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Eye of the Raven by Eliot Pattison

Publisher: Counterpoint ISBN-10: 1582435669

Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader

With a keen eye and calmly rendered detail, Pattison deftly pulls the reader into the American Colonies through the investigation of Scottish Highlander Duncan McCallum after several surveyors disappear while recording boundaries for the expansion of the colonies.  Accompanied by his Native American mentor, Conawago, Duncan seeks to uncover a serial murderer while avoiding his own capture as a fugitive from a powerful man who claims him as an indentured servant.

Duncan, a medically trained man with a penchant for speaking his mind and distressing his social betters, has learned many of the native ways, leading him to feel more comfortable in the forest than in the towns which attempt to replicate European life.  Some Iroquois choose to move into the towns with easily accessible rum while others fiercely hold onto their nature-based traditions, blurring lines and increasing unease on all sides as alliances attempt to keep peace with Indians, British and the French while improving the lot of each.

While on the Warrior Path, Duncan and Conawago find a trail of bodies meshed with trees and metal to send a mystifying message.  After tribal leader Skanawati turns himself into colonial authorities in spite of his innocence, Duncan and Conawago race to find the real killer before Skanawati’s public hanging occurs.

Meanwhile, delegations from all parties converge to negotiate a new treaty and the murders threaten to derail the meetings.  Adding to the mix is a desperate group of slaves with their own paradoxical link to some of the esteemed members of society and an austere but imminently fair Quaker magistrate who will do anything to uphold his beliefs.

Pattison, acclaimed for previous novels such as the excellent The Skull Mantra and The Bone Rattler, reveals the complex negotiations between the well-known British and French governments but also the Iroquois tribes regarding the land and resources in the Pennsylvania region.  He wisely chooses not to create caricatures of any nationality, but instead shows the difficulties the wise leaders of each group have in maneuvering through the greed and baser instincts found everywhere.

Death of a Valentine by M C Beaton

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing  ISBN 978 0 446 4738 3

Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader

In an about-face more unlikely than if Obi-wan Kenobe turned to the Dark Side, Scotland’s most elusive bachelor is found at the altar with a pregnant bride in the opening pages of this, Beaton’s 25^th visit to Lochdubh, murder capital of the Highlands.

How has it come to this?  Quickly backtracking, the author takes us step by step through the tortuous path by which Hamish was ensnared. And ‘snare’ is the right term, because far from being a blushing innocent, the bride is a verra tricksy lassie indeed. 

It all started when Hamish was promoted to sergeant.  Despite his best efforts to get demoted again, Hamish seems stuck at this higher level, and because of that, is now required to have a constable working under him.  Josie McSween is sent to Lochdubh to be Hamish’s assistant.  He’s not about to give the community gossips any fodder, so rather than give Josie his spare room, Hamish billets her with the local minister’s wife.  This does not stop Josie lurking around the police station every chance she gets, convinced that she’s found her one true love.

Shortly after Josie’s arrival, a local beauty is killed by a parcel bomb.  Investigations by Hamish and Josie lead to all sorts of dark secrets being uncovered, as well as two further deaths.  Hamish discovers the killer’s identity but the last thing he wants is more professional recognition by his superiors—that will only lead to a forcible transfer to Strathbane, which is the last place Hamish wants to be.  He manages to slip the information to Superintendent Daviot and bring about the killer’s arrest without anyone knowing.

The killer’s partner knows who to blame, however, and shoots Hamish, who is rushed off to the hospital.  Barely recovered, he finds himself at the altar, resigned to doing the honorable thing, even though in his heart he knows something’s wrong.  Is it all over for the red rover? 

This is a much fun as all the previous Lochdubh stories, although with perhaps more of a sweet-and-sour flavour to it than some of the others.  All the rep company is here again: Angela, Elspeth, the hated DCI Blair, who’s still as crooked as a dog’s hind leg and lucky as the devil to boot; Jimmy, and even Priscilla; plus the bit part players: Jessie and Nessie , Patel, and Hamish’s loopy old dog Lug and the giant wild cat, Sonsie. 

Paganini’s Ghost by Paul Adam

Publisher: Minotaur Books  ISBN-10: 0312383851

Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader

When the last note of a well-played and remarkable music piece has played, listeners may retain some of the magic even after the end of performance, sometimes in memories that last years.  Paganini, the powerful violinist whose instrument was called “the Cannon”, gained fame in the 18^th and19^th centuries for his showmanship and difficult compositions that would delight pianist Jerry Lee Lewis, notorious for his own musical antics.  

Paganini’s music continues to reverberate in Adam’s well-crafted journey through the highly competitive musical golden age which paralleled the excesses of the short-lived Napoleonic French Empire. 

With careful attention to detail, Adam takes the reader through sections of Italy, Paris and London through the work of widower Gianni Castiglione.  Gianni has worked on Stradivaris and other highly regarded historic violins before but finds himself truly moved when working on Paganini’s own Cannon.  Ironically, this short assignment leads to an unexpected friendship and the beginning of a murder mystery after a Frenchman dies at a concert featuring the rare performance with Paganini’s violin.  Things only get more complicated when the young performer disappears, leaving his strident mother frantic with worry.

While others view him as an old man with an unglamorous career attending to rare violins in a sedate rural setting, Gianni’s mental faculties and witty sense of humor not only help him empathize with a Russian prodigy but also assist in his friend Detective Antonio Guastafeste’s murder investigation.

Although set in the present day, Gianni’s background in music history helps him decipher clues for a mystery with ties to Catherine the Great, Paganini and Napoleon’s sister Elise.  Although full of intellectual matter and humor, Paganini’s Ghost will be easily appreciated by musical novices and historical neophytes.

Gone ‘Til November by Wallace Stroby

Publisher: Minotaur Books  ISBN-10: 0312560249

Reviewed by Dana King, New Mystery Reader

Meet Sara Cross, single mother and deputy sheriff in a quiet Florida town. Tonight another deputy will shoot a man in the swamp. Sara will be the first officer on the scene and her life will never be the same.

This is Nathaniel Morgan. His boss in Newark sent a man to Florida with $350,000. Now the man’s dead and the money is missing. Morgan’s job is to get it back, but he has plans of his own.

Sara and Morgan are about to cross paths.

(Gunshots and tires squealing.) Morgan Freeman.

(Exciting music. More shots and tires.) Ashley Judd.

(Explosion, then silence. The screen fades to black, then the title fades in.) Gone ‘Til November.

Sound like a movie you’d like? Then get on down to your local bookseller and buy a copy of Wallace Stroby’s newest, Gone ‘Til November. Rarely has a book read more like it was standing on the corner of Hollywood and Vine looking for a movie deal.

This can be good and bad. Stroby inexorably tightens his knots, leading to a climax that is both inescapable and unpredictable. It’s not clear who will walk away until they actually do. His characters talk like real people, their accents and habits describe them better than photographs. The complications are sufficient to keep you guessing, not so twisted as to be confusing.

On the down side, the characters talk like real people, just not like particularly interesting real people. The shooter, Billy Flynn (no relation to Chicago’s Billy Flynn) is Sara’s former lover; her son has cancer. Her conversations are what you’d expect in a movie that wants neither to be too noir nor too Oxygen, superficial comments on how life can be tough.

Crime devotees are used to that by now. Hard to be a date movie without some interpersonal angst. Of greater concern is Stroby’s reliance on another, more objectionable movie standard: Sara keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. You’d think, after almost getting killed because she didn’t get backup, she’d be more conscientious about calling for it in the future. That would be more realistically acceptable, but it ruins the tension of whether she’ll escape from the next problem. Movies can sometimes get away with this, as they force the viewer to move at their pace; reader have more time for reflection.

Gone ‘Til November is the kind of book that can breakout an up and coming writer like Stroby. The plot is intriguing, the writing stays out of the way, and people will engage with the characters. It’s also a little safe; Stroby goes to the brink of writing kickass noir and settles for conventional. Nothing wrong with that, and to comment too much would say more about the reviewer than about the book.

Some books are like that. Everything’s there; it just didn’t light me up. Then again, consider the source. My daughter complained to my wife because none of the books on my Wish List were available in Borders. “Dad has such obscure tastes,” she said. If you like more mainstream crime fiction, Gone ‘Til November may be just what you’re looking for.

Sleepless by Charlie Huston

Publisher: Ballantine Books  ISBN: 978-0-345-50113-4

Reviewed by Ray Palen, New Mystery Reader

Author Stephen King has described Charlie Huston’s writing style as “a runaway freight train that feels like a combination of William Burroughs and James Ellroy.”  With Huston’s latest effort, “Sleepless”, he definitely lives up to that claim as the prose and writing style he exhibits is far from standard thriller fare.

The premise of “Sleepless” is a disturbing nightmare whereby former philosophy student and current LAPD officer Parker Hass is wandering through the seedy side of LA dealing with a society that has been stricken with chronic sleeplessness.  In essence, those afflicted with this disease are faced with a life like a ‘walking zombie’.  The street drug trade has been significantly impacted, as a result, and the new drug of choice is something known as “Dreamer”.  Parker Hass is living on the streets as an undercover drug dealer trying to locate the drug known as Dreamer while also dealing with his own sleepless disorder that has alienated him from his own wife and child.

After a year of not turning up anything concrete, Parker stumbles upon an apparent huge conspiracy involving a large pharmaceutical company who may be behind the Dreamer drug.  What could be the hidden agenda within this pharmaceutical company that not only reveals the purpose behind Dreamer but also the cover use for the masses afflicted with sleepless disease?  The answers to these questions will put Parker Hess in a situation where he will have to risk everything to do the right thing and bring down this company and the conspiracy they have created.

Those readers who enjoy their thrillers with a scientific edge will be in for a somewhat rude awakening with Charlie Huston’s “Sleepless”.  He is far from a traditional thriller writer.  His somewhat stream-of-consciousness narrative prose may not be accessible to all readers.  There are several mini-chapters that immerse you deep inside the chronic and sleep-addled mind of the narrator, Parker Hess.  These passages and their rambling symmetry include several self-assertions to ‘stay focused’.  It is a more than safe bet that, to truly enjoy this novel, the reader will have to stay focused as well --- or there will be many sleepless nights as you are forced to re-read complex passages to get to the heart of this intricately told story.

Baja Florida by Bob Morris

Publisher: Minotaur Books  ISBN-10: 0312377266

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

Zack Kasteen is happy living the simple, quiet life in Florida watching his new daughter go from infancy to toddlerhood with his partner in love Barbara.  But when he’s contacted by an old friend who used to share the limelight with him on the football field and who is now about to die, asking for his help in finding his long-lost daughter Jennifer, Zack’s hard-found serenity is soon to turn into just a memory. 

Zack’s friend, now a millionaire several times over, has been given the news he has only a few weeks left to live.  And  wanting to make up for past mistakes, he decides Zack is now the only man he can trust to find the daughter he hasn’t seen for over 20 years when the detective he first hired won’t answer his calls.  It appears that his long lost daughter who left for a long cruise in her new boat along the Bahamas coastline seems to have vanished into thin air, along with her very expensive boat and a few of the friends who were on board with her. 

So Zack heads out in an attempt to follow her trail, going up and down the coast and hitting the small villages that sit along the way, not knowing if she’s disappeared with intent, or if she’s the victim of one of the ever increasing bands of pirates that steal boats and kill their crew, or, even worse, if some members of her own sailing crew posing as friends were in fact desperados out to take her boat and her life.   And as each stop along the trail results in an ever-increasing body count, Zack will find himself in jeopardy of being the next victim of an enemy he can't put a face to.

For those of us dealing with snow and chilly temperatures, this read provides the perfect antidote.  Filled with vibrant details of the region, it’s easy to forget the snow falling outside your window, and instead place yourself in a warm and delightful place, complete with a salty, sultry breeze.  Even without Johnny Depp, this Caribbean mystery provides enough colorful, swashbuckling adventure to transport the coldest of reader into a warm and vibrant fantasy of daring action and thrills.  Fast-moving and easily inviting, this hits the spot for those of us who can only dream of sandy beaches and the tropical adventures they can bring.  

Gutshot Straight by Lou Berney

Publisher: William Morrow   ISBN: 978-0-06-176604-6

Reviewed by Jim Sells, New Mystery Reader

The story opens with Charles ‘Shake’ Bouchon being released after a prison sentence for grand theft auto. He plans on opening a restaurant, but at forty-two years old and with less than two thousand cash, that’s unlikely.

Then he is picked up in a limo by Lexy - an old flame and the ruthless boss of the Armenian mob in L.A. Shake went to prison rather than inform on her. Lexy offers Shake $20,000 to take a car from L.A. to Vegas – no questions asked and deliver it to Dick Moby a strip club owner.

When Shake thinks he has flat on the way, he makes the mistake of opening the trunk. Inside he finds a woman - Gina Clement – tied up. Gina spins a tale of her husband running out on a gambling debt. She doesn’t have a husband and is an exotic danger at Moby’s club. Shake takes her to a motel where an exchange is supposed to take place. His heart takes over and he clocks Moby’s man.

Gina and he run, but she takes time to grab the briefcase that was supposed be traded for her. Inside they find what looks like antique stamps. In reality, they are priceless religious relics. Gina double-crosses Shake and in turn is double-crossed by a coin and stamp dealer.

Gina and Shake decide to team up and chase the dealer to Panama where a millionaire swindler is interested in the relics. In turn, they are being chased by muscle sent by Lexy and Moby.

Berney has captured the quirky character and development and stylish double-crosses of Elmore Leonard. “Gutshot Straight” makes for lively and entertaining read.

Crawl Space by Sarah Graves

Publisher: Bantam  ISBN-10: 0553806807

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

Fans of the series featuring Eastport Maine’s home repair guru and amateur sleuth Jake (Jacobia) Tiptree might find themselves a little bit surprised by this latest.  A bit different than her familiar type of mysteries, this one deviates a bit by offering up more of a swashbuckling type of adventure than a solve-by-number who-done-it. 

It all begins when a true crime writer and her assistant land in town, summoned by a mysterious email suggesting that a man thought dead is in fact alive and might also be responsible for the death of two elderly, wealthy sisters in town and has returned for his share of what they left behind.  And as Jake knows the assistant Chip from way back when he was a mentor for her troubled son, Jake is quick, albeit wary, to become involved when the writer he works for suddenly goes missing.  And when her son also goes missing, followed next by Chip, Jake and her housekeeper, now step-mother, head out to track them down despite the danger involved.

While there’s a lot going on here, there’s really not a whole lot of guessing why or who, as the mystery surrounding the sisters’ deaths and who is responsible for the bevy of missing persons is revealed early on.  But there is plenty of late-night boating and swimming and slugging through changing tides that keep things chilly and exciting.  And with more rescuers than victims, who then become victims themselves, this one will at least keep readers wanting to know who makes it out alive.        

Desperate Measures by Patti Battison

Publisher: Robert Hale   ISBN 978  0 7090 8926

Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader

Detective Sergeant Mia Harvey is having a hard time keeping her temper when it comes to her colleague Nick Ford.  When a major crime scene needs to be attended, he’s nowhere to be found. Nowhere that the boss, DCI Paul Wells knows, that is.  Mia knows Nick spends time with Lisa Mackey, a prostitute, and her heads-up call to him at Lisa’s place isn’t received with gratitude. 

Nick resents Mia and excuses his own lack of advancement in this unnamed fringe-of-London police force by telling himself she’s the teacher’s pet.  Not true, but Nick’s bundle of guilt from his wife and daughter’s deaths has screwed up his life so much that he can’t see anything clearly: not his work, and not his private life.

The crime to be investigated is the torture murder of a young woman whose body is found in a landfill dump by a couple of scavengers looking for saleable items.  It takes a while to identify the girl, but  once she’s known, a number of suspects pop up. There’s her Goth brother, who’s hiding something that the police are unable to winkle out due to his over-protective mother’s interference.  There’s the boyfriend, currently in a remand centre, but presumably able to get his mates on the outside to do something for him.  There’s the prison guard who has taken sudden leave and vanished. 

All of these suspects are examined, and one of them is charged, but Mia Harvey has a niggling feeling that there’s something missing; the solution is just too pat, and so far there’s no forensic support for the arrest.  Nick’s stretching of the truth will, if discovered, bring down Wells’ wrath on everyone.  The only way to avoid this is to identify a concrete-solid suspect.

Acting on a clue and a hunch and a faked piece of evidence, Mia confronts the man she thinks is a better fit for murderer than anyone else.  She’s amazed when he not only confesses but seems proud of what he’s done.  DCI Wells congratulates Mia, but she suddenly sees him through new lenses, and suspects he’s only patting her back because she’s made him look good.  Drop the ball and she’ll find herself as despised as Nick Ford. 

There’s an interesting second-string story running parallel with the murder, a story involving aged care which considers the paradox of an ‘angel’ with feet of clay, and which will resonate with any reader responsible for a frail elderly relative.

Battison has constructed a believable police force and some interesting characters, which with a bit more development should take their place alongside the Thames Valley Division or the Grampian Police.  It will be of particular interest to see if Nick Ford faces his demons and accepts them for what they are, and moves on to become a more sympathetic character.  At present, the reader’s impulse is to ‘give him a smack upside the head’ and tell him to get a life.

Silencer by James W. Hall

Publisher: Minotaur Books  ISBN-10: 0312359594

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

What begins as an idealistic real estate deal involving an old rancher, the state of Florida, and Thorne, the Key Largo simple guy and reluctant investigator who recently inherited millions of dollars, turns into a nightmare of death and deception when their plan to preserve hundreds of acres of Florida’s natural beauty is discovered by those who aren’t so happy with the loss of profit that the deal might bring.  A patriarch is killed, Thorne is kidnapped and left for dead, and family ties are shattered in the days leading to the final signing.  And just who might survive and who might be the one to end the quest in glory or by corruption is the question nobody can quite answer until the very end.  

In this exciting and thrilling adventure, James W. Wall races from scene to scene and character to character without a single instance of distraction.  If there is a complaint to be had, it’s that the read is too short and goes by much too quickly.  But with that being said, it’s amazing how Wall is able to flush out his many characters to the extent that he does; each one seemingly fully realized and totally capable of holding their own in a story where not just one is the ultimate hero or villain, but one in which each character shares the spotlight just about equally - including Florida itself - the ambience and steamy setting adding much to this already invigorating tale.  This one has it all, and although maybe not enough of it, that’s a minor complaint when all is said and done.

The First Rule: A Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais

Publisher: Putnam 978-0-399-15613-7

Reviewed by Don Crouch, New Mystery Reader

A loving family, together at the crest of the day. Dad wrapping up work in his office, children and wife doing what they do as dinner approaches. Dad, so at peace with his place in the Universe, he might be dreaming. An idyllic opening mise’ en scene for Robert Crais’ latest thriller, The First Rule.

But it’s, you know, him, so it won’t last.

The First Rule’s tension explodes from the jump. Once this family’s peaceful evening is disturbed, Crais is basically the cat, and we are the toy, as he bats us around at will, manipulating thrills, drama and character to suck us in. And, like in all of Crais’ best work, there’s that moment out of nowhere when he takes you much deeper to the core of things.

Joe Pike and Frank Meyer soldiered together. That bond is eternally unshakable. When Meyer and his family are slaughtered, Pike is amongst the first to be questioned. Crais’ readers will know how well that goes. Once dealt with, Pike goes into motion to find out what happened. And ensure accountability.

Of course, Pike brings in his partner, The World’s Most Evolved Detective, Elvis Cole. Elvis can go places Pike can’t, and together they start their perilous journey into what becomes a vortex of Russian mobsters, arms smugglers, and urban gangsters.

And, a baby.  Blood ties are clearly on Crais’ mind in The First Rule, and in ways you won’t begin to anticipate until you’re there—the light comes on, your mind is blown. Crais’ unique scrutiny of human connection is always the soul of his books, it’s what invests us in the tightness of his plots.

Pike is methodical in his pursuit of Meyer’s attackers, and Crais sets up, quite nicely, a number of dangerous confrontations, attacks, and counter-moves. Crais does a great job describing the speed and efficiency of Pike’s physical movement—especially as a function of his will—particularly in the close combat sequences, giving us a visual picture of Pike as Tightly Wound Avenger.  It’s been mentioned that Pike was an inspiration to the creation of Jack Reacher, and in The First Rule, that inspiration is clear.

The details are best discovered, not narrated. We’ll just say that Crais is rockin’ the joint with The First Rule. His fans will love it, first-timers will be compelled to get the rest of the story. What are ya waitin’ for?

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

Publisher: Minotaur Books  ISBN-10: 0312380429

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

Stepping away from his Alex McKnight series, Hamilton brings forth a new character that just might leave his fans asking for more.

We first meet Michael, aka Miracle Boy, aka The Ghost, Jr., aka Boxman extraordinaire, serving 10-25 for a crime that is not yet revealed. Also not revealed is the tragedy that started it all 20 years before and that helped shape his future years. But have no fear, Michael is more than ready to tell the story, albeit at his own pace, of how he went from a normal 9 year old boy to a mute young man in his late 20s who became a master at picking locks and breaking into safes that made him a hot commodity in the criminal world.  In a story that goes back ten years and switches back and forth from one year to the next, we get to know how this boy grew into the man he is now, and how events led him into a life of crime not necessarily chosen, but instead one that seems to have chosen him.

Admittedly, the first few chapters of this latest from Hamilton seemed to be a bit disjointed with his abrupt changes in time initially hard to follow.  By starting off at the end and then going back in time the way he did, with each separate story only separated by a year or two, it was hard to adjust to the flow, especially not knowing the beginning and the end.  However, once settled into understanding the flow, what followed was nothing short of a breathtaking tsunami.  Hamilton’s intimate portrayal of a young man truly alone, made mute by a childhood tragedy and driven into crime by a profound love while still maintaining a will to survive, is both powerfully heart wrenching and ultimately encouraging.  And it’s not only Michael readers will find themselves taken with, but many of his fellow criminals seem to have a spark of soulfulness that makes them human and worth caring for as well. 

This is a read that starts off a bit tangled, but one that is more than worth hanging in there for the brilliance that follows.  And for the record, do read the forward from Hamilton; while there are many detailed incidences of lock picking and safe cracking, he’s made sure to toss in some misdirection to keep us all legal.  

The 13^th Hour by Richard Doetsch

Publisher: Atria Books  ISBN: 978-1-4391-4791-7

Reviewed by Jim Sells, New Mystery Reader

Nick Quinn has a seemingly idyllic life. He is married to a beautiful woman – Julia. They have made a detailed plan to realize their goals in life. This includes buying and restoring an old house and waiting to have children.

Although he has to travel for business, the couple makes up for lost time when they are reunited. Upon his last return, Nick and Julia quarrel over a dinner date Julia has made with another couple. She leaves angrily for work and Nick settles in his home office. That could be the last time he will see her alive.

The following chapters provide numerous questions and only a few answers. How is it that evening, Nick is arrested and interrogated for Julia’s murder? Who killed Julia with an antique revolver and framed Nick with the weapon? Why was Julia called from a business flight that day and saved from a fatal plane crash? Who is the man that everyone thinks is a lawyer sent by his neighbor to the police station? What is the purpose of the mysterious letter and antique watch that the man gives to Nick?

Then the watch does an incredible thing. It propels him back in time one hour – to just before he is arrested. He reads the letter as he waits in his friend’s library for the police to come and arrest him. The letter tells that he can travel back twelve times – each trip putting him one hour further into the past. Armed with this knowledge he goes back and changes events on each trip, but can he change fate and save him and Julia?

Doetsch has fused an excellent mystery with elements of science fiction. The novel has a small enough cast of characters that the reader is able to focus on the mystery. The adult themes are presented in good taste and do not take from the story line. Although the story might be slightly more entertaining with some snappy dialogue or other device to provide comic relief; overall, this a superior work with well-defined characters and plot.

Watchlist by Jeffrey Deaver and Other Top Thriller Writers

Publisher: Vanguard Press  ISBN 978 1 59315 559 9

Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader

In the grand tradition of the Golden Age of writing roundtables comes a new multi-author production, “Watchlist”, which is two books in one, both featuring Harold Middleton, former military officer and member of the little-known organisation known as the Volunteers.  Initially produced as two serialised audio books, “Watchlist” is now in print for readers who like to turn pages.

The idea originated with authors M J Rose, of the International Thriller Writers group, and Jeffrey Deaver, creator of the Lincoln Rhyme series.  Rose rounded up 21 other willing participants, and Deaver wrote the first and last chapters of each story.  It’s no easy task: launching an idea, handing its development over to a succession of other writers, and then having to draw all the threads together at the end, but Deaver has done a very competent job.  The co-writers are too numerous to mention, but the list includes Linda Barnes, Lisa Scottoline, John Gilstrap, James Phelan and Erica Spindler.

As you’d expect with names like that involved, the stories are complex, exciting, fast-moving, and a bit scary.  OK, a lot scary.  Nobody beats thriller writers for coming up with horribly plausible disaster scenarios.  “The Chopin Manuscript” starts off looking like a simple case of “lost-musical-treasure-worth-a-fortune”, but rapidly changes into something much darker, as bodies pile up and both federal agencies and assorted villains pursue Harold and his daughter to the ends of the earth. The second story, “The Copper Bracelet” has a final scene that will leave your nails chomped to the cuticles, unless you take a hefty dose of Xanax before you get to it. 

With 22 experienced writers involved in a book, you can imagine how many twists and turns and surprises can be packed into 400 pages.  Whether Deaver supplied a general outline to guide his fellow writers or not we don’t know, but however the work was accomplished, it’s a rousing adventure that would be top of my list for a book to be snowbound with this winter.

Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag

Publisher: Dutton Adult  ISBN-10: 052595130X

Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

While the idyllic community of Oak Knoll might seem at first the perfect place to raise a family – just far enough from the evils of LA but still filled with the intellectual and wealthy residents that small college towns seem to attract – in the autumn of 1985, Oak Knoll proves to be just the opposite when a group of kids stumble on the corpse of a woman halfway buried in the woods.  Also a witness to the discovery is their young teacher, Anne Navarre, a naïve but intelligent young woman with her own share of heartaches who is determined protect her students at any cost.

And when another young woman goes missing, FBI agent Vince Leone is called in to consult on the case. But while his understanding of the criminal mind as a “profiler” is desperately needed, it’s also greeted with suspicion by the local police force that have yet to trust this new method of tracking the maddest of the mad. 

And when another woman’s body is found, making it clear that the evil that has invaded their town is far from ending, the sordid truths that hide behind the perfectly maintained streets and homes will slowly be revealed as everyone becomes suspects, showing that nothing is ever as it seems, and even the most trusted have secrets they think are worth killing for.  

It’s been awhile since Hoag’s latest, and most likely her many fans will find this one to be well worth the wait.  And with its setting taking place over 25 years ago, it’s especially fascinating to consider how far the art of crime solving has come - how technology has changed just about every aspect of it all in such a short time.  It’s also interesting to note how the use of profilers was just beginning then, and though for a long time after was the rage, it has since become more controversial and slowly seems to be going the way of Freudian psychology. 

But for those who don’t find forensic criminology interesting, never fear, Hoag also provides a great deal of suspense by offering up an array of unlikely suspects that will keep many readers guessing for most of the read.  And while, admittedly, this small community seems to have more than its share of over-the-top secrets that are a bit more deadly than your average small town, there’s something very enthralling and almost old fashioned in guessing who the evil mastermind is hiding behind the innocent façade. 

However, with that being said, some other readers might feel there's something missing.  While the suspense and challenging questions are there in spades, the more intimate aspects and deeper motivations surrounding those involved are mostly superficial and seem at times an afterthought created simply to embellish the plot rather than enhance it.   

Ultimately, though, Hoag does this one up decently by combining great suspense with older crime solving techniques and a light dose of romance that will appeal to fans of most mystery genres who like a good challenge.