Thought Corridor

 A Drop of Corruption An Ana and Din Mystery  by Robert Jackson Bennett I loved The Tainted Cup and was very eager to read A Drop of Corruption and I enjoyed this one too but perhaps not quite as much as the first. One of this series strengths is the world building and this is just as excellent as before. As others have said I really enjoyed the meta element to the authors afterword too.  The mystery in this story is good too. If you like a fantasy set mystery that also has political and social commentary then I would highly recommend this series. Thank you to the author, the publishers, and to Netgalley for this ARC.

 The Body in the Bath by Ragnar Jónasson An interesting Scandi police procedural once again sees us back with detective Helgi who this time is tasked with solving  the disappearance of his predecessor, a retired officer long presumed dead. I would recommend reading Jonasson's previous books in this series before going into this one. Without giving away any spoilers I enjoyed this book, it was well paced and plotted well. It was a bit slow to start but that's a personal preference and once it got going then it mounted up at pace.  As in the previous books the world is richly detailed and feels very atmospheric. It was a fairly short read and I'd recommend it. Thank you to the author, to the publishers, and to Netgalley for this ARC.  

 A Trade of Blood An Ana and Din Mystery  by Robert Jackson Bennett I loved The Tainted Cup and Drop of Corruption so knew I'd enjoy this one too, and I did. The characters are developed further and the world building is just as excellent as before. It's really well written and vey engaging and I found myself engrossed from start to finish. The relationship between Ana and Din is really well written and I liked getting to know them both a bit better. The mystery in this story is really good too. As another reviewer has said I really enjoyed getting to know more about the Empire and I'm wondering where it will go next, If you like a fantasy set mystery then I would highly recommend this series. Thank you to the author, the publishers, and to Netghalley for this ARC. 

A Case of Fear and Favour by Sally Smith As a huge fan of crime and detective stories this one fits in well into the cosy historical crime trope. It's a welcome return for  Sir Gabriel Ward KC in this third book in the series and once again Smith details the workings of the Inner Temple really well. This book also sees the return of some characters from the previous books which was also great. Set again in the early 1900's the language and writing style feels period appropriate, and it's a slower paced novel but very enjoyable. Thank you to the author, to the publishers, and to Netgalley for this ARC  

Rakshasa's Wrath The Clawed Chronicles, Book 1  by V. Ajinkya I really have mixed feelings about this book. As another reviewer has stated there were a lot of characters and plotlines that felt unclear and a little unfinished, I struggled at times so see certain characters motivations. However the dialogue was well written on the whole and the interactions between the characters worked well too. The fantasy world was well developed and I liked Lyliana as a central character. I'm a huge fan of pirate stories so was excited to read this but it didn't quite grip me in the right way but that could just be that it was the wrong book for me in that moment. The action sequences were a highlight for me as I liked how snappy they felt. I would read the next book in this series. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for this ARC. 

 The Shadows of Kensington Gore by Ross Montgomery I really enjoyed the first book The Murder At World's End and was really looking forward to reading the sequel. Once again I really enjoyed it. Stephen is very charming and Decima is a wicked delight. The plot is woven through with suffragettes and a lot of housemaids. It's a very fun read and I had no clue who did it. It's well written and very enjoyable. I look forward to see what's next for this unlikely pair.  Highly recommend if you like witty murder mysteries with a few red herrings. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for this ARC.  well-written, clever, sharp and funny. The mystery is intriguing and well done. I loved the introduction of the Ivy’s, and Stephen and Miss Decima have grown on me quite a bit since the first book. 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars Second books in a series can be tricky, especially if you have loved the first one as much as I did,   twisty and dark s...