The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

Official Summary
Inspector Harry Hole has retreated to Hong Kong, escaping the trauma of his last case in squalid opium dens, when two young women are found dead in Oslo, both drowned in their own blood. Media coverage quickly reaches a fever pitch. There are no clues, the police investigation is stalled, and Harry—the one man who might be able to help—can’t be found. After he returns to Oslo, the killer strikes again, Harry’s instincts take over, and nothing can keep him from the investigation, though there is little to go on. Worse, he will soon come to understand that he is dealing with a psychopath who will put him to the test, both professionally and personally, as never before.




My Two Cents
One thing I love love love is a good crime thriller and boy did this one deliver!  I loved this book!  In fact I liked it more than the first one I read by this author, The Snowman.  Some of the translation was kind of weird and a little bit awkward, and the ending sort of dragged on and on a bit - but really this book was exciting, strange, unique and suspenseful.  Always a good read when I don't guess who the killer is until the very end.  And I almost always guess who the killer is, most times before the book is half over.  Definitely pick this one up if you like this genre or if you also liked Dragon Tattoo. 

The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe

Official Summary
Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.
But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Derby, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.
From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the opulent salons of high society, from the back alleys of colonial Shanghai to the decks of the Titanic, The House of Velvet and Glass weaves together meticulous period detail, intoxicating romance, and a final shocking twist that will leave readers breathless.


My Two Cents
Well, I don't know if the end had a shocking twist that left me breathless, but overall the book was really very good.  I was a bit skeptical about this one, not really knowing the author or hearing anything about the book - but I have to say it was a pleasant surprise.  I am forever on the lookout for something new and different and this definitely fit the bill - I've never really read anything like it.  It felt like it took a long time for the storyline to kick start (yet it was NOT boring or slow...weird, right?) and there were aspects of it that annoyed me, but certainly not enough to ruin the read.