BOOK REVIEW: DISCRETION BY ALLISON LEOTTA

Title: Discretion

Author: Allison Leotta

Genre: Mystery, thriller

Published on: July 3, 2012 by Gallery Books

For fans of Lisa Scottoline and Law and Order: SVU, former federal sex-crimes prosecutor Allison Leotta’s novel explores the intersection of sex and power as Anna Curtis investigates the murder of one of DC’s highest-paid escorts.

When a beautiful young woman plummets to her death from the balcony of the U.S. Capitol, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Curtis is summoned to the scene. The evidence points to a sexual assault and murder. The victim is one of the city’s highest-paid escorts. And the balcony belongs to Washington, D.C.’s sole representative to Congress, the most powerful figure in city politics.

The Congressman proclaims his innocence, but he’s in the middle of a tough primary fight, and the scandal could cost him the election. For Anna, the high-profile case is an opportunity. But as the political stakes rise, she realizes that a single mistake could end her career.

At the same time, her budding romance with Jack Bailey, the chief homicide prosecutor, is at a crossroads. Determined to gain respect in the office, Anna wants to keep their relationship under wraps. But the mounting pressure and media attention that come with the office’s most important case will inevitably expose their relationship—if it doesn’t destroy it first.

The investigation leads Anna to Discretion, a high-end escort service that caters to D.C.’s elite. But with each break in the case, the mystery deepens. And the further Anna ventures into D.C.’s red-light underworld, the larger the target on her own back.

From the secret social clubs where Washington’s most powerful men escape from public view to the asphalt “track” where the city’s most vulnerable women work the streets, Discretion is a gripping exploration of sex, power, and the secrets we all keep.

 

There are novels that meet your expectations, and others that exceed them. For me, Discretion was the latter. This is the second entry in a legal thriller series. The protagonist is Anna Curtis, an Assistant U.S. Attorney from D.C. She’s still within her first three years in the job. Anna has already handled a big case in Law of Attraction. It came with an almost-scandal that nearly derailed her career. Luckily, her position is secure after solving the case. Anna’s now been transferred to a better office, and it’s all hers. She used to share her old one with a fellow attorney/friend.

Anna’s next case begins in dramatic fashion. A beautiful woman fell to her death from a balcony at the U.S. Capitol. One of the building's security officers witnessed this tragedy. Anna’s boss, Carla, compels her to get to the Capitol as soon as possible. She’s hoping to snatch the investigation from Jack Bailey, the head of the USAO’s Homicide section. Carla leads the other section, Sex Crimes. Anna and Jack end up arriving at the scene at the same time. They act friendly while in public, as the two have been in a relationship since the end of Law of Attraction.

BOOK REVIEW: TWISTED BOND BY EMMA HART

Title: Twisted Bond
Author: Emma Hart
Genre: Romance, mystery
Published on: June 11, 2015, self-published

I’m an Italian-Texan woman in a family full of cops. I’m passionate and shoot before I think. You only f*ck with me if you’re stupid.

Photograph cheating spouses. Hand over the evidence. Cash my check.

That was my plan when I returned home to Holly Woods, Texas, and became a private investigator.

Finding the dead body in my dumpster? Yeah… Given the choice, I think I would have opted out of that little discovery, especially since all three of my brothers are cops. And my Italian grandmother is sure the reason I’m single is because of my job.

Of course, my connection to the victim is entirely coincidental. Until I’m hired by her husband to investigate her murder and shoved bang-smack into the path of Detective Drake Nash. My nemesis, a persistent pain in my ass, and one hell of a sexy son of a bitch.

Shame he still holds a grudge from that time I shot him in the foot twelve years ago, or we could have something. In another life.

So now all I have to do is avoid my nonna’s blind dates, try not to blackmail my brothers into giving me confidential police files, and absolutely do not point my gun at Drake Nash. Or kiss him. Or jump his bones.

All while I hunt down the killer.

Sounds totally simple—until a second body proves that sometimes things that start as coincidences don’t always end up that way…

I’m familiar with Emma Hart. She is one of the first self-published authors I discovered. Hart mostly writes romances aimed at women…the kind I don’t read. So I’ve only picked up a small fraction of her works, the few ones I wouldn’t mind others knowing I own. Twisted Bond caught my eye because of its genre. I was intrigued when I found out Hart branched into mystery. It’s one of my favorite genres. I had to see whether the author pulled it off.

Twisted Bond takes place in the fictional town of Holly Woods, Texas. I would know because, well, I’m a Texan. The main character is Noelle Bond, a 30-year-old hotheaded private investigator. She’s the owner of Bond P.I., an agency that mostly handles infidelity cases. Noelle is also part Italian, and it’s a huge part of her character. She has a grandmother (whom she calls ‘Nonna’) who is bent on finding Noelle a husband. And he has to be part Italian, like them. Noelle is too independent and self-assured to  care about having a man in her life.

BOOK REVIEW: A COURT OF MIST AND FURY BY SARAH J. MAAS

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, romance
Published on: May 3, 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing

 

The seductive and stunning #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas's spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she's now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre's hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.

Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights.

  

If a second read of A Court of Thorns and Roses made me like it better, then this sequel finished the job of making me a fan of the series. Now I see why it has such an ardent fan base. A Court of Mist and Fury picks things up shortly after the first book’s ending. Feyre Archeron is the main character. She’s a human girl who was compelled to enter Prythian, the fairy realm, after a fateful evening. There, she fell for Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court. This romance gave Feyre the courage to stop Amarantha, a wicked and powerful fairy princess. Feyre ends up getting killed, though. Fortunately, the seven High Lords of Prythian brought her back as thanks for saving their land.

Feyre is now a High Fae, and is living in the Spring Court. Tamlin and his people are rebuilding after the damage wrought by the war. However, their court isn’t the only thing that’s damaged. Feyre’s experience Under the Mountain (Amarantha’s base) broke her. Saving Prythian cost her way more than just her life. Feyre is now living with guilt, and it doesn’t help that Tamlin smothers her with protection. He doesn’t want to lose Feyre again, and goes to great lengths for it.

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN EARLY SEASONS OF A HARRY POTTER TV SHOW

Good morning! It’s been a while since I wrote a discussion post. I’ve just been busy, having spent a long time searching for work without success. I also couldn’t think of good topics to write about. This week, though, there were some great news (IMO) relevant to the bookish world. As reported on several outlets, such as People and E! News, HBO Max and Warner Bros. are negotiating to reboot the Harry Potter film series. This time, the books would be adapted into a TV show. There will ostensibly be one season per novel. As a huge fan of the Harry Potter universe, I was thrilled when I found out about the news of this reboot. There were signs, and more than whispers, but never legit reports.

Several people weren’t as happy with this news, and I’m not going to debate that in this post. I’ll just say that I would not mind if J.K. Rowling were involved in the show in any capacity. I have nothing against her, and she wrote the books after all. Anyway, the news got me thinking about stuff I would like a new Harry Potter show to include from the novels. Obviously, a lot of content didn’t make it into the films due to time constraints. They were great, but I’m firmly in the “the books were much better” camp. Without further ado, here are some elements I’d like to see in early seasons (1-4) of a potential new show:

BOOK REVIEW: ANCILLARY JUSTICE BY ANN LECKIE

Title: Ancillary Justice
Author: Ann Leckie
Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: October 1, 2013 by Orbit

Ancillary Justice is Ann Leckie's stunning debut -- the only novel to ever win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke awards -- about a ship's AI who becomes trapped in a human body and her quest for revenge. A must read for fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and James S. A. Corey.

"There are few who write science fiction like Ann Leckie can. There are few who ever could." -- John Scalzi.

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Once, she was the Justice of Toren -- a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

 

 

Where to start with this one? I started Ancillary Justice with high expectations. I mean, it's won the three most significant awards a sci-fi novel can get. It's gotta be great, no? The main character is Breq Ghaiad, a super-advanced AI occupying a human woman's body. Ancillary Justice is told from her third-person point of view. Breq tells the reader that she used to be a spaceship called the Justice of Toren. Apart from controlling the ship, Breq was also its army of special soldiers, all connected together. It wasn't exactly a hive mind; the Breq AI was just one mind split among a ship and several bodies. The soldiers themselves are known as "ancillaries". They are human, but they're, well, not alive per se. Some people actually refer to them as corpse soldiers. It reminded me of Amy Tintera's Reboots.

Why is Breq a single body now? The novel doesn't reveal that until later. It introduces Breq when she's on an alien planet. It's winter, and while going around, Breq stumbles into a barely-alive soldier she once knew. The soldier's name is Seivarden. Breq collects this person and heals them. It doesn't seem like Seivarden will stick around at first. Then the book reveals how long Seivarden has been missing: a thousand years. Breq herself has been "alive" for way longer than that. It's been twenty years since she was reduced to a single body, though.