Blood Debt
by Tanya Huff

It began with a ghost in his bedroom. A tormented soul hungry for vengeance. The sort of nocturnal visitation that even a five-hundred-year-old vampire like Henry Fitzroy found tiresome. It would lead Vicki Nelson, PI into her most deadly investigation yet. The wraith is determined that Henry and Vicki track down its killer - and is prepared to use a little persuasion by way of the innocent inhabitants of Toronto to ensure their support. Forced to investigate, Vicki discovers a host of souls in desperate torment and evidence to suggest that trailing the killer will only lead to further deaths - starting with her own.

This is the final book in this series and has upset quite a few fans. I persevered and did enjoy it, though Henry's arrogance was annoying until he realises that he is not so superior after all. A tidy wrap-up with yet another kind of monster/bad guy involved.

Blood Lines
By Tanya Huff

It began with a dazzling vision of the sun. And for Henry Fitzroy, that was the worst vision of all. Sunlight never features high on a vampire's list of daydreams. But for Vicki Nelson, PI, one hallucinatory vampire hardly warrants a drop-everything case - even if they were sometime lovers. Or so she thought at the time. Vicki is investigating a bizarre crime within the Toronto museum Egyptology department. A double murder has been committed, but no one seems willing or able to shed light on the deaths. And it's only when Vicki begins to suspect that minds are being tampered with that Henry's sun-fixation is suddenly not so irrelevant after all.

Blood Lines is the third in this series and carves out some new territory. As I love stories about big, bad Egyptian mummies,I took great delight in discovering that the latest opponent of Vicki Nelson, Mike Celluci, and Henry Fitzroy is an ancient Egyptian wizard who is so old that his origins go back to pre-dynastic times. The series shifts from simply being Vicki's story to making Celluci and Henry equal characters. For the same reason, Henry's powers as a 450 year old vampire are downplayed to increase the part the others play in the final cataclysm. This means good character development and a rich and varied plot. All in all a very enjoyable novel, and the best so far.

Blood Trail
By Tanya Huff

It began with two bodies. Different locations, same cause of death. Vicki Nelson, PI knew right off that it wouldn't be a straightforward case. The silver bullets found at the scene were a pretty big clue. That and having the victim's niece shapeshift in her office. Now Vicki is on the trail of an assassin hell-bent on wiping out Canada's last remaining werewolf clan. And with back-up from five- hundred-year-old vampire Henry Fitzroy available on a strictly nocturnal basis, she's already regretting the decision. Because out in the wilds of Ontario it's no longer just lycanthropes that are in the hunter's sights.

The second book in the series. A change of scenery from the city and a good little supernatural mystery/detective story. Well worth reading, although it is what I would term a quick-read.

Blood Price
By Tanya Huff

It began with blood and death. And Vicki Nelson, PI was at the scene. The victim had been brutally, inhumanly opened up. Messy work. She'd had to cover the corpse with her coat. It had sort of made her feel involved. Now Vicki is caught up in the deadly pursuit of a mass murderer with an inhuman appetite for mayhem and destruction. And her advisor on the case is doing nothing to dampen her growing sense of foreboding. But then, with a being of unspeakable evil stalking the city, only Vicki Nelson would ally herself to Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate child of Henry VIII and a five-hundred-year-old vampire.

Yes, another vampire series. I really like the main character Vicki, as she is not perfect - a retired cop who had to leave because of her failing eye-sight who feels frustrated and at times angry with the world that she is forced to live in. The world she lives in does not know that the supernatural exists - society is blissfully ignorant and happy that way. A quick, satisfying read.

Kalahari Typing School for Men
by Alexander McCall Smith

'Ex-CID. Ex-New York. Ex-cellent' reads the sign outside the Satisfaction Guarantee Detective Agency. Cephas Buthelezi certainly talks the talk, Precious discovers, but would he have the wherewithal to deal with her current case - a man who has been attacked by ostrich rustlers, and is eager to reassess his life? Meanwhile, there are difficulties at the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where one of the apprentices has discovered the Lord, problems at home with the mysterious death of a hoopoe, and romantic complications when Mma Makutsi sets up a typing school for men...

The next in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series featuring Precious Ramotswe - Botswana's leading, and only, female private detective. This series is a lovely change of pace. I so enjoy Mma's leisurely outlook on life and her sense of morality. I shall definitely be purchasing the next book. I can almost smell and hear the desert and feel the dry heat when I'm reading this series.

Tears of the Giraffe
by Alexander McCall Smith

"The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" introduced Precious Ramotswe - sassy owner of Botswana's only detective agency. Here, we are taken further into Precious' world. Among her cases this time are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids, and the challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her long-lost son.

I started reading this series as I was after a light, entertaining book. I read a lot of fantasy peopled with dozens of major characters, so I was after a change of pace. The people in these books are so calm, take life at a slow pace and have a lovely way of treating each other. Even the crimes and mysteries that Precious Ramotswe solves don't seem frenetic or particularly complex. If you are looking for a few hours light reding, try this series.