JACKIE FLEMING - MOSTLY MYSTERY REVIEWS
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Jackie Fleming is a mother of two, grandmother of three. She works
as a 'Public Service Specialist' for the county Coroner. Before
that she was in the Air Force (Non-Destruction Inspection Specialist
and Personnel Technician). She's held numerous part time jobs (she's
currently at a funeral home, before that she worked at Block Buster.
She's also been a mystery shopper, information operator, and worked
fast food. "I know that's not your normal bio, but it is me,"
says Jackie. |
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April 2006
HIGH
RISK
Jane Toombs
Champagne Books, June 2005
$16.95 ($5.00dl), 237 pages
ISBN 1-897261-39-X
It’s supposed to be a ‘just girls’ backpacking trip. Five
years is too long for good friends to be apart, so when Sara Powers invites
her two friends to her remote Sierra Mountains home for a backpacking
vacation, they agree with trepidation. Is it time to get past the stifling
memories of Natalie’s fatal fall at Devil’s Gorge that still
haunts them?
There are agendas, secrets that each haven’t shared with the others.
Marlyn Bradbury plays by society’s rules and has never shared her
secret. She hides the truth of her mixed heritage even from her best friends.
Elise Gibson hasn’t had an easy time getting a man in her life. Having
men notice her anatomy’s attributes is a snap. Keeping a good man
is a struggle because even the men who stay have only fulfilled her heartaches.
Sara Powers’ dream-like marriage is a nightmare of spousal abuse.
With her eyes finally open to the depth Randall Powers, her husband, will
go, she uses his planned hunting trip to hide her escape from the cruel
man he really is. It’s only a matter of time before Randall considers
her an expendable commodity. Even though there’s no love lost, he’ll
never release her.
Sara’s planned diversion down Devil’s Gorge and across wilderness
turns into a race for survival when Muir Drake, Randall’s professional
trail guide, innocently spills the truth that the women are packing mountain
climbing equipment. Randall realizes the significance of this information
and races home. Sara hasn’t just left him, she’s also absconded
with a million dollars Randall had stolen and murdered for. Nobody is
safe from Randall and he’ll leave no witnesses. Their only bargaining
chip with a murderer is the stolen money, and when that’s gone, they’ve
lost.
When life and death are at stake, the women discover that their faults
could be assets. Through the Sierra Mountains the two groups face off
against the terrain and elements. Using nature like a weapon, both sides
apply it to their advantage, and have it strike back at them with an uncaring
vengeance.
HIGH RISK is a fast read that will keep you interested to the last page.
The novel is based on intimate issues from today’s front page. Now,
I want more. I’ve been to the area where the story takes place. The
writing doesn’t give the scenery justice for the beautiful and deadly
backdrop used for the story. Although the characters are three dimensional,
it felt l ike they were filling a mold.
However these points will not deter me from reading another book by this
talented author.
Jackie Fleming
THE
KILL
Allison Brennan
Ballantine; March 2006; $6.99, 407 pages
ISBN: 0345485238
Olivia St. Martin suffers from the results of both victim and survivor’s
guilt. She finds her calling, working for the FBI as a lab tech in Virginia.
Her childhood experience has taught her to distrust and so she lives and
works isolated from personal contact.
Detective Zack Travis was a wild teenager, this side of doing jail time
when he searched for the mother who had abandoned him. Admiring the stability
law enforcement offered, he has worked hard. Finding little middle ground
for bending the rules, he blames himself for his little sister’s
murder. What could he have done different?
Unjustly sentenced to life in prison, Brian Harrison Hall is in his 50’s
now. Convicted and sent to Folsom State Prison soon after returning from
Vietnam, he blames the system for imprisoning him on trumped up evidence.
He promises vengeance on the prosecutors directly responsible for his
incarceration.
THE KILL opens with the abduction and murder of Melissa St. Martin, a
nine year old blonde beauty. At the park, five year old Olivia witnesses
the kidnapping of her big sister. Her identification of Brian Hall and
scene evidence finds him guilty and sentences him first to death row,
then to life in prison. Thirty-four years later DNA proves that Hall was
innocent of Olivia's sister’s death and he is released.
When Olivia finds out that the man serving time for her sister’s
murder is innocent, she pulls out all the stops to find the real killer.
Although only five at the time, she blames herself for not properly identifying
him, but even the authorities were sure that with the evidence found in
his van had sealed his fate.
If the DNA and science had cleared him, then what was to say that the
evidence in the van hadn’t been contaminated? That somebody else
murdered Missy. The killer been living free and if Olivia's investigation
is correct, he has another 29 deaths he can be tied to, not including
the two other innocent men doing prison time for his crimes.
Olivia's boss is unconvinced. Her compiled evidence is compelling, but
he wants her working on case load for the crimes they can solve under
their jurisdiction. She won’t settle. She takes control, arranges
a false set of orders, and assigns herself to the killer’s current
location. If the task force finds out her secrets, there’s the chance
that her influence will negate the evidence. She can’t let that happen.
Detective Zack Travis is the lead investigator for ‘The Slayer’.
He suspects something is bothering Olivia. More than just a face on a
photo seems to compel her to find the killer. As her reasons become clear,
his sense of the legal system is rocked as his feelings for Olivia deepen.
Can those feelings withstand the deepest lie of all?
They follow the leads, hoping to stop the killer from completing his pattern
and disappearing again. Getting closer than they’ve ever been before,
the pressure increases when a third body is found. From the killer's previous
MO, they know there’s only a matter of hours before he’ll have
his fourth victim and disappear for another six years.
Some reviews write themselves. As I read this third novel in the trilogy,
I couldn’t get over how well Ms. Brennan follows through with her
promise to deliver a hard hitting novel that kept me in suspense. Her
characters' emotions and motivations kept me turning the pages. THE KILL
starts with a kick to the stomach, rocking the reader. From there, it
is non-stop. Don’t look for visual details in this book, just non-stop
action.
Jackie Fleming
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