Can’t Wait Wednesday

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.

This week, I’m waiting for…

A TRADE IN BLOOD
by Robert Jackson Bennett
Release date: August 11, 2026

In the canton of Sapirdad, two of the Empire’s most powerful families are moments away from going to war with each other, their hundreds of retainers gathered with swords drawn. If blood is spilt, the whole of the empire may be plunged into starvation and chaos. To de-escalate matters, someone must do the impossible: prove that one family’s eldest son is innocent of a gruesome and unforgivable murder, despite the incontrovertible evidence against him. It is with this undertaking that the great detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din at her side—and the two find themselves racing with great speed and little dignity to the scene. As ever, the impossible proves little obstacle for the deadly combination of Ana’s intellect and Din’s keen eye, and mere hours after riding into the dusty town, Ana glimpses the greater pattern behind the crime. A deeper, subtler web of death is being woven in plain sight, by a mastermind with an ancient magical technology at his disposal. But even Ana’s uncanny insight is of little use when each new suspect she uncovers ends up dead–with each new killing calculated to bring tensions between the two rival clans past the boiling point. And as Din pursues their adversary through the canton’s wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, he finds his loyalties divided in unexpected ways.

Book Review: Foundryside

Let me just say up front, this is not a book for the faint of heart, and would definitely be PG-13 if not higher given some of the content, themes and descriptions. Including some grisly deaths. But that said, all of it is within context to the world in which this story is set. It’s a dark, definitely bleak story, and yet?

And yet, Bennett does something unique amid all the darkness he gives us hope, he gives us humour and plenty of courage, as his characters fight through the harsh realities of their lives and situations. In the end, despite the tragedies and hardship, friendship, commitment, strength and courage bring a disparate band of diverse characters together to overcome a great deal.

I was blown away with the world building in this one, which was beautifully wrought in all it’s grim darkness. The characters themselves range from the well written protagonist, Sancia Grado, a small time thief, to several secondary characters that support and surround her story and journey, to some wonderfully sketched foes who just wreak of evil intent.

Our heroes hardships unite them in going up against a terrifying foe the likes of which they (and us) have yet to fully understand.

Throughout Bennett teases us with Sancia’s past, and events that formed and shaped her childhood and life. Taking us on a wild ride of revelation after revelation, as he spins us a marvellous fantasy hideous in places, but hopeful in others. And gives us just enough humour, levity, and light to lessen the bleak situation our erstwhile heroine finds herself in when, as a petty thief tasked with stealing what, at first glimpse, is a simple wooden box, turns out to be so much more. Giving us, the reader, one hell of a ride along with Sancia, as she tries to figure it all out without getting herself killed in the process.

This intricate, complex, well defined, tightly woven story is dense, ambitious and, in the end, delivers on a grand scale. Thoughtful, and hopeful, it’s devastating but it’s also a book you won’t be able to put down till you’ve finished and then, you’ll be left wanting more. I know I was.

I can’t wait for book two, Shorefall, to see what happens next.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

Book Review: Deep Down Dead

DEEP DOWN DEAD by British author, Steph Broadribb, just oozes authenticity so much so you can almost smell the burnt rubber on the asphalt, and the cordite smoke after each shoot out. It’s one of those rare books that when started, is almost impossible to put down. A page-flipping, tense, action-packed crime thriller, that will leave you breathless. Indeed, the frantic pace is one long roller coaster ride that doesn’t stop until the last page, with an ending that says: ‘This ain’t over yet, honey!’ And that there is plenty more where this came from.

A fact that makes me so happy. Because, simply put, the characters of Lori and JT are so well written, they draw you straight into the tangled story that Broadribb has crafted for them, tailor-made down to the last detail. This is not just a simple case of bails-bond Lori Anderson going to collect a ‘Jumper’ but so much more complex when the Jumper turns out to not only be her mentor, but someone she fell in love with. Throw in a couple of wrenches in the guise of the Miami Mafia on the hunt for JT, but also a pedophile group hell bent on silencing him, and Lori—Momma Bear—has her hands full staying one step ahead. And keeping her, and JT alive, long enough to save Lori’s daughter, Dakota, who’s been kidnapped.

And, as these guys find out the hard way, you don’t mess with a Momma Bear and come between her and her child!

From the crisp, snappy banter, to the subtext and romantic tension between JT and Lori, to the dynamics of a plot that twists and turns at every corner, everything clicks into place perfectly. DEEP DOWN DEAD is one hell of a satisfying read, with one kick-ass, memorable heroine in Lori Anderson; a woman who just doesn’t know how to give up, when fighting to save her child’s life.

A thrilling debut outing. If this doesn’t leave you wanting more, then I don’t know what will.

Book Review: Velocity Weapon

First of all, let me start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe from beginning to end. And, like any good roller coaster ride, this one starts off with a few gentle reveals, and slowly—at first—builds up to a number of startling revelations, as you crest a peek, wondering what the hell is coming next and then? Suddenly you are being plunged head first over a dramatic cliffhanger, rolling at breakneck speed towards the next clever twist in the plot. So that, just when you think you have an inkling of what might be going on, O’Keefe pops your bubble and blindsides you.

Nothing, as they say, is ever what it seems. As it should be with any good story.

Continue reading →

Book Review: The Dime

THE DIME—Kathleen Kent’s first crime novel—opens with an explosive, ugly start that will have you page turning from the get go. She also manages to bring a fresh twist to a genre and then ups the ante. Her main protagonist is a feisty narcotics cop who transfers in to Dallas from Brooklyn. Not only is she a third generation cop, she’s Polish, and her roots are showing. Red-head Betty Rhyzyk is tough, flawed, tenacious, and is anything but your typical cop.

Narrated in the first person, Betty lenses the action and characters through her own prism, with both a dry sense of wit, tough talk, and a vulnerability we seldom get to see in a main character. What’s more, Betty has her doubts, which makes her all the more human.

In Betty’s world, we get to grips with the criminal underbelly of life in Dallas, with the drug cartels notching up the body-count. There’s nothing sexy or glamorous about brutal violence. And as various factions vie for turf, Betty has to navigate and juggle the vagaries of her private life, with that of her job, and if that wasn’t enough, she’s being stalked by someone who sends her a decapitated head, as a gift.

Sharply observant, witty, and, at times, violent, The Dime is the first in a new, exciting series, featuring detective Betty Rhyzyk. And I, for one, cannot wait to read the next instalment.