Review: The Hand on the Wall

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I said it from the beginning, after I read all of Truly Devious in the winter of 2018, that Maureen Johnson was planning to stretch out a single mystery novel into a big trilogy. After reading all of this, I'm feeling a lot the same way that I did about Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave - that the second book was filler as hell and totally unnecessary, but that a single large volume comprised of the first and third book would be the ideal presentation for this series. And so it is with Truly Devious and The Hand on the Wall - yeah, forget The Vanishing Stair, but this third book finally wraps up all the mystery in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie. But, again, with Murder on the Orient Express being the primary inspiration, as Johnson deliberately blends climaxes and anticlimaxes and happily turns a few genre tropes on their heads. To the Truly Devious story, I now can finally bid ave atque vale.

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Review: Chain of Gold

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off: Cordelia Carstairs on that cover OMG

And hey, at least it's not another 700-900 page opus this time. Not that I'm complaining about, say, the Dark Artifices novels having such daunting lengths, but it's great that Cassie's not going NEARLY to the level of overwork for which SJM's become known in recent years. Especially since, like SJM, Cassie's had her share of health issues lately too...

Review: The Iron Will of Genie Lo

The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been two years and change - or is it three? Either way, F.C. Yee took quite some time to deliver a much-needed, long-awaited follow-up to The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, and The Iron Will to wait for it helped make this second book pretty well worth it. Though I found the opening of this book a little bit confusing - since it made reference to certain events that I didn't remember, and then jumped ahead several more months, like...how much have I missed? - Yee's greatest strengths continue to shine in this story. Not only are we still deeply entrenched in the world of Chinese folklore, as well as the unlikely romance of Genie and Quentin, but Yee continues to depict an extremely accurate Silicon Valley setting with all the names changed to protect the innocent. Hell, this book throws in some party-hearty college touring at an unnamed university that eerily resembles Stanford in its sprawl and Spanish-style architecture, and yet is also an easy train ride away from Santa Firenza - which would be more accurate to Cal Berkeley if Santa Firenza really does equal Fremont as it does in my headcanon. Unless Santa Firenza was always meant as a stand-in for Sunnyvale or Cupertino or Santa Clara? Who knows. Either way, Yee's second Chinese-American urban fantasy is a damn fine book, and while the ending doesn't demand a follow-up quite as fiercely as its predecessor, I'm really hoping to see a third book sometime soon!

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Review: Burn the Dark

Burn the Dark by S.A. Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easily comparable to the work of Stephen King, this sizable chunk of paranormal goodness boasts some downright horrifying literary set pieces. However, the best by far comes in the prologue. I remember once hearing on the radio about a little thing Netflix did to calculate how long it takes to get hooked on most shows (like, two episodes for Breaking Bad, three for The 100, that sort of thing.) With this book, if it were to be made into a TV series, it would probably be one just for the prologue alone. I'm glad that the second book is already on the way, taking what began as one of my favorite Wattpad reads from back in the day to a wider audience in glorious Tor hardcover!

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Review: Race to the Sun

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I'm sure Rebecca Roanhorse isn't quite done with her work on the postapocalyptic Sixth World series, here we get another little detour away from that, into something new from her - contemporary fantasy for kids, under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint no less. Bringing Navajo legends to life from the point of view of young Nizhoni Begay, Roanhorse immerses us in a world that stretches from today's Albuquerque to mountains so high that they can only be accessed by a railroad ride straight up ninety degrees vertical. Like Yoon Ha Lee's Dragon Pearl, it's a Rick Riordan Presents title that's short but sweet, loaded with tons of action and urgency, and easily accessible as a standalone piece but naturally full of series potential. Who knows where Roanhorse will take us from here? Whatever she does, though, at least we can rest assured her imagination stays fruitful.

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Review: Crooked River

Crooked River by Douglas Preston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yeah, I hate to say it, but this is for sure...not one of the more memorable adventures of Agent Pendergast. That's not to say it's a bad book, but in a series with such world-class thrills as Relic and Reliquary, The Cabinet of Curiosities, the Diogenes and Helen Trilogies, and of course White Fire...yeah, Crooked River, I'm sorry to say, doesn't measure up all that well. I mean, it starts off strong with a morbid beginning - hundreds of identical shoes washing up on the shores of south Florida, with feet still inside each one - but then the book takes way too many detours and pauses, and ends up turning into a surprisingly pat cops vs. cartels thriller - though granted, they take the book to Guatemala for this part, which is unusual because it's usually Mexico or El Salvador that get all the spotlight in this particular genre. But for all its faults, Pendergast is as compelling and charismatic as ever in the lead role, and while it takes quite a while for Agent Coldmoon to make his return, make it he does, and thank God too - he was my favorite part of Verses for the Dead for sure. I just hope that next year's Pendergast thriller reaches back up to the level that Preston and Child have been able to make the platinum standard for me and many other readers...

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