The Year of the Series Mini Reviews - God of the Hive and Final Exam

 

After the calamity that was 2020 I didn't want to give myself serious reading goals but I did want to do something to help my book stacks get a little more under control.  I've tried getting rid of the ones I want to read but unfortunately I want to read all the books I own.  So I decided to focus on series.  There are so many I have that I abandoned halfway through or came in halfway and never read the first few.  I made a list of ten series and the next book I had to read in them and will be rolling in new books and series as I go along and catch up.  Here are two reviews from that list that I've read recently.

God of the Hive by Laurie R. King - Going into this book I was a bit on the fence about this series.  I started reading this series featuring an older retired Sherlock Holmes and his young wife Mary Russell close to 20 years ago with long breaks in between.  The book prior to this one ended on a bit of a cliffhanger and I fully intended to go right into this one but I didn't so the beginning was kind of rough trying to remember events that I had read years ago.  However, once things got rolling I was swept into this series and I remember why I used to hunt down each new book.  I was pulled into the story and by the end I was waiting with baited breath to see how things would play out.  Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are just as sharp as ever and seeing them scramble to deal with an unclear situation with enemies lurking in the shadows made for a compelling read.  I would love to go back and reread this series from the beginning but I am so excited to pick up the next one and this time it won't be years!  If you're new to this series this is not the book to start with - it's definitely best to start at the beginning or at least the book before this.  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

Final Exam by Carol J Perry - This book is in my Year of the Series project but honestly I was already working on getting caught up because it is one of my absolute favorite series and this one did not disappoint!  I especially enjoyed that Lee's Aunt Ibby is front and center around this one.  The book starts with Lee and her cameraman, Francine following a tip to an old abandoned granite quarry.  A tip has led the police to the resting place of a 40 year old missing person case.  That resting place just happens to be in a car 100 feet down in the quarry and the missing person just happens to be Aunt Ibby's high school sweetheart - the very same high school sweetheart who stood her up for senior prom.  And since there is a reunion being planned Aunt Ibby is very much in touch with her 5 of her best friends from high school and is knee deep in mysteries.  I liked getting to know Ibby on more of a personal level then just as Lee's confidante and research extraordinaire.  I love Lee's new position as investigative reporter as she is able to really dig into the investigations and I love having the crew from the news station involved.  Francine, Marty and Rhonda are some of my absolute favorite side characters.  This is a great cozy series with characters I love hanging out with, mysteries that keep me guessing, and just a splash of paranormal.  I'm already looking forward to picking up the next book in the series.  My Rating: Really Liked It!