A few years ago I happened upon the Alana the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. With a strong female heroine who overcomes prejudice to become the King's Champion and greatest knight in her realm, I was instantly drawn in. Since discovering that series, I've devoured all of Pierce's books set in Tortall including the Copper Isles, Protector of the Small and Wildmage series. I was very excited to learn that she was writing a new series based on the life of an ancestor of George Cooper ( Tortall's spymaster and husband to Alana the Lioness). I recently downloaded the unabridged audio book for the latest in this series, called Beka Cooper: Bloodhound, from audible.com and listened to it on my long commute into work. Once again, Tamora Pierce manages to pull me into Tortall and the cities of Corus and Port Caynn . Beka is a young dog (police officer) who works the roughest part of the capital city of Corus , Lower City. When a large number of false coin is discovere...