I finished Death’s Rival by Faith Hunter.

I am in awe of Hunter’s imagination. Although this is several books in, the story still feels fresh. This is an enjoyable series and I expect to read it right to the end.

I also finished Death of a Snow Ghost by Linda Norlander. I met Linda at last Year’s Malice and was interested enough in the description of her first book to read it and the second.

Jamie Forest leaves New York City for a small cabin in the Minnesota woods. Along with each mystery, Jamie experiences the trials of a hand to mouth existence in a cabin that seems to need constant massive infusions of cash.

In Death of a Snow Ghost, Jamie has her first bitterly cold winter. On her way home, she sees what looks like a ghost coming out of the snowy fog. But it turns out not to be a ghost but a young woman in labor. Jamie delivers the baby in the back seat of her car and finds herself thrust into a serious mystery.

Carmen is terrified that someone will try and take her child and as Jamie becomes involved in the lives of these pregnant Hispanic women, she realizes that something is very wrong in the home, and the people, who supposedly work for an organization that claims to save them. A death of one of the young women, as well as one of the men, leads Jamie into a complicated mystery.

All the familiar characters are here: Clarence her friendly lawyer, Jim, her love interest, and more.

Although this is a cozy, it deals with some serious topics. Highly recommended.