To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ★★☆☆☆

“Let the dead bury the dead.  

Let the dead bury the dead.”

That was an exhausting journey through ugliness.  

Judge Dee and the Mystery of the Missing Manuscript ★★★★☆

The Vampire Library has few rules, but those they have they take deadly serious.  

Unfortunately, Judge Dee is late returning his book - seven hundred years late.

“Death!” the monks chanted. “Death to the unlawful borrower of books!  Death to the late returner!”

“That seems a bit excessive,” Drago of Carpathia said. “He did bring it back!”

The monks hissed at him…

“Seven hundred years of torture, then!”

It was funny to see Judge Dee in the hot seat, to see him penitent yet, as always, clever.  

And yes, there was also a murder mystery.  And again, the ending needed another sentence or two to grab another star.

Read it for yourself: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/09/judge-dee-and-the-mystery-of-the-missing-manuscript-lavie-tidhar/

Seven Vampires by Lavie Tidhar ★★★☆☆

That was three vampires too many I think.  There was something about the pace, and the ending, that made the story less satisfying than previous offerings.  

“He thought of their previous adventures - or nightmares, as Johnathan privately thought of them… He might have considered writing them down, but his handwriting was terrible and besides, no one wanted to read stories about vampires.” 

Moments of levity still made it worth the time.  Another two or three sentences at the end, or one sentence of foreshadow, could have added a star.

Read it for yourself: https://www.tor.com/2022/02/16/seven-vampires-a-judge-dee-mystery-lavie-tidhar/

Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre by Lavie Tidhar ★★★★★

On a busy frustrating day I snuck every chance I could to read a few pages - I smiled every time.   

”So long as not too many bloodless corpses were found in the morning and people took care to clean up after themselves, things were generally fine.” 

Vampires have few laws. 

But when a vampire is murdered it’s up to Judge Dee and Jonathan to solve the case!

Read it for yourself: https://www.tor.com/2021/09/15/judge-dee-and-the-poisoner-of-montmartre-lavie-tidhar/

Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels by Lavie Tidhar ★★★★★

 “The truth was that mysteries were bunk: murder was straightforward and everyone did it, from the emperor down.”  

The Count had disappeared and three of his enemies are claiming they killed him, claiming inheritance by vampire law.  

Another clever offering from the Judge Dee series!

Read it yourself: https://www.tor.com/2021/02/10/judge-dee-and-the-three-deaths-of-count-werdenfels-lavie-tidhar/

Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law by Lavie Tidhar ★★★★★

Karen has again mined Tor for the good stuff!  

Vampires have few laws, but those they take deadly serious.  Directed by the Council, Judge Dee travels the medieval world with his human companion and acts a judge, jury, and executioner for his kind.  He is old, powerful, and respected - but that doesn’t mean he cannot be fooled.  

This was clever, fun, and addictive!  I will continue the series.

Read it yourself: https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-dee-and-the-limits-of-the-law-lavie-tidhar/

Twelve Tomorrows ★★★★★

Fields of Gold by Liu Cixin ★★★★★★

"Are the stars very far?"
"They’re getting closer." 
Six stars.  Jaw droppingly good.  I gasped!