The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I was given a copy of this book by Penguin Books to review.

In the year 2059 London and several other cities are under the regime of the Scion.  This regime has banned all clairvoyants thus creating an underground of criminal activity which is where Paige Mahoney lives and works.  She is a type of clairvoyant termed a dreamwalker.  This is the one of the highest levels of clairvoyants and makes her a highly desirable commodity.  One night she is captured by an enemy that turns everything she thought she knew about her world upside down.  As she learns more about her surroundings, her captors and herself she’s faced with tough decisions and a battle for her mind, body and soul.

 The Bone Season is a fantasy novel that’s being compared to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.  I’m not sure I agree with these comparisons.    It doesn’t have the rich detail of Harry Potter or the tension of the Hunger Games.  It reminded me more of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher with its interplay between the spirit world and humans.   However, the story is good and there is plenty of action as Paige learns to hone her gift and interacts with her captors. 

This is Samantha Shannon’s first novel and she is only 21 which I think accounts for the lack of depth in her characters and descriptions.  I suspect that she will only get better as there is a plan for 6 more books in this series.   I enjoyed the book and the story was entertaining and for a first novel I think it’s a good introduction and shows good potential for the rest of the series.

A Dangerous Fiction by Barbara Rogan

(I received a copy of this from Penguin Books on netgalley.com to review)

35 year old Joanna Donavon owns a successful literary agency and has a sixth sense about which books will sell.  She’s mourning the death of her husband of 10 years and trying to get on with the rest of her life when she is accosted by a wann- be writer in Central Park.  Her Agency has rejected his manuscript so he has opted for a more direct approach.     The encounter begins a series of frightening and potentially harmful incidents, at least to her agency, until a murder occurs and that changes the game.

I always enjoy books with a literary bent to them and since Barbara Rogan is an editor,  agency owner and writer the settings ring true to life.   There is behind-the-scenes quality to the book that is fun and informative.  The thriller aspect of the novel had me jumping at noises in my house while I was reading it which shows I was really engrossed in the story.   I had almost figured out the suspect by the end of the book but that didn’t lessen the ending’s satisfaction for me.  This is a good, solid mystery with great characters and I hope there is a sequel in the works.

Barbara Rogan has been around for a while as a writer but she is new to me so I will definitely be reading some of her other books.   

The Pawn by Steven James

The Pawn introduces us to Patrick Bowers; an FBI agent specializing in geographic profiling of violent crimes    He’s back at work after his wife of 5 months has passed away from cancer and left him with a teenage stepdaughter and a lot of emotional baggage to work through.

The case he is involved with is a serial killer who is crazy smart and always seems to be one step ahead of them.  Patrick’s job is to make sense of the patterns before he kills again but the bodies are piling up and the killer seems to be targeting him and his family as well.

This is a well written thriller that actually had me scared sometimes.   The themes are good vs. evil, choices and family ties.  There is an understated Christian message that has the main character questioning God, the problem of pain and suffering and the problem of good vs. evil. 

I’m always happy to discover a new author and especially happy that this is the start of a series.  I’ve already downloaded the Rook, the second in the series and look forward to reading it.  But first I have to do some housework as I almost didn’t put this book down until I was done.