R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Shorts #BookReview

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril is in its ninth year!

As I mentioned yesterday, I haven’t posted much for this year’s R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event, but I have done some reading that qualifies in the themes of mysterious, spooky, and dangerous. In order to get my reviews up before the fun all ends on October 31, I decided to put three short reviews in one post today.

RIP IX is hosted by Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings. The introductory post has all the details and the review site contains links to the over 400 reviews written so far.

A YA novel, third in the Dark Mirror series

Dark Destiny by M.J. Putney. Dark Destiny is the least Halloween-y of these three titles, but there is one very scary villainous magician to contend with. This is the third volume in the YA series that began with Dark Mirror. In this world, the aristocrats of Regency England send any of their children who manifest magical powers to reform school. So low class to practice magic, you see. Of course, the best of the mages find a way to use their skills anyway in subterranean halls and rooms. With the help of some magical mirrors, they travel in time and space to employ their magic in the service of turning back invaders, from Napoleon to Hitler.

In Dark Destiny, the magical crew travel to Wales to thwart an attack by the French and then to France to confront Napoleon himself.

Sixth in the Ghost Huntery Mystery series

Ghoul Interrupted by Victoria Laurie. You’ll figure out by the end of this post that I’m a wimp when it comes to scary novels. I like my horrific creatures served up with a large dose of humor. The Ghost Hunter Mystery series (this is the sixth book) features M.J., a ghost hunter with a witty observant voice, and her sidekick Gil who is afraid of ghosts. You may recognize author Victoria Laurie’s name — she also writes the Psychic Eye mysteries, another very funny series.

In Ghoul Interrupted, M.J. and Gil travel to New Mexico with M.J.’s boyfriend, Heath, who has his own ghost-busting skills. The authorities won’t believe it, but a demon is determined to kill Heath and the other members of his ancestral tribe. Claw marks, bumps in the night, and other even scarier things await.

Tenth in the Kitty Norville series

Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn. The Kitty Norville series is another one I read because the narrative voice is so amused and amusing. We’re up to number 10 in this series that features unwilling werewolf, Kitty, who runs a late night call-in radio show.

I nearly squealed when I saw that the latest installment sends Kitty to London to attend the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies. She went to a several of the same places that I did. But I’m quite glad that I went to Hyde Park in the daylight. Even more than the conference, the drama in London happens in a kind of shadow conference organized by the vampires.

Since two of these books were set in Britain, I’ll link this post to British Isles Friday tomorrow.

Have you read any books to suit the Halloween season? Do you have other books to recommend to me that serve up the horror with equal parts humor?