REVIEWS FROM LJ ROBERTS
LJ Roberts E-mail address is:
ljroberts@sbcglobal.com
Ex - A "Wow" read; unique, memorable, a major step forward or standout book for the author. A top read of the year.
VG - Enthused about it; very well done for its genre; (VG+ ) Close to excellent with only one or two small quibbles.
Good + - Enjoyed it very much.
Good - Enjoyed the book.
Okay - Enjoyed it but with significant reservations. Only okay.
Poor - Wasn't awful, but wasn't good either. Finished it with difficulty.
NR - Did not work for me. Would not recommend this book to others.
LJ Roberts' (please don't ask what the LJ stands for) path took her from Iowa, Nebraska, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts to where she now lives with her two literary cats Tigger and T.S. Elliot in Oakland, California, where she specializes in response-generation marketing for high-tech companies. Through business travel and vacations, she has so far visited 35 states and four other countries.
LJ doesn't remember a time she didn't read, and then made the budgetary error of becoming a collector of contemporary hardcover, 1st edition signed mysteries. When not reading, she spends time with her friends doing needlepoint, crocheting, hunting antiques and "doing lunch." She evaluated manuscripts for a mystery publisher, and has been the coordinator of The East Bay Mystery Readers' Group since 1995.
THE CHALK GIRL
CAROL O'CONNELL
G. P. Putnam's Sons January, 2012
RATING - Ex
First Sentence: The first outcry of the morning was lost in a Manhattan mix of distant sirens, barking dogs and loud music from a car rolling by outside the park.
Trying to describe a Carol O'Connell book is hard enough. Trying to describe a Carol O'Connell Mallory book is nearly impossible. Mallory is a character you either love or you don't see the appeal of her. Mallory, much as is the 20th Century Sherlock Holmes, is a high-functioning sociopath. At the age of seven, nearly feral, a seasoned thief and an expert at survival, she was found and taken in by police detective Lou Markowitz and his wife. Since their deaths, she has been watched over, protected and loved by Lou's friends, including her partner Riker, and Charles Butler who loves her knowing she can never love him back. Yet Mallory does "love", but not in any conventional way. She protects the innocent, is relentless in her pursuit of criminals and unrelenting in her exacting of justice. Mallory is the type of character you wouldn't personally want to know, but find yourself drawn to and sad for. For those who may be J.D. Robb fans, Eve is a much milder version of Mallory.
On the other hand, O'Connell creates amazingly vile characters, but ones that are as far from the street-thug, gangster or classic murderer as one can get. There is more psychology than physicality behind the violence and, in some ways, that's even more disturbing.
O'Connell's plot is wickedly, wonderfully twisted. You never know where she's going; it surprises you, amuses you, shocks you, devastates you and warms you. Whether the scene be heart-breaking or vile, there is such beauty to her words.
I was told by a friend that this was one of the saddest books she'd ever read. She was right, yet O'Connell also gives us a bittersweet gift at the end. As with every book O'Connell has written, it is excellent. It also one of the most haunting of her books - although her standalone BONE BY BONE rivals it -- and leaves you with a longing for her next book.
HUNTING SWEETIE ROSE
JACK FREDRICKSON
Minotaur Books February, 2012
RATING - Good+
First Sentence: The Argua-Observer was the only Chicago newspaper that dared run the pictures of the clown going off the roof screaming.
Investigator Dek Elstrom is hired by a mysterious man in a limousine to investigate the death of a clown. It doesn't take Dek long to discover his client is wealthy socialite Sweetie Fairbairn. Working with the help of reporter Jennifer Gale and Dek's sartorially-challenged, yet delightful best friend Leo, Dek finds himself with more bodies than clues, pegged as a suspect by the police, and hunting for his own client and her past.
Every author strives for a strong, compelling opening. Frederickson succeeded in creating one. It's not only compelling, but provides images that will stay with the reader for some time. However, a good opening doesn't always guarantee a good book unless that level of involvement is maintained. It is.
Frederickson has a wonderful sardonic voice... "Google, that collector of all lint..." and wry humor. His protagonist, Dek, has lost almost everything and, in this book, even seems to be letting go of his one last self-delusion. I did appreciate learning more about Dek's family history.
There is palpable tension and suspense along with intriguing and unexpected twists that you don't see coming. Any holes one fears there might be have been plugged in advance. The ending is a bit ambiguous for my taste and left me rather confused, but not to where it spoiled my enjoyment of book overall.
HUNTING SWEETIE ROSE is the third book in the Elstrom series. Although it may not be my favorite of the three so far, I really enjoy Frederickson's style and RECOMMEND him as an author well worth reading. I do feel there are good things ahead.
- LJ Roberts
KILL MY DARLING
CYNTHIA HARROD-EAGLES
Severn House February, 2012
ISBN: 978-0727881373
RATING - VG
First Sentence: At first Connolly thought he was crying; but after a few minutes she realized he just had a left eye that watered.
Melanie Hunter is known to be polite and friendly. Now she's missing; reported gone by her downstairs neighbor who's caring for her dog. Melanie's body is soon discovered but the deeper Insp. Slider and his team become involved in the case, the more secrets they find; Melanie's and those of the men in her life.
Reading Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is always a delightful experience. Only someone with a superb grasp of language could use it as she does... "Connolly gave him a look so cold it could have hosted the Ice Capades." Who else includes words such as "propinquity" with such aplomb. Her dialogue is flawless and so natural; while her descriptions provide mental pictures: "The woods looked beautiful as the sun reluctantly rose for its low-slung hibernal trajectory across the sky, sparkling and tinged with pink." She is the queen of metaphor: "The hard winter had taken its toll on the road surfaces, and... there were potholes you could find lost tribes in." Her voice is casual, almost conversational; the narrative as though you are being told a story by a friend.
Likeable, appealing characters are so important and these are that. They are human, fascinating and intriguing. They have lives outside their work: homes relationships and pets. This is not an angst-driven cast and how nice is that.
Lest you think all this overshadows the plot, you'd be wrong. There is an excellent twist right from the start and an investigation that builds on police teamwork.
KILL MY DARLING is another very good addition to the Bill Slider series. As ever, I am anxious for the next book.
- LJ Roberts
CELEBRITY IN DEATH
J. D. ROBB
G. P. Putnam's Sons February, 2012
RATING - VG
First Sentence: With frustration, and some regret, she studied murder.
Lt. Eve Dallas couldn't do anything about one of her past cases gaining national attention with a book having been written about it. Now it's being turned into a film and it's strange having others play her and those close to her on sets eerily similar to her reality. The worlds of make-believe and reality collide when the murder of an actress portraying Dallas' second, Peabody, occurs at a party.
The J.D. Robb books are one of my slightly guilty pleasures, but there's really no reason to feel that way. J.D. Robb is, in fact, mega-bestseller Nora Roberts, and she didn't achieve her success by writing poorly.
Robb creates great characters with whom we become involved and invested - they, and their inter-relationships, become almost real to us. And yes, there's sex; a natural part of a married relationship. One of the best parts of her characters is that they have grown and changed through the series. What's remarkable is to think that, in the span of thirty-four books, the series has only progressed about two years in character time; a subtle touch that both keeps the characters from aging and adds realism -- as no policeman only has one major case per year.
Robb writes delightful dialogue with humor, edge and occasionally insight. Her books are set in the near future with just enough sci-fi to be interesting, but real time is catching up to invented time. Don't mistake her books for fluff, however. There is plenty of grit to them, and the hard unpleasant realities of a murder investigation. The plot is complex enough to keep any mystery fan guessing. When I can't identify the killer, I'm a happy reader indeed.
CELEBRITY IN DEATH is yet another very good read in a series I hope continues for many years to come.
LJ's reviews of
LIVE WIRE
by Harlan Coben
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
by Donna Leon
HELL IS EMPTY
by Craig Johnson
MOONLIGHT MILE
by Dennis Lehane
and
COLD WIND
by C. J. Box
appear on the
PAPERBACK PAGE
.
WHEN MAIDENS MOURN
C. S. HARRIS
Obsidian March, 2012
RATING - G+
First Sentence: Tessa Sawyer hummed a nervous tune beneath her breath as she pushed through the tangled brush and bracken edging the black waters of the ancient moat.
Sebastian St. Cyr and his new wife, Hero Jarvis, married for proprietary due to her pregnancy. There is occasionally passion between them, but not yet trust. Will investigating the murder of Hero's friend Gabrielle Tennyson and the disappearance of two children begin to build that bridge? The people's dislike of the Regency, and the continuing myth that King Arthur will return to reign in England, lead the investigators from the poorest to the wealthiest areas in search of a killer.
A well-done opening with lyrical, evocative descriptions quickly turns brutal in this new entry to the St. Cyr series. Her inclusion of poetry adds a sense of period and style to the story. She also does a wonderful job of blending the historical information of different periods.
The characters are certainly captivating, although the author being more clear as to Sebastian's age might explain the character better. While he has been a soldier in war, there are times he seems quite emotionally immature. The mystery regarding St. Cyr's heritage is an intriguing thread that runs though the series and becomes even more interesting here.
Harris writes with a wonderful style, able to convey the sense of emotional undercurrents without elaborate description. The tentativeness of the relationship between St. Cyr and Hero is very well done. I also appreciated that while Hero is investigating the death of her friend, it is in a manner appropriate to the period.
It is the relationships that provide the central theme of the story and the mystery does, at times, become a bit overwhelmed by them. So much so, in fact, that I had to go back and re-check the ending as I had forgotten one of the critical plot points. That said, however, the story does have a very good twist, affecting more than the plot of this story alone, excellent drama and suspense and a very well-done ending.
Although I was somewhat disappointed in the previous book, WHEN MAIDENS MOURN is a major step in bringing the series back to what made it so appealing in the first place - great characters, wonderful descriptions and quite a well-written plot. It is, however, definitely a series to start from the beginning with WHAT ANGELS FEAR.