Off the Charts – the astonishing mistakes of dahlia moss (Max Wirestone)

Ahoy there me mateys!  Though this log’s focus is on sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult, this Captain does have broader reading tastes.  So occasionally I will share some novels that I enjoyed that are off the charts (a non sci-fi, fantasy, or young adult novel), as it were.  Here is:

the astonishing mistakes of dahlia moss (Max Wirestone)

I received this silly, goofy contemporary murder mystery eARC from Goodreads Giveaways. Arrrrr!  I was so excited to read this second book in the dahlia moss mysteries series.  If ye haven’t read the first book, the unfortunate decisions of dahlia moss, then ye might want to skip this post and go read me review of the first book.  No spoilers ahead but if ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

So me hearties, I have to say that I really enjoyed this second installment.  It was such a treat to be back with that wacky Dahlia Moss.  This novel deals with the topics of Twitch streaming, which I admit I have never used.  But I am familiar with the concept, having used the interwebs before, and so was perfectly able to follow along.  Like the first novel, there are plenty of pop-culture references that made me chuckle.  Several parts made me laugh out loud and want to share the funny with the first mate.  Sadly he was on deck being productive but I rarely belly laugh like that from books.  I do think that the first book was much stronger in terms of characterizations and the actual murder mystery.  I guessed who the culprit was in this one pretty quickly.  But Dahlia is so absolutely insane and lovable that I didn’t care.  It was another fast, absurd, and jolly read.  I want the next book already!  Arrrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank ye kindly Redhook Books and Goodreads Giveways!

The author’s website has this to say about the novel:

You’d think that after I took a bullet in my arm following my last case that I’d be timid about going in guns blazing a second time. But you’d be wrong. I faced down death, and the only bad thing that happened was that I got a cool scar. Which is a like a tattoo, but with street cred.

I may have been a little overconfident this time. And that may have seriously clouded my judgment. Some small, but confidently made, mistakes include:

• Unwisely meeting up with an internet stalker in real life.
• Eating a large breakfast before discovering a corpse.
• Kidnapping.
• Standing uncomfortably close to the edge of a steamboat while musing that nothing bad could possibly happen.
• Kidnapping, again

That’s the thing about a sense of invulnerability — you usually get it right before things go terribly, terribly, wrong.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Max Wirestone – Author

To buy the novel please visit:

the astonishing mistakes of dahlia moss – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

the unfortunate decisions of dahlia moss – book 1 (Off the Charts – Contemporary Humor)