D.L. BOLK - MOSTLY MYSTERY REVIEWS

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	Prior to the release of her debut novel WHEN HEROES FALL (AmErica House, ISBN: 1-58851-099-9) in November 2001, D.L. Bolk was a technical writer for many years. She is a past president of Maryland Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA), and was the Maryland Regional Representative for the National Association of Women Writers. In July of 2000, her paranormal romance, SAVING CINDERELLA placed first as a Category winner in the Unpublished Division - Historical/Paranormal/Time Travel of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, sponsored by the RWA, Kiss of Death Chapter (KOD). She invites you to visit her website www.dlbolk.com and can be reached at author@dlbolk.com..

BOOST
Steve Brewer
Speck Press, 221pp
ISBN: 0-9725776-5-3

Sam Hill was suppose to collect four grand for the stolen T-Bird, but instead what he received was a dead body. After heisting the T-Bird, Sam makes a pit-stop and discovers a DEA informant stuffed in the trunk of the car.

At first Sam thinks it's just bad luck, but he soon discovers that the body was meant for him. Someone has set him up for a fall. What he doesn't know is who and why.

Bullets and blood are not in short supply as Sam works his way to the answers. But Sam's not working solo, he gets help from his buddies, Way-Way Henderson (a truck size bouncer) and Billy Suggs (a want-a-be-Sam, in the making).

Clip your seat belt, and prepare to be pulled into Boost, as Steve Brewer provides the reader with fast cars, quirky characters, and the head scratching thought that maybe car thieves aren't so bad afterall.

Reviewed by: D.L. Bolk

THE CAPE COD MYSTERY
Phoebe Atwood Taylor
The Countryman Press, 320pp
ISBN: 0-88150-046-1

Asey Mayo is a jack-of-all-trades, who knows a little bit about everything. When Bill Porter (Asey's best friend) is accused of murdering a less than honorable novelist, he turns to Asey for help.
At the start, Asey has two things going for him, an empty sardine can, and the assistance of Prudence (Snoodles) Whitsby. Piece by piece, Asey and Prue sleuth their way to the real murderer, and uncover the most unlikely of killers.

With the publication of The Cape Cod mystery, Countryman press brings back one of the most popular mystery writers of all time Phoebe Atwood Taylor. Mystery fans who have not been introduced to Taylor's, Asey Mayo Mystery series (set in Cape Cod during the 1930's) are in for many hours of reading pleasure.

So if you're looking for a taste of Cape Cod, days long gone, and characters of another era -- step into the world of Phoebe Atwood Taylor and her personable sleuth Asey Mayo.


Reviewed by: D.L. Bolk

FREEZEOUT
Rick Gadziola
ECW Press, 277pp
ISBN: 1-55022-689-4

Jake Morgan is an ex-cop, turned casino dealer. Much to his displeasure Jake finds himself in the uncomfortable position of owning his boss, Julius Contini a favor. It's a favor he can't refuse. Contini 's great -niece Angelica (a Britney Spears look-alike) is coming to Vegas at her Grandmother Olivia's request to spend some time with her. Word has spread that Olivia is dying. And Contini wants Jake's to play babysitter and bodyguard.

Angelica's arrival stirs up plenty of trouble. Fifty years ago her Grandfather (who ran one of the major Vegas casino) and a large sum of money disappeared.

Olivia never believed the rumors that her husband took off with a showgirl. Although his body was never found, she believed he was murdered.

Olivia is dying, she asks Jake to find out what really happened all those years ago. There are some very nasty people who also want to know what happened, not to Olivia's husband, but to the missing money and they're not above murder to find the answer.
Freezeout is the second novel in the Jake Morgan series. From the first page to the last, Rick Gadziola has the reader firmly placed in the Vegas lifestyle. The plot moves at a fast clip, the dialogue is realistic, and the action-packed ending left this reader eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.


Reviewed by: D.L. Bolk

A GHOST OF A CHANCE
Peter Guttridge
Speck Press, 282pp
ISBN: 0-9725776-8-8

Wisecracking journalist Nick Madrid is at it again. Compliments of his pal, Bridget Frost, an editor who commissions him to do some ghost busting.

Nick takes on the assignment, but instead of finding ghosts, he comes across a dead body, elaborately tied and hanging by his ankle from a tree in the cemetery.

As Nick stumbles deeper into a story he never expected to uncover, the past mixes with the present, and he soon discovers it's not the dead he has to watch out for, but the living.

Author, Peter Guttridge has a flair for mixing humor and drama that make his characters far from perfect, and totally believable.

If you enjoy, mystery, magic, murder and plenty of intrigue, you won't want to miss, A Ghost Of A Chance.

Reviewed by: D.L. Bolk

TWO TO TANGO
Peter Guttridge
Speck Press, 220pp
ISBN: 1-933108-00

Journalist Nick Madrid finds trouble at every turn, when he is sent to the Amazon to write a feature on Otis Barnes, a one-time hard rocker, who was into drugs and alcohol. Barnes is the poster boy for the "Rock Against Drugs tour".

Nick soon discovers that Barnes isn't as squeaky clean as he claims to be. A mean drunk, Barnes has made a lot of enemies. One of those enemies wants him dead, and is sending threatening notes with the promise that Barnes won't survive his final concert.

Nick Madrid, is a quick thinking, wisecracking, reluctant hero, who has a knack for being in the wrong place at wrong time.

The pacing is such that the pages practically turn themselves. Peter Guttridge provides the reader with a nice blend of suspense, adventure and humor making Two to Tango a great read.


Reviewed by: D.L. Bolk

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