MURDER-GO-ROUND: REVIEWS BY HARRIET KLAUSNER
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Harriet Klausner, was chosen the number
one reader in the entire USA by BOOK Magazine. What does that mean
to you? She reads constantly and knows what's out there and wants
to let you know, too. Read on for tips to great books from the wonder
reader Harriet Klausner. |
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July 2009
Slice of Murder
Chris Cavender
Kensington, Aug 2009, $22.00
ISBN: 9780758229489
It is hard to believe that murder or any major crime could occur in the sleepy hamlet of Timber Ridge, Virginia. However, it is the bad luck of Eleanor Spencer, owner of A Slice of Delight, to find the corpse of Richard Olsen with a knife protruding from his chest when she delivers a pizza to him.
Although they were once an entry, Police Chief Kevin Hurley treats Eleanor as a suspect; her sister and partner Maddie is so outraged, she insists Eleanor retain a lawyer. When business falls off, feisty Eleanor blames Kevin and the killer as her customers refuse to patronize her pizza shop because of the cop’s suspicion. She vows to find out who killed Richard. With Maddie accompanying her for the most part, Eleanor digs into Richard’s life as if she is kneading doe. They are stunned with how many people loathed the deceased as he blackmailed several with his shredding documents business and other people he found dirt on. The killer is aware of the sisterly sleuthing and patiently waits for the right moment to eliminate the meddling duo.
Readers will enjoy the lighthearted calorie filling A Slice of Delight amateur sleuth mystery. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Eleanor delvers the pizza and never slows down as she and her amusing sarcastic sometimes married sibling search for clues. Eleanor still grieves her husband’s death though some time has passed; the pizza parlor is her link to him; which exalts her to save it anyway she can. Chris Cavender has written a tasty cozy starring a likeable lead, her zany eccentric sibling, and a horde of former customers of whom one has chosen A SLICE OF MURDER.
Harriet Klausner
Even Money
Dick Francis and Felix Francis
Putnam, Aug 2009, $26.95
ISBN: 9780399155918
The first day of the Royal Ascot horse races gala was like any other opening at the prestigious event and Ted Talbot, his co-worker Luca, and their assistant Betsy are taking book from the punters. Out of the crowd comes an elderly man demanding to speak with Ted. He insists that he is Peter James Talbot, Ted’s father. This is a shocker as Ted was raised by his paternal grandparents who claimed his parents died in a car crash.
Peter informs his still stunned son that he has two half-sisters living in Australia, but before they can get into a car, two thugs demand the older Talbot hand over the money. During the subsequent brawl, James is injured and rushed to the hospital where he dies. Ted goes to his dad’s hotel room and finds proof that his father was involved in an illegal activity. The thugs still demand their loot and the code used on chips that are imprinted and then inserted into the horses. Ted’s life is in jeopardy but he also wants justice for his father and the insurance these punks will not go after him or his loved ones in the future. He ignores the cops because the lead police officer investigating his father’s death assumes he is guilty of something.
Dick and Felix Francis once again affirm that a father-son writing team can provide quality mysteries. Readers are caught up in British horse racing (a trademark of father) and the shenanigans that occur away from the track including some instigated by Ted. Still he receives plenty of empathy as criminals are coming after him as the likely recipient of his father’s legacy, he has a mentally ill wife institutionalized, and a co-worker wanting to be his partner in the family business. With plenty of thrills, chills, and spills EVEN MONEY is a sure bet.
Harriet Klausner
The Siege
Stephen White
Dutton, Aug 4 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780525951223
At Yale University, a group serendipitously assaults a building housing a secret society. The assault team easily takes over the edifice holding a number of students who include some offspring of VIPs as prisoners. The invaders turn the complex into an impregnable stronghold.
Slowly Yale officials realize something has happened on the campus. They call in law enforcement who tries to make contact with the hostage holders. However, those in charge inside make no demands what so ever and ignore efforts to negotiate with them. They randomly murder some of the victims and release others for no apparent reason. Suspended Boulder, Colorado police officer Sam Purdy, FBI agent Christopher Poe and CIA terror expert Deirdre Drake unite trying to break the enigmatic code of the terrorists.
This is a brilliant super hostage thriller that makes the case that terrorists learn lessons from each assault making the next one more efficient and perhaps effective; unless the countering law enforcement also learns by extrapolating from the current attack to prevent the next. Fans will be hooked from the moment the assault team takes over the building and wonder what they want and how they choose who dies. THE SIEGE is a terrific timely thriller that reminds the audience diligence is everyone’s job whether it is knowing a lone wolf is going to mete justice to an abortion doctor or a group burning down a religious facility as everyone is under siege when we remain silent until after the incident and claim non me culpa
Harriet Klausner
Smash Cut
Sandra Brown
Simon & Schuster, Aug 2009, $26.95
ISBN 9781416563082
When wealthy Paul Wheeler is murdered in an Atlanta hotel, the police assume a robbery has gone bad. His close friend, gallery owner Julie Rutledge, believes otherwise as she tries to convince the police that Paul’s nephew Creighton ordered the hit.
Creighton’s father asks criminal lawyer Derek Mitchell to represent his son, but the attorney refuses because he is going with Julie to Paris. Outraged by Derek’s rejection, Creighton goes after his loved ones. He stalks Julie and Derek’s dog Maggie. He plans to kill the girlfriend of his cowardly former partner Billy Duke as a punishment for his backing out of the murder scheme. Creighton plots to stage a triumphant final scene straight out of a classic Hitchcock movie like Frenzy that will leave Billy, Julie and Derek joining his Uncle Paul.
This is a super thriller that is fast-paced with rapid changing scenes that add tension as the audience increasingly and avidly anticipates High Noon. The cast is powerful especially the beleaguered Derek and Julie, but SMASH CUT is owned by Creighton who we meet when a servant Rose interrupts his tennis game. With terrific twists especially a late one and homage to great mystery films, fans will enjoy this cat and mouse tale as Creighton worships death scenes from the classics.
Harriet Klausner
Hitler’s War
Harry Turtledove
Del Rey, Aug 4 2009, $27.00
ISBN: 9780345491824
In 1938 England and France were prepared to tear away the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and cede it to Germany until the leader of Sudeten Germany Konrad Heinlien takes refuge in Germany. A Czech assassinates him giving Hitler the excuse to invade. Neville Chamberlain and Messer Daladier refuse to sign the treaty that Hitler offers them. Hitler declares war.
The Czechs fight bravely, but are easily overwhelmed by the superior Nazi army abetted by Slovakia independence supporters. The German war machine quickly conquers Holland, Belgium and Lichtenstein. While leaders of both sides map strategic objectives, individuals struggle with the effect of the hostilities. Peggy Druce came to take the waters at Marianske Lazne but ended up a neutral stuck in Berlin unable to go home. The Goldmans always thought they were Germans first and Jews second until the Third Reich destroyed their beliefs. Their son joins the German army under a false name. Besides the prime fronts, there are other local wars like the Spanish Civil War where American Communists fight against Fascist forces. In China, the Japanese have invaded China while American marines have a ringside seat to the pacific Theatre. However, the biggest news is the German blitzkrieg heading towards Paris.
Harry Turtledove once again changes a pivotal point in history and provides his answers to what if Chamberlain said no to Hitler. In HITLER’S WAR, neither side is at full readiness especially the Allies who were stunned when war broke out as they adhered to their belief that they fought two decades earlier “the war to end all wars.” Mr. Turtledove shows the impact of war on individuals who are powerless and quickly lose all hope. Although the alternative history premise is fun to follow due to a strong execution, it is the little people who bring heart and soul to the epic of “war what is good for, absolutely nothing: (Edwin Starr).
Harriet Klausner
Ravens
George Dawes Green
Grand Central, Jul 15 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 9780446538961
In Brunswick, Georgia dirt poor whites Mitch and Patsy Boatwright win the $318 million Max-a-Million jackpot. Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko are passing through town on their way to Ohio when they hear the news that a local yokel couple won the jackpot. The traveling pair decides to stay in town a few days to share in the winnings though they are strangers.
Shaw concocts the scheme of bluffing the duo into believing that he and Romeo are vicious lethal thugs instead of mentally tired programmers. He informs the Boatwright’s that they will hand over half or die along with their loved ones like their twentyish daughter college student Tara. Shocked and frightened Mitch and Patsy agree once they collect their money starting with introducing his lottery partner Shaw at a press conference.
This excellent regional psychological thriller works because of the strong cast who embellishes the story line with local flavoring and brings out the worst in the two wannabe con artists. Intriguingly the Boatwright family may be the victims fearful of the mentally bullying Shaw and the overwhelmingly physical threat from the ironically named Romeo, yet they also fall victims to the Stockholm syndrome as they begin to cherish their avarice banes who hold them hostage for the loot. Fans will enjoy this tense psychological thriller as George Dawes Green shows the human caring side to his major characters as much as their depraved needs. This is a strong exhilarating small town Georgia thriller.
Harriet Klausner
I Can See You
Karen Rose
Grand Central, Aug 5 2009, $18.99
ISBN: 9780446538343
In Minneapolis Eve Wilson survived the violent assault that left her face paralyzed, external scars removed by plastic surgery, and emotional wounds not healed (see DON’T TELL). She hides in the web world making friends there while working on her graduate school thesis re virtual communities can help people emotionally heal. Eve has constructed a website Shadowland to help people like her. However, some of her friends and customers in the Shadowland community commit suicide to her shock and regret.
Homicide detective Noah Webster believes a serial killer has murdered at least two people making it look like they committed suicides at work. Noah’s investigation leads to Eve and her website. He soon realizes the psychopath knows the victims extremely well, which the cop thinks means Eve is on the hit list of a diabolically clever killer.
Karen Rose is gaining a well deserved reputation for great romantic suspense thrillers; her latest winner I CAN SEE YOU is a super Minneapolis police procedural that also showcases the double edged sword of on line communities. Whereas the web enables the disenfranchised to communicate with others; on the other hand the others can include sociopaths or worse. With a strong cast especially the heroine, Ms. Rose writes a terrific whodunit that provides a double edge spin to the Internet applauding the connection of the lonely one to the many but also warning these ones that predators in sheep clothing could be one of the many. This is a great poignant work.
Harriet Klausner
New Tricks
David Rosenfelt
Grand Central, Aug 6 2009, $24.99
ISBN: 9780446505871
In Paterson, New Jersey, someone murders pharmaceutical VIP Walter Timmerman. A custody battle over the late man’s Bernese mountain puppy Waggy pursues between his widow Diana and his son, Steven. A judge directs lawyer Andy Carpenter to represent Waggy’s interest.
Andy, who already has a canine roommate Tara, picks up Waggy from Diana. Just after he leaves with the dog, a bomb explodes in Diana’s house killing her. The police who already suspected Steven in his father’s homicide, arrest him for Diana's murder. He hires Andy to represent him. Soon afterward, Andy's girlfriend, visiting Wisconsin police chief Laurie Collins, is shot while playing with the two dogs; leading to the attorney to conclude someone wants Waggy dead with Laurie accidentally getting in the way.
Having defended canine interests in court before (see PLAY DEAD), defense attorney Andy Carpenter does not blink when he is ordered to serve as Waggy’s lawyer. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Andy brings his client home and never slows down even with super spins and twists. Readers will appreciate David Rosenfelt’s terrific legal thriller as DNA plays a major role in the attempts to kill Waggy and anyone protecting the canine.
Harriet Klausner
The Venona Cable
Brent Ghelfi
Holt, Aug 2009, $25.00
ISBN 9780805088946
The murdered corpse of elderly American cinematographer Everett Walker is found in a Moscow warehouse. The Russian police charge master criminal and espionage agent Alexei “Volk” Volkovoy with the homicide for several circumstantial reasons one of which is he made pornographic videos at the “studio”.
Additionally Walker was blackballed by Hollywood in the 1990s due to the release of the previously Top Secret Venona Cables that incriminated him with many spies. He had come to Moscow seeking Volk. The American possessed a microdot of a decrypted 1943 cable concerning a meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt and a photo of Walker with Volk's disgraced father, Stepan, who mysteriously vanished in 1974. Volk knows the only way he can prove his innocence is to investigate his father in order to ascertain whether Stepan was a GRU military intelligence operative or a traitor. With only Valya at his side, he quickly realizes both the Russians and the Americans are clueless as to whom the genuine agents were, who were the moles, and who were the triple/double crossers, but each side wants Volk stopped from uncovering the truth.
This action-packed thriller grips readers from the opening moment when Volk realizes how much trouble he is in and how little time he has to extract himself from pending disaster. Readers will enjoy his latest exploits as he struggles to stay one step ahead of the Russian and American police and espionage groups. The ties to 1943 are brilliantly forged as Volk learns that the sins of the father are often carried on the backs of their offspring.
Harriet Klausner
Chosen To Die
Lisa Jackson
Zebra, Aug 2009, $7.99
ISBN 9781420102772
In the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana, the “Star-Crossed Killer” abducts women, heals them from their injuries, and photographs them before and after leaving them to die in the maze of the bleak isolated woods from the cold. Police Detective Regan Pescoli has worked the case for months, but has not gotten very far in ending the psychopath’s reign of terror.
Nate Santana, who is attracted to Regan, is worried about her as she is suddenly missing while obsessing over capturing that maniac serial killer who haunts the area. He persuades her partner Detective Selena Alvarez Regan could be in deep trouble. They methodically try to track her down unaware that Regan plans to escape the killer’s maze and come after him next.
Fans of Lisa Jackson’s suspense thrillers will enjoy the return of Detective Regan Pescoli (see LEFT TO DIE) who is caught by the serial killer she hunts. The story line starts extremely slow especially for a Ms Jackson novel as the background is set up instead of the cop in peril. Once Regan is caught in the Star Crossed killer’s maze, the tale accelerates into a fast-paced thriller as the beleaguered heroine battles the elements and a cold predator. Although the reader is never privy to her deepest inner fears, fans will enjoy tough Regan trying to survive.
Harriet Klausner
Intervention
Robin Cook
Putnam, Aug 2009, $25.95
ISBN 9780399155703
New York City forensic pathologist Dr. Jack Stapleton lost his first wife and two kids in a plane crash. Though it was not easy he moved on and remarried medical examiner Laurie Montgomery. However, his happiness is dampened when he learns their newborn son is diagnosed with deadly neuroblastoma cancer.
He seeks a cure for his offspring, but also needs something to take his mind off his worries. He finds relief for his mind when he performs an autopsy on a healthy college student who received treatment from a chiropractor leading to her dying from vertebral arteries. Jack begins research into alternative medicine planning to expose charlatans taking advantage of desperate ailing people.
Jack's classmate Metropolitan Museum of Art biblical archeologist Shawn Doherty leads a dig under Saint Peter's, which leads him to Jerusalem and Venice where he makes a shocking discovery. The Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York Kevin Murray learns what Shawn has found and wants his old college classmate stopped from revealing his find. He turns to their friend Jack to prevent the revealing of a skeleton allegedly of the Virgin Mary that could rock the foundation of the religion, but the ME sees instead a potential miracle if Shawn’s find is authentic.
The story line starts off as an exciting medical thriller with a desperate personal spin that makes Jack’s inquiry into alternative medicine a combination of exposing fakes and yet praying to find a miracle that works to save his son. The plot then takes a dramatic spin into Brownian religious thriller turf though a link to the desperate search for a miracle remains. That twist detracts from a strong personalized medical thriller that turns into an over the top (or perhaps under the ground) thriller though fans will still enjoy Robin Cook’s action-packed INTERVENTION.
Harriet Klausner
206 Bones
Kathy Reichs
Scribner, Aug 2009, $26.99
ISBN 9780743294393
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan is confused as to how she got where she is. Somehow, Brennan is badly injured and tied securely in what appears to be an underground tomb. As she regains her senses, slowly flashes of what happened to her begin to appear in her mind.
Based on an anonymous tip to authorities, Brennan arrived in Chicago with Andrew Ryan of the Serete du Quebec where she is being accused of erring in her autopsy of Canadian heiress Rose Jurmain. Meanwhile back in her Montreal lab, Brennan links Jurmain's death to the brutal murders of other elderly women by a particularly nasty serial killer. As she explores her premise further, she is just beginning to understand she is a trapped rodent in a deadly cat and mouse game.
This is a super thriller that contains several strong subplots; especially intriguing is the challenge to the heroine’s competency from an unknown source who seems to know forensics. Much more personal than usual, the courageous Dr. Brennan feels like a hunted animal who though wounded goes after her predator. Kathy Reichs provides a strong entry in one of the better mystery series of recent years.
Harriet Klausner
Holy Bullet
Luis Miguel Rocha
Putnam, Aug 20 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780399156007
In 1978 compromised candidate Pope John Paul I, in office a little over a month, is dead just after he announced plans to clean up the House of God everywhere. Soon after his death, the College of Cardinals elects Polish exile Cardinal Karol Jozef Wojtyła as Pope John Paul II. In 1981 an assassination attempt critically wounded the Pope, but he survived; another attempt a year later failed totally. In 2005, Pope John Paul II died.
Soon after his death, rumors spread that the two assassination attempts were not done by crazed lone gunmen, but part of a Vatican conspiracy to prevent reform within the Church. However, it is ironically the death a year later of an octogenarian archbishop in Arizona that serves as the catalyst of a search for the truth to learn who ordered the two failed assassinations.
Although too many wry commentaries detract from a fascinating sequel with a similar premise as that of THE LAST POPE, fans will enjoy this Vatican conspiracy thriller. The story line moves back and forth between the early 1980s (and occasionally late 1970s) and this decade. The fun in this tale (and its predecessor) is in the past although overly descriptive and slower than the modern day subplot filled with more action. Readers who enjoy Vatican conspiracies will appreciate the HOLY BULLET, an intriguing but at times slow paced thriller.
Harriet Klausner
Cast in Silence
Michelle Sagara
Luna, Aug 2009, $14.99
ISBN: 9780373803002
Elantra is a wonderful city ruled by the dragon emperor. He, his court and most inhabitants care nothing about the Fiefs (slums) that are located across the Ablayne River. There are several fiefs each ruled by a fief-lord who live in towers that rest upon the Old Ones magic. Private Kaylin Neya of the Hawk police force lived in the Fief Nightshade and wears his mark. She has performed remarkably well working her way out of the dirt of the fief by being on the right side of the law.
Life is about to become perilous for Kaylin because a seer has told her that something dangerous will soon strike the Fief; if it is not contained it will spill over the entire city and change all it touches into something reprehensible. The heart of the troubles resides in the fief Barren where she lived for six months before escaping. Now the Barren Fief is no longer stable. Kaylin, another Hawk and Dragon Lord Tiamaris travel to Barren on a fact finding mission. Caught up in a shadow storm, they are thrown into the past in which no Fiefs exist and Elantra is just starting to form. What they learn in the Barren tower helps them understand what is happening in their time; when they return they think they have a chance to defeat the seemingly invincible foe.
Readers who have followed the Elantra “Cast in …” chronicle (see FURY, SHADOW, COURTLIGHT and SECRET) learn about the Fiefs where the towers are located; this brings freshness to the overarching fantasy. Kaylin is much more confident as she no longer fears her past. She is doing her best to prevent the shadow spreading and destroying her city; she does this even if the cost is her life. Michelle Sagara’s CAST IN SILENCE is a great entry in a magical fantasy saga.
Harriet Klausner
Fear the Worst
Linwood Barclay
Bantam, Aug 11 2009, $24.00
ISBN: 9780553807165
Car salesman Tim Blake has his teenage daughter Syd staying with him for the summer. She works the desk at the Just In Time Inn but one day fails to come home from her job. The days pass without a word from her and the cops have no clues though they assume she is just another runaway. Tim searches for his daughter. He asks people if they have recently seen her, but no one has. One of Syd’s friends sets up a website so if someone does they can contact Tim ASAP.
During his investigation someone breaks into his house; everything is wrecked but nothing seems taken as if they searched for something. He calls the police who find cocaine in his home, but the cops believe it is a plant. Tim keeps searching and the results are car chases, getting shot, finding the enemy, killing the enemy and setting up an investigation that surpasses what the police are doing.
Readers who enjoy the thrillers of T. Jefferson Parker and Joseph Finder will relish Linwood Barclay’s latest tale. The story line is enthralling to watch an everyman hunting for his beloved daughter as he fears the worst has happened to her; however he will soon learn that there are even more terrible things than he nightmares imagined; his blunders bring plausibility to the plot. Filled with twists and suspense, the audience will be spellbound to learn what happens next.
Harriet Klausner
The Devil's Punchbowl
Greg Iles
Scribner, Jul 7 2009, $26.99
ISBN: 9780743292511
Former Houston prosecutor Penn Cage is elected mayor of his hometown Natchez, Mississippi on an economic platform to save the dying city. Currently five steamboats off the old slave market square offers casino gambling. With the looser atmosphere comes the high rollers and along with that Penn knows come vice and crime.
His childhood friend card dealer Tim Jessup tells Penn that the casinos offer dog fighting and dangerous sexual activity. Tim promises to bring proof to Penn, but before he can, he is found viciously murdered as a warning to other do-gooders. However, those running the illegal show while city officialdom wink threaten Penn and his family as they believe Tim gave him evidence as they tortured that confession out of him before they killed him. Another friend sneaks Penn’s family out of town; knowing his tweener daughter is safe the mayor is ready to clean up the floating casinos though their enemy seems to anticipate every move made against him.
The return of Penn (see TURNING ANGEL and THE QUIET GAME) is an exhilarating thriller that never slows down once Tim warns him about what is happening on the casino boats. Penn remains an ethical individual who refuses to turn away from the crime especially the violence as several other leading citizens prefer to do. Fans will relish Greg Iles strong tale of gambling on the Mississippi to bring jobs, but part of the employment opportunities are illegal and dangerous.
Harriet Klausner
Vanished
Joseph Finder
St. Martin's, Aug 18 2009, $25.99
ISBN 9780312379087
International corporate security expert Nick Heller is the best at his job. He currently is in California searching for containers filled with billions of dollars taken in Iraq, but stops in his tracks when his fourteen year old nephew Gabe calls hysterically from DC. The kid’s stepfather, Nick’s brother Roger has vanished and his mother Lauren is in a coma.
Nick rushes home though he and Roger are not on talking terms since their father was convicted of securities fraud. Nick knows his first priority is to the teen and his mom, but also begins inquiries into his missing brother. He begins to fear his brother was involved in some nasty stuff that threatens his family and apparently ties back to their incarcerated father as well as a dangerous mercenary-for-hire company.
VANISHED is a fast-paced, action filled thriller that never takes a breather once Gabe contacts his uncle. Nick drops everything to keep his nephew and his comatose sister-in-law safe while searching for his vanished estranged brother, whom he assumes initially, was abducted, but begins to reconsider his premise as he uncovers clues. Filled with plausible exhilarating twists, readers will find themselves dropping everything to finish this book in one sitting.
Harriet Klausner
The Last Ember
Daniel Levin
Riverhead, Aug 6 2009, $25.95
ISBN 9781594488726
Until the accident that killed his best friend and kicked him out of Rome’s American Academy, Jonathan Marcus wanted to become a field archeologist. Filled with guilt and remorse, he studied law and became an attorney with a suit representing some of the most scurrilous rogues in the fine arts.
He is sent to Rome to destroy the reputation of a U.N. antiquities expert. There he meets his girlfriend from the Academy Dr. Emili Travia, whom he never forgot. She is searching for the legendary two millennia old Tabernacle Menorah stolen from King Herod’s great Jerusalem Temple and brought to but lost in Rome. The sacred Menorah is allegedly to be eight feet of pure gold. Muslim Sheik Salah ad-Din searches for the precious menorah too, but if he obtains it, he will melt it down for the gold and even more so for religious reasons.
This is a terrific Brownian like religious thriller that never slows down once defrocked archeologist Jonathan returns to Rome and never looks back until the thrilling finish. The cast is solid and believable while the action is unabated but interweaved with historical information. Daniel Levin provides an exciting tale that will have readers breathless throughout.
Harriet Klausner
Let Sleeping Dogs Doe
Liz Wolfe
Medallion, Aug 2009, $7.95
ISBN: 9781934755655
Photographer Skye Donovan is euphoric as she has been hired on her first big assignment; pictures for an eighteen month calendar for The Pet Place national chain of pet stores. The models are mostly trained cats and dogs, but there is also an iguana and a snake in the mix. Her friend Connie who got her the shoot is getting married to r in the Caribbean leaving Skye worried about doing the calendar shoot without her assistance.
The session takes place on the estate of the Pet Place CEO Frank Johnson. The venue is perfect and everything is smooth until Skye goes to the house to get some water when she finds Frank dead with marks on his neck indicating strangulation. Skye’s boyfriend Portland Police Detective Scott Madison leads the investigation, which gives the pair a chance to rekindle their on and off and now on relationship. They both learn that the victim had numerous enemies; neighbors who were irate over his canine population that allowed no one to sleep; a business partner who believed he was cheated out of his fair share of the profits; and a client who was outraged when Frank failed to sell him the puppy he was promised. Scott wants Skye to stay out of the case not in his bed; while she agrees with the bed but investigates anyway like a bulldog placing herself at risk.
Besides dealing with the animal antics, Skye copes with her hysterical friend who is giving birth in a week or so and with her back on boyfriend. The romance between the detective and the photographer adds realism to the mix as they find out that Frank messed with seemingly half the population of the northwest making it difficult to choose who killed him. Fans will enjoy Liz Wolfe’s delightful police procedural-amateur sleuth combo.
Harriet Klausner
Sew Deadly
Elizabeth Lynn Casey
Berkley, Aug 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780425229101
After seeing her fiancé with another woman at their engagement party, Tori Sinclair moved to isolated Sweet Briar, South Carolina. As the newcomer in town, the transplanted Yankee librarian knows the eyes of the world are upon her not just due to her roots; the former librarian was forced to retire so Tori stands in judgment with the Sword of Damocles hovering over her. Making matters worse, her predecessor Dixie Dunn spreads lies about Tori.
At a sewing social, Diane gives Tori dirty looks and makes sarcastic comments about the new resident. Tori has a dream for a special place for children to get them to read and she gets the board’s approval in spite of Dixie’s caustic opposition. Tori finds the body of the town’s sweetheart Tiffany Ann at her back door. Inspector Daniel McGuire leads the inquiry with Tori as his prime suspect because rumors state she is after third grade teacher Mike who the victim loved. Most of the townsfolk assume Tori is the killer as they believe all the innuendos and rumors. Tori believes she must identify the culprit before she is either arrested or run out of town.
There is more than one murder for Tori to cope with; but what drives her batty is the bulb on her porch keeps disappearing; her appointment book and a slide projector vanish. The people want to know who the killer is before they allow Tori any welcome. Thus the local support cast brings realism to the plot as they seem like us. The first Southern Sewing Circle amateur sleuth is an enjoyable regional whodunit starring a reluctant heroine and the locals ready to lock her away.
Harriet Klausner
Bundle of Trouble
Diana Orgain
Berkley, Aug 2009, $6.99
ISBN 9780425229248
In San Francisco, office manager Kate Connolly takes a leave of absence to give birth to Laurie. However, mom and daughter connect instantly and Kate asks herself how she is going to return to work in six weeks when this bundle of joy calls to her to stay with her. Her spouse Jim reminds Kate that they live in a double income city.
The police pull out of the Bay the corpse of a murdered male whom the medical examiner thought might be Jim’s estranged brother, George; his bags were on the pier nearby. Jim gives information to the ME, which proves the victim is not his brother. Instead Brad Avery was fished from the water. Brad’s family hires private investigator Albert Galigani to uncover who killed her son. Neither he nor SFPD can find George, but both assume the missing man’s brother and sister-in-law knows more than they are telling, which is nothing. Kate searches for the elusive George only to get in trouble with the police and an unknown adversary who might be George.
The keys to this straightforward whodunit are Kate’s adjustment to motherhood to include her daily to do list and hard boiled Galigani who is amused by the new mother teaches her the ropes of investigating. In other words chick lit meets Noir in Dana Orgain’s fun mystery.
Harriet Klausner
Vanished
Kat Richardson
Roc, Aug 4 2009, $23.95
ISBN: 9780451462770
In Seattle, the perpetrator failed to give private investigator Harper Blaine the two minute warning when he slammed her temple; for 120 seconds she was dead. However, unlike most people who suffer a near death experience only to come back to their mortal lives, Harper returned differently as a Greywalker who travels both sides of the boundary between the living and other realms (see GREYWALKER). Her investigations have taken one hellish twist from cheating spouses to cheating paranormals (see POLTERGEIST) who she can see, but these monsters see her too. Two years since her death, Harper has a dying need to know why she didn’t just come back like most.
A call from the dead leads Harper to investigate her heritage with a focus on the pivotal event before her short-lived death; the demise of her father when she was young. In Los Angeles her mom says he killed himself. Harper reads his tormented writings in which he claimed the monster was coming and he feared for his sweet Harper. She tries to meet her dad’s ghost, but frighteningly he is nowhere as if his spirit VANISHED. However, her mind is taken off of her confusion when vampires order her to London to look into a bloody mess. Harper uncovers a connection between England and Seattle that makes her wonder whether her “genes” made it inevitable for her to walk the grey line.
The latest Greywalker investigation is a terrific tale that takes a deep personal spin for the heroine as she inquires into her heritage in an attempt to better understand what happened. The story line is fast-paced and filled with plenty of action as for instance a plane ride to Los Angeles leads to a teenage female ghost popping in wet over Oregon with no one else on board able to sense her. Kat Richardson is at her best with this super urban investigative fantasy as the worlds of the grey and paranormal come figuratively alive through the intrepid but mentally tired heroine.
Harriet Klausner
Leviathan
David L. Golemon
Dunne, Aug 4 2009, $24.95
ISBN 9780312376635
The navies from around the world are at a loss to prevent the Leviathan from attacking and sinking all types of vessels from the surface or under the sea. None of the countries have found the ability to stop the Leviathan from controlling the sea. However, the unknown Captain of the Leviathan warns the world’s rulers that they will unleash nuclear weapons of mass destruction around the globe if the surface dwellers do not stop their polluting of the oceans.
The American president sends his top team, the Event Group to stop the oceanic terrorists whose actions are reminiscent of Verne’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. As they begin their counter thrust, the top secret American team is unaware that the Leviathan has a traitor inside their headquarters. This turncoat enables the enemy to take the fight to the Event Group with plans to kidnap the leadership, to insure the breakdown of command and control, and to use as hostages in the event of negotiations.
Using the Event Group in a modern day rendition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea thriller, David L. Golemon provides his fans with an enjoyable tale. The story line is fast-paced on land and at sea although very linear with obvious actions and reactions except for a late exciting twist. Fans of Jules Verne or Mr. Goleman will take delight in LEVIATHAN, an exciting story that pays homage to great French author.
Harriet Klausner
Swan for the Money
Donna Andrews
Minotaur, Aug 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 0312377177
For once, Meg Langslow believes her parents have taken up a safe hobby that could not harm anyone. They are growing roses especially working on hybrids with a hope of creating a black version. Elated with their new pastime that is so safe, Meg agrees to organize the Caerphilly Garden Club first annual rose show.
The event is being held on the Winkleson estate because wealthy, influential but mean spirited Mrs. Winkleson wanted a home court advantage with everyone owing her favors and those who do not she bullies so she can win the Black Sawn Trophy. Meg goes to see the estate’s beautiful fenced in rose garden, but instead of beautiful blooming flowers, she finds a dead female contestant. Soon afterward, the hostess becomes unconscious after taking a drink. It looks like someone was trying to kill her using cyanide. Meg as usual snoops, but quickly finds everyone including servants, but especially the club members have strong motives to kill Mrs. Wilkerson.
Donna Andrews is highly regarded for her comedic often slapstick amateur sleuths (see SIX GEESE A-SLAYING); her latest is once again a hilarious whodunit as eccentricity, including Meg’s parents, runs rampart throughout the plot. The contestants are to say the least an unconventional crowd of oddballs, misfits, geeks, and hermits in which Ms. Andrews uses hyperbole to emphasis the diverse differences. Between protecting her out of control parents and dealing with belligerent club members, harried servants and sinister killer swans, Meg has her work cut out solving the rose garden murder.
Harriet Klausner
Whack ‘n’ Roll
Gail Oust
Obsidian, Aug 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780451227690
Serenity Cove Estates in South Carolina is a senior citizens housing development and home to the Bunco Babes, retirees who play Bunco twice a month. They are good friends and keep active. While playing golf, Kate McCall’s ball rolls into a rough patch filled with bushes. When she goes to retrieve her errant shot, she finds a Wal-Mart bag with a severed arm inside.
They call the sheriff who takes over the investigation, but Kate snoops around trying to help the law catch the perpetrator. Kate notices that her neighbor Rosalie Brubaker has not been seen in a while. Her husband Earl who grows orchids like a hippie says they had a fight and she left to see their children. Other body parts are found in the state park and at the recreation center. An anonymous phone caller to the sheriff insists that Earl is the killer and the murder weapon is in his house. Kate believes Earl is not the killer and has quite a few alternative suspects with motives to murder Rosalie, but finding proof could prove deadly.
This is a delightful amateur sleuth starring a protagonist who advises the sheriff giving him clues while hoping he will share his findings with her. She and the Bunco Babes are a close knit group who has each other’s back like the Musketeers so Kate has a powerful geriatric support group. The spunky Kate and her BFFs are filled with so much energy that people half their age will admire them. Gail Oust provides a complex whodunit starring a cast of eccentric sexagenarians.
Harriet Klausner
Liquid Diet
Michael McCarty
KHP, Apr 2009, $10.99
ISBN: 9780979988172
He has been a vampire for a decade turned at a fan convention at twenty-five years old. Andrew Bloodsworth has abstained from drinking blood for a month as he prepares for an interview on Chicago’s Wolf 99.9 FM where he will discuss his writings and get more sales for his books. The hostess is Goth Queen Bella Donna who is fascinated with this man who seems to ooze out of the shadows. She wants to hear his story of how he became a vampire and what it is like to possesses supernatural powers.
Andrew tells lher how his change came about and Bella’s fans go wild over a live vampire (pardon the oxymoron) except for outraged OTTO fundamentalists (Opposition To The Occult) who believes it is their divine right to cleanse the world of the occult, the paranormal and those connected to the supernatural. After being attacked by the Otto, Andrew and Bella go through a mirror and end up with her soul in his body and his soul in hers. Neither likes the gender change so the The Count helps them return to what they were; which also means another battle with the Otto when the pair appears on Harry Winger’s tabloid TV show.
Michael McCarty describes his thriller as a “vampire satire”, which is somewhat accurate as there is a biting sting to the plot, but is much more as he nukes the mythos and takes jabs at always right tabloid reporting and even more right fundamentalists. Andrew is a fascinating character who can love or hate with passion and can control his appetite; the reaction to him by Bella’s fans is a fabulous lampooning of hero worship. Readers who enjoy a sardonic bloody good vampire thriller will want to go on a LIQUID DIET.
Harriet Klausner
Bad Things Happen
Harry Dolan
Amy Einhorn Books (Putnam), Jul 23 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 9780399155635
David Loogan lives and hides in Ann Arbor in hope of moving past a violent history that he knows he will never forget. He begins to write a short story for Gray Streets literary crime-fiction journal. Though he never finishes the project, the magazine publisher Tom Kristoll likes what he has seen. He offers David a position as an editor, which he accepts. David, Tom, and his wife Laura become friends.
Tom obtains David’s help in dumping a corpse though the former does not believe the latter’s explanation. Soon afterward Tom falls to his death from his office window. AAPD Homicide Detective Elizabeth Waishkey suspects David killed Tom especially when evidence surfaces that he slept with Laura. As other people associated with Gray Streets die, single mom Elizabeth focuses even more intensely on David, who conducts his own inquiry to uncover the killer before he is on trial.
The fun in this terrific twisting serial killer investigative tale is the writers who are intelligent and witty until they become the star of someone else’s plot. The story line is fast-paced and the amateur sleuth prime suspect and the obstinate cop chasing him makes for an intriguing duel. Mindful of the movies' Theater of Blood and Murder by Death, but less hammy, fans will enjoy Harry Dolan’s fine thriller that as Vincent Price said (in Theatre of Blood) is “much ado about murder”.
Harriet Klausner
The Mist
Carla Neggers
Mira, Jul 2009, $24.95
ISBN 9780778326243
Billionaire Norman Estabrook is charged with money laundering and abetting drug traffickers but his wealth allows him house arrest on his Montana ranch. Used to doing whatever he wants, Estabrook targets a killing list of those who interfered with his lifestyle. At the top are FBI director John March and Agent Simon Cahill; he also wants to murder the not so anonymous snitch, hotel owner Lizzie Rush and Cahill’s lover Kiera Sullivan as well as other loved ones.
Rush believes Estabrook is a deadly predator who will hunt down his adversaries in a thrill seeker equivalent of the Deadliest Game. She goes to Ireland to warn Sullivan and meets SIS Agent Lord Will Davenport. In Boston, March's daughter Abigail Browning vanishes following a bombing of the house she lives in with her fiancé. The Feds know Estabrook arranged the hit, but are unaware that the wealthy psychopath has begun his contest using mercenaries.
The latest Carla Neggers FBI romantic suspense thriller (see THE WIDOW, ABANDON and especially THE ANGEL) is an enjoyable tale filled with a gloomy atmosphere as the audience and the heroes expect the worse. The story line is fast-paced but does not spin far away from Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game but fans of Ms. Neggers will enjoy the hunt.
Harriet Klausner
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