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December Killer Books, edited by David Wilson, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont - www.mysteryonmain.com DROP DEAD DIVAS by Virginia Brown (Bell Bridge Books, $14.95), recommended recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin' for Books, San Diego, CA - maggiemary@yahoo.com: Trinket Truvine and her cousin Bitty return for another adventure, Bless Their Hearts. Sorry about that little slip into "southernism", but it's hard to read this charming series without wishing for southern roots. When Naomi Spencer is arrested for the murder of her race car driver fiance, Bitty can take pleasure in her situation. After all, before Bitty was proven not to have murdered her ex-husband, Naomi was spreading rumors about Bitty that were just downright mean. That Naomi had flaunted her affair with Bitty's ex just added to the sense of justice. When Naomi ends up dead, things really start to happen, all in a peaceful Southern setting. The Divas pull together for another investigation, hampered a bit by a nasty gossip columnist who perhaps aspires to be a Diva herself. Who wouldn't want to be a member of this feisty group? With their lives at stake, and facing real danger, the Diva's show what Steel Magnolias are made of, many times over.This is a series that just gets better and better. The characters are so well done, it's hard not to want to join in the fun they have. Though I know they are fictional, they are such amazingly true to life. I especially like the scenes with Bitty's sons, and how Bitty reacted to the chance she may have lost most of her money. Highly recommended. ROGUE ISLAND by Bruce DeSilva (Forge, $24.99) recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR - www.mbtb.com Beginning with the title of this book, Bruce DeSilva has crafted a clever and captivating novel. "Rogue Island" is either a bastardization of or a prior name for Rhode Island. Whichever, there are rogues aplenty. The CYPRESS HOUSE, by Michael Koryta, (Little Brown, $24.99, January 24 release), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, Mich. - www.auntagathas.com: This is a terrific, if terrifically creepy, book, as Koryta brings some paranormal elements to bear in his telling of a cracking good crime novel. His central character, Arlen Wagner, is able to "see" death in men’s faces before it happens; their eye sockets turn to smoke, and in the right light, no flesh covers their bones. It has two effects – a sense of isolating desperation for Arlen, and the fact that no-one believes him, which further isolates him as some sort of crackpot. As he’s taking a train journey down to the Florida Keys with a gang of CCC workers (this novel is set during the depression, a strikingly familiar parallel to our present recession) he sees smoke in the eye sockets of every man on the train, and at the last stop before the Keys, he refuses to get back on. He tries to talk everyone else out of it, but only a young man, Paul Brickhill, who is traveling with Arlen, listens to him. Koryta has really become a master at pacing and suspense. While the train full of doomed men head toward the Keys, he and Paul take a journey of a different kind. Kortya leaves the train full of men hanging there in the back of your mind, but as you continue to read, you simply can’t forget about it, which heightens the general creepy atmosphere of the story. Arlen and Paul accept a ride from a stranger and end up at the Cypress House, a beautiful, if isolated, spot on the Florida coast. Arlen and Paul are slowly drawn into the story surrounding Cypress House, centering on the beautiful and mysterious Rebecca Cady; while she holds both men at arm’s length, she also holds them in thrall, almost despite herself. As Koryta peels back the layers of the plot – which involve extreme corruption in the tiny town Arlen and Paul find themselves in – there are dead bodies starting to pile up as well as the fact that Arlen again sees smoke in Paul’s eyes. To say much more would be to give away too many elements of this well constructed story, which Koryta makes much stronger by making Arlen such an indelible and emotionally gripping character. One of my favorite descriptions in the book is "when all he’d known to be true had blown apart beneath the mortar shells of firs-thand experience." As Arlen progresses through the story, those mortar shells are falling fast and furiously. The ending is very moving; the characters in the novel have been so well filled out that by the end it’s not simple plot that has you in thrall, but Arlen, Paul and Rebecca. This is a wonderful novel. THREE SECONDS, by Roslund & Hellström (Silver Oak, $24.95) recommended by David Wilson, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont -www.mysteryonmain.com: Inspector Ewert Grens returns to the mean streets of Stockholm in this third award-winning novel from the team who wrote The Beast and Box 21. Piet Hoffman is an ex-con and a secret operative for the Swedish police. After nine years undercover infiltrating the Polish mafia, he's become a key player in their attempt to take over amphetamine distribution inside Sweden's prisons. To stop them from succeeding, he will have to go deep cover, posing as a prisoner inside the country's most notorious jail. But a drug deal gone wrong leaves Hoffman exposed to investigation for murder. Grens and his team investigate the homicide while higher powers attempt to bury evidence that might lead Grens to reveal Hoffman's identity. But Grens suspects that there is more to the crime than meets the eye, and he is not one to give up on a case. Grens turns over evidence, Hoffman goes deep into the Swedish prison system and officials scramble to cover a trail of evidence that could implicate them in crimes they've commited in the name of the law. Three Seconds is as dark as a Nordic winter and nearly as grim. As Grens pursues justice, Hoffman fights for his life in prison. Inevitably they come together in an explosive confrontation that will effect them both in deep, dark ways. In 2009, Three Seconds won the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award for Swedish Crime Novel of the Year. Journalist Anders Roslund and ex-con Börge Hellström combine brutal reality of criminal life with social commentary in the best Scandinavian tradition. If you haven't yet discovered their muscular writing and critical insight, Three Seconds will leave you breathless. THE DEATH INSTINCT, by Jed Rubenfeld (Riverhead Books, $26.95), recommended by Joanne Sinchuk, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, Florida; www.murderonthebeach.com: Lately I am a sucker for any book that has a picture of old New York City (100 years ago) on the cover. Add to that the J.P. Morgan Building, and a horse and buggy or two, and how could I not read this book? And they say not to judge a book by it’s cover! An excellent read and a great way of painlessly learning history. THE BRICKLAYER, by Noah Boyd (Harper, $9.99), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR - www.mbtb.com: I loved this book.It was an adventure with puzzles, but then I wasn't reading this for its realistic portrayal or deep social commentary. So it was fun. There's been a lot of comparison of Steve Vail, the "Bricklayer," to Lee Child's Jack Reacher. True, they are both masters of their own fate and they don't want no stinking bosses, but Vail is way more fun. Steve Vail used to be an FBI agent. Before he was fired. For insubordination. A few years later the FBI needs him again. They send Deputy Assistant Director Kate Bannon to round him up from Chicago, where he is a bona fide bricklayer. In fact, she has to climb up onto a roof to talk with him while he's buttering up a chimney. The group Rubaco Pentad is killing enemies and critics of the FBI. In a convoluted, unethical way, that might be a good thing, but the FBI is not amused. Rubaco Pentad wants millions of dollars to stop. The first agent who tried to deliver the money died. The second one disappeared. Uh, oh. Now what do we do? Think, think. Hey, let's use a very smart scapegoat who doesn't work for the FBI anymore. Surprisingly, Steve Vail says yes.
What follows is a clever, albeit overly complicated, series of cat-and-mouse moves. In its opening gambit with Vail, Rubaco Pentad has Vail in a dark tunnel wired with light-sensitive bombs, punji boards, and no way out. Since that happens in the first third of the book, I don't think I'm spilling too many garbanzos when I tell you that Vail, despite the odds, escapes. (Besides the best part is in how Noah Boyd -- an alias for a former real-life FBI agent -- shows us how.) Vail uses great intuitive and deductive skills to decipher the clues and find the perpetrator. Then another trap is set. Then Vail deciphers more clues. Rinse and repeat. THE LEFT-HANDED DOLLAR THE LEFT-HANDED DOLLAR, by Loren D. Estleman (Forge, $24.99), recommended by Jamie Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, MI - www.auntagathas.com: Even before Robert Parker passed from the scene it was my firm belief that Loren Estleman’s Amos Walker series was the finest continuing Private Eye series in the universe and The Left-Handed Dollar only confirms that belief. Private Eye books are always better when the protagonist has a personal stake in the case at hand, and in this book that’s true in spades, as Amos is hired by hot shot lawyer "Lefty Lucy" Lettermore to exonerate an mobster for an old conviction. The only problem is that the crime was attempting to blow up reporter Barry Stackpole, the guy Amos calls "the" friend. Since the attempt caused Barry to lose a leg, feelings run high, but when Amos starts taking a closer look at the case, yesterday’s witnesses start getting killed in the here and now. The plot spins smoothly with the right element of surprise, but Estleman always provides the total package, with memorable characters from major to minor, razor sharp sketches of Detroit and environs, and punchy prose, all delivered with a strong shot of sheer wit. It’s all so effortlessly done that Estleman’s mastery can be underestimated – that is until you read a book by anybody else who has a hand in the P.I. writing game and realize how Loren trumps them all.
THE FAT MAN: A TALE OF NORTHPOLE NOIR, by Ken Harmon (Dutton, $19.95) recommended by Sandra Hale, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA - www.mystgalaxy.com: Gumdrop Cole, a 1300 year old elf, has never been cheerful. The son of one of Snow White's sisters, his family life was pretty rough. Gumdrop ended up in Kringle Town, the North Pole, where Santa took the young runaway under his wing. After years of leading the Coal Patrol, Gumdrop has been fired and replaced. Convinced by an outsider that no children were bad, Santa has increased toy production to guarantee toys for all. Bitter at the turn in his life, Gumdrop decides to punish the parents of naughty children. After all, bad children have bad or indifferent parents. But when a father punished by Gumdrop turns up dead, the aging elf finds himself on the run. With town reporter Rosebud Jubilee chasing his story, and estranged from his best friend, Gumdrop has to clear his name -and do it alone. His quest for the actual murderer takes Gumdrop throughout the North Pole. On Misfit Isle, Gumdrop investigates the deformed toys. He travels through the Forest of Mistletoe (a nasty plant that can turn an elf into a monster dwarf who hungers for blood, discouraging the reader from kissing under said plant), to Pottersville, a city filled with the darker, more dangerous citizens of the North Pole. There Gumdrop uncovers a plot to kill Santa and a conspiracy to end Christmas. Now the lonely elf must find a killer, save Santa, and figure out who is masterminding this horrendous plot. This story twists fairy tales and Christmas stories. The reader will never view Santa's reindeer, Tiny Tim, or unloved toys in the same way. It is fun, fast paced, and unusual. Highly recommended. THE SHERLOCKIAN , by Graham Moore (Twelve, $24.99) recommended by David, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, VT - www.mysteryonmain.com: This first effort by author Moore ping pongs across two centuries in an entertaining tale of crime, history and comic relief. Harold White is a present-day literary researcher and Sherlock Holmes enthusiast attending the annual convention of the Baker Street Irregulars. After a scholar who recently discovered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's missing diary is found murdered, Harold and a female reporter covering the convention decide to investigate the crime by using Holmes' methods of observation and deduction. Meanwhile in 1890s London, Conan Doyle has just dispatched his famous consulting detective, to the outrage of London's general populace. After an attempt is made on his life, Conan Doyle goes on a quest to find a serial killer in an attempt to prove his superiority to his famous character. Conan Doyle records his investigation in a journal, the same journal that has gone missing and is connected with the murder at the present-day convention. Chief suspect: a Conan Doyle descendant. Easier read than explained, The Sherlockian is, thankfully, not just another pastiche but a clever riff on all things Holmesian. It has wit, warmth and enough suspense to please Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians alike, interweaving a pleasing puzzle with some fast-paced historical fiction. BLEEDING HEART SQUARE , by Andrew Taylor, (Hyperion, $15.95), recommended by Kathy Harig, Mystery Loves Company, Oxford, MD -www.mysterylovescompany.com: Andrew Taylor is the winner of the 2009 Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association. I was going to say that he is known best for his Roth Trilogy but he is also know for The Lydmouth series and for his An Unpardonable Crime, a fabulous historical about Poe. I have read and enjoyed them all. Bleeding Heart Square is a new trade paperback you should pick up even if you haven’t read him before. It shows his strong narrative style and his masterful blend of the common place and lurking danger. Bleeding Heart Square is a tucked away little world in London that holds sinister secrets. The setting is the tumultuous year 1934 in England when anarchy and change were in the wind, and classes and ideas clashed . Fascinating characters from all walks of life people Taylor’s books. I just loved this book. Perfect for readers of Charles Todd, Anne Perry, and Arturo Perez Reverte. And look for his new hardback An Anatomy of Ghosts set in 1786 Jerusalem College, Cambridge to come out in 2011. Here’s a link to his web site: http://www.andrew-taylor.co.uk/October 2010, edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COMPOSER AND HIS JUDGE, by Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury, $15.00), recommended by Kathy Harig, Mystery Loves Company Booksellers, Oxford, MD, www.mysterylovescompany.com: This haunting and exceptional book begins with a "departure"-- a horrific scene which hunters come across in the Jura Mountains in France. Nine dead adults and their children whose bodies have been carefully arranged in the snow, died on January 1, 2001. Arriving at the scene soon after Commissaire Andre Schweigen is Dominique Carpentier," Madame Le Juge," an investigator of sects. She has made it her job to investigate this and other extreme religious groups. The case is similar to one in 1984 when Andre and Le Juge worked as partners. Once again they are thrown together and Andre has very strong feelings for Dominique, although he is married. Dominique is a strong, dispassionate woman and takes the lead in the case.Her job is to put together the evidence and present it to the Republic of France. Her young well-pierced and tattooed assistant Gaelle brings to mind CLSI. The women work as a well-oiled machine to hunt down evidence while Andre frantically calls and emails the women to try to stay connected. She discovers a charismatic seventy year old composer is at the center of the group calling themselves The Faith. She also can't deny that she is growing ever closer to him as he seduces her with his music and his philosophy. Although primarily a metaphysical mystery, the action ranges from Strasbourg, to the vineyards of Languedoc, to Lubeck, to London, to castle sin Lausanne, and massive telescopes in Cheshire. It talks about death,dying, rebirth and the music of the spheres. I can only use the words extraordinary to describe this book. I will remember it for a long time. Recommended for readers of music, astronomy and literary fiction and fans of Louise Penny, Fred Vargas and ArturoPerez-Reverte. THE REVERSAL, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $27.99), recommended by JB Dickey, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA, www.seattlemystery.com: Michael Connelly’s The Reversal is a slight departure for him on a number of fronts. First of all, he has Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch sharing the spotlight and tells the story by alternating chapters – Haller narrates a chapter followed by a chapter following Bosch. Second, he’s got Haller acting as a prosecutor. 24 years ago, a man was convicted of abducting and killing a young girl. His conviction has been overturned and he’s going to be retried but the LA DA wants someone outside of his department to act as prosecutor to deflect political heat. He taps defense attorney Haller to switch sides and act an independent prosecutor. Haller reluctantly agrees but requests to have free rein, including his choice of investigator; he picks Bosch. As you would expect with a Connelly novel, there are twists and surprises as the case progresses. Because the original conviction has been vacated, Haller has to retry the defendant with basically the same evidence, without many of the original witnesses AND without ever bringing up the earlier conviction. He has to walk a delicate line which tests him as a rookie prosecutor. I have to admit that I was thrown off by the alternating views. It may just be that I am such a Bosch fan that leaving him and his mission was distracting. There’s never enough Harry Bosch. For me. I also have to say that I found the ending to be uncharacteristically abrupt. Harry seems to be off on a new mission, or a mission related to this story. It may be that the next book will continue from here. (I hope so.) You may not find this to be the case and you may not be bothered by the alternating voices. I hope not. In any case, The Reversal tells a fast and furious story that kept me reading far too late into the night and wishing that my bus ride was a bit longer. And I dislike riding the bus! THE PERICLES COMMISSION, by Gary Corby (Minotaur, $24.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com: This is a welcome addition to the historical mystery field, which has pretty much lacked material set in this particular time period: ancient Greece. Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt are pretty well covered, but not Greece, which is peculiar when you think about it. Corby helpfully supplies a list of character's names and whether or not they existed (like Socrates, who makes an appearance here as an annoying, if brilliant, younger brother to the main character). This is handy as is the glossary at the end of the book: I recommend the use of both, unless you are for some reason fluent in Greek. In tone, Corby's book most resembles those of Lindsey Davis, whose light and well-put-together novels set in Ancient Rome have always been popular. I think Corby shares Davis' nice mix of humor, use of historical background and the tone, which is breezy and entertaining, while not sacrificing plot or character. (The humor also reminds me of another gifted historical writer, Alan Gordon.) The book opens with a literal bang as a corpse falls at the feet of our main character, Nicolaos, who shortly after encounters Pericles. Pericles knew the dead man - Ephialtes, who literally invented democracy, and who actually was murdered days after this astonishing creation. Pericles, knowing that Athens will teeter on the verge of a civil war if the perpetrator isn't caught, gives Nicolaos a commission to discover the killer. Nicolaos' task is made all the more difficult
by the fact that he knows few of the players, as well as the fact that his father, a sculptor, had hoped that his son would follow him in his trade. Structured like a fairly typical private eye novel, Nicolaos goes from suspect to suspect asking questions, often being reprimanded (or reprimanding himself, mentally) for his brash youth. Yet this seems to win him allies as well. The memorable characters he encounters on his path to truth include Euterpe, mistress of the dead man; Diotima, priestess in training and illegitimate daughter of the dead man; and Pythax, who is basically a mercenary working as a slave in Athens to
keep the peace, as no Athenian is supposed to carry a weapon. While some of the ancient Athenian customs are entirely unappetizing - the keeping of slaves, for example, and the fact that women were segregated and couldn't own property - many of the practices of the fledgling democracy are still in practice: jury trials, for example. As with any birth, the process surrounding it can be both messy and painful, and Athens at this point in time was in a state of flux. Of course, that's a perfect time to set a mystery.
Corby is really excellent at action scenes. There are two in particular that I thought were terrific - one involves Nicolaos in a street fight, and one involves the young Socrates. Both advance the plot, and Corby scatters them through the narrative like an old pro, punching things up before they begin to sag.
All in all this is a terrific and entertaining debut. For me the extra bonus was the humor. I'm really looking forward to the next installment.
LIAR LIAR, by K.J. Larsen (Poisoned Pen, $14.95), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com : Move over, Stephanie Plum, Cat DeLuca is on the prowl! Liar, Liar is the debut novel by three sisters, two of whom live in the Pacific Northwest. This book harkens back to the first few bad hair days of Janet Evanovich's iconic heroine, the aforementioned Stephanie Plum. Liar, Liar has zest and sass very similar to Evanovich's z&s, and Cat has her own eccentric smloving (a cross between smothering and loving) family. There's also flirting, backtalk, an over-the-top sidekick, and even a car disaster. The differences? With Liar, Liar, there's a little more plot focus, and Cat manages to anger way more people. I personally have no problem with imitation, especially if it's well done. This book made me laugh out loud, the way Evanovich's One for Money did many years ago. Cat DeLuca runs Pants on Fire Detective Agency. She surreptitiously chases after allegedly cheating spouses and gives the wronged parties ammunition to kick the bums (or bumettes) out of their lives. In the course of following a far-too-good-looking-for-his-own-good-and-he-drives-a-Porshe guy for a sobbing client, Cat becomes embroiled in something bigger and more explosive than anything she has ever run across before. Literally. A bomb explodes in a building as Cat nears her prey, and she is clunked unconscious by a falling sign. When she awakens in the hospital, she is told that the man she was tailing died in the explosion. After the "dead man" visits her in her hospital room, she tries to tell the police and anyone else who will listen that the dead man must be someone else, but no one pays any attention. And the woman who hired her may not be the not-dead-man's wife. Then she has another near-death experience. Is her concussion making her delusional, or is someone trying to kill her? So she tries to figure out what the FBI, diamonds, a cranky mechanic, a shady philanthropist, and Max the bodyguard (who doesn't resemble Kevin Costner and isn't Italian) have in common? And, yes, someone is trying to kill her.
Toss in a mother who shouts, "Let's eat," as a coda to difficult situations, a family that tramples its way to the buffet table, a wild bunch of friends and relatives who are either Chicago cops or working for "the other side," and you have ... Fun, fun, fun! THE GOSPEL OF MATTHIAS KENT, by Mike Silvestri (Draumr Publishing, $22.95), recommended by Debbie, Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop, Mechanicsburg PA, www.MysteryBooksOnline.com: "In a future without books…without paper…without hope…the most dangerous man is the one armed with a pen. The government wants his mind, his life, his secret. And will risk all-out war to destroy the thing it fears most … the truth." - From the YouTube trailer for The Gospel of Matthias Kent.
The Gospel of Matthias Kent is a combination thriller, sci-fi and mystery. The Church and State have melded into one identity and it controls everything in a world devastated by a dirty bomb. There is only extreme wealth or extreme poverty. The “rot” is like a black fungus that eats through anything and everything except metal. Paper has become basically extinct because of the rot … only the Church or “Synod” has access to the paper. The Synod uses this loss to control
the masses. No paper … no books to contradict their disinformation. Church Elder Matthias Kent is an advertising executive employed by the First Bank of Job. As he rises through the ranks of the Synod and is in line to become an elder he takes a forbidden trip to Washington, D.C. While there, he makes a discovery so explosive that it rips his life apart. Ultimately, he becomes a man on the run from the Synod who want him eliminated at all costs.
Mike Silvestri has done an excellent job in creating both a history for the intervening years and in telling the suspenseful plight of Matthias Kent. There are twists and turns and surprises in this truly memorable and terrific book.
September 2010, edited by Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Waterford, VT, www.kingdombks.com
GETTING SASSY, by D. C. Brod (Tyrus, $24.95), recommended by Marie, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA, www.Seattlemystery.com: Crooked elements swirl around the Midwest thoroughbred racing scene, the unlikely salvation for an otherwise decent citizen faced with a crisis in Getting Sassy by D.C Brod, author of the Quint McCauley series. Author Brod seduces readers into accepting the logic of her protagonist’s abandoning personal moral values to embrace crime for a greater good, the need to pay for a dementia-diagnosed mother’s care, with crisp writing that reveals full-fleshed characters living quiet Midwest lives. Wise-cracking successful freelance writer Robyn Guthrie pulls in a substantial income from her work, but she can’t immediately raise the five thousand overdue for this month’s assisted care of her widowed mother … and the five thousand due next month, and all the following months … money once generated by her mother’s prudent investments that have somehow evaporated. The logical solution to the financial crisis is to move mom into a Medicare bed at another affordable facility, but Robyn chooses instead to steal a goat — not just any goat, but one essential to the racing ability of an up-and-coming thoroughbred horse. This sure thing solution is provided by her accountant, a former jockey, whom she “knows” provides money laundering for unsavory types from his racing days. Ultimately, does the end justify the means? Have some fun deciding while enjoying this satisfying read. THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COMPOSER AND HIS JUDGE, by Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury, $15.00), recommended by Kathy Harig, Mystery Loves Company Booksellers, Oxford, MD, www.mysterylovescompany.com: This haunting and exceptional book begins with a "departure" — a horrific scene which hunters come across in the Jura Mountains in France. Nine dead adults and their children, whose bodies have been carefully arranged in the snow, died on January 1, 2001. Arriving at the scene soon after Commissaire André Schweigen is Dominique Carpentiera," Madame Le Juge," an investigator of sects. She has made it her job to investigate this and other extreme religious groups. The case is similar to one in 1984 when Andre and Le Juge worked as partners. Once again they are thrown together and although he is married, André has very strong feelings for Dominique. Dominique is a strong, dispassionate woman and takes the lead in the case. Her job is to put together the evidence and present it to the Republic of France. Her young, well-pierced and tattooed assistant Gaelle brings to mind Abby on NCIS (and of course the "girl with the dragon tattoo"). The women work as a well-oiled machine to hunt down evidence while André frantically calls and e-mails the women to try to stay connected. Dominique discovers a charismatic seventy-year-old composer is at the center of the group calling themselves The Faith. She also can't deny that she is growing ever closer to him as he seduces her with his music and his philosophy. Although this is primarily a metaphysical mystery, the action ranges from Strasbourg, to the vineyards of Languedoc, to Lubeck, to London, to castles in Lausanne, and massive telescopes in Cheshire. It talks about death, dying, rebirth, and the music of the spheres. I can only use the word "extraordinary" to describe this book. I will remember it for a long time. Recommended for readers of music, astronomy, and literary fiction, and for fans of Louise Penny, Fred Vargas, and ArturoPerez-Reverte. ME, MYSELF AND WHY?, by MaryJanice Davidson (St. Martin's, $24.99), recommended by Terry Gilman, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystgalaxy.com: Only one author I know could pull off this premise: Three “sisters,” Cadence, Shiro, and Adrienne, all work for BUFFO (Bureau of False Flag Ops), a branch of the FBI consisting of a collection of misfits with psychological impairments who work together to solve crimes. And, of course, our heroines are not “normal” sisters. They are multiple personalities who together make a powerful team that combines their strengths to solve crimes. Mixed in is their psychiatrist ,who wants them to merge; a very sexy romantic interest who actually likes all “three” of them; and the usual cast of whacky characters to keep us laughing and turning the pages. The most amazing thing about this book is that Davidson actually pulls this off as she describes how the three of them work together to find a serial killer who (you guessed it?) kills victims three at a time. They call him (her?) the ThreeFer Killer.
It’s fun. It’s kooky. It’s MaryJanice Davidson, true to her own fun self!
INNOCENT MONSTER, by Reed Farrel Coleman (Tyrus, $24.95), recommended by David Wilson, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, www.mysteryonmain.com: Moe Prager discovers an opportunity to reconcile with his daughter and all he has to do is a little detective work. But from the outset, the case appears hopeless. His daughter Sarah asks him to find Sashi, a missing 11-year-old art prodigy, but the trail is three weeks cold, the police are at a dead end, and the girl's parents are covering up their loss with lies. Still, if it means a chance to rekindle his relationship with his daughter, Moe is on the case. He plunges into the New York art scene and learns that Sashi is hated by some, while her missing-presumed-dead status has made a lot of art dealers and collectors happy indeed. Moe quickly discovers that even the art world has its rough patches, so he engages a down-on-his-luck ex-football star as muscle, and together they kick their way through a constellation of bizarre and dangerous characters. Innocent Monster is another solid story by a compelling writer. The plot never flags, yet it remains a realistic police procedural. Prager, as always, is compelling, someone who has changed and grown over the course of several books and impresses as a living, breathing character. Innocent Monster is a welcome return for fans while serving as a great introduction to Moe's world. ORIGIN, by Diana Abu-Jaber (Norton, $13.95), recommended by Barbara Tom, Mystery by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: Is it part of our human design that we automatically try to categorize what we see? We don't have to spend energy re-creating the wheel every time if we can safely slot what we sense and experience into good–bad, funny–sad, rewarding–painful, for instance. In Origin, this question of category has a fascinating answer: Who or what is Lena Dawson? The protagonist of Diana Abu-Jaber's 2007 novel is distant and befuddled by her senses. Abu-Jaber gives us abundant descriptions of what Lena sees and how that makes her feel. The descriptions are lush and complex. Abu-Jaber describes in hallucinogenic terms what thoughts the objects trigger in Lena. Lena has difficulty with social interactions. She stutters or her sentences trail away, and what seems clear in her head rarely translates smoothly when spoken. Is she autistic? Has she been abused and is now withdrawn? The answers are not definitive, because the questions are flawed. Nevertheless, we initially struggle to contain her personality. Winter has a death grip on Syracuse, New York. Images of snow, ice, a blanketing whiteness fill most of the book. Lena herself is frozen in her own little world. She is a fingerprint analyst for the police. Her apartment is disintegrating and bare. Her social life is in similar straits. Her work world has definite boundaries and an on–off complexity: Either the fingerprint belongs to "x," or it doesn't. Lena hides in plain sight in the dead of winter. Without a serious disturbance, it is likely she will remain this way, even were spring to come, until the day she dies. This is the serious disturbance: Babies are dying of SIDS in statistically awkward numbers. Intuitively, Lena feels that someone is murdering them. The babies belong to families from all areas of town, and from all levels of social and economic means. In a surprising revelation, Lena believes she is part of the equation, although she has had no children. She struggles, mentally and physically (wrapped in coats, hospital sheets, embracing arms, illusory vines, a gorilla mother's arms), to bring her subconscious feelings into a legally viable accusation. Lena's background is intriguing right from the start. Her memories obsessively focus on how she survived a plane crash and was raised in a tropical rain forest by a mothering ape. When she was returned to "civilization," she was fostered by a couple in Syracuse. Her foster mother is prickly and fragile. Lena has gotten to the point in her life when she needs — like food and water — to know about her origin. It seems that the way to her own personal answers is to to step out of her work cocoon into the real world. Lena must venture into a real crime scene. She must battle a nosy, persistent reporter. She feels strangely aligned with a schizophrenic who lives in her building. Her knuckleheaded estranged husband, who left her for another woman — actually, several other women — wants to come back into her life. A detective is showing romantic interest in her. A co-worker is behaving suspiciously. Lena must overcome this stressful jumble to make herself whole. Abu-Jaber, with her striking and poetic prose, uses the wintery motif well. As Lena proceeds with the case and an understanding of herself, the world around her begins to thaw and her ability to speak her thoughts improves. Lena goes from trying to be what everyone else wants her to be -- and not succeeding very well -- to allowing her real self to emerge. It takes her most of the book to finally say, "It's about me." Here's a taste: "That evening after work, the moonlight is flat and silvery as fish bones; it floats in the darkness, a cage of ribs. There's something weird in the air, in that bone of a moon. The wind flashes through the fabric of my coat, freezing me. At the door to my apartment, it feels as if something is standing just on the other side of the door. I put my hand out and watch it turn the knob. There's nothing on the other side of the door, of course." You will either really like this book, as I did, or it will annoy the heck out of you; Lena's character drives this book. August 2010, edited by David Lampe-Wilson, Mystery on Main, Brattleboro, VT, www.mysteryonmain.com
DANSE MACABRE by Gerald Elias (Minotaur, $24.99), recomended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: Gerald Elias is an extremely traditional mystery writer. His books are enriched by his knowledge of the classical music world, one he knows well as a concert violinist. His central character, Daniel Jacobus, is very appealing – he's an old, blind, very cranky violin teacher. While his blindness is a handicap, it's also honed his deductive reasoning skills, which come in very handy. In this novel, his second, the victim is a friend of Jacobus, a renowned violinist well loved all over the world, and his spectacularly gruesome death is even more drenched in celebrity when his musical rival and former protege, B Tower, is convicted of killing him. The meat of the story takes place two years later: B Tower is on death row, waiting a quickly approaching end, and he’s been put there mainly by testimony given by Jacobus at his trial. Of course who is recruited by B Tower’s lawyer to actually prove his innocence: Jacobus. Adhering closely to the classical rules of mystery story telling, of course it’s a given that B Tower is innocent, and that his innocence will not be proved until the very last second. The mystery part is Jacobus’ path to the truth. Each book is threaded together by one piece of music – in each, the title piece. I wasn’t familiar with the piece in the first book, Devil's Trill, but the piece in the second, Danse Macabre, was familiar to me and it’s probably hauntingly familiar to many of you, you just may not know it. My lack of knowledge of classical music is fairly vast, but reading Danse Macabre made me feel I had learned a bit. At the very least, I benefitted from Mr. Elias’ obvious passion, an asset to any novel. IN SEARCH OF MERCY, by Michael Ayoob (Minotaur, $24.99), recommended by JB, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA; www.seattlemystery.com: Michael Ayoob’s In Search of Mercy is an interesting book on many levels. His debut, it is told by Dexter who, eight years before, was abducted and assaulted by some lunatic hockey fans after he blew an important high school game. Now, eight years later, he’s just getting by (that’s Job 2) while keeping his memories of the assault in check (that’s Job 1). His safe, little world gets challenged by a local bum who is nearing the end of his life and who asks Dexter to find someone. Why Dexter? Lou, the bum, knows Dex’s dad and simply has faith in Dexter’s abilities. A RATHER CURIOUS ENGAGEMENT, by C. A. Belmond (New American Library; $14); recommeded by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com : RED HERRING by Archer Mayor (St. Martin's; $25.95); recommended by David, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, VT; www.mysteryonmain.com: In his 21st foray into the police procedural, Archer Mayor's ingenuity and storytelling skills continue to grow. This time out Joe Gunther and his team are called in to investigate a series of violent deaths that appear unrelated until a telltale clue forges a link among them with a single drop of blood. When blood sample tests reveal the drops have come from three separate sources, the police explore some cutting edge forensic technology that proves to be both ethically questionable and politically dangerous. Meanwhile, Joe has settled into a bit of domestic bliss with Lynn, now that the mystery of her missing father has been solved (in last year's The Price of Malice). But ex-paramour Gail, who is running for governor, re-enters the scene when Joe's investigation proves to be a political hot potato. And as Joe and his team close in on suspects, a chain of events has been set into motion that will prove to be a game-changer for everyone involved. Mayor, a deputy sherrif and death investigator for the State of Vermont, knows his territory and knows how to move the story along at a clip. His characters, his attention to detail and his love of Vermont are evident in his deep and colorful writing. Red Herring should please fans and newcomers to his work. July 2010, edited by Deborah Andolino, Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia, SC, www.Aliens & Alibis Books
THE DEAD LIE DOWN, by Sophie Hannah (Penguin, $15) recommended by Stephanie Saxon Levine, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, 273 Pineapple Grove Way (NE 2nd Ave), Delray Beach, FL 33444, www.murderonthebeach.com
Ruth Bussey was once almost destroyed in punishment for an indiscretion. Now, she has put her life back together and is in love with a man, Aidan Seed. Aidan confesses to Ruth that he killed a woman named Mary Trelease years ago. But Ruth knows Mary Trelease, knows that she is very much alive. Ruth turns to Sergeant Charlotte "Charlie" Zailer, and DC Simon Waterhouse, Charlie's fiance, becomes involved in the case. Their investigation opens doors for the reader, into London's arts scene and into a series of chaacters,each unique, and each fascinating. Not the least fascinating by far are Zailer and Waterhouse, who are led to examine their relationship through their dealings with the others in the "cast." And yes, there is a murder and a real mystery to be solved. Sophie Hannah is a British poet and author, whose two previous books, Little Face and The Wrong Mother, are psychological mysteries that this reader found spellbinding. The Dead Lie Down is, if possible, even more compelling. It should come with a warning label: the reader will not be able to put this book down. CRASHERS by Dana Hayes (Minotaur Books, 24.99) recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: Dana Haynes has set his thriller in Oregon. It's CSI meets the A-Team, or at least McGyver. What if a plane with state-of-the-art technology to help it stay afloat doesn't – stay afloat, that is? What if it crashes soon after take-off from the Portland International Airport? This is the story that gives us a blow-by-blow look at what "crashers," or members of the National Transportation and Safety Board investigative team, do to determine what causes a crash. Even though that would make a fascinating book all by itself, of course we need more. Let's throw in a terrorist or two, and that will give us Crashers, a big page-turner of a book. A HUNDRED THOUSAND DRAGONS, by Dolores Gordon-Smith (Severn House, $28.95), Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Waterford VT, http://www.kingdombks.com In her fourth Jack Haldean mystery, A Hundred Thousand Dragons, Dolores Gordon-Smith opens with what appears to be a classic post-Great War country house mystery featuring England's kind but wounded gentlefolk. After exhuming multiple details for a time-and-place detection solution around aburned body in a car accident, veteran Jack Haldean -- still shaken from a war exploit that he's reluctant to divulge -- assists his friends in pinning the crime on the foreign agent responsible. But when he finally discovers the motive for the murder, he faces having to climb back into a small plane's cockpit and pursue the criminal in the ancient lands of Araby -- or Egypt. Ozymandias, King of Kings, inspires this murderer; but will his works persist, unlike his namesake's? Gordon-Smith spins a good tale drenched in period costume and language, authentically exotic at times, and very, very English in its pacing and heroism. Read this one, and you'll want to collect its three popular predecessors. THINK OF A NUMBER, by John Verdon (Random House, $22) recommended by Sue Wilder, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, 273 Pineapple Grove Way (NE 2nd Ave), Delray Beach, FL 33444, www.murderonthebeach.com: Dave Gurney, recently retired NYC homicide detective, is contacted by Mark Mellery, a distant acquaintance from college. Mark has received a letter asking him to think of a number from 1 to 1000. He randomly chooses 658 and is shocked when a sealed enclosure in the envelope from the unknown letter writer indicates that Mark would choose 658. The letter writer indicates that Mark needs to send a check for a few hundred dollars to him at a post office box. If Mark does not, the letter writer threatens to expose unnamed crimes that Mark allegedly committed in the past. Mark does not remember any crimes, but given an alcoholic past, he is terrified, and sends the check. The check is returned to him. Another letter arrives asking him to choose a number and the results are the same. Enter Dave Gurney, renown for his ability to solve the puzzles underlying homicides. Despite his retirement status, and much to his wife’s chagrin, Dave becomes a consultant on the case. This blackmailing scheme escalates to serial killer status, dangerous to all involved. To describe more would ruin the suspense and the ending. The hook is solving the puzzle and, of course, identifying the bad guy. Considering that Think of a Number is Mr. Verdon’s debut, the book is extremely well-written with an interesting cast of characters. Hopefully, we’ll see more books from Mr. Verdon. This was a hard one to put down. MURDER OF CROWS by P. F. Chisholm (Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95) recommended by Deborah Andolino, Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia, SC, www.Aliens & Alibis Books: Readers of the Elizabethan mysteries by P. F. Chisholm (Famine of Horses, etc.) will be glad to know that their long wait for a 5th mystery is over with A Murder of Crows. This is another winner from Chisholm (aka Patricia Finney – Gloriana’s Torch, erc.). Sir Robert Carey and Sergeant Dodd are in London and get themselves into trouble as usual. I loved this book. Sergeant Dodd’s impressions of London and the court of Elizabeth are a hoot – it just isn’t like the way things are done in his home on the English/Scots border. These books are very re-readable as the mysteries almost take second place to the various machinations of the Queen’s court in this book and the book before this, Plague of Angels. The other books are set in Carlisle which is the center of activity in the West March where Sir Robert is Deputy Warden. Sir Robert Carey was a real person – was Deputy Warden and then Warden. His journals have been published and are the most detailed of any during that period. I understand that another book, the sixth in the series, is being worked on by Ms. Chisholm. I can’t wait….. June 2010, edited by Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Waterford, VT, http://www.kingdombks.com
STORK RAVING MAD, by Donna Andrews (St. Martins, $24.99; 12th in the Meg Lanslow series), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ for Books,San Diego, CA, maggiemary@yahoo.com: You'd think that, being nearly nine months pregnant, with twins, Meg Langslow would be resting. Well, maybe you'd only think that if you were not previously acquainted with Meg. She and her husband Michael live in a large house, and it would have been selfish not to offer to put up students from the local college. It seems the college heating plant is not working, and it would be tacky to have the student body freeze to death. One of the students is directing a play for part of his dissertation, and the playwright has agreed to come to town for the performance. Senor Mendoza travels from Spain to end up in the Langslows' home.
Everything is going fairly well, until two administrators from the college come out to put a spanner in the works. They want to stop the performance, which causes an uproar among the inhabitants of the "asylum." When one of the stuffed shirts, or prunes, turns up dead, there is no shortage of suspects, due to the full house.
Meg is having a hard time walking a few feet, not to mention up and down the stairs, but she is still intent on helping the local police solve the crime. Could it be her maternal instincts are showing? Regardless, Meg fights the good fight, and although just getting up is a small triumph for the very pregnant Meg, with the help of her extended family she triumphs. (Yes, Meg's parents are on hand, as are many others from previous books.)
This is one of my favorite series. I usually save Andrews books to read when I'm feeling down in the dumps. Meg's family, the situations they get into, and the gentle humor cheer me right up. This time, an added bonus is the variety of possible names for the yet unborn twins. If you haven't yet met Meg, now is the time to run to your local bookstore or library to begin a truly fabulous experience that will make you ribs ache from laughing.
ROCK PAPER TIGER, by Lisa Brackmann (Soho Press, $25.00), recommended by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy Books, San Diego, CA, http:www.mystgalaxy.com:
Iraq War vet Ellie Cooper offers readers an insider’s outsider perspective on modern China in this smart debut thriller. Ellie and her not-quite-ex husband, Trey, are bound by a shared history of the ugly realities of the Iraq War. When Trey gets a job as a security consultant in China, a physically and emotionally damaged Ellie travels with him. As their relationship deteriorates, Ellie becomes involved with a local artist, Lao Zhang. However, when one of Zhang’s acquaintances is a person of interest to both Chinese and American authorities, Ellie is caught up in a bizarre power struggle where she receives cryptic communications through avatars in an on-line game. The ending is a bit unfinished, but aptly so, given the setting.
It is into this tangled brew of historical abomination that Malla Nunn, another South African writer, has plopped her intriguing mystery. It is 1952 and Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper, registered as an English/Afrikaner, has been sent to the rural community of Jacob's Rest to investigate the death of Captain Pretorius, the local police chief, Afrikaner, and resident looming presence. There are so many choices for motive: political – was he murdered by a Communist; racial – was he murdered by a black Communist; or familial – was it one of his three ox-necked, high-strung, hair trigger-tempered white supremacist sons or perhaps his "changeling" son, who bore little resemblance to his ox-necked, high-strung, etc. father and whose Zulu name translates to hangs-out-with-his-mother. Cooper's progress is impeded by a delegation from the Security Branch, a ham-fisted detail determined to save South Africa from Communism, with the ultimate authority to acquire knowledge in any way they wish. They are determined to link the captain's death to a Communist insurgent, and relegate Cooper to finding the man who has been peeping on and then molesting some of the colored girls in the town. Suspecting that there might be a relationship between the molestations and the captain's murder, it is worth Cooper's life to keep his investigation under the radar. He is helped by the cool and mysterious Shabalala, a Zulu police officer and childhood friend of the dead captain, and the equally cool and mysterious Zweigman, a Jewish doctor who has chosen to live in Jacob's Rest as a storekeeper in the colored community. There is a sense of deeper waters and future stories about both Shabalala and Zweigman. With each startling revelation about Captain Pretorius and many of the other residents of Jacob's Rest, Nunn's story twists away from a simple solution to a more thoughtful tale of the inability of the law to negotiate and command human emotions. We can read this story with a growing numbness or we can appreciate that Nunn has fastened her grip on a basic flaw in our human makeup, and has created a fascinating and powerful tale. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf, $27.95), recommended (or not!) by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: All I have to say is why wasn't there a guard posted outside Salander's and Zalachenko's hospital rooms? Weren't they each accused of trying to murder the other. Why were they only two doors apart? Actually, I guess that isn't all I have to say. I understand the fascination with Stieg Larsson's series, because I have succumbed to the fascination myself. However – you knew there was going to be a "however," didn't you – there were times I was bored silly with the tedious side issues and setting up of the main storylines, even if in the end both the side issues and main storylines were interesting. Larsson also has trouble describing romantic relationships; it borders on the cartoonish. "I like you; do you like me?" might as well be the standard conversation between all the like-struck characters. Five hundred, sixty-three pages (not counting notes) later, this was both (almost) the best book and (almost) the worst book I've read this year. These is the best parts: The stories are interesting; Lisbeth Salander, the "girl" in all the series titles, accomplishes Boadicean feats, and the courtroom scene at the end of the book built to a yahoo-inducing crescendo. You've already listened to my rant about the worst parts. You and all 990,000 of your closest friends are probably going to read this book, whether it's "your kind" of book or not. Sometimes a cultural phenomenon overtakes individual rights or reason, so it really doesn't matter what all the reviews say. **SPOILER ALERT (for the other two books):** I'm now going to talk about the plot of the Hornet's Nest prequels, so if you haven't read the other two yet (and what strong willpower you must have), stop and read no further. At the end of the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, Salander, who clawed her way out of a grave, was left more dead than alive, and it was a pseudo-cliffhanger whether she would survive. Mikael "Kalle" Blomqvist is still the relentless investigator who is determined to save Salander when she is about to be charged with attempted murder. His meticulous unearthing of the underlying political issues that have trapped Salander since she was twelve years old was engrossing. The work of the police detectives who defied the directives to leave Salander's case alone was just as interesting. It's impossible not to cheer for the good guys while they battle their own systems to bring about justice for Salander. There are other heroic characters introduced or brought more into the light, including Salander's surgeon and Blomqvist's sister, who becomes Salander's defense attorney. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the first in the series) also suffered from an excess of detail. One of the major mercies of the Swedish movie version was that the director instructed the scriptwriters to wrap up the first hundred pages in ten minutes. He should get the Unsung Hero Award. I can only hope that when the movie version of this third book – as sure as the sun will rise – surfaces, that director will also show as much temperate judgment. So much good. So much schmegegge. ASHES TO WATER, by Irene Ziegler (Five Star, $25.95), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com: I had no expectations when I picked up Irene Ziegler’s book Ashes to Water, but I was very pleasantly surprised as I read more of her fine first novel. It’s a flat-out good read, with great characters, a smart story, and some nice specificity of detail that adds richness to the whole. Her main character, Annie Bartlett, has come home to 1980s Florida to bury her father and reconnect with her sister, Leigh. When was life ever so simple, though? Annie’s father, Ed, hasn’t just died, he’s been murdered, and his accused killer is being defended by her childhood boyfriend and best pal, Pete Duncan. Her sister, Leigh, dragged from her most recent barstool, has turned up to “help.” Her addiction is obvious to everyone but her sister. Ziegler deftly creates the whole community of tiny DeLeon, Florida, where Annie and Leigh grew up, the place they both escaped from as quickly as possible. Their mother died, a suicide drowning, many years ago, and the negligent raising up they received from their father, Ed, hasn’t made the girls very fond of their departed Dad. Complicating matters is the fact the Annie and her dead mother have an ongoing relationship, something only Leigh knows about. Back home, Annie leaves behind her fiancé, Camp, and his difficult and reluctant 14-year-old (is there another type of 14-year-old?), while rekindling at the least a friendship with her old friend Pete. There are a couple of town “tentpole” characters - the lusty, cleavage-heavy saloon owner, Florida; the Native American leader and developer, Kingfisher Powell; the Sheriff, Dade; and the Judge, Marguerite Lanier. This is a large cast to balance, not to mention many different venues, but Ziegler is more than capable of meeting the challenge. Her story of family loyalty, betrayal, addiction, out-of-control fires set by an arsonist, and land development sounds very complicated, and it is complex, but it’s very smoothly told. Ziegler is a very able storyteller, and her instincts don’t seem to falter; she’s able to balance romance, suspense, and heartbreak very effectively. When you finish the book you’ll be fond of Annie and wondering what’s going to happen to her next -- and oddly, just as fond of her difficult, wounded sister, Leigh, whom Ziegler has brought just as fully to life as she has Annie. I hope there will be a second installment at some point, as these are characters I could happily read about again. May 2010, edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, Mich, www.auntagathas.com
WANNA GET LUCKY?by Deborah Coonts (Forge, $24.99), recommended by Lori Burns, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystergalaxy.com: A great title (open to lots of interpretations). An appealing protagonist. Lots of action. A little romance. The real insider’s Las Vegas. Lucky O’Toole knows her way around Las Vegas and especially around her domain, the Babylon, the newest of the over-to-top mega casino/resorts on The Strip. She is the head of Customer Relations (AKA chief problem solver) and the number one employee of The Big Boss. The book and her day start with an ex-hooker who is fatally dumped in the pirate’s lagoon in front of Treasure Island, a naked man in the staircase, a new security hire who may be working for the bad guys (but is very, very appealing in other ways), and any number of customers who require her special care. Her hours are long and she is tireless in her resolve to correct all wrongs and get to the bottom of who murdered Lyda Sue Stalnaker. As Lucky unravels the clues and gets closer to the truth, she also uncovers some of her own truths and desires, and the underlying story of love and redemption is the perfect contrast to the underbelly of life she encounters daily. Adding to this terrific debut is a wonderful cast of supporting characters -- her mother owns a world famous brothel, her assistant has a thing for a younger man, her BFF / possible romantic interest is a renowned drag performer, and she is mentoring a young detective on the police force. This is a debut mystery author to watch. BLOOD HINA, by Naomi Hirahara (Minotaur, $24.99), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: I read Naomi Hirahara's first book in the Mas Arai series, Summer of the Big Bachi, and enjoyed it. This book, Blood Hina, is the fourth. This isn't quite the surprise the first one was, but it was enjoyable as well. Hirahara nails the voice of an older Japanese man to a tee. THE TAKING OF LIBBIE, SD, by David Housewright (Minotaur, $24.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: David Housewright is flat out one of my favorite writers. If you enjoy P.I. novels at all it’s almost criminal to miss this terrific series. While there are recurring characters, it doesn’t matter too much to pick the series up with any of the books. All you really need to know is that ex-cop, now financially independent (read wealthy) Rushmore “Mac” McKenzie does “favors” for people. He wants to feel useful, so when he perceives a wrong, he attempts to right it. In this outing - Housewright is a master at grabbing the reader’s attention from the first page - Mac is kidnaped, thrown into a car trunk, and driven to Libbie, South Dakota. He lives in St. Paul, so it’s a long ride, 600 miles or so. Why has he been tasered and kidnaped? Why is he thrown into the trunk of a car by bounty hunters called (no kidding) Lord and Master and deposited at the Libbie police station? The answer is the meat of the story. It turns out that there was another Rushmore McKenzie (obviously a fake) who defrauded the entire town of Libbie by promising to develop an outlet mall there. The city council and the mayor are pretty desperate as the town ponied up some matching funds and the town is on the verge of bankruptcy, something that’s about to come to light. As Mac sorts through the mess - and he’s pretty angry, understandably so - he still sees a wrong that needs righting and after checking in back in St. Paul with his girlfriend and his pals at the FBI and on the St. Paul police force, he’s headed back to Libbie under his own steam, to find out the secrets of the man he now refers to as “The Imposter.” One of my favorite parts literally takes place on the “American Desert” or on the actual miles and miles of uninhabited prairie land that grace the upper midwest. One thing that’s addressed here is the migration of almost everyone away from small towns to cities, and the fact that the prairie is waiting to reclaim the west. But while Housewright may have poetry in him, he’s primarily a storyteller, and a top notch one at that. The assemblage of characters, good, bad and in between, are all vividly drawn. The story is rocket powered; and while the bad guy in town may be obvious, the story around him is not, nor are the people around him. Housewright may be concise, but he’s also nuanced. I can’t recommend his books highly enough. Even if you aren’t a giant fan of P.I. novels, almost all readers are suckers for a good story, and Housewright always delivers. BACKSEAT SAINTS, by Joshilyn Jackson (Grand Central, $24.99) recommended by Gretchen, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Seatte, WA, www.seattlemystery.com: I really have been reading books, just ever so slowly these days. I have been waiting to write up my review of this book to squidge it closer to the release date. I want everyone to be excited about reading the newest from Joshilyn Jackson. Backseat Saints is a prize winner. It is always a pleasure to inhale glorious writing and be enveloped by a story. Rose Mae Lolley has a history with men. Not a good one. She has managed to do what those who experience domestic violence do – push it down and put on a pretty face for the world. It’s beginning to get in her way. Then, one day, a gypsy at the airport tells her fortune: killing will be happening, and if Rose Mae doesn’t do it first, she will be dead. The split personality dance between the old Rose Mae and the “pretty face” of Mrs. Ro Grandee is beautifully written. Joshilyn has a most amazing ability to describe the scary, tantalizing journey a person confronts as they decide which path to trust. We love Rose Mae, we cheer her on, and we agonize as we understand how hard it is for her to move forward. Told with her sharp wit, acrid observations and laugh out loud comedy, Joshilyn provides unparalleled story telling. SUPREME JUSTICE, by Phillip Margolin (Haper, $25.99), recommended by Jean May, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: What Phillip Margolin does really well, in my opinion, is create believable characters. No matter how outlandish the action gets – shoot-outs in the Supreme Court, for instance – the good guys and gals maintain their everyman core. Returning to the scene are the characters of Executive Privilege, primarily Brad Miller and Dana Cutler, with no less fantastic a scenario in this story than in that novel, but with their regular Joe and Jane personas intact. Their jobs and talents are anything but ordinary, but you can imagine them as your next-door neighbors. And, okay, their pasts are marred by violence, but you could borrow a cup of sugar from them, no problem.
APRIL 2010, edited by Kate Mattes, Kate’s Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA, www.katesmysterybooks.com SINK TRAP, by Christy Evans (Berkley, $6.99) recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, mbtb.com: Local girl makes good! Oregon coast author Christy Evans has a new series, which starts off with Sink Trap. Georgiana Neverall has unwillingly traded a high-flying dot-com life in Silicon Valley for a life as a plumber's apprentice back in her small hometown of Pine Ridge, Oregon. While Evans only hints at Georgiana's dot-com background and the mysterious scandal that drove her back to Oregon in this book, there's still plenty of story left. Lots of people have Georgiana's back, whether she wants their help or not. Her boss, Barry or "Bear," is a genuine good guy and willing to give a girl a break in a man's business. His wife, Paula, is Pine Ridge's librarian and a good storyteller. Wade, her high school sweetheart, is trying to re-establish a romantic relationship with her. Sue, her best friend, is a dog groomer. (Georgiana's interaction with her dogs is a nice, humorous sidelight.) And Sandra is her mother and oil to Georgiana's water. Sandra has gone from a homebody doctor's wife to a glamorous real estate agent. Besides being about the mystery Georgiana must solve – that of a missing retired librarian – Sink Trap is a story of Georgiana's personal quest to redefine herself, and that is the real charm of this book. As attractive as it is to read about a young woman enthusiastically eating pizza, hamburgers, fondue, and other heart-stopping fare, so I can live vicariously through her, the addition of plumbing details is the unexpectedly compelling touch. (To those of us who are fans of Mike Holmes on HGTV, this is bread and butter talk.) No sex. No swearing. Just good old-fashioned plumbing common sense. FINDING NOUF, by Zoe Ferraris (Mariner, $13.95), recommended by Kate Mattes, Kate’s Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA, www.katesmysterybooks.com: I have a friend who doesn’t read mysteries and she had the temerity to give Finding Nouf to me. I had missed it. Don’t let this happen to YOU! Set in Saudi Arabia and told by a Palestinian who works as a guide to rich Saudi families when they go into the desert, this book gives us an inside look at a rich Saudi family. One of the daughters in the Ash-shrawi family has attempted to run away before her arranged marriage. Nayir al-Sharqi is asked to help look for her in the desert. Her body is found but Sharqi suspects she was murdered although the family says she died from natural causes. He is lucky enough to meet Katya, a woman who works in the newly opened morgue for women, who suspects the same thing.
Finding Nouf is a classic, and very good mystery. It is made more compelling as we see behind the veil so-to-speak and get a glimpse of daily life in a rich, pious Saudi family. It is one of those rare books that exposes the reader’s assumptions as the mystery deepens. Add to this a narrator who is an outsider,who reflects on how the Saudis see their roles in their society and struggles to figure out who, outside of the family could have murdered this sweet 16 year old girl. The developing relationship between al-Sharqi and Katya is the icing on the cake. I can’t wait for the next installment. THE SAMARITAN’S SECRET, by Matt Bayon Rees (Marina, $13.95) recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, mbtb.com: Politics seems an unavoidable subject, since Rees sets his series in the nexus of Israel and Palestine. Omar Yussef Sirhan is Muslim, but he speaks English and maintains a liberal, conciliatory attitude towards the abundance of conflicting cultures that make up his world. Jewish and Christian and now Samaritan are observed by his open and tolerant eye. In his world, Hamas and Fatah and the Israelis simmer in the cultural stew, which sometimes erupts into violence. And Omar Yussef often finds himself plopped right in the middle. However, Rees's stories are much more about what makes an individual tick (within a cultural context) than it is about tribal, regional, or national conflict. These are human stories with a political base. Omar Yussef and his family have received permission to journey to Nablus to witness the marriage of a friend. Khamis Zeydan is the police chief in Bethlehem and he, too, has come to witness the ceremony. Before they know it, they are embroiled in trying to solve the murder of the son of a Samaritan priest. They must investigate despite the heating up of tensions between the Hamas and Fatah factions, and the impending withdrawal of World Bank funds to help an ailing Palestine. Sometimes action is forsaken for a slow look into a ritual or traditional exchange, and this makes Rees's book move along in fits and starts. Rees is cognizant of how little we in the west know about the structure and traditions of that part of the world. Reading his books is an educational experience as well as entertainment. Omar Yussef is a difficult character to peg. He is as old as his years and in bad physical shape. Although he is a teacher and respectable member of his community, the eccentricities and abuses of his youth have caught up with him. He is open-minded but easily gets angry with others. He cares for his family but he views them critically. He is smart and intuitive but sometimes doesn't stop to think before he speaks. There is an attempt on his life in this book, and it is a wonder there weren't more. I greatly admire Rees for bringing us this series. It puts names and faces, however fictional, to a foreign way of life and thinking. It is good to look past the headlines to the culture and people behind them. ONCE A SPY, by Keith Thomson (Doubleday, $25.95) recommended by David Thompson, Murder by the Book, Houston, TX, www.murderbooks.com: Once a Spy (as of right now) will likely end up my favorite debut of the year. Drummond Clark was once one of the CIA’s best agents. Now retired, he lives in a New York apartment, estranged from his son, Charlie, who grew up believing his father was an appliance salesman. Charlie’s a compulsive gambler, a total bum & loser; in fact, he owes some loan sharks over $20,000… where is he going to get that kind of money? When he learns that his father—found wandering the streets—has Alzheimer’s and Charlie can now become his guardian, he selfishly sees this as a way to take the old man for enough money to get out of debt. The U.S. government has other plans for Drummond: They see his Alzheimer’s as a threat to national security, where he may accidentally divulge state secrets at any moment, and they issue a hit out on him. It’s a good thing Drummond still has the moves. He and Charlie find themselves on the run from assassins, as they try to find out what it is that Drummond knows that is worth killing for. This book has it all—humor, action, cool villains—and it’s written in a cinematic style where you can visualize maybe Gene Hackman & Shia LeBeouf in a film version… and oh, yes, there’s gotta be a movie. In the meantime, run don’t walk to Murder By The Book and snatch up a copy of this book. Very highly recommended!!
MARCH 2010 | edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com : THE RAGTIME FOOL by Larry Karp (April, $24.95), recommended by Bill Farley, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Seattle, WA, www.seattlemystery.com : In this, the concluding volume of Karp's ragtime trilogy, it's 1951. Scott Joplin (The King of Ragtime, vol. 2) is long dead, but ragtime music is making a comeback. Brun Campbell (The Ragtime Kid, vol. 1) is now an old man, still obsessed with Joplin's music. A ceremony is being planned in Sedalia, MO, where Joplin got his start, but the plans are far too humble, in Campbell's estimation. He learns there may be a journal, kept by Joplin during his time in Sedalia that Brun hopes to use to spur interest in a full-blown museum of ragtime in the town. As with the two earlier books, there's a murder mystery involved here. This time the author uses a clever device of giving Brun a neighbor who's a science fiction author to speculate on possible solutions to the crime. But this story turns into a genuine thriller, too, as the journal becomes sought not just by Campbell, but by Joplin's daughter (or is she?), former musician friends, the Ku Klux Klan, and a teenager from New Jersey. (I don't think I'm forgetting anybody.) Some of them want to promote the journal, and some want to bury it. Some will literally kill for it. Once again, Larry Karp presents an authentic view of the time period, when in many parts of our country bigotry was as commonplace and blatant in the 1950's as in 1916 (King) or the turn of the 20th Century (Kid). In the process he can't resist a couple of real gotchas. You'll know them when you see them. If you haven't read the first two, start with them, then enjoy The Ragtime Fool. BULLETPROOF MASCARA, by Bethany Maines (Atria, $15.00), recommended by Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Waterford, VT, www.kingdombks.com : Can espionage be riddled with humor and still provide an intense and believable plot? Bethany Maines proves that the answer is yes in her new thriller, Bulletproof Mascara. An international cosmetics company named Carrie Mae (say it out loud) is dedicated to the women it serves: "Our sales consultants provide needed income for their families and affordable, quality cosmetics for women everywhere." That's what the indomitable Mrs. Merrivel asserts as Nicole -- Nikki -- Lanier begins to question just what the deeper side of the corporation, the Carrie Mae Foundation, is up to. If she'd been a bit more introspective, Nikki might have noticed that her own background in martial arts and multiple languages wasn't exactly the typical setup for handing out beauty samples. Carrie Mae's recruits have serious work to do, upholding the rights and safety of women around the globe. That's why Nikki is getting firearms training, as well as a set of highly improbably devices that can be hidden in lipstick tubes, powder compacts, and other feminine accoutrements. Nikki's first mission turns tough on day one, as her partner Val, whose capabilities range from scaling walls to picking the perfect pair of shoes, keeps abandoning Nikki during their rescue operation in Thailand. If it weren't for having to prove her mother wrong, Nikki might cut and run. At the same time, there's a possible CIA agent (male) chasing either Nikki or the same criminals she's confronting. There's no chance for "kiss and tell" because everything from elephants to international trafficking demands attention. Although I rolled with laughter every chapter or two, the situations never slipped away from "this could really happen!" Maines provides a merry and snugly plotted rejoinder to John Burdett's Thailand crime fiction, while creating in Nikki a modern-day, well-groomed, James-Bond-in-lipstick. And Atria chose well in offering this fun read as a chunky trade paperback. Best news yet: There's already a sequel in the works. INVISIBLE BOY by Cornelia Read (Grand Central, $24.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: Cornelia Read’s books are rich – an ironic phrase considering that her books are as much a socio-economic critique (veiled in a crackling good story) as they are anything else. Her prose is so delicious and full that it’s almost better to try and savor it as you read, a task I frankly find impossible as I have inhaled all three of the books to date. Her central character, Madeline Dare, from money "so old there’s none left", is of a moneyed and privileged world few people experience, and Madeline, the classic mystery outsider, is actually always short of funds, and has been since childhood. Her birthright and her education give her the entrée usually guaranteed by money, but looking at it from her insider/outsider perspective, she rejects much of what she would probably call the bullshit.Madeline has left the school she worked for in the last book (The Crazy School) and is back in Manhattan with her patient husband, Dean, crammed into an apartment along with her sister Pagan and her roommate. Dean is job hunting and Madeline has a subsistence job. She agrees to help her cousin, Cate, who is clearing out an old cemetery in Queens that apparently also houses many of their mutual dead relatives. On the first work day, Madeline finds a skeleton – apparently a recent one, of a small child. As she becomes emotionally involved in the investigation, she’s given police and legal access in a believable fashion. This novel has the most police and courtroom detail of the three, and it grounds the narrative in reality, while allowing Read to explore her emotional themes. As the facts are unraveled, it becomes clear that the skeleton is that of a three year old African American boy, a boy whose grandmother has been trying to find him. The resulting family snarl of drug abuse and bad boyfriends are the kernel of the novel’s theme, one that takes in every character. Much of the resulting character interaction has to do with both control and the kind of relationship where one person is blinded by, and controlled by, the worst possible person. This is a very American book. A British writer covering this kind of territory would do it in a much different way. Read’s method is far more straightforward; the character interaction and the narrative drive are of equal importance. Americans like a little momentum in their prose, and Read delivers it in spades, with her fresh, vivid, and memorable voice. She’s a true original – another American virtue. DOWN TO THE WIRE by David Rosenfelt (St. Martin’s, $24.99), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ for Books,San Diego, CA, maggiemary@yahoo.com : Chris Turley is a journalist, whose father was a legendary reporter. Chris works at The Bergen News, a New Jersey paper. He gets a call from someone claiming to have a tip for him. At the meeting, the tipster doesn't show, but he does get a huge story. A bomb goes off at a medical center near the site for the meet. Chris goes into action, and helps save people in the medical center. He can write the story from the viewpoint of a real hero.Was it coincidence that Chris was there? It isn't unheard of for contacts to have second thoughts about whistle blowing, and the bomb could have certainly scared the person away. Chris does keep getting tips about things, and his image, and that of his paper, is getting well known. But things take a sinister turn when the tipster turns on Chris. Soon the readers who loved him are blaming him for a serial killer's actions. Chris has to rely on all his skills, and with the help of his friends, needs to unearth the evil beneath the mask of his tormentor. What could have been an ordinary story is turned into a page-turning thriller in the hands of Rosenfelt. I've long been a fan of his, loving his Andy Carpenter series. Now I am raving about this book, even though there is no Golden Retriever in the book. MEMORY by Donald Westlake (Hard Case Crime pbo, $7.99), recommended by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, mystgalaxy.com: In his five decades of writing, under his own name and pseudonyms like Richard Stark, Donald Westlake more than earned many awards and his reputation as the Grandmaster of Mystery awarded by the Mystery Writers Association. Memory, his final novel, is a sad somber satisfying bookend to that career. New York Actor Paul Cole, on tour in the Midwest, sleeps with the wrong woman, and sustains injuries from her husband that leave him with significant memory loss, mostly short-term. Cole tries to make his way back to NYC, working and starting to build a new life as a factory laborer on the way. Eventually he makes it back to the city, to discover the person he was and the life he led may not have been that pleasant or desirable after all.FEBRUARY 2010 | Edited by Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Waterford, VT, www.kingdombks.com
THE MIDNIGHT HOUSE, by Alex Berenson (Putnam, $25.95), recommended by Sue Wilder, Murder on the Beach, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com: Task force 673, an eleven-person CIA interrogation unit operating in the Midnight House in Poland, is disbanded. The unit was responsible for interrogating high-profile terrorists, unofficially given the leeway to use whatever means necessary. Members of the team scatter to locations all over the world, some remaining in government service and others returning to civilian life. In a short period of time, five members are murdered by various means. Terrorist retribution seems an obvious answer, but the Agency realizes that more is involved. Agent John Wells, temporarily on leave in New Hampshire after his last adventure, is summoned to headquarters in Langley by his boss, Ellis Shafer. Although Wells is given the details of the problem, he is not made privy to all of the activities of the task force. As Wells investigates, he uncovers details that reach to the highest levels of the Agency and threaten to bring down powerful political figures in the U. S. government. The Midnight House is an excellent thriller that delves into the terrorist network and the resources used to track them and extract useful information. The story provides an in-depth examination of the hunters as well as the hunted. The cast of characters is large, with special attention to the psychological side of the story. The action is non-stop and Wells's pursuit takes the reader around the world. As with his previous books, Mr. Berenson knows his stuff. Locations are accurate and the story reflects current day headlines. Well written with crisp dialog that contributes to an exciting read, The Midnight House is the fourth book in the John Wells series. It may be read without reading the previous books, although John Wells is a character who will probably be around for a long time. The Midnight House is attractive to readers who enjoy Daniel Silva for his political thrillers or readers who enjoy Lee Child for his Jack Reacher character. FALSE MERMAID, , by Erin Hart (Scribner, $26.00), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com:
I think the best books are read with a lump in your throat. They have that combination of emotion, narrative and character that hit you as a reader just the right way, and the result is a reading experience that won’t let go. I think that’s one of my favorite things about reading, and one of the things that make reading books different from say, watching TV or seeing a movie. All have their good points but for sheer and total immersion, the place I most often find that experience is a good book. Erin Hart’s long awaited new Nora Gavin novel is just such a book. In this latest outing, Hart does one of my very favorite things: she has Nora deal with a death that’s emotionally meaningful to her as a character. In this case it’s the five-years-old murder of her sister, Triona. It’s a case that’s still officially unsolved, though Nora’s sure that Triona’s husband, Peter, is the culprit. Nora makes the trip back home to Minnesota from Ireland, leaving behind her boyfriend (for want of a better word) Cormac McGuire. Hart does a more than masterful job of tying together the separate family issues that Nora and Cormac are both dealing with. One of her methods of tying things together is the use of metaphor and folklore — back in Ireland, Cormac has encountered a folklore expert who’s researching "selkie" myths. A selkie is a seal who sheds her sealskin and comes on land to live as a human wife to a human husband. Only if the sealskin can be found and recovered is the woman able to return to the sea. Back in the states, the 11 year old daughter Triona left behind has a true affinity for a seal; and one of the physical clues is a plant called "false mermaid". The metaphors are lovely, they’re integrated into the plot, and they add real resonance to the whole book. Hart’s writing is similar to Elizabeth George’s, P.D. James’s, and Deborah Crombie’s. Heady company — all of these women write the same kind of detailed psychological studies combined with compelling narrative. The time away seems to have matured Hart even more as a writer, as this is to me her best book. I could not put it down. The ultimate compliment to her is that when I met her at a Bouchercon a few years ago, I was waiting in line to get my book signed. Right behind me was a fellow fan — Deborah Crombie. The resolution involves a devastating psychological explication of the characters involved — it’s disturbing, well thought out, and absolutely compelling. This is definitely one of the best books of the year. Starting with this one won’t be confusing as Nora more or less gets a fresh start by going back home to Minnesota, though the book ends back in Ireland. I wish I were starting it all over again. MONSTER, by A. Lee Martinez (Orbit, $7.99), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder By the Book, Portland, Ore., www.mbtb.com:
This was a cryptobiological fun ride! Monster Dionysus is a human, albeit a strangely hued one. (He wakes up with a new body color, signifying a different attribute – abnormal strength, invisibility, and the like.) He does freelance work for Animal Control, the organization that usually catches wayward dogs, cats, and an occasional alligator or two. Monster, however, captures cryptobiological units running amok. Say what? Magic exists at a subliminal level for most of us in author A. Lee Martinez's world. When a cryptobiological unit – a creature like your run-of-the-mill yeti or phoenix or manticore – escapes into the "normal" world, someone has to contain it before it ruins the day for us "incogs," that is, people who are genetically predisposed to ignore magic. That's what Monster does. He writes a rune or two and transmogrifies the critter into a rock. (It's easier to transport that way.) The number of unwanted critters has suddenly increased and seems to be centered on an unusually unlucky young woman, Judy Hines. She stocks shelves at a supermarket on the night shift. She wasn't expecting the ice-cream-eating yeti in her store's freezer, nor the other yetis who began tearing apart the rest of the store. After smoking a cigarette or two and thinking things over, she called Animal Control, and they sent over Monster. And so begins the involuntary collusion of Judy and Monster to find out why the world is suddenly off-kilter. Unfortunately, Judy has to be constantly reminded about what happened, because "light cognizants" like Judy almost immediately forget their magical experiences. I would have been satisfied with just this premise, but at the end Martinez actually elevates the story to a more interesting philosophical level that doesn't interfere with the book's light, amusing tone. JANE BITES BACK by Michael Thomas Ford (Ballantine Trade PBO, $14), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin' for Books, San Diego, Calif., maggiemary@yahoo.com: The works of Jane Austen have a long shelf life, still in print years after publication. It might be hard to believe, but Jane is still around, though sadly not able to receive royalties from the sales of her still popular books.
It seems Jane is a bookstore owner in a small upstate New York town. She is also a vampire. She was turned into one by another literary star. She has adjusted well to this new life, her store is doing well, she has a very nice assistant. While she may not be fond of the spin-offs of her work (action figures, cookbooks, homages), she can accept them as a fact of her new life. One thing that hasn't gone well for her is getting another book published. She can't use her true name, but she is the author of the book that has been rejected over one hundred times. When a publisher finds the treasure and buys the rights, it is under the name Jane Fairfax. The book is a hit, and the publicity given to the book is daunting for a woman who has spent years keeping a low profile. Soon she discovers a rival, one she would never have dreamed could exist. She also discovers a man who may be the one, one who could love her for what she is now. While I confess to not having read much Austen, I was entranced by this look at the woman and what she has become. I've long been a fan of vampire novels, and this puts a new twist on them. I won't spoil the surprise of the reader by revealing the vampire who turned Jane, but will say it was not who I figured it would be. Will there be a sequel? I certainly hope so. HUSH, by Kate White (Harper, $24.99), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin' for Books, San Diego, Calif., maggiemary@yahoo.com:
Lake Warren is wondering just how much worse her life will get. She is going through a messy divorce, and her husband is now going to request full custody. She has her own business, working as a marketing consultant. Her current assignment is at an upscale fertility clinic. She's getting phone calls that are simple and very scary. Lake is attracted to one of the doctors who is working at the clinic, Mark Keaton. Mark is from Los Angeles and may be joining the practice. With her two children living with her, and a custody case on the horizon, Lake must be discreet. She does agree to see Mark when her children are at a camp for a couple of weeks. She regrets her decision to sleep with Mark. After waking in the night, she goes out to his balcony for some quiet reflection. It is peaceful, and she falls asleep. When she returns to the bedroom, she finds Mark dead, murdered. Mindful of her vulnerability and the possibility she may lose her children, Lake makes the decision to slip away. She now is on pins and needles when the body is discovered.Lake had not mentioned her involvement to anyone at the clinic, or her good friend, Molly. She keeps a low profile, though her nerves are on edge. While she tries to keep her mind on business, she is finding that is hard to do. There may be dark deeds going on at the clinic. Lake gets involved in an investigation that leads to more danger than she ever expected. With the help of an investigative journalist, Lake is able to keep her reputation intact, while she brings justice to the late Dr. Keaton, and uncovers a traitor in her personal life. In a successful departure from her Bailey Wiggins series, White proves she is equally adept at writing a thriller. Though there is a bit of fashion here and there, something I always hope White will include, this is a terrific suspense novel. Lake is a woman with real problems, and while she may not always make the best decisions, she accepts the results of her actions, and works to make the best of any situation. Having the children off stage helps to keep the focus on Lake, but White skillfully brings danger to all involved. I'll be looking forward to reading more about Lake. JANUARY 2010 | Edited by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA www.mystgalaxy.com
CURSE OF THE POGO STICK, by Colin Cotterill. (Soho trade paperback, $13.00) recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: This is the fifth book in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series set in 1970s Laos. Dr. Siri is a reluctant coroner, placed in his current position by an imperious Communist government. In his 70s, Dr. Siri still has all his wits about him – plus the wits that should have been allocated to his superior, Judge Haeng – and the energy of a much younger man. He also has a spiritual advisor, the normally dormant Yeh Ming, a long-deceased village shaman. Late in life, besides his association with Yeh Ming, Dr. Siri has developed the ability to see spirits from The Otherworld. They lead him into and out of danger, with unpredictability as their hallmark. WHO KILLED THE PINUP QUEEN, Second in the Where Are They Now? series, by Toni L.P. Kelner (Berkley, $6.99) , recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ for Books, San Diego, CA, maggiemary@yahoo.com: Tilda Harper is a freelance entertainment writer based in Boston. She has a good friend who works at Entertain Me, a magazine where celebrities are revered. Tilda is happy to accept assignments for the magazine, but she also enjoys the freedom of freelancing. She’s able to make a living, but doesn’t have a lot of spare money. She’s been interviewing a former pinup, Sandra Sechrest. Her friend Cooper, a fan boy, tags along. When Tilda realizes she’s left her camera at Sandra’s home, she returns and finds Sandra’s body. What is worse is the realization she could be a suspect. When the stars of an old western TV show start planning a theme park based on their show, Cowtown, Tilda is hired to help with the planning. This is right up her alley. Part of her job is to interview the stars of the show, and many guest actors, at least those that are still alive. The show had a code of conduct, and it seems someone is no longer living by the code. Strangely, the two assignments seem to be connected. Pinups and Cowboys aren’t usually found together, but Tilda is smart enough to make the connection; when she does, she brings the Cowtown Code back to life, and saves the day. When I began reading this book, I had thought I was reading the first in the series, and when I realized my mistake, I was too hooked to stop. Kelner does a great job creating a historical TV show. She also has used her research on pin ups to great advantage. This series is a must for anyone with a love of popular culture, especially of days gone by. The only thing I’d change is have Tilda get rid of her roommate.
In Eye of the Raven, Pattison’s newly released sequel to Bone Rattler, the year is 1760 -- and the most powerful art within the colonies is that of the surveyor, whose pins and lines mark off wealth for landholders and claimants. Although Duncan McCallum is following, studying with, and attempting to protect his friend Conawago (a shaman caught in the New World equivalent of a clan war), his ignorance of the powers and histories around him make him helpless. At first his investigation is part survival strategy, part desperate effort to free his friend. It soon tangles in ritualistic murders that seem obviously connected to the shamanistic beliefs of the Iroquois natives. The darkness and despair that ensue turn this tale into pre-Colonial “noir.” McCallum’s detective work will stumble against many big issues: Is it right to "save" the Natives through Christianity, or does this simply transplant Hell from the Old World to the New? What is the price of wealth? How can McCallum investigate the results when his own exiled and anti-establishment nature has already made him a target? Pattison provides a compelling tale worth reading slowly. If you’re not a fan of historical mysteries in general, this may be the one that walks you across the gap of time and pattern. It’s both a fast-paced detection thriller and a wildly promising exploration of what a lonely man can become, if he chooses his few friends wisely. DEAD AIR: A SAMMY GREENE THRILLER , by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid (Oceanview Publishing, $25.95) recommended by Stephanie Saxon Levine, Murder on the Beach, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com: What do you get when you place an outspoken native New Yorker on a staid New England college campus, and give her the job of talk-radio host on the campus radio station? When you throw in the suspicious death of a professor, a suicide, and several student disappearances, you have a tension-filled page-turner. That is exactly what Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid have given us in Dead Air.
Protagonist Sammy Greene, curious and audacious by nature, with a journalist’s drive to uncover the truth, delves deep to find the answers to the mysterious deaths and disappearances. In addition, she has her own demons and concerns, past and present, impelling her forward, along an increasingly dangerous path. The closer she comes to solving the mysteries, the greater her personal peril. All this makes for a suspenseful read. While the college campus isn’t normally my “beat” as a reader of detective fiction, I found the characters, setting, and plot of Dead Air made it intriguing reading. It was good to be back in college again, although the campus of Ellsford College appears to be a very dangerous place indeed.
CITY OF DRAGONS, by Kelli Stanley (Minotaur Books, $24.95) recommended by Fran Fuller, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA, www.seattlemystery.com:: “Miranda didn’t hear the sound he made when his face hit the sidewalk.” From the first sentence, Kelli Stanley grabs your attention and after that she will skillfully transport you to 1940’s San Francisco with an assurance and style you’d expect from a long-established writer. In City of Dragons we meet Miranda Corbie, former escort turned PI. No one cares about one dead Japanese kid in Chinatown, but he died at Miranda’s feet, and from that moment on, she makes it her mission to discover why he was killed.
Stanley’s a fan of Hammett and Chandler, and it shows. Her prose is as sharp and staccato as Miranda’s high heels on the pavement. While some readers may find the short, terse sentences and free-flowing imagery difficult at first, Stanley’s style and talent will pull you into Miranda’s search for truth, filled with hard cops and duplicitous dames, double crosses and betrayal, and just a glimpse of love and hope. With the music of the day weaving a poignant counterpoint through Miranda’s investigation, I certainly found myself drawn completely into her world.
Miranda Corbie drinks hard, smokes constantly, and refuses to be put into her place by anyone. Kelli Stanley has created a strong, memorable protagonist, and I think that Sam Spade would have had her back when the chips were down.
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2010 Reviews |