Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: The Interconnectedness of All Kings by Chris Ryall nad Tony Akins

Everything's related, and if you just wait a minute you'll probably see how. At least, that's what "holistic detective" Dirk Gently believes. The answers will fall right into your lap, if only you let them. Do what you want, it will all come around.

This is a new graphic novel series based on the character created by the late, great Douglas Adams. I discovered Dirk years ago after devouring the Hitchhiker's Guide books, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a new addition to the series in this graphic format.

This Dirk is a little different - leaner, younger, hipper - but that's fine because even Adams was known for contradicting himself and revising, revamping, and otherwise swapping up known characters and settings for new formats and versions.

The time-travelling ancient Egyptian part of the storyline felt a little bit like an episode of Scooby Doo to me, but overall didn't detract from my enjoyment. Other threads - the teashop owners, the murderous tourists, the homeless and their cell phones - wind around in typically absurd ways until they all merge (through interconnectedness) in the end.

The Button Man by Mark Pryor

While babysitting a Hollywood celebrity shouldn't be a huge challenge for the U.S. embassy security chief, you know these things have a way of turning quickly and heading south. It begins with the also-famous wife's strange death, and then turns into a manhunt - for which the embassy has no jurisdiction.

In this prequel to the other Hugo Marston novels (The Crypt Thief, The Bookseller, The Blood Promise), Hugo's new to his job at the London U.S. embassy. His wife's in Houston, he's in England, and he's having a tough time adjusting to the gloom.

Marston's a smart character (a former FBI profiler) who's comfortable with a gun but doesn't need it to do his job. He's brave and driven by the search for truth and justice, but isn't too bombastically macho. He wears cowboy boots, but he isn't a "cowboy" cop.

I really enjoy Pryor's writing and I especially enjoyed this peek into Marston's service before he landed in Paris. I love that it gave Pryor a way to explore new territory with the same familiar main character. There are a couple passing tidbits for fans which refer to the other books - for example, in this one, Hugo meets the bookseller Max for the first time. But you don't have to have read any other Marston books - this easily could be used as an entry point to the series.

Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan

Junior Bender's crime sensei - his father figure and burglary mentor - is dead, and it's up to Junior to figure out who and why. But in the course of tracking down the truth, he learns more about Herbie than he thought possible and it's not all good. Can his memory survive the tarnishing?

In this 4th book in the Junior Bender mystery series, Junior is more introspective than we've seen him before. He's a bit adrift, unmoored by Herbie's death, and unsure about the truths upon which he's built his life. This soul-searching also leads to deep conversations with his girlfriend, his ex-wife, his daughter, and several of his crime-world friends.

This book is a wonderful addition to the series - something a bit different, but leading to a new, fuller understanding of the characters. Also, in the author's note, he admits the storyline allowed him to kill off a few characters and thin out the cast list moving forward. It's nice that Hallinan hasn't fallen into a rut with the books, especially how quickly he's putting them out. Each book has been diverse and unique, and each time I finish I can't wait to see where he goes next!

Tunnel Vision by Aric Davis

Under the ruse of a research paper, two high school girls investigate a 15-year-old murder case after they discover the victim was one girl's drug-addicted aunt. They get help when their paths intersect with kid-detective (now teen detective) Nickel.

Sorry - that's a lame plot summary, but I don't want to give too much away. I adored the first Nickel book (Nickle Plated) and one of the best parts about that character is that he's unique; he's a kid who can do what few adults would. That plays out in various ways throughout the story arc. This book's less gory than the first - but we still see bits and pieces of Nickle's tragic, horrific past in flashbacks. Plus, there's a bit of a time-gap between the books and apparently Nickle hasn't been on vacation.

Honestly, this is mostly the girls' story and they carry the bulk of the narrative. Unfortunately, that also makes the book feel a lot more commonplace and less fresh that the first, truly dynamic book.

I enjoyed this one, but I'm still hoping to see more of Nickle's story in the future.

Blood Song by Cat Adams

This one's a new book (2010), but also first in a new series of supernatural/vampire books. It's set in the now, but a slightly different "now" - one where the supernatural is commonplace and has become a very real threat. Everyone gets tested in grade school to determine their level of extra-sensory talents ... as much to determine their threat level as to help train their skills.

While the main character, Celia Graves, is a professional bodyguard, this book is really more squarely in the detective genre. When Celia is attacked and bitten by a vampire while on a big-dollar guard job, she becomes an "abomination:" not vampire, but not wholly human anymore either. She's determined to hunt down her sire and make him pay; that quest is complicated by both her physical changes and the fact that her attack seems to be part of a much larger evil.

I enjoyed the book immensely and pretty much read it in a sitting. Celia's tough but still feminine, and the supporting characters and their unusual skills kept me interested. While the book resolves its main plot, it also leaves an interesting cliff-hanger and a host of challenges and mysteries about Celia to carry us into the next book.

Veil of night

by Linda Howard

Wedding planner Jaclyn Wilde's life has gone into a tailspin. Uncharacteristically, she had a one-night stand. Less than twenty-four hours later, the same man turns up again - as a police officer investigating her for the murder of one of her clients. Jaclyn did have a dispute with the hateful bride shortly before the murder, and apparently was the last person to see her alive.

Howard keeps the mystery moving throughout. Even when the killer's identity is known, the mystery revolves around how to prove guilt and keep Jaclyn alive. Adding a little humor into the investigation is the detective's penchant for thwarting robberies in unconventional ways. Tag along for the ride as heat rises in this Atlanta murder investigation.

The Last Child by John Hart

In the year since his twin sister was abducted, Johnny Merrimon's life has fallen apart: his mother's a mess, his father took off, the police haven't found Alyssa, and his mother's rich, predatory boyfriend is abusive in every sense of the word.

Johnny's taken matters into his own hands. He draws the boyfriend away from his mother by throwing rocks though the window back at his mansion. He stalks local pedophiles and records their habits in search of his sister. Since God has let him down, Johnny's turned to Native American and Celtic rituals for strength and protection.

This book was completely engrossing. I haven't even begun to touch on the storyline with this description; there are about five related stories going on. It wasn't gory and horrifying, more a psychological thriller with multiple twists and turns.

I will be a bit critical of the narrator, though: Scott Sowers over-enunceates to the point of distraction sometimes. I'm not sure if he just needs practice as a narrator, or if he's just not cut out for this kind of work. Sometimes he's flat, sorta like a kid reading aloud without comprehending what's in front of him.

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

This would be a pretty typical private investigator story - girl goes missing, family hires Little Detective Agency to find her, car chases ensue, several plot twists and eventually a happy ending.

But the book is instead made extraordinary by its narrator: Chet, a dog who is half of the Little Detective Agency (his human, Bernie, is the other half). While the story is related as if Chet is telling you the tale, at the same time the reader recognizes we're the only ones who can hear Chet: he's just a regular dog. OK maybe not "regular" - he's K9 trained - but certainly not super-powered or talking or anything.

Chet is a great character, and a great dog. He's as likely as any dog to get distracted by treats or cats or other animal invaders (his downfall, as the K9 final exam demonstrated). He understands some things about the human world, and other things leave him absolutely bewildered.

This is the first book in a new series of "Chet and Bernie Mysteries." I just received an uncorrected reader's proof of the second, "Thereby Hangs a Tail" (release set for January 2010).

I can't wait for more Chet!