Excerpt: A NUMBERS GAMES by R.J. Dark (Datura)

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“R.J. Dark” is the crime-writing alter-ego of RJ Barker, best-selling fantasy author — and, in my opinion, one of the best SFF writers at the moment. When I first learned that he was writing crime/mystery novels as well, I was certainly intrigued. Datura Books recently published the first novel in the Mal & Jackie series, A Numbers Game, and have allowed us to share an excerpt.

All Malachite “Mal” Jones wants is a quiet life as the foremost (fake) psychic medium on the Blades Edge estate.

Enter his new client: Janine, the widow of a man who hid away a huge amount of money. Mal is drawn into a mystery he never asked for in an attempt to help Janine find the cash and escape the estate once and for all.

Problem is, Mal’s not the only one hoping to get his hands on the cash. The crime lord of the estate to other criminals are all on the hunt. Plus adding to his worries, there are some corrupt cops after Mal’s best and only friend, Jackie.

Aided by Jackie and Beryl, Mal’s nosy secretary, Mal sets out to find the cash and a solution that pleases everyone. If he can’t, he’ll have to pay the price. After all, it’s a numbers game…

Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE SLEUTH OF FERREN CITY by S. M. Beiko (ECW Press)

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Next week, ECW Press will publish The Sleuth of Ferren City, the third novel in the Brindlewatch Quintet by S. M. Beiko. To mark the occasion, the publisher has provided CR with an excerpt to share; something to tide existing series fans over until the book’s release, and also give new readers a taste of what they can expect from the novel/series. First, here’s the synopsis:

Monsters are real. Well, monstros are, anyway — an emerging group of citizens trying to find their place in Brindlewatch, ever since the Camillites made a splash in the small town of Quixx, and the Jettites climbed out of their subterranean city beneath Lake Mallion. The Far Cities are bristling with newcomers looking for a fresh start in this brand-new world, but is it as safe for them as they think?

Sable, a Camillite who still lives on Mount Quixx, isn’t so sure. She sees the world through the distorted lens of the novels she steals from Professor Bedouin’s observatory and is slow to trust the strangers in the world beyond the page. She is a side-character in her own story, and she wants to keep it that way.

But a desperate letter begging for help rewrites Sable as the protagonist sleuth of her favorite novels, and hot on the trail trying to find her vanished friend, Sable uncovers more than she bargained for in the bright lights of the big a famous author with the ability to make every monstro’s dream come true, a dastardly underworld targeting vulnerable monstros, and a sweet bookseller who may be at the heart of the mystery.

And on the airwaves, a broadcast like no other promises a bold new world for everyone. Will Sable find her voice and save those terrified of speaking up, before it’s too late?

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CR Abroad…

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Currently travelling, so things will be a bit quieter on here for the next few days. Popped to Shakespeare and Company, in Paris, but the very long line meant we didn’t go in — the thought of being in any way rushed through a bookstore is sacrilegious! Will visit another time.

We did manage to go to Victor Hugo’s house, where they were having a special exhibition: Hugo et l’Architecture, which featured many of the author/poet’s architectural sketches. I had no idea about this side of his creativity, but the main piece for the exhibition (see below), had such strong fantasy vibes, I thought I’d share it here:

To me, that looks like perfect short story-fodder. (So, I’ll try to whip something up.)

Hope you’re all reading good books.

Excerpt: A BOTANIST’S GUIDE TO TRADITION AND TRAGEDY by Kate Khavari (Crooked Lane)

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A Botanist’s Guide to Tradition and Treachery is the fifth novel in Kate Khavari‘s popular Saffron Everleigh Mystery series, and it is due to be published tomorrow (June 9th) by Crooked Lane Books. To celebrate the release, and give readers a taste of the novel (and series as a whole, for newcomers), CR has an excerpt to share! First, though, here’s the synopsis:

Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh has set sail on her first research expedition, but it’s disrupted by accusations of murder when one of her fellow scientists is murdered…

Saffron Everleigh is newly engaged and full of optimism as she sets off on the adventure of a lifetime for any scientist: a research expedition. She sails to newly formed Turkey with her fiancé, Alexander Ashton, and a bevy of fellow researchers under the watchful and reformed eye of Dr. Henry. With only two other women on board, Saffron soon finds she is right back in the same infuriatingly misogynistic environment that marked the earliest days of her career. Only this time, Saffron is determined to show everyone, including Alexander, that she can handle the trials of an expedition.

And trials she has in spades. Before the expedition team has even arrived, Saffron has managed to find an enemy in historian Joseph Clark, who frequently torments the assistant that Saffron has taken under her wing, Martin Neill. But when Martin unexpectedly dies, Saffron is targeted as the main suspect.

Falling ruins, venomous snakes, and mysteriously blocked passages are the least of Saffron’s worries. With unexpected help from a familiar face, Alexander and Saffron have to work fast to prove not only that Saffron is innocent but that they both have nothing to do with a larger conspiracy at play among the expedition crew.

And now, on with the excerpt…

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CR20 Favourites: MILKWEED TRIPTYCH by Ian Tregillis (Tor/Orbit)

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As you may have noticed, Civilian Reader recently celebrated its 20th anniversary — a milestone that is still quite amazing to me. In addition to sharing the first review and interview I posted, I wanted to publish some other “CR20” content. One of the ideas I keep coming back to, recently, is some kind of “CR20 Favourites” series of posts: what are the books, interviews, and other things over the past 20 years that have stood out to me.

I thought I’d kick off this series of posts by revisiting, and re-recommending, Ian Tregillis‘s superb, not-as-widely-read-as-it-deserves Milkweed Triptych! Continue reading →

Quick Review: A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE by Jordan Harper (Faber / Mulholland)

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Another grim, brutal exploration of the darker sides of human nature

For some people there are no rules, only prices…

This place is a crime that can’t be solved. And that’s why we love it.

LA is a brutal, burning city. It is America with nowhere to run. Each night Jake Deal captures it on a livestream to his blood-hungry subscribers. Above board, Doug Gibson is a street lawyer trying to fix the system one case at a time. Underground, Kara Delgado is working for a private concierge company – a make-a-wish foundation for the terminally rich.

When Kara’s best friend Phoebe goes missing, she soon finds herself in the worlds of both Jake and Doug. Will the remaining humanity of this fragile team kill them all or expose one enormous, unspeakable crime?

Jordan Harper has fast become a must-read author for me. His novels are consistently gripping, unafraid to venture into the darker corners of human nature and what the powerful can get away with. A Violent Masterpiece is no exception, and examines the worst-possible-scenario of Hollywood power and corruption. Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: MIST & MALICE by Rachel Howzell Hall (Thomas & Mercer)

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Return to Haven and the darkness beneath the ideal

A small-town PI is drawn into a killer conspiracy…

Private investigator Sonny Rush, the newest resident of Haven, California, knows that this fogbound coastal hamlet is every bit as dangerous as her hometown of Los Angeles. And when teenager and repeat runaway Honor Butler shows up at Sonny’s door with terror in her eyes, Sonny is immediately pulled into a new case that lands close to home.

Desperate, hungry, and in need of someone she can trust, Honor tells Sonny a horrifying story about where she’s been—and what she’s been forced to do. Then, hours later, the forest near Sonny’s cottage yields the remains of a missing day laborer, a man whose wife has been searching for answers for months. Soon, coincidence sharpens into conspiracy.

As Sonny digs deeper, the threads of these cases twist together into something horrifying: a ruthless network preying on the vulnerable, protected by the very people meant to uphold the law. With every step closer to revealing Haven’s corruption, Sonny risks pulling the lives of her loved ones into the cross fire—and exposing the shadows of her own past. Because in this town, loyalty can be fatal, and survival means deciding who you’re willing to betray.

Rachel Howzell Hall’s first Haven novel, Fog & Fury was a very good introduction to Sonny Rush and the ideal-but-only-on-the-surface town of Haven. In Mist & Malice, we pick up Sonny’s story shortly after the end of the first novel, as she continues to wrestle with the fallout of the first novel, even as a new case arises. I enjoyed this, but it wasn’t quite as strong as the first book. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE SHADOW FRIENDS by Tess Gerritsen (Thomas & Mercer / Penguin UK)

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Ghosts of the Cold War come back to haunt the Martini Club

When a renowned disease expert and Russian defector dies mysteriously during a global affairs conference in Purity, Maine, the tight-knit band of former spies in the Martini Club once again sees their quiet coastal retirement interrupted by international intrigue. And when a waitress at the conference hotel is found murdered, Ingrid Slocum sees chilling links to a disastrous mission that nearly killed her three decades ago.

Desperate to uncover the truth, Ingrid’s drawn back into the game by a magnetic ex-CIA colleague ― and former lover ― who was with her on the long-ago doomed mission. He convinces her to join him, and together they head to Amsterdam to track down her would-be killer.

Ingrid’s frantic husband Lloyd and Maggie Bird are close behind, but a clandestine network of assassins is intent on stopping them. Forced to question every allegiance, the Martini Club must rely on the skills they tried to leave behind. Because in this game of revenge and deception, the past never dies ― it just hides in the shadows.

The first novel I read by Tess Gerritsen was The Spy Coast (2023), the first book in the Martini Club series. It was a fantastic introduction to the group of retired spies living in Maine, juggling civilian life with the now-frequent resurrection of issues from their past actions. The Summer Guests (2025) nicely expanded readers’ picture of these characters and the lives they lived at CIA. In The Shadow Friends, Gerritsen continues to develop the characters and the world they live in, and also gives another member of the group the spotlight. It’s another engaging thriller/mystery, which I very much enjoyed. Continue reading →