September 13th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's been a hot and humid week here.  Yes, I fully realize that the rest of the country is now laughing at me because what we had wasn't as humid as it gets elsewhere.  But for us, it was humid.  And it was around 100 without the humidity.  This week, it wasn't the dry heat we usually brag about.  Quite a change from the week before when it was chilly, especially when I was out for a morning run.

Work wise, I think I've gotten through all the extra reporting fun.  I have one last thing to get approval for, but that's the easy part.  The hard part is behind me.  Still got plenty to do, but I think I should make my deadlines.

Other than that, not much else to talk about.  My life group met to clean the church this morning.  And as I'm typing this, I got to finish it up so I can get ready to go to game day.  So, shall we get to it?

Joke of the Week:

Why was the robot so tired after his road trip?

He had a hard drive.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday & Monday - Sunday/Monday Post

Tuesday - Book Review: Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Happy's Place - Season 2

Thursday - Book Review: The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth

Friday - Friday Post featuring Home Sweet Homicide

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Coyote Vs. Acme

Tuesday - Book Review: Home Sweet Homicide by Rosalie Spielman

Wednesday - Ornament Review: Belle V. Holiday

Thursday - Book Review: Thicker Than Water by Liz Milliron

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

Just two books to talk about this week.

Up first is Art Attack, the third Sherlock Society book for middle graders from James Ponti.  While I don't love this series as much as I do his City Spies series, I still enjoy it.  The book came out on Tuesday, and my preorder arrived on Thursday.

The other book is an ARC of Essentials of Homicide, the third Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery from Kim Davis.  It actually came out this week, too, but the ARCs came out at the same time, so I snagged one of those.  I'll be reading it soon to review at the very beginning of October.

What I'm Currently Reading:

And I'm reading another ARC.  This one is Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding by Liz Ireland.  I'm about a third of the way into it, but I probably won't get a ton of reading in this weekend, so I'm hoping to finish it on Monday.  I absolutely love this series, so I'm enjoying catching up with the characters.

Have a great week!

September 12th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Marlow Murder Club – The ladies are back!  It’s been long enough since I read the book these first two episodes are based on that I can’t remember what happened.  But I’m still about half a step ahead of the ladies.  As soon as something gets mentioned, I’ll remember what happens with that clue/development.  I’m enjoying watching the cast back in action.  Their chemistry is so much of the fun.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (9/6) – I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out the whole nightmare situation.  I’d thought when they first showed up that they would fall victim to whatever was going on, too.  Not as creepy as some of the episodes this season.  And a good cliffhanger for the next episode.  Glad it’s only a day apart.

Marble Hall Murders – Yes, it took me until the end to see the connection between the two stories.  I wonder just how much of the book Elliot is writing is true.  And why is he confessing via the page?  While I’m sad Susan is single again, I’m not surprised.  And I was really happy to be back with her and Pundt as the new story gets going.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (9/7) – That’s it?  Seriously?  I wondered if they were going this route about the time things took that serious turn, but when we actually got to the climax, it was all just so…anti-climactic.  The ending was just so poor.

The Challenge – Nelson, shut up!  I get that you are upset and frustrated.  But instead of trying to earn the trust of the rookies, you are going to call them out like that and keep picking at them.  Seriously, you are not going to win any of their votes that way.  There are other ways to go about it.  (And I’m just a few minutes into the episode.)  I hate it when a player has to leave due to an emergency.  I’ve heard Cory’s daughter is okay after her surgery, which makes me happy.  I’m very curious where the cliffhanger is going to end things.  Overall, I’m really not liking this captain thing, but it does add to the drama, which is the point.

Totally 90’s House – Both of those master bedrooms looked great when they were finished.  These teams are either getting some help behind the scenes or are much better at this than I’d ever be.  I’d take either one of the finish products, although I do think the right team won.  It was just a little better.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe – That was interesting.  And, frankly, a little dark.  But there were some laughs.  And I’m curious to see where they are now that they are trapped.  And yes, it was fun to see another recurring character pop up in addition to Penny’s second appearance.  I’m wondering if Amy will get a second appearance before the season is over.  And are the other three in the wings for the season finale?

Anna Pigeon – Really?  They are going there?  I mean, I don’t feel like they had any major plot holes in the episode.  But still, this all feels like a twist in order to have twists.  Now we know they can just randomly make people bad guys.  And I really don’t get where the story with the big bad as even gone at this point.  It’s very disjointed.

September 11th's Friday Post

Welcome to this week's Friday Post.  I'll be linking up this week to:

First Line Friday
Friday Book Snippets
Book Blogger Hop

Friday Book Snippets is the combination of Book Beginnings and Friday 56.  We need to share two snippets, the first from the beginning and the second from somewhere in the book, not necessarily from page 56 or 56% into the book.  It's co-hosted by Head Full of Books and Bemused and Bookish.  Thanks for keeping this going, ladies!

We will see if I stick to page 56/56% for my second snippet.  I always liked that it focused me as I looked for that second teaser.  Of course, sometimes, there wasn't much to choose from.  I suspect I'll probably start with those pages, but expand out if needed.  My approach may change as I get used to the new rules.

So, let's get to it.  My teasers for the first two are coming from Home Sweet Homicide by Rosalie Spielman.

This is book five in the Hometown Mysteries.  It's been a while since I read one of these books, so I was happy to dive back in.

Here's how the book begins:

The café was suddenly even colder than usual for a January.

That sounds like bad news, doesn't it?

I read this book a couple of weeks ago, before the change for snippets was announced.  So here's from 56% into the ebook:

Troy ambled up to me. "Tessa. I am shocked, just shocked, to see you here."

"Your sarcastic wit is not appreciated, Mr. Barnes." I shook my head but couldn't keep a small smile away.

A little bit of fun there.

I enjoyed this book.  My review will be up on Tuesday, so I hope you'll come back to read it.

Meanwhile, let's switch over to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question is:

How much do online reviews shape what you pick up next?

I'm always a bit embarrassed when I admit they don't influence me that much.  Even with how much time I spend reviewing.  It doesn't help that I don't have a lot of time to spend looking at other book blogs.  I wish I did.  But if I am seeing a book pop up quite a bit, I might give it a more serious look.  It doesn't help that I have a huge to be read pile.  I'm so busy trying to keep up with all of those books I don't have a lot of room for new discoveries.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth (Pie & Mash Detective Agency #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Two leads in intriguing premise

Cons: Slow and meandering at times

The Bottom Line:

Two fledging PIs

Take on weird first mystery

Wanders bit too much

Even Fledging Detectives Need More Focus

When I heard about The Pie & Mash Detective Agency a few months back, I thought the premise sounded like fun.  Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be as good as I hoped it would be.

The book introduces us to Jane Pye and Simon Mash, a millennial couple.  Jane has recently lost her job, and she’s signed them up for a beginning private eye class, something Simon is less than interested in.  Nearing the end of the term, the instructor passes out cases for the students to work on.  However, Jane and Simon’s case is a little different.  It’s one their instructor hasn’t already solved.

On the surface it seems simple enough – a man returned home from work one day to discover his front door open and his girlfriend gone.  He was certain she was the love of his life, and he’s equally as certain that something bad has happened to her.  But the police aren’t taken him serious because of the girlfriend’s name.  You see, there have been multiple women with the name Nellie Thorne who have disappeared in this area of England over the decades, so she’s become something of an urbane legend.

But Jane and Simon, well mostly Jane, are determined to show they are taking the class seriously, so they dive into the case.  Is Nellie real?  If so, is she in trouble?

You can see the appeal.  Jane and Simon sounded like a fun detecting duo, and the mystery intrigued me.  I just had to know what was going on.

And I did enjoy Jane and Simon.  They shared time as our third person point-of-view characters, which allowed us to really get to know them better.  While at times they did seem to lean a little too hard into millennial stereotypes, they grow over the course of the book, which I appreciated.  They brought some humor to the proceedings as well.

It was mostly the mystery that let us down.  Now, let me be clear.  I expected that Jane and Simon would take some detours and hit some road blocks along the way – more so than in a typical mystery novel.  It’s part of the premise.  The problem was they spent quite a bit of time on some of these detours and even a side quest.  The uneven pacing was frustrating at times.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the characters we met along the way were interesting.  And the book did build to a logical, suspenseful, and fun climax.  It just had some fat it needed to trim along the way.

I’m not sorry I picked up The Pie & Mash Detective Agency.  But I probably won’t be moving on to their next case when it comes out next year.

TV Show Review: Happy's Place - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of laughs with some great characters

Cons: One ongoing storyline I wasn’t a fan of

The Bottom Line:

Return to the bar

Filled with much laughter and heart

Strong second season

“You’ve Created a Monster.” “My Work Here is Done.”

The first season of Happy’s Place quickly became my favorite sitcom currently on the air, so I was anxious to see how things developed in season two.  Fortunately, the laughs and character relationships that I loved in the first season continued to make me laugh.

Happy’s Place is the name of a bar in Knoxville, Tennessee.  It is now run by Happy’s daughters, Bobbie (Reba McEntire) and Isabella (Belissa Escobedo).  Of course, Bobbie didn’t know about Isabella until after Happy passed.  Despite the rocky start that surprise gave Bobbie, the two new half-sisters have started learning how to get along and run the business well.  Rounding out the staff at the bar (and the cast), we have bartender Gabby (Melissa Peterman), cook Emmett (Rex Linn), server Takoda (Tokala Black Elk), and the bar’s accountant Steve (Pablo Castelblanco).

This season starts off focuses on Bobbie’s relationship with Emmett.  With a nudge from Isabella, they finally start dating.  Unfortunately, Emmett has a secret that might destroy their budding romance if Bobbie finds out.  Elsewhere this season, Isabella gets an idea to open an alcohol-free speakeasy upstairs from the main bar.  Gabby’s mother (played by Jane Lynch) comes for a visit.  Takoda’s band gets booked at the bar.  And Steve discovers that AI might be better at his job than he is.

The one ongoing storyline I didn’t care for involved Gabby’s continued interest in becoming a single mother through insemination.  Yes, I’m old fashioned enough to think that kids should be raised by two parents in a married relationship.  Having said that, I did still find the episodes focusing on this to have laughs and great character moment.

And that’s why I love this show.  These six characters, and actors, play off each other perfectly.  They are building on the chemistry we saw in the first season.  The laughs flow freely, and the more serious moments hit exactly as they should.  And yes, that means the acting is great.

This is even more impressive when you pay attention and realize that there are several episodes this season without any guest stars.  It’s only these six characters making us laugh as the story unfolds.  But if you aren’t watching for it, you won’t notice.

Having said that, a pretty important guest star did pop up this season.  JoAnna Garcia Swisher appears in an episode.  And yes, there are some jokes with a wink to her earlier role as Reba’s daughter on Reba.

For years, I’ve been saying I was going to go to a sitcom taping, and I finally managed to do it last October.  I went to a taping of an episode of this show.  Specifically, I went to see episode 11, “Dart to the Heart.”  It was a lot of fun, and that episode will probably always be a favorite.  I’m not alone since it seems to have gotten a good rating at IMDB.

Overall, there were eighteen episodes in season two.  Almost as many as a traditional order of a sitcom.  And it worked for this show.  It allowed time for several storylines to unfold and some fun random stand-alone episodes as well.

If you are looking to laugh at a traditional sitcom, Happy’s Place is the show for you.  And if you are already a fan, you’ll find season two continues the fun.

Book Review: Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert (Exotic Pet-Sitter Mysteries #2)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Belinda and the supporting players are still fun

Cons: The pacing in the plot was uneven

The Bottom Line:

Body in wolf pen

The pacing is uneven

Still liked characters

Can Belinda Separate a Killer from the Pack?

When I started the Exotic Pet-Sitter Mysteries a couple of months ago, I decided to try to finish it this year.  After all, there are only three books in the series, so I should be able to do that no problem.  Sadly, I didn’t find the second, Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, as enjoyable as I hoped.

Belinda is living in a small town in Connecticut, and she is making her living pet-sitting all kinds of animals.  Yes, she will sit for dogs and cats, but she is finding a reputation for helping with the more unusual.

Even so, she’s a little leery when the owner of a wolf preserve just outside of town contacts her looking for someone to help with chores for 10 days.  But Belinda needs the money, so she agrees.  Her orientation goes fine, but on her first official day, she finds the body of a tour guide inside one of the enclosures.  Did the pack attack the victim?  Or is there a more sinister motive?

My issue with this book was the pacing.  We spend a lot of time waiting for the characters to catch up to what we know must be going on – there’s a killer on the loose.  When they do catch up, there are some good twists on the way to the logical climax.  But Belinda wasn’t even really gathering any good information during the waiting period, so it was slow.

Which is a shame because I do like Belinda.  And it was nice seeing the supporting players again.  The suspects were developed enough that I could keep them straight, but I feel like they would have been better with a stronger plot.

The book was a fast read, which is always appreciated.

I’m still planning to read the third book later this year.  Hopefully, it will prove to be stronger than this book was.

Labor Day Weekend's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  I'll be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Last week, I was worried about how work would go this week.  It went fine.  Don't get me wrong, I was still extremely busy.  It is quarter end for this accountant, after all.  But there was no added drama.  And I am where I wanted/needed to be at the end of the week.  Still got a lot of work ahead of me this coming week.  Honestly, I really don't have the time for a short week right now.  Not that I'm planning to work on Monday.

I went paddle boarding Saturday morning.  Had a bit of wind, but nothing too bad, which was nice.  I went with the friend who first got me into paddle boarding several years ago.  We hadn't been able to connect and go out and do it since I got my passes at the beginning of the summer.  That's how crazy our summers have been.  We went out with another friend from church.  Nice to be able to spend time with both of them.  But the lake was crazy busy.  We weren't sure we'd get parking spaces when we got there, but we managed to snag spots without too much drama.

Other than that, I don't really have any plans for the long weekend.  I'm behind on writing reviews, so I've got to make that a priority.  And I'll be reading.  I'm doing the PowerPoint in church Sunday morning.  Really exciting stuff all the way around.

Pun-Official Holiday of the Week:

September 12 – Chocolate Milkshake Day is an ex-straw-ordinary holiday.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - August Reading Summary

Tuesday - Book Review: Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink

Wednesday - Book Review: Probable Caws by Donna Andrews

Thursday - Book Review: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

Friday - Friday Post featuring Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday & Monday - Sunday/Monday Post

Tuesday - Book Review: Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Happy's Place - Season 2

Thursday - Book Review: The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J. D. Brinkworth

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I just have one book to talk about this week.  Can you believe it?  

That book is an ARC of The First Ladies' Guide to Murder by Amanda Flower.  It's been a while since I read an Amanda Flower book, and this one sounds fun.  It's the start of a new series and is set in Washington DC in 1894.  And yes, two wives of Presidents, current and past, are involved.  Hopefully, it will be as fun as it sounds.

What I'm Currently Reading:

As I'm typing this, I'm about a third of the way into Holmes Away from Home by Samantha Larsen.  This one is set in 1911 and involves Irene Adler's daughter.  I'm not as up on my Sherlock Holmes lore as I should be, but I'm enjoying it so far.  I'm hoping to finish it up on Sunday, but that would mean getting some devoted reading time in before today (Saturday) is over.

Next up for me will be Old Habits Die Hard by Melissa Westemeier.  I know, I know, I just got this one.  I hadn't planned to read it right away, but I spotted one of my Goodreads groups is reading it this month, so I decided to work it into my schedule.

Have a great week!  (And a great long weekend if you are here in the States.)

September 5th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Before we get to this week's regularly scheduled thoughts (and there are a lot of them), I did want to comment on the Dancing with the Stars contestants.  For the first time in a very long time, there weren't any names I was excited to see competing on the show.  Yes, there have been some seasons that the only thing pulling me in was one or two stars I actually knew.  But this year, I'll be watching anyway.  And I'm sure I'll start rooting for someone along the way.

And, wow!  For August, I sure have a lot to talk about.  Glad some of these ended this week since I've got fall shows starting in a week and a half.

Anna Pigeon (8/28) – An okay episode.  The effects for the storm were pretty cheap looking.  I didn’t see where the plot was going, but it was only so so.  I guess the whole racing to beat the storm thing is what really bored me.  It didn’t give me the hysterics I was expecting, although we still got some, but it just kind of bored me.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/30) – That was interesting.  And disappointing.  I knew Cassie was coming, and I was looking forward to her interacting with everyone.  But really, we just had Charlie in this episode.  (I wonder why they had to write the other three out.)  I mean, I liked seeing her again, but it would have been cooler with everyone.  And I did like the lesson even if it was back to the heavy-handed stuff.  I just wish I thought we’d actually see that growth reflected next time.  The episode itself?  Definitely creepy.  We seem to have really leaned in to the creepy this season overall.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro – I think I would have picked Selena over Adele, but Adele is deserving as well.  AJ, needs to chill some.  As you know, I wasn’t rooting for him.  It will be interesting to see how she does on Dancing with the Stars.  And, for that matter, who she is paired with.  (Which will be announced by the time this is posted, but I don’t know as of yet.)

American Ninja Warrior – This is my issue with racing.  All the people we saw tonight were young.  I miss it when anyone could have a shot, not just the young and fast.  Having said that, it was fun to watch the races and the upsets.  I doubt we would have had an upset if they weren’t racing.  Congrats on the returning women’s champ and the new men’s champ.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/31) – I get why Lysa wasn’t with the others for most of this episode, but I still missed seeing them all together.  It took me a while to get on board with this episode, but by the end, I was enjoying it.  Definitely not as scary as we’ve been getting.  And it was nice to see a little bit more with Vicrym’s past.

The Challenge – Nelson, you need to make a case other than “I don’t want to constantly be going into elimination.”  And that seems to be your beef right now.  Believe me, I get it, but that’s not going to get any of the women to side with you.  At least any of the rookies.  Anna Leigh, they showed what you were going.  Own it.  Don’t try to play innocent.  Everyone knows it was inappropriate.  That was quite a hard challenge.  I hadn’t do swings like that, so I would have dropped early on.  I’m conflicted on the elimination.  It was nice to see Orange brought down a peg.  But I’m over Cara Maria.  On the other hand, I did like seeing her get a win and do something to help her team.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe – That was…interesting.  I feel like we are just treading water at this point.  The fact that we are going to get a second season doesn’t instill me with confidence that this is leading to any kind of a climax.  Anyway, the other teams was kind of interesting at the end, but it needed a bit more time to develop.

Anna Pigeon (9/4) – Not really the best episode.  Too much time with Anna and her issues in the hole for me.  The whole thing with the dead body of the woman she’d met?  How did that even make sense?  Unless their encounter was supposed to be a day or two before?  Looks like this is leading into next week, so maybe my questions will be answered then.  But I feel like we’ve hit the same notes in every episode.

September 4th's Friday Post

We are easing into a long weekend, at least here in the states.  Let's kick things off with a Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

Before we get on with the rest of the post, I do want to thank Gilion at Rose City Readers who has hosted Book Beginnings for years.  She is stepping down, but I appreciate you keeping this running for so long.  I always enjoy it when I participate.  I know I wasn't an every week participant, but I did participate quite a bit since I found it.

The good news is we have a new host.  Olivia at Bemused and Bookish is going to pick up the mantel.  Thanks for keeping it going!

Okay, with that out of the way, shall we get to this week's post?  My teasers for the first three will be coming from Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert.

This is the second in the Exotic Pet-Sitter Mysteries.

And here's how it begins:

Rainy weather was an introvert’s best friend.

It's hard to argue with that.  Staying inside while it is raining is so super cozy.  I don't want to get out and do much, but I'll watch it rain for hours out my window.  While this may not be an action opening sentence, I obviously did like it.

Meanwhile, over at 56% into my ebook, we find this:

I’d only been in the chicken coop for two minutes when it became clear that some days, the chickens could be an even bigger handful than a pack of wolves.

Now, what's going on with the chickens?

I'll be reviewing the book on Tuesday, so I hope you'll come back to see what I thought.

Let's move on to this week's Book Blogger Hop.  The question is:

What book do you think deserves more love but flies under the radar?

I'm going to cheat and go with series and list two of them.

Up first is Cathy Wiley's Fatal Food Festivals, starting with Claws of Death.  The main character is a former celebrity chef now working the food festival circuit as a guest judge.  Naturally, she keeps getting involved in murders.  The books have food, laughs, and a great group of recurring characters.  What's not to love?

The other series is the Bucket List Mysteries from Ryan Rivers.  The first official book is Aerobics Can Be Deadly, but the first story is the novella Arbor Day Can Be Deadly.  This series features unlikely friends solving mysteries in a small town in Texas.  I laugh so hard while reading them, but the characters are so strong.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly (Bosch #23 and Ballard #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Two strong mysteries

Cons: Character attitudes bug me at times

The Bottom Line:

Two engaging plots

With a pandemic background

Overall, it’s good

Bringing Darkness into the Light

I’m a little behind my audiobook goal for the year, so I decided it was time to grab another one from the library.  And next up in the rotation was The Dark Hours, which features Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch.  While it wasn’t perfect, I did enjoy it.

This book came out in 2021, and at this point in the series, Bosch is retired from the LAPD, still working occasional cases that interest him.  Renee Ballard, on the other hand, is still working the overnight hours in the Hollywood police station, fighting to retain some of her cases to solve even though she should turn all of them over to the detective who work days.

As the story starts, it is New Year’s Eve 2020, and Renee is spending the holiday on duty.  Most of the department is so they can keep ahead of any situations that pop up as people ring in the new year.  But Renee is part of a task force trying to identify the attackers of two women who were assaulted in their own homes.  Sure enough, there is another attack that night.

But Renee also picks up a murder case, one of the first ones of 2021.  Someone is killed by a bullet just after midnight.  While people were shooting guns into the air to ring in the new year, she quickly determines that this was a murder.  When a key piece of evidence links to a cold case of Bosch’s that remains unsolved, she visits him to ask what he remembers about the case.  Will Bosch’s insight help solve the case?

Based on the last couple of books featuring these two characters, I was expecting to have both of them are the view point character at various points in the book.  Instead, it just featured Ballard.  Don’t get me wrong, Bosch still gets plenty of page time.  I get it.  The pandemic is still going on, and so Bosch is staying isolated for much of the book.  He does get out later on, but it makes sense for Ballard to take the lead completely here.

I hadn’t thought through what the pandemic would mean for Ballard’s personal life, but I appreciated that the author did.  It was a nice bit of character development for her, which I appreciated.

On the other hand, my issue with Ballard is the same issue I have had with Bosch at times.  Both characters will go against the rules and do things they think are right even if they shouldn’t do them and then be upset when they face consequences.  I get it, it makes for great drama, but come on.  There will be consequences for breaking rules.  Either accept those consequences or follow the rules.  To me, both characters come across as arrogant when they have this attitude.

As for the mysteries themselves, I enjoyed them.  Yes, they are parallel cases, but that’s often the case in this series.  I thought I had one figured out early, but it turned out I was wrong.  Yet both made sense when we reached the end.

I’ve mentioned the pandemic a couple of times.  Yes, it is here, but it is more background than anything else.  Another event from January of 2021 is mentioned in a couple of scenes as well, but it doesn’t take a lot of page time.

Christine Lakin does the majority of the narration of the book.  Since I listen to a podcast she does, it felt a little weird at first, but that’s on me, and I soon got lost in the story.  What I never quite got used to was Titus Welliver delivering Bosch’s lines.  I get it when the two are more fully sharing narrating duties, but in this case, it felt a little weird to me.  That’s nothing to do with his performance.

Overall, I did enjoy The Dark Hours.  As always, I’m curious to see what is next for these characters.

Enjoy more of the books featuring Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard.