Master Class

Title: Master Class
Author: Christina Dalcher
Published: April 21st 2020 by Berkley
Format: eBook, Hardcovr 336pgs
Genre: Near Future Dystopic
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Gut wrenching, intense, and viscerally painful to read.

There were times I had to put the book down. To force my mind away from the awful reality of what the near-future dystopian genre shows when do not pay attention to the signs. The slow boil of a frog as they say; where little changes here and there, can lead to consequences no one saw coming.

From the outside, Elena and Malcolm Fairchild are the epitomes of success. The right look, the right education, but most importantly the right 9-plus Q score. The number which says you have the right stuff, that you are of a certain ‘tier’ in society. Now, let’s flip that. What if Elena and Malcolm have two daughters. One is easily in the 9-plus range and attends a ‘silver’ school, the school full of children with the inherent gifts from cohesive nuclear families. But the second, not diagnosed on any spectrum, only qualifies for the ‘green’ school, a step lower, but not the worst. Yet has anxiety and is beginning to fall in the below 9 range on her monthly tests. This Monday will be different, Freddie will be sent off on the ‘yellow’ bus to a state-run school where education and resources are not wasted.

The intensity of this book is overwhelming. History is repeating itself with one question, “Should generation after generation continue to reproduce substandard intellect?”, opens a door that was closed generations ago with the first discussion of eugenics. So, the next time someone questions one more test or a small evaluation change, think about where it could lead.

A Murderous Relation

Title: A Murderous Relation
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Published: March 10th 2020 by Berkley Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 308 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Veronica Speedwell #5

I was a bit apprehensive when I began this book, being a fan of the Veronica Speedwell series, I was put off by the cardboard characters of the previous book, ‘A Dangerous Collaboration’. I am glad to see Deanna Raybourn is back in form and Veronica and Stoker are both again their witty and maddening selves.

Upon returning to the estate they call home this dynamic pair are ready to move their relationship forward if it wasn’t for the needed business Lady Wellingtonia has enlisted them in. Prince Albert Victor, the bumbling half-brother of Victoria has gifted a questionable woman with an initialed diamond star. If the relationship between Albert and Madame Aurore becomes known, there is no limit to the disgrace the royal family will face considering there is already quiet squabbling that the prince is Jack the Ripper.

Costumed in unique and audacious costumes, Veronica Speedwell and Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane enter the Club de l’Étoile in search of the jewel only to discover they have walked into a masked ball of debauchery which fascinates Veronica and embarrasses Stoker. That is until their sights are focused elsewhere and now, they have a dead body to deal with and a cast of characters chasing them through the streets of London.

What brings me back to this series is the dialogue between the two main characters. There is something both engaging and charming about two very unlikely cohorts which tends to bring out the best and worst in each other.

The Last Passenger

Title: The Last Passenger
Author: Charles Finch
Published: February 18th 2020 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Charles Lenox Mysteries, #0.3

The series numbering gets a bit confusing; this is the third prequel to the ongoing series.

The Charles Lenox series tends to wander a bit, for every three steps forward, there are two back so Charles Finch can describe the people, history, and places the main character, Charles Lenox, is encountering. In a roundabout way, ‘The Last Passenger’ is taking on Abolitionists and the slave trade, though not as prominent in Britain as it was in the United States, there were still forces on both sides of the pond that resulted in a body found without identification and a story that needed to be told.

It takes most of the book for Finch to get to the point, to figure out the clues and to delve into all the players, but once there the book comes together. At the same time, questions are finally answered when it comes to Charles Lenox’s history with Lady Jane and what happened to her husband, Lord Deere.

This series is not a quick read, some parts are downright tedious but stick with it because from time to time there is a spark of humor, especially from Graham, butler to Charles Lenox. It is not necessary to start the books from the prequels since that is not how they were written, but they do answer some of the lingering questions that had come up while reading which had not previously been answered.

Crime & Punctuation

Title: Crime & Punctuation
Author: Kaitlyn Dunnett
Published: Hardcover, 280 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Deadly Edits #1

I can’t say I was captivated by either the central character or the book as a whole, but it was refreshing to come across a protagonist who was not talking about her bouncing red curls or her newfound relationship with fill in the blank police, detective, or town safety officer. The book does fall into the trap of the main character returning to their small-town family home which is a minor part of the storyline so, though not forgiven, it is easy to accept.

Realizing that restoring her childhood home is a bit more costly than anticipated, Mikki Lincoln needs to come up with fast cash so why not become a freelance editor. A couple of well-placed advertisements should be all it takes and within days her first client appears with not just a poorly written document but a story that comes from their backyard of Lenape.

After leaving her manuscript, the author, Tiffany Scott, has died somewhat mysteriously. Mikki’s indecision as to whether she should continue reading or return it to the family is compounded when Tiffany’s family appears and threatens Mikki until she returns what they feel is rightfully theirs. Mikki has no problem with this, but once she reads the author's notes, and finds a thumb drive, things take a sinister turn and puts Mikki’s life in danger.

By the end, I still thought of this as an “iffy” book. There were a couple of sparks but nothing that would make me rush out to grab the next book. There was an overall bland and boring been there done that feel which did not set the book apart from any other series within the cozy genre.