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click on titles for buying info The Law of Angels by Cassandra Clark Publisher: Minotaur Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Set during the tumultuous reign of English King Richard II, Abbess Hildegard wishes nothing more than to make her new rural outpost and its handful of nuns into a self-sufficient refuge. Instead, her haven becomes a casualty in the battles between the medieval Plantagenets pitting Yorkists against Lancastrians. Rather than allowing for any ungodly sulking, Hildegard’s prioress sends word of both a secret mission and also two young girls to be Hildegard’s temporary wards. One of the girls, chatty and frivolous Petronilla, overshadows the secretive hooded Maud who travels beside her. In spite of the periodic outbreaks of fighting among soldiers and other partisans, the group looks forward to arriving in town during the preparations of an annual religious celebration promising adventure and distraction. Rather than providing only a sense of wonder for the travelers, the atmosphere of bright colors, intense smells, and cheery sounds mask a series of murders centered around the diligent craftsmen behind the planned pageantry. Because of the Yorkist setting, Hildegard and her companions support King Richard II over the highly romanticized figure of John Gaunt prominently described by Jean Plaidy and other novelists. While Hildegard tries to maintain her focus on God and helping others, the struggle for the throne bleeds into her own life, endangering her secret mission and those around her. Fortunately, Hildegard’s combination of worldliness and modern-era compassion aids her in her quest to follow the Prioress’ orders, help the wards in her care, and investigate the increasing number of deaths marring the Feast of Corpus Christi celebration. Author Cassandra Clark succeeds in detailing the difficult elements of both normal daily 14th century life and for Englishmen and women caught in the middle of the ongoing fighting between two resolute factions. She also provides context for the 16th century English Reformation, gently showing the differences between Catholic orders, especially during the Great Papal Schism. To aid readers in untangling the historical themes, Clark includes a short timeline at the back of the book but casual readers of English history may wish to find a family tree or additional background on these fascinating figures to aid in understanding. Dense but colorful, Cassandra Clark’s The Law of Angels proves that Hildegard succeeds as a worthy successor to Umberto Eco’s religious sleuth, Brother William of Baskerville.
Heart Of Ice by Lis Wiehl and April Henry Publisher: Thomas Nelson Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader This is a gal pal story with a twist: all three of the female protagonists are successful career women in positions of some power. Despite this, each of them becomes a victim in her own way while they try to solve what at first seem to be separate puzzles. Nicole is an FBI agent, Allison is a Federal prosecutor and Cassidy is a TV crime reporter, but before they were successful in their fields, they were classmates. Meeting again at a school reunion leads to their discovering a common bond of crime: Nic investigates, Allison prosecutes the criminals, and Cassidy reports the cases. They jokingly call themselves “The Triple Threat Club”, after a lethal dessert they shared. Now, years later, the three are meeting for lunch, and talk turns to the Want Ad Killer. Nic is pretty sure it’s a handsome, slick medical student, but Allison knows she’ll need hard evidence to make the case, and Cassidy is mainly interested in the case because she may get a great story out of it. Under their successful exteriors, each woman has human problems: happily married Allison has just miscarried a much-wanted baby; Nic is an almost obsessive single mother who’s found a lump in her breast, and Cassidy fears the perky blonde intern at her TV station is going to edge her out of her crime beat, which took her such hard work to achieve. Cassidy’s concern about looking young and fit leads her to a health club and Elizabeth Avery, a fitness trainer who makes Parris Island look like a holiday camp. Soon Cassidy and Elizabeth are friends, and Cassidy convinces Nic and Allison to try a session at the workout class. Elizabeth impresses Nic, who signs her daughter up for private swimming classes to help overcome her fear of water. Elizabeth has led a fascinating and exciting life, but is it all just a bit too good to be true? Perhaps if Nic and Allison weren’t so busy with the serial killer, an arsonist on the loose, an attempted murder, a suicide and a few other crimes, they’d have wondered a bit about Elizabeth’s stories. It isn’t until a young woman goes missing that the links between what had seemed to be unrelated events begin to become apparent—but by that time it may be too late to save the latest victim. Authors Wiehl and Henry have constructed a fast-moving story which shares the action among the three protagonists more or less equally. If the reader can’t identify with at least one of the women, she’s just not trying. The married, Christian, childless Allison; the Black, driven, single mother Nic and the lonely, insecure, outwardly perfect Cassidy almost cover the range of possibilities. I found the final confrontation a bit hard to accept, given how successfully the villain had manipulated events up until that point, but every story has to end eventually. This is a fast-moving story with a scary premise. One suspects former prosecutor Wiehl may have drawn on some memories from her previous career in creating the villains.
The Priest’s Graveyard by Ted Dekker Publisher: Center Street Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader Renee Gilmore was rescued from a life of drugs and desperation on the back streets of the city by what she at first believes to be an angel. Lamont Myers saves Renee from drug dealer and pimp Cyrus Kauffman, and takes her to his clean, bright house of glass walls, far from the grimy streets. A year later, Renee is still in the house, and by now accustomed to doing as Lamont wishes: everything must be kept clean, tidy, ordered: including Rene, inside and out. He also gives her pills to take, pills that make her mind fogged and prevent any real self-will arising. Things might have gone on forever like that, but one day Lamont doesn’t come home. Strange men come to his house, men working for Jonathan Bourque, Lamont’s employer. Rene knows they will kill her if they find her. More by luck than skill, she not only finds a stash of cash in Lamont’s desk, she manages to get away from the house of glass. After she gets a grip on herself, she is motivated by one thought only: find the man responsible for Lamont’s death and kill him. Renee isn’t a trained assassin, and almost at once is captured by Bourque’s security chief. Her life would have ended there had a priest not intervened and rescued her. Danny Hansen isn’t your average priest, and Renee soon discovers he has a dark side. Fortunately this fits in well with her crusade to punish Bourque, and she manages to get Danny to help her. Eventually she finds out what makes him tick, and vice versa. Rather than be horrified by each other’s history, they fall in love. Then Danny learns another chapter of Renee’s past life, something that sends him on a desperate race to rescue her yet again—or die in the attempt. This is a strange, dark story about two very damaged souls. They can’t repair themselves, but they can help others, by removing the source of pain and suffering from other lives. That sort of free-lance justice is frowned on by the authorities, but only if what Renee and Danny do is discovered and backtracked to them. The story is told between first and last chapters that take place in a priest’s study in Bosnia. Some readers may find the ending unsatisfactory; it may seem an odd turnaround after all that’s gone before—or perhaps a logical progression. You be the judge.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader I have to admit at the onset of this review --- I am not a Ted Dekker fan. Knowing his past history in predominantly Christian fiction, I found his books to be inaccessible to near incomprehensible and the overt religious undertones took away from any enjoyment in following the plot or character developments. That being said, the one positive thing I can say about his latest effort --- THE PRIEST’S GRAVEYARD --- is that is was an easier read and far more accessible than his prior work. Unfortunately, I find it impossible to put this novel into any specific genre or genres. It’s marketed as a horror story, yet there are no frightening or supernatural elements in it. It’s not much of a thriller as there is barely as single moment of tension anywhere in the novel. Most perplexingly is the title, there is no ‘priest’s graveyard’ anywhere in the novel --- I cannot even find a metaphor for what that title might symbolically represent. The story centers on two characters whose paths inevitably cross. First is Danny Hansen, a former immigrant who moved to America to escape his horrific childhood which included watching his mother get slaughtered right before his eyes. He has now dedicated his life to Jesus and is serving as a rather odd priest. While he follows the letter of scripture, he is also filled with the need to enact revenge upon evil-doers --- sort of like the Batman of priests. He meets up with a young woman who visits his confessional. Her name is Renee Gilmore, and she is on a mission to avenge the murder of her husband Lamont. She is convinced that her husband, an attorney working for a wealthy businessman named Jonathan Bourque, was murdered by his boss because he found out something he shouldn’t have and needed to be silence. Renee and her pouting and whining are able to convince the vigilante Padre Danny to help her hunt Bourque down and slay him like the evil soul he is. What transpires is a novel that switches perspective every other chapter to either Danny or Renee’s point of view. This might be seen as a clever plot device --- I just found it distracting. I also saw right through the Renee character from the very start and knew something was not quite right about her. I plodded through the novel only out of curiosity to see when Father Hansen would come to the grand awakening that he was being played for a fool. There is a view moments of graphic and senseless violence, but this does not nearly make up for the complete lack of tension in this overly wordy novel. Also, the Christian/spiritual undertones are sometimes unconscious but usually so overt as to be distracting (I actually started counting the amount of times the number three was used --- a constant reminder of the Holy Trinity and title of one of Dekker’s previous novels). A somewhat predictable and uninspiring twist forms the novels final two chapters but I had given up hope for this book long before I turned the final page. Sorry --- just not my cup of tea!
Ashes Of The Earth by Eliot Pattison Publisher: Counterpoint Berkeley Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader The community of Carthage is clinging to a precarious existence in the aftermath of the almost total destruction of the United States, and apparently the rest of the world. Ruled by a council of elders and headed by Lucas Buchanan, Carthage has all the least-appealing characteristics of the early Bay Colony theocracy—except that there’s no longer any religion. Every aspect of daily life is closely controlled, and people like former teacher Hadrian Boone who want to educate the young, who support the freedom of thought, and who don’t accept the absolute rule of Buchanan are treated harshly. Assigned to mine old latrine pits for fertilizer as a punishment, Boone runs further afoul of the ruler by salvaging a few pages of some books, books with maps of what once existed. Threatened with exile to the wild lands, Boone is given the chance to redeem himself—by spying on Jonah Beck, the old man who is one of the few left alive with the knowledge and power to do things like build bridges and basic machines. The Governor needs Jonah’s work to continue to hold power, but he wants to know what the old man is up to, what he thinks, where he keeps his secret journal. It doesn’t take much effort for Boone and Jonah to lay some false trails for Buchanan to see and follow, meanwhile pursing their own agenda, but when the old man is killed, Boone’s life is precarious indeed. Other deaths happen, and they aren’t always what they seem. Something’s going on, and Boone is determined to find out what. For one thing, something is afflicting the young people, and causing them to commit suicide in pursuit of material goods they believe to exist ‘on the other side’. They can’t grasp that these goods only exist in the past, and aren’t attainable now. Someone or something is causing the phenomenon; if it isn’t stopped, the remnant population will not long survive. Boone begins to find out about the world outside Carthage. He discovers that the exiles and castouts who live in the forest aren’t in such a parlous state as the rulers have always claimed. They eat better than the people of Carthage, and they’re in better spirits. The exiles have made common cause with the First Bloods, what used to be called American Indians. They seem to be building something better than the society at Carthage, but all this could be under threat by Buchanan and his hired guns. Boone and his few brave allies don’t have long to find a murderer and expose a nasty bunch of villains. The main premise of this post-apocalyptic work of future fiction is that no matter what else changes, no matter how devastating a disaster might befall mankind, you can always count on the old sins to surface: greed and power-lust the chief among them. Grim, but well done.
The School Of Night by Louis Bayard Publisher: Henry Holt Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader We’ve all had passing thoughts about such things as what would have happened if any of Henry VIII’s sons had lived to adulthood, or who Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’ was, or if Leonardo was really a time traveller. For most of us these thoughts are fleeting and rarely considered in depth. Louis Bayard has the gift for taking a passing “what if?” thought and making it into a compelling full-length novel. Bayard’s new book alternates between the early 17th century and the modern day. Part of the book focuses on the life of Thomas Harriot, a scientist almost unknown today, but in his time a man of great knowledge and intellectual curiosity. (He is believed to have mapped the moon , using a telescope, several months before Galileo did.) In this part of the book, Bayard investigates the ‘School of Night’, a group that formed around Walter Ralegh. Meeting in country houses after dark, Ralegh and his peers discussed all manner of topics, and were viewed with suspicion by the establishment. Anyone who questioned the origin of things was questioning religion, and questioning religion was tantamount to an attack on the King, and the penalty for that is, at the very least, a long and uncomfortable stay in the Tower of London. It was an elite—if dangerous—group to belong to, and one of the cornerstones of the story is what might have been the response of a guest at a meeting who was brushed off as a light-weight and not invited back. The basis of the book is the premise that a letter in Ralegh’s handwriting has been found in modern times and that it sheds light on another historical figure, and will shake the trees of many a grove of academe. Trying to locate the letter is Henry Cavendish, a scholar who once had the misfortune to be gulled by a hoaxer, and whose reputation has suffered. He’s the last person who’d want to buy in to the supposed new find, but against his will he is drawn into the hunt. As the executor of a dead friend’s estate, Henry is asked by the mysterious Bernard Styles to look for the missing letter, which Styles claims belongs to him. Also on the scene is a strangely attractive woman, Clarissa Dale, who is either going mad or really does have visions of past lives. There’s something extremely odd and puzzling about Clarissa, something that, when Henry understands it, brings a bittersweet flavour to their relationship. She also knows about the letter, and in fact seems to know about it in a first-hand way, not just as a document. Bayard brings his skill at the felicitous turn of phrase to this story as he did to “The Dark Tower’, with descriptions such as “a balmy, moth-speckled night’ and this description of the Plague :”The black tokens spread across her body like tiny footprints.” This is a complex and involving story, and while telling of the parlous adventures of intellectual voyagers of another age, sheds light on our own time as well. One is entranced by the thought of what Ralegh, Harriot and the rest might have made of the Internet!
Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson Publisher: William Morrow Reviewed by Robin Thomas, New Mystery Reader Goldy Schulz is back in another adventure packed with great food and murder. Goldy has a heart of gold and offers her longtime friend Yolanda Garcia a job in her catering business. Yolanda and her eccentric Aunt Ferdinanda have a bout of bad luck starting with their rental house burning to the ground and not by accident. Shortly after they move in with Ernest McLeod, former cop turned private investigator, he disappears and later is found dead of a gunshot wound and his house burns to the ground. Homeless for the second time, Goldy offers her house to Yolanda and Ferdinanda and of course they bring trouble right to Goldy’s doorstep. With her family in danger, Goldy has to juggle a busy catering schedule with her own special way of investigating a murder. Crunch Time is the 16th book in the Goldy Schulz caterer series. As in all the books in the series the recipes in Crunch Time are excellent. Diane Mott Davidson provides enough background that a reader can enjoy this installment without having read the others in the series. There are a number of subplots and secondary characters in this book that can be hard to follow and confusing when the pace picks up. Like many series that have enjoyed a long run this one has had its “ups and downs” but avid fans of Goldy Schulz hang in there despite the highs and lows. Crunch Time is a good cozy mystery with some funny moments but is not one of the stronger books in the series.
Anthem for Doomed Youth by Carola Dunn Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Scotland Yard Detective Constable Inspector Alec Fletcher has just landed a multiple homicide case that promises to tax his men and resources as they try to stop the murderer from striking again, especially since there seems to be a connection to the Great War, which ended only a few years before. Fletcher receives more flak from his superiors since one of his best investigators happens to be his wife, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher. In this case, however, Daisy has her own plans and those take her far away from Fletcher’s murder cases. Daisy and her friends Sakari and Melanie are spending the weekend at their daughters’ boarding school for a special sports day. Sakari, an insightful high caste Indian confused by the English propensity for walking, alternates between visiting with her daughter, Deva, and pumping Daisy for information on the latest details on Fletcher’s cases. Melanie, English-born and squeamish, wishes everyone could just ignore the topic but finds out that her daughter Lizzie discovered a corpse in the local high-maintenance maze. Due to their geographical separation, Daisy and Fletcher pursue their separate investigations with able sidekicks and keen observations. The long-running series featuring Daisy Dalrymple continues to offer a lighter look at the upper class of the period while touching on topics of PTSD, family trauma, and other themes found in the more brooding post-World War I series by Charles Todd (Bess Crawford series) and Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs mysteries.)
The Sixth Man by David Baldacci Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Reviewed by Jim Sells, New Mystery Reader Former Secret Agents turned private eyes, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, are on their way to a supermax prison in Maine to work with Sean’s old friend and lawyer, Ted Bergen. Bergen is defending an accused mass killer. King and Maxwell stop to help a stranded motorist on a deserted highway. Much to their surprise and dismay, the motorist is Bergen, who has been shot and killed. A 911 call summons the Maine State Police. After repeating the story up the chain-of-command, they are told that they have wait for the FBI to arrive. What appears to have been a local murder is great interest to the federal government. After further questioning, they are allowed to go. With Bergen dead and Sean a licensed lawyer, they decide to visit Bergen’s client. Edgar Roy. Through the interview, Roy appears to be comatose. In reality and unknown to the PI’s, Roy is a genius of immeasurable intelligence. He is an asset of the U.S. intelligence community. In Maine, an expert marksman shots out the PI’s car windows while they are cruising down the highway. They ignore the warning. Then Bergen’s assistant is shot and killed. After meeting Roy’s half-sister, they began to doubt Roy’s guilt. The mystery becomes whether Roy is a murderer and if not, who killed the men and buried them on his farm? Who is killing off the key players? The reader has little doubt King and Maxwell will solve the case, but the how’s and why’s keep them guessing. This is up to Baldacci’s usual high standards with plenty of twists and turns.
SPIRAL by Paul McEuen Publisher: The Dial Press Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader Towards the end of World War II a chilling rumor began to spread about Japan and plans they had for avenging the Atomic Bomb attacks that leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A biological weapons unit, known merely as Unit 731, operated under the official heading of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army. This was a mere shroud for the actual intent of this deadly Unit --- the destruction of the western world. Certain Japanese officials believed their only chance of winning the war was through the use of biological weapons. This enormous operation, rivaling the United States own Manhattan Project, used thousands of Japanese citizens as test subjects --- most of whom were sacrificed for the greater good. This subject matter has been the muse for many works of historical and speculative fiction, the most recent of which is the debut novel by Professor of Physics, Paul McEuen. SPIRAL details the WWII exploits of Liam Connor, former British army officer and Ph.D. who established a reputation as a biology prodigy. When he has the opportunity to interrogate a Japanese prisoner aboard the USS North Dakota in the end of the Pacific conflict of 1946, he is introduced to the horrific premise of a fungal pathogen known as Uzumaki that could be transmitted via human hosts and effectively wipe out millions in a short period of time. Liam Connor helps to thwart the biological warfare group known as Unit 731 and assist the American military in mopping up the Pacific part of WWII and close out the war to end all wars. SPIRAL then jumps to present times, where a senior-citizen named Liam Connor is a highly respected Professor, Nobel laureate and expert in nanoscience at New York’s famous Cornell University. However, when he is found dead at the bottom of one of Ithaca, New York’s famous gorges, his death is ruled a suicide. Both his granddaughter, Maggie, and his prodigy and fellow Professor of nanoscience, Jake Sterling, find it impossible to believe that an eighty-six year-old man who was enthusiastically working on new research projects would take his life for no good reason. Maggie and Jake’s suspicions are well founded as they begin to decode secret messages that Liam left behind --- all of which point to secrets from World War II and the fact that he may have brought back the Uzumaki pathogen with him and secretly housed it all these years later. It is at this point where the novel takes a bit of a turn from scientific research into cat-and-mouse thriller as Maggie, her son Dylan and Professor Jake Sterling are hunted by a brutal Japanese female assassin. To make matters worse, she may be in league with a nefarious Japanese war criminal who has never forgiven the U.S. for devastating Japan with their A-Bombs over a half century earlier and plans to have the last laugh via the release of Uzumaki on North America. Paul McEuen impresses early in his debut fiction novel and SPIRAL shows clear evidence that he knows his stuff. The latter half of the book seems to lag a bit and his writing weakens when things devolve into standard thriller action and overly sadistic villains. The theme though remains interesting throughout and the novels that have depicted Unit 731 are always frighteningly vital due to the fact that biological warfare is a plausible subject and one where there is little defense. Thank goodness we have masters of Physics like Paul McEuen and his fictional counter-part, Jake Sterling, on our side.
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear Publisher: Harper Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Special Inquiry Investigator Maisie Dobbs notices a satisfying uptick in businesses, marking 1932 as one of her best yet. Thanks to the substantial bequest of her late mentor, Dr. Maurice Blanche, she has left her impoverished childhood behind and become an employer of tenacious and kind-hearted Billy and a young widow named Sandra who serves as a part-time secretary. In spite of the increasing caseload, Maisie heeds the call of crown and country when she’s asked to go on a special assignment out of town as a philosophy professor at a college built on the premise of promoting peace. Communism and fascism are on the rise throughout Europe and the recent memories of World War I and its devastating aftermath have left substantial visible and invisible scars on England and her people, making the government highly proactive in preventing a second outbreak of fighting. Maisie’s youthful experience and well-earned skills as a wartime nurse plus her innate discretion make this an ideal opportunity for the unusual investigator. Like many during the era, Maisie listens closely to the intellectual arguments boasting of the merits of various political governing styles while trying to imagine what the reality of their successful implementation would actually be. Jacqueline Winspear uses Maisie’s case to highlight the growing social and economic unrest bred from the Great Depression and which foreshadow the rise of intense nationalism and ultimately, World War II only seven years later. The now largely forgotten role of women during the Great War also plays a part with only a mild hint of lecture from the author. Maisie’s continuing emotional maturity and resulting self-confidence make for an increasingly enjoyable series ideal for readers of Charles Todd’s Bess Crawford series, Agatha Christie’s mysteries and other well-written period investigations.
Night On Fire by Douglas Corleone Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader If hard-drinking, easy-loving lawyers are your thing, you’ll like Kevin Corvelli. Kevin was drinking his way through the evening in a sea-side bar at a Hawaiian resort and lazily pursuing a woman of mature charms when a striking young woman having a public fight with her new husband caught his eye. He briefly wished the young woman would take the place of his current prey, but then staggered off to bed with his cougar. Later, wakened by a fire, Kevin rescues his bedmate and another hotel guest, a young boy who can’t find his grandmother. As they huddle on the sidewalk and watch the firemen arrive, Kevin again sees the young woman, this time crying her eyes out against a masculine chest—but not her husband’s. The next morning, Kevin learns that the young woman is named Erin Simms, and that she’s in desperate need of a lawyer. Her husband and the young boy’s grandmother both died in the hotel fire, the police are thinking arson, and they see Erin as a do-it-yourself rich widow. Kevin takes on the role of her defender, but figures he’ll have to find the real killer if he’s going to get his client off. By the time the trial starts, Kevin has uncovered a lot of useful information, including some dubious financial shenanigans by the dead Trevor Simms, but he hasn’t been able to pin the murder on anyone. He’s cross-examined the prosecution witnesses ruthlessly, including the dead man’s girlfriend, as witness his admission “…if it would assist me in winning an acquittal, I wouldn’t hesitate to paint her as a backstabbing harlot with the morals of a cable news commentator.” Corvelli is far from the most likeable fictional lawyer you’ll meet this year—but if you were up on a capital charge, you’d probably want him defending you. Like many other recent books, this one is written mostly in the present tense, perhaps with the idea of making the drama more immediate. Doesn’t work for me, but I did like some of the snappy patter between Kevin and his antagonists—which is almost all the other characters in the book.
Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman Publisher: Ballantine Books Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader When psychologist Alex Delaware and his long time love Robin decide to have one last drink at one of their favorite watering hole located in a hotel that's about to be razed, they entertain themselves making up stories of the mysterious woman drinking alone and her beefy bodyguard waiting outside. But when her body is found a couple of days later and Alex's detective sidekick Milos Sturgis asks Alex to consult on the case, they'll find their amusing speculations turn into a real mystery that begs to be solved. With the secrets of her past including a notorious madam, a pair of wealthy and wild brothers with a lust for the ladies, and a retired actress who has her own secrets lusts, including one with powerful weapons, finding the answers behind her death won't be easy. On an engaging trip through LA's past and present, with all its wealth, infamous players, and realized and unrealized glory, Delaware treats readers to another clever read. Peeking through the facades of the rich and famous and digging beneath the layers to the dirt just beneath these streets lined with gold, Delaware once again exposes this city in a fascinating and illuminating way; proving yet again that he can still provide fresh and unique stories that will easily please his many fans.
Gone With a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West Publisher: Minotaur Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Teeny Templeton catches her fiancé playing naked badminton with two gorgeous women and Teeny can’t even take custody of her poor bulldog after showing her own athleticism by accurately lobbing unripened peaches at the unrepentant trio. Suddenly homeless and unemployed, Teeny relies on her ex-fiancé Bing’s step-mother, Miss Dora, to help her out. Tiny and blond and with a penchant for finding trouble, Teeny’s luck seems to change when she runs into her first love, Cooper O’Malley, in a chance meeting. Cooper has changed quite a bit from the teenaged boy who broke Teeny’s heart and is now a prominent Charleston, South Carolina, attorney. The professional coincidence turns into a really good thing for Teeny because she’s suspect number one after someone murders hapless Bing. While Teeny has recently lived the high life as a near-member of one of Charleston’s oldest families, her childhood with an unreliable mother and a temporary home in her car means that the prospect of jail unsettles her but doesn’t break her. One way that she deals with her troubles is a family tradition of creating very unusual recipes when upset. Cooper O’Malley may have been Teeny’s first love but cooking is one that stays consistent and a few of the recipes are included in the back of the book. Through it all, Teen’s messy personal life becomes more so as she’s cosseted by Miss Dora, accompanied by women with more than a passing interest in Cooper and lives in Bing’s pink historic family mansion. There’s plenty of gossip, family ties, and home cooking in Gone With a Handsomer Man, all served with just the right amount of Teeny’s cheeky wit and unrepentant stubborn streak.
Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron Publisher: William Morrow Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader Diana Highsmith has spent the last year and a half since her boyfriend's tragic fall to death in a climbing accident living in mourning isolation, not even willing to venture past her fenced in and highly secured front yard. Everything Diana does is through the Internet, including her job as computer security consultant stopping the kind of hackers as she herself, her boyfriend, and good friend had once been. And though the company idea was meant for the three of them, only two remain to carry on its noble mission. While Diana's life is far from content, she does manage to build up a social network of friends in a virtual second life in a world known as "OtherWorld," a place where she feels safe and confident when going by her alias "Nadia." But this whole world is about to come crashing down when Diana's sister goes missing after dressing like Nadia's avatar and attending a flashmob event. And while solving this mystery, Diana will find herself forced into the real world and all the dangers that lurk there, with deciding who can be trusted being the biggest danger of all. This latest sure to be bestseller from Ephron is a one-sitting read. Jam-packed with adventures in this world and the "other" world, this high-tech thriller brings both alive with verve and passion. And if you feel safe at home chatting on your computer, perhaps one of the many who enjoys hiding behind a different identity, you'll love this even more as Ehpron exposes both the dangers and thrills that can come from being temporarily anonymous. But are you really? And just how safe is the information that you share that travels from computer to computer every day? This explosive novel dares to go there with an inside look of all that lurks behind an innocent computer screen and just how vulnerable we all are who dare to open our lives up to this inanimate reality.
Dead by Midnight by Carolyn Hart Publisher: William Morrow Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good for New Mystery Reader Annie Darling happily inhabits her cozy neighborhood book store, Death on Demand, where she surrounds herself with like-minded mystery enthusiasts, good coffee and an ample supply of fresh mysteries and stellar classics. Somehow her devotion as Death on Demand’s owner has carried into amateur sleuthing and Annie once more needs to investigate her neighbors in order to solve murders that hit much too close to home. In Dead by Midnight, Annie hires Pat Merridew after her boss, Glen Jamison, fires her after years of dedication. Glen’s new wife, Cleo, has decided that Glen’s law firm needs a fresh look—including a young, vibrant secretary who lacks experience but projects a younger image for the firm. Although bitter at first, Pat settles in at Death on Demand, making her subsequent suicide much too puzzling for Annie to accept. Annie’s investigation takes her into the Jamisons’ personal lives, fraught with mixed feelings about the new step-mother, while also delving into the familiar habits of recurring characters that add life to Hart’s books. While Annie tackles the serious issue of murder, her quirky mother-in-law has markedly added new inspirational cat posters for display and sale in Death on Demand. While these sometimes hilarious posters first bother Annie, she begins to cite specific expressions and accompanying comments at appropriate times in her investigation, showing Carolyn Hart’s mastery of unexpected integration of disparate elements and leading to unrepentant chuckles. Dead by Midnight is Hart’s 21st Death on Demand mystery, and she also writes the popular sweetly supernatural Bailey Ruth novels, both solid examples of enjoyable cozy mysteries.
Fallen Angel by David Hewson Publisher: Delacorte Press Reviewed by Jim Sells, New Mystery Reader Nic Costa is an investigator in the Cabria in modern-day Rome, He is a medal-winner for his dogged pursuit of justice – perhaps because of his almost obsessive dedication to the job. It is this dedication that causes Costa to run toward the sound of screams from the ghetto rather than enjoy his vacation. Malise Gabriel was an English academic lecturing in Rome. Gabriel falls to his death while apparently sneaking a cigarette on an unsafe balcony of an apartment building. The cause of the fall appears to be a collapse due to renovations taking far longer than should have been allowed. Costa can’t let the case rest. The image of Gabriel’s daughter – covered in her father’s blood at the accident scene – haunts him. The words of her brother about the girl being safe now trouble the investigator. The brother has a reputation with the police as a drug dealer. The building was unsafe. Is the indifference of the building inspectors and narcotics investigators due to the stifling heat of the Roman summer or are they missing something? The fun of the novel is in watching these answers unfold as Hewson takes the reader on a detailed description of the people, politics and sights of Rome.
A Gentleman of Fortune by Anna Dean Publisher: Minotaur Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Miss Dido Kent returns in A Gentleman of Fortune: Or, the Suspicions of Miss Dido Kent, to thanklessly investigate a new mystery in the countryside of early nineteenth century England. With her upper class status, Dido inhabits a world of strict manners and delicate clothing familiar to readers of Jane Austen. Unlike most of Austen’s heroines, Dido’s years as an ingénue are long past as she is a thirty-five year old single woman who manages to pursue her own interests with an occasional romantic distraction. In the second installment of the series, Dido’s impassioned nature compels her to investigate the seemingly natural death of Lady Lansdale, a reclusive woman who lived in her cousin Flora’s neighborhood. Inclined to believe the death was natural, Dido realizes that the poisonous rumors started by a jealous local woman may cause the woman’s lovesick nephew and heir to be hanged, whether guilty or not. Fortunately, Dido uses her vacation to ingratiate herself with the young men including the new Lord Lansdale and women such as the mesmerizing and mysterious new Lady Carrisbrook who live in the well-landscaped homes in the area, all attending elegant parties and dinners while Dido familiarizes herself with those who may have wished the poor lady any harm. Anna Kent creates a nice, suspenseful mystery in which she adds additional information through the inclusion of Dido’s periodic letters to her sister Eliza, leading to an unexpected resolution. The romance between Dido and Mr. Lomax, introduced in Bellfield Hall, remains stilted with Dido’s refusal to completely abandon the era’s verbal dancing around issues. Those who enjoy Austen’s original work or other, later examples such as Lynn Shepherd’s Murder at Mansfield Park should investigate A Gentleman of Fortune.
The Bone House by Brian Freeman Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader Freeman hits his readers of his first stand-alone novel with the force of an atomic bomb. It begins simply enough, if simple is the right word, when a small-town teacher accused of seducing one of his teenaged students results in dismissal. When that happens to Mark Bradley, his independent and beautiful wife Hillary stands by his side, no questions asked. But when a trip to Florida for a national dance competition culminates in the death of the accuser's sister and fingers are once again pointing Mark Bradley's way, doubts begin to set in. And with all trails leading back to Door County, a beautiful and remote part of Minnesota, the Florida detective following the case, Cab Bolton a man with his own secrets, will find himself caught up in betrayals and lies that reach back years. There are many things to love about Freeman's latest, but perhaps the biggest thing is his explosive ending. Revealing secret after secret, the shocking repercussions of the past that he throws out with amazing speed and dexterity will astound readers, especially those who thought they had it all figured out. Who can complain about an ending involving a dark and stormy night, electrifying secrets finally revealed, and the ghosts of the past coming back in the worst ways possible? Freeman connects his many threads masterfully, and the end result is nothing short of astounding. But be prepared, if you start this one, you won't be able to stop, with the last few chapters tempting one to read ahead to find out how all is resolved. And if you find yourself wanting to see these characters again, you will find yourself hoping, as I did, that Freeman plans to bring them back.
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