STEPHANIE LYNCH - MOSTLY MYSTERY REVIEWS
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Stephanie Lynch
is one half of the writing team of Marilu Mann and Cai Stephan.
She received her RWA Pro Pin with a double rejection from Tor and
Silhouette. After indulging in chocolate, she dove back in to write
some more. Her team writes Bombshells, Paranormals and Contemporaries
with a distinct preference towards Paranormals. Her reading tastes
run from esoteric to frivolous. She is just as happy reading Carl
Jung as she is Nora Roberts. But don't ask her which is the better
writer. Nora will win every day! |
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December 2005
KILL
A PAINTED PONY
Kelsy George
Double Dragon Publishing, Inc, September 2005
$5.99, 189 pages, ISBN: 1-55404-286-0
If I were handing out stars, I would give this one four out of five. If
you like rodeos and someone who has a fine sense of what the backside
of a rodeo holds, then you will enjoy this novel. It's only 189 pages
long, which was a shame because it certainly had room for expansion. But
the 189 pages that you do have to read are a pure pleasure.
Annabelle Oaklee has a very unusual job. She's the headliner in the Wild
and Wooly West Show that serves as entertainment on the rodeo circuit.
She doesn't have a dog or a cat, but she does have a horse, Target, whose
been her partner for 19 years. Her past is a harsh one, but she doesn't
hold that against herself.
When Kieran Hawes shows up in her life again, Annie doesn't expect things
to go smoothly, but she also doesn't expect bodies to start dropping like
flies around her. Good guys, bad guys both fall in this book of murder
and mayhem.
If this were a Clint Eastwood movie, my mother would approve simply due
to the high body count. My mother was a bloodthirsty gal at times. But
strap on your spurs and make sure you have plenty of ammunition for your
gun! Kelsy George gallops you through a well-written action-adventure
novel with a heroine with spunk. And this heroine cries, but never in
a Too Stupid To Live sense. I adored Annie and Keir both.
If I had to say anything negative about this book, it would be the ending.
I want to see more from this author! A job very well done!
Stephanie Lynch
KILL
ME TWICE
Roxanne St. Claire
Pocket Books, October 2005, $6.99, 368 pages
ISBN: 0743477308
I just put down KILL ME TWICE. It's the latest from one of my fave authors,
Roxanne St. Claire. Rocki (who writes chick lit as Rocki St. Clair) has
done something I didn't think possible. She ratcheted up the sexual heat
in this book to the point you could deep fry an iceberg! YOWZA! It was
instant combustion between Jazz and Alex. Putting the book down was more
than difficult. I even snuck off to the restroom for a 20 minute break
so I could read more! Rocki, if I get fired, it's all your fault!
But take a PI who doesn't need any help and give her a bodyguard who is
determined to help her anyway and you have an instant recipe for conflict.
Jazz wants to find her sister and Alex thinks he's guarding her sister.
He knows within the first few pages that Jazz is not the perfectly perky
Jessica. But Jessica is in trouble and it's his job to save her. And her
hardheaded, tease of a sister who thinks nothing of using his lust for
her to distract him.
Jazz needs to ditch the Cuban. He is trouble in every way possible and
he thinks she needs help finding her own twin. She does whatever it takes
to work her angles... and I do mean HER angles... to get to Alex. The
two of them heat up the streets of Miami as they take on the people who
have her sister.
Roxanne hits you with a twist at the end that you will NOT believe! I
was totally blown away and never saw it coming. Fabulous writing from
one of the up-and-coming authors. And if you like this one, don't stop
here! Her FRENCH TWIST is just as good. Rocki has a knack for telling
a story that sucks you in.
KILL ME TWICEis the first in the Bullet Catcher series by Roxanne St.
Claire. I'll be looking for the next one!
Stephanie Lynch
QUEST
OF THE SEAL BEARERS BOOK I: The Warriors Return
Awg Coleman
Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, February 2004
$15.95, 360 pgs, ISBN: 1589395115
Well, here we are, a bunch of teenagers trying to defeat a really bad
person. The really bad person is Davron who comes complete with an army
to destroy all happiness. He is the reincarnation of a demented tyrant
named Multus. It’s all his fault for releasing the dark force known
as the Book of War on the planet Mendala. Five heros came together and
were able to send Multus back to the place he belonged.
But wouldn’t you know it? Davron finds the book just when everyone
thinks the whole Multus and the Book of War thing is a myth! This
is going to take a miracle. Or at least five kids from Earth who think
they are off on their yearly vacation. This year’s vacation is going
to be a bit different! Instead of the usual challenges, they find themselves
facing ultimate evil.
Given handy-dandy super powers, they can defeat the minions, but can they
band together as a group and win over Davron? You’ll have to read
it to find out. This book wasn’t quite to my tastes because of its religious overtones.
I found them to be a bit overdone, but the author means well and writes
from his heart. He is donating all of his royalties from this book to
St. Joseph's Villa: a Richmond, VA based charity dedicated to helping
children and families with special needs.
Stephanie Lynch
TOUCH
Gayleen Froese
NeWest Press, September 2005, $17.95, 304 pgs
ISBN 1-896300-93-6
Humor, magic and darkness make this a book not to be missed. Ms Froese
tangles a deceitful web of intrigue that weaves its way around two women
out to solve a murder. But that murder isn’t the only thing they
have to solve. They must also come to trust one another and each has reason
not to trust anyone. Anna runs full-tilt into the proper Collette’s
life who has to learn to deal with the death of her best friend as well
as the arrival of a new friend.
Now throw in the fact that there is a supernatural thread here as well
and you have a terrific read. Slow in some spots and rough in others,
I will still be on the lookout for Ms. Froese next book.
Stephanie Lynch
CRIMSON
CITY
Liz Maverick
Love Spell, July 2005, $6.99
ISBN: 0505526220
Ever wish someone would write a romance where the heroine kicked ass
and got her ass kicked as well every now and again? I don't know about
you, but I am not impressed with characters who never feel pain. I like
to see a character that grows.
Fleur feels pain. She gets it in spades in this book. In the heart because
of past decisions and present company. In the body when she learns that
her training needs to be stepped up a bit after she almost loses her life
to a mech. Her physical strength is pretty impressive. After all, she
is a vampire and soon-to-be-leader of one of the strongest families. If
she can get it together.
When we first meet Fleur, she seems quite willing to let others lead her
family for her. Her tastes run to playing dress up games with her girl
friends. Then two people are murdered, but she is left to live. Now she
has questions that need to be answered.
Can Fleur team up with a human cop to solve the crime? She has a lousy
track record with men. Dain, the cop, isn't much into fangs, but this
vamp is one sexy lady.
In this first book of the CRIMSON CITY series, you are introduced to the
idea of an alternative Los Angeles where demons, werewolves, and vampires
exist along side of humans. There is ethnic prejudice galore. For me,
Maverick makes a good case of how racial stereotyping makes us look.
If you like futuristic, cutting edge fantasy, take a look at the CRIMSON
CITY series that starts with this book.
Stephanie Lynch
A
TASTE OF CRIMSON (Crimson City)
Marjorie M Liu
Love Spell, August 2005, $6.99
ISBN: 0505526328
Second in the CRIMSON CITY series from Dorchester, this book takes us
into the heart of the underground world of the werewolfs. The dogs, as
they are called by anyone who is not of them, are kept below. They are
in a ghetto-like situation. The power struggle between humans, vampires
and werewolves is highlighted in this book. Again, racial prejudice rears
its ugly head when wild child Keeli Maddox hooks up with Vamp outcast
Michael.
And no one is very happy about it.
Keeli is the granddaughter of the Alpha Granddame of the Maddox Clan.
And Michael is the Vendix, the Vampire executioner. She is seen as a wild
child while Michael is viewed by the vampires as someone to be hated and
feared.
Can they work together to find out who is sabatoging the proposed treaty
between the fangs and the dogs? Or will prejudice rip them apart?
There is a satisfying emotional thread to this book that so many sci-fi
writers seem to miss, but on the same note Liu doesn't seem to mind a
little blood and guts. The fight scenes are incredibly well done in my
eyes. This is the second in the CRIMSON CITYseries. Marjorie M Liu is
a writer to be watched.
Stephanie Lynch
A
DARKER CRIMSON (Crimson City)
Carolyn Jewel
Love Spell, September 2005, $6.99
ISBN: 0505526581
Never steal a child from it's mother. And if you do, don't steal it from
a mother who is also a cop. Claudia Donovan's daughter is everything to
her. She worked her way out of the worse part of Crimson City so that
she could give her daughter a life she never had. Now everything is on
the line as she has to cross the veil that keeps demons and humans separated.
Crimson City is two steps away from a bloody war between the humans, the
vampires and the werewolves. Tiber Korzha is a vampire trying to walk
a thin line, but he can't stay away from the human, Claudia. One of the
things that attracts him to her is her love for her daughter. When he
finds out the girl has been taken, he knows that he has to help Claudia.
But can he reveal all that he knows and can he save Claudia from himself?
We see glimpses here of characters we met in the first two books, but
not enough. I think the CRIMSON CITYseries needs more than six books to
do it justice. I am still looking forward to the next two books to see
how they tie this all together.
Stephanie Lynch
Stephanie's Archived Reviews
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