Quick takes

Righteous

After reading IQ I knew I wanted to read the next book in the series, so put a hold on Righteous because I enjoyed both the writing style of Joe Ide and the characters he created. And Righteous didn’t disappoint.

We pick up with Isaiah not long after IQ ended, and he’s still investigating the death of his brother, but also gets asked by his brother’s old girlfriend to help her sister, who’s a compulsive gambler. Righteous takes you from Long Beach, CA to Las Vegas and into an Asian run underworld of gambling and human trafficking. The action feels almost non stop and I honestly wasn’t sure how Isaiah was going to get out of some of the jams he ended up in.

But more importantly, the story line of the death of his brother continues. And we learn more about what Isaiah wants from life and more about his past. I really enjoy these books, they are perfect for forgetting about what’s going on in the world and lately that’s just what I need.

The Moth Catcher

I’ve tried out a mystery book group in my new town and while I don’t know that I really enjoy the group, I have enjoyed the couple of books I’ve read for the meetings. And The Moth Catcher by Ann Cleeves is in the classic British mystery vein, a procedural with the inspector trying to figure out who murdered people in the British countryside.

Vera Stanhope, the main character of this series, is an interesting character, and like most of the procedurals I’ve read, completely obsessed with her job. But she also is brilliant at finding out the small details that will lead her to the killer.

The ending of this one wasn’t great, it seemed a bit implausible that she suddenly got to the conclusions she did, but I enjoyed the writing quite a bit. And for those wondering, yes, this is the Vera of the TV British TV show.

The Crow Trap

I liked The Moth Catcher enough to try another Vera Stanhope mystery, so put the first one on hold at the library. The Crow Trap is a better mystery, the title made more sense and the conclusion wasn’t totally out of the blue, there were more crumbs to lead the reader along.

I’ll probably read more of these. They are TV books for me, they take me away from the current world but aren’t too taxing if I’m tired (because of said current world).