I have found, I think, my book of the year and I’m going to tell you about it now because if I have to wait until December I may burst. I was disappointed four years ago when Sarah Zettel stopped writing her ‘Vampire Chef’ series, but over time stopped reading as much paranormal and urban fantasy. Imagine my surprise and delight when Zettel returned to my notice under the pseudonym Darcie Wilde with a new series set in 19th century London. A Useful Woman stars Rosalind Thorne, a woman who has had to use her wits to keep her head high in polite society. When an aristocrat is murdered, she must help solve his murder to keep in the good graces of those who support her. Rosalind is a well-drawn character, not your average young heiress, and while there is a romantic subplot, it doesn’t drive the story. I’m anxious to read more in the series. The bad news is you’ll have to wait until May 3rd to read it, the good news though is that A Useful Woman is being released in trade paperback at $20, a price point at which I wish more new series were launched.

Speaking of great books I got to read first, I have only excellent things to say about Burned by Benedict Jacka, #7 in his ‘Alex Verus’ series. That said, I don’t want to say much for fear of giving anything away. This is the point in a series at which things can start to go off the rails or you lose interest. Not so with Burned. Jacka has you hanging on every word and cursing his name when you realize you have to wait until book #8 which doesn’t even have a publication date yet…

And speaking of cliff-hangers, I’m already anxious about the upcoming release of The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King, #14 in her ‘Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes’ series. Dreaming Spies was my book of 2015, which had been a relief because the series sagged a bit around The Pirate King and (less so) Garment of Shadows. Is this truly the end of Ms. Russell? We’ll find out (you and me both) on April 5th.