Fortune's Kiss

December 24, 2007
A promising murder puzzle in a moderately intriguing utopian milieu is overwhelmed by encyclopedic world building in this second novel and first SF yarn from Scottish journalist Henderson (Waterfall Glen
). From the first sentence (“Most citizens take time travel for granted”), Henderson raises and then dashes expectations; the 22nd-century “timesphere” technology described by LogiPol cop Ben Travis is merely a holographic simulator, and the complex relationship between Ben, a naturally born Name, and his partner, Paula, a lab-grown Number, is drowned out by long-winded descriptions of global environmental disaster and subsequent social and technological developments. Though Ben and Paula’s primary goal is to investigate the apparent suicide of plant dealer Douglas MacDougall, the mystery is rapidly overwhelmed by side trips into history, and too little space remains for Henderson to fully explore the social dynamics between Names and Numbers. Henderson provides smooth prose and mostly amiable characters, but his dry editorializing is no substitute for genuine narrative tension.

March 15, 2008
After both her stepfatherand her fianc'die, Moira Hughes and her mother are not only left penniless but without a home when they are told to vacate Monteith Hall. Moira knows her stepfather would have providedfor herself and her mother, but all of her attempts to find a codicil to the late barons will meet with failure. Certain that the new baron, the notorious adventurer Graham Foster, is trying to thwart her efforts to locate her rightful inheritance, Moira disguises herself as a servant to infiltrate Grahams household. Danger and desire provide the primary fuel forManuels quirky and delightfully different debut historical romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)