Abisina's father was a shape-shifter, his other form, a centaur. She thinks she is a normal human, but under the stress of trying to rescue a friend, she changes also. For some reason which is never entirely clear, she tries to hide this fact from the community which owes its existence to her father, the shapeshifter.
Most of the YA themes are present, and fairly well done. I think it is often easier for writers to deal with that sort of thing in a fantasy context.
I really think I had written more about this one, but apparently I closed the file without saving. I do that a lot with notepad. Oh well, I think I remember basically what I wrote. Emma is aging. John is still missing - although he hangs around a lot for someone who is missing. Nobody dies permanently. Some of the characters died several times in this book. Emma has been dedemonized; the demon king pulled that off, but I don't remember what his price was.
The third in the second series should be out in the States in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I think I remember that Chan made this a triple triple instead of just a double triple, so nothing is likely to be resolved in the next book either. I'm not sure if I keep reading because at some level the writing is good enough to keep me reading - or just in the hope that something different will actually happen.
Actually, I like reading about a cop who becomes emotionally involved with his cases. Very Italian. The political corruption is also very Italian. In most of Leon's books it is a background element, and treated almost with humor on the writer's part and resignation on the part of Brunetti. That element in this one is much darker.
I really enjoy reading her books, probably partly because I know I am never going to win the big lottery and go live in Venice (I hear you actually have to buy a ticket). Leon clearly loves the city because she makes that love a large part of Brunetti's character.
I do wish Brunetti would win one every now and then, though. He always solves them, but he seldom gets to put them away. Maybe they have blown them away a couple of times, but most often there are reasons why the killer is not put away. It's a little frustrating if you love American police procedurals.
I remembered about the bees, of course, given the title, it would be hard not to. The blood covered baby, though, that I had forgotten. And this time it was a truly twisted family. A twisted family of beekeepers. California - what can you say?
Rina, in self-imposed exile in New York, has run into some fairly twisted family situations herself and has decided to return to California and Decker.
I don't believe I had read this one before. I like the way Reichs often makes the story personal for Tempe. This opens with Tempe returning to her childhood and an exotic playmate from Canada who came down to the Outer Banks to spend summers with relatives who lived near the Brennan's summer place, a playmate who was abruptly carried away back to Acadia and was never heard from again. Although the body that is Tempe's first connection to the story turns out not to be that of her friend, there is a connection and the mystery from her own childhood is resolved.
Sharon's off-again, on-again boyfriend, Hy Ripinski, is conspicuous by his absence in this one. This could be the beginning of the end - or not. Having taken the pledge not to look into his mysterious past, she opens a new file on him before the book ends. It also appears that her assistant, Rae, is leaving behind her relationship of several volumes standing and moving on.
But - the case in hand - a woman convicted of the gruesome murder of her husband's girlfriend back in the fifties has been released after 36 years in prison. Their daughter is determined to clear her name, but the only court interested is a historical tribunal which hears historical cases without the actual force of law. Lots of publicity, though, which is good enough for the daughter.
The mother refuses to plead her innocence, but Sharon becomes convinced that she is not the murderer. Of course, the real murderer is still out there and a string of new murders is the proof.
There is even an old mansion that, if not actually haunted, should be. And the autumn fogs of San Francisco alternately hide and reveal - no, not really - but it was starting to sound like a good line. The usual good time had by all, I don't think Sharon even got beat up or anything in this one. She did get graffiti splashed on her house, though.
I knew it was coming. At some point they had to get rid of the Jerk, Goldy's abusive ex-husband. I'm pretty sure I read this before, but I really didn't remember much, besides the fact that someone finally killed him - and that one of his many flings left a brother for Arch.
Naturally, since the first victim is the Jerk, Goldy is in the frame. In fact, the murderer has deliberately put her in the frame. But as this one proceeds, the list of his crimes becomes so long and their nature so varied and perverse that the initially hostile cops become her partisans in the investigation before it is all over.
Davidson must have nearly exhausted the available citizens of Aspen Meadows both for victims and suspects, because quite a crew of people from out of town (and from the past) populate this one. It isn't really a major issue with the integrity of the story, after all, the town is really practically a suburb of Denver, and they are running down there all the time anyway. A whole big city full of potential murder victims.
