V. E. Schwab, and the virtuosic climate-craft of N. K. Jemisin.

Not sure, but it would definitely add to my reading of bipoc authors, which was not good last year.

A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen

It’s an average Thursday for Carter Cho… until the particle accelerator explodes and sends him back in time. Carter continuously relives the week never making it to Friday. Lonely and in need of help, he manages to pull Mariana into the time loop, and together they must find a way to finally reach the end of the week.

Sounds as if it could be a nice palate cleanser? Added it to my libby-request list.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Yep, reading this in February!

FEBRUARY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan

Revolution is brewing in the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, between humans and the fathomfolk who live in its waters. This gloriously imaginative debut fantasy, inspired by East Asian mythology and ocean folk tales, is a novel of magic, rebellion and change.

Water, underwater, someone living in the water — all tempting, but I would be keener if this was SF rather than Fantasy. Not sure yet.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett.

Holmes & Watson is tempting, but the book blurb did not really sell this to me. Undecided.

Exit Black by Joe Pitkin

Die Hard meets The Martian–with a dash of Knives Out–in this action-packed sci-fi thriller.

Okay, bring it on! Well, anyway, sounds as if it could be right down my alley. Knives Out was weird, though… Requested it from Netgalley.

APRIL 2024 BOOK RELEASES

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.

Not sure, but it‘s P. Djèli Clark! I did request this on Netgalley, but Tor rejected me. I don‘t know, I like them, but they don‘t seem to like me… 🤷 Added to my libby-request list.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

I was not totally convinced by Dead Silence, but I am willing to give this another shot. Added it to my libby-request list.

JUNE 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.

Adrian Tchaikovsky. I rest my case. Although I did DNF the last one. 😝 My Netgalley request is pending.

So much for the first half of this year!

Top Ten Tuesday — The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

Top Ten Tuesday moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/

Topic for December 26: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf (Maybe share your holiday book haul?)

Hi there, I hope you had enjoyable and restful days over Christmas, if you are celebrating it. I spent the last few days at my parents‘ place, like every year. It was quiet and restful and I got a nice amount of reading done. No book haul though, as we stopped giving each other presents years ago. Well, ok, that‘s not quite true—I am taking two of my dad‘s books home with me, as my favourite online buddy reading group plans to read all Harry Hole novels by Jo Nesbø. I will join them for those and then decide if I want to continue with the series. I really want to broaden my genre reading though, as I have pretty much exclusively read Specfic over the last few years and I really need to mix it up.

The Bat (Harry Hole, #1) by Jo Nesbø — Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is dispatched to Sydney to observe a murder case.

Cockroaches (Harry Hole, #2) by Jo Nesbø — When the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Inspector Harry Hole is dispatched from Oslo to help hush up the case.

Winter’s Gifts (Rivers of London, #9.5; Kimberley Reynolds) by Ben Aaronovitch — When retired FBI Agent Patrick Henderson calls in an ‘X-Ray Sierra India’ incident, the operator doesn’t understand. He tells them to pass it up the chain till someone does. — I added this one to my Peter Grant backlist. Time to catch up with those missing one next year.

Silk and Steel: A Queer Speculative Adventure Anthology — Princess and swordswoman, lawyer and motorcyclist, scholar and barbarian: there are many ways to be a heroine. In this anthology, seventeen authors find new ways to pair one weapon-wielding woman and one whose strengths lie in softer skills. — Storygraph recommended this one to me with their new recommendations feature, presumably because I read quite a few LGBTQIA+ books recently. The cover looks fun and one of the stories is by Aliette de Bodard, so I might give it a shot.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes — A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence. —This popped up in my libby feed and I did not hate Dead Silence (my review), so I might give it a try.

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes — Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as an escape from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the undersea world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, travelling the globe to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered in the Atlantic ocean, Leigh joins the exploration team, hoping to find evidence of the earth’s first life forms – what she instead finds calls into question everything we know about our own beginnings. — Literary fiction is usually not my thing and a Booker Prize nomination sounds even more boring (sorry!), but this sounds interesting. Another addition to my libby list.

Heartsong: A Green Creek Novel (Green Creek, 3) by T.J. Klune — Heartsong is the third book in the Green Creek Series, the beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family. — I really enjoy TJ Klune and the first book in this series was a 5-star read for me. Next time I am in the mood for some nice werewolves, this might be the one. Another libby addition.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky — Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time. — Tchaikovsky is an instabuy for me. Or an insta-add in this case, thanks to Netgalley. Fingers crossed that they will grant the request, it‘s still open.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde, #2) by Heather Fawcett — When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series. — Listening to the audio of the first book right now, should finish it soon. So delightfully charming!

Among the Living by Tim Lebbon — From the New York Times bestseller and author of Netflix’s The Silence comes a terrifying horror novel set in a melting Arctic landscape. Something deadly has lain dormant for thousands of years, but now the permafrost is giving up its secrets… — This is an upcoming horror group read by my favourite reading buddies. Have to check out the Netflix series. By I am always in for scary things in the Arctic or underwater…

Sometimes you have to look into every possibility, even the dumb ones.

Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6)
by Martha Wells

Re-read. Murderbot finally is on Preservation Station. Things are awkward, even more so when it discovers a dead, murdered human. 

“No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.“

Station Security is not impressed, but they reluctantly agree to work with Murderbot, when they realize that it knows what its doing. 

“I had archives of everything that had happened since I hacked my governor module, but I hadn’t had as much relevant experience in that time. But what I did have were thousands of hours of category mystery media, so I had a lot of theoretical knowledge that was possibly anywhere from 60 to 70 percent inaccurate shit.”

Well, Station Security didn‘t know that…

I had forgotten who had done it, although it‘s only been two years since I have read this. Fun! I practically breezed through this one. Still all the bots… 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖 

PS: Although this book was the sixth published in the series, it is set before Network Effect (published as #5). It is described as a standalone.

---

Comments for my first read in 2021:

Muderbot is back in novella length. Snark and sarcasm abound. I felt a bit meh about the full-length novel, so I am very happy that my favourite ‘bot has returned to form. There wasn‘t anything particularly new, just another crazy day, tracking down a murderer and making sure one’s humans don‘t come to harm. All the stars.

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The Murderbot Diaries in chronological order / not publishing order
– Obsolescence, #0.1, short story published in Take Us to a Better Place, not read yet. Got the kindle freebie to catch up.
– Compulsory, #0.5, short story published in Wired Magazine after Exit Strategy
– All Systems Red (start the series with this one), #1, novella. My updated review.
– Artificial Condition, #2, novella. My updated review.
– Rogue Protocol, #3, novella. My updated review.
– Exit Strategy, #4, novella. My updated review.
– Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, #4.5, short story, 19 pages. My review.
– Fugitive Telemetry, #5, novella. Murderbot has to deal with a dead body. Detective Murderbot!
– Network Effect, #6, novel (my least favourite, might have to re-read this as well)
– System Collapse, #7, novella, set directly after Network Effect. My review.

Dashiell Hammett meets H.P. Lovecraft

Hammers on Bone (Persons Non Grata, #1)
by Cassandra Khaw 

I really disliked The Salt Grows Heavy by Khaw, so I decided to dive right back into the other novella by the author on my shelf. And I liked it at first. Very different in tone initially. No word salad, it didn‘t feel as if a Thesaurus had thrown up onto the pages.

A gumshoe is hired by a kid to kill his stepdad, who is a monster. Straight away there is something supernatural raising its head in the MCs background… It takes a monster to kill a monster. H.P. Lovecraft says hi. 

Unfortunately my liking of the early part of this novella didn‘t make it to the end. The prose turns more purple as we progress. I am also not a fan of the derogatory names that people get designated with. I understand that it‘s part of the tone of this story, trying to make it sound like Crime Noir, but it bothers me. The narrative turns more disturbing eventually as well. Probably my main issue is all the telling and not a lot of showing, which makes it difficult for me to visualize this story. The plot remains foggy and indistinct, it‘s all too vague for my taste. And I don’t connect to any of the characters, they are emotionally flat und unlikeable.

I guess this author is just not for me. So it‘s till 3 tentacles for the effort, but I won‘t be looking for more. 🐙🐙🐙

72 pages, first published October 11, 2016

Murder mystery on an interstellar luxury cruiser

Void (The Far Reaches, #2)
by Veronica Roth

Ace is maintenance crew on a passenger liner connecting our solar system to Proxima Centauri (I think). A passenger turns up murdered and Ace feels compelled to investigate. That part of the story is a frame for a look at relationships, loss, regret, emotional pain, emptiness… 
Nicely done. 🌍🚀🌎🚀 

Time dilation plays an important part of the story. I had to read up on it again, physics is not something I am good at. It made me wonder why in so many space operas this effect isn‘t mentioned at all.

A list of all six Far Reaches stories is here. For Amazon Prime members free as ebook or audio (at the moment). 
Read so far:
How It Unfolds | My GR review | My WordPress review

“My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people do not know.”

Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Fry (Narrator) ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A Study in Scarlet 
The very first Sherlock Holmes story. John Watson meets Sherlock Holmes. The mystery wasn‘t terribly exciting. Two Americans turn up dead. Obviously there is a back story. Utah, Mormons, romance… 

The Sign of the Four 
The sequel. Holmes & Watson meet Mary Morstan. And Toby, the dog with the supernose. The backstory takes us to the Andaman islands. I have read this one several times and so far it is my favourite. My most recent review is here on Goodreads.

It still astonishes me how (relatively) human and social Holmes comes across in the original. TV has a lot to be answered for.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 
Contains: A Scandal in Bohemia, Holmes & Watson meet The Woman / The Adventure of the Red-Headed League / The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle / The Adventure of the Speckled Band / various other stories 

Some of these stories are more obscure or I have actually never read them. The stories span a good amount of years, including some in which Watson lives away from Holmes, happily married to Mary and running a doctor‘s practice. He very much leads a life of his own, but frequently accompanies his friend Holmes on his cases. 

This Holmes, the real one, is never as aloof or downright dismissive of others as he has become on the screen. There are many visuals know from the many screen adaptations though and sentences and remarks that have made their way into the shared consciousness of Holmes‘s fans.

This is how far I got in this 71-hours long monster of an audiobook. Maybe if it returns to Audible+ at some point, I might continue. Narrated by the adorable Stephen Fry, who did his usual stellar job. Some interesting forewords are included. Which, to be honest, was a major motivator for getting this audio.

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Winner of Audible’s 2017 Members’ Choice Award
Full length: 71 hours 57 minutes, 50h and 19m left, DNF at 30%

Part 1

Chapter 1: Opening Credits and Introduction to A Study in Scarlet

Chapters 2-15: A Study in Scarlet

Chapter 16: Introduction to The Sign of Four

Chapters 17-21: The Sign of Four, Part 1

Part 2

Chapters 1-7: The Sign of Four, Part 2 

Chapter 8: Introduction to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Chapters 9-21: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Part 1

Part 3

Chapter 1: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Part 2 

Chapter 2: Introduction to The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Chapters 3-14: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes — stopped in the 4th chapter

Not listened to:
Chapter 15: Introduction to The Hound of the Baskervilles
Chapters 16-21: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 1
Part 4
Chapters 1-9: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 2
Chapter 10: Introduction to The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Chapters 11-21: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Part 1
Part 5
Chapters 1-2: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Part 2
Chapter 3: Introduction to The Valley of Fear
Chapters 4-18: The Valley of Fear
Chapter 19: Introduction to His Last Bow
Chapters 20-21: His Last Bow, Part 1 Part 6
Chapters 1-7: His Last Bow, Part 2
Chapter 8: Introduction to The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Chapters 9-20: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes and Closing Credits

Crime noir, down under

Kickback (Wyatt, #1)
by Garry Disher

“… thriller first published in 1991, featuring Wyatt, a stylish bank robber whose inscrutable methods ensure he never gets caught – until he meets Anna Reid.
This is the perfect introduction to an exquisite series: hard-boiled Melbourne in the time of video rentals and answering machines, paper money, Datsuns and Customlines. It’s as sinewy and efficient as Wyatt himself, superbly crafted and relentlessly tense.“

Australian crime-noir. Sparse prose, good plot with a nice and steady build-up of tension. I could have done without the casual and unsubtle racism. Unexpected twist at the end that I did not see coming. Well done! 

I did run out of steam towards the end though. Not sure if it was me or if it just took too long for the final part to come to a conclusion. Decent read, if you are in the mood for this type of crime noir. I decided to remove book #2 of this series from my TBR pile though.

Read in the German translation, which is titles „Gier“, aka „Greed“.

Queer Crime Noir with demons and magic

Even Though I Knew the End
by C.L. Polk (Author), January LaVoy (Narrator)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago’s divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above.

https://clpolk.com/my-fiction/

Think Crime Noir à la Dashiell Hammett and add some demons, angels and a sapphic romance. Throw in a murder in a dark alley and a disgraced private eye with shady connections. Stir and voilà! One queer Gumshoe with a dash of magic coming right up.

I picked this up, because I read Witchmark (my review here) by Polk and liked it. Not enough to continue with the sequel—the setting didn‘t interest me—but enough to pick up this short Crime Noir offering.

Took me a while to unterstand the meaning of the title. Pretty obvious, once the coin drops. Potential for a sequel and a spin-off! I would read them…

Good audiobook narration by January LaVoy.

I received an advanced audiobook copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review. Thank you!