Mastiff, by Tamora Pierce

Recently I've been in a funk and haven't actually completed any new books, resulting in a serious lack of books reviewed here. I have a pile of books near my bed, none of which I've completed . . . and a list of books on my kobo, none of which I've completed. This calls for a straight Tamora Pierce novel.

Being a pretty devoted Tamora Pierce fan, I ran out and bought Mastiff the day after it was released (which I guess doesn't top the line ups at midnight to get Harry Potter on the days it came out, but comes pretty close). It, admittedly, follows the Tamora Pierce line of books pretty closely - female heroine takes on world and wins and changes the world, while entering some sort of male-dominated profession. The Beka Cooper books overall stray from this  a little - Beka comes from a world where women working in the Provost's Guard are more or less accepted. However, the major appeal of these books is the ideology behind it - being a woman in a male dominated field, they're inspiring and sometimes you just want to read about girls kicking butt.

Mastiff is a little more linear than the earlier two Beka Cooper books, Terrier and Bloodhound, which made it a little dull to read. Terrier and Bloodhound had an element of mystery and suspense - Mastiff rather lacks that. You learn very early on who is responsible for the mess, and there's very little surprise factor in it. The betrayal of one of her colleagues (which is foreshadowed on the book jacket, so not spoiling anyone) comes in an obvious way. I didn't like the way Pierce treated this factor; it didn't have any real impact at all and felt like it was added in so the story wasn't too dull. I didn't like the way Pierce treated Beka's main love interest in this novel, either, finding it unrealistic and non-relatable.

Overall, while I'd personally re-read Mastiff and like it (if only because I like the characters), I would give this one a pass unless you're already a big Tamora Pierce fan.