A World Too Near - Kay Kenyon

From Publishers Weekly: The fate of two universes hangs in the balance in this intricately plotted sequel to Bright of the Sky (2007). To sustain the constructed universe called the Entire, the alien Tarig have built the engine of Ahnenhoon, designed to turn the Rose—Earth's universe—into a power source. Earth's survival depends on pilot Titus Quinn's plan to destroy the engine, but ambitious scientist Helice Maki claims Titus may instead use the mission to seek his missing daughter, Sydney, lost somewhere in the Entire. Successfully scheming her way into accompanying Titus, Helice plots to steal his nanotech weaponry and grab power from the Tarig. Titus's only hope may be his wife, Johanna, captured 10 years ago by the Tarig, who has slowly taught herself enough about the engine to have a chance of disabling it. Tangled motivations, complex characters and intriguing world-building will keep readers on the edges of their seats.

I revisited this book after hearing the next was excellent. When I had first started this second in the series I lost interest fairly quickly. It must have been my mood because this time I got pull in and read through without a problem.


Regenesis - CJ Cherryh

The direct sequel to the Hugo Award- winning novel Cyteen, Regenesis continues the story of Ariane Emory PR, the genetic clone of one of the greatest scientists humanity has ever produced, and of her search for the murderer of her progenitor - the original Ariane Emory. Murder, politics, deception, and genetic and psychological manipulation combine against a backdrop of interstellar human societies at odds to create a mesmerizing and major work in Regenesis. Who did kill the original Ariane Emory? And can her personal replicate avoid the same fate? Those questions have remained unanswered for two decades - since the publication of Cyteen. Now in Regenesis those questions will finally be answered.

Loved it. I'm glad I found and read Cyteen first and I am sad that the adventure is over. I'd be quite happy if she came up with another novel using Ari and company.




Friend of the Devil - Peter Robinson

From Publishers Weekly: In Robinson's stunning 17th suspense novel to feature DCI Alan Banks (after 2006's Piece of My Heart), Banks and his on-again-off-again partner and lover, Det. Insp. Annie Cabbot, race to piece together a string of brutal murders. While on loan to a sister precinct, Cabbot investigates the gruesome death of a paraplegic woman found on a desolate cliff with her throat slit. Back in Eastvale, North Yorkshire, Banks and his team discover the body of a young woman who has been raped and strangled in a shady area of town known as the Maze. At first, there are no obvious connections between the two attacks, but when Cabbot uncovers the chilling identity of the woman on the cliff, she and Banks must once again confront sadistic serial killers Terry and Lucy Payne, last seen in Aftermath (2001). Banks and Cabbot are flawed but empathetic heroes, and readers will be on the edge of their seats as the two explore not only the depths of human depravity but also their own murky relationship.


Aftermath was the one I didn't read because of the subject matter but it didn't detract from this novel. I found myself thinking...ok, a stretch there and gee, no surprise at times.





Alternate Realities - CJ Cherryh

Long out of print, these three acclaimed novels are among Cherryh's personal favorites. The Court of Camelot lives again in "Port Eternity". Invisible alien life inhabits the planet Freedom in "Wave Without a Shore". Finally, in "Voyager in Night", a human space crew's collision with an alien ship ends in death -- and rebirth.

Port Eternity was the easiest to read. The other demanded full attention. I thought they could dragged in the middle but the endings were worth hanging if for.



All the Colours of Darkness - Peter Robinson

When the body of a man is discovered hanging from a tree in the woods near Eastvale, all signs point toward suicide. At least that's what it initially looks like to Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot.
The man is soon identified as Mark Hardcastle, the set and costume designer for the local amateur theater company. Mark was successful and well liked in the community, but enough remains mysterious about his background that suicide isn't completely out of the question. But when Mark's older and wealthier lover is discovered bludgeoned to death in his home, Annie begins to think differently. Could it have been a crime of passion, or did overwhelming grief lead to a man taking his own life? Increasingly confounded, she calls in the vacationing Chief Inspector Alan Banks—even if it means prying him away from his new girlfriend.
Once on the investigation, Banks finds himself plunged into a case where nothing is as it seems. More and more his own words about the victim's latest production, Othello, are coming back to haunt him, for "jealousy, betrayal, envy, ambition, greed, lust, revenge—all the colors of darkness" are quickly becoming his world as well.

A little over the top plot wise. I preferred the earlier and mid books to the last few. Not to say I won't be watching for any new ones.

IRISH TWEED - Andrew Greeley

At the start of Greeley's spirited 12th Nuala Anne McGrail novel (after 2008's Irish Tiger), his feisty heroine delivers a black belt kick to the unlikable new principal's stomach in a schoolyard brawl involving all four of her children. Solving the bullying problem at St. Joe's isn't the only challenge facing Irish-born Nuala and her adoring husband, Dermot Michael Coyne. They must also figure out who beat and threw Finnbar Burke, the "nice fella" with whom their shy, golden-haired nanny has fallen in love, into the Chicago River. Interspersed with the present-day action is the poignant story of an Irish girl who came to America after all her immediate family died in the famine of 1875. While some readers may feel Greeley dwells too much on Nuala and Dermot's joyous sex life and overdoes the Irish dialect, few can resist the charm of these colorful, warm characters and the author's sympathetic view of the Irish of Chicago.

I've read them all. Lightweight but usually a good read. This one missed the mark for me a bit, it felt a bit disjointed. Read it to the end so it held my interest enough.


DNF:
Storm from the Shadows: David Weber I had just hopes but it was boring so I took it back to the library. I really like the Honor Harrington books but this Honorverse tale failed.

The Rest Falls Away: Colleen Gleason A vampire book that I had ignored but felt I should look at after reading some good reviews. I didn't make it past the first chapter.

Heavy Time ... a Cherryh I didn't like

Dream Warrior: Sherrilyn Kenyon Oh well. Some of her plots/characters work better for me.