False Mermaid

by Erin Hart. Interesting stuff- part police procedural with CSI type details since the main character, Nora Gavin, is a pathologist and part supernatural - Irish ghost story. Nice atmospheric details, interesting characters, folklore, Selkies, bog bodies...This is the 3rd in the series. Lake of Sorrows and Haunted Ground are the others. I look forward to reading more.

Two Time ...is not the charm

I am pretty disappointed with Chris Knopf's Sam Aquillo series. I liked the first one,  Last Refuge, for a variety of reasons. I'm drawn to the outsider, the man with the mysterious past, the down and out detective that can't help himself, who solves crimes in spite of himself, almost to save his own life. I liked the Long Island setting, which rang true from what I've known of Long Island. The character was interesting and the writing was fresh. The dialogue seemed witty.

Previously I reported could not finish another  later book, Hard Stop, and would try one of the others. I read Two Time hoping to like it but  I really don't and can't. His main character really rubs me the wrong way and when I can't remember who was killed and don't even care, it's time to stop reading.  In this case I got to a part with a detailed and very  negative description of  the body of a heavy-set woman character and then I didn't want to read any more of it. I guess she didn't boost Knopf's middle age phantasy of his 50 year old tough guy Sam with his pick of lovely, slender, and submissive bikini-clad young women. Actually even worse is the way Sam treats his would-be girlfriend.

I've read other love-to-hate protagonist series but I find Sam just unpleasant, and worse, his character just does not ring true. Life is too short to waste more of it on this jerk. Another DNF....