Eureka

This evening, the second episode of the last season of Eureka will air and I'm very excited to see where it goes. I've been a fan of the series since the first episode aired, and was very sad when I heard that this season would be the last. I've loved watching Jack Carter becoming a part of the town and watching him change as he adopted Eureka as his own. His start in town was, perhaps not promising. Jack was a Federal Marshal passing through when an accident causes him and his daughter Zoe to have to stop over in town for a few days. Zoe had run away, again, from her home in LA, and Jack was dragging her back, again. And at the end of the pilot, no one was more surprised than Jack that he'd been offered a promotion to Sheriff of Eureka. Henry was friendly, Jo was hostile, Allison was skeptical, Fargo was unable to see a dangerous looking button and not push it. But over the years, they've become one of my favorite teams to watch. And I'm so excited to see the next episodes, while very well aware that each new one I see is one less that's left. So far, it looks like Eureka is keeping with the format that I've loved, of a central problem, usually a scientific experiment gone awry that Jack and his team need to figure out, usually before it destroys the town or the world. Another normal day in Eureka. This season also promises to have another strong arc, hopefully answering some of my questions about what has been an occasional side story that's been popping up every now and again since the first season. I've tried to avoid any spoilers, which is sometimes difficult when talking about a series that has had as wonderful and surprising a run as this one has. This show has made me laugh and cry. I love these characters and will be very sad to see them go. But it looks like the show will end in style and I can't wait to see what happens next! If you haven't seen Eureka, find it on Netflix or DVD and start at the beginning. It is well worth seeing.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Kami Glass knows exactly what she wants. She wants to make the high school newspaper that she has just started in her little town of Sorry-in-the-Vale a success, starting her journalist career. The Lynburns who are whispered about around the town and who have been gone from Sorry-in-the-Vale since before Kami was born have returned. Kami's determined to get their story and publish it in her paper with the help of her best friend Angela. Kami's only other friend is Jared, an imaginary friend who seems a little too real at times. Especially when they learn the Lynburns brought two young men, about Kami's age with them, Ash and Jared. It's not really fair when your imaginary friend shows up, even if you strongly suspected he was real, and is rude to you just before you realize who he is.

Any narrator who uses the word nefarious in the first few paragraphs and comes from a line of lady detectives including Miss Marple and Veronica Mars is bound to catch my attention, in the best of ways. And there is clearly a mystery, a big one, that the entire town of Sorry-in-the-Vale is keeping about the Lynburns. I loved Kami's spunk. Watching Kami and Jared interact both through a telepathic link that they both have known since birth and more traditionally was wonderful and hilarious. I also loved that this is as much a story about the group dynamic between Kami, Angela, Holly, Ash, and Jared as they come together to work on the paper and are drawn into they mystery. The only bad part of having read an advanced copy is that there is longer to wait before the next book comes out!

One quick note, Unspoken ends at what seems to be the best stopping point, but still in the middle of things, where I'm sure the sequel will pick up. However, if everything not being wrapped up is going to bother you, you've now been warned. But, really, it's so worth it! I'm probably going to run out and get a copy of it as soon as it comes out in September!

*I got an ARC of Unspoken from the publisher through NetGalley.

Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

Carver Young has dreamed of being a detective for his whole life. The only information he has about his parents is a cryptic letter from London dated 1889, when Carver was 7, to "Boss" he finds in the orphanage's files. When the orphanage is to be moved, Carver, Delia and Finn, the three oldest of the orphans around 14, are told that there won't be room for them. Each is lucky enough to be adopted and Carver is taken in by a former Pinkerton detective who soon has Carver involved in a new Pinkerton agency that's working underground (literally) in New York, right under the nose of Teddy Roosevelt's police force. Carver's first case has him running across the startling series of murders that have started in New York that bear a striking resemblance to those of Jack the Ripper.

I loved the atmosphere of this book. The combination of Jack the Ripper, Pinkertons, and the urban fantasy feel of the adventure in New York city were fascinating. Also, I greatly enjoyed the very steampunk style of the gadgets that the New Pinkertons had developed, along with the steam powered underground train and elevator that they used as part of their headquarters. Watching Carver as he is taken under Mr. Hawking's wing and as Carver begins to find his feet in the deepening investigations was fun. I liked that for all Carver was very resourceful and brave, while having the habit of rushing into things before completely thinking them through. I appreciated the atmosphere and the tight pacing of the book, which kept reading later than planned more than once. I can't wait for the next in the series; seeing where Carver, Delia and Finn go will be very interesting!

White Cat by Holly Black

Cassel Sharpe knows that his best shot at getting by is to pretend to be normal, which is difficult since his whole family are con artists and workers. His mother is able to work emotions, his eldest brother is a physical worker for the mob, his other brother works luck, and his grandfather was a death worker for the mob, each with a touch of a hand. Cassel knows that he's the only one in his family who isn't a worker. He's always thought of this as a liability, a deficit, but now that he's going to a private school, he's beginning to see that not being a worker in a world that mistrusts their powers might not be all that bad. Cassel knows he killed his best friend Lila. But he doesn't quite remember the event or why. When Cassel wakes up on the roof of his dorm after dreaming of a white cat, with no memory of how he could have gotten there, he begins to question everything he knows.

White Cat is the first book in the Curse Worker series, and though each book comes to a satisfying conclusion, I was very glad that I had Red Glove on hand when I finished reading White Cat, and that Black Heart came out less than 48 hours after I finished reading Red Glove. Cassel's world is rich, filled with interesting characters, many of whom I'd love to see in their own books. It is a world of magic where ungloved hands are threatening and tantalizing. There are few clear cut answers even when one desperately wants to do right. A richly satisfying series that delivers from start to finish.

As the books feed right into one another, I'd suggest starting with White Cat.