Lacking Natural Simplicity

Blood and Fog, by Nancy Holder. This Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel was mentioned briefly on a newsgroup or mailing list I read (I can't remember which) and sounded interesting (a Victorian Slayer and Jack the Ripper), so I when I saw it at the library I checked it out. It was ok, but nothing special.

Poets and Murder, a Judge Dee mystery by Robert van Gulik.

Empire from the Ashes, by David Weber. This is an omnibus edition of Mutineers' Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, and Heirs of Empire. Straightforward, well written military science fiction.