Author Archives: Laura Johnson

I’ve always enjoyed a good adventure tale—swords, boots, sailing ships. These days, many of those are found in the Fantasy genre and often include some magic or monsters as well. Scott Lynch’s Lies of Locke Lamora fits the bill with the added bonus of a caper. This book is the first in an on-going series, currently three volumes long and looking toward a fourth in 2016. Our protagonist, Locke Lamora, has been raised by a Fagin-esque mentor as a well-educated thief and swindler in a late medieval alternate universe of city states. Much of the action involves Locke and his pals (gang?) cleverly swindling an aristocrat while becoming entangled in lethal underworld wars. Think “Ocean’s Eleven” in tights mixed with a little “Gangs of New York” and a helping of “Game of Thrones.” The twisty fast-moving plot and the charm of the characters carry the book along. Some of the violence is extreme, and the language is salty—although inventive. I listened to the audio version, narrated by Michael Page. The other books in the series are Red Seas Under Red Skies and The Republic of Thieves.

From the publisher’s blurb: “As an assassin for the Committee, a covert agency dedicated to stamping out international crime, [James Bishop] had no business even thinking about marriage. But it was the only way to protect Evangeline after she’d unwittingly wandered into his operation against a group of human traffickers.”

Not all blurbs sum up a book that well, but this one tells a potential reader what she needs to know. Does he desert her, and then return to rescue her because he just can’t resist her any longer? Of course. Is she hurt and angry and suspicious of him, but so in love that she’ll forgive him?  Was it really a question?

Anne Stuart is known for bad boy heroes. She’s also known for snappy dialog, fast-paced plotting, steamy interludes, and pushing the envelope. The book read so quickly that I didn’t think about the general improbability of it all and just enjoyed the ride. I’d recommend it to James Bond fans.

This title, the first in the new “Fire” series, continues the world of Ms. Stuart’s popular “Ice” series. It carries the Montlake Romance imprint, part of Amazon publishing. It’s available for Kindle, in audio, or in paperback.

This past week, I was looking for comfort reading while I was home with a bad cold. I suppose everyone has their own requirements for a good comfort read.  For me, that’s almost always an old friend—a book that I’ve enjoyed before.  And if I’ve enjoyed the book previously, then the unfolding of the plot and the building of suspense aren’t so important as how those things happen, so language, the setting, and the way the author discloses details become more important.  Humor is good—and a good-humored outlook is essential.  The characters are important—I want to visit with friends.

Georgette Heyer fills the bill. Ms. Heyer had a long career, writing over 50 novels, a few historicals, some contemporary mysteries, and many titles in the genre she is best known for, the Regency romance.  Many of her Regencies include elements of mystery or suspense (e.g. The Toll-Gate.)  All include a lot of accurate period detail (An Infamous Army includes a recounting of the Battle of Waterloo and has a formidable bibliography.)  Most important, the books are full of witty banter, attractive characters, and fun.  Ms. Heyer herself once said “I think myself I ought to be shot for writing such nonsense, but it’s unquestionably good escapist literature; & I think I should rather like it if I were sitting in an air-raid shelter, or recovering from flu.”

The Reluctant Widow starts with a “meet cute” that’s tough to swallow, but Ms. Heyer brings it off. Elinor Rochdale, a lady fallen on hard times, travels to take up a post as a governess and finds herself, by mistake, at the home of Lord Ned Carlyon, who was expecting a woman who had agreed to marry his dissolute cousin, Eustace Cheviot, so that Ned could avoid inheriting Eustace’s estate. The situation is desperate as word comes that Eustace has been fatally wounded and lies dying.  Elinor is convinced against her better judgment to marry and becomes a widow overnight.  After that, a stolen secret memorandum, a dog named Bouncer, and a midnight intruder keep the book moving along briskly.  And since it says right on the cover of the book that it’s a Romance, “will Elinor and Ned get together in the end?” is not really a question.

The book is almost 70 years old, but its charm is still fresh and engaging. Readers of Romance, Historical fiction, or even Napoleonic War buffs might enjoy it.  A number of Georgette Heyer’s books are available through Nebraska OverDrive.

This is one of those authors I wish would write faster. I recently discovered Daniel Silva’s thrillers about Gabriel Allon, Israeli spy/assassin and restorer of great masters.  I’m a little late to the party–Silva has made the bestseller lists for years now–but I’ve made up for lost time and binged.  Read–or mostly, listened to–all 14 books in the series (so far.)  Now I’m going back to read one of Silva’s earlier titles, The Mark of the Assassin.  It’s been fun, partly because it contains a number of precursors to the Allon books, and partly because, as with Silva’s other books, the writing is good, the plotting is fast-paced and twisty, the characters are interesting, and the issues and events in the book seem so dreadfully plausible.  There’s plenty of action, but I think The Mark of the Assassin contains a little less gadgetry and hardware and a little more thinking than many spy thrillers.  Silva, Daniel. The mark of the assassin. New York: Villard, 1998.