first of the Henry Rios series
923269
Even though *The Little Death* is the first of the Henry Rios series, this book is my 3rd or 4th that I've read on this series.

Henry, burned out as an attory, investigates the death of a young gay man whom Henry had a brief affair before he was murdered.  Among his investigations, Henry discovers that this young man, Hugh, was from a very wealthy family.

However, it seems like no one in the family cared about Hugh.  This particular family despises each other.  Plus, they're caught in their own web of deceit, anger and greed.  However, in order to bring justice to Hugh's death, Henry has to sort through the family's skeletons in the closet.

Comparing this book to the others of the series, I loved how Nava started off well in this series' premiere.  Nava doesn't just focus on Rios as this gay Latino lawyer.  He has Rios address social, personal and legal issues regarding to gays and whatnots.  In other words, this isn't one of those erotica books but a series about a lawyer/detective who just happens to be gay and Latino.  Refreshing!

Now, if only Nava continued the series...
2949546
I enjoyed this first book in a new paranormal series by Kami Garcia. The main character is Kennedy Waters whose world is shaken up when she finds her mother dead and learns that she was killed by a ghost. She soon meets four other young people - Jared and Lukas Lockhart, Priest, and Aleta - who also lost people close to them at the same time Kennedy's mother was killed.

She first meets Jared and Lukas when they break into her house and save her life from the same revenge spirit that took her mother's life. They introduce her to a world of demons, spirits, and a society that is determined to battle them. They, along with Aleta and Priest, and the current members of the Legion and tell Kennedy that she is too.

While the other four knew about the Legion and were trained to be the successors in this generation, Kennedy had never heard of it. This lack of knowledge causes her to make dangerous mistakes and to doubt that she really has a place among the others. Since she has already been abandoned by her father and lost her mother so suddenly, Kennedy has real issues with abandonment and with feeling any sort of belonging.

This story has the group trying to reassemble an "ocular device" which they hope can be used to destroy the demon who is controlling the spirits who, besides killing the previous members of the Legion, are causing outbreaks of violence in the human world. In order to collect all the pieces, they have to travel to five haunted sites and battle the ghosts who are guarding the pieces. The descriptions of the various ghosts and haunted places were chilling.

I can't wait to find out what happens next for Kennedy, Jared, Lukas, Priest and Aleta. This isn't a standalone novel. There are many questions left to be answered regarding the relationships among the team and the battle with the demon.
445670
There are quite a number of books in the Loner series at this time and I had read a couple of them which I found at our local library since they were in large print which my age I prefer. Alas, our library does not have all of them so I broke down and decided to start at the first using paperback even though it is slower reading for me.  I decided to go back and find the source of this series, ergo...the reading of this first book of the series.

I am not a big, big Western fan but have followed a number of select authors over the past 60 years or so.  I am glad I started reading these works by J.A. Johnston and William Johnston.

These are old time westerns of the LAmour ilk (with a bit of an edge).  Historically and geographically they are quite accurate but the author does not let absolute fact get in the way of a good tale  fortunately.

This work is how the Loner became the Loner.  You need not read it to enjoy the other novels in this series but by reading it first it will enhance your reading pleasure of the rest of the series.

The plot of this one, like the plots in the other books in this series; indeed, all books by this author, are not overly complicated which is a blessing in a way since twisting and turning trying  to follow a complicated story line is really not the intent of these books.  These are just good rip roaring stories of the old west filled with action with good guys going up against bad guys.

I highly recommend this series for good light reads that will entertain from cover to cover.
2741237
I truely enjoyed reading this first in a series. Mostly because I found it wonderful to have an author who truely knows her history. Newman really takes the time to understand and see the places and people before she uses them as her background. This first book I found to be a bit bumpy with the action and plot, but she does set up a good character line and introduces her main characters and their relationships with each other for her future books. Having read all the books thus far in this series, I've found each one to be better than the last. I suppose some authors do improve with age and are not just "One Hit Wonders."
2567570
Goodreads bills this as Roxane Weary #1, so its already a good sign that this debut novel by Kirsten Lepionka will be the first of many. Or at least several. Its also ideal to start a new series at the beginning. something Ive occasionally not done and my enjoyment of subsequent books has suffered as a result.

I must admit initially I assumed thered been other books in this series as we meet investigator Roxane at a point when shes struggling. There are a few comments about her drinking and her fathers death so I wondered what Id missed. However Lepionka does a great job at eking out Roxanes backstory  particularly her family history and her complicated relationship with her cop-father, Frank. who was killed on the job nine months before this book kicks off.

Roxanes a great character. Indeed, Lepionkas shied away from over-achievers in this book (and series so far). Roxane and her two brothers all seem to be struggling a little though all in their mid-late thirties. I suspect well learn more about their relationship with their father (and mother) as the series progresses but we meet her family a few times in this book (shes particularly close to her brother Andrew) and get a peek at the type of man who raised them. Indeed it seems to have been something that shaped Roxane and shes struggling with the fact her father viewed her as a disappointment.

We learn early that Roxanes had both male and female love interests and meet her long-term on-again / off-again girlfriend in this first novel. There is  however  a bit of an a-ha moment on that front.

The plot itself is interesting and, although not-quite-addictive, I read it in a sitting. Roxanes cynical about Brad Stocktons innocence and his sisters assertion that Sarah Cook is alive (and is somehow implicated in her parents murders). I expected the book to be more about the events around Sarahs disappearance and her parents murders, but that wasn't really the case. Rather, Roxane goes off on a tangent after discovering other young women (similar to Sarah) have disappeared.

She ends up with no shortage of suspects  including Brad whos on death row and seems to have his secrets  but angers the local police force who seem irrationally angry about her investigation.

Im not sure I found the actual conclusion entirely feasible  in terms of events of 15yrs earlier and Sarahs disappearance as that part of the plot ultimately felt a little underdone. I was kept guessing, however, until Roxane herself worked it all out.

This is a great debut novel and I look forward to more in the series.

3.5 stars
496627
I enjoyed this first book in the series, although i found a few things a little hard to swallow with it. Cor opened up to his new friends rather easily for bing someone that initially doesn't want friends at all, much less to ever be noticed. the villain was a good twist and all in all i enjoyed reading the book. i kept going back to it when i could, and will probably keep reading the rest of the series. there were a few funny lines as well.
1247103
This was a great introduction to a new author for me, an author with an interesting past, to say the least.

Set in Victorian London, William Monk wakes up in a hospital after an accident not knowing who he is or remembering anything about his past.

He quickly learns that he is a detective, a highly motivated detective, and because of that, he may not have been the most liked guy on the police force.

He is then straddled with the mystery of not only figuring out who HE is but also with discovering the murderer of a popular son of a society family and navigating the delicacies of the highly stratified society of Victorian England.

5 STARS
2382854
This first book in the series was pretty awesome. The author took the disaster preparation subject in which he's developed expertise and built a story of post-apocalyptic America that's part action-adventure, part political drama, and part survival manual. The book reminded me of William Johnstone's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Out-of-the-Ashes/dp/B00ET3L346/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Out of the Ashes</a>&nbsp;Series, in some ways, with a little 1980s action-adventure pulp thrown in. It also has pictures of various scenes throughout the text, reminding me of the way they did graphics for Stephen King's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Stand/dp/0307947300/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Stand</a>. I've already started the second book and look eagerly forward to enjoying the entire series. Peopled with interesting characters and plenty of raw, blood-and-guts action, anyone who enjoys stories of a band of heroes trying to restore law and order to a world nearly wiped out by a super-virus that has gone stark-raving mad ought to love it!
4787894
This first effort by author Kevin Correa is done in a style that smoothly moves the reader through different time frames and venues without disturbing the storyline. The temptation is to read faster to uncover the next fact in the plot, but you force yourself to slow down to savor the writer's style. A great first effort, and we'll be watching for more!
159971
Building on Ellis Peters' wonderful Brother Cadfael series, this first volume in this series involves a very young Prioress assigned to lead a priory that has fallen into some disarray and of course, murder ensues. Good opening salvo in a many-volume series.
3877373
"The King's Spy" is the first book of a series that is set in England during the reign of Charles the first.  Thomas the bookseller is summoned to court to take on a job for the King, where he is drawn into the many intrigues of court.  The author has done agreat job of creating interesting chacters and and a plot that moves along.  Mr Swanston has made an excellent start.  I plan on reading the second book soon.  If you enjoy historical mysteries,  give it a try!
3393659
The first in a series yields a promising start. Having a young detective and relative of Ike's investigating crime in a time of war is a fine premise. Boyle comes from a family who has a history of both war and police service. The year is 1942 and Boyle finds himself in London shortly after joining the army. Soon as he arrives he is investigating the death of an official of the Norwegian government in exile. This first installment is somewhat simple and cartoonish but entertaining. I wonder if the author is striving for the period's melodrama or if he is just finding his legs (the book's cover art is excellent but summons up a Hardy Boys type of flavor). I plan to find out where Benn takes Boyle by reading the subsequent works. I hope the series and Boyle grow a little more gritty along the lines of Kerr's Bernie Gunther and more nuanced like Airth's Madden.
870018
The first book in the series, Catherine (Cat) sets out to discover who has murdered her best friend/ benefactor before the womans family convinces detective Jack that she is the one who did it.
I found this to be a pretty good start to the series.  I did think that some of the events in the story needed more clarification as they did not flow smoothly or seemed unsupported.  And Rachels idiosyncrasies were a little over the top and annoying.
I would definitely read more in the series to see how the characters develop.
2164692
The juxtaposition of gothic and western in this novel is a treat. This is a great first peak at a larger world full of menace and magic. The historical setting keeps it grounded. I look forward to more adventures of Jacob and Boz.
2152727
This was a pretty good start to a new series. I enjoyed the historical data and the relationship between Maddie and Samuel was ver well written. It seems the author did her homework on this one and it makes all the difference. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series.
322329
The Bat is a brilliant debut to Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series. Set in Sydney, Australia, where Harry is sent to wind up the murder/rape of a young Norwegian citizen, Harry finds himself working with an Aboriginal police officer. He and the reader learn a pretty good overview of Aboriginal culture and myth while trying to stop what they believe is a serial killer before he strikes again.

Meanwhile, Harry falls head-over-heels for a beautiful red-haired Swede living in Sydney. As in subsequent novels, there is a string of interesting and odd characters who it turns out are linked to the Norwegian victim. As the search narrows, several of them are murdered--one rather spectacularly--and the field of red herrings narrows.

This is a great read, though perhaps not so polished as some of Nesbo's later stories. This is the third book in the series I've read, and I am seeing a formula as to how the books are put together. I do hope the author mixes it up a bit down the line.
4947079
I really liked the first of the Jake O'Hara books.  The characters were hilarious, the mystery interesting, the descriptions of different areas of NYC very well drawn.  I particularly like the funeral scene in Calvary Cemetary.  It was a perfect description of a burial in that old cemetery.  This is a good start to the series.