I've had the Fortress series sitting on my shelf for ages, Hagatha, and your post has reminded me that I never read it. I always focused on her sci-fi stories, so it seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. I'll have to remedy that very, very soon.

I've read two suspenseful novels recently. The first one is The Search Party by Hannah Richell. A couple and their young son are nearly ready for the grand opening of their glamping (glam camping) business in Cornwall, so they decide to invite three college friends and their families to spend the weekend to try out the new facilities and get caught up with each other. Unfortunately, problems occur between the kids, the adults over-react, and anger makes hidden secrets come to light. Then, plot twists abound as one member of the group goes missing just as a big storm moves in.

The second one, The Vacation House by Jane Shemilt, begins in Paxos, Greece at a house owned by a wealthy but disfunctional London family. One night, the caretakers' 13-year-old daughter, Sophie, decides to take a walk on the property's private beach and suffers a terrible trauma. Ten years later, Julia, the daughter of the vacation house owner, seems to be the perfect wife to her influential and demanding husband but is really stifled by him. When she meets a therapist named Laurel, she begins to find fulfillment and hope for a different future. The lives of Sophie and Julia seem bound together, and it's up to the reader to discover the truth.

I also read three humorous fantasies:
Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer is the sequel to Assistant to the Villain. In the previous book, the Villain was captured by the king, and Evie Sage vowed to hold things together at his lair and rescue him. In this second book, Evie outwits the king and saves her boss, but since magic is disappearing from the realm, there are places to go and entities to encounter to find out why. Some, but not all things, are resolved. I'm hoping the third book will tie everything up with a big bow.

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis is about a wizard who loses his memory after an explosion in his workshop and is diconcerted to learn that he is known as the Dread Lord Gavrax. He can't recall any of his evil acts but must face the evidence around him (cringing staff, people running away screaming, etc.) and decide who he really wants to be, the Dread Lord or just Gav. The author pokes fun at all the tropes of evil wizardry, fair maidens, rescuing heroes, and rather delightful goblins. I loved it.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming is a very funny and steamy fantasy rom-com. Cinnamon leads a quiet life as a spice trader until she saves a hot...er...fiery demon and ends up going on a quest with him to kill an evil witch enslaving his people. Great fun!

I wish the Fortress series was a bit longer. The fifth book introduces a new character that had great potential to carry on the story but I can see why it ended where it did.

As with Foreigner, the main characters are flawed people that you can become quite attached to.

LadyK I like the Erasmus quote, and Marian, yes there are plenty of Foreigner books on eBay but mostly in USA with expensive shipping to UK.

I have now found a US library which seems to have the whole series in kindle format (via Libby) and which accepts non-local members, so fingers crossed...

LadyKestrel, I'm not sure that the Fortress series was ever actually finished. It's a good read, but I felt that the ending wasn't really a complete ending. Apparently CJ herself has said there's more story to tell in that world.

I think now I'll read the Slow Horses series.

I don't know the Slow Horses series at all, Hagatha. I'll have to check it out.

I finished and enjoyed Questlove's memoir and have just started Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio, which I think someone mentioned earlier in this thread. I fell into it from the very first page and can't wait to get back to it.

LadyK, for what it's worth, I found a couple of the Slow Horses books well written entertainment and the TV series a good interpretation, but you probably have to be a lover of spy stories to really get into them, and I am not sufficiently that way inclined - too many other books and not enough time...! It may also reflect my usually short attention span in face of tales that are relatively slow burning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Horses

I like the sound of the humorous fantasies, particularly Kimberley Lemming, so may give them a try.

I liked Herron's Slow Horses books, but I absolutely love the series. Gary Oldman just nails his role as the lead, and he is priceless. The entire cast is spot-on. Wile the stories are about spy-craft, the show's real depth is in the characters.

Right now I'm reading more Cherryh; Merchanter's Luck and 40,000 in Gehenna. I haven't read these for at least 25 years.

Now bingeing the Foreigner series on kindle - only on book 5, Defender, so several months' reading even if I do not intersperse other books along the way...!

I'm so glad you are reading the series, Lex. Enjoy!

I'm so looking forward to the next book in the Foreigner series. I feel as though there's still quite a bit of story to tell.

I found a couple of holes in my Cherryh library, and much of it is out of print. I had to order a second hand omnibus edition of one series for $50.00! And that was the only one I could find. The other thing is that I am missing two volumes of the Foreigner series in book form. I ordered them but after 4 months the order simply got cancelled. I might try again. I have them on Kindle but it's not the same.

I may have to start re-reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld. It's been a dozen years at least.

That Toronto book seller Sellers and Newel I mentioned recently could be worth a try to help fill those gaps, hagatha, and if you give details of any titles proving particularly elusive I would be happy to see what I can find on this side of the pond.

Meanwhile, I am content to rely on the kindle editions and I continue to be very impressed with the range of titles held in Houston library in that format, and not just in terms of C J Cherryh: the librarians also seems very receptive to suggestions for additional titles and have just added The Collected Short Fiction of C J Cherryh at my request.

Thanks, Lex. I'll have a look at that bookstore. You just never know.

I am trying another rather different Cherryh saga, a four book compendium entitled the complete Morgaine, starting with The Gate of Ivrel - dark and powerful stuff!

I'm reading a *fluff* type of book by Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke, called The Cinderella Murder.

I'm reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.

I read that Heinlein book among so many others, Soot, but haven't reread any in many years. Some are probably dated but still good to read again.

I'm about a quarter of the way through Ruocchio's Empire of Silence and just realized there's a lexicon and a list of characters in the back, which I will be using. I'm fully into the story so far and anxious to see if and how the young genetically engineered protagonist of the ruling class matures as he faces a complete turnaround in his circumstances. I hope to spend a good part of the weekend finding out.

I am rereading Crocodile on the Sandbank, the first book in Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series. Great fun.

LadyK I reread my favorite author's books every 10 years or so.

I had a look at Empire of Silence and may go back to that - vague echoes of Dune in the opening sequence.

On the whole, I tend not to revisit books I have read as there is so much good new stuff!

There's two sets of books I'd like to reread someday but probably never will. All of the Agatha Christie books and the Ed McBain "87th Precinct" series. There are also some other stand alone type books I would possibly like to reread. Maybe some day when I finish my unread books I will do that as looking at prices of books now is turning me away. I don't have room for anymore physical books and I was looking at the Nook book prices; they're just as expensive as physical books which I don't feel they should be.

Marian,
Crocodile on the Sandbank got me hooked on the series from the getgo. I was so sad when I finished the last one and realized there wouldn't be any more. Still, it was good to see the way Peters took us through the different stages of Amelia's life of adventures and ended the series so well.

Empire of Silence does have the epic feel of Dune, Lex, but with its own uniqueness. I've been carting the book around to appointments this week because I just don't want to set it aside.

I know I should be downsizing at my age, but books are my not-so-secret addiction. I do reread quite a bit and have been giving away books I know I won't read again, but those who inherit from me will just have to have a giant book sale after I'm gone.

Oldbroad, I belonged to the Agatha Christie Mystery Collection Book Club for years, starting back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and have a complete set which runs to about 90 volumes. It takes up a lot of space but for me it is worth it.

LadyK, I feel the same way about both the Amelia Peabody series as well as my children having a giant book sale after I'm gone.