The Helsinki Affair

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak, 355 pages

Amanda Cole is stuck in a boring CIA posting in Rome when a Russian man comes in and tells her that a U.S. Senator is about to be assassinated in Cairo. When her boss refuses to act, Amanda finds herself leading the Rome CIA station and leading an investigation into the corporate blackmail and espionage scheme that led to the senator's murder. Along the way, she discovers that her father — Charlie, a CIA agent who is just months away from retirement — may have played an instrumental role in the plot...but for which side?

Bouncing back and forth in time between Amanda's investigation and the titular events 30 years earlier, this is a twisty, often confusing spy-filled plot, in which it's never clear who can and should be trusted. I'm not much of a spy novel fan, and this one didn't do much to change my mind. But for those who can't get enough of the Cold War in their fiction, it might be worth a read.

Of Mice and Magic

Of Mice and Magic by Ursula Vernon  277 pp.

This is the second volume in Vernon's new Hamster Princess series. Harriet, the very un-princessy princess is bored since she is no longer invincible (see the first book). She rides off on her faithful battle quail, Mumfrey, in search of a quest. Her mission this time is to break the curse on the twelve dancing (mouse) princesses. Vernon's take-off on the classic fairy tale involves a king who has named his daughters after the months of the year. The witch Molezelda, whose twelve sons are named for the signs of the zodiac has cast a spell to marry her sons to the princesses by forcing them to dance all night, every night. Harriet, with the help of a magical "poncho of invisibility" (easier and cheaper to make than a cloak of invisibility) foils her plot with the help of Prince Wilbur who appeared in the first book. This is a fun series with lots of goofy humor.