Cursed

Authors who read their own works can be a mixed blessing, but Carol Higgins Clark is an actor, too, and she capably delivers her twelfth Regan Reilly mystery. Regan is once again back in Los Angeles, having returned to help her friend, Abigail, track down a boyfriend who has absconded. But Abigail Feeney, who was born on Friday the 13th and has 13 letters in her name, feels she's lived her whole life under a curse. As Abigail's bad luck continues, Regan is drawn into a murder case. This cozy provides Clark a real challenge as narrator as it's difficult to sustain listener interest with a plot that has little real suspense. She succeeds, though partly because the listener can be distracted a bit from the story without getting too lost. C.A.T. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

August 19, 2019
In this loose reimagining of the Arthurian mythos (companion to a forthcoming Netflix series), a teenage member of the Fey Kind becomes the epicenter of momentous events after she receives the fabled Sword of Power from her dying mother. Charged with taking the sword to the wizard Merlin, Nimue, oft judged for “the scars on her back,” uses it instead to avenge and protect her people, who are being persecuted by religious zealots known as the Red Paladins. Along the way, she allies herself with roguish sell-
sword Arthur and establishes herself as the figurehead of resistance against the Red Paladins and King Uther Pendragon’s court. Wheeler (The Arcanum) retains names from the Arthurian stories but little else: Merlin is a magicless fraud, Sir Bors is a thug, and Lancelot and Percival are nigh unrecognizable. The story takes place in an anachronistic England in which Fey Kind and humans dwell in an ill-defined time period after the fall of Rome, and no attempt has been made toward historical accuracy or verisimilitude. Flat dialogue, gory combat scenes, and a sprawling plot will likely better suit the small screen. Stylized illustrations by comic book artist Miller punctuate the narrative. Ages 14–up.