#119 Undercity by Catherine Asaro

I've read a few of Ms Asaro's earlier books but I haven't kept up with all of them. This book is great that you can read it and not need to know that it fits into a larger universe. Bhaajan is a retired Major who is now working as a private eye and has just taken a very large payment to see if she would be interested in a case. Turns out the case is off planet and is actually from her home world and she needs to rescue a missing prince. Lots of “old home week” as she catches up with old friends that she left behind when she enlisted. The story is actually in a few parts and the initial case is not the entire plot of the book.  A good fun read and a great place to step into a new universe if you haven’t read them before. There is also a handy readers guide to the chronology of the stories if you want to see what fits where all the books available.


Digital review copu provided by the publisher through NetGalley

#120 The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Harry is training Lucy a new partner and a fairly new cop. As they are working on a case that is both old and new Harry finds Lucy reading yet another case and finds out the reason she became a cop. When she was a child she was a survivor of arson at a daycare center that killed several children. Harry does what he can to try and get them the old arson case without mentioned that there is a conflict of interest. In the end, Harry closes several cases but becomes even more disillusion about being a cop and making it to the end of his retirement.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss