MURDER-GO-ROUND: REVIEWS BY HARRIET KLAUSNER

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.

Check her new column in FMAM's hardcopy magazine, entitled "Murder-Go-Round by Harriet Klausner."

May 2006

WHITE SHADOW
Ace Atkins
Putnam, May 2006, $24.95
ISBN 0399153511

For years Charlie "White Shadow" Wall ran the Tampa, Florida mob. Now Charlie retired as he knows that being the kingpin is a young man's game with him finding it increasingly difficult to stay alive from the assorted rivals and employees who want to dethrone him. However, in April of that year, someone stabbed elderly Charlie killing him.

Detective Ed Dodge and Tampa Tribune reporter Leland Hawes investigate the homicide that each assumes ties back to the White Shadow's mob days; could someone have feared that Charlie knew too much and with Kefauver making noise in DC was about to reveal secrets. Dodge and Hawes travel the city to include the infamous Latin Quarter of Ybor City, Sunset Park and more before heading to Havana as they follow clues that look promising but seem to go nowhere with the mob watching every step they take just in case.

Though a fine mystery based on the real homicide of Wall in 19555 Tampa, WHITE SHADOW feels more like a historical tale with a whodunit subplot as the story line contains a who's who of 1950s Florida and Cuba. The investigation is terrific, but it is the tidbits from the era and the persona like Castro who brings what seems now like ancient history (the Dodgers are still in Brooklyn winning their only world series while located there while L.A. is not even a strategic objective). True crime fans, the historical mystery audience, and readers who appreciate a look back at the "Happy Days" of the Eisenhower era will appreciate Ace Atkins fine "reenactment" thriller.

Harriet Klausner

THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS
Nancy Pickard
Ballantine, May 2006, $23.95
ISBN: 0345470990

The sheriff and two men found the frozen corpse of a battered young woman with blood between her legs. They bring her body to the local doctor and he smashes the visage beyond recognition. However, none of the men realize someone witnessed what they did. The judge's son Mitch, looking for a Trojan to make love with the doctor's daughter Abby, saw what they did and recognized the woman before they ruined her face.

The next day his parents send Mitch off to college and cut him off from his friends and family in Small Plains, Kansas. They tell him to stay away or the doctor and the sheriff will accuse him of murder. The townsfolk feel sorry for the victim and when no one comes forward claiming her, they provide a descent burial. Over time people visit her grave because it is said that's she thanks the town by performing miracles. Seventeen years alter Mitch returns and the secrets that the powerful men hid are in danger of being revealed.

Fans of Nancy Pickard's Jenny Cain mysteries will treasure her new work of psychological suspense with gothic overtones. As the story of what happened seventeen years ago parallels the subplot of Mitch's return to his hometown, readers feel a sense of foreboding as if something terrible is about to occur. Fantastic characterizations, several exciting subplots that tie into the main story line and a glimpse of small town justice make THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS a special reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

HITCHED
Carol Higgins Clark
Scribner, April 2006, $24.00, 288 pp.
ISBN 0743289420

It has been a long time coming but finally California private detective Regan Reilly is getting married to NYPD captain Jack Reilly, head of the Major Case Cquad. The happy couple is going to live in Jack's Tribecca loft but with just a week to go before the wedding, Regan has a lot of details to settle. The most important item is to pick up her wedding dress but when she goes to Alfred and Cherisse's Couture, she finds the owners tied up and the wedding gown stolen along with twenty thousand dollars in cash.

Regan is determined to find the thief who stole her gown and the robbery gains media attention as a human interest story. The thieves are driving to Las Vegas to sell the dresses there while Regan is dealing with the dress and the other brides who also had their dresses stolen along with hers. Jack is trying to catch a bank robber who only is active on rainy days. As he keeps apprised of Regan in her investigation, he discovers a link to his case that just might catch the perpetrator. Regan takes all the problems surrounding the wedding in stride concentrating on catching a jewel thief and a missing woman who was attending one of the bride's bachelorette party.

Looking for an exciting light-hearted mystery with an eccentric cast of characters, some of whom surprisingly turn out to be crooks? Look no further than HITCHED, the latest and most romantic Regan Reilly mystery. Readers finally see Jack as a three dimensional character who is not afraid to show his love for his fiancée. The two protagonists share equal billing in this delightfully charming crime caper.

Harriet Klausner

CORPSE SUZETTE
G.A. McKevett
Kensington, May 2006, $22.00, 288 pp.
ISBN: 0758204620

San Carmelita private detective Savannah Reid is allowing her assistant's cousin Abigail to stay at her apartment while they both get a complete makeover at Emerge, a high class spa. Abigail is not easy to get along with because she hates her Junoesque body while Savannah who is also overweight is comfortable with hers. Abigail's' makeover is halted when one of the owners Suzette DuBois disappears baffling the police who are not sure a crime occurred and if one did was it a homicide.

Emerge's other owner, Suzette's former husband Sergio D'Allesandro, hires Savannah to find his ex wife because he insists she took one and a half million dollars form his bank account. After doing some investigating with her friend Police Detective Dirk, they find Sergio's body at Emerge. Toxicology affirms what Savannah suspected that he was murdered. She and the police seek the missing Suzette, who each feels is either the killer or the next victim.

G.A. McKevett writes a sparkling witty and exciting whodunit that is low on gore but big on clues so fans of cozies and armchair sleuths will fully appreciate. The heroine seems like a real person with her acceptance of who she is physically as a big athletic woman and her need for justice. Once again Savannah stars in a totally exciting mystery.

Harriet Klausner

RIDING WITH JOHN WAYNE
Aaron Latham
Simon & Schuster, May 2006, $26.00, 373 pp.
ISBN: 0743269799

Although Hollywood rarely makes cowboy movies anymore, they make an exception when they read Chick Goodnight's screenplay about his ancestor who was a Texas cowboy in the 1870's. Chick moves to Hollywood to work on the script with the beautiful director Jamie Stone. He lives with his cousin Sharon who asks him to hire her boyfriend, stunt director, Chris Crosby. It is only after he is hired that Chick learns Chris beats up Sharon.

Sharon, an aspiring actress, arranges an audition with the producer Buddy Dole, known to have sex with wannabe starlets in exchange for small parts in his films. She never comes home from her "interview"; later that night the police inform Chick that Sharon is the victim of a hit of run. Her parents and Chick don't believe it was an accident and his aunt and uncle ask him to investigate. He learns she had a later appointment with buddy but he can't rule Chris out because he was insanely jealous. On the set, somebody gives him a terrible beating to stop him from asking questions but that only make Chick more determined to find out whom, if anyone, killed the cousin he adored.

The movie is filmed near Chick's hometown of Spur, Texas so readers have insight into the forces that molded him into the man he is today. His innocence and caring heart endears him to the audience as they watch the collision between Hollywood and a small town. There is a lot of humor and dry wit infused into the dialog of the various characters which helps diffuse the tension when it reaches a boiling point. Aaron Latham has written a cleverly constructed who-done-it that has readers wondering if there was a killer and if so who was it.

Harriet Klausner

THE SADDLEMAKER'S WIFE
Earlene Fowler
Berkley, May 2006, $23.95
ISBN 0425207781

Cole and Ruby McGavin were married six months when he died in an apparent accident in which his truck was found in the bottom of a ravine. Ruby mourns her sudden loss, but receives a second shocker when she learns that she inherited part of his family spread, the Circle MG Ranch in Cardinal, Tokopah County, California. The stunner is that Cole insisted his entire family died ironically in a car accident near Bakersfield.

Taking Cole's ashes to his hometown while also planning to sell her share of the ranch, Ruby meets her in-laws. Cole's Aunt Birch is especially welcoming to her, the total opposite of her mother-in-law June, who treats her with disdain and fears she will bankrupt their spread with her quarter share. However, the biggest surprise is Lucas, Cole's younger brother, a former San Francisco lawyer who came home to become an impoverish saddlemaker. He has the same obsession as her, a need to know what drove Cole to deny his family's existence. They team up to learn the truth, but family members are silent leading them to Cole's friends as their only hope.

Displaying her talent without Benni Harper to help, Agatha Award winner Earlene Fowler provides a deep family drama starring two likable protagonists needing to know the secret that led to Cole's actions. The story line is character driven especially indirectly by the late Cole. Fans of powerful psychological thrillers that require a one sitting read will want to know why at least as much as THE SADDLEMAKER'S WIFE needs to know too.

Harriet Klausner

GONE
Jonathan Kellerman
Ballantine, Apr 2006, $26.95
ISBN: 0345452615

Dylan Meserve and Michaela Brand met at the PlayHouse where they were taking an Inner Drama seminar. During the day he sold sneakers and she was a waitresses as both out of towners hoped to take Hollywood by storm. No one would care back home, Brooklyn and Phoenix respectively, if something happened to either of them. The two lovers vanish on the way home from a rehearsal. Three days later, they reappear battered and terrified near Latigo Canyon on a remote windy segment of the Malibu mountainside. Each claims a masked maniac abducted and tortured them.

Their horrific tale fails to hold up under the slightest police inquiry and rather quickly empathy turns to loathing for perpetrating such a publicity stunted hoax. LAPD arrests Dylan and Michaela for false filing and the court orders psychological evaluations. Psychiatrist Dr. Alex Delaware examines Michaela; he concludes she has some emotional issues especially depression and stress, but he also believes that her current overt conditions are caused by her being caught. He also feels there is something deeper, perhaps even a psychosis that he failed to identify in the short e had with her. Not long afterward, someone brutally kills Michaela with the missing Dylan as the prime suspect; that is if he is still alive. LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis assisted by Delaware begins the investigation.

The latest Delaware investigative tale is one of the best of this long running award winning series because the two wannabe actors provide a fascinating look at how far someone will go to achieve fame. The story line maintains a high degree of excellence, but is especially at its best when Alex, somewhat frustrated, talks with Michaela. Police procedural fans and those readers who appreciate a powerful psychological thriller will want to read GONE, a strong exciting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

UNSPOKEN FEAR
Hunter Morgan
Zebra, May 2006, $6.99, 448 pp.
ISBN: 082177946X

Rachel accompanied by her four year old daughter Mallory arrives at the Sussex County Correctional Facility to take home her former spouse Noah, who spent five years there for vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. Noah, an ex-priest, blames himself for his still beloved Rachel no longer smiling while also pondering who the father of the little girl is. His two children with Rachel are both dead.

Not long after Noah returns to the vineyard home of his parents where Rachel, Mallory, and idiot savant Mattie McConnell live, someone stones their neighbor Johnny Leger to death. Detective Chief Snowden Calloway and Detective Sergeant Delilah Swift believe Noah knows something about the homicide, but is not forthcoming with information. As they make inquiries, Noah wonders if he might be dangerous as he blacked-out at the time the murder occurred.

This is a terrific thriller that from the start has the audience wondering if a fallen angel is doing the killing yet with potential paranormal intervention, the tale holds together as a police procedural mostly from the perspectives of Noah and Rachel. The story line is fast-paced as Noah holds himself at fault for what happened especially as he sees the sadness of Rachel and how much Mattie displays he let him down too. The strong support cast keeps the thriller from collapsing into a maudlin serial killer second chance at love if he is not the culprit. Though at times over the top, especially with Azrael and the voice, fans will enjoy Hunter Morgan's solid tale.

Harriet Klausner

DEEP SEA DEAD
Lori Avocato
Avon, May 2006, $6.99, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0060837004

Insurance fraud inspector and former nurse Pauline Sokol is unhappy with her newest assignment, her sleazy boss Fabio Scarpello tells her to stop fretting about icebergs and forget the Titanic. Reluctantly she joins the medical team of the Golden Dolphin luxury liner as a nurse while the vessel sets sail for Bermuda because the alternative is unemployment.

Pauline's tied for best friend Goldie and her squeeze Miles booked passage on the luxurious ship to provide her support though the former fears crossing the infamous Bermuda Triangle. Also on board are Pauline's parents, whom the undercover insurance agent assumes is coincidence; and the enigmatic Jagger, who insists he is her backup only. However, as she investigates what is going on the Golden Dolphin, someone prefers to eliminate the crew including nosy nurses. FBI Agent Tim Harwinton, attracted to Pauline, struggles to keep her safe while Jagger skirmishes with not beating up the Fed for trying to steal his role.

Homage to Poe aside, only Pauline could go first class on cruise ship and find corpses in her room as once again she stars in her fourth delightfully wacky whodunit. Tim adds freshness as his interest professionally and personally in the heroine brings out the beast in Jagger who does not like the Fed poaching. The murder mystery as always is fun to follow as Pauline constantly lands in peril with two studs fighting over who should rescue her. DEEP SEA DEAD is a terrific cuckoo's nest homicidal investigative tale.
Harriet Klausner

THE BOOKWOMAN'S LAST FLING
John Dunning
Scribner, May 2006, $25.00, 352 pp.
ISBN:0743289455

Former homicide police detective Cliff Janeway, now a bookstore owner is always on the lookout for a rare and precious book. Junior Willis asks Cliff to authenticate and appraise the book collection of the late Harold Ray Geiger; Cliff leaps at the chance because he wants to see first hand the collection. When he does he notices that later editions were substituted for rare books and that his client has only half the collection as Geiger's daughter Sharon owns the rest. Cliff is in heaven when he gets to see what she possesses.

Sharon hires Cliff to find the missing books and to learn if her mother's death, though years ago, caused by an allergic reaction to eating peanuts, was suicide, accident or murder. He follows clues that return him to Geiger's house and ultimately the horse racing world. Someone observes Cliff's efforts and decides the bookworm is getting too close to the truth so tries to close the book on him by killing him. Wary but not deterred, Cliff keeps investigating as he now knows a homicide perhaps two occurred and he has a suspect but lacks evidence.

Bibliophiles and racing fans will be euphoric with Cliff Janeway's latest caper. Dick Francis fans will thoroughly enjoy THE BOOKWOMAN'S LAST FLING especially for the behind the scenes look at what goes on at a horse racing track. Cliff is at his best evaluating books, but by the tale's end the audience will know he misses police work as he gleefully follows the clues in the case even when his life is at risk and upsets his significant other who already is disturbed that he is a "murder magnet".

Harriet Klausner

HARE TODAY, DEAD TOMORROW
Cynthia Baxter
Bantam, May 2006, $6.99, 387 pp.
ISBN 0553588435

Veterinarian Dr. Jessica Popper has a mobile practice using her van as her office in which she travels to her patients. She has so far also solved three homicide investigations. The last one got her poisoned and she had to stay in the hospital for forty-eight hours after getting her stomach pumped. When she gets out of the hospital all she wants to do is go home to bed but a call from her best friend and fellow vet Suzanne Fox has her going to her pal's house instead.

Suzanne tells Jessica that she is a suspect in the stabbing death of the fiancée of her ex-husband because she was seen coming out of her home shortly before the body was discovered. A neighbor gave a description of Suzanne to the police. To make matters worse, Suzanne lied to the police, claiming she was never in the woman's house. The police know she lied to them and certain other evidence makes Suzanne the prime suspect forcing Jessica to start her own investigation to find the killer so she can clear her friend who she believes is innocent.

The latest "Reigning Cats and Dogs Mystery" is a very entertaining who done it. Cynthia Baxter has a knack for creating eccentric and dysfunctional characters who add humor even when they become prime suspects. The heroine is very easy to like as she not only stands by her friend but does all she can, even risks her own life, to prevent Suzanne from being arrested. Fans will appreciate the delightful amateur sleuth HARE TODAY, DEAD TOMORROW.

Harriet Klausner

THE SURROGATE
Judith Henry Wall
Simon & Schuster, May 2006, $13.00
ISBN: 0743258517

Twenty-one years old Jamie Long is deep in debt having spent a fortune caring for her late grandmother and has no one to turn to for help as she is estranged from her only living relative, her older avaricious half-sister Ginger. However, she thinks she has the answer to her financial woes if she can get the assignment. Nearing fifty televangelist Amanda Hartmann offers $100,000 down and income for life to bear her child in secrecy. The sperm donor is Amanda's current husband and personal trainer Toby. Jamie applies and is considered acceptable for the artificial insemination though this requires her to remain hidden at the Hartmann ranch in the isolated Texas Panhandle.

Amanda's brother Gus, head of their empire oil-evangelical empire accepts the ruse to fool their devotees with a miracle child though the sperm comes from Amanda's allegedly dead but actually comatose son. Amanda's preaching predecessor Mary Millicent allegedly bed-ridden warns the newcomer to beware of the evil Hartmanns as once she delivers the infant she becomes expendable as Gus leaves no evidence alive. Jamie believes Mary; pregnant she flees and has her baby by herself until she reunites with her teenage unrequited crush Joe Brammer who joins her and baby Lynette on the lam.

THE SURROGATE starts off with a terrific premise that is cleverly executed in the first part of the novel, but turns into a Keystone Cops thriller as Joe and Jamie elude Gus' minion relatively easily with a baby at their side while also finding time to make love on the beach. The story line is over-filled with suspense that grips fans of Judith Henry Wall, but loses all plausibility. Exciting, but improbable especially the second half, THE SURROGATE is for Ms. Wall's audience.

Harriet Klausner

ALIEN INFECTION
Darrell Bain
Twilight Times, May 2006, $16.95
ISBN: 1933353724

At Lamont Memorial in Lufkin, Texas the night shift ER Doc asks Lab Technician Michael Brandon to draw blood for tests from a patient seemingly dead. As he fills three tubes up, the barely alive patient knocks the syringe into Michael's wrist though neither of the medical attendees notice because they are distracted by the movement. Not much later, as Michael tests two of the tubes of blood and refrigerates the third, two suits with guns arrive taking the two tubes, but quickly leave as the comatose patient has some how escaped.

Michael goes home, but becomes very ill. A few days later he recovers only to learn that anyone involved with that patient is being eliminated in what has been made to look like accidents as the ER Doc and nurse died while allegedly running away together. Realizing the Feds will come for him and how diabolical these suits are, Michael heads to Dallas where he meets Mona to get his ID changed. He cuts himself shaving, but panics when she touches his bleeding nick with a finger she had accidentally stuck with a pin. She becomes infected. As they flee together, each notices they seem younger and healthier while the Feds hunt them now in Arkansas.

This medical thriller grips the audience from the moment that Michael is jabbed by the syringe and never slows down as he and Mona struggle with learning the truth and surviving the ordeal of the Feds wanting them dead in what appears to be a clean-up cover-up operation. Michael and Mona are interesting protagonists, but what hooks readers is the need to know even with the obvious title what infects the heroes and why the Feds want to eradicate the evidence. ALIEN INFECTION is a fine science fiction suspense thriller that the X-Files crowd will enjoy.
Harriet Klausner

IN PLAIN SIGHT
C.J. Box
Putnam, May 2006, $24.95, 320 pp.
ISBN 0399153608

Spring has finally arrived in Saddlestring but Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is not a happy man. With a new democratic governor in charge of the state, Joe now has to report directly to the agency director Randy Pope. The two men don't get along and Pope is doing everything in his power to make Joe's life miserable and has ultimate goal is to find a way to fire him.

More trouble is coming to town in the form of J.W. Keeley who, just been released from prison, committed murder and grand theft auto. He blames Joe for the death of his sister in law and his daughter, and intends to make the law enforcement official pay. He takes advantage of the feud between the brothers Hank and Arlen Scarlett who are fighting over ownership of the family ranch since their mother Opal disappeared or was murdered. Keeley is hiding is plain sight and is doing a great job of instilling fear in the Pickett family. Joe knows someone is after him and he intends to hunt that person down even if it costs him his job and his life.

C.J. Box has a special kind of talent that he imbues in his police procedurals. He is able to touch the heart of readers through his protagonist who cares passionately about the family, land and wildlife. Pickett refuses to play politics which gets him in trouble with the director yet it is his straight shooting that allows him to be effective in his job. This mystery is totally awesome due to brilliant characterizations and a tense down home storyline.

Harriet Klausner

EVERYTHING AFTER
Sharon Pywell
Putnam, May 2006, $24.95, 336 pp.
ISBN: 0399153500

After the accidental death of her mother the four Sunnaret children (Iris, Angie, Eddie and Perry) move in with adoptive parents Eleanor and Charlie Jackson and treated as their own just like their offspring Hank. Life is good for the five Jackson children until Eddie and Perry join the military and are sent to Vietnam in 1968. Not long afterward, military officials inform the Jacksons that both their adopted sons died heroically in battle.

However, a former grunt who served with both siblings visits to tell the truth that one brother killed the other to keep him from endangering the platoon with a foolhardy charge into danger. Angie, already outraged that her siblings served while Charlie and Eleanor allowed them to join, takes it out on Hank by seducing him into an affair and joining anti Viet Nam radicals that disturb the patriotic veteran Charlie. Now nineteen Iris is beginning to learn family secrets of the Sunnarets and Emersons especially from her bitter older sister that leads to inquiries in which each revelation out-shocks the previous one.

This powerful historical tale provides a puissant look at ethical issues within a family that serves as an anecdotal surrogate for the country during the late 1960s, but brilliantly applies to today as well. The tale is told from the viewpoint of Iris whose eyes are opening to a not so perfect Ozzie and Harriet life that she thought she led with the Emersons as truth after truth reveal morality questions that shake the teen's core. Adding to the complexity is the sibling relationships between the next generation quintet. Sharon Pywell provides a potent morality tale that will leave the audience examining their own values and relationships while also seeking her previous novel, WHAT HAPPENED TO HENRY.

Harriet Klausner

DEAD WATCH
John Sandford
Putnam, May 2006, $26.95, 384 pp.
ISBN: 0399153543

When last seen several days ago former senator from Virginia Lincoln Bowe was getting into a car smiling, but has been missing ever since. His wife Madison thinks foul play is involved. She believes the Watchmen, a group of veterans that Governor Goodman organized to keep watch over the streets, abducted Lincoln. She knows that her spouse lost his Senate seat due to the manipulations of the president and the governor.

As days pass, the Secretary of State asks independent contractor Jake Winter to find the former senator. Jake has the uncanny ability to cut through the miasma of bull that permeates the political bureaucracy to fill his client's requirements. He accomplices the mission but Bowe is dead and a package of information he had that could bring down the administration is missing. Now the job is to find the package before the president's enemies obtain it. Two groups compete with Jake for possession, but which one would kill to gain the information does not matter to the sleuth as he treats everyone client as an adversary.

Readers of the Prey novels will agree that John Sandford displays his depth of talent as he effortlessly switches from police procedural to a political thriller that is definitely heading to the bestseller lists. The protagonist is a unique character who has a talent that enables him to achieve his goal when it seems impossible to do so. Fast-paced action, a little romance and a great support cast turn DEAD WATCH into a spectacular reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

EVERFREE
Nick Sagan
Putnam, May 2006, $24.95, 256 pp.
ISBN: 0399152768

The Black Ep pandemic epidemic (see IDLEWILD and EDENBORN) has left few humans still alive. No part of the earth was safe from the ravages of the disease. At the same time in Victory City the few Posthuman survivors argue about the future with most wanting to adhere to the Doctrine of working as a collective to survive while the recently unfrozen prefer a return to the class power system for instance what else can a de-iced senator from Texas do but use authority even as far away as the Green Mountains of Vermont. As the debate rages over how to promulgate the species and organize society, a mutation strain of Black Ep causes new havoc.

Finally science saves Homo sapiens from becoming extinct with the creation of a new organ that dramatically increases the immune system so that it can fight off the Black Ep and its various strains. However those still alive realize that the synthetic organ that wards off Black Ep is also a communication device that enables aliens to communicate with earthlings; aliens who brought Black Ep to the planet. Mankind has apparently past a morbid test, but the price still shakes those breathing; some want nothing to do with this ET superior; others want vengeance; while the remainder believes it is hopeless to do anything but continue to endure.

In his third futuristic thriller Nick Sagan has written a compelling work that will appeal to fans of speculative fiction and apocalyptic thrillers though this time society is breaking into factions over the way to remake the future. Readers will admire those trying to live as they refuse to allow humanity to become extinct even when the odds are overwhelmingly against them and they disagree on what kind of society to have. Speculative fiction and apocalyptic thriller fans will enjoy the final fight of the fittest for survival of the species.

Harriet Klausner

SECOND SIGHT
Amanda Quick
Putnam, May 2006, $24.95
ISBN 0399153527

Knowing her family needs money, photographer Venetia Milton obtains a gig at isolated Arcane House where she plans to seduce her employer Gabriel Jones. She succeeds on both parts, but feels despondent when she has to leave as she believes she is in love. However, not long afterward, she reads in the newspaper that her beloved died.

Feeling like a widow, Venetia pretends that she and Gabriel were married. To her shock, Gabriel arrives at her home. Apparently, he arranged his death to fool his enemies who want his secrets that he possesses as the current ancestor of an alchemist who formed a clandestine society to study psychic phenomena; Venetia hides the fact that she sees auras from her "guest". As they fall in love, they team up to uncover killers, blackmailers, and thieves who covet both their secrets in a world filled with masquerades in which SECOND SIGHT can prove misleading.

This is a delightful Victorian romantic suspense with a touch of the paranormal. The story line balances the kissing scenes with the perilous escapades so that the audience obtains a quick-paced fun thriller. Venetia is a wonderful protagonist struggling with her secrets including her desire for her "late" employer while Gabriel battles his enemies but has revised his life goals as he reciprocates his employee's desires. Historical romance fans will enjoy this charming couple who either are in the fire or causing the fire.

Harriet Klausner

FINE-FEATHERED DEATH
Linda O. Johnston
Berkley, May 2006, $6.99, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0425203743

After having her law license suspended for something she didn't do, Kendra Ballantine was able to prove her innocence and is now working at Yorrick & Associates as a partner. Yorrick, a lawyer in her old firm, hired Ezra Cossner who brought with him his profitable client list. Kendra is working with him on a case in which two clients won't sell their property to TO for them to build a multi-complex.

Kendra likes working with the lawyer who underneath has a kind streak and is sometimes fair. She also adores his macaw G-igi who he keeps at the office. Someone doesn't like Ezra because Kendra finds his body one morning. A few days later, Kendra and a paralegal are talking in the office and a shot rings out killing the paralegal. The police zero in on her sometimes lover Jeff as a suspect so Kendra starts her own investigation to find the real killer and clear his name.

Besides going back to work as a lawyer, Kendra keeps her pet-caring business which adds a lot of humor to this exciting who done-it. Linda O Johnston is a creative storyteller who not only writes a fascinating mystery but also creates a deep character study. Gi-Gi the macaw steals the show as she becomes the mascot of the law firm. Readers will adore her antics while applauding the heroine for caring about her and the number one suspect who she is determined to prove innocent.

Harriet Klausner

KILLER INSTINCT
Joseph Finder
St. Martin's, May 2006, $24.95
ISBN 0312347472

In the Framingham, Massachusetts area Entronics executive Jason Steadman is driving home reading email on his Blackberry when his cell phone rings. He knows his wife Kate is calling so he answers only to hear her crying as once again Dr. DeMarco of Boston IVF tells her they failed again. Distracted Jason sends his Acura into a ditch bruising a few ribs but is otherwise okay.

Tow truck driver Kurt Semko arrives to take the vehicle away and give Jason a lift. Jason and Kurt become friends and the fomer recommends the latter for a job at Entronics. Soon the former Special Forces operative begins doing assignments for Kurt that dramatically increase his sales making him look good. However, soon Kurt apparently goes the extra mile for his buddy and starts killing business adversaries of and rivals of Jason. Unable to figure out how to expedite himself from this mess, Jason soon realizes that even his beloved Kate is at risk so he must confront and stop the invincible killing Kurt.

Joseph Finder provides a fun business serial killer thriller starring an amiable salesman and his new friend a killing machine. The story line is action-packed from the moment Kurt does his first special favor and never slows down until the final stimulating encounter. The villains (yes more than one) seem more like caricatures of their particular role, but no one will care as the audience will be hooked to learn how the COMPANY MAN survives (or not) dealing with a PARANOIA trained killer.
Harriet Klausner

THUNDERHEAD FALLS
CE Murphy
Luna, May, 2006, $14.95
ISBN: 0373802358

Though she possesses supernatural powers, Joanne Walker ignores them even when they would make life easier. The Seattle police officer wants to live a normal life and be the best cop on the force; besides her superior Captain Morrison is watching her since the URBAN SHAMAN saving the world incident. Thus she rarely employs magic fearing Morrison will fire her.

However, Joanne's shunning of her shaman skills is put to the test when she finds a corpse at the university showers. The victim belongs to a coven whose associates turn to her for help. They insist that the eternal war between good and evil has taken a critical turn with the enemy becoming the more powerful and their only hope rests with an ancient demi-god Virissong coming to earth to join the forces of good to tip the balcony back. To succeed in expediting his return, the coven needs Joanne's help. She wonders if she should trust them as placing the fate of humanity on a being from beyond could tip the balance to the wrong side. Either way Joanne knows she must learn to use her magical ability as demons arrive in Seattle, which implies Armageddon seems around the corner but her spirit and taxi guides are both out of commission.

THUNDERBIRD FALLS is a terrific police procedural fantasy starring a delightful protagonist still struggling with the magical skills she inherited as defined by her birth name Siobhan Walkingstick vs. her legal name of Joanne Walker. The fast-paced story line moves out rather quickly from the moment Joanne finds the dead woman in a nearby shower and never slows down, though filled with doubts and hesitation, she knows she must act, but do what is the question. Readers will enjoy Joanne's walk through the Dead Zone in this gripping thriller.

Harriet Klausner

THE DEADLIEST DENIAL
Colleen Thompson
Love Spell, May 2006, $6.99, 384 pp.
ISBN: 0505526700

When San Antonio Policy Sergeant Raul Contreras and Buck County Sheriff Joel Shepherd visit Claire Winslow, she fears the worst bring that her beloved husband died in the line of duty as his partner recently did. However, she realizes there are things apparently worse than death when the two law enforcement officials inform her that her police officer spouse Spence has been arrested in Little Bee Creek charged with killing Adam Strickland over gambling debts. In shock, by their accusations, she is further stunned when they insist she was his next target.

Claire has further problems when someone vandalizes her horse ranch several times. As she panics over why someone is attacking her, Spence skips bail to see her. He pleads with her that he is innocent and plans to prove this; he also asks her to trust in their love. Claire wonders if he can be that good of a performer that he seems to be telling her the truth because she knows the two cops who insist her husband wanted her dead and that Spence was psychological struggling with his partner's death. Of course she realizes he could have achieved his objective rather easily if that was his true goal so she agrees to help him not knowing the risk from the person who betrayed both of them.

Though readers know early on that Spence is an innocent fugitive, Colleen Thompson provides a powerful thriller as the beleaguered hero seems unable to prove it (think of Dr. Kimball). The story line is action-packed yet the key lead couple seems genuine especially Claire, who wants to believe, but has doubts. Though coincidence is used to uncover clues, fans of psychological police procedural will appreciate this tense, exciting and entertaining thriller.

Harriet Klausner

A STUDENT OF LIVING THINGS
Susan Richards Shreve
Viking, May 2006, $24.95
ISBN 0670037583

Claire Frayn is a post graduate student majoring in biology at George Washington University; her brother Steven is studying law at the school and enjoys writing articles criticizing the government. Claire and Steven head to the university together while their parents debate his latest condemnation, this time of the Department of Justice's use of the Freedom for Democracy Act to trample on individual rights under the guise of keeping people safe. At the school's library, an assassin shoots and kills Steven right near Claire

Claire goes through the five steps of grief, but wants revenge against the killer who conveniently escapes law enforcement; however she feels helpless as she has no idea who he or she is or how to uncover the culprit's identity. From Michigan, music composer Victor Duarte contacts Claire informing her he can help her with her need to avenge her sibling. She is enticed by his offer as her family remains devastated by the tragedy and is not there for her. However, as Claire heals she begins to ponder who charismatic Victor is, as he seems to know too much yet the second civil war in her mind began with that bullet on the library steps.

Though the introduction to the extended Frayn family takes its time, once Steven is murdered, the story line turns into a terrific thriller that never slows down until the climax. Claire is a wonderful heroine struggling with the death of her brother as much as with her feelings of hopelessness until Victor offers her an opportunity. Like Claire when she begins to regain her equilibrium and leave behind much of the fog of grief, readers will wonder if she has agreed to a Faustian deal. Readers will be a student of Susan Richards Shreve following this tense tale.

Harriet Klausner

FEVER IN THE BLOOD
Robert Fleming
Dafina (Kensington), May 2006, $5.99, 329 pp.
ISBN: 0758212399

His home life as a child was horrible because he was raised by dealing junkies who proved dangerous as they cared more about sex and the next high then their children. He knew his mother hated him and abused him even more than his masochistic father did. He always wondered why his dad accepted his mom stepping out with other men.

All that changed when some rival sellers in the hood killed his parents and two sisters. He survived because he was cleverly hidden, but he observed everything. They thought he was the lucky one because he not only lived, but a Congressman adopted him. However his luck proved false as the man did it to bolster his reelection chances not because he wanted a son. When he was old enough he returned to the hood where he hears voices and kills women he never met or saw before he murders them. At twenty a delusional Eddie is reaching double digits in his need to kill unworthy women that only he believes are whores.

Told totally in the first person by Eddie, readers follow a troubled young adult who has no one to help him except those voices inside his head. He believes that no one cares what happens to him and thus remains a loner, friendless and lost. Even his adopted parent cares more about one vote than Eddie; besides which his role model is that of a corrupt politician and a mother who was a married cheat. Robert Fleming's dark character driven tale of a youth betrayed by those who should have nurtured him condemns a society who makes a fuss before one is born, but is notably absent afterward.

Harriet Klausner

BLOWN AWAY
Shane Gericke
Pinnacle, May 2006, $6.99
ISBN: 0786018135

In Naperville, an affluent suburb of Chicago, while jogging, rookie police officer Emily Thompson thinks nothing of seeing the headless bodies of a goose and two ducks. Later that same day she is at the scene of a dead woman in a rented car possessing a card with Emily's name on it. Emily and her superiors believe the woman committed suicide. When she returns home, the heads of the goose and two ducks are in her mailbox, her business cards in their mouths.

Her bosses take it as a threat and warn Emily to be careful. That night she visits the library where a naked teen has an envelope for her, a birthday card telling her that her real presents are in the library. A dead man is found in one of the chairs making it obvious a serial killer is on the prowl with the ultimate objective being killing Emily on her birthday which is just a few days away. The culprit is someone who knows Emily but she has no idea who hates her so; unless she can figure out who it is, she will die because this is a brilliant murderer who never gives up.

Nobody reading BLOWN AWAY would believe this is Shane Gericke's debut novel because it is better than most police procedurals written today. There are plenty of action and chase scenes but it the amazing character development that makes this book worthy of an award nomination. Readers get to know the men and women in blue and what they face every day on the job. This is the ultimate chilling cat and mouse game in which the more the audience learns about the UNSUB, the more they want to see him locked away (preferably in a coffin).

Harriet Klausner

FIRETRAP
Earl Emerson
Ballantine, May 2006, $24.95
ISBN: 0345462920

In Seattle, thirteen black civilians and one white firefighter died in the Z Club inferno. The city is divided on how the fire department responded. While many African-Americans claim they watched the white firefighters toss water on the blaze from a safe distance while inside blacks hysterically screamed for help, whites insist the firefighters risked their lives as evidenced by one dying.

African American firefighter Captain Trey Brown was burned fighting the blaze, but left town with his mother and brother to recuperate in Vegas. He comes home to a Seattle battered by rioting over an alleged lack of response by his department; feelings have been enflamed by opportunist politicians and reporters. Though he points out he has a conflict of interest having participated in the event, needing a black face, the brass assigns one of the few African-Americans in a managerial position, Trey, to investigate the response by the department. As he begins his inquiries, TV reporter Jamie Estevez continues her investigation into the response. As their paths cross an attraction grows between them, while the discoveries of what really happened on that fatal night at the Z Club is mind-bending to both of them.

This strong entry starts off with an incredible opening sequences involving Trey reflecting on some of his relationship failures including family estrangement and on the fire (that comes from real events in the Bronx and Rhode Island). The story line is action-packed as Trey and Jamie rotate their respective inquiries until they merge their cases into one. Though the romantic interlude seems forced and the final twists unnecessary as the investigation into the fire and its aftermath hold the audience's attention, Earl Emerson provides a strong thriller.

Harriet Klausner

UNDER CAMELOT'S BANNER
Sarah Zettel
Luna, Apr 2006, $13.95, 400 pp.
ISBN: 0373802315

Cambryn has no protection as the absent Queen Guinevere spends all her time in Camelot with her husband King Arthur. King Mark of Tintagel has gone mad after being cuckold by his Queen Iseult and Sir Tristan. Guinevere's steward Lord Kenan has gone to Mark with many of his soldiers to plead for protection. Kenan's son Colam plots to overthrow his father and ends up killing him. His sister Laurel declares Colam is an outlaw, which sends him to Morgaine for safety, but she bewitches him to use as a pawn against her sister Guinevere.

Laurel's sister Lynet travels to Camelot to plead with Guinevere to bring her knights and men-at arms to keep her people safe from her lethal sibling Morgaine and their mortal enemies like the people of Eire and the Saxons. Lynet has with her a magical silver mirror, given to her sister by their mother, a sea spirit who took mortal form to marry Kenan. Guinevere agrees to return to Cambryn while Lynet sees through the mirror the deadly schemes Morgaine has put in motion with Colam her slave, Laurel the first target and Lynet not far behind unless Lancelot's squire Gareth can save his beloved.

Sarah Zettel puts her own spin to Camelot using a more manipulative and not so pure Guinevere as a key player in her take on the legend. Lynet, filled with guilt for her role in the Iseult-Tristan affair, vows to do whatever it takes to save her homeland from those who covet it as a personal playground. UNDER CAMELOT'S BANNER is high fantasy at its best making readers wonder how Laurel's tale will hold up against Lynet's saga.

Harriet Klausner

HARD WAY
Lee Child
Delacorte, May 2006, $25.00, 336 pp.
ISBN: 0385336691

Edward Lane made his millions brokering deals for mercenaries, but now needs to hire one for personal reasons before déjà vu occurs. Someone has kidnapped Edward's second wife Kate and demands he hand over a million dollars for her safe return.This is just like what happened to his first spouse, Anne, who was abducted but killed. Knowing the mercenary traffic, Edward hires the man he considers the best, loner Jack Reacher to go after the kidnappers once his wife is safely returned to him.

In a café in Manhattan Reacher watches a parked Mercedes with the million dollars that Edward placed inside of it until someone drives off with the vehicle. Reacher, with the help of former FBI Agent turned private investigator Lauren Pauling, who worked the first Lane tragedy, follows a particular nasty kidnapper. However, this time his uncanny instincts fail him as he makes errors based on assumptions that prove false. Now the former military police officer turned vigilante for hire realizes he has to expedite himself out of a dangerous trap and that he has ONE SHOT to do so.

This reviewer has always been a fan of the Reacher series, but in the HARD WAY, he seems less the invincible superman and more the error prone human. The premise that he starts off with a wrong assumption that leads to mistakes embellishes the typical high level of suspense as the audience wonders if the hero will survive as he does not seem to know Jack about what is going on. Lee Child more than just refreshes his series; he widens the scope without changing the essence of his champion mercenary.

Harriet Klausner

SUN STORM
Asa Larsson
Delacorte, May 2006, $22.00, 320 pp.
ISBN: 038533981X

Meijer and Ditzinger tax attorney Rebecka Martinsson hears on the news that Viktor "the paradise Boy" Strandgard died in The Source of All Our Strength Church in her hometown of Kiruna, Sweden. Though pale as a ghost when hearing the news, Rebecka thinks of the irony of the locale before his sister Sanna calls to plead with her to come home. She is the prime suspect in the murder of her brother having found his corpse. Though she should say no as she has written on her legal pad, Rebecka reluctantly comes home for the first time in years as Sanna pleads with her once best friend to help her.

Assistant Chief Prosecutor Carl von Post demands a fast investigation as he will gladly hang Sanna on shaky evidence. Inspector Anna-Maria Mella and Detective Sven-Erik Stalnacke head the inquiry into the "slaughterhouse" killing of Viktor that makes the motive seem personal. As Rebecka comes home to "defend" Sanna though that is not her expertise by a long shot, the investigation takes several twists into religious zealousness but all roads lead back to the victim's sister.

SUN STORM is a terrific translation of a delightful Swedish police procedural legal thriller. The story line moves forward on both sub-genres' paths in a sort of DNA helix twisting plot. Rebecka is a fabulous protagonist and the two cops remain professional in spite of pressure. Though the afterward of giving birth seems unnecessary; Fargo style would have been better; that minor cute ending aside, Asa Larsson provides a super tale set in the stark frozen yet beautiful land of the Aurora Borealis.

Harriet Klausner

MAXIMUM RIDE: SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER
James Patterson
Little, Brown, May 2006, $16.99
ISBN: 0316155594

The Angel Experiment led to genetically enhanced children who can fly and possess other non-human skills. They barely survived the lethal Erasers and learned somewhat about their origins. Max barely a teen, but as the oldest leads her "family", Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and little Angel as they fly south seeking their biological parents. They know predators, including two legged suits, will want to either kill them or recapture them and send them to the dreaded school, but flying in tandem like a flock of birds, they begin their quest anyway.

However, the Angels soon confront a type of Eraser like none before as this one flies like them. Worse the FBI chases after the sextet. Finally with the evil Erasers and the bird-brained Feds pursuing them, a new more dangerous enemy surfaces, Max II, whose goal in life is to be Max I.

The second Angels thriller (see MAXIMUM RIDE) is an exhilarating thriller starring three teens and three preadolescents sticking together while eluding Erasers, FBI suits, school, and a clone. The story line is driven by the magnificent six though in truth even six years old Angel acts and talks adult-like during a crisis, which is much of the plot. No one will care (except inane reviewers needing a life) as once again James Patterson soars with his latest suspense filled science fiction thriller.

Harriet Klausner

EYE OF VENGEANCE
Jonathon King
Dutton, May 2006, $24.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0525949534

Daily News reporter Nick Mullins works the police and crime beat, but has only recently returned to the job. He took time off after a drunken driver killed his wife and one of their twin daughters. The culprit was convicted of manslaughter, but did only eighteen months.

Nick's latest assignment is covering the execution style murder of convicted child molester and killer Steven Ferris. Judging by police actions, Nick assumes the assassin was on top of a building where he made the kill from; the journalist concludes that the twisted sniper is a professional. When a second former con is murdered, Nick looks over his recent records; he realizes that there are other sniper kills in the South Florida area in which he covered the stories in-depth. The assassin contacts Nick to inform him he has one more kill to go. The police and the reporter work Nick's files trying to find the next victim from the clue the sniper gave Nick.

Jonathon King, the author of the Max Freeman mysteries, has written a fantastic stand alone thriller told from two perspectives, the reporter and the sniper. Readers will sympathize with the killer even though he does wrong as his motives illicit sympathy. Surprisingly the hero learns a lesson from the assassin that should make him a better father to the other surviving family member.

Harriet Klausner

DIVINE
Karen Kingsbury
Tyndale, Apr 2006, $22.99
ISBN: 1414307659

In the DC area at one of her women's shelter, Mary Madison is briefed by her receptionist Leah Hamilton that her newest resident Emma Randall looks suicidal and ready to bolt. Battered and with no hope, the twenty-three year old Emma considers herself unworthy and ready to flee now that her two young children are safe from their abusive father Charlie. However, Leah softly gets Emma to meet with the legendary Mary while four years old Kami and two years old Kaitlyn play with dolls.

Mary shocks the frightened Emma by asking if she should like to hear her story not just the media account. Hesitantly Emma agrees so Mary explains how Jesus loved her and saved her. She was a little girl when her hooker mother took them to stay with her maternal Grandma Peggy who gives the little girl a purse with scripture inside. However, her mother immediately removed them back to the streets. When she scores a three day job with out of town Johns, her mom leaves Mary with her pimp; the last time they saw one another. From that moment Mary battled the seven demons that lead to sin and helplessness until she meets a believer who introduces her to Jesus.

This is a terrific modernization of Mary Magdalene living in Washington DC and using her story to encourage other people especially women that hope lies with Jesus. Mary's tale is told in flashbacks, which enhances how far she has come. Karen Kingsbury provides a deep character study of how one woman with help overcame seven contemporary demons (drugs, prostitution, etc.), but also makes no apologies that the author believes the path is with Jesus; readers who want a clear split between state and religion may find the religious message overbearing, but everyone will agree that Ms. Kingsbury provides an entreating parable starring a modernized Magdalene.

Harriet Klausner

MAGDALENE
Angela Hunt
Tyndale, April 2006, $13.99, 425 pp.
ISBN 1414310285

In the first century in Israel, nobody hates the Roman occupation more than Miryam. She is married to a fisherman and has her own business in the market place. Her oldest son Avram preaches rebellion and spits on a centurion's foot. In retaliation that soldier Gaius has his men including Atticus burn the house down killing Miryan's son, pregnant daughter-in-law and her beloved husband. Atticus Aurelius finds an infant and in direct disobedienceto his superior's orders gets him to safety.

Miryam, who was spared because she was away from the house, goes mad with hatred and allows demons to possess her. It is only when Yeshua comes along and casts them out does the bereaved widow and mother regain her sanity and becomes a direct follow of the rabbi. She follows him as he preaches thinking that he will somehow avenge her for what Rome did for her family Miryam witnesses his resurrection and spreads the truth about his divinity to the people. However her hatred for Atticus and Gaius and desire for revenge almost causes her to commit one of the biggest sins of all. In case anyone hasn't guessed it by now, this is the story of Mary Magdalene.

Angela Hunt has written a meticulously researched and well told story of Mary Magdalene one of the most controversial people in Christ's ministry. The author makes the era come alive, populating the storyline with actual historical figures and allowing the reader to visualize the turbulence during Christ's earthly ministry and the disciples who spread his word around the world. This is a fascinating work based on biblical and historical details.

Harriet Klausner

MAGGIE'S STORY
Dandi Daley Mackall
Thirsty ( Tyndale), Apr 2006, $9.99, 303 pp.
ISBN: 1414309783

He heals the sick and feeds the poor. He raises the dead and has charisma that attracts people to him from all walks of life. Those in his inner circle believe he is the Son of God. This is not Jesus Christ; instead this is Josh Davidson. Christ never came to earth as claimed by those in the first century, but now God sends his Son to protect and preach to the masses.

Maggie is a sinner who uses sex, drugs, and alcohol to dull her pain. She once tried suicide but failed and now just tries to numb her anguish. When Josh's path crosses hers, she walks away from him, but then returns to him as she is drawn to him and his message of forgiveness. Maggie becomes a devoted follower preaching with him in Ohio. She knows deep in her heart that Josh forgave her sins even if she cannot forgive them herself. Yet she is the one who sees him first when he rises from the dead and when the time is right she will be one of hiss followers to spread his message.

Although this book is aimed at young adults, older readers will enjoy reading Maggie's story immensely. Everything that happened to Jesus happens to Josh in the twenty-first century. Josh's message spreads around the world rather quickly because of advanced communications, which also means he is a threat to the powerful. Maggie represents a modern day Mary Magdalene as Dandi Daley Mackall makes the case that the Son of God could have come at any time and attracts the same followers and detractors. MAGGIE'S STORY will be cherished by readers.

Harriet Klausner

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