Review: 152. Game of Cages by Harry Connolly...

Last month, I reviewed Harry Connolly's Child of Fire which introduced Ray Lilly, who  turns out to be more than his boss expected. Game of Cages offers up more Ray!

Title: Game of Cages (Twenty Palaces #2)
Author: Harry Connolly
ISBN-13: 9780345508904
Paperback: 338 pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Harry Connolly

drey's thoughts:
Ray Lilly has (luckily? surprisingly?) survived the events at Hammer Bay in Child of Fire and is working the late shift at a supermarket when someone shows up from the society to bring him along on a job. A little one, but a job nonetheless...

Then he finds out that Catherine's not a peer, she's an investigator, sent to check out an auction. And when things get hairy--there was a predator being auctioned, and it's now loose--Ray can only really depend on himself, while trying to keep Catherine and the residents of Washaway safe. Difficult to do when all he has is his ghost knife, and the local law enforcement breathing down his back because he can't tell them anything.

Harry Connolly keeps you on your toes from the first page until the very last word as you ride shotgun with Ray in this rough-and-tumble read. Check it out if this is how you hang (but read Child of Fire first).

drey's rating: 3.5/5 Very Good

Challenges: 100+, Pub

Review: 133. Child of Fire by Harry Connolly...

Author Harry Connolly recently approached me about reviewing his new offering, Game of Cages. And since that's book #2 in his Twenty Palaces series, I decided to get my hands on a copy of the first one, and here we are.

Title: Child of Fire (Twenty Palaces #1)
Author: Harry Connolly
ISBN-13: 9780345508898
Paperback: 343 pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2009
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Waukesha Public Library

drey's thoughts:
Child of Fire is a very fast-paced read about a guy who gets hauled out of jail to help out on a mission that's strictly need-to-know.

The plot isn't too complicated--there's something going on in the little town of Hammer Bay, and Ray is volunteered to tag along to find out what it is. Unfortunately for Ray, investigations aren't his "thing" and he ends up rousing a hornets' nest of trouble, which brings up more questions about the residents of Hammer Bay. And his "boss" Annalise, isn't too enthused about letting him in on what she's looking for, or why. Then again, why would she? In Annalise's eyes, he should cease to exist, and she's 100% willing to help him get there.

The story gets a tad violent, but what else would you expect from hanging out with power-hungry cops, gangs, and money-grabbing fools? Then again, Ray himself ain't no saint... But he'll still get you rooting for him to save those he can, and get out alive...

Child of Fire is a pretty good first offering from Harry Connelly, and I'll be finding out how Ray fares in the next installment, Game of Cages.

drey's rating: 3/5 Good

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library