A Follow Up Post on a Must Read

I kicked off my Saturday Pre Pub Book Buzz posts with Kelli Stanley's latest, and first in her new series, City of Dragons, here.

Anytime I really enjoy an author's work, I am always excited when their new books hit shelves. A great first read catapults authors onto my Must Buy list and Stanley's place was cemented when I read her debut, Nox Dormienda (to read more about Nox, check out this post).

And it was with high expectations that I started City of Dragons over the weekend. Fortunately, the magnificent Stanley did not let me down -- not that I expected her to : )

City of Dragons was everything I'd hoped it would be, and much more. This first in the Miranda Corbie series is a gritty, fast paced mystery with an excellent plot that's full of twists. Set in 1940San Francisco, Corbie, a PI and former "escort" is in the wrong place at the wrong time when she finds a young Japanese man beaten in Chinatown. The police aren't too enthusiastic about the case so Miranda decides to take things into her own hands.

I won't repeat all of the synopsis info again, but I did want to do a follow-up post for you now that I've finished reading. I'll be sending a review for bookbitch.com later this week.

I don't think I can recommend this author highly enough. She really blows me away.

One of my absolute favorite things about her work is the obvious efforts that goes into make her settings as realistic and genuine as possible. I've never been to today's San Francisco, but Stanley paints such an amazing picture of the city and the 1940s era that I felt like I was right there with Corbie. And, having read the promo stuff on the book, I know that this is something that Stanley aims for in her stories. I'm here to tell you that she succeeds on all counts. So, treat yourself to a really great mystery and find a copy of City of Dragons (or Nox Dormienda)!

A reminder, City of Dragons is hitting shelves next Tuesday, February 2. Put it on your list. Reserve it at the library. Mark the date on your calendar!

And be sure to check out Kelli Stanley's site for tons of extras including a soundtrack, a fabulous contest, and info on Kelli's other works (and keep an eye out for the ITW anthology due out in June with a prequel story starring Miranda Corbie).

Happy Reading!