FMAM MOSTLY MYSTERY REVIEWS
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February 2009
Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption
Robert Fate
Capitol Crime Press
May 2008
$14.95, 287 pages
ISBN 13:978-0-9799960-2-3
The Baby Shark series continues with the HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION. Kristin Van Dijk had survived assault, fire and the loss of her father previously to be nursed back to health by Otis. She and Otis join forces to become PIs. Kristin has also followed in her father’s footsteps, being a pool shark. That’s back story. In HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION, Kristin and Otis are hired to deliver ransom. Savannah Smike has been kidnapped. Savannah is the beautiful redhead girlfriend of a bootlegger. But nothing is as it seems and the ransom drop is so much more. Kristin and Otis fight for their lives just to drop a ransom? They do successfully rescue Savannah but only to have Otis shot. Otis is seriously wounded which sets Kristin off in the style so Kristin – she is a woman we can aspire to! She is self assured, confident, strong, witty, beautiful, and can kick butt like few men.
Once again Robert Fate has given us Marlowe, Spade, in a skirt! What a delight! Yes, it tends to be a tad but violent but it is in keeping with the genre and style of the 1950s style of heroine.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.7.
Cynthia Lea Clark, Psy.D., MHt
Cabal of the Westford Knight
David S. Brody
Martin & Lawrence Press
$14.95, 425 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9773898-7-2
Cameron Thorne, an attorney, sets out to discover the truths behind the ancient Templar mission. His investigation leads him to secret societies, treasure hunters, and the very determined keepers of the secrets. These secrets involve the bloodline of Jesus. A British researcher, Amanda joins him on his journey and together they race through New England for clues.
Amanda, of course, is hiding something. There has to be some spice than just finding if there are descendants of Jesus and who they are.
As Amanda and Cam endeavor to discover the secrets of the Templar Knights, there seems to be a growing number of people out to hurt or kill them. Someone is bound and determined to not let the secret be discovered, at any cost.
CABAL of the Westford Knights is rich in history. It takes real facts, and then puts its own special twist – the what if question. Interspersed through the book are pictures of religious artifacts, which are fascinating on their own accord. Mixed with the ‘what if’ they make for an interesting supposition.
In the spirit of THE DA VINCE CODE, David Brody has written a fascinating “what if” mystery.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I give in a 4.5.
Cynthia Lea Clark, Psy.D., MHt
Cat Deck the Halls: A Joe Grey Mystery
Shirley Rousseau Murphy
William Morrow
December 2007
$16.95, 344 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-06-112395-5
The thirteenth installment in Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s Joe Grey mystery series, CAT DECK THE HALLS, reunites readers with feline private eye Joe Grey, his girlfriend Dulcie, and their tortoiseshell bff, Kit. The trio hunts for a killer who shot his victim underneath a mall Christmas tree. The only witness, the victim’s young daughter is traumatized by the event and left speechless. The felines, using both warm cuddles and intuition, show off their sleuthing prowess, while trying to remain inconspicuous as they pad around police stations, attend book signings and holiday parties. Knowing the killer might strike to eliminate his only witness, Joe Gray enlists his human friends to help protect the little girl. With the clock ticking, the cats risk more than one of their nine lives in this truly cozy mystery.
Both cozy mystery fans and cat lovers will enjoy this thoroughly delightful book. Just beware of the red herrings…if you can!
The Chosen
C.A. Milson
Amira Press
July 2008
$12.99, 204 pages
ISBN: 13-978-1934475815
Alex’s anxiety kept him from enjoying the seminar. But was it just anxiety or the three visions? By the third vision (which were all the same), Alex knew something was brewing, something terrible, something evil. The seminar, conducted by three gentlemen discussed entities and violence. When Alex looked at the one he felt most looked Native American, he grew icy cold. It unnerved him. Alex began to feel a presence stronger and stronger, yet as he scanned the crowd, no one else seemed to feel or sense it.
Drake one of the lecturers had told the attendees of the evil doings of Jamiesonn and his brush with the entity. But Alex saw it in a vision. He also saw the entity in the bar after the seminar. Why did it let Drake live? Why was it haunting Alex? What did it want? D
Drake gave Alex the report on Jamiesonn which led to more questions. Who is the One, Jamiesonn refers to?
Then in the city of Winmont the ritualistic killings begin. THE CHOSEN is a book about good and evil and friendships and betrayals. It is a supernatural jaunt through trust, learning, and growth. But things are not as they seem…to finad out why, read THE CHOSEN. CA Milson has crafted a story that bridges both the mysterious and the horror in a supernatural thriller.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.8.
Cynthia Lea Clark, Psy.D., MHt
Christietown
Susan Kandel
Harper
June 2007
$13.95, 280 pp.
ISBN: 9780061452178
Cece Caruso writes biographies for a living, among other things. Her keen interest in the late mystery Grand Dame Agatha Christie, prompts Cece to investigate the infamous missing time period of Christie’s life. In the meanwhile, she is also working as an events coordinator for a new speculative housing development based on the great mystery writer and organizing a play at the development’s theatre, based on Miss Marple’s investigations.
When the play’s star fails to show for the grand opening, Cece replaces her and find herself doing more than acting when the original Miss Marple is found dead and foul play is suspected.
The author blends the two storylines in a most intriguing fashion, and comes up with a solution that the great Christie herself would applaud. While the plot intrigues, it is slow-paced, each clue cut from a similar cloth. Readers who enjoy a slower unfolding mystery, a literary cozy, or simply appreciate anything and everything Agatha Christie, will find a true gem here.
King of Nod
Scott Fad
Hooded Friar Press
$17.99, 575 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9817609-0-0
Boo Taylor has stayed away from his “home” on Sweetpatch Island for twenty years. He now returns because of his father’s mysterious death. The island he left so long ago is hardly recognizable. What was once not much more than a marshy barrier island is now a resort island with lush golf courses and tourists. It seems to be alive with festivities and fun and not the evil and violence he once knew. He even lost fingers fighting the Beast all those ago. Sweetpatch seems to be void of the poor and desolate inhabitants it once had. Little does Boo know, these inhabitants just moved underground and are waiting.
Boo has his share of ghosts. There is the one that got away, his parents, and good and evil portrayed through a good doctor and an evil witch. Sweetpatch is full of secrets.
KING OF NOD is a mixture of the supernatural, of ‘love’, of good versus evil, with some horror thrown in. KING OF NOD weaves the ghosts of a ghost story with the ghosts one carries with their self to weave an intriguing tale of mysterious, yet romantic horror.
KING OF NOD does have a number of characters and a number of points of view. Despite this it is easy follow. Time shift, past to present does occur frequently, and sometimes I had to ask myself, are we now or then? Other than that, Scott Fad has weaved an intriguing supernatural thriller.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.
Cynthia Lea Clark, Psy.D., MHt
Missing Witness
Gordon Campbell
William Morrow
September 2007
$24.95, 448 pp.
ISBN: 978-0061337512
A recent law-school graduate, Douglas McKenzie takes a new position at a prestigious Phoenix firm, passing up a lucrative offer in San Francisco to work with the famed and fictional trial lawyer Daniel Morgan.
When the son of a wealthy rancher is shot dead in his home, the hero and his mentor are hired by the victim's father, Ferris Eddington, to defend his daughter-in-law, Rita.
McKenzie has known the Eddingtons since childhood and doesn’t accept that Rita killed her husband. So if Rita isn’t the killer, who is? The only other suspect is Rita's mentally disturbed 12-year-old daughter, Miranda. Neither choice is palatable to McKenzie, leading him to ask questions and consider specific ethical dilemmas seldom taught in law school.
New to fiction writing, author Gordon Campbell has the experience to back up the technical, legal aspects depicted in his novel. The problem is he doesn’t have the experience as an author to know what the story requires and what it doesn’t. Wading through the procedural legalese and information ‘dumps’ bog down an already slow paced book. If you enjoy legal procedural novels with intense authenticity and books with morality issues, Missing Witness is a book you’ll like. This book is now out in paperback.
No One Left to Tell
Jordan Dane
Avon
May 2008
$6.99, 362 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-06-125375-1
The last thing Father Antonio expected to find in his chapel that night was the brutally tortured body of a man hung on the cross. Who would do such a horrible thing? That’s also what the police want to know. Assigned to the case are Detectives Tony Rodriguez and Raven Mackenzie of the Chicago P.D.
Pinned to the dead man’s shirt is a cryptic note: “Seek the truth, Christian.”
They soon learn the victim Mickey Blair was not your average citizen. After a few calls and a little legwork they soon find themselves at the palatial home of a powerful female crime boss and her head of security, Christian Delacorte. Tony suspects Delacorte is involved neck deep in the murder, but Raven’s cop instincts say different…or has her instant attraction for their prime suspect made her susceptible?
The answers surround a traumatic past Christian Delacorte isn’t ready to face. Unable to deny the intense sexual chemistry he feels every time he meets with Detective Raven Mackenzie, despite his equally intensive dislike for cops, he and Raven work out their trust issues, in order to solve the murder.
Dane proves she has the writing chops for suspense thrillers, upping the ante with NO ONE LEFT TO TELL. The author crafts a brilliant, tension-filled, spine-tingler complete with internal conflict, delicious sensuality, and faced-paced action. Her villains are both bestial and sophisticated. A complex mix she manages to deliver.
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