Reviews from HARRIET KLAUSNER

JANUARY - FEBRUARY  REVIEWS

SARA PARETSKY

BLEEDING KANSAS
SARA PARETSKY
G. P. Putnam’s Sons  January, 2008

Near the town of Lawrence, Kansas, in the Kaw River Valley, two families the Grelliers and the Schapens, have farmed the land for over one hundred and fifty years. The families barely tolerate each other because the Schapens, who belong to a fundamentalist church, believe the Grelliers are godless heathens. Into this atmosphere comes Gina Haring, a Wiccan and a lesbian, who is the catalyst for a series of events that ends in tragedy and death.

Susan Grellier is attracted to the Wiccan holidays and attends the bonfire which gets the Schapens up in arms. Junior Schapen makes life miserable for Chip Grellier. Life gets worse for Chip when his mother becomes an anti-war activist and the town looks upon her as a hippie. Tired of the constant fighting, Chip enlists in the army and is sent to Iraq , where he dies less than a month after he arrives. Susan has a breakdown and doesn’t relate to anyone, causing the family to fall apart. The Schapens have a baby red heifer that the ultra conservative Jews want to buy in three years -- if she is perfect.  Both Jews and Christians believe such an animal is needed for the temple to be built and for Christ to come again. Tired of the loathing the Schapens stir up, some people set in motion a deadly series of events that culminates on Halloween.

BLEEDING KANSAS is nothing like the author’s V.I. Warshawski crime capers.  This is more like a novel written by Barbara Delinsky about families and the internal and external strife with which each individual must deal. There is a lot of depth to this novel and, though it can be read for entertainment, it deals with a number of social issues --  religious intolerance, same sex relationships and people who don’t conform to mainstream thinking. The heartland of America is shown as a microcosm of society dealing with timely issues that divide us.

 - Harriet Klausner

STUART WOODS

BEVERLY HILLS DEAD
STUART WOODS
G. P. Putnam’s Sons  January, 2008

In the 1940s, the House Un-American Activities Committee is just beginning its witch hunt and Hollywood is starting to feel the effect. Rick Barron, head of production of Centurion Pictures, has no interest in politics, but his antenna quivers when Communist Cards are sent to him with the names of Bitter Creek screenwriter Sid Banks and Laurie Brecht, who happens to be his movie star wife, now known as Glenna Gleason.

Rick arranges for the matter to be taken care of quietly, but Sid is blackballed when he refuses to name names to the HUAC. Most of Hollywood runs from Sid to avoid being tainted. His movie is near completion with new stars Vance Calder and Susie Stafford in the leads.  The pair become romantically involved and she is about to move into his home when she vanishes. Soon afterward she is found dead in a dump. Rick demands the police find her killer, while Sid becomes a willing friendly witness for HUAC, which restores his name. However, both Rick and Sid know HUAC has unfinished business with them since Congress will leave no stone unturned.

This historical mystery focuses on the beginning of the HUAC “Red Scare” witch hunt that terrorized much of Hollywood in the late 1940s and early 1950s when the studio heads were more concerned over the bottom line than the “J’accuse” mentality of DC. The murder mystery is cleverly devised so that red herrings and twists keep the reader guessing the identity of the killer. However, that also detracts from a closer look at the opening phases of the HUAC investigation into film making. Still, this is an intriguing tale that will have fans seeking the previous entry, THE PRINCE OF BEVERLY HILLS.

 - Harriet Klausner
PHOTO CREDIT:  CHINA SHORT

PATRICIA SPRINKLE

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING TO DIE?
PATRICIA SPRINKLE
Obsidian PBO 2/08

Hopemore, Georgia, has its share of vicious crimes.  Usually Magistrate MacLaren Yarbrough is in the middle of the investigation -- to the horror and fear of her husband, Joe Riddle. This time when someone dies, Joe handcuffs Mac’s leg to her desk at Yarbrough Feed Seed and Nursery. A car went over the bypass bridge with Star Knight inside. At first the police think it’s an accident, until they recover the vehicle and see that Star was beaten to death.

Star had her life together when she was pregnant but fell off the wagon and became addicted to crystal meth. The Sheriff knows there is a meth lab in the area, but can’t locate it. Star’s father, Trevor, demands custody of his grandson. They later learn that Star was planning to go straight, and was going to the DEA to inform on those running the meth lab. MacLaren and others believes the meth lab operatives killed Star to prevent her from ratting them out. When another death linked to Star occurs, MacLaren tries to find the killer who ran the meth house, but the murderer remains free with plans to murder the nosy magistrate who ruined his business.

This is a poignant character-driven police procedural that makes the case that amoral people can live in the open, even in a small Southern town, yet keep their true nature hidden. Joe’s handcuffing of his wife shows how much he cares and worries about her investigating activities, but unless he plans to do this 24/7, his scheme is doomed to fail.  MacLaren is committed to uncovering the truth, regardless of the danger involved. 

- Harriet Klausner

SNOWBIRD’S BLOOD
JOE HENSLEY
St. Martin 's Minotaur  February, 2008

While Martha Cannert’s husband, Charlie Cannert, was in a Chicago hospital being tested for what proved to be untreatable stomach cancer, Martha went to Florida to find a new home for them. Charlie has received one post card from Martha almost a month ago, and then nothing, which is very unlike her.  Now he is driving to Lake City, from where that post card was sent.

Martha is at the Tepsicon Rest Hospital, a state mental facility, under the name Jane Doe after suffering amnesia following a vicious assault. Meanwhile, Charlie believes someone murdered his long time spouse. As he continues his search, Martha begins to slowly recover her memories -- especially of Charlie. She escapes from Tepsicon knowing that Charlie is looking for her and begins to search for him.  Charlie was once a guardian angel vigilante; from his Nam "tunnel rat" days to his bringing violence to sociopath attackers of the helpless.  He works with local cop Tom Ryan to find those who assaulted Martha and other missing Snowbirds.

Joe Hensley writes a powerful stand alone thriller that focuses on the predators who take advantage of the elderly; especially Snowbirds who are either grieving a recent loss or who have retired to Florida alone. The story is fast-paced from the moment Charlie asks his Florida host whether he and his wife killed Martha. Although the climax seems a bit weak, readers will appreciate this fine tale from the late Mr. Hensley (the back cover mentions he passed away last year) whose underlying theme is condemnation of a society that allows the elderly and the young to be unprotected victims of the amoral.

 - Harriet Klausner

LADY KILLER
LISA SCOTTOLINE
HarperCollins  February, 2008

When they both attended St. Maria Goretti High School, Trish Gambone was the student ‘Queen of Mean’ and amongst her victims was good girl Mary DiNunzio. Now Trish needs help and turns to Philadelphia attorney “Saint” Mary for assistance.

Mary is shocked to learn Trish is on the receiving end of an abusive relationship and wants out. However, Trish fears her boyfriend, Bobby Mancuso, has strong mob connections and will never let her go unless he decides to end it. Mary offers a few suggestions, but Trish thinks none will work with someone as violent as Bobby. When Trish vanishes, their mutual friends blame the lawyer for failing her classmate. When the Feds learn that Mary hides key information regarding her ties to Bobby, they toss her off the team trying to save Trish.  So Saint Mary goes it alone.

Fans of Lisa Scottoline will enjoy the return of intrepid Saint Mary (see KILLER SMILE) as she tries to save the life of her high school enemy. The story is filled with entertaining action, but most readers will have plausibility doubts when Saint Mary rides to the rescue.  The Feds seem to struggle with the difficult case much more than she does.

 - Harriet Klausner

OBEDIENCE
WILL LAVENDER
Shaye Areheart / Crown Books  February, 2008

At Winchester University, in Indiana, Professor Williams teaches Logic and Reasoning 204. He explains to his class that there is no text, no syllabus, and no lectures. Instead, they have one assignment. Based on clues he provides and they find, the students must locate Polly, a missing teenager, within six weeks or she will die.

All the students assume this is an academic exercise and that no one is in jeopardy. However, rather quickly three of the pupils begin to believe Polly not only exists but that she will be killed if they fail to rescue her. As Professor Williams provides the class with photos of Polly and other clues that affirm she lives -- for now -- the trio panics, fearing that a D in this class means dead.

None of the prime players (the professor, the three students, and the elusive Polly) come across as fully developed, but no one will care.  This is a suspenseful story that grips the reader from the moment Williams explains the assignment. Readers will wonder if Polly is real and in danger, but will also wonder whether the trio of students is in peril. Fans of tense intriguing conspiratorial thrillers will want to attend Professor William’s Logic and Reasoning class.

 - Harriet Klausner

WHAT LIES IN SHADOW
TINA WAINSCOTT
St. Martin 's Minotaur PBO 2/08

In Boston, Jonna Karakosta is bored.  Her successful husband, Rush, ignores her except when he needs his trophy wife on display for business purposes. Still, she tries to remain loyal to him, even if he disregards her needs. Feeling all alone with no outlet for her frustration, Jonna sets up a blog where she anonymously releases her inner torment.

Jonna exposes her innermost desires and disappointments on her "Montene's Diary" which, to her surprise, becomes popular thanks to the Globe claiming she is an everyperson; people write back on her blog including someone named Dominic.  Jonna is hurt when she concludes that Rush is cheating on her, which results in her accepting Dominic’s request to meet in person and see where that goes. However, she begins to have second thoughts; she does want to try to save her marriage, but Dominic has a different outcome in mind.

WHAT LIES IN SHADOW is a modern day cautionary story that makes a case for not providing personal information on the Internet. The story is driven by the characters as Dominic knows what he wants and will do anything to achieve his desired rush. Although some of the twists are obvious, readers will appreciate this look at the dark side of blogging and wonder whether Montene is a part of Jonna or just her imagination running wild.

 - Harriet Klausner

GAMBIT
KARNA SMALL BODMAN
Forge  February, 2008

Computer scientist Dr. Cameron "Cammy" Talbot has little time to sit on her laurels following the CHECKMATE technology she and her team created that prevented war between India and Pakistan. Recently, a terrorist has developed a missile system that has shot down commercial aircraft.  The President, the Vice President and their top National Security Advisor want Cammy and her Bandaq Technologies team to create an antimissile system to place on planes so that the cockpit crew will be aware of a deadly incoming and destroy it.

Cammy visits her associate, Dr. Wen Hu, at MIT for assistance, but soon afterward someone kills him and destroys his lab. She realizes that she is next after a few somewhat amateurish but potentially lethal assaults occur.  Cammy turns to her former lover, Special Assistant to the President for Arms Control and Strategic Defense, Lieutenant Colonel Hunt Daniels, for protection.

More a romantic suspense (even the Veep wants Cammy) than a thriller, readers will enjoy this race against the clock where each day means more deaths and less air traffic. The story grips the reader because the enemy technology seems plausible. Although the romantic subplot is well written, it takes attention away from the excitement of stopping the adversaries soonest.

 - Harriet Klausner

BARE FACTS
KATHERINE GARBERA
Kensington Brava Trade PBO 2/08

Former model Charity Keone is a highly regarded employee of Liberty Investigations, which provides personal protection services. Currently she is guarding Daniel Williams, the CEO of Williams International, an import-export firm based in Hong Kong and Seattle.  Williams has doubts about a beautiful woman keeping him safe from an unknown enemy who wants him dead. However, he changes his mind when Charity saves him from an assassination attempt.

Perhaps it is the danger they face or her rejection of Senator Williams’ proposal for her to be his latest trophy wife, but Charity and Daniel make love and both are stunned by the intensity. However, she knows keeping him from harm remains the prime mission as a ruthless killer stalks Daniel.

Even Charity sees the Charlie's Angels connection with her, Justine and Anna as the Angels and Sam directing them from a voice box as “Charlie.” The first part of the story focuses on Charity’s introspection and desires leading to the sexual trysts with her client. Towards the middle of the novel, suspense kicks in and never slows down as someone wants the CEO with connections to Japanese gangs dead. Readers will enjoy this fine romantic suspense thriller with two more Angels’ tales to follow.

 - Harriet Klausner

KILLING FEAR
ALLISON BRENNAN
Ballantine PBO 2/08

Seven years ago club owner and exotic dancer Robin McKenna’s testimony helped convict serial killer Theodore Glenn, who defended himself but could not overcome the DNA evidence at the murder scene. He and one other person know the forensic proof that convicted him was not left at the scene by him; someone -- probably the dumb detective -- framed him. That is, if you can call it a frame when he did commit the murders. Robin assumed she would never see the vile psychopath who killed her roommate Anna ever again, though he vowed vengeance against those who sent him to prison.

An earthquake shakes the Bay area damaging San Quentin. During the turmoil, Glenn escapes. He plans to kill those who convicted him. At the top of his list is Detective Will Hooper. Not only did the cop arrest him and probably frame him, he had the gall to have a tryst with Robin, who Glenn believes belongs to him. In fact, he considers each new homicide as a gift to Robin.  Glenn is obsessed with Robin and thrills to the pain each new murder causes her. Glenn even leaves several hints that, even after all this time, Anna still lives. Robin and Will reexamine the evidence, though they doubt Anna survived her ordeal, but they begin to think the possibility exists. Will knows that Robin is on Glenn’s list so he must stop this maniac before anyone else, especially Robin, dies.

This is an exciting serial killer, cat and mouse game in which Glenn is as brilliant and amoral as a person can be, feeling pleasure while inflicting immense pain and climaxing in death. Before reaching that climax, Allison Brennan takes her readers through spins and twists that add tension to the strong suspense storyline.

 - Harriet Klausner

THE POISONER OF PTAH 
P. C. DOHERTY
St. Martin ’s Minotaur  February, 2009

In 1478 B.C., Pharaoh Hatusu rules Egypt with a firm but gentle hand. She feels no major internal threats to her keeping the throne in spite of her gender. Her biggest concerns come from outside her kingdom where foreign rulers assume she is weak because she is female. Still, she negotiates peace treaties with her royal peers for the betterment of her nation.

While negotiating a treaty with Libya, three Egyptian scribes die, apparently by poison. Hatusu directs her Chief Judge in the Hall of Two Truths, Lord Amerotke, to uncover the identity of the killer. The prime suspect is Rekhet, who just escaped from incarceration, having been sent to prison for life for royal poisonings. Amerotke finds a link between Rekhet and the Libyans that makes him wonder if the foreigners were negotiating in badfaith.

The Lord Amerotke - Ancient Egypt investigations continue to be some of the best whodunits on the market. The latest tale, THE POISONER OF PTAH, is an excellent entry both as a mystery and as a historical thriller. Amerotke is terrific, holding the story together with his investigation while the support cast helps bring to life Ancient Egypt and, to a degree, Libya, through its delegation. This series (see THE ASSASSINS OF ISIS, THE MASK OF RA, HORUS KILLING and THE SLAYERS OF SETH) remains top of the line.

 - Harriet Klausner

THUGS AND KISSES
SUE ANN JAFFARIAN
Midnight Ink Trade PBO 2/08      
ISBN: 9780738710891

Odelia Grey is a paralegal at Wallace, Boer, Brown, and Yates. Her immediate boss, Michael Steele, requested her and the partners thought she would be good for the hard-to-get-along-with, anal-retentive and obsessive attorney because she has patience and should be able to keep him grounded.  They bribed her with a big pay raise and her own office.

Since Greg Steven, her wheelchair user lover, is ill, Odelia takes Detective Dev Frye as her date to her thirtieth high school reunion. While dancing with Dev, Danny Oliver is shot and killed. Everyone has a motive for killing him -- including Odelia and her friend Sally Kipman, who lost custody of her son to him in an ugly court battle. While dealing with being a suspect, her boss never returns from his mini vacation. His car is found at the airport, certain documents from a client are tampered with and he never showed up at the inn where he had made reservations. Although it looks bad for Steele, who some think broke the law and fled the country, Odelia knows he is too obsessed to do anything illegal. She and Sally team up to locate Steele and find out who murdered Donny.

Ignoring the amateur sleuth investigating plausibility, THUGS AND KISSES is a very enjoyable reading experience. The whodunit and the missing person case are well thought out and the sequences smoothly change from one case to the other. The protagonist, a size twenty who is very comfortable with her body, does what she believes is right because she has a strong sense of justice and loyalty. Obstinately, she refuses to be swayed from the case by her lover, family or friends which sometime make for strained relations.

 - Harriet Klausner

WILD GOOSE CHASE
TERRI THAYER
Midnight Ink Trade PBO 1/08            
ISBN: 9780738712154

It has been six months since her mother died and Dewey Pellicano is doing her best to hold herself together. She lost her job, so she is running the store, Quilter Paradiso, that her mother left her. Currently she is renting a booth at the seventeenth annual Northern California Quilt Extravaganza. She is putting the store online thanks to an expensive program her mother bought a week before she died. Her sister-in-law Kym, who works at the store, is constantly sabotaging her efforts.  She wants things done the old fashioned way.

Dewey runs into quilting celebrity Claire Armstrong who offers to buy the store from her. She needs time to think about it and then decides to go to Claire’s room to talk about it some more. Claire’s assistant Myra lets her in and they find Claire dead. She bled out from an accident with a yellow-handled rotary cutter. When the police arrive Claire is glad to see Detective Buster Healey is one of them because her friend makes her feel less like a suspect in what turns out to be a murder. A few days later, Dewey agrees to sell her store to Myra, but another death occurs at a rehearsal for the Quilter’s fashion show. Again Dewey is made to look like the killer, but she knows someone is setting up the evidence to make it look that way and she intends to find out who it is.

WILD GOOSE CHASE is a delightful cozy that gives readers an insider’s look at quilting and a quilting fair. Terri Thayer creates an excellent amateur sleuth mystery in which the reader will believe a desperate Dewey follows the clues one stitch at a time.

 - Harriet Klausner

THE FIRST PATIENT
MICHAEL PALMER
St. Martin ’s Press  February, 2008

When the physician to President Andrew Stoddard, Dr. Jim Ferendelli, vanishes, his long time friend, Dr. Gabe Singleton, is asked to come to DC to take Ferendelli’s position. Although Gabe would prefer to remain in Wyoming, he travels to Washington for his friend.

In the capital, Singleton is taken aback when Stoddard acts confused, as if he has suffered a stroke; yet no vital signs imply a stroke or any other brain debilitating illness. Instead, Gabe believes someone close to the President has caused the mysterious ailment, but he is ignorant as to who, how and why. He needs to use preventative medicine on President Stoddard, in an effort to stop whatever is causing the illness. To do that Gabe, trusting no one except Nurse Alison Cromartie, investigates those at the White House, and even at Blair House, trying to answer the questions that befuddle him.  Gabe also knows he should suspect Alison as she has the know-how, but he can’t because he has fallen in love with her.

Although this medical political thriller is way over the top of the Washington Monument, Michael Palmer’s fans will enjoy his entertaining tale.  The story contains the typical Palmer brand of fast-paced action, a hero who is way over-matched, and real science supporting the nefarious premise. Readers will also savor Singleton’s amateur sleuthing.

 - Harriet Klausner

BARBARA COLLEY

WASH AND DIE
BARBARA COLLEY
Kensington Books  February, 2008

In New Orleans, Charlotte LaRue, owner of Maid for a Day, is unhappy to return home after a hard day of cleaning to find Joyce Thibodeaux waiting for her on her porch. With no place to stay, Joyce, formerly married to Charlotte's tenant Louis Thibodeaux and just out of rehab, begs Charlotte to let her stay for a few days. Against her better judgment, because Charlotte knows that Joyce is a lying con artist, she agrees; she cannot let the woman sleep on the street.

Their arrangement fails to work out.  Joyce’s room looks like a pig sty, she lies about why a San Francisco inspector wants to speak with her, and she steals the gold watch Charlotte inherited from her father. After tossing Joyce out, Charlotte tries to recover the watch that the woman hocked, but the pawn shop proprietor rejects her plea.  Frustrated, Charlotte comes home to find her house has been trashed.  Someone was looking for something and Joyce is shot to death amidst the mess.  To make matters worse, Charlotte’s parakeet Sweety Boy is missing.  Charlotte and Louis discuss possible suspects before she begins her investigation to find her missing bird and a killer. Her snooping almost gets her killed twice by different people who want her off the case.

Readers will admire the sexagenarian business owner who is as anxious to clear her name as she is to find her beloved bird. Yet with her cleaning enterprise, an amateur sleuth investigation and much more, Charlotte welcomes her newborn twin grandchildren with love and tenderness. She is the role model that insists the sixty of today is the forty of yesterday. Readers will enjoy this fine, thinking person’s cozy as Charlotte escorts the reader around New Orleans cleaning up a murder.

 - Harriet Klausner

THE SHANGHAI TUNNEL
SHARAN NEWMAN
Forge Books  February, 2008

In 1867, Horace Stratton decides to return home to Portland after a very successful business trip to Shanghai. Accompanied by his wife Emily and their teenage son Robert they reach San Francisco in January, 1868; only for Horace to die there. The dutiful daughter of missionaries, who is feeling some guilt for never having lived up to her husband’s expectations, Emily and Robert bring Horace’s body home to be buried in Portland.

Emily and Robert plan to live in Horace’s hometown; unaware of how rough and tumble a place it is in spite of the dream of its leading citizens to turn it into the San Francisco of the northwest. However, the widow and her son are not welcomed by Portland’s elite, especially those who had been in business with Horace. These people are ignorant as to how much Emily really knows and understands about her late husband’s unethical and mostly illegal activities; and about her plans to learn what she does not know. Not willing to take any chances, they plot to drive her and her son out of town; if they fail to run her out then they will bury her next to her late husband.

THE SHANGHAI TUNNEL (in an afterward Sharan Newman explains that the tunnels exist under Portland’s streets) is an enjoyable and riveting historical amateur sleuth tale that brings alive Reconstruction Era Portland, which obviously has come a long way. The Oregonians are a fascinating support cast, but the story totally belongs to the courageous widow as she surprises everyone, including herself, with her grit and determination in refusing to leave. Horace must be turning in his grave witnessing attributes he never suspected in his wife. Ms. Newman begins her new historical saga with a winning mid-nineteenth century thriller.

 - Harriet Klausner

MEMORIES ARE MURDER
LOU ALLIN
Rendezvous Press Crime Trade PBO    
ISBN: 9781894917339

Northern Ontario realtor Belle Palmer rents a place to her former boyfriend (they dated at Scarborough Collegiate Institute in Toronto), field research zoologist Gary Myers, who is studying the adaptability of elk recently released in the wilderness. The Brock University professor apologizes for using her as his “beard” back in school when they dated fourteen times and he failed to kiss her until she forced the issue.

When his “secret” partner, murder-mystery author Malcolm “Mutt” Malloy, arrives to join Gary, he cannot find him. Mutt and Belle look for Gary only to find his body.  He apparently drowned near his research camp. Mutt and Belle organize Gary’s notes only to conclude key items are missing; the cottage he rented from Belle had been broken into and his camera and laptop stolen. Soon afterward, Mutt is almost killed by carbon monoxide poisoning and someone tries to murder Belle. After finding an article Gary had on poisoning, Belle returns to the spot where she and Mutt found his corpse only to flee into the wilderness to escape from a killer.

The latest exciting Belle Palmer amateur sleuth (see NORTHERN WINTERS ARE MURDER, BLACKFLIES ARE MURDER and MURDER, EH?) tale is an entertaining Northern Ontario whodunit. The heroine has no plans to interfere with the police investigation into the death of Gary, but she and Mutt become embroiled by simply trying to do the right thing with the late professor’s notes.

 - Harriet Klausner

CHARLAINE HARRIS*

A BONE TO PICK
CHARLAINE HARRIS
Berkley pb reprint 2/08
Originally published 1992

Lawrence, Georgia, is usually a quiet little southern town except when Aurora “Roe” Teagarden has A BONE TO PICK; which to the locals seems too often. Trouble follows her like a magnet, but when she goes to the funeral of Jane Engle, her lawyer has some good news for her. Jane left Roe her entire estate, which includes her house and half a million dollars. The lawyer hints that Jane had a problem she wants Roe to fix.

As Roe inspects her new house, looking for a hiding place the contains the “problem” Jane wants her to fix, she spots the window seat carpeted to look like a piece of furniture. When she opens it, Roe finds a skull and since she doesn’t want to take it to the police, she wraps it inside a blanket and takes it to her mother’s house. She later finds a note inside a book in Jane’s handwriting saying she didn’t do it.  Relieved, Roe has to figure out where the skull came from and who killed that person.

Charlaine Harris’s second Aurora Teagarden mystery is a charming delight, populated with eccentric lovable Southern characters. The mystery is well thought out with enough suspects to keep readers turning the pages to find out who lost their head, why that person was beheaded, and why the head is with Jane while the body remains in parts unknown (pardon the pun). A BONE TO PICK is a reprint that stands the test of time.

 - Harriet Klausner
PHOTO CREDIT:  CAROLINE GREYSHOCK

MOONLIGHT DOWNS  
ADRIAN HYLAND
Soho Crime Trade PBO 2/08
ISBN 9781569474839

After several years of seeing the world, half-aborigine Emily Tempest returns home to the Moonlight Downs Camp in Australia’s Outback. Emily struggles to readapt to living in the “Blackfeller” camp, but is getting there, thanks in part to a warm welcome home from her friend Lincoln Flinders, although his daughter, her former best friend Hazel, makes her feel like an outsider.

Emily is stunned when Lincoln is found strangled to death. Even more shocking is that the killer carved out his kidney. The locals assume sorcerer Blakie Japanangka murdered and then mutilated the body of the camp’s leader. Emily assists police sergeant Tom McGillivray in trying to find Blakie, who has vanished. When information surfaces that makes the prime suspect look innocent, Emily looks into a land dispute as the motive for killing Lincoln with the organ removal used to throw blame on the aborigine sorcerer.

This is an interesting look at the aborigine culture from the perspective of a character who had one foot in the Aborigine life and the other in white Australian society. Emily is the strength of the story as her relationship with Hazel seems to be a microcosm of the two groups. Although the whodunit, especially when it detours into a greedy land deal, seems a stretch and lacks suspense, readers will enjoy this insightful visit to the Outback.

 - Harriet Klausner

SKIZZER
A. J. KIESLING
Revell Trade PBO 1/08
ISBN: 9780800731403

A frantic and worried Rainey calls his sister-in-law Claire to tell her that his wife, her sister Becca, is gone. A week later when Becca remains missing, a stunned Claire drives twelve hours from Florida to Raleigh, North Carolina to hunt for “Skizzer,” her childhood nickname for her sister.  She knows Becca’s favorite haunts, probably better than anyone, and thus stands a better chance of finding her.

Claire’s first stop, even before seeing her family, is the old abandoned Radcliff Place where Skizzer has left Claire a note telling her not to search for her; that she is okay, but something terrible and wonderful happened. The note communicates a sense of urgency to Claire and she is unable to sit idly by; she continues to track their roots, hoping to uncover the terrible and wonderful clue that sent Skizzer on an apparent quest.

This  thriller has the reader, along with Claire and Rainey, what drove Skizzer to leave. As Claire finds letters and other clues that lead to England, she begins to unravel the mystery.  Though the reason that Becca became a drama queen fails to match the suspenseful family story that digs into what sisters mean to one another, A. .J. Kiesling provides an appealing one-sitting read.

 - Harriet Klausner

THUNDER MOON
LORI HANDELAND
St. Martin 's Minotaur PBO 1/08

Residents of Lake Bluff, Georgia, hope and pray that the small town has returned to normal after the werewolf incidents (see HIDDEN MOON).  Especially hoping for no more supernatural occurrences is Sheriff Grace McDaniel who, in spite of the evidence of last summer and being part Cherokee, remains skeptical.

However, to her chagrin, something is stalking the town.  This creature can rip a heart out of a person, but leave no marks. This killer seems to have arrived at about the same time that Dr. Ian Walker came to Lake Bluff. Attracted to the newcomer, Grace scoffs at his insistence that she contains powerful magic inherited from her Cherokee ancestors.  They team up to investigate a supernatural serial killer.

This romantic police procedural fantasy is a thriller that will grip readers from the moment that Ian arrives in town and never misses a beat until the final confrontation. Grace is fabulous as the lead protagonist.  Her first person account will have fans leaving the lights on at night. THUNDER MOON is a terrific blending of several genres as Lori Handeland turns to Sherlock Holmes in her wonderful paranormal whodunit: “… when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

 - Harriet Klausner

MATALA
CRAIG HOLDEN
Simon & Schuster  January, 2008

Thirty-nine year old Justine has been mentoring her younger lover Will on the art of conning people since they met a few years ago. They always choose easy marks and fleece them for small sums so that the pigeon never retaliates or even goes to the police. Justine’s philosophy is that the humiliation must be greater than the lost funds.

In Rome, the two grifters select Darcy Arlen, an American recently graduated from high school, as their next pigeon. Darcy is bored with the organized group tours of the great ruins so, while the guide naps and her roommate showers, the teenager sneaks out of their hotel to do her own sightseeing. When she meets Will gazing into the Tiber, she is fascinated, especially since she recognizes him as having attended Old Indian Bend High School in Ohio, the same high school from which she has just graduated. Will and Justine persuade Darcy to leave the tour and go to Venice with them.  From there they travel to the Greek Isle of Matala.  Will and Justine think they have the perfect mark, even as a romantic triangle develops.

The key to this superb sting story is Darcy, whose character changes over the course of MATALA. The two con artists are fascinating protagonists who assume that the high school grad comes from wealthy parents, since her trip is a graduation present from them. Readers will enjoy this entertaining thriller and the interplay between Justine, Will, Darcy and a few other marks along the way make for a fun read with several wonderful and unexpected twists.

 - Harriet Klausner

SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY 
DEANNA RAYBOURN
Mira Trade PBO 1/08

In 1887, Lady Julia Grey, is still healing, having nearly died when her husband was murdered and their home was burned down (see SILENT IN THE GRAVE). To help her recover she has left England and its memories for Italy, accompanied by two of her March family brothers and her new Italian sister-in-law.

However, with Christmas arriving soon, the March family patriarch wants everyone to spend the holidays at his estate, Belmont Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery. Thus Julia reluctantly heeds her father’s summons and returns to England. Among the non-kin guests is enquiry agent Nicholas Brisbane. Julia is shocked to learn he is engaged to a simpering woman who is just not the appropriate mate for the intelligent investigator.  When her pearls are stolen and guest curate Lucian Snow is murdered, Julia decides to investigate, over Brisbane’s objections. To keep her out of harm’s way he allows her to join him, which ironically places her in harm’s way.

This late Victorian whodunit with a touch of romance is a fun read due to the relationship between the professional enquiry agent and the amateur sleuth. Readers will laugh at the double entendres and can “see” the bewildered Nicholas raise his eyebrows several times at the actions of his unwanted sidekick when it comes to detecting.  Their attraction adds to the amusing antics. Fans of lighthearted historical romps will appreciate the antics of Lady Julia and her frustrated “mentor.”

 - Harriet Klausner

THE GOOD LIAR
LAURA CALDWELL
Mira PBO 1/08

In Oakbrook, Illinois, since her divorce from Scott, Kate Livingston has lived a quiet life.  Dating just seems to be too much trouble, but admits to her friend Liza Kingsley that she is pathetic. Liza arranges for Kate, who is in her late thirties, to meet debonair fifty-five year old Vermonter Michael Waller. They hit it off from the start and, in a rather short time, he sweeps her off her feet and they marry.

However, once they exchange I do’s, Michael seems a different person to Kate, who begins to think he is hiding something from her. Although she considers another woman or mob connections as possible causes for his mysterious behavior, she is far from the truth. Michael works for the Trust, a top secret organization that performs illegal deeds to further America’s global position. Knowing he cannot keep his nefarious espionage activity a secret from Kate, Michael decides to leave the Trust.  However, his handler persuades him to take on one final assassination.

This engaging tense romantic suspense thriller in some ways will remind readers of Governor Schwarzenegger’s movie “True Lies,” although Kate is not considering an extra-marital affair. The story is at its best when Michael and Kate are at the forefront, whether together or from separate first person perspectives.  Their relationship, built on love and a lie, comes across as plausible. Although the villain is more caricature than nasty adversary, readers will appreciate this non-stop tale.

 - Harriet Klausner  

STANDARD OF HONOR
JACK WHYTE
G. P. Putnam’s Sons  January, 2008

Led by Richard the Lionhearted, 50,000 soldiers are ready to do battle to regain the Holy Land from the Saracen chieftain Saladin and his forces.  Amongst Richard's army is Knight of the Templar Alexander Sinclair, who is willing to die to see the Christians succeed in this Crusade against the unfaithful.  He and the rest of the force believe victory is theirs because God is on their side.

To the shock and consternation of the Christian Crusaders, the battle at Galilee turns into a defeat.  Richard refuses to quit on his dream of a Holy Land controlled by Christians; he plans to raise another, bigger army.  To do so he sails home accompanied by his loyal master-at-arms Henry St. Clair and the armorer's son, Andre, a Templar belonging to the top secret Brotherhood of Sion, a group with their own agenda.

The second Templar tale (the first was KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK AND WHITE) is a fabulous historical fiction tale that brings alive the Crusades and the king's efforts to raise money and men.  The story plays out on two levels.  First there are the political
shenanigans with everyone having a secret agenda; second there are the battles between the Christian Defenders of the Faith and the Saracens defending their Holy Land .  Jack Whyte provides a strong, vivid, picturesque tale.

- Harriet Klausner

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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER  REVIEWS

CITY OF THE ABSENT
ROBERT W. WALKER
Harper PBO 12/07

Night brings an end to the Chicago Exposition of 1893 and with its closing two murders occur separated by miles and class.  Mayor Carter Harrison, thought he was invincible and had an open door policy even at his home, was killed there.  Across town Vanderfn and Philander Rolsky are seeking a nonentity to kill, someone no one will miss.  They set their sights on a grandmotherly looking prostitute to harvest her organs for use at a medical college.

However, this time the brothers picked the wrong person.  The victim is an undercover Pinkerton Agent, Nell Harrington, who was on the trail of a doctor who buys corpses and organs.  Police Inspector Alastair Ransom was Nell's friend and he obsesses about finding her killer, but Ransom has enemies in high places -- like Police Chief Kohler.  The Chief collaborates with a senator, who hired the Pinkertons to find evidence to lock Alastair up as a felon.  Alastair knows the police chief and the senator are murderers, but lacks evidence to convict them.  He does not make life easier for himself when he goes to castrate a priest who has been defiling children; but was too late as someone took care of the ungodly father. Alistair's boss plans to nail him for the crime.

Robert W. Walker is a master at evoking atmosphere; in this case the gaslight era that enables fiends and lunatics to hide in its shadows. Alastair uses the services of a homeless child as a snitch just as Sherlock Holmes used the Baker Street Irregulars.  In fact, Alastair may remind readers of Holmes as he refuses to give up on a case in which the political and police brass of Chicago are corrupt and willing to hang this dedicated cop instead of seeing justice served.

- Harriet Klausner

AFTERIMAGE
KATHLEEN GEORGE
Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin ’s Minotaur  December, 2007

In Pittsburgh, Homicide Squad Commander Richard Christie has some doubts about the new detective assigned to his unit.  He likes rookie detective Colleen Greer's enthusiasm, but fears her excessive zeal could prove dangerous to her and the team.  Still, he has no choice but to see what she can do under fire.

Richard has two homicides to investigate.  The first victim is Laura McCall, who Greer knew from the counseling clinic where she worked with Laura’s husband, David Hoffman, from whom Laura was separated.  The second is a child who, once again, Greer knew from her time at the clinic.  Like Richard, to whom she is attracted, Greer wonders if Hoffman killed his wife and the child.  When Hoffman starts asking favors of his former employee it makes him appear even guiltier to Greer.  She has doubts though; she has a suspicion it is someone else she knew in her clinic days.

AFTERIMAGE is the third Richard Christie-Pittsburgh police procedural (see TAKEN and FALLEN).  The story is strong and enhanced by the simmering relationship between Christie and Greer.  Although this is Greer's first appearance, the tension she brings to the veteran homicide detective’s life may  remind series fans of TAKEN, in which Richard's wife, Marina Benedict, requested a separation.

- Harriet Klausner

LAST CALL
JAMES GRIPPANDO
HarperCollins  December, 2007

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck still worries about his former client, bar owner Theo Knight.  He knows Theo harbors a lingering resentment, and rightfully so.  When Theo was a teen in the roughest hood, raised by kindly Uncle Cy after his mother was killed, he was arrested and convicted of murder.  He became the youngest person on death row and was only saved when Jack proved he could not have committed the murder; even then, he was still almost executed.

Jack learns that someone tried to kill Theo in his old neighborhood.  Apparently convict Isaac Reems promised to provide Theo with the name of his mother's killer in exchange for Theo’s help in eluding the law.  Instead, the escaped con leaves evidence that Theo abetted his escape while setting Theo up for the failed shooting.  Theo has always wanted to avenge his mother's murder, but the case went cold for the cops and him when the trail led outside the hood.  Jack joins Theo in his investigation; he hopes to keep him from committing a homicide.  That may not matter when Isaac is found dead, with proof that Theo killed him.  Meanwhile an affluent unknown adversary wants Theo as dead as the mother so that a two decades old murder stays unsolved. 

LAST CALL is an excellent South Florida mystery.  Grippando brings the Greater Miami area to life in a fast-paced tale.  Isaac and whoever hired him cleverly use the past that haunts Theo to get at him while Jack tries to protect him.  A touch of two romances and a bit of humor adds depth to a great cat and mouse thriller.

- Harriet Klausner

THE SAUCY LUCY MURDERS
CINDY KEEN REYNDERS
Medallion Press PBO 12/07

Lexie Lightfoot has had it with her womanizing husband Dan.  Disgusted with Dan's inability to be faithful, Lexie leaves him and, accompanied by their teenage daughter Eva, returns to her hometown of Moose Creek Junction, Wyoming, where her married sister Lucy lives.  She opens up The Saucy Lucy Café.

However, Lucy turns out to be anything but saucy.  She is a faithful churchgoer, wife of Sheriff Otis Parnell and mother of Carl.  Lucy insists Lexie must remarry or else she will not be allowed into the kingdom of heaven.  Lucy begins setting up dates for her reluctant sister.  However, every man who goes out with Lexie ends up dead; the second date is always held at Stiffwell's Funeral Parlor. The townsfolk start to fear that Lucy and Lexie are killers.  Detective Gabe Stevenson investigates while Otis tells them to stay out of his inquiry.  Lexie, seeing her reputation and her business tanking, ignores both law enforcement officials' warnings.  She distrusts both cops and begins sleuthing on her own, with no understanding of the danger in which she places herself and her sister.

This lighthearted amusing amateur sleuth tale is fun to read.  The key to this enjoyable whodunit is that a potential romance between Lexie and Gabe never occurs and never intrudes; not because he fears a second date, but instead the big tough detective is a wuss when it comes to women.  The story never takes itself seriously, even when the heroine is in danger.  Cindy Keen Reynders provides fans with an enjoyable frolic filled with puns and strong characters.

- Harriet Klausner

THE MURDERERS’ CLUB
P. D. MARTIN
Mira   December, 2007

Although six months have passed since Australian expatriate FBI profiler Sophie Anderson nearly died while working on the D.C. Slasher serial killer case (see BODY COUNT), she still remains shaken.  This is partly because she has psychic skills that come in the form of disconcerting, often ugly, nightmares.  Although at the time she was considered a top profiler, Sophie has not been able to return to field work.

Sophie looks forward to her vacation in Tucson where she will spend time with Detective Darren Carter.  When Darren goes to a murder scene, Sophie comes with him.  Upon seeing the corpse, Sophie has a vision.  Soon more bodies and visions follow.  However, what Sophie sees is not lucid -- each killing seems slightly different, as if more than one culprit is at work.  The FBI assigns Sophie to the investigation and, as she suffers more nightmares, she begins to uncover the truth that will shake her more than the Slasher case did.

THE MURDERERS' CLUB is a chilling police procedural that finds Sophie wondering how many villains are out there, and the villains will chill the readers' bones as few can.  As with BODY COUNT, P.D. Martin provides an excellent thriller that has her readers on the edge of their seats waiting for what will happen next.

- Harriet Klausner

THE MEDIUM
NOELLE SICKELS
Five Star  December, 2007
ISBN: 9781594146183

Helen Schneider has a gift that frightened her when it first surfaced.  She can envision disasters.  Although her parents feared for her and preferred their child not be a freak, her grandmother nurtured her and taught Helen to use her skill to benefit people.  She does, but years later she still resents being different and worries about failing.

When an Angel first visited Helen to help her adjust to her gift, she rejected the heavenly being out of anger at being different.  However, the Angel kept trying to help her until Helen accepted her gift and became a channel between the dead and their living loved ones.  When WWII broke out, Helen used her ability to help soldiers and civilians who knew first hand the horrors of war; although each time she does this she feels as if part of her has been ripped out.  Helen's accounts are so accurate she is suspected of being a spy by the government.

This is a strange but exhilarating paranormal historical thriller starring a fascinating lead character who holds the story line together.  Although she hates her talent, readers will admire her as she tries to help victims of the war.  Noelle Sickels provides a unique tale that showcases her talent to readers.

- Harriet Klausner

IN FOR A POUND
RICHARD MARINICK
Justin, Charles & Co. / Kate's Mystery Books  December, 2007
ISBN 9781932112511

After spending three year behind bars at Norfolk State Prison on a wrongful conviction of assaulting a DEA agent, former Massachusetts State Trooper Delray McCauley is free.  However, freedom is a relative term.  He has no prospects in his former line of work; no law enforcement agency will hire an ex convict.  Instead, he returns to his South Boston roots and tends bar.

Working at the bar, McCauley comes under suspicion as a plant by the Southie gangs who roam the neighborhood with impunity; they simply distrust anyone who was in law enforcement, even one who spent time in prison.

Boston Police Captain Conway Lilly asks McCauley to help him on a case involving a friend, lawyer Esmond Cotter, whose safe was stolen from his office. If the cops recover it first, Cotter might, at the very least, face embarrassment at the contents.  Although he detests attorneys, McCauley agrees to investigate out of friendship for Conway.  However, by volunteering to help a buddy, he learns a friend in need is a hazard to his health.  He soon finds plenty of vicious Boyos wanting him dead -- some over the safe, but most because he was a cop.

This is an exciting urban noir story that brings South Boston to life (and de