#34: Classified K-9 Unit Christmas by Lenora Worth and Terri Reed

The stalwart FBI agents at at K-9 training center in Billings, Montana take on various bad guys in this pair of novellas by Lenora Worth and Terri Reed, Classified K-9 Unit Christmas.

In the first, an agent and her dog stumble across a hired assassin targeting college girls.  She teams with a handsome U.S. marshal to figure out what is going on, which ends up reaching up into the highest levels of state government.  In the second, a K-9 and his handler, who specialize in arson, investigates a series of blazes, beginning with a homeless shelter at Christmas.  When the arsonist targets a pretty baker and her family, the agent and his dog have additional motivation.

This was a decent but undemanding pair of connected stories, with religious undertones and value added with character and setting.  This is part of a series Harlequin released about K-9 officers and features characters from other stories.

I got this one from a big lot of Harlequin romances on eBay and read it quickly.

#33: Montana Royalty by B.J. Daniels

A woman tries to hang on to her failing ranch, even as a royal family from a hazy European nation tries to buy up all the land; but a passionate night in a line shack with a royal horseman ups the stakes for both in B.J. Daniels' Montana Royalty.

Daniels does a mash-up of  the ranch romance story and the royal romance story, and doesn't leave any stone unturned.  There is a hidden birth certificate, two surprise pregnancies, two murders, two attempted murders, a masquerade ball, and a climactic blizzard.

This one has a little something for everyone who enjoys romance novels and was helped by a good audiobook read by Abby Craden.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#32: The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner

The Doctor and his companion Martha visit a space zoo with a hidden agenda in Jacqueline Rayner's Tenth Doctor adventure The Last Dodo.

Fans of the David Tennant era will find a good characterization of him in this breezy entry that has the scope and feel of a television episode.  This zoo is full of extinct animals from Earth, so naturally a few hungry prehistoric creatures get loose.  Secret cloning and diabolical motivations make the story only slightly more complex.

Fans of the Doctor Who show will find enough to enjoy, and a good audiobook reading by Freema Agyeman--who played Martha in the show--adds value.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#31: Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole

In the 1900s, the Doctor and his companion Martha stave off an alien invasion of shape-shifters, rampaging giant monsters, and a conspiracy against the British government in Stephen Cole's Sting of the Zygons.

This Doctor Who novel features the character as played by David Tennant, but in the usual mind-bending Doctor Who logic, is a prequel to a storyline first introduced in the Tom Baker era, Terror of the Zygons.

The plot is very action-driven, and not much character-driven, so relies on the television show's fanbase for success.

I listened to a good audiobook reading by Reggie Yates, on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#30: Walkaway by Cory Doctorow

In the near future, a group of people decide to walk away from an oppressive society and come up with an alternative; but when they figure out the secret to immortality, the ruling government can't leave them alone in Cory Doctorow's Walkaway.

Doctorow is a fascinating person and an interesting writer, and this novel is filled with ideas, ideas, ideas.  Unfortunately it seems as if the characters talk about their ideas for very long stretches, punctuated by raw sex and drone strikes.

But it is a big, expansive story, covering several decades and offered up from multiple points of view.  Lots of food for thought, and I was constantly interested in what would happen next.

This novel is helped tremendously by a really good audiobook version by several narrators, including Amber Benson and Wil Wheaton.  Worthwhile to those willing to watch it spool out.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.