More stories from Tabitca

Sips of Dark Desires

By

Tabitca Cope

Another terrific collection of short stories by Tabitca Cope, with a twist! If you have read Tabitca’s earlier collections, you will appreciate her talent, if not, now is the time to discover it.

These are just perfect when you sit down to grab 10 minutes and a cuppa, or at the moment, when you feel like reading when sunbathing, but can’t concentrate on a novel.

If you like the strange, the dark, the altogether inhuman, these are for you. Each story a discovery, each one different, you never quite know where you are about to be led…

Go on, you know you want to…..

A must read book

Do Me No Harm

By

Julie Corbin

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this, the 3^rd book by Julie Corbin. I loved both her other books so I was excited to start on this one. Luckily I woke very, very early this morning, so settled with coffee at 4.30 I started.

I was so happy I could read it all in the one sitting as I would have had a very hard time to leave it! It got right under my skin, and I had to know what was going on! The main character, Olivia, is a GP, and single parent of a teenage boy Robbie, and his younger sister Lauren. She is recently divorced from Phil, another doctor, so is a little emotionally raw still. Then one night it starts. 

She gets a phone call that Robbie has been rushed to hospital, and it turns out that although he had been drinking a little, he had a very nasty drug in his system which had caused him to hallucinate and eventually collapse knocking his head. The drug doze was such that it could have killed him, and in fact his heart did stop beating at one stage. Olivia is convinced that her son is telling the truth, that he does not take drugs, and so the only explanation is that his drink was spiked! But why?  And who?

Olivia struggles to make the police and her ex-husband believe that her son is not into drugs and that a crime has taken place. The events that follow begin to show that the family are being targeted, and so Olivia is right.

While trying to understand what is going on, looking into the past to find a reason, and then to discover who could be behind it all, Olivia becomes close to the policeman, D I O’Reilly, who is investigating the case, but when Olivia begins to think she has worked out what is going on she is reluctant to share the information with him.

The action is fast, the characters real, the brutal revelations from the past hard to live with, but they all bring the situation up to date. The human mistakes and lies which are revealed are both shocking and yet real, and help to paint the picture of the current situation.  Then Olivia begins to realise that events are moving too quickly and they have real reason to be terrified.

Apart from the odd cup of coffee, and changing of the CD, I sat and read to the end, as I already, said, I was just so glad it was Sunday and I was in a position to do just that. This book is highly recommended, but please make sure you have plenty of time, because I promise you will not want to put it down.

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Lili St Crow is a new author to me, I saw reviews in Goodreads and decided to give this book a go. Having been reading different genres of books for the last few weeks, I was ready for a return to the Supernatural. Although I have a few books in my TBR pile which are continuations of series I enjoy, I decided to try this new author.

My first thought was, disappointment that it was yet another school kid........ However, I was quickly drawn into the story and the character of Dru. I did get a little impatient with her from time to time, but then again I am not a 17 year old girl!

I really enjoyed the ride, it was a little different, and I found the writing style very easy and enjoyable, in fact I read it in 2 sittings – only because I had to be elsewhere at one stage. In fact I enjoyed it so much I immediately ordered the rest of the series, and another complete series by the same author.

Dark Esk by Tabitca Cope

The third book in the Dark Trilogy by Tabitca does not disappoint. Laura is now living in Whitby and ghostly happenings have begun. Between Hellhounds roaming the streets, ghostly carriages driving through the streets, beheaded bodies, bloodletting and weird sea monsters Laura is plunged into more intrigue.

With the arrival of the 5th Reich into the mix, her trusty Knights are called for. The action is fast and breathtaking, as they have to try to stop the 5^th

Reich from locating a well hidden and powerful artefact.

Be prepared for the shocks, of which there are many, and enjoy the ride. As usual put aside a few hours as you wont be able to put this down!

As this is the third book in a trilogy, I hope Tabitca will consider carrying on with her intrepid gang in a new series…..

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

I have had this book for some time and had almost started it a few time, however the other day, it just appealed so I settled down with it.

The ‘heroine’ Dr Ruth Galloway, is a forensic archaeologist, who lives in a small cottage on the edge of the salt marches in Norfolk, a bleak desolate place. D.C.I. Harry Nelson asks her for some advice on a case he is working as some bones have been recovered and he needs her help in dating them. There was a case some years before when a young girl went missing which has haunted Harry and he wants to know if these bones could be hers.

These bones are over two thousand years old, but mark the beginning of their ‘partnership.’ Ruth I found to be so normal, nearing 40 a bit over weight out of condition, living alone with her 2 cats. She has insecurities broken relationships in her past a good friend who lives nearby with whom she has the occasional girl’s night in, a very normal well rounded character.

As Harry confides in her that he is haunted by the missing girl and has been receiving anonymous letters about it for some time, they begin to get closer and Ruth is drawn into the investigation when another young girl disappears.

I found it exciting yet believable, I could identify and understand what was going on, when it becomes apparent that Ruth is in danger it all steps up a notch and some long buried secrets come out into the open.

I did try to guess ‘who done it’ but in the end I was wrong! I then decided to check out the next book in the series and was delighted to find it ready and waiting on my kindle. I know what I am doing this afternoon.

Bootleggers Daughter by Margaret Maron

I saw a review of this series of books set in North Carolina, and I was instantly attracted to it, so I sourced the first few in the series.

This is the first book, and the main character is Deborah Knott, an attorney in Coleen County. An unconventional lady, daughter of the county’s biggest producer of moonshine – or so the rumours go! She is unmarried and a working woman, not at all as she was supposed to turn out and so an on going source of contention between her and her father.

Deborah is approached in this book, by the daughter of a friend of hers, to help her discover the truth behind the murder of her mother which happened when she was only 3 months old. Reluctantly Deborah agrees to try and do what she can, at the same time as she decides to apply for the position of District Judge for the County, to try and take some of the power away from the ‘good old boys’ of the area.

This is a gentle story (in the sense of not loads of blood and guts) of the investigation, and the truths that begin to be uncovered. While at the same time she has to engage in the rituals of going for public office, and all that it entails.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, it was interesting as apart from the story as such, there was a peek into small town living in that part of the world, which was so atmospheric.

If you are a fan of murder/mystery book, and enjoy a gentler take on it, and set in a small town in the South, do give it a go. I did, and now I have another new series to delve into, plus she has another series going, which I am about to investigate also.

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

I had not heard of Faith Hunter till I read in C E Murphy’s  News Letter that she had written with Faith Hunter a novella combining her Joanne Walker, Shaman-from the Walker Papers Series, with Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock, skinwalker. They are both to work together on a ‘case’, in Slim Pickings. This incited me to have a peek at the books of Faith Hunter, as I am a huge fan of C E Murphy.

The first book in the Jane Yellowrock series, Skinwalker was soon ordered and I have read it almost in one sitting, as I enjoyed it so much. It is so exciting to discover a new series (book 2 will be started today and book 3 is winging it’s way to me!)

Jane is a skinwalker, as far as she knows, as she was found wandering at around 12 years of age, with no speech or manners, nothing to indicate where she had come from or from whom. She can however change into any creature, and this gives her the extra edge needed in her job – vampire hunter. She has no memories of her early years, but when she is ‘the beast’ she sometimes feels she is on the edge of a memory, and she really wants to know what and who she is. It is very exciting when near the end of the book, she slowly begins to get more memories.

This novel concerns a job she has taken on in New Orleans for Katherine, one of the oldest  vampires in the area and owner of a bordello. There is a rogue vampire on the loose and they want him caught and disposed of as he is bringing too much attention to the Vampires in the city. The time the novel is set in, vampires are in the open, as are witches (Jane’s best friend is an Earth Witch), but their place in society is still new and uncertain, so they really cannot have a rogue kill both vampires and humans.

We learn about the vampire society, and how it works, the different Houses in New Orleans. She befriends the usual gorgeous guy, but it is nice to have one around, however, Rick is a little more complex than she at first thinks. Jane also strikes up relationships with some of the human servants of the vampires as she begins to gather information to help her to hunt.

I found the characters in this book to be immediately interesting and I wanted to know more about them. I was enthralled when Jane ‘changed’ and the constant battle raged with her and ‘the beast’, and despite a few red herrings I did not guess the outcome. 

I really enjoyed this novel, and I am going straight to book 2, and I shall certainly have a look at her other series. If you have read and loved the novels by C E Murphy, you will love this. If you like the supernatural, vampires, witches, shape shifters, you will love this.