BTS Book Reviews Issue 18 | Page 82

| The Scrying Eye | Books—available January 14, 2014) is the tale of the children of the Emperor of Annur and how they deal with the murder of their father. Kaden, the apparent heir, has been gone for eight years, learning the discipline of the monks of the Blank God. His sister, Adare, Minister of Finance, encounters a religious conspiracy that may be behind her father’s death. Brother Valyn is training to be a Kettral warrior when a series of “accidents” nearly kill him. Convinced he is next on the hit list, he seeks the aid of his family. Will the children of the Emperor get to the bottom of this mystery, or will the mystery consume them as it did their father? Crime/Mystery Horror! Where Monsters Dwell by Jorgen Brekke (Minotaur Books—available February 11, 2014) is the story of two police investigators, Felicia Stone from Richmond, Virginia, and Odd Singsaker from Trondheim, Norway. In Virginia, the corpse of a flayed museum curator is discovered. In Norway, the archivist of a library is found murdered. Both murders seem to be somehow connected, even though they are half a world away from each other. A sixteenth-century journal of a serial murderer in Norway is the link, a journal bound in human skin. Can the two investigators find the truth about the killings or will their investigations lead to them become future victims? The Phantom Lover and Other Thrilling Tales of Thailand by Jim Algie (Tuttle Publishing—available February 4, 2014) is a collection of horror stories centered on the country of Thailand. A photojournalist is haunted by every person he used to climb to the top of his profession. An executioner explores deplorable violence in order to find kindness. And a former drug trafficker confronts an old partner in crime. These characters will confront demons, both literal and figurative, in their attempts to free themselves from the trials that surround them. Add to it the lush background of Thailand, and you have several tales of unique and unsettling horror. The Ascendant: A Thriller by Drew Chapman (Simon & Schuster—available January 7, 2014) is the tale of Garrett Reilly, a man with a knack for numbers. He sees patterns that no one else can see. And when he notices that two hundred billion dollars’ worth of US Treasury bonds being sold off at a fantastic rate, he finds himself the most wanted man alive. America is in danger from a merciless enemy that no one can stop except Garrett Reilly. But is Garrett strong enough and fortunate enough to be able to get the job done, or will the enemy take him down and with him, all of America? The Summer Job by Adam Cesare (Samhain Publishing—available January 7, 2014) features Claire, an alternative girl looking for an alternative to the boring world she lives in. She’s looking for a new job, a new life, and a new way of being. She finds a summer job at a hotel where she thinks she finds all the answers to her needs, only to realize that the hotel has evil motives. To top it off, she gets mixed up with a group of local young people and runs afoul of a sinister cult. Now the two worlds are colliding, and Claire must figure out not only how to stay alive but also how to solve the mystery of the hotel and the cult. 82 | www.BTSeMag.com