April 2025 Book Roundup

 Here's my top April reads:

★A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett.

What a way to start off the month, but with the follow-up to my favorite book of 2024. The new Ana and Din mystery further explores the boundaries of The Khanum Empire, sending them to the far-flung reaches of Yarrow. Yarrow is the center of the Apoth manufacturaries, where the remains of Leviathans are taken and carefully harvested for the potent and sometimes deadly potions and elixirs on which the Empire runs. 

They have been summoned to solve the unsolvable once again. A locked-room mystery where one of the empire's treasury employees has been found dead after disappearing from a room on a high floor with the doors and windows locked from the inside. Din is the legman, searching out clues for Ana Dolabra, who customarily wears a blindfold to avoid being overstimulated by sensory input. It frees her mind to work on the problem at hand, unraveling faint clues and directing Dinios Kol where to search for further information. Fans of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin will recognize the dynamic, but never did they dream of operating in a world as fantastical as this.

Bennett's mystery is complex and engrossing. The world of the Khanum Empire is a fantastic creation, with a rich history, fascinating politics, and amazing abilities. Ana has to navigate complicated politics involving the Kingdom of Yarrow and the dangerous yet vital harvesting of leviathans, which is essential to the Empire. Ana and Din ingeniously follow the clues from one discovery to the next. Many involving more bodies, or body parts, which doesn't do much for Din's sensitive stomach. Strong supporting characters add to the story, particularly local guide, Malo, whom I hope to run into again in future stories. 

This is a great mystery set in a fascinating fantasy world. Bennett has done it again, and I hope this series continues for a long, long time. Mystery and fantasy fans will be equally delighted with this book. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. 

Strangers in Time by David Baldacci

David Baldacci's latest is a departure from his usual thrillers with the historical mystery, Strangers in Time. Set in World War II London, Strangers is centered around three very different characters. Charlie Matters, a boy from the rougher East End, Molly Wakefield, a girl from the posher West End, and Ignatious Oliver, a widower and bookseller between the two. 

War doesn't care about your status or upbringing. It is an equal opportunity destroyer. It also brings together people who might not otherwise run into each other in the ordinary course of events. The bonds that can be formed in these times are incredibly powerful and long-lasting. 

I'm drawn to stories that depict these types of tales, whether they are set in our own past or some far-flung future alien world. The bonds that can be formed, as well as the inventiveness and resilience of people, are tested in circumstances like these. There is a certain romance about how people respond in the darkest of times, and a wistfulness for qualities that you hope are within yourself. 

David Baldacci is as skilled as they come at bringing his world and his characters to life.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

Cold Burn by A. J. Landau

The new National Parks thriller from A. J. Landau, Cold Burn, takes you from the Florida Everglades to the remote parts of Alaska. 

Michael Walker is a National Park Service investigator tracking the smuggling of artifacts, many from Native Alaskans, when he's pulled off the case to go search for missing scientists in Glacier Bay National Park. Meanwhile, FBI Special Investigator Gina Delgado is looking into the seemingly random murder of an intern with the U.S. Geological Survey in Florida. It seems a low-profile case, but when you report only to the President, you go where they send you. 

The link between the two cases, as well as a missing sub whose crew all died, may lie in a prehistoric organism. An organism that some view as the ultimate weapon and others as the ultimate power source. Walker and Delgado find themselves looking for the same answers in a race whose fate could decide the future of humanity.

Landau, the pseudonym of authors Jon Land and Jeff Ayers, have put together a fast-paced thriller with an exciting mystery at its core. It starts with a bang and sets off a chain of events that will have you flipping the pages. It's a nice mix of thrilling scenes, featuring chases and gunplay, a mystery rooted in nature, and an exploration of some of our national parks and their role in our ecosystem. The race against the clock nature keeps the tension high, with some deadly fights and heroic stands against both their enemies and mother nature. 

The thrills run all through the book, with a little twist at the end that will whet your appetite for further adventures.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.