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The Flaming Critic Reviews: Tamara Siler Jones Maxima Flamius, back again after too long an absence. Honestly, while vacations are pleasant, coming back to an overflowing desk is not. It’s taken my secretary and I nearly a month to sort out everything just to get to the point where I can start sharing some of the lovely gems I’ve found. For instance, I discovered Tamara Siler Jones’ Dubric series, piled (appropriately enough) next to my vast collection of Agatha Christies. Ah, Agatha. What a hoot. Those were the days…ahem. Sorry. Anyways, I was sure, once I discovered them, that I had already reviewed “Ghosts in the Snow” and “Threads of Malice,” leaving only the most recent, “Valley of the Soul,” left to review. But I was wrong! Horrors! Shame! Tarantulas! (Sorry, that last was directed at my secretary. I hate spiders.) “Ghosts in the Snow” is Siler Jones’ first novel, and ended up winning her the Compton Crook Award for best first novel. Well-deserved, in my not-so-humble opinion. This was a novel I enjoyed re-reading, curled up next to my fireplace, with all the lights in my cave burning. I am no scaredy-dragon, but Siler Jones has an eerie way of making you look into every shadow a little longer than you normally would, because who knows what might be lurking there? In “Ghosts,” we meet Castellan Dubric Bryerly, head of security for Castle Faldorrah. He’s a creaky, cranky old goat with an acerbic sense of humor, possessed of a biting wit and a curse. Due to the fact that he irritated a goddess (never a good idea), Dubric sees the ghosts of those who have been murdered in his demesne. I adore Dubric. Don’t get me wrong. The supporting characters are wonderfully HUMAN – well-rounded and quirky. Dien, his squire, is very hands-on, which I love. And Lars, his page, can grace my cave any time, he’s that adorable. But it’s Dubric – crusty, cranky, scarred old SOB that he is – that makes this book for me. He’s just…I don’t know, I can’t say, but he just hooked his fingers around my throat and dragged me into the book. There’s a serial killer stalking servant girls in Castle Faldorrah, and Dubric needs to find out who they are. The ghosts keep showing up to torment him, which adds to the surreal atmosphere Siler Jones weaves so well. I’m usually good at picking out who the murderer is: I couldn’t do it this time. I had a good suspect picked out, and thought I’d reconciled all the clues, but she managed to fool me. And the thing was, once she revealed the killer, it made TOTAL sense! “Ghosts in the Snow” is a wonderful book: creepy, slightly gross and very, very intelligently written. I give this four bonfires – go out and see why!
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