Working with the dead and undead

It's sort of a reading axiom; you go along for a while with no great reads then suddenly have a slew of them. That's what I've been experiencing and I'm thrilled. My two latest finds continue my streak of great mysteries.

This Case is Gonna Kill Me by Phillipa Bornikova
A Goodreads reviewer called this a 'breath of fresh air' in the overcrowded Urban Fantasy genre and I couldn't agree more. Linnet Ellery is a recent law school graduate who is thrilled to get a position at a prestigious 'white fang' law firm in New York. A white fang firm is one owned by vampires. In Linnet's world humans with the right connections can have a child fostered by a vampire and Linnet was fostered to a powerful vampire at the age of 8. That connection got her the entree to the law firm, a fact that has set off a power struggle amongst the partners. Because of the behind-the scenes battles, Linnet is assigned to work with Chip Westin, an underwhelming human lawyer who has been toiling on the same case for almost 20 years. Though she is dismayed by her assignment and the fact that her fellow first-years are giving her the cold shoulder because of the perceived nepotism that got her the job, Linnet digs in. The case suddenly becomes much more interesting, and hers, when her boss is killed by a werewolf. Now Linnet is scrambling to figure out just what is going on. I loved this one. Truly if you like legal mysteries, you should try this even if you're leery of vampires and werewolves. Bornikova incorporates them so subtly and seamlessly into the story and it works on every level.

Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham
Fiona Griffiths is a Detective Constable in Cardiff, Wales. Her squad has just landed a new case, a prostitute and her young daughter were murdered. Found at the scene is an expired platinum credit card belonging to a wealthy man who was presumed killed in a plane crash months before. Fiona is assigned the task of discovering how the card ended up in a squalid house with two dead bodies. Fiona is an intriguing protagonist. Since the whole Girl with a Dragon Tattoo phenom every other mystery has proclaimed itself the next Girl with... In this case I think the comparison works. Fiona has something in her that keeps her at odds with the other "normal" people she works with and I was intrigued by just what made her tick. The mystery was great as well.

How about you? Have you had some great reads lately? I'd like to keep my streak going so I'd love to hear what's working for you.