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	Curiosity may have killed the cat, but Cerri Ellis never let a little thing like fear stop her from playing sleuth. When she's not snapping photos of ghosts, solving riddles or sifting through dusty tomes in library catacombs, she writes articles and book reviews for magazines and web sites. Her hobbies include reading mysteries, herbal gardening, and searching online and estate auctions for arcane curios. She is currently at work on a paranormal thriller set in Southern Appalachia.

A TIME GONE BY
William Heffernan
Akashic Books, April 2005, $14.95, 284 pp.
ISBN 1-888451-74-2

NYC Chief of Detectives Jake Downing has only one regret in his life. He knows the wrong man got the electric chair for the murder of Judge Reed and he had a part in it. After Jake's wife dies, he decides to reopen the 30-yr. old case despite pressure from the Police Commissioner and others to let it go. He enlists the aid of his ex-partner to track down the real killer using decades old clues. As they get closer to the truth, Jake has to face the real question--does he want to solve the crime that tore his family apart, or does he actually want revenge against the person he was sworn to protect?

A TIME GONE BY is consummate noir, a tightly crafted mystery that surpasses Hammett's hard-boiled edge. Spanning the post World War II era to the mid-Seventies. Heffernan seamlessly moves between the past and Jake's present. The real story is more than the sum of it's parts--this is not your usual whodunnit. A Time Gone By is bigger than that, asking questions that sink into the psyche, showing the impact on each character's life.

We walk the post war Brooklyn streets with Jake, feel his internal conflicts and the passions that drive him. The dialogue flows with a cadence that pulls you in, and leaves you hungry for more.

It's no wonder Heffernan won the Edgar; the man is a master wordsmith. After reading A TIME GONE BY, I think he's due for another one.

Cerri Ellis

SHADOW PLAY
Jeffrey B. Burton
Pocol Press, 2005, $12.95, 138pp.
ISBN 1-929763-19-0

SHADOW PLAY is a collection of twenty short stories, twisted through a kaleidoscope of macabre and chilling colors. Each tale seems to illustrate the axiom that looks can be deceiving.

In "Eykiltimac Stump Acres," we meet Dwight, a senior citizen debilitated with Altzheimers who does remember a thing or two.... "The Tenth One" shows us that concentrated effort really does pay off...for a while. "Clippings," reminds us everyone has the right to voice their opinion. And in "One Last Sliver," the author gives a wink and a nod to Poe.

My biggest complaint with SHADOW PLAY was the uneven caliber of the stories. Mr. Burton's writing appeared rushed in some of the selections, the plot forced onto unexpected tangents for the sake of a shocking twist at the end. Yet, I found the majority of his ghastly tales entertaining with a certain tongue-in-cheek dark humor worth consideration.

Cerri Ellis

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