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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April 2007
Anatomy
of Fear
Jonathan Santlofer
Morrow, Apr 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 0060881976
NYPD sketch artist Nate Rodriguez is considered by the department as one
of the best at capturing the essence of a suspect. Some say he has psychic
skills that enable him to enter the mind of a victim or witness that facilitates
his drawing beyond what is often poorly described. Nate has always seen
the world in pictures rather than in words.
A killer claiming to do God's cleansing leaves drawings at the scenes
of the crime. NYPD Homicide Detective Terri Russo asks for Nate to join
her on the investigation because the pictures eerily remind her of the
police artist's skills. Upon seeing the graphic evidence of gruesome murders,
Nate recognizes a kindred sprit though it is the other side of the coin.
Nate turns to his Santera grandmother for guidance even as the adversary
ups the murder count and the clues begin to point to a police artist with
the grim sketches left behind reminiscent of Nate's work.
The sketches alongside the text make this an astonishingly unique police
procedural tale that grips readers from the first picture to the last.
The story line is action-packed as the investigation comes across via
the vivid pictures as much as by the text; which in turns means incredible
twists and red herrings as the mind's eye can be fooled. Though the egotistical
know it all FBI agents targeting Nate for Attica seems unnecessary as
having Terri doubt should be enough personal pressure, readers will receive
immense pleasure from Jonathan Santlofer's delightful serial killer thriller.
Harriet Klausner
Season
of the Witch
Natasha Mostert
Dutton, Apr 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 0525950036
"Information thief" Gabriel Blackstone uses his gift "remote
viewing" to obtain the thoughts of other people. He has no scruples
about stealing from a mind for a paying customer.
London investment banker William Whittington is dying, but wants to see
his missing son Robert before he expires. Encouraged by his young trophy
wife Cecily Franck, who intimately knows Gabriel, William hires the man.
Gabriel uses his talent by "slamming the ride" to trace the
twenty-one years old vanished heir only to find Robert dead. The Monk
sisters Morrighan and Minnaloushe are the prime suspects as both have
the occult talent as direct descendants of sixteenth century alchemist
John Dee. Feeling a bit of ethics towards his client, Gabriel courts the
siblings with hopes of learning which one killed Robert, but he soon finds
himself bewitched by love.
This is a one sitting exciting paranormal whodunit that grips the audience
from the opening Prologue and never stops for even a gasp until the words
The End. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action and makes the
impossible seem plausible. The support cast enhances the plot, but clearly
this terrific tale belongs to the Gifted as the readers, like the hero,
wonder who the killer is and whether Gabriel has fallen in love with a
murdering occultist or an angelic practitioner.
Harriet Klausner
Unholy
Grail
D.L. Wilson
Berkley, Apr 2007, $7.99
ISBN: 0425214788
Out of the blue, Father Joseph Romano gets a phone call from a man asking
him to meet him at a certain time and place to discuss the Gospel of James,
which describes what happened at the crucifixion. When the priest arrives
at the Grand Central Station locale, a shot is fired at a woman holding
a box. Someone tried to kill Brittany Hamar who is wring a book The Jesus
Fraud that questions the basic tents of Christianity.
Britt received the same call that Joseph did. Soon two priests including
one that is a friend of Joseph dies. Joseph wants to know what Britt is
working on that is so controversial that someone wanted her dead and how
that ties to the dead priests. Britt tells him about a covert group the
RexDeus and their inner circle Le Serpent Rouge dedicated to preserving
the bloodline of Christ and Mary Magdalene. Britt has in her possession
a piece of the Gospel of James that claims Mary was pregnant with Jesus'
offspring. Joseph and Britt team up moving across Europe in a quest for
the UNHOLY GRAIL believing the Lea Serpent Rouge has sent their minion
after them.
In the tradition of the Da Vinci Code, D.L. Wilson provides an exciting
thought provoking religious thriller that will astonish readers with the
amount of historical facts and dogma interwoven into the storyline without
slowing down the action-packed story line. The two protagonists undertake
the quest to quell their doubts, but find much more than they anticipated.
Although the premise is over the top, the audience will appreciate this
action adventure thriller.
Harriet Klausner
The
Missing
Chris Mooney
Atria, Apr 2007, $25.00
ISBN 0743463803
In 1984 best friends Darby McCormick, Melanie Cruz and Stacey Stephens
are hiking in the woods when they accidentally observe a man killing a
woman. Darby calls the police as her hero her father "Big Red"
is a cop, but though her dad promised he would catch the killer, the culprit
was never caught.
The impact of the horrific crime scene remains with Darby almost as much
as her adulation of her late dad; she obtains a doctorate in criminal
psychology and becomes a Boston Crime Lab crime scene investigator. Her
current case feels a bit like déjà vu as she and her partner
Jackson "Coop" Cooper search for clues to the whereabouts of
a missing girl, Carol Cranmore. This investigation quickly ties back to
what happened when she was sixteen as Stacey is a murder victim and Melanie
is among THE MISSING leaving a terrorized Darby in a constant state of
panic that she is next.
This is fun Reagan Era police procedural filled with twists and turns
as Darby begins to unravel the truth about a serial killer and her father,
whose statue of greatness has begin to crumble in her mind. The story
line is action-packed and filled with twists, but also contains typical
sidebars of the sub-genre like the brass as always bungling, stumbling
and interfering. The serial killer crowd will enjoy Chris Mooney's exciting
thriller.
Harriet Klausner
The
Sun Over Breda
Arturo Perez-Reverte
Putnam, Apr 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 0399153837
The war between Spain and Holland has been going on for eighty years including
a twelve year truce. Spain considers Holland as part of its empire, but
the Calvinist Dutch want their freedom from Catholic Spain. Part of the
Spanish army including Captain Alatriste is traveling to take Oudkerk,
needs to be in Spain's territorybecaus the rebels supply Breda with mercenaries
and supplies needed to survive the seige.
Dutch, English, and French troops battle the Italian and Spanish soldiers
in deadly combat. Blood flows on both sides, but the Dutch and their allies
prevail so that some rations reach the beleaguered townsfolk. Alatriste
becomes the de facto leader of the squadron; a cynic who sees the truth
about the" glory " of war yet passionately defends Spain's honor.
His "apprentice" fifteen year old Inigo Bablbo worships him
though he tries to temper the teen's enthusiasm for war. Still, Alatriste
is on the front lines of breaking of the siege at the fortified town of
Breda. He knows at all times this could be his last moment of life.
Told in the first person by Inigo, readers obtain a deep look at a soldier's
life in the early seventeenth century. The lead character understands
that soldiering means kill or be killed. Dying is the only way of life
in battle as death maiming and gore are the outputs of war. He hopes to
purvey that message to the hero worshipping Inigo. THE SUN OVER BREDA
is a fabulous historical thriller with a message that remains powerful
even today.
Harriet Klausner
Shadows
in the White City
Robert W. Walker
Harper, April 2007, $6.99, 352 pp.
ISBN: 0060739967
At the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, the Phantom of the Fair has killed
seven people one of them an unborn child by garrote and then setting fire
to them. Inspector Alastair Ransom has hack driver Waldo Denton arrested
for the crimes. While he is recovering from a gunshot wound his nemesis
police chief Nathan Kohler releases the man due to a lack of evidence.
When Alastair learns of this he is livid and shadows Denton, trying to
prove his guilt. He finally neutralizes Denton but he has little time
to rest up on his laurels.
A new predator is stalking Chicago and the media has dubbed him Leather
Apron because that was what witnesses saw him wearing. This butcher saws
the person when he is still alive and cuts out the organs and the fleshy
part of the body. This has been going on for some time but when Senator
Chapman's granddaughter is one of the victims, the police become actually
involved. The senator offers Alastair, Koehler and a physician heavily
in debt a fortune if they find the killer and bring him to the senator
for some good old vigilante justice. Alastair is repulsed by the idea
but and has no idea who the killer is but the groups of street children
lead him to a horrifying and undeniable truth. Now all he has to do is
locate the killer and figure out what to do with him.
Robert W. Walker writes great historical mysteries that are compelling,
complex and full of interesting historical data that brings the late 1800's
to life for the reader. His protagonist is a product of his times and
his actions should be viewed in that light though readers use twenty-first
century historiographic perspective. In some ways this police procedural
is a cerebral mystery because Alistair has to gather clues from frightened
homeless children and a madwoman who has an interest in the killer. SHADOW
IN THE WHITE CITY is a must read to fans of historical mysteries.
Harriet Klausner
Heartstopper
Joy Fielding
Atria, Apr 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 0743295986
Torrance, Florida with its population of under 4,200 residents is a quaint
town where the locals know one another on a first name basis and can walk
safely alone at night. The sheriff John Weber does little more than break
up an occasional bar brawl and domestic disputes. Trapped in a loveless
marriage with an anorexic daughter, John regrets that his off and on lover
Kerri Franklin is seriously involved with newcomer Ian Crosbie. Having
left Rochester, New York because of her husband Ian's desire to start
fresh in Torrance, Sandy moves her family there but he soon leaves her
and their teenage children Megan and Tim because he wants to be with Kerri.
She understands he wanted reality not virtual lovemaking with his on line
sex partner Kerri
While the adults imitate Peyton Place, the most popular high school female
student Liana Martin is kidnapped; eventually she is found dead from a
shotgun blast to her face. Another woman in a nearby town disappears in
a similar manner, but her corpse has not been found yet though law enforcement
fears the worst. When babe magnet and wife abuser Cal Hamilton's wife's
body is found by Kerri's daughter Delilah, the police arrest the father.
A search of his apartment finds trophies of the dead women. The townsfolk
sigh of relief is short-lived because a predator remains free to kill.
Joy Fielding writes some of the best thrillers on the market today (see
MAD RIVER ROAD). Readers who like the works of Mary Higgins Clark and
Patricia McDonald will enjoy HEARTSTOPPER. The characters are fully drawn
as they make mistakes which enhance the realism of the prime story line.
There is plenty of action and a growing sense of horror as the killer
seems increasingly invincible. Though a serial killer preying on a small
town is a common theme, Ms. Fielding refreshes her plot with a whodunit
that will keep the audience guessing until the shocking climax.
Harriet Klausner
Angelica
Arthur Phillips
Random House, Apr 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 1400062519
Stationary store clerk Constance is euphoric and overwhelmed when she
marries biological researcher Joseph Barton as she has changed from lowly
shop girl to the lady of the manor. She decides to give her spouse children,
but over the years only Angelica is born. When their daughter turns four,
Joseph insists their offspring no longer sleep in their room. Constance
panics as she fears for Angelica's safety having seen spirits hover over
her child; however Joseph's temper is more frightening so she reluctantly
accepts that Angelica will sleep in her own room.
Still Constance consults with a spiritualist Anne Montague, who thinks
there is something perverted about Joseph and his ferocious rage at home
that manifests in the spirits. Joseph cannot understand why his wife suddenly
fears him and cringes at his touch as if he is a beast. Years later, an
adult Angelica wonders whether when she was a child if her father was
a sexual predator, her mother a delusional maniac, or something even more
frightening from beyond.
This late Victorian psychological suspense tale switches perspective as
the key players provide their point of view re what is happening when
Angelica turned four. The story line grips readers who are unsure as to
what is the truth as each person's version seems right at the time it
is presented. Interestingly the audience will empathize with Constance
and Joseph as hey share in common the belief that their partner does not
understand them. ANGELICA is a strong suspense thriller that will keep
fans reading to learn supernatural or mundane cause and effect.
Harriet Klausner
Turquoise
Girl
Aimee & David Thurlo
Forge, Apr 2007, $23.95
ISBN: 076531715X
Navaho Police Special Investigator Ella Clah feels down because her mother
moved into her new husband's home while her place is being renovated and
her daughter is staying with her father. She also has to live with her
partner Justine and her roommate until the repairs are completed. Her
professional life heats up when Ella prevents a riot from igniting as
protestors try to halt construction of a nuclear plant. She notices a
stranger wearing sunglasses on the site.
An anonymous call leads Ella to the home of Valerie Tso, who was tortured
with her body garbed in church clothing while she was "baptized"
in the bathtub with a note from the bible nearby. Besides the gruesome
crime scene the homicide further disturbs Ella who is not sure why until
she remembers she worked a similar case while working as as an FBI agent
in California. She quickly links her current case to two other women dying
in a similar horrific way with their children executed. Ella finds a link
involving her father's church years ago that also means she and her family
are in jeopardy from an unknown adversary with a religious grudge.
Aimee and David Thurlo has written some of the best contemporary Native
American police procedurals on the market in recent years as readers over
the course of the Clah series investigations obtain a taste of the Navaho
culture while also being entertained. TURQUOISE GIRL lives up to those
expectations with a strong whodunit and a look at the debate between the
traditionalists and the modernization groups. Ella is at her best as her
inquiries lead her moving deftly between the two opposing sectors when
her case suddenly turns personal.
Harriet Klausner
The
Refuge
Sue Henry
NAL, April 2007, $23.95, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0451220471
After being away from her Alaskan abode for the past nine months sixty
four year old Maxie McNabb yearns for her home in Homer. She has spent
time with her mini-dachshund in the lower forty-eight states around the
Four Corners region of the Southwest. When she arrives at her home, she
has less than a week to enjoy it before a friendly acquaintance calls
her from Hilo, Hawaii asking for her help. In a fall she tripped, hurting
an arm and a leg and is out of commission. She needs Maxie to help her
sort, point, sells and more to Alaska.
Maxie reluctantly heads to the fiftieth state to help Karen out, even
knowing that before Karen was injured, she was helpless and always needing
someone to tell her what to do and how to do it. Needing a break from
her friend, she goes sightseeing and meets the plumber's helper Jerry
who has worked on Karen's house. They put Karen on a plane and get to
work packing and then they plan to do some sight-seeing. However, men
want something from Maxie and they will kill them if necessary to get
it it. Maxie doesn't know what they want or where it is but is determined
to get the best of the men that stalked her and kidnapped Jerry.
Sue Henry has written an exciting mystery focusing on a protagonist who
has more energy at sixty-four than people do in their twenties. She certainly
shows that life can be fulfilling as a senior while she appreciate the
beauty of the things around us like Maxie does in Hawaii. There is lots
of action, no blood or gore and a great cast. Readers will immediately
take to the heroine and Jerry who is not quite what he seems.
Harriet Klausner
Fresh
Disasters
Stuart Woods
Putnam, April 2007, $25.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 0399154108
Attorney Stone Barrington is a counsel for the prestigious law firm of
Woodman and Weld which means he takes the cases the firm doesn't want
to dirty their hands with. He is eating at Elaine's with his old partner
police detective Dino Bacchetti and Bill Eggers, the managing partner
of Woodman and Weld. Two thugs walk into the restaurant and take small
time crook Herbie Fisher outside to beat him up for failing to pay his
bookie. When Dino breaks the fight up and Herbie comes back, he tells
Stone that his bookie is owned by mafia chieftain Carmine Dattila.
He wants to sue Carmine for bodily injury but Stone tells him to forget
it. A tipsy Bill says he will take the case but the next morning he calls
Stone and tells him the firm wants Stone to take Carmine to civil court
because the attorneys will get good press without taking any risks. Herbie
keeps disappearing and Carmine's goon's kidnap him, beat him up and are
given orders by Carmine to kill him slowly. Herbie keeps escaping the
goons and Stone but there is no escaping an enraged mafia boss who wants
vengeance or is there?
There is a secondary sub-plot with a stalker who is out to kill Stone
because he is sleeping with the object of his affection. It is fun watching
the hero care about the women in his life while dealing with an out of
control homicidal stalker. A fast paced action plot and Stone's witty
repartee make FRESH DISASTERS a very well written and entertaining crime
caper.
Harriet Klausner
Tutu
Deadly
Natalie M. Roberts
Berkley, Apr 2007, $6.99
ISBN: 0425214869
Who would ever believe that providing ballet lessons to children could
be hazardous to one's heath? One person who would believe that is Jenny
T. Partridge who owns a dance studio in Ogden, Utah. She struggles with
the demands of "psycho moms" who order her to give the best
parts in her annual recital of the Nutcracker to their offspring.
Detective Tate Wilson takes Jenny to the station for questioning in the
murder of a mother of one of her students since the two women had a public
argument witnessed by the dance pupils. Jenny swears she never delivered
the arsenic laced cookie dough to Sandra Epstein. In fact she avows that
another psycho mother Emma Anderson was to deliver the dough to her, but
the woman and her daughter have conveniently vanished; so has Sandra's
daughter. Jenny is attacked and shot at while her studio is bombed yet
she insists to a bewildered Tate she has no idea why someone wants her
dead or for that matter is killing the psycho mom clients.
This is one of the more amusing cases this reviewer has read due to the
kvetching of the heroine as she deals with one crisis after another because
she has the experience of dealing with things worse than bombs: psycho
moms. The characters especially the leads are refreshing and unique as
Tate is not sure whether to handcuff Jenny and arrest her or handcuff
Jenny because the heat is on. Albeit a police procedural, amateur sleuth
fans will want to kick off their heels and dance with TUTU DEADLY.
Harriet Klausner
Kingdom
Come: The Final Victory
Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins
Tyndale, April 2007
ISBN: 0842360611
With Lucifer locked away for a thousand years, Jesus Christ's reign over
the inhabitants of the Earth for the next millennium begins. At the beginning
it is a beautiful place where rivers of milk, wine, and purified water
flow freely in Jerusalem. David is the prince who answers only to Christ
and all the people are believers. Cameron and Chloe Williams run the Children
of the Tribulation school that teaches all the youngsters who were alive
at the Glorious Appearing to give their lives to Christ. Each person has
until the 100th birthday to be saved otherwise they will die.
As the death of the non-believers rise, a cult comes into being, the Children
of the Light who not only turn their back on Christ but worship Satan.
They believe their children's children will keep the faith so that when
Satan is freed, their side will win. Kenny Bruce, the leader of the Millennium
Force, doesn't trust Qasin Marid who wants to not only be a member but
an infiltrator. Kenny, Cameron and Chloe's grandson believes he is behind
all the bad things that are happening to him, making Kenny look like a
false believer. Time will prove he is on the right side. Rafe, Mac, Tsion,
Irene, and Chaim are rebuilding the infrastructure of the various countries
while Abdullah is in Amman being a preacher to the COL. As time passes
and the millennium kingdom ends, everyone is looking forward to be lifted
up to heaven.
With the publication of KINGDOM COME, the tribulation series comes to
a glorious end. Readers will enjoy seeing their favorite characters in
the millennial kingdom and enjoy watching the children of the tribulation
force take way to make of their parents. The descriptions of a hundred
years of paradise are beautiful and makes one think earth should be like
that. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are marvelous storytellers who appeal
to both secular and Christian audiences.
Harriet Klausner
Invisible
Shield
Scarlett Dean
Five Star, Apr 2007, $25.95
ISBN: 1594145458
Her partner Gerard Alvarez tells Lindsay Frost that Buford Jones was released
from prison after a drug bust failed. When the guilty verdict was pronounced
Buford threatened Lindsay for she was instrumental in taking him down.
When an anxious Lindsay enters her home, she sees noting disturbing so
she relaxes. Not long afterward she watches the police looking at her
naked body in the bathtub as the cops officially declare suicide, but
Gerald and her sister, police officer Kate Frost believe otherwise.
Lindsay soon meets other spirits like herself who have unfinished business
to attend to on the mortal plane or have things to learn about their new
existence. The only person who can see or hear Lindsay is Kate. Rivals
in life, the sisters agree to team up to find Lindsay's killer, but the
deceased sibling has bigger issues than uncovering her murderer. Lindsay
battles an evil spirit bent on eliminating her entirely while Kate struggles
with her superiors who demand she drop the case.
INVISIBLE SHIELD is a superb paranormal police procedural that focuses
on two sisters who are so eerily alike in life and were competitors pushing
one another to excel while in death they find common ground. Lindsay makes
friends and enemies in limbo with some allies saving her after-life when
her spirit stalker tries to snuff her light out. There is plenty of action
on both sides of the veil between the living and the dead as Scarlett
Dean creates a marvelous mystical mystery.
Harriet Klausner
Right
from the Gecko
Cynthia Baxter
Bantam, Apr 2007, $6.99
ISBN 0553588443
Eighteen months have passed since Brookside University School of Law student
Nick Burby proposed to commitment phobic veterinarian Jessica Popper and
she said no though they still seeing one another exclusively. However,
they are now returning to the scene of the crime, make that proposal,
as they leave Long Island for Maui for her to attend the American Veterinary
Medical Association's annual conference and for them to share some romantic
interludes.
However their retreat is disturbed when the corpse of reporter Marnie
Burton washes on the beach near Jessie. Having met the journalist the
day before and as always curious when it comes to bodies, Jessica looks
close at the deceased while someone observes her doing so and worries
that the Long Islander might have found a clue especially when the vet
begins making inquiries that lead her to a biotech firm.
Though the latest Jessica Popper whodunit is not reigning cats and dogs,
fans of a strong amateur sleuth tale will enjoy the heroine's return to
Hawaii in which her biggest fear is that Nick will ask the "Question"
even when someone wants to end her inquiry. The cast is solid even with
just one supporting feline as so many two legged beasts make prime suspects.
Though some purists might object to the lack of the four-legged secondary
characters, Cynthia Baxter provides a strong mystery RIGHT FROM THE GECKO.
Harriet Klausner
Obsession
Karen Robards
Putnam, April 2007, $24.95, 352 pp.
ISBN 0399154167
Katherine Lawrence feels as if she is in the middle of a draconian nightmare
as thugs, spooks or terrorists break into the house where she is living
that belongs to her lover Ed Barnes, the deputy director of operations
for the CIA. They tie her and her friend Lisa up and they torture Katherine
trying to get her to tell them where the safe in the house is. She never
knew Ed has a safe but they don't believe her but Katherine manages to
get her mouth free of the tape so she can scream.
Her next door neighbor Don scares them off and takes her to the hospital
where she feels like she knew him in another life. She also thinks she
is losing her mind because when she looks in the mirror it isn't the face
she remembers and when she takes a shower it isn't the body she remembers.
For some reason she is afraid of Ed and with the help of Dan she loses
the two agents he has guarding her. Ed soon picks up her track and when
he finally gets his hands on her she feels she like she is living in the
middle of a Hitchcock movie.
Readers will love OBSESSION, a stunning and powerful tour de force thriller.
Katherine doesn't know what is real and what is a figment of her imagination
but she has clues that all is not right. Her rings are loose, her clothes
are not comfortable and the tiles where her head bashed the kitchen floor
seem to have shrunk. Readers will eagerly wait to find out what is happened
to the vulnerable and frightened Katherine. Karen Robards proves once
again she is a stupendous storyteller.
Harriet Klausner
The
Green Mill Murder
Kerry Greenwood
Poisoned Press, April 2007, $22.95, 240 pp.
ISBN 1590582403
The Honorable Phryne Fisher accompanies Charles Freeman to Green Mill,
a dance hall that was very popular in Australia in the 1920's. She promised
his mother that she would look after her son when one of the participants
in a dance hall is knifed to death. He was behind Phryne who didn't see
the actual stabbing but when her escort sees the bloody body, he gets
sick and runs into the men's room. By the time the police arrive on the
scene, Charles has disappeared.
His mother, a cruel and hateful virago, asks Phryne, who moonlights as
a private detective, to find him. She discovers Charles is gay and possesses
pictures that could get him killed since at that time and place sodomy
was against the law. When she finally finds Charles she hands him over
to the police even though she doesn't think he is the killer. She also
has to make a trip to the outback to find Victor, the brother who Charles
believes is dead because his mother told him so. Mrs. Freeman wishes Victor
was dead so she would inherit the house and money as her late husband
left her with nothing. Phryne finds a confrontation between the two brothers
is inevitable.
THE GREEN MILL MURDER is so much more than a murder mystery, it is a journey
into the heart of a family, a trip into the new musical world of jazz
and it is the story of a woman who lives her life her way regardless what
society thinks. 1920s Australia comes to glorious life in Kerry Greenwood's
capable hands, but though the mystery is superb, the locale vivid, and
the era descriptive, readers will continue reading this series because
the heroine is such a fascinating character.
Harriet Klausner
The
Alibi Man
Tami Hoag
Bantam, April 2007, $26.00, 368 pp.
ISBN 0553802011
One day while riding a horse near the canal in Wellington in south Florida,
former undercover cop Elena Estes, now a horse groomer, sees the parts
of a body in a nearby canal. She calls Detective Landry the man she just
broke up with, to take care of the body. When they fish her out of the
water, Elena is shocked to know the murdered victim is Irina, one of the
women who works will the horses in the same stable as Elena. Once a cop
always a cop as Elena's instincts are to find out who killed Irina.
At first, she starts out to find out who Irina hung around with encouraged
by the victim's lover Russian Mafioso Mr. Kulack who wants Elena to find
out who killed the love of his life. She learns the shallow beautiful
woman's only ambition was to have a sugar daddy marry her. When Irina's
friend Lisbeth is beaten up badly, Elena realizes the murder and the assault
are connected to the Alibi Club whose corrupt members are powerful men
whom provided alibis for each other when the situation warrants. To make
matters worse Elena's father who she hasn't talked to in two decades is
the club's lawyer. One of the men in the club is Bennett Walker. He was
the man who wanted her to alibi him when they were engaged so he wouldn't
be prosecuted for the rape of a woman. Only time will tell if Elena's
suspicious about him are correct.
Tami Hoag has written another exciting suspense thriller that is heading
for the New York Times bestseller list. Her protagonist is a vulnerable
woman who has no ideals left about the justice system especially when
the rich easily manipulate it. Yet she is strong enough to walk away from
a life of privilege and take a job that her old crowd believes is socially
beneath her. She believes in justice and serves as a strong role model
because she thinks with her head and feels with her heart.
Harriet Klausner
Spanish Dagger
Susan Wittig Albert
Berkley, April 2007, $23.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0425213943
Between running her shop Thymes and Seasons, Thyme Cottage, and her partnering
with Ruby Wilcox for Thyme for Tea and Party Thyme, China Bayles has no
thyme make that time for herself. She is there for her friend Ruby who
just broke up with her lover Collin, owner of an environmental friendly
store. She doesn't tell Ruby that he's an undercover cop who got busted
when he told a two level dealer that he was about to be busted. She is
also adjusting to the fact that she has a half-brother, Miles Danforth
who believes his and China's father was murdered in what was supposed
to be an accidental car crash.
China's husband, now a private investigator, takes the case and heads
out of town to do some investigating. When she finally gets a moment to
breathe, she and a friend go to railroad tracks to pick yucca leaves but
find the knifed body of Collin. Ruby is in Fredericksburg trying to get
her senile mother into an assisted loving facility and asks China to investigate.
With key in hand China goes into Collin's store where she gets the numbers
of Lucita who called Collin on unexplained business. When China goes to
the nursery where Lucita works, she finds Lucita's dead body with her
throat cut. Something rotten is going on in Pecan Springs, Texas and China
vows to stop it with the help of a drug sniffing rottweiler.
Susan Wittig Albert has written another excellent China Bayles mystery
that is filled danger, action and intrigue. The mysterious stranger who
is in town is either the cause or the one who intends to stop it. However
he has never dealt with the heroine or Smart Cookie aka the Chief of Police.
Readers will enjoy learning about China's past family life and hope that
the answer about her father will be found in the next book in this delightful
series.
Harriet Klausner
The
Book of Air and Shadows
Michael Gruber
Morrow, Apr 2007, $24.95
ISBN 0060874465
Manhattan-based intellectual property lawyer Jake Mishkin enjoys the good
life of the Big Apple until his life changed when his college roommate
Columbia Professor Mickie Haas sent visiting Oxford Professor Andrew Bulstrode
to see him on a legal matter. As he waits for the killers to pay their
respects to him, Jake muses that if the woman with the long neck at the
New York Public Library was not involved he would not have dived so deeply.
The mess truly began with the fire in an antiquarian bookstore where wannabe
filmmaker Albert Crosetti worked before Andrew's consultation with Jake
and subsequent murder. Jake meets Albert and they soon follow encrypted
clues left behind by sixteenth century British spy Richard Bracegirdle
on 48 sheets hidden inside the 1732 six volumes of Churchill's Collection
of Voyages and Travels that claims a Shakespeare manuscript exists. As
they begin their trek from Queens to England where the encrypted Bracegirdle's
letters send them to find this literary treasure, neither trusts anyone
including their partner as double cross is everywhere while gangsters
working for an unknown party also pursue them.
The key to THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS is the characters whose personal
lives interwoven into the suspense make them seem real as the audience
understands much about Mishkin, Crosetti and even Bracegirdle. This leads
to better comprehending the traitorous actions of the cast. Fans will
enjoy this deep saga that uses Shakespeare as the focus of a twenty-first
century thriller.
Harriet Klausner
Murder
of a Botoxed Blonde
Denise Swanson
Signet, March 2007, $6.99, 256 pp.
ISBN 0451221419
Scumble River school psychologist Skye Denison is now a paid consultant
in the SRPD. Margot Avanti, owner of a beauty spa and resort on the old
Brufeld Estate, asks the "Nancy Drew of Scumble River" to investigate
vandalism with holes in the ground and walls that keep appearing. Margot
assumes it is treasure hunters seeking the rumored buried jewels hidden
by the former owner allegedly somewhere on the property or inside the
converted building.
Skye first says no but her best friend persuades her and asks to come
along as her guest so she won't have to host Thanksgiving for a horde
of relatives. From the very beginning she knows she isn't the stereotype
type of the guest with the emphasis on beauty and being thin. When one
of the women, a former high profile model is murdered, the chief of police
wants Skye to help on the investigation. While she is delving into her
inquiries, treasure hunters keep appearing on the property and valuable
items go missing. The staff have secrets that they are hiding but which
one has a secret so deadly he or she is willing to kill to keep it from
being revealed.
The Scumble River mysteries are one of the most satisfy cozy series on
the market today. The heroine is a perfect role model for anyone. She
sticks to her beliefs but isn't inflexible, is strong enough to accept
her full figure size and is bold enough to solve a whodunit that has the
police stymied. The romantic triangle between her, Simon the undertaker,
and Wally the chief of police jazzes up an already satisfying storyline.
Harriet Klausner
What's
A Ghoul to Do?
Victoria Laurie
Signet, April 2007, $6.99, 304 pp.
ISBN 0451220900
M.J. Holiday was always able to see and speak to ghosts so she became
a medium and her clients would ask her to try to contact their loved ones.
Although she was very successful and the money was rolling in, she changed
directions and became a ghost buster helping spirits move on. She works
with computer guru Gilley Gillespie who loves the computer world but is
afraid to go into a haunted house.
Dr. Steven Sable contacts M.J. because he wants her to contact his father's
ghost (which he has seen) in his lodge. The police say he committed suicide
by jumping off the roof but Steven is positive that his grandfather wasn't
suicidal. When they arrive at the lodge M.J. contacts three ghosts but
none of them seem to want to talk to her. In the meantime they have a
bigger problem. Steven's father who had never acknowledged him is in town
and it is obvious he wants something and will do anything to get it. Steven
and Laurie intend to stop him but they need the help of the ghosts to
do it.
This paranormal cozy mystery is a ghost lovers' delight. They play a small
but crucial plot in this fast paced tale. Victoria Laurie is a storyteller
who charms her audience with benevolent ghosts, a romantic interest for
M.J. and a smashing and surprising climax. Each ghost has their own personally
which adds to the atmosphere of WHAT'S A GHOUL TO DO? The writer uses
words to create a novel so that readers see the paranormal with the mind's
eye.
Harriet Klausner
The
River Knows
Amanda Quick
Putnam, April 2006, $24.95, 368 pp.
ISBN: 0399154175
Anthony Stalbridge is highly placed in society even though his family
is considered very eccentric. At present his image is tarnished because
his fiancée committed suicide and there are rumors that he was
breaking off their engagement. Although Anthony is sure she was murdered,
he wants to find the killer in the hopes that it was nothing he did or
didn't do that caused her demise. He believes Edwin Hastings had something
to do with her death and he tries to break into the man's bedroom safe.
Coming out of his Hasting's bedroom is Louisa Bryce who is looking into
Hastings investment in a brothel. They meet up with each other and he
grabs and kisses her because he hears a guard coming. After they leave,
they talk about why they are interested in the same man. Louisa wants
to write a story about him and Anthony wants to prove he murdered his
fiancée. Later that night he breaks into the safe and finds his
fiancée's necklace there as well as proof that the man is an investor
in the brothel. As Louisa and Anthony work together to bring Hastings
down, they fall in love but she has a dark secret that she hides from
everyone and fears when she tells Anthony he will turn from her in disgust.
Taking place in the late Victorian era, THE RIVER KNOWS is a fantastic
romantic thriller. Like any Amanda Quick novel, this book is a charmer
due to the realistic characters who don't quite fit the society mold.
Their amusing antics will have readers chuckling out loud while the support
cast moves the plot along quite subtly in a tantalizing tale filled with
plenty of action and quite a few surprises.
Harriet Klausner
Shell
Game
Jeff Buck
Leisure, Apr 2007, $7.99
ISBN: 0843958464
Taylor Simons is living the American dream with a handsome husband Alan
whom she loves and who earns a large income so that they live in a mansion.
She also runs her own multi-million dollar valued advertising business
G-cubed. Their bank suddenly calls in Taylor and Alan to pay their note.
past due. The pair had invested everything they owned and more into New
Pro, but the firm disappeared overnight in a great scam. Down to a paltry
few hundred K, they sell everything even as adding insult Alan loses his
job.
When they receive a tip as to the whereabouts of New Pro CEO Edward Brand,
they head to Mexico to confront him. Per happenstance they find him where
he is living and follow him when he leaves his luxurious villa. As the
car nears the cliffs, Alan throws Taylor out of their vehicle and tries
to run down Edward. Instead he misses and falls into the water below.
DNA proves he is dead. Taylor teams up with a former New Pro employee
Kelly who also works for the NSA; they set up a scam to take away all
of Edward's money knowing failure means death.
SHELL GAME is a thrill a minute crime caper in which appearances are deceiving
and filled with twists that seem plausible yet stunning. Ironically, Edward
is the only key character who appears to be what he is as everyone else
has secrets they hide behind. Jeff Buck will be recognized by fans as
a leading thriller writer due to this fast-paced tale in which the sting
is the only game in town.
Harriet Klausner
Absolute
Fear
Lisa Jackson
Kensington, Apr 2007, $19.95
ISBN 0758211821
Three months have passed since that fatal night that still haunts Eve
Renner, the adopted daughter of Dr. Terrence Renner, former chief psychiatrist
at the now closed Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital. That evening her
borderline paranoid childhood friend Roy demanded Eve meet him at his
Uncle Vernon Kajak's remote fishing cabin as he has evidence. Instead
the serial killer the Reviver murdered Roy; Eve saw her boyfriend Cole's
face just before going unconscious. She suffers from amnesia, but fears
Cole is this number tattooing psychopath avenging an apparent affront
received at the asylum.
Detectives Reuben Montoya and Rick Bentz lead the investigation but though
they question Cole, they lack evidence to hold him. As the cops try to
stop a deranged killer from adding new numbers to the body count, Eve
believes answers to the murderer's identity and why can be found in Our
Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital where she grew up. However, she needs
help so she wonders whether she should turn to Cole, who just might be
the killer.
ABSOLUTE FEAR will bring shivers up and down the spine of the audience
every time the Reviver leaves his tattoo numbers behind on the latest
corpse. Eve is a terrific central character as she wonders if the man
she loves is the killer while deciding to uncover the truth by going into
the asylum where she knows "hell" awaits her. On a personal
side note for those fans following these Bayou thrillers, Reuben's fiancée
Abby Chastain thinks Eve might be her half-sister. Though asylum serial
killers and heroines with amnesia can be trite devices, Lisa Jackson keeps
her plot brisk and fresh as the action-pack twisting story line thoroughly
entertains readers.
Harriet Klausner
All
Jacked Up
Penny McCall
Berkley, Apr 2007, $6.99
ISBN: 0425214834
The big stud entered the Library of Congress with his Glock out. He informs
bookworm Aubrey with a B Sullivan to move it. She argues with him until
bullets fly. He pushes her down to the floor and jumps on her to keep
her safe only to have her argue even more until FBI Agent Jack Mitchell
says he ought to leave her with the bad guys so her mouth will kill them.
To keep her safe Jack has abducted her, but he concludes she must be a
wacko as her reactions are all wrong; too logical and calm as she insists
he kidnapped kidnapping her and he claims to have taken a bullet to save
her life.
As she provides first aid to his wound, Jack explains that she has information
on Pablo "the Butcher" Corona, cocaine king of the hemisphere.
Aubrey says she is in protective custody, but Jack says no as he is being
set up inside the agency to take the fall as his peers believe he is a
mole working for Corona; they want him dead just like the thugs want her
dead. To survive, she must recall what she knows so they can go public
making her no longer a target and proving his innocence. However, as he
admires her courage, he realizes one of childhood's enduring lessons is
no one messes with the librarian even a psychopathic killer will learn
this life tenet.
ALL JACKED UP is an amusing romantic suspense thriller starring a delightful
pairing of two souls who are resourceful, do not understand mortality,
and leave defeated bad guys all over the place. The chats between the
Fed and the Librarian are humorous as she adapts to any scenario with
aplomb. While Aubrey uses self-deprecating wit or tearing Jack's hide,
fans of lighthearted romps will appreciate their fun bantering while battling
to elude the Feds and to keep the Butcher from dining on either of them.
Harriet Klausner
Sparkles
Louise Bagshawe
Plume, Apr 2007, $14.00
ISBN: 0452288142
In Paris, jewelry tycoon Pierre Massot vanishes. His British wife Sophie
remains in the city raising their son Tom in hopes that Pierre will return.
However, she is very unhappy besides there is no closure as the millions
spent on investigations proved fruitless. She also has to put up with
the bullying tactics of Pierre's mother Katherine. Finally after seven
years have passed since her husband disappeared; a fearful Sophie, over
the objection of her martinet mother-in-law, has Pierre legally declared
dead.
Sophie begins to look into the House Massot business. Company CEO Gregoire
Lazard offers her lessons in the boardooom and bedroom. Pierre's former
lover American expatriate head of public relations Judy Dean "befriends"
the widow to insure Sophie does not interfere with her get rich schemes.
As Sophie learns the business, some of Pierre's darkest secrets including
the Russian connection, she meets fellow Brit Hugh Montfort, who offers
her real comfort though he himself has suffered from personal tragedy.
When this thriller looks deep into the machinations of the missing Pierre,
it is intoxicating as the audicne wants more; when the story line focuses
on the lifestyle especially the wardrobe of the rich and famous the plot
suffers inertia as momentum is slowed. Still the cast is fully developed
beyond the central lead character as the three females in Pierre's life
and the four males (to include Pierre) in Sophie's life bring the plot
alive. With a final plausible twist that will stun the audience, this
book entertainingly SPARKLES with delight.
Harriet Klausner
Dark
Room
Andrea Kane
Morrow, Apr 2007, $23.95
ISBN: 0060741341
On Christmas Eve 1989 in Brooklyn, preadolescent Morgan Winter sneaks
down to look at her gifts only to find two presents that she will haunt
her soul forever; her parents corpses. Seventeen years later the murder
of her beloved family still haunts her. Now the case of killing her father,
an ADA is being reopened as new evidence points that the confessed killer
Nate Schiller could not have done those homicides as he was in Harlem
killing a cop Goddfrey and a gang leader Hernandez. Nate's confession
was to keep him stay alive behind bars as murdering an ADA is not on a
par of that of a gang leader who has some followers in prison.
Former NYPD Homicide Detective Pete "Monty" Montgomery (see
WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME), a private investigator, agrees to make inquires
into the re-heated Winter murders, but first informs Morgan what occurred.
His photojournalist son Lane helps his dad especially with his strong
contacts with the Intel crowd. As Lane and Morgan fall in love, Monty
finds the case already filled with one odd twist with Schiller exposed;
but even a homicide veteran like him is not prepared for the spins through
Manhattan's most powerful.
Though there is too much coincidence in the plot, fans of romantic police
procedural will appreciate this fine thriller in which the legal system
and the heroine are tested. The story line is action-packed as the Montgomery
duo make inquiries into what was considered a closed case that has suddenly
turned into a heated cold case. Fans will enjoy this exciting sequel as
Monty father and son seek closure for Morgan.
Harriet Klausner
Harriets's Archived Reviews
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