I liked that this mystery had to be solved in a certain span of time or else it would turn out to be deadly. A lot of police cases do have to be solved quickly, and to me, this was realistic. I also liked that this was not a classic case of the mystery being solved in time, because that to me is so cliche as to be a cardinal sin of writing.

The story took me a long time to read because there wasn't as much of a sense of urgency as I should like in my mystery novels. I want to be held deeply in the grips of the mystery, wanting to know and question everything. It's a bit of a disappointment, really, as the last Hillerman I read did just that.

Despite the story lacking the sense of urgency, I liked that the facts of the mystery were broken down in the end, and the perpetrator not only got his just desserts for the murders he committed, but also blacklisted from his profession as an archaeologist. That to me rings true as an archaeological technician because even getting artifacts from questionable sources is enough to get you blacklisted from the American Archaeological Association.

One thing I didn't find so realistic is, the connection between the Zuni and the Navajo tribes. I know there's a lot of animosity between most of the Pueblo tribes, including the Hopi and Tewa people, but I'm not sure about the Navajo. I didn't see much of the lack of friendliness I would have expected from the Zuni as a result, but I know Hillerman did his research, so I could very well be wrong, in this estimation.

So one day not so long back I accidentally bought a book when doing some online shopping for , well not books (yes EVERY TIME I tell myself I’ll just have a QUICK look see whats about but I’m accident prone) – anyway that book just happened to be Alone with the Dead – the first Donal Lynch novel – and turns out I fell immediately in love with this character (you can see review for that on goodreads ) and all the rest. So when I spotted the sequel on Netgalley there was no stopping me.

Once again it was a banging read. Brilliant crime fiction with added “other” – possibly – or maybe Donal is just disturbed – he is certainly disturbingly hilarious at times- the dark often inappropriately laugh out loud moments James Nally brings to the table just makes the whole thing more addictive.

With “Dance with the Dead” we have a multi layered plot that speaks to Donal’s own background (and by the way his brother Fintan is a bloody marvel of a character seriously) and adds a possible serial killer into the mix all whilst the poor guy is trying to redeem himself within the police force. The crime elements of the plot are brilliantly imagined and ever so fascinating, there is huge depth to both character and setting that really rings true, even given the wilder elements. The fact that it is all set in the 90’s just makes it even better, James Nally builds his story around real life events going on in the background and it works extraordinarily well.

For me, this is classic crime fiction with a twist – I love the twist – and I love that Donal is so beautifully rubbish in his brilliance – his attempts at fanning the flames of a possible romance in this instalment made me smile such a lot. Also the relationships he builds with family and the people around him make a great backdrop to the individual crime stories told, you just want to keep reading for many different reasons.

Book one was great. Book two was better. I think I may have found my new favourite crime thing.

Highly Recommended

I enjoyed the first part of Afterlife with Archie more than I had anticipated and was therefore glad this second issue was also included in the Humble Bundle.

The story continues at the Halloween party, where someone's costume might be a little too real.

I liked this issue as well. It would seem some interesting storylines are starting. My biggest problem really was that the issue was too short. I'm not really used to reading comics one issue at a time and I don't like it that much, because it is too short to really get into the story, which in many cases, like this one, is a shame...

"I fail to understand your conventions of literature these days. One impossible thing such as vampires, this is acceptable, but two impossible things becomes science fiction?"

I feel like this a lot, given some of the stuff I read.

This is fun and gee whiz, I hope it is actually short and I'm not reading it as fast as it seems like I might be.