Marvel Action: Spider-Man #2.1 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

I didn’t realise that the latest issue of Marvel Action: Spider-Man would be the start of a new volume, and was a little surprised by this as the series had only really just begun, and it didn’t feel like it was a time for a relaunch. Luckily, this new series seems to carry straight on from the last issue without any big changes, being more of a normal continuation than the start of something new.

The fact that there were no big, drastic changes to the status quo of the book with this new volume was a relief, as I’d say this is easily the best title in the Marvel Action catalogue and I don’t want to see that quality decrease. Another worry was that the writer for the first volume, Delilah S. Dawson, has been replaced with Brandon Easton. I’d not read anything by Easton, though I had seen his episode of Agent Carter, but quickly found him to be a great fit for the series.

Easton has managed to carry across a lot of what made the previous volume of the series so good, namely the personal relationships between the lead characters. The fun and friendly banter is back, with the trio teasing each other whilst in the middle of combat, as well as some good character development outside of their costumed identities, as we get to see the three of them obsess over science issues and their struggles with them.

This issue also introduced readers to the Marvel Action version of Shocker, the iconic Spider-Man villain. I have to say, I really like the new look for Shocker that Easton and artist Fico Ossio have put together. He’s instantly recognisable as the villain, with an updated version of his classic ‘quilted’ look. I also love the small electrical bolt symbol on his belt buckle as a nice little piece of attention grabbing detail in the middle of his suit.

What immediately jumped out about this new design, however, is that his mask looks very similar to Iron-Man. The fact that he’s stealing tech from Stark Industries means that this might not be a coincidence either. I’m half expecting the character to have an origin that connects in with Tony Stark in some way, similar to the recent Spider-Man movie villains, but hope that he’ll stand on his own as a Spidey villain rather than feeling like some kind of Iron-Man reject. The issue has presented a possible identity for the villain, but I’m not sure if perhaps I’m just suspicious of any new character introduced into the story. I’m eager to find out if this is just a big red herring or not.

Marvel Action Spider-Man has been the best book in the series, and thanks to this issue upholding the standards it’s already delivered I can say with confidence that this hasn’t changed. It might have a new numbering and a new creative team behind the wheel, but it still feels like the same title that I’ve loved since it began. I can’t wait to see with Brandon Easton does next.

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The Golden Key by Marian Womack - Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

'London, 1901. After the death of Queen Victoria the city heaves with the uncanny and the eerie. Séances are held and the dead are called upon from darker realms.

'Samuel Moncrieff, recovering from a recent tragedy of his own, meets Helena Walton-Cisneros, one of London’s most reputed mediums. But Helena is not what she seems and she’s enlisted by the elusive Lady Matthews to solve a twenty-year-old mystery: the disappearance of her three stepdaughters who vanished without a trace on the Norfolk Fens.

'But the Fens are a liminal land, where folk tales and dark magic still linger. With locals that speak of devilmen and catatonic children found on the Broads, Helena finds the answer to the mystery leads back to where it started: Samuel Moncrieff.'

The Golden Key has everything that I really enjoy in a book. It’s got got mystery, a hint of horror, the supernatural, a strong female lead, and a Victorian era setting that I adore. However, I struggled to really connect with the book even though I’d been looking forward to it for months.

The Golden Key is set in the days following the death of Queen Victoria, and focuses on Helena Walton-Cisneros, a female investigator who has been hired to look into the twenty year old disappearance of the three step-daughters of the reclusive Lady Matthews.

The book is steeped in a sense of spookiness and dread as the story follows Samuel Moncrieff, a young man who is deep into the world of spiritualism and seances. Using the real world craze for the supernatural that was sweeping through London at the time, the book manages to create a great atmosphere that flows through the whole novel. The sense of creeping horror is easily one of the best parts of the book, and only increases when Helena begins to investigate the children’s disappearance in the Norfolk Fens. However, this may be one of the only parts of the book that I enjoyed.

My biggest issue with The Golden Key is a very disjointed and broken narrative. Marian Womack has created a connect the dots style mystery, one that unfolds throughout the novel, but it also feels has though events happen in a similarly unconnected way. There are a few storylines that come together towards the latter half of the book, but before that happens it’s hard to keep track of who’s who, and why their story is being included. This is made even harder at times by the amount of backstory and depth that Womack gives certain aspects.

For example, there are several pages towards the latter quarter of the book that go into great detail about one of the secondary character’s past, specifically her friendship with another woman who’s not in the book, their shared love of fairy stories, and their subsequent falling out. It’s an interesting aside that gives more detail to one of the characters, but it seems like the only reason it’s included is to show that this person felt bad about letting her friend down in the past, so wants to go out of her way to help Helena. I couldn’t help but feel that she could have still decided to help Helena without having to spend the better part of a chapter outlining her personal history.

This isn’t the only time that this happens, as Womack gives readers extra details on a number of side characters or situations that don’t have a huge impact upon the main story. In a way it reminds me of the amount of detail Stephen King can sometimes lavish upon his bigger books. It’s great if that’s the kind of thing you like, but at times it does seem to drag the pace down a bit.

Sadly I also felt that the book didn’t quite stick its landing either, and the conclusion left me a little confused and unsure of what happened. There’s a definite sense of an ending, but I’m not sure exactly what or why. Leaving a conclusion open to interpretation can be a fine thing, but when so much of the book was made around this mystery I wanted to have things confirmed for me, not just vague hints. There is a mention in the acknowledgements that there might be more to come with Helena in the future, but I don’t want to have to wait until a sequel to find out what happened with this conclusion.


The Golden Key is an interesting supernatural mystery, with some intriguing characters and some unique ideas. It may not appeal to everyone but even if it doesn’t set your world on fire you’ll still find some good things to keep you entertained.

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Small Town Residents Threaten To Sue School Over Rainbow Flag

Residents of Marshall, Minnesota, have threatened to take legal action against Marshall Middle School for including a rainbow pride flag in a display about diversity.

The display that has come under fire also contained flags from nations around the world, but parents, and some students, have only cited concern with the inclusion of the pride flag. Last week dozens of members of the local community attended a meeting at the school board chambers to voice their opinions on the issue.

As can be expected from so many other incidents like this, parents have complained about the pride flag as they believe it to 'promote' a 'lifestyle', one that they feel is against their Christian beliefs. More than one of those who spoke out against the flag chose to read from the bible as their argument against it, choosing passages that they believe highlight that God is against homosexuality and trans people. They even said that the pride flag might 'confuse' children.

One parent, Mohammed Ahmed, asked the board, 'What's next? Curriculum? Teaching the lifestyle in our classrooms?'

One of the students from Marshall Middle School took to the mic to talk about how he and other students had begun a petition to have the pride flag removed but it was taken away by a teacher and given to the principal. He, and several other students, then tried to protest the inclusion of the pride flag by displaying flags on their lockers. In this case the 'Don't Tread On Me' flag; a flag that has some connections to racism and white supremacy.

This student complained that these flags were taken down by a teacher. People are now trying to claim that this was a breach of the students constitutional rights to free speech.

Bill Mohram, a local lawyer who has been approached by several members of the community to potentially sue the school over the pride flag said; 'If that young boy accurately described what happened to him, some teacher in your school district violated his constitutional rights unequivocally;'

Thankfully, these were not the only voices on display that night, as other members of the community took turns to defend the flag, and the school's decision to display it.

'Kids can only hear so many times the public shaming and these hurtful online comments,' said Karrie Alberts, the Marshall High School GSA Advisor. 'They are absorbing these words. They cannot hear that they are ungodly, or they are second-rate, or that they should be hidden away in some other room.'

She continued to condemn the attackers for treating LGBTQ+ students as being 'controversial'. Other parents stood up to say that they felt the flag was a symbol of inclusion for their children, some of who are gay, and that taking them down would be demonstrating to queer children that they are considered to be second class citizens.

No decision was made by the end of the meeting, with the Marshall Superintendent Scott Monson saying that he would need to consult the school district's legal representation. Despite this, those protesting the flag have said that if their demands have not been met, they 'will file a lawsuit in federal district court'.

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Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins - Book Review

Dungeons and Dragons is cool. Let's just get that out of the way first of all. Anyone who doesn't think it is has clearly never played it, because as soon as you do you realise its so much fun. But whilst it's a lot of fun to play it seems like it's sometimes hard to watch. A lot of the time this comes down to the fact that most people who play the game are just regular folk like you and me. Critical Role, however, stands out as something a little different, thanks in part to the players being such good actors.

Within the first episode of the web series you'll end up being sucked into the world that the group have created, as well as the characters that they play. It doesn't just feel like a group of friends playing a game, but a group of creatives making something special. That's why there is literally hundreds and hundreds of hours of Critical Role content out there; people recognised that it was something special.

Despite having a hugely successful web series that takes weeks to watch through even if you don't do anything else, fans always want more Critical Role in their life. This is where Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins comes in. Jumping back in time to the very beginning of the story, this book shows readers just how the group first came together all those years ago when they were playing in their homes.

The story begins with elf twins Vex and Vax investigating the strange happenings in a small town surrounded by a swamp, where the young and old are getting sick and dying. The two of them are trying to find out if it's some kind of curse, a poison, or some evil force behind the events when they discover a much bigger plot, one that has drawn in several groups of adventurers.

It's fun to see several members of the group split across other groups, and to see that they actually didn't really like each other that much. Viewers of the series got to see these characters after they'd been together for years and had become something of a family, but here they're just strangers. Instead of teasing there's outright hostility at times.

This isn't the Vox Machina that most fans will know, and it might be something of a shock to see the characters portrayed in this way, but it still ultimately feels like Critical Role, with the same group of misfits and idiots, and the same plans that don't work. One of my favourite parts of the book is when the group are standing around outside the evil lair, coming up with various plans whilst Grog goes running off in the background, attacking head on. It feels like a comic representation of every planning session the team has in the series, where things usually go a little crazy and unexpected.

It won't take you long to read through the book, but if you're all caught up with the episodes and don't want to go back and rewatch this'll certainly scratch your Critical Role itch for an hour or two, as well as shedding some light onto the origins of the iconic group of heroes.

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The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Martian Menace by Eric Brown - Book review

'A new addition to the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series from science fiction and crime author Eric Brown. A deadly Plot. For the second time in human history, Martian invaders occupy planet Earth. After a common terrestrial virus thwarted the first deadly invasion, another Martian armada arrived six years later to make peace. Now, mankind enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the aliens' scientific wonders and technology, and an entente exists between the two races. But when Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are called upon to investigate the death of an eminent Martian philosopher, they unravel an intricate web of betrayal and murder that leaves no one - human or Martian - beyond suspicion...'

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series by Titan Books is one of my favourite series of Sherlock Holmes books. The series gives readers a broad mixture of stories, some very similar to the original books and could fit in nicely with the tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, others, such as this one, mix things up and present weird and wonderful new versions of the Holmes universe.

The Martian Menace combines the classic detective with the science fiction classic of The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells. I've adored this series when it's combined Sherlock Holmes with other classic Victorian era books, such as Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes, and this story continues that tradition.

Set more than a decade after the events of the original War of the Worlds, readers are dropped into a world where the Martians returned following their initial defeat. This time, however, they came with the offer of friendship, explaining that the Martians involved in the initial invasion were part of an aggressive, rogue faction. With these new, benevolent Martians welcomed to Earth a new age of technological development has begun, and Humanity have started to work alongside their new allies to create a better future for themselves.

When Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are approached by the Martian ambassador to England, Grulvax-Xena-Goran, to help investigate the strange murder of one of Mars' most eminent and respected philosophers the two of them jump at the chance. Having previously worked with the ambassador in the past, and desiring to see the red planet for themselves, they quickly find themselves whisked off world and into a much deadlier mystery than they first thought. When the two detectives discover that the new martian friends might not be so different than those in the first invasion, they get drawn into a battle for the very survival of humanity itself.

Before getting into the meat of the story, readers are given a short prologue story where Holmes and Watson investigate the murder of the current Martian ambassador, a story that features H. G. Wells himself. Whilst this was a good introduction to this new world, I was a little worried that the main story would become a similar rehash, though over a longer page count. This was especially worrying as I didn't think Holmes and Watson would be able to investigate a murder on Mars in the same way they normally would. As such, I was hugely happy when it turned out that this case was just a ruse, hiding a much bigger and grander story beneath.

Holmes and Watson aren't big heroes, they're not going to be on the front lines of a fight against the Martians, especially during this time period when they're older men. However, they're both incredibly intelligent and resourceful people, who have ruined far too many evil plans in the past for the Martians to just ignore them completely. This means that we get to see the heroic uprising story told from a point of view of someone other than the leader, or the front-line hero. They dip in and out of the greater story, working in the shadows on small details that ultimately make a big difference to the overall survival of humanity. The two of them just wouldn't work as figureheads leading the charge, and Eric Brown knows this, using them in a much cleverer way instead.

The story draws upon some of the history of Holmes too, with some surprise characters appearing during the narrative. It also throws in some real world figures for the two heroes to interact with, such as George Bernard Shaw and G. K. Chesterton. Brown even throws in another Arthur Conan Doyle hero, Professor Challenger, much to my immediate delight. The book is filled with literary and historical nods that it'll keep any fan of the Victorian era smiling.

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Martian Menace is a great example of why this series is not just full of great books, but some of the best Sherlock Holmes books around. It manages to seamlessly put the iconic duo into this wonderful sci-fi setting without it feeling weird or out of place, in a story that's a worthy follow up to the classic tale. An absolute pleasure to read from start to finish.

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The Unholy by Paul DeBlassie III - Book Tour

'A young curandera, a medicine woman, intent on uncovering the secrets of her past is forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop. Set in the mystic land of Aztlan, "The Unholy" is a novel of destiny as healer and slayer. Native lore of dreams and visions, shape changing, and natural magic work to spin a neo-gothic web in which sadness and mystery lure the unsuspecting into a twilight realm of discovery and decision. 

'PAUL DeBLASSIE III, PhD, is a psychologist and writer living in his native New Mexico. A member of the Depth Psychology Alliance, the Transpersonal Psychology Association, and the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, he has for over thirty years treated survivors of the dark side of religion.'

The Unholy is a story about faith. It's about colonialism, and the encroaching of white beliefs and practices on native peoples. Whilst this should have been somewhat obvious from the description of the book I was still a little taken aback by how much this narrative took the centre stage.

The story follows Claire, a native american woman that works as a therapist in a small, church run, mental health facility. When just a child she witnessed her mother killed by a terrifying man in a cloak, a figure that has haunted her dreams for decades since. After the death of her mother she was raised by friends of her mother and taught about her role as a medicine woman. Despite being raised with her culture being a big part of her identity it feels like she's almost at war with herself, afraid to embrace her role and her culture in a place where Christianity rules with an iron fist.

This conflict is the central focus of the book, with Paul DeBlassie III making a point of showing the dark side of religion. Yes, religion can be a very comforting thing for some people, and it can provide a lot of warmth and community, but this isn't always the case for everyone. As a psychologist he saw first hand how religion can cause harm, how it can be the route of abuse and suffering for some people; and how this abuse can have long lasting affects.

Claire is the embodiment of this. Her mother was violently ripped away from her. Her culture is repressed and made out to be wrong. She's treated as secondary by people because she's not a white christian. She's constantly on the back-foot, fighting for herself and trying to prove her worth.

This would be a bad enough situation to be in if that was it, if she was just fighting oppression, but there's more going on that just the very real world hatred that so many people live with everyday. The man that murdered Claire's mother is still out there, and wants to kill her too. A killer being after you is bad, but when he's also the head of the regime that's oppressing your people and has been making your life hell forever, it becomes even more complicated.

I was super excited for this story, for seeing this evil archbishop hunting down a native medicine woman. It's a scenario that really appealed to me, especially when it's revealed that there's more going on beneath the surface than just a man turned bad, that there might be something darkly supernatural beneath the surface. And whilst I did enjoy the journey, the mystery that DeBlassie made, I felt a little let down by the conclusion.

There wasn't anything bad with the resolution, and it made narrative sense for the story, but it happened a little too quickly for me. After so long building up this world and the story the conclusion happened over just a handful of pages. I wanted more from the ending. I wanted it to take a little more time. Despite this fast conclusion, the book was still very engaging and interesting, and played with some interesting story themes and ideas that I'd love to see in more books.

The Unholy might not be a book for everyone, especially if you're not open to the idea that organised religion can be a bad thing, or that white society has oppressed countless cultures and peoples. However, if you're open to seeing these harsh truths, if you have respect for native peoples and understand that white cultures have done them wrong you will really enjoy this book. It puts both the historic sins of oppression and conquest, as well as modern divisions centre stage to tell a story that talks about important themes wrapped up in a supernatural mystery.

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The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith - Book Review

'In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.

'Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organising books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materialising as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

'But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell ... and Earth.'

I think the first thing that needs to be gotten out of the way when talking about The Library of the Unwritten is that I feel a little personally attacked, as I'm sure anyone who ever thought up an idea for a book but never got round to writing it would be after reading this. A book that tells you that your unwritten stories are going to sit away in Hell for all eternity definitely feels like a kick up the butt to anyone who's ever thought about writing, and for that I really want to thank A.J. Hackwith for making me think about going back to my own writing.

In all seriousness, this was a book where I wasn't entirely sure what to think of it for a good portion of it. I knew that I was enjoying it, that the story was interesting and the characters were good, but there was a lot thrown at readers here to try and get their heads around. Thankfully Hackwith was clearly aware that there was going to be a lot of new ideas coming into play, and provided readers with Leto, a wonderfully sweet character who could act as our eyes in this magical new universe, able to ask what the hell's going on (no pun intended), and make the other characters explain things.

The Library of the Unwritten deals with a special library in Hell, filled with books and objects that were dreamed up but never created. These include stories, poetry, beautiful rugs, and even exquisitely crafted swords. Claire is a human who has gone on to become the librarian following her death, a post that means she has to run the Unwritten Wing. Not only does she have to make sure that things stay neat and organised, but she also has to maintain an uneasy neutrality with the demons of Hell, as well as stopping the characters in the unwritten stories from waking up.

However, when one of the heroes not only waked up from their book, but escapes to Earth to find his author, Claire and her small team end up on a path that sees them hunting for a powerful lost artefact; a quest that puts them in conflict with the forces of Heaven.

When I started to read The Library of the Unwritten I honestly didn't really like the characters that I was presented with. Claire was moody and confrontational, Leto was a bumbling sack of nerves, Brevity was overly cheerful and one dimensional, and Hero was a bit of a dick. Over the course of the book I was proven wrong about each and every one of these characters. I got to see that Claire had a heart, that Leto was brave and sweet, that Brevity had depths, and that Hero may actually be the most complex person in the story.

Hackwith did something that I absolutely love, she took a group of misfits that don't really work well together, that you don't even think you like, and makes them into a family that you really care about. There's no big moments where you see this happening either, no obvious points where the characters make a sudden shift; instead you suddenly find that they've slowly morphed into completely three dimensional people who you want to see survive until the end of the story.

It's not just the characters where Hackwith excels either; at first the story felt very grounded in Christian mythology, making Heaven and Hell a central focus of the story. It reminded me of Supernatural, or Good Omens (there were a number of times during the story that it made me think of Neil Gaiman). But over the course of the narrative more religions and mythologies were introduced, and in interesting ways. It would have been easy to just stick to Heaven and Hell and not get too overly complicated, but A.J. Hackwith chose to add more layers and complexity to her world, giving us something so much grander instead.

I knew I liked the book from the beginning, but it wasn't until I reached the end that I realised it had managed to sneak its claws into me, to make more invested in the characters, to want to know what happens next, and to want to read the next book in the series right away. It drew me in in such a subtle way that I'd say it was insidious if I didn't enjoy myself so damn much. A great book for anyone who loves mythology and religion, who enjoys character driven stories, and who wants a read that will inspire you to go and write yourself. Hopefully this book will lead to a few less volumes in Hell and gets us all writing our stories.

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The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne - Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, only has one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?


'But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love Elliot returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one that got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now, he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.'

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne is something of a strange book to try to pin down. It's a sci-fi story for sure, it takes place on-board ships that are part of a fleet orbiting a frozen earth, waiting for an ice-age to end (it reminds me a lot of Battlestar Galactica in a few ways); however, quite a bit of it also feels very old, kind of like a drama set in high society during the 1900's, it's even very similar to Jane Austen's Persuasion. It's a strange mixture of futuristic and old worldy that shouldn't work, but does really well.

The Stars We Steal follows Princess Leonie Kolburg, Leo to her friends, a member of a royal house that has fallen on hard times. Her family is running out of money, their ship is falling apart, and they desperately need to do something to help change their fortunes. Whilst Leonie has designed a new water purification system that could help improve conditions across the fleet and make them rich, her father is banking on her meeting a rich man to marry during the Valg, an event where royals and rich people enter into a Bachelor like event to pair off and get engaged.

Not only is Leo fighting against this expectation to go off and marry some rich man in order to save her family, she's confronted by a ghost from her past when Elliot arrives at the event. A childhood friend and her former fiance, their relationship fell apart when she was ordered not to marry him because he was poor. Now back, and stinking rich, Leo finds everything thrown on its head when Elliot seems determined to make her life a nightmare.

The science fiction elements of The Stars We Steal are really very subtle, and you can end up forgetting that it's actually set in space a lot of the time. The focus is instead given over to the people, with the human drama being the driving force behind the story. I have to be honest, I'm not normally one for overly romantic stories, and can find them to be a little mushy at times, but Alexa Donne manages to make Leo and Elliot's story engaging and interesting rather than over the top.

Leo isn't head over heels in love for the whole book, wanting to get together with her crush. Instead, she's a determined young woman, one with dreams and aspirations of her own that don't rely on having to get married. Thanks to this, the moments of romance between her and Elliot feel a lot more natural and nuanced, evolving due to the story rather than being the direct force behind the narrative.

The book doesn't just focus on the romance story, however, but exposes the somewhat sheltered Leo to the injustices in the rest of the fleet. Whilst living a life of luxury and pleasure there are people in the fleet struggling to survive, on ships that are falling apart, fighting to get enough food to get by. This plot is probably one of the most interesting parts of the book, and the hints at a criminal underside of this new society, and possible uprisings from the 'poorer' classes was something that I definitely wanted to see more of.

Whilst these ideas ended up playing a part in Leo's story they stayed as background details, concepts that she's aware of but doesn't really get exposed to. Because of this, it felt like there was something missing to the story. I loved the book, and found the character journeys to be engaging and interesting, but if there had been more focus given over to the rest of the fleet it would have become a perfect score.

The Stars We Steal is an engaging and enjoyable character driven story that uses its science fiction setting in fun and interesting ways. It's full of old fashioned interpersonal drama, queer representation, and big stakes. A great mashing of themes and genres that works brilliantly.

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All The Best Lies by Joanna Schaffhausen - Book Review

'The highly anticipated third novel in the award-winning Ellery Hathaway mystery series.

'FBI agent Reed Markham is haunted by one painful unsolved mystery: who murdered his mother? Camilla was brutally stabbed to death more than forty years ago while baby Reed lay in his crib mere steps away. The trail went so cold that the Las Vegas Police Department has given up hope of solving the case. But then a shattering family secret changes everything Reed knows about his origins, his murdered mother, and his powerful adoptive father, state senator Angus Markham. Now Reed has to wonder if his mother's killer is uncomfortably close to home.

'Unable to trust his family with the details of his personal investigation, Reed enlists his friend, suspended cop Ellery Hathaway, to join his quest in Vegas. Ellery has experience with both troubled families and diabolical murderers, having narrowly escaped from each of them. 

'Far from home and relying only on each other, Reed and Ellery discover young Camilla had snared the attention of dangerous men, any of whom might have wanted to shut her up for good. They start tracing his twisted family history, knowing the path leads back to a vicious killer—one who has been hiding in plain sight for forty years and isn't about to give up now.'

It's been a few years since I picked up a crime book. I used to read them a lot, and really enjoyed them, loving trying to see if I could figure out who the killer was before the characters in the book did. Because I'd not read anything in the genre for a while, outside of Sherlock Holmes books at least, I was nervous to get back into it, especially with the third boon in a series. I couldn't have been in better hands, however, as All The Best Lies proved to be not only one of the best crime stories I've read, but one of the most engaging character driven ones too.

The plot of All The Best Lies focuses on FBI investigator Reed Markham, who has taken on a forty year old cold case, that of the murder of his own mother. Having been raised with an adoptive family all his life, Reed's shocked when a recent DNA test reveals that his adoptive father is actually his biological father. Suddenly worried that their might be more undisclosed mysteries hidden in his past, and afraid that his dad might have had a part to play in his mothers death, he chooses to investigate.

I loved that the main story of the book is a cold case. So many times with crime novels it's about current killings, often serial killers, or cold cases where the killer suddenly reappears after years. The fact that there's nothing new going on here, that it's a crime well in the past instantly leapt out at me as so much more interesting. There's not a slew of witnesses, masses of evidence, or a race against the clock, instead Reed and Ellery have to fight for any scrap of evidence that they can find.

The people that the two of them had to interview had to remember back over forty years, struggling to help the investigators set up a timeline, and making proving alibis near impossible. Half the officers who originally investigated the case are either retired or dead.

If it wasn't for the personal stakes involved in the investigation I'm sure that the two of them would have given up. Thankfully, this personal involvement didn't just mean that there was incentive to keep the case going, but meant that I got a huge insight into both Reed and Ellery. Even though this is the third book in the series these insights meant that I never felt like I had missed out on anything. There was always a strong sense of who the characters were, their motivations and driving force.

The strong character development also meant that I found myself being dragged into the emotional story way more than I expected to be. I didn't know about the past adventures between Reed and Ellery, and whilst some of this was filled in for me I'd missed out on two books of the two of them together. Despite this, I became invested in their relationship, wanting the two of them to be able to get together, despite the huge hurdles that they would have to make it over to do so.

All The Best Lies didn't just rely on the romance between the two leads, however, but made family a hugely important part of the story, and not just Reed trying to find answers about his mothers death. His adoptive family played a big part, and there were moments of interaction between them that nearly broke me. There was one moment between Reed and his adoptive mother that actually make me cry a little. The fact that I found myself tearing up more than once during the story took me completely by surprise if I'm being honest.

I'd seen reviews about the rest of this series of books that described them as being hard to put down, and I find myself having to agree with that. I read the entirety of the book in a single day, something that I rarely do. Whilst this was helped that I was awake half the night with chronic pain, that was only a small factor as to why I didn't put the book down; desperately wanting to know what happened next was a much bigger factor.

All The Best Lies drew me in in ways that I wasn't expecting. It had a mystery that kept me engaged throughout whilst I tired to figure out who did it, with a satisfying conclusion that made sense and lived up to the mystery. The characters felt real, alive, and the character moments were some of the best bits of the book. This might have been the first entry in Joanna Schaffhausen's series that I read, but it's not going to be the last; I'm one hundred percent going to read the first two books, and can't wait for more to come out soon.

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Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland - Book Review

'The sequel to Dread Nation is a journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

'After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother. But nothing is easy when you're a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodermus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880's America.

'What's more, this safe haven is not what it appears - as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her. But she won't be in it alone.

'Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by - and that Jane needs her, too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not. Watching Jane's back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it's up to Katherine to keep hope alive - even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.'

A follow up to last year's Dread Nation was always going to be a hard book to do well. I was massively impressed with not just the fun zombie apocalypse alternate history presented in Justina Ireland's novel, but the social commentary that it made and the focus on racism and intolerance that was at its core. Any book that came next in the series would have a challenge in trying to meet the standards that book set. Thankfully, Deathless Divide seems to be the perfect sequel.

Picking up immediately after the events of the first book, we're thrown into a fight for survival straight away as Jane and Katherine try to save a small band of survivors from the massacre at Summerland. These early chapters, where the group race against an oncoming horde of the undead, trying to find a safe haven, immediately sets the tone for the book. It's a story where survival is the main drive for these characters, where they're constantly on edge, where attack can come at any time, and death can come for any character.

The first half of the book feels a lot like this, full of tension and an increasing sense of dread as you're waiting for things to go wrong constantly. And as invariably happens in stories like this, they do. There are some truly horrible moments during the story, moments that manage to pack more of an emotional impact that the first book managed, where characters that you've come to care about really suffer. It's hugely impressive that not only is Ireland able to continue on this story in a wonderfully satisfying way, but is able to make it feel more engaging and impactful.

The book takes something of a leap half way through, where events jump forward a year and a half, and we get to see how the characters evolve over a longer period. Honestly, at first I was a bit annoyed by this. I wanted to see what happened to the characters in these intervening months, and felt a little cheated that I didn't get to see this. Even the small hints we get at these events failed to fill that itch. Why would I just want to hear that Katherine travelled through the zombie infested forests of South America when I could read that adventure?

Despite this, it does feel like the more important, character driven story takes place after this time jump, and if I had to choose which I'd have I'd go for the characters stories first every time. The changes that they've been through during this time jump feel completely natural and create even better versions of them. Jane is damaged, completely broken by the world she's living in and the things that she's been through. She's skirting close to losing herself completely and needs the friendship she has with Katherine to bring her back. Katherine, on the other hand, has gone from strength to strength, and getting to see a character that was always capable, but perhaps a little naive in the first book go on to be so strong and confident is a genuine treat.

Many of the themes that Ireland had front and centre in the first novel continue here, especially the role that racism played in America at this time period. That being said, it feels less a focus than in the first book, with the characters taking more of the limelight than the social trials that they face. One of the things that was only briefly touche upon in the first book, but is given a lot more focus here, however, is sexuality. It was briefly mentioned in Dread Nation that Jane was bisexual, but here we actually get to see her in a romantic relationship with another woman. There's quite a few same sex relationships that are either obvious or hinted at in the book, all of which are treated quite casually.

I love the fact that in a world where people are having to fight just to survive against the undead that relationships and sexuality aren't considered a big thing. Who cares who someone sleeps with then you have to worry about zombies ripping you to pieces? The same sex relationships are never made out to be anything more unusual that heterosexual ones, and I absolutely adored that.

Katherine's asexuality is also given more of a focus here, and the chapters that are written from her point of view make mention of it more than once, and she takes some time to explain how it feels for her; how she's never had the inclination to settle down into a romantic relationship with someone. With asexuality often being misunderstood and underrepresented it's wonderful that Katherine and her sexuality are given an opportunity to take centre stage, without a big drama being made about it.

Deathess Divide manages to bring many of the plot threads and story elements left open by the first book to a satisfying conclusion, and feels like it could be the last time we have with these characters and this world. If it is, it feels like an appropriate ending for them. However, I adore Jane and Katherine, they're wonderful, strong women, and I kind of want more of them. Thankfully, Justina Ireland ends the book in such a way that it's totally left open for more. And I really hope she does do more with them.

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New Starbucks Ad Features Trans Positive Message

Starbucks UK has revealed a new advert that features a trans man, and a positive transgender message.

The #WhatsYourName advert has been released as part of the companies new partnership with trans charity Mermaids. Starbucks has pledged a minimum of £100,000 to the children's charity, with more donations being raised from sales form their new mermaid cookies.

The advert features a young trans man named James, and show him going through life struggling with situations where he is called by his deadname. When visiting a Starbucks he's asked what his name is, and James is written on his cup before being called out to him.

Whilst this ad might seem somewhat unusual to some people, this is a situation that many trans and non-binary people have been through over the years. Choosing your new name can be a daunting and difficult task. Some people will go through number of names before they find one that fits, and being called by your name is a big part of seeing if it works for you. Having a stranger call out a name that you're trying is an easy way to see what feels right to you without facing issues of people calling you out on it.

With so many trans and non-binary people having either experienced this themselves, or knowing someone who has, it's not a surprise that it has resonated well with the community.

People have taken to social media to praise the advert, thanking the company for their positive representation.

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Follow Him by Craig Stewart - Book Tour

'True love doesn't die – it devours. Just outside the sleepy town of Dreury, a mysterious cult known as The Shared Heart has planted its stakes. Its followers are numerous. More join every day. Those who are lost and suffering seem to be drawn to it; a home for the broken. When Jacob finds himself in need of such a home, he abandons his dead name and gives himself over to the will of The Great Collector.

'However, love refuses to let Jacob go so easily; his ex-fiancé, Nina, kidnaps him in the hopes that he can be deprogramed. As she attempts to return Jacob to the life they once had, a terrible fear creeps in: what if there isn't enough of her Jacob left? When The Great Collector learns of his missing follower, the true nature of The Shared Heart is unleashed. Nina discovers what Jacob already knows: that hidden behind the warm songs and soaring bonfires is a terrifying and ancient secret; one that lives and breathes… and hungers. And it's coming for them.'

I have to admit, I thought I knew what to expect of Follow Him for most of the book. Jacob has been taken in by a clearly brutal cult that's not afraid to torture and kill people, and his ex-fiance has to try to get him back from them without getting killed by them in the process. I thought it was going to be a psychological horror with a bit of an 'on-the-run' side to it, with very real human antagonists and threats to deal with. But over the course of the book I began to question some of this, beginning to think that maybe there's something a little more there than meets the eye, but never one hundred percent sure; and this kept my on my toes throughout, never knowing what to expect next.

The horrors of The Shared Heart are subtle to begin with, and at first it seems like most cults that people would be aware of, where a central figure has manipulated people into giving up everything to come and live and work together in a community tucked away from the outside world. Whilst this in itself is a quite disturbing situation to find yourself in, it's not until we begin to see the darkness just below the surface that we realise how dangerous and twisted the group is.

Once Nina has kidnapped Jacob from the cult it's very clear that this isn't a group that's just going to allow him to go, or one that will simply appeal to her good senses or the law to get her to release her prisoner; no, this is a group that will hurt her. Added into the tension of The True Heart finding her is the fact that Jacob is battling her as much as she's trying to break through his brainwashing. She's a woman that doesn't really know what she's doing, fighting desperately to get back the man she loved, and he's torturing her every step of the way.

Jacob, quite clearly, doesn't want to be saved from The True Heart. He doesn't want his old life back, and he doesn't want Nina. Whilst she's using their history together to try and help the man he once was, he's using that same history to hurt her. He brings up old wounds and tears them open, making past pain new and raw. The fact that Jacob is so vicious in his response to Nina and what she's doing is one of the most heart breaking parts of the book. She's trying to save someone she loves, and he's trying to destroy her.

The way in which Jacob fights against her the whole way, and steadfastly stands by The True Heart does make you begin to question whether Nina is really the hero of the story. She's fallen into what one would see as a more classically heroic role, saving a loved one from evil forces, but is she really a good person? She's kidnapped someone who left her when their relationship ended. She attacks him, tortures him, and tries to impose her will on him. If it wasn't for the fact that The True Heart is actually evil and kills people you'd have to question if she was the real villain. If Jacob had ran away and joined an Amish community to get away from the outside world would she still be the good guy for kidnapping him and keeping him tied up? I didn't expect Follow Him to make me think these kinds of questions, but very soon into the book I began to believe that perhaps there were no 'good guys' in this story.

I want to talk about what happens towards the end of the book now, so there will be some major spoilers, so if you don't want to know more but are intrigued I'd definitely say to go and grab a copy, as I've barely covered how good the book is. However, if you've already read it, or don't mind knowing how things end, please carry on, because there's some interesting things to discuss.

So, The True Heart are kind of onto something it seems. They're not just like every other crazy religion or cult that claims to know the truth, but seem to actually be onto things. I say seem to, because despite how the book ends I do have some very slight doubts. You see, when the mass suicides begin to take place and The Great Collector eats the cut out hearts, transforming into a monster this seems to make it quite clear that yes, their belief system was bang on and there is a supernatural entity at work here. However, we only ever see this through Nina, who has already displayed that she has been suffering from nightmarish hallucinations; so perhaps watching dozens of people slaughtering each other has tipped her over the edge into madness?

The fact that I don't know if the end is real or not both infuriates me and leaves me loving it. I want to know if the monster is real, but don't know if I'd be satisfied with knowing. Leaving it the way it does means that those who wanted the cult to be right are happy because there's a huge monster at the end of the book, and those who want a more subtle, psychological horror have an ending where Nina is left broken and mad by the events she's been through.

However you choose to take the ending, I think you'll be like me and be left shocked by the conclusion. I was in no way expecting the brutal and bloody conclusion that Craig Stewart gave us, and was left in a sense of shock from it. I didn't know what to think or feel once I'd finished that final page; and that meant that the book stuck with me. Because of this ending Follow Him will definitely be one of the more memorable books I've read this year, and I'm certainly looking forward to reading it again knowing the conclusion, to see if I can possibly make my mind up about if I believe what Nina's seeing or not.

Follow Him is a book that piles the tension on from the first few pages and doesn't let up once. There's a genuine sense of dread throughout as Nina is hunted by The True Heart. We get to see a character trying desperately to do what they think is right in a scenario that gets ever more and more frightening and out of hand, one that is sure to leave the reader shuddering. I cannot wait to see what more people think of this title, and will certainly be putting more of Craig Stewart's work on my to be read list in the future.

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