Flight Risk by Cherie Priest

Title: Flight Risk

Series: The Booking Agents #2
Author: Cherie Priest.
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Paranormal; Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Atria Books; November 15, 2022

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Inconsistent psychic Leda Foley and Seattle detective Grady Merritt return to solve the case of a missing couple in this sequel to the “delightful” (The New York Times Book Review) mystery Grave Reservations.

When psychic travel agent Leda Foley is approached by a man searching for his sister, she quickly agrees to help. The missing woman disappeared with a vintage orange car, a fat sack of her employer’s cash, and a grudge against her philandering husband—a man who never even reported her missing. Meanwhile, Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt has temporarily misplaced his dog. While he’s passing out bright pink “Lost” flyers at the Mount Rainier visitor’s center, the wayward pooch appears—with a human leg in his mouth. Thanks to DNA matching, Grady soon learns that Mr. Leg has something to do with Leda’s new client, and soon the two cases are tangled. Theories abound, but law enforcement is low on leads. Lucky for Grady, Leda has a few ideas that might just be crazy enough to work. They’ll need one yellow dog, a fair share of teamwork, and perhaps a bit of Klairvoyant Karaoke to piece the clues together.

I requested an ARC of Flight Risk, because the synopsis was intriguing. It seemed to have everything I look for in a cozy mystery—plus the paranormal angle was just an added bonus. There were a number of reasons why I liked this one as well as others that I was more lukewarm toward.

The introduction of the various avenues of the mystery—the dog, the leg, and the missing woman—was just good. It was quickly apparent that the different occurrences were linked together, and the early speculation and realizations made by the characters were engaging.

The paranormal aspects were handled quite well. I liked the fact that while Leda had the advantage of her ability, there was still a limitation to what it could do. It was fairly unpredictable, and sometimes what she saw was too vague to be helpful. That being said, the scenes where its presence was most heavily felt—such as feeding her useful information about the cases—were some of my favorite portions of the story.

I did have some problems toward the middle of the book though, where the story slowed down, and it seemed like the mystery was running laps around the characters. Despite the fact that, with the clues available, I was able to figure out what was happening before they did.

 
Other than that, Flight Risk was a pretty entertaining read.

About the author....

Cherie Priest is the author of two dozen books and novellas, most recently The Toll, The Family Plot, The Agony House, and the Philip K. Dick Award nominee Maplecroft; but she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. Her works have been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction, and have won the Locus Award (among others) – and over the years, they’ve been translated into nine languages in eleven countries. Cherie lives in Seattle, WA, with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Atria Books) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Music Monday (221): Ellie Goulding, Luther Vandross

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Ellie Goulding released another song from her upcoming album. It's called Let It Die, and I love it!

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Never Too Much by Luther Vandross. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (225) & Book Beginnings: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for. At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.

Beginning: "Something wants to eat you," called Almost Brilliant from her perch in a nearby tree, "and I shall not be sorry if it does."

56: "In-yo was silent behind her screen. Seated in my obscure corner of the hall, I could see a tiny twitch of movement, her hand tightening on the bulky silky robes that I had dressed her in that morning."

Comments: I read The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and it's probably one of the best novellas I've read so far this year. I loved everything about it. What are you reading this week?

I Listened To: October Music Roundup

Last week, I talked about Rina Sawayama’s 2022 album, Hold The Girl. So today, I wanted to devote a post to all the other music that kept me entertained in October. I have two to talk about: Dirt Femme by Tove Lo and Midnights by Taylor Swift.

--Dirt Femme by Tove Lo (Release Date: October 14, 2022)--

I’ve enjoyed Tove Lo’s work since the Queen of the Cloud (2014) days, and I was pretty excited when I heard she was coming out with new music in 2022. Sunshine Kitty (2019) was one of my favorites the year it released, and that influenced the expectations I had going into Dirt Femme. Tove Lo has always done pop with a grungy edge. Dirt Femme felt a little lighter, and was sold as dance/pop by the four singles that proceeded its release—How Long, No One Dies from Love, True Romance, and 2 Die 4—but the usual lyric and vocal complexity was present. Even the tracks where the production was scaled down and Tove Lo’s vocals were the focal point (I’m To Blame and True Romance) were songs I had on repeat so I could catch the full meaning of the lyrics. The album was telling a story, and I was along for the ride. Dirt Femme is another great one from Tove Lo!

--Midnights by Taylor Swift (Release date: October 21, 2022)--

I’m not a consistent follower of Taylor Swift, but, over the years, I’ve amassed a list of favorite songs anyway. There’s been a plenty of good music released this year, so when I heard about her latest album, Midnights, I was interested in it too. This is probably my favorite Taylor Swift album to date, and I enjoyed pretty much everything about it. I have to give a special nod towards the production—which was consistent across-the-board—as well as the lyrics, for how poetic it was. There are so many examples I could give, but then I’d have to list the whole track list. Like I said above, it was consistent in its quality. All around, Midnights was an excellent album!  

Music Monday (220): Tove Lo, Rihanna, and Anthony Hamilton

   

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm listening to Tove Lo's new album, Dirt Femme. One of my favorite songs is Lo's collaboration with SG Lewis called Call On Me. 

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Lift Me Up by Rihanna and Charlene by Anthony Hamilton. I hope everyone has an amazing week! 

What are you listening to this week?