My review is also "Long Past Due" but I greatly enjoyed this book. It emotionally built off of book 1 and the growth (or backsliding) of the two POV chapters. I did side-eye the fact that the highly competent female character had to be saved/rescued by the guys, but that's part-and-parcel of typical fantasy, whether high fantasy or urban fantasy.

James Butcher is as magical and fantastic as Jim. This was an exciting and thrilling adventure with a supernatural flair.

I was unable to make it past the third chapter in this book. Butcher is a favorite in this household but this was not a hit. I had such high hopes!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy. I look forward to more work of this author's work in the future.

Grimshaw Grimsby and Leslie Mayflower are back for another misadventure. Trying to relieve the boredom of being the new guy and not getting interesting cases, Auditor Grimshaw intercepts a case ment for Auditor Rayne Bathory. Big mistake! He is in over his head and needs lots of help from Mayflower and Wudge to survive and figure out what is going on. Especially when Grimsby crosses Mother Frost and is sent on a quest from her in exchange for information. A nice sequel to Dead Man's Hand!

Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun sequel to the first book! I was looking forward to this book for awhile and I was slightly disappointed only because it took awhile to get going, in my opinion. I will still continue to look forward for this author's books.

Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby has become the newest Auditor for Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. He will be enforcing the laws of magic - which sounds exciting, but for Grimshaw, who struggled with his Auditor tests, it's pretty dull work. He is routinely passed over for the interesting jobs and sent to handle the common magical mishaps.

To get out of his daily grind, Grimshaw finagles a job away from a friend to discover the origin of a strange, unfinished ritual. He enlists the help of Leslie Mayflower, a once retired Huntsman now working again because this current situation is similar to something Mayflower dealt with two decades prior.

If the ritual is completed it would be disastrous, but getting to the root of the problem will not be easy for Grimsby and Mayflower.
Much like the first book in this series (Dead Man's Hand), the characters of Grimsby and Mayflower are what makes this worth reading. Their give and take, trust and distrust, and the yin and yang of needing one another, coming from a job in different ways, is what makes this fun.
The magic and the world building is still a bit pedestrian. This feels too much like a spin off of The Dresden Files (that comparison is bound to be made, given that this author James J Butcher is the son of Dresden Files author Jim Butcher). The city, the magic, even Grimsby himself seem like early versions of Dresden's Chicago. I had hoped that we'd see more growth and uniqueness in successive books, but that separation from Dresden Chicago has quite happened yet.

This was fun but it definitely feels like a young (in writing/publishing experience) writer still finding his own voice, intentionally enjoying the shadow of his father, rather than coming out from it.

Looking for a good book? Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher is the second novel in an urban fantasy series. It still shows promise and there is much to like, but it hasn't quite captured the magic (pun intended) of some of the more popular books in the same genre.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I’m having some trouble getting into this book and didn’t finish. I’m sure a lot of other readers will enjoy it. The main character is quite original

Long Past Dues successfully builds on the world and characterization of the previous entry in the series, while simultaneously introducing a new POV character and picking up on plot threads from the first book.

One of the things I most enjoyed about Long Past Dues is that, while both Grimsby and Mayflower have grown since Dead Man's Hand, their arcs are not complete. Their growth towards becoming better versions of themselves does not proceed in a straight line; they struggle and even occasionally backslide into their old self-defeating habits. This impressively realistic take on character growth grounds the story even amongst its more fantastical elements. I don't know whether The Unorthodox Chronicles will wrap up as a trilogy or if Butcher intends the series to be a long-runner, but either way I'm now thoroughly invested.

Will admit, better than author’s first attempt. Characters decently written, story isn’t convoluted but still needed more fleshing out. Second volume is better than the first, so I’ll say it’s a as mentioned before, a decent read. Give it a chance, but read the first one, and then this one.

Stars: 4 out of 5.

I really liked the first book in the series, so I picked up the next installment with a lot of trepidation. Too many times I was left disappointed by the direction in which authors took their series after the opening book. I am glad to say that it is not the case with the Unorthodox Chronicles. This book delivers everything I liked in the first one and ramps it up a notch.

We begin our story about six months after the events of the last book, and Grimsby finally got his dream of becoming an Auditor. Only the job isn't exactly what he had dreamed it to be, since he is stuck doing house calls and babysitting various Unorthodox whom the Department wants to keep an eye on. It's boring and mind-numbing, and makes Grimsby wonder if his life in the fast food industry was any better.

One of the reasons he is stuck with rookie jobs is because Mayflower, his partner, hasn't shown up for work in six months. And doesn't plan on showing up any time soon... That is until Grimsby does something desperate and steals a case intended for another Auditor. A case that has a lot of similarities with one that Mayflower encountered over 20 years ago. A case that Mayflower thought was closed, since the main perpetrator had her brains blown out...

This was a roller-coaster  of a story. So many things happen, and the action keeps moving along. It was also a better plotted story than the first book, in my opinion. Even though there was a lot of action, all of it served to further the story and move it along, and we got some nice character development throughout as well.

I admit that Grimsby can be a little infuriating in his absolute lack of faith in himself. His self-esteem is lower than the location of Underton, and that place is buried deep under Boston. But even though I found his mopping around and self-doubt ratter irritating at times, I also understood where it was coming from. All his life he'd felt like he has less than everyone else. Because of his scars interfering with his magic, because of his inability to learn any other spells than the 3 he knows. And when Mansgraf kicked him out of the Auditor program, it only reinforced his belief that he was a failed witch and a failed human being. 

So I understand that he feels like he didn't earn his badge so to say, that he is an impostor in ill-fitting clothes just playing at being an Auditor. I like that by the end of this book, he'd made peace with that idea, and decided that he will be the best Auditor he can be with the abilities he's given. Granted, by then, he has bigger issues to deal with than his self-doubt, but it's still a nice piece of character growth.

I loved that Grimsby stays true to his core believes - that violence, especially the terminal kind that Mayflower is so good at, is a last resort. Or that you should always try to do your best to help your friends. He demonstrates that over and over again when he helps Wudge, then does everything to save both Wudge and Mayflower from Mother Frost, or even when he rescues the familiar. Speaking of Mansgraf's familiar, I wonder if it will have a role to play in future books? 

We learn a lot about Rayne in this book as well, and I'm sad that things happened the way they did. Because both her and Grimsby could have been the friend each of them needed, but that is probably not in the cards anymore. I would like to know what is that birthright she worked so hard to suppress all her life. I'm sure we will hear more of that in the next books.

As it stands, I am definitely eagerly awaiting book 3, even though it probably won't come out until next year.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---

"You make them sound like monsters." [Grimsby said]

He scoffed. "If only. Monsters are much simpler to deal with than people." His face grew grim. "Much simpler."



WHAT'S LONG PAST DUES ABOUT?
Tired of the grunt-work and make-work befitting a rookie and relatively-untested Auditor (despite the heroics that got him his job), Grimsby acts on impulse and hijacks a case assignment from the closest thing he has to a friend in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs. It's an investigation into the remains of an unidentified ritual. His job is to figure out what the ritual was supposed to do and who was behind it—particularly if the ritual was intended to produce something hazardous to humans. Rayne can't—or won't—tell anyone why she was so curious about this particular ritual, but the fact that Grimsby stole the assignment from her is enough to put their already tenuous relationship at risk.

Jumping into something out of his depth and under orders to make sure he's not working alone, Grimsby tries to shake Mayflower off of his new/renewed attempts at putting the bottle to his head and pulling the trigger. Mayflower eventually emerges to help—not because of anything Grimsby said, or out of a sense of duty. But Grimsby dropped a photo that reminded Mayflower of one of his biggest successes, one of the rare times he shot someone and wasn't haunted by it. How is anything about it back to rear its head?

Grimbsy and Rayne fluctuate between working together, racing each other, and trying to save each other while on this case.

While Grimsby was waiting for the Huntsman to come around, he spent a little time trying to help Wudge with something. It didn't go wholly according to plan. Or much according to plan at all, really. Along the way, Grimsby picked up something that twists his magic in a way he's having trouble adjusting to. And picked up an enemy—or at least adversary—or three. All of which is going to complicate things for him in the immediate future.

DIGGING DEEPER INTO MAYFLOWER
The first book explored both partners, but we learned more about Grimsby for sure. The accent fell more to Mayflower in this book—at least when it came to backstory and filling out the character—Grimsby was the focus of the plot again, to be sure.

That said, I think most readers would've guessed correctly to 95+% of what we learned about Mayflower here. But it's good to have it spelled out for us—not in a spoon-feeding way, but the kind of confirmation that's welcome. We also get a better understanding of what Mayflower sees in Grimsby, why he stuck up for him, and did what he had to to get Grimsby recruited by the Department.

Again, we probably could've guessed it, too. But I liked actually getting to see it.

I enjoy the way the two partners see themselves and each other—the way those perspectives conflict with each other and the way they roughly match up.

WUDGE
It'd be super-easy to consider Wudge as comic relief primarily—with a hint of pathetic. Sure, he's good for another perspective on the supernatural world and to help Grimsby out in a pinch—but he's first and foremost someone to laugh at. Like Dobby. (I'm saying that because I've slipped into it, and that makes me feel better)

But it's a mistake to think that—he's more like Gurgi early on—funny, pitiful, with a hint of malice. Like Hearne's hobgoblin Buck, but less trustworthy (and less easily amused). He's dangerous, he's looking out for himself more than anything—and is perfectly willing to take advantage of Grimsby. You, like Grimsby, can't help but like him when he's around. You feel bad for the guy and hope that Grimsby can give him the assistance he needs.

But something tells me that he's more like the scorpion that stings the frog as they're crossing the water together—his nature isn't to pal around with a human. And we're going to regret chuckling at him in the near future.

Or, I'm way off base and I'm going to have to come along and issue a retraction.

THE ANTI-NICK FURY?
Without getting into particulars, this book ends in a very similar way to the way its predecessor did. Someone out there is scheming, picking up the pieces from whatever Grimsby, Mayflower, and the rest of the Department left behind (and one has to assume they're doing this with non-Grimsby cases, too). Exactly what they're doing with the people and artifacts left behind we're not told. It's clearly ominous, but that's about it.

It's like the opposite of the post/mid-credit scenes in the early MCU movies where Fury is recruiting people for the Avengers Initiative. It's more like those scenes in the Garfield Spider-Man movies (although, it's been a few years so my memory is pretty fuzzy)—everyone, including Spidey, has thought he saved the day, righted the wrongs, and sent the bad guys packing, someone is out there coming along behind him with something clearly nefarious in mind.

Now, if James J. Butcher has really learned much from Jim Butcher, I expect that we'll see/start to see what this has all been leading up to in Book 5. But I figure he knows that readers might expect that—so maybe it'll be Book 4 or 6 instead. Whenever he reveals what's cooking in these last looks, it's going to be big. And it's going to be bad news for Grimsby and Mayflower. It'll be good for the reader, no mistake, but bad for our heroes.

Grimsby climbed out of the jeep and glanced around at the lot of black, mirrorless cars. Mayflower’s rusted-out vehicle stuck out like a mountain crag in the middle of a rolling black sea.

“Didn’t they offer you a car when you came back?” he asked as they entered the building’s concrete facade.

“They tried,” Mayflower said, then scoffed. “Even insisted.”

“And you said no?”

“That jeep has been with me since the start. I’ve rebuilt her from little more than scrap more than once. I know every sound she makes, every grind of every gear. You think I’d trade that for anything?”

“Okay, but have you ever thought about the ship of Theseus?”

“Yes.” The Huntsman scowled. “But Theseus never had a jeep.”



SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT LONG PAST DUES?
So, yeah, I picked up on the big twist pretty early on. And then the twist to that twist, too—although I'm not sure I got that earlier than Butcher wanted us to. Being ahead (?) of where we were supposed to be didn't diminish things at all for me—if anything it amped up the suspense for me because I wondered how long it was going to take for Grimsby and Mayflower to suss it out, and how bad things were going to have to get for them to see it.

I'm rarely that into a twist surprising me—I'm far more interested in how the reveal is executed and Butcher did it just right here—I wouldn't have minded the heroes putting the pieces together a bit quicker, but I'm not going to complain about how it came about. What I didn't expect was just how it was going to play out after the reveal—and what the long-term ramifications were going to look at. And...whoa.

So much of what I thought was going to happen to/hoped would happen for Grimsby over the next few books went away in a paragraph or two. I feel so bad for him—and am so filled with anticipation to see what Butcher replaces my expectations with.

I really appreciate the way the partnership between the Huntsman and the rookie Auditor is developing. Whatever their bond in Dead Man's Hand may have been, they're not BFF's by any means at this point. There are growing pains ahead, stops and starts to their partnership, and some pretty big obstacles they need to work through. But at the core—that relationship, respect for, need (?) for each other is a great starting point to see both grow as people and agents. I don't know that Mayflower will ever get all his issues resolved, all his personal demons exorcised, etc. But he can get closer, he can maybe become really functional again—and that's enough.

We got a couple of new and potentially recurring characters here that I really enjoyed. The magic—and the magical worlds—are enough to satisfy an Urban Fantasy fan. The monsters—and how they manifest in the real world—are great. The societies—Usual and Unorthodox—are intriguing in all the right ways. The banter is just what a buddy-cop reader wants to read. The moral choices aren't easy or too clear-cut (which is great). The principal characters are engaging and believable. Basically, this series is really working for me. I can't list all the things it's doing right, actually.

I don't have any major criticisms or complaints—I just want more of this series. Next year and for at least a handful of years to come. Long Past Dues didn't disappoint and lived up to the promise of Dead Man's Hand. Can't ask for much more.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

I didn’t get a chance to read the first book in this series but I enjoyed reading this as a stand-alone

"Grimsby, the newest Auditor in the magical Department of Unorthodox Affairs, finds himself in hot water when he intercepts a friend's case in this fast-paced and thrilling urban fantasy.

Against all odds, Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby has become an Auditor, enforcing laws about magic for Boston's Department of Unorthodox Affairs. But Grimsby soon realizes the daily grind of his job is far removed from the glamour he imagined. Overlooked for every exciting case, Grimsby tires of being told to handle mundane magical troubles, and appropriates a case file intended for a friend.

Alongside Leslie Mayflower, the temporarily unretired Huntsman, Grimsby aims to crack the case and discover the origin of a strange, unfinished ritual - one that seems to imitate the handiwork of a foe Mayflower put down twenty years ago.

Together, they'll have to deal with escaped werewolves, a cursed artifact, and a perilous journey to the mysterious subterranean city below Boston, all to uncover the shocking truth. At any cost, Grimsby must stop this ritual from finally being completed. Yet the cost may be paid not by himself but by his friends...."

An Urban Fantasy to fill my Peter Grant void.

LONG PAST DUES by James J Butcher
Publication: 10/10/2023 by Berkley Publishing Group



An immersive second volume in James Butcher’s magical urban fantasy featuring Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby. He is the newest appointed Auditor in Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. He possesses limited magical powers of three spells, learned from his mother and now is a government sanctioned witch tasked with enforcing the laws pertaining to magic. After six months of handling mundane magical troubles, he finds himself extremely bored. He intercepts a case file of a much more interesting case involving RUINs… rituals of unknown intent and nature. This case was actually intended for his friend, Auditor Rayne Bathory. In order to undertake this case he required a partner. His next action was to coax his friend the “Huntsman” Leslie Mayflower out of retirement. Leslie recognizes this ritual in the case to be similar to a case he was involved in, twenty years ago. The question is … working together can they stop the ritual from being completed, and discover its origin. In order for success they must deal with escaped werewolves, a cursed artifact, and survive a dangerous journey to the subterranean city below Boston. Along the way, we encounter the captivating character of Wudge…. an eighteen inch tall imp that resides with Grimsby.
Part of the joy of this narrative is experiencing the interactions between Grimsby and Mayflower and Wudge, as they develop a deeper relationship. Mayflower is a temperamental curmudgeon, while Grimsby is much more subdued and avoids arguments at all costs. The comical Wudge takes everything very literally.
Butcher nicely develops these multi layered characters. He proves to be a splendid storyteller as he weaves the many plot lines together, while using twists and turns to ratchet up suspense and intrigue. The denouement ends with a surprise … but obviously suggesting that much more is to come. I would certainly recommend reading the first novel, Dead Man’s Hand, before diving into this second entry. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for proving an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

In this tale, we rejoin Grimsby who has just landed his job as an Auditor. The job he's wished for isn't as he'd dreamed of. Instead, he's stuck with mundane tasks while his partner, Mayflower, battles with his inner demons. However, when Grimsby gets the details of a case that Mayflower has history with, the two investigate together. The investigation leads to challenges that require compassion and bravery to solve. Grimsby escapes death and faces down an assortment of weird, magical creatures while learning the value of kindness.

This was as fun as the first one and really drew me in more to the world.

I love the MC and his propensity toward kindness. He’s quirky and um usual and a little work and yet it works for him!

Def recommend and will be looking forward to more in this world!

My rating: 4.3*

—-
Thanks for NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I had high hopes for this second volume in The Unorthodox Chronicles, a new series by the son of Dresden File's author Jim Butcher, but I must admit to being disappointed. I still found myself cringing at how Grimshaw acted in almost every situation., as he continues to exhibit extraordinary self doubt and very little strength or conviction. I regularly found myself skimming over sections of self reflection which is never a good sign. While I know character development takes time, I had hoped for more than this as it seriously diminishes my enjoyment of the story. Hopefully the third volume allows Grimsby to find his footing as I'm not a fan of a cringe worth MC.

James Butcher's second installment to The Unorthodox Chronicles is exactly what I expected. Grimsby is still self-doubting and bumbling, but believes things can be better. Mayflower, though self-loathing starts to see a little light at the end of his tunnel, and Wudge, well how could he be anyone besides Wudge.
Long Past Dues, gives the same slow building ride with a sudden drop into action that James Butcher gave us in Dead Man's Hand. Grimsby has the potential to be a bigger change for good than he thinks possible. Even if it is just by sheer force of will rather than obvious magical talent.
It looks like after his adventures in this book Grimsby is ready for his world to get even bigger and scarier.

This review will appear in multiple newspapers and magazines Oct. 31, 2023

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A season of reading: A dozen titles for your holiday basket

by Tom Mayer

The year-ending, pre-holiday book season is one bibliophiles wait for all year. October and November are traditionally the months we watch as names blockbuster (Grisham, King), rising (Gerritsen, Ward) or just heartwarmingly familiar (McCammon, Dugoni) descend from the upper echelons of ivy towers to the stacks of our local bookstores and online shopping carts.


This year is no different, though it is marked by a couple of significant deviations to the norm from two stalwart fall-release authors: Stephen King, who makes his own rules, gifted us with “Holly” in early September and Nicholas Sparks — almost unbelievably given his decades-long track record of releases — won’t have a new book for us this year (a fact I had to double check with his publicist, though when I spoke with Nicholas in 2022 about his wonderful book, “Dreamland,” he did promise something completely surprising and different for his next release. Give some grace, get some grace — surprising and different can take time.)


Still, October and November 2023 are filled with exciting and fresh titles, including a dozen that we’ll touch on here. Far from exhaustive and brief in scope, consider this a primer for the season we’re just dipping into.

I’ll be laser-focusing on some of these in pullout columns during the next few weeks — and adding more titles for November and December — but send me a quick note at tmayer132435@gmail.com if you want a link to those when they appear.


For now, happy holidays, book lovers.



‘One Last Kill’ (Thomas & Mercer, 379 pages, $16.99) by Robert Dugoni


The prolific Robert Dugoni gifts us with his 10th detective Tracy Crosswhite novel, and in this one the stakes are raised. Set in familiar environs, after 13 victims Tracy reopens the cold trail of Seattle’s Route 99 serial killer. Closure for the families and redemption for the Seattle Police Department are on the line, but if Tracy’s going to achieve either she’ll have to do it by partnering with an old nemesis: Captain Johnny Nolasco. Those who traveled with Tracy through her earlier thrillers know exactly what that means. New readers will soon find out.



‘Murder on the Christmas Express’ (Poisoned Pen Press, 272 pages, $24) by Alexandra Benedict


What’s the holiday season without a murder mystery to help pass the time? A sleeper train en route from London on Christmas Eve is buried in snow in a remote and isolated location. As a killer tries to pick off passengers one by one, a former detective, Roz Parker, decides to give the investigation a go. You’ve been here before, but this locked room puzzle both is and isn’t what you’ll expect. Bon voyage.



‘Long Past Dues’’ (Ace, 411 pages, $27) by James J. Butcher


Bringing us into volume 2 of The Unorthodox Chronicles, James J. Butcher now presents Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby as an auditor for Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. Tasked with enforcing laws about magic, the job sounds more glamorous than it is — which explains why Grimshaw steps outside of his role to take a special case for a friend. Werewolves and a journey to the bowels of Boston’s subterranean city ensue.



‘Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird’ (Blackstone Publishing, 659 pages, $28) edited by Jonathan Maberry


Who doesn’t love a compilation of a century’s worth of stories from one of the world’s most storied publications? Coming from the hallowed halls of “Weird Tales Magazine,” this book is simply beautiful in style, substance and craft (pro tip: buy the hardcover; it’s a gem). Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the magazine, this volume contains 100 years of the most peculiar tales you’ll ever encounter or, as the periodical likes to boast, those “too strange to publish elsewhere.” A true reader’s delight.



‘The Exchange’ (Doubleday, 352 pages, $30) by John Grisham


You know you’ve been waiting for this one. Published 32 years after John Grisham’s “The Firm,” the king of legal thrillers picks up the thread of the lives of Mitch and Abby McDeere and family as they’re caught in an international kidnapping plot — and struggling to retain the normalcy they’ve worked 15 years to achieve since they exposed the crimes of the mob-related Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke. With just enough backstory to fill in the history of those unfamiliar with “The Firm,” Grisham crafts a credible and timely (though it’s set in the mid-2000s) story filled with his hallmarks: greed, crime, deception and more than a bit of heroics. A worthy successor and one, I should mention, completely unlike the 2012 TV series sequel to both the original novel and film adaptation.



‘The Spy Coast’ (Thomas & Mercer, 341 pages, $29) by Tess Gerritsen


The Martini Club continues in Tess Gerritsen’s “The Spy Coast” as former spy Maggie Bird is drawn from her bucolic Maine chicken farm life into a new thriller — something that tends to happen when the body that appears in your driveway is sent as a message from your former adversaries. The former spies, like Bird, may all be retired, but they’re definitely up for a fresh case, and especially a case that involves those who are bent on killing one of their own.



‘The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The true story of the Bondwoman’s Narrative’ (Ecco, 432 pages, $40) by Gregg Hecimovich with a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr.


In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement from a North Carolina plantation. Fleeing to a farm in New York, she found time to craft a manuscript about her trials. This important and groundbreaking book about the nation’s first Black female novelist comes from the biographer who first solved the mystery of her identity.



‘American Girl’ (Blackstone Publishing, 246 pages, $27) by Wendy Walker


This important thriller from best-selling author Wendy Walker introduces Charlie Hudson, an autistic teen with a desire to leave her small, Pennsylvania town as soon as she graduates. But first, when the owner of the sandwich shop at which Wendy works is found dead, the 17-year-old and her friends are drawn into a dangerous case with an unusual point of view: The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist.



'Let Us Descend' (Scribner, 320 pages, $28) by Jesmyn Ward


Jesmyn Ward is a two-time National Book winner, and “Let Us Descend” shows us why. This tale, a reimagining of American slavery, is a beautifully harsh read. The story comes to us from Annis, a slave sold south by her white enslaver father and her heart-wrenching journey is punctuated only by the fleeting comfort of memories of her mother and African warrior grandmother. An emotional narrative rich in description.



‘The Last Applicant’ (Lake Union Publishing, 317 pages, $29) by Rebecca Hanover


A deep dive into this ripped-from-the-headlines story by Rebecca Hanover takes us into the life of Audrey Singer, an admissions director of an elite private school in Manhattan. One overachieving mother will do anything — anything — to get her son enrolled, but as the ploys escalate it rapidly becomes clear that this might not be all she is after. Secrets are threatened to be revealed as this tale takes a deep, dark turn.



‘Seven Shades of Evil’ (Lividian Publications, 424 pages, $39.50) by Robert McCammon


You had me at, Robert McCammon. Literally, I would buy anything with this Alabama author’s name on it, but you’ll never go afield picking up a book involving Matthew Corbett. This volume of short stories, the ninth installment in that world, is the penultimate volume of the Corbett series — a tremendous set of historical thrillers that have been drawing legions of readers into Early America for more than two decades.



‘Robots through the Ages: A Science Fiction Anthology’ (Blackstone, 495 pages, $26) by Robert Silverberg (introduction) and Bryan Thomas Schmidt (editor)


OK, I’m cheating a bit by including ‘Robots’ in this list — it first published during the summer — but with the conflation of technology and well, our entire world, igniting in the form of AI at an exponential pace, this is one that more than a few readers would welcome under the tree. A vast and inclusive sweep of robot stories told through the ages (really, we begin the journey with “The Iliad”), this volume includes tales from the heroes of science fiction, including names such as Philip K. Dick, Seanan McGuire, Connie Willis and Roger Zelazny. A fascinating journey, “Robots through the Ages” is replete with prescient tales of today.

Long Past Dues is the second in James J. Butcher's The Unorthodox Chronicles. Grimsby is a young witch who has achieved his dream of becoming an auditor at the elite Boston Department of Unorthodox Affair, but his dream job isn't what he expected; his partner is depressed and refuses to leave his home, his friend he has a crush on is aloof, and he seems to only get the most boring of cases such as checking in with werewolves that they will be appropriately contained during the full moon. However, when he accidentally becomes cursed, he must face creatures from the other realm based on myth like Echidna, a part woman/part snake monster, as well as creatures out of Butcher's own imagination.

I hadn't read the first novel in the series, Dead Man's Hand, but still was able to thoroughly enjoy Long Past Dues and quickly pick up characters and "the rules" of Grimsby's world; warning though it ends on a cliff hangar that will have you eagerly awaiting book three.