The Brokered Convention
Nick Harlow (2016)

Time for a political story, given that the USA elections as three weeks away.

When the incumbent President who is a stone cold lock for re-election suddenly drops out due to health reasons at the last minute, both political parties are thrown for a loop. With the ultimate prize up for grabs, all sorts of candidates scramble to throw their hats in the ring.

It’s an interesting read, especially as the author would have written the book before the 2016 Trump elections.

Most of the characters are the one dimensional type you would be expecting from politicians. There are shenanigan and tricks from everyone. But the main difference between this and reality, is that in reality politicians pay for lying.

MisSpelled
by T. H. Leatherman (2008)

This book is so obscure I couldn’t find a decent version of the cover.

Evan skips across to fairyland. To get back home, he has to complete three quests for the queen of the elves. Each quest is a near-impossible task to defeat fearsome beasts or overcome impossible odds. The chance of Evan succeeding is just like a fairytale, Grimm.

It’s a fish out of water story of a human in a new realm, coping with the inhabitants and completing quests. Tonally it’s similar to the Kevin J. Anderson  “The Dragon Business” books. A bit silly, well written with a few jokes, but not exceptional.

The Kirilli Matter
(Qavnerian Protectorate #1)
Kristine Kathryn Rusch

When the investigation of a brutal murder scene points to terrifying suspects, Augusta Kirilli must find a way to protect her family’s secrets and discover their meaning.

Set in the world of the Fey, this is a Detective Mystery, but with magic. While it is a stand-alone novel, some knowledge of the Fey series helps, although to some extent it predetermines events.

Most of the book alternates a third person narrative from  the two side of events. And while there is an explanation of the murder, it leaves open more questions than it answers.

The Reflection on Mount Vitaki
(A Story of The Fey)
By Kristine Kathryn Rusch (2022)

Professor Kyra Row Kirilli feels the pull of the mysterious reflection on the mountain that lies across the Forbidden Valley. Even her husband, with his knowledge of magic, cannot provide an answer. Kyra must embark on a journey to the source herself-a journey no one ever survives.

Set long before the original books (but somehow in a more technologically advanced age) in Fey series,

It’s a trip up a mountain, then down again !

A Fatal Twist of Lemon
(Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries #1)
By Patrice Greenwood (2012)

When Ellen Rosings’s Victorian tearoom opens, the President of the Santa Fe Preservation Trust is murdered.

Enter Detective Tony Aragon: attractive and unsympathetic, with a chip on his shoulder that goes beyond the murder investigation.

Is the murderer one of her honored guests, or the ghost rumored to haunt the building?

Will Ellen solve the mystery, is she Miss Marple ?

Well, no she is not much of a detective. That’s left to the police and the possible love interest, Detective Aragon. Told in first person, Ellen moves through the collection of possible suspects, dispensing food and advice. It’s well written prose that keeps you there, despite what’s happening (or not).

In the end she gets tangled up in the discovery of the murderer, but she doesn’t have much agency and infrequently moves the story forward.

So a nice cup of tea of a read.

The Writer’s Cut
by Eric Idle (2015)

The story Stanley Hay, a joke writer. He has a girlfriend, a writing partner and a career going nowhere in particular. Wisecracking and  ambitious, Stanley decides that he is going to change that by writing a novel. This is where things start to spiral out of control.

Caught up in the excitement Stanley falsely confesses that the novel will be a kiss-and-tell featuring Hollywood’s most famous and glamorous actresses. Before long expectations are going through the roof, Stanley is a celebrity in his own right and he’s living the LA highlife. There’s only one little problem…

Race for the Escape
(or Escape Room)
Christopher Edge (2022)

The only way Ami and her friends can get out is by solving the mysterious riddle the Escape’s Host has given them.

Find the Answer, save the world. But the Answer could be anywhere, and single mistake could be deadly.

This is a different read to the others. Classified as “Middle Grade” (8-12 years) it is a simple adventure story. But even Edge can’t avoid adding a bit of Science Fiction to the end to make things interesting.

The Wreck of the Mary Deare
by Hammond Innes (1956)

The book was adapted into a film starring Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston in 1959 by MGM.

The success of the book and the film based on it enabled Innes to buy his own ocean racer, which he named Mary Deare.

Interestingly the only female character is played by Virginia McKenna, who would star as Joy Adamson in the 1966 film Born Free.

This is Innes as his best, a tightly written first person narrative about the sea. While it doesn’t have the action expected of a modern thriller, it keeps you guessing until the end.

Superhero Portal
by Linda Maye Adams (2022)

Plumber Dice Ford has her hands full. While on a plumbing job at the convention center, she accidentally touches the Superhero Portal.

But it’s got the aliens who brought the portal all up in her business. Quanta, nefarious alien head honcho, covets the power the suit will give him. He’ll kill anyone in his path, including Dice’s family.

A very teen-age sci-fi story.

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright
by Christopher Edge (2017)

Stephen Albie Bright leads a happy, normal life. But then Albie’s mother dies of cancer, his world is shattered. When his father explains that she might be alive in a parallel universe, Albie knows he has to find her. So, armed with a box, a laptop, and a banana, Albie sets out to do just that.

Yet another great story from the author that wrote Space Oddity, Maisie Day and The Drake Equation.