Wicked Break
Linda Piwowarczyk

Noah Braddock, a plucky and tenacious San Diego PI and surfer guy, is back and in over his eyeballs when a simple missing person case turns literally ballistic. Peter Pluto hires Noah to find his missing brother Linc. Yes, a missing Linc! Although portrayed as an industrious college student by his brother Peter, it seems that the missing Linc Pluto has been less than academic. He has a cache full of guns in his apartment. An equal opportunity target, Noah is soon dodging fists and bullets from both white supremacists and black gang-bangers. What is their interest in Linc Pluto? Noah needs to stay alive long enough to find Linc, find out, and maybe even collect his fee.

Jeff Shelby's second Noah Braddock mystery shines like sun glinting off California waters. His chapters are short, his dialogue witty, and both Noah and his sidekick, Carter, are likeable good guys ready for the rough-and-tumble chase for justice, along with a few dollars to pay the bills. Shelby's writing style demonstrates skill--showing, not telling. His plot is engaging and his conclusion ignites all the collected pieces into a satisfying blaze.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

Noah Braddock, a plucky and tenacious San Diego PI and surfer guy, is back and in over his eyeballs when a simple missing person case turns literally ballistic. Peter Pluto hires Noah to find his missing brother Linc. Yes, a missing Linc! Although portrayed as an industrious college student by his brother Peter, it seems that the missing Linc Pluto has been less than academic. He has a cache full of guns in his apartment. An equal opportunity target, Noah is soon dodging fists and bullets from both white supremacists and black gang-bangers. What is their interest in Linc Pluto? Noah needs to stay alive long enough to find Linc, find out, and maybe even collect his fee.

Jeff Shelby's second Noah Braddock mystery shines like sun glinting off California waters. His chapters are short, his dialogue witty, and both Noah and his sidekick, Carter, are likeable good guys ready for the rough-and-tumble chase for justice, along with a few dollars to pay the bills. Shelby's writing style demonstrates skill--showing, not telling. His plot is engaging and his conclusion ignites all the collected pieces into a satisfying blaze.

A Race Against Death
Jeff Siegel

Timothy Sheard has done something so clever and so witty and so original that it's difficult to believe he hasn't received more recognition for it. The hero of his new novel, the second in the Lenny Moss series, isn't good looking, rich, wildly eccentric, an ex-cop with serious emotional issues or a hot babe. He's a hospital janitor, and it's an incredibly refreshing change.

Moss works at Philadelphia's James Madison Hospital, where the air conditioning has gone out during a heat wave and a patient has died from a poorly performed abortion. Moss, who is his union's shop steward, not only must do the labor-management dance to get the air conditioning fixed (his co-workers are passing out from the heat), but has to figure out how and why the woman died. After all, a shop steward's work is never done.

If Sheard isn't always a great stylist, and if much of the plot follows dusty old paths (evil doctor, corrupt hospital administration), he knows the business--35 years as a nurse and hospital employee--and he writes intelligently and knowledgeably about what goes on in big city hospitals. Lenny may be just a janitor, but he cares about his colleagues, the patients and the hospital. It's this touch of humanity that redeems all.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

Timothy Sheard has done something so clever and so witty and so original that it's difficult to believe he hasn't received more recognition for it. The hero of his new novel, the second in the Lenny Moss series, isn't good looking, rich, wildly eccentric, an ex-cop with serious emotional issues or a hot babe. He's a hospital janitor, and it's an incredibly refreshing change.

Moss works at Philadelphia's James Madison Hospital, where the air conditioning has gone out during a heat wave and a patient has died from a poorly performed abortion. Moss, who is his union's shop steward, not only must do the labor-management dance to get the air conditioning fixed (his co-workers are passing out from the heat), but has to figure out how and why the woman died. After all, a shop steward's work is never done.

If Sheard isn't always a great stylist, and if much of the plot follows dusty old paths (evil doctor, corrupt hospital administration), he knows the business--35 years as a nurse and hospital employee--and he writes intelligently and knowledgeably about what goes on in big city hospitals. Lenny may be just a janitor, but he cares about his colleagues, the patients and the hospital. It's this touch of humanity that redeems all.

A Stolen Season
Derek Hill

When private detective Alex McKnight and two of his buddies rescue three drunken strangers from their boat after it crashes, the cold and foggy Fourth of July evening quickly becomes the least weird occurrence they have to deal with. Uncooperative when asked why they were out on the lake on such an awful night in the first place, the strangers accuse McKnight and his friends of ramming into their boat.

Tensions reach into the stratosphere, to say the least. When the strangers visit McKnight the next day and grill him as to the whereabouts of a safe box that was on the boat, it becomes obvious to McKnight that these out-of-towners may be a lot more deadly than he previously thought. If that wasn't bad enough, McKnight's girlfriend Natalie, a Canadian police officer, gets a job in Toronto and finds herself working undercover to nab some major gun runners who are moving goods from the USA. Exhilarating and demanding work, but deadly if things go wrong. For McKnight and Natalie, things are going wrong on both sides of the border.

This seventh novel in the McKnight series continues Hamilton's deft handling of straightforward plotting and complex yet familiar characters, dished up with the proper hardboiled backwoods style that his fans demand. It's comfort food for people who breakfast on black coffee and unfiltered cigarettes, and a satisfying (if sometimes gut-churning) meal for the rest of us.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

When private detective Alex McKnight and two of his buddies rescue three drunken strangers from their boat after it crashes, the cold and foggy Fourth of July evening quickly becomes the least weird occurrence they have to deal with. Uncooperative when asked why they were out on the lake on such an awful night in the first place, the strangers accuse McKnight and his friends of ramming into their boat.

Tensions reach into the stratosphere, to say the least. When the strangers visit McKnight the next day and grill him as to the whereabouts of a safe box that was on the boat, it becomes obvious to McKnight that these out-of-towners may be a lot more deadly than he previously thought. If that wasn't bad enough, McKnight's girlfriend Natalie, a Canadian police officer, gets a job in Toronto and finds herself working undercover to nab some major gun runners who are moving goods from the USA. Exhilarating and demanding work, but deadly if things go wrong. For McKnight and Natalie, things are going wrong on both sides of the border.

This seventh novel in the McKnight series continues Hamilton's deft handling of straightforward plotting and complex yet familiar characters, dished up with the proper hardboiled backwoods style that his fans demand. It's comfort food for people who breakfast on black coffee and unfiltered cigarettes, and a satisfying (if sometimes gut-churning) meal for the rest of us.

A. Night in Hollywood Forever
Sue Reider

After retrieving an extremely valuable diamond, former private investigator and fledgling writer Alex Night is approached by a columnist to help solve an old Hollywood mystery--finding the location of a Faberg? egg. Almost simultaneously, Alex learns that his fiancee is missing and presumed kidnapped.

As Alex investigates, he encounters a wide range of people--a sex goddess, a amoral producer, a mysterious Russian and a stalwart policeman--along with various thugs and gorgeous bimbos. Many of them are take-offs of stock characters familiar to fans of hardboiled detective fiction. In Mr. Fenady's very capable hands, however, they are anything but stereotypical; the author deftly endows them with realistic qualities and behaviors that make them credible.

Alex is a thoroughly enjoyable, and contradictory, character. He is tough, never fleeing from a fight or hesitating to start one. At the same time, he is distraught over his missing fiancee. He is cynical about his fellow tenants at his office building, but always willing to help those who need his services. The descriptions of Alex's writing career are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

While the author is an Edgar-award-winning mystery novelist, as well as a western novelist, his main career has been as a prolific screenwriter, actor and producer. His screenwriting is reflected in his ability to create a realistic character in just a few paragraphs. He also includes an incredible wealth of intriguing Hollywood lore, legend, and trivia in this story. This second book about Alex Night is well-written, fast-paced, and a truly good read.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

After retrieving an extremely valuable diamond, former private investigator and fledgling writer Alex Night is approached by a columnist to help solve an old Hollywood mystery--finding the location of a Faberg? egg. Almost simultaneously, Alex learns that his fiancee is missing and presumed kidnapped.

As Alex investigates, he encounters a wide range of people--a sex goddess, a amoral producer, a mysterious Russian and a stalwart policeman--along with various thugs and gorgeous bimbos. Many of them are take-offs of stock characters familiar to fans of hardboiled detective fiction. In Mr. Fenady's very capable hands, however, they are anything but stereotypical; the author deftly endows them with realistic qualities and behaviors that make them credible.

Alex is a thoroughly enjoyable, and contradictory, character. He is tough, never fleeing from a fight or hesitating to start one. At the same time, he is distraught over his missing fiancee. He is cynical about his fellow tenants at his office building, but always willing to help those who need his services. The descriptions of Alex's writing career are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

While the author is an Edgar-award-winning mystery novelist, as well as a western novelist, his main career has been as a prolific screenwriter, actor and producer. His screenwriting is reflected in his ability to create a realistic character in just a few paragraphs. He also includes an incredible wealth of intriguing Hollywood lore, legend, and trivia in this story. This second book about Alex Night is well-written, fast-paced, and a truly good read.

Antiques Roadkill
Lynne Maxwell

Barbara Allan--a pseudonym for Max Allan Collins and his wife Barbara--begins a clever new series in the promising Antiques Roadkill. Capitalizing on the huge antiques market and the fascination surrounding it, Antiques Roadkill taps into the interests of cozy-readers, although there's nary a cat to be found here.

Instead, Allan introduces Brandy Borne, along with her blind shih-tzu, Sooshi, just returning to their Midwestern home town after an embarrassing divorce precipitated by Brandy's one-night stand with another woman's husband at a high school reunion. Brandy isn't even the most outrageous member of the family--that honor is reserved for her mother, who suffers from bipolar disorder and a flair for the dramatic.

Brandy's mother is fleeced by a local antique dealer who purchases all of the valuable family heirlooms for next to nothing. Immediately, Brandy sets forth on a mission to restore the treasures, but tangling with the shady dealer is complicated when he is murdered and his corpse run over by Brandy and her mother.They devote themselves to solving the mystery, much to the displeasure of the local police. Despite a distracting proliferation of parenthetical witticisms, Antiques Roadkill is a true find.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

Barbara Allan--a pseudonym for Max Allan Collins and his wife Barbara--begins a clever new series in the promising Antiques Roadkill. Capitalizing on the huge antiques market and the fascination surrounding it, Antiques Roadkill taps into the interests of cozy-readers, although there's nary a cat to be found here.

Instead, Allan introduces Brandy Borne, along with her blind shih-tzu, Sooshi, just returning to their Midwestern home town after an embarrassing divorce precipitated by Brandy's one-night stand with another woman's husband at a high school reunion. Brandy isn't even the most outrageous member of the family--that honor is reserved for her mother, who suffers from bipolar disorder and a flair for the dramatic.

Brandy's mother is fleeced by a local antique dealer who purchases all of the valuable family heirlooms for next to nothing. Immediately, Brandy sets forth on a mission to restore the treasures, but tangling with the shady dealer is complicated when he is murdered and his corpse run over by Brandy and her mother.They devote themselves to solving the mystery, much to the displeasure of the local police. Despite a distracting proliferation of parenthetical witticisms, Antiques Roadkill is a true find.

Arizona Dreams
Sara Polsky

Dead bodies abound for sheriff's deputy David Mapstone, a former professor whose work with the sheriff's office involves using a historian's techniques to crack cold cases. At the start of Arizona Dreams, there's a dead body in David's neighborhood, a lawyer murdered by an ice pick to his head. Then David finds another body buried in the desert, after a former student passes along a letter from her father directing David to the body. As David researches that body, several related murders occur.

The living trouble David just as much as the dead in this novel, the fourth in Talton's David Mapstone series. He is unable to find the woman who directed him to the body in the desert, and begins to believe she isn't a former student. While David and his wife, Lindsey, puzzle over the neighbor's murder, Lindsey's estranged sister, Robin, moves into the apartment over their garage. She brings surprises about Lindsey's past. David must confront his confusion about Lindsey and Robin while working through his suspicions about the murders.

Talton is a master of pacing. He ends chapters with cliffhangers that will prevent readers from putting down the book, and he still manages to save a few revelations for the final pages.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

Dead bodies abound for sheriff's deputy David Mapstone, a former professor whose work with the sheriff's office involves using a historian's techniques to crack cold cases. At the start of Arizona Dreams, there's a dead body in David's neighborhood, a lawyer murdered by an ice pick to his head. Then David finds another body buried in the desert, after a former student passes along a letter from her father directing David to the body. As David researches that body, several related murders occur.

The living trouble David just as much as the dead in this novel, the fourth in Talton's David Mapstone series. He is unable to find the woman who directed him to the body in the desert, and begins to believe she isn't a former student. While David and his wife, Lindsey, puzzle over the neighbor's murder, Lindsey's estranged sister, Robin, moves into the apartment over their garage. She brings surprises about Lindsey's past. David must confront his confusion about Lindsey and Robin while working through his suspicions about the murders.

Talton is a master of pacing. He ends chapters with cliffhangers that will prevent readers from putting down the book, and he still manages to save a few revelations for the final pages.

Billy Boyle
Joseph Scarpato Jr.

If you enjoy World War II mysteries, as I do, you'll love this book. It's a whodunit, a spy story and a thriller all rolled into one.

Billy Boyle is a young Irish-American cop from South Boston who, shortly after Pearl Harbor is attacked--and his family pulls a few strings--finds himself a special investigator on General Eisenhower's staff in London. His job is to uncover a spy on the staff prior to a planned invasion of German-held Norway by combined American, British and free Norwegian forces.

Before long a high-ranking Norwegian on the staff is found dead after a fall from his balcony. Is it suicide or murder? Does it have anything to do with the spy? It's up to Billy to investigate, and we're along for the ride.

Told in a crisp, breezy first-person narrative, Billy Boyle makes excellent use of Benn's extensive research into the time and place. The realistic dialogue pulls you even further into the action. All in all, this is one of the best books I've read this year.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

If you enjoy World War II mysteries, as I do, you'll love this book. It's a whodunit, a spy story and a thriller all rolled into one.

Billy Boyle is a young Irish-American cop from South Boston who, shortly after Pearl Harbor is attacked--and his family pulls a few strings--finds himself a special investigator on General Eisenhower's staff in London. His job is to uncover a spy on the staff prior to a planned invasion of German-held Norway by combined American, British and free Norwegian forces.

Before long a high-ranking Norwegian on the staff is found dead after a fall from his balcony. Is it suicide or murder? Does it have anything to do with the spy? It's up to Billy to investigate, and we're along for the ride.

Told in a crisp, breezy first-person narrative, Billy Boyle makes excellent use of Benn's extensive research into the time and place. The realistic dialogue pulls you even further into the action. All in all, this is one of the best books I've read this year.

Black Friday & Selected Stories
Francis M. Nevins

For devotees of the downbeat fiction and film known as noir, Goodis (1917-1967) is a cult figure of the same stature as Cornell Woolrich and Jim Thompson. The first half of this two-books-in-one reprints a masterpiece of the genre. "January cold came in from two rivers, formed four walls around Hart and closed in on him."

The chilly hell that envelops Goodis' luckless man-on-the-run from the first sentence of Black Friday (1954) only gets more hellish as he stumbles upon a man shot to death in the street, gets away with a wallet containing $12,000 and winds up trapped in a suburban Philadelphia house with, as in Sartres' play, no exit, and for housemates a beautiful young woman, a fat blonde whore (who has many counterparts in other Goodis novels), and four psychotic criminals. As always, when the novel ends the poor schmuck in whose shoes Goodis has made us live is unspeakably worse off than when it began.

Goodis claimed to have sold five and a half million words of fiction under seven bylines (mainly to the air war pulps) during the early 1940s. If this is true, he banged out far more short stuff than his older spiritual brother Woolrich. The first Woolrich collection came out in 1943 and the latest just last year, but there has never been a Goodis collection until the second half of this volume, which brings together a dozen of his crime-suspense tales for magazines ranging from Ten Story Mystery to Manhunt and Mike Shayne. The earlier entries tend toward the pulpy but with strong noir coloration. "Man Without a Tongue" (1951), for example, depends heavily on Woolrich's Rendezvous in Black (1948). The last three tales in the collection--"Professional Man", "Black Pudding" and "The Plunge"--are gems of the purest noir.

The checklist of Goodis' short fiction with which the book closes is a marvel of painstaking research but seriously flawed. A session with the invaluable Fiction Mags Index website reveals that not one but all of the bylines the checklist attributes to Goodis were in fact house names which he shared with dozens of fellow pulpsters. The same website lists dozens of stories published under those bylines, and even a few as by Goodis himself, which the checklist compilers missed. "The Sweet Taste" from the January 1965 Manhunt is not a new story as the checklist claims but a reprint of "Black Pudding" from the same magazine's December 1953 issue. Much digging has yet to be done before a comprehensive Goodis checklist can be assembled. But for those who love the literature of doom, this double volume may still be the book of the year.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

For devotees of the downbeat fiction and film known as noir, Goodis (1917-1967) is a cult figure of the same stature as Cornell Woolrich and Jim Thompson. The first half of this two-books-in-one reprints a masterpiece of the genre. "January cold came in from two rivers, formed four walls around Hart and closed in on him."

The chilly hell that envelops Goodis' luckless man-on-the-run from the first sentence of Black Friday (1954) only gets more hellish as he stumbles upon a man shot to death in the street, gets away with a wallet containing $12,000 and winds up trapped in a suburban Philadelphia house with, as in Sartres' play, no exit, and for housemates a beautiful young woman, a fat blonde whore (who has many counterparts in other Goodis novels), and four psychotic criminals. As always, when the novel ends the poor schmuck in whose shoes Goodis has made us live is unspeakably worse off than when it began.

Goodis claimed to have sold five and a half million words of fiction under seven bylines (mainly to the air war pulps) during the early 1940s. If this is true, he banged out far more short stuff than his older spiritual brother Woolrich. The first Woolrich collection came out in 1943 and the latest just last year, but there has never been a Goodis collection until the second half of this volume, which brings together a dozen of his crime-suspense tales for magazines ranging from Ten Story Mystery to Manhunt and Mike Shayne. The earlier entries tend toward the pulpy but with strong noir coloration. "Man Without a Tongue" (1951), for example, depends heavily on Woolrich's Rendezvous in Black (1948). The last three tales in the collection--"Professional Man", "Black Pudding" and "The Plunge"--are gems of the purest noir.

The checklist of Goodis' short fiction with which the book closes is a marvel of painstaking research but seriously flawed. A session with the invaluable Fiction Mags Index website reveals that not one but all of the bylines the checklist attributes to Goodis were in fact house names which he shared with dozens of fellow pulpsters. The same website lists dozens of stories published under those bylines, and even a few as by Goodis himself, which the checklist compilers missed. "The Sweet Taste" from the January 1965 Manhunt is not a new story as the checklist claims but a reprint of "Black Pudding" from the same magazine's December 1953 issue. Much digging has yet to be done before a comprehensive Goodis checklist can be assembled. But for those who love the literature of doom, this double volume may still be the book of the year.

Calculated Loss
Brian Skupin

Former stockbroker Maddy Carter is an appealing character working through a number of changes in her life. She's been living with friends in California and day trading on her own after leaving New York and an upscale brokerage. Another disruption comes at the beginning of Calculated Loss when she learns that her ex-husband, Braydon, has killed himself.

Maddy travels to Braydon's hometown of Vancouver to collect a minor bequest. There, her former in-laws suspect something is wrong with the way Braydon's company is being managed following his death and they ask her to investigate. Maddy finds herself in the position of moving in Braydon's circles and can't help but compare the arc of his life since their breakup to that of her own.

There are some rough edges in Calculated Loss--over half of the book has gone by before Maddy suspects Braydon might not have killed himself, one character's speech patterns change noticeably from one appearance to another--but Maddy is an intelligent, introspective character, and the details of her financial investigation are fascinating. By the end it looks like she's ready to take charge of her life again.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

Former stockbroker Maddy Carter is an appealing character working through a number of changes in her life. She's been living with friends in California and day trading on her own after leaving New York and an upscale brokerage. Another disruption comes at the beginning of Calculated Loss when she learns that her ex-husband, Braydon, has killed himself.

Maddy travels to Braydon's hometown of Vancouver to collect a minor bequest. There, her former in-laws suspect something is wrong with the way Braydon's company is being managed following his death and they ask her to investigate. Maddy finds herself in the position of moving in Braydon's circles and can't help but compare the arc of his life since their breakup to that of her own.

There are some rough edges in Calculated Loss--over half of the book has gone by before Maddy suspects Braydon might not have killed himself, one character's speech patterns change noticeably from one appearance to another--but Maddy is an intelligent, introspective character, and the details of her financial investigation are fascinating. By the end it looks like she's ready to take charge of her life again.

Deceit
Joseph Scarpato Jr.

After it is discovered that he falsified stories at a major Northeast newspaper several years earlier, Tom Valle, is now barely eking out a living as a community reporter in a small California desert town. One day, while covering a fatal car accident on a local highway, he stumbles across some inconsistencies in the identifications of both the dead motorist and an eyewitness to the accident.

While following up on this story, he surprises an intruder in his cellar and is knocked unconscious. Further attempts to silence or scare him off aren't given much credence by the local sheriff because of his dubious background. Unwilling to drop his investigation, Tom slowly begins to uncover the story of a tragic flood some 50 years earlier that destroyed a small town and killed all but one of its citizens.

A fast-paced story with Hitchcockian overtones, Deceit gathers steam early and never lets up. The first-person narrative adds to the immediacy and excitement.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

After it is discovered that he falsified stories at a major Northeast newspaper several years earlier, Tom Valle, is now barely eking out a living as a community reporter in a small California desert town. One day, while covering a fatal car accident on a local highway, he stumbles across some inconsistencies in the identifications of both the dead motorist and an eyewitness to the accident.

While following up on this story, he surprises an intruder in his cellar and is knocked unconscious. Further attempts to silence or scare him off aren't given much credence by the local sheriff because of his dubious background. Unwilling to drop his investigation, Tom slowly begins to uncover the story of a tragic flood some 50 years earlier that destroyed a small town and killed all but one of its citizens.

A fast-paced story with Hitchcockian overtones, Deceit gathers steam early and never lets up. The first-person narrative adds to the immediacy and excitement.

Disco for the Departed
Charles L.P. Silet

The ghosts that haunt the dreams of Laotian State Coroner, Dr. Siri Paiboun, prove to be more than phantoms as he and his assistant, Nurse Dtui, investigate a body unearthed after a rock slide. The grisly discovery is made in the mountains of Huaphan Province, a hideout of the leader of the present government during his long years of exile. The locale reawakens old and painful memories for Siri of the long war and the Laotian struggle for political autonomy. The buried corpse could prove a major political embarrassment for the members of the new government who have planned a celebration to mark their ascension to power.

Dr. Siri, as a state functionary and long-time, if lack-luster, Communist Party member, has learned to negotiate the government bureaucracy and to avoid confrontation with the party faithful. During his investigation he must tread carefully between the local officials and the old party guard.

A crime novel by a Westerner set in Laos with a local protagonist might seem a stretch, but Cotterill pulls it off smoothly, providing a solid plot with just enough color to give the reader a feel for the country, its people, and its traditions.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

The ghosts that haunt the dreams of Laotian State Coroner, Dr. Siri Paiboun, prove to be more than phantoms as he and his assistant, Nurse Dtui, investigate a body unearthed after a rock slide. The grisly discovery is made in the mountains of Huaphan Province, a hideout of the leader of the present government during his long years of exile. The locale reawakens old and painful memories for Siri of the long war and the Laotian struggle for political autonomy. The buried corpse could prove a major political embarrassment for the members of the new government who have planned a celebration to mark their ascension to power.

Dr. Siri, as a state functionary and long-time, if lack-luster, Communist Party member, has learned to negotiate the government bureaucracy and to avoid confrontation with the party faithful. During his investigation he must tread carefully between the local officials and the old party guard.

A crime novel by a Westerner set in Laos with a local protagonist might seem a stretch, but Cotterill pulls it off smoothly, providing a solid plot with just enough color to give the reader a feel for the country, its people, and its traditions.

Evanly Bodies
Charles L.P. Silet

When a Pakistani family takes over the grocery and sub-post office in the one-street town of Llanfair, Wales, the curious locals greet them with mixed feelings; it's nice not to have to take the bus for groceries but the newcomers are so foreign. The forced arranged-marriage of Jamilla, the family's daughter, gets Bronwen, the wife of local Detective constable Evan Evans, involved in some touchy cultural and social negotiations and complicates her already overworked husband's life.

Evan Evans is on a police investigative team headed by the blundering and overbearing Inspector Bragg who makes Evans' life miserable. They are getting nowhere on a series of shootings, first of a man eating his breakfast, then the owner of a pizza parlor, and finally a wife-beater, all killed by the same gun. In addition, the son of the Pakistani family appears to be involved in a terrorist group. All in all this is quite a bit of adventure for a quiet corner of Wales.

Rhys Bowen spins a good yarn in the seventh of the Evan Evans' series. Evans is a likable bloke, a smart, if sometimes insubordinate copper, and a devoted husband. It's a solid mix that makes for an absorbing read.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

When a Pakistani family takes over the grocery and sub-post office in the one-street town of Llanfair, Wales, the curious locals greet them with mixed feelings; it's nice not to have to take the bus for groceries but the newcomers are so foreign. The forced arranged-marriage of Jamilla, the family's daughter, gets Bronwen, the wife of local Detective constable Evan Evans, involved in some touchy cultural and social negotiations and complicates her already overworked husband's life.

Evan Evans is on a police investigative team headed by the blundering and overbearing Inspector Bragg who makes Evans' life miserable. They are getting nowhere on a series of shootings, first of a man eating his breakfast, then the owner of a pizza parlor, and finally a wife-beater, all killed by the same gun. In addition, the son of the Pakistani family appears to be involved in a terrorist group. All in all this is quite a bit of adventure for a quiet corner of Wales.

Rhys Bowen spins a good yarn in the seventh of the Evan Evans' series. Evans is a likable bloke, a smart, if sometimes insubordinate copper, and a devoted husband. It's a solid mix that makes for an absorbing read.

Gunpowder Plot
Linda Piwowarczyk

It's England in the winter of 1924 and Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher is visiting her friend Gwen Tyndall's family estate, Edge Manor, to write an article on their Guy Fawkes celebration when things take a deadly turn--two deadly turns. It appears that Gwen's father, the Viscount, has shot a guest and then turned the gun on himself. But did he? Alec Fletcher, Daisy's husband and a chief inspector for Scotland Yard, is called in to investigate. With Daisy's unquenchable good humor, common sense, and curiosity, Fletcher is bound to succeed in unraveling the family ties and feuds and come up with the truth.

Daisy is sympathetic, observant, and six months pregnant in this, Dunn's 15th book in the series. Like Jessica Fletcher from Cabot Cove, Carola Dunn's Mrs. Fletcher also has the knack of turning up for murder like some people turn up for lunch. Dunn begins quietly enough by introducing readers to the Tyndall family members and friends. When the deaths do occur, the cast of suspects is well in mind. The investigation follows, shuffling and shifting suspects and their motives as the story progresses and the leads and clues accrue. This is a charming, easy to follow English whodunit with a satisfying conclusion.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

It's England in the winter of 1924 and Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher is visiting her friend Gwen Tyndall's family estate, Edge Manor, to write an article on their Guy Fawkes celebration when things take a deadly turn--two deadly turns. It appears that Gwen's father, the Viscount, has shot a guest and then turned the gun on himself. But did he? Alec Fletcher, Daisy's husband and a chief inspector for Scotland Yard, is called in to investigate. With Daisy's unquenchable good humor, common sense, and curiosity, Fletcher is bound to succeed in unraveling the family ties and feuds and come up with the truth.

Daisy is sympathetic, observant, and six months pregnant in this, Dunn's 15th book in the series. Like Jessica Fletcher from Cabot Cove, Carola Dunn's Mrs. Fletcher also has the knack of turning up for murder like some people turn up for lunch. Dunn begins quietly enough by introducing readers to the Tyndall family members and friends. When the deaths do occur, the cast of suspects is well in mind. The investigation follows, shuffling and shifting suspects and their motives as the story progresses and the leads and clues accrue. This is a charming, easy to follow English whodunit with a satisfying conclusion.

Hollywood Stuff
Linda Piwowarczyk

It's California dreaming as Chicagoan Jane Wheel and her stylish sidekick Tim Lowry fly off to Los Angeles with visions of California collectables tap-dancing in their antique and resale loving hearts. Someone thinks Jane's past amateur sleuthing might make saleable film footage for Hollywood. As fans of Fiffer's Jane Wheel know, it isn't long before there are bodies to trip over and murders to solve. Someone is intent on killing off a group of TV writers, one by one, and soon Jane's name is added to the hit list.

Fiffer writes with verve, skill, and good humor, once again tapping into a readership grown from such popular shows as Antiques Roadshow and Cash in the Attic. Her series characters of Jane and Tim are likable collectors and resellers who love the thrill of the hunt, the elation of the find, and the aesthetic and tactile pleasures found in choice items of the past. Jane's process of detection is explained each step of the way, pulling all the remaining players in for the final wrap-up. Hollywood Stuff is an enjoyable light mystery.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

It's California dreaming as Chicagoan Jane Wheel and her stylish sidekick Tim Lowry fly off to Los Angeles with visions of California collectables tap-dancing in their antique and resale loving hearts. Someone thinks Jane's past amateur sleuthing might make saleable film footage for Hollywood. As fans of Fiffer's Jane Wheel know, it isn't long before there are bodies to trip over and murders to solve. Someone is intent on killing off a group of TV writers, one by one, and soon Jane's name is added to the hit list.

Fiffer writes with verve, skill, and good humor, once again tapping into a readership grown from such popular shows as Antiques Roadshow and Cash in the Attic. Her series characters of Jane and Tim are likable collectors and resellers who love the thrill of the hunt, the elation of the find, and the aesthetic and tactile pleasures found in choice items of the past. Jane's process of detection is explained each step of the way, pulling all the remaining players in for the final wrap-up. Hollywood Stuff is an enjoyable light mystery.

Impulse
Sara Polsky

Two deaths--the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife Sandy and the long-ago suicide of his brother Jack--haunt mystery writer Frank Smith as he returns to Scott Academy for his 50th reunion. He goes to the reunion partly to escape Arizona, where, despite his alibi, a local police officer is pursuing him as the main suspect in Sandy's death. But Frank's retreat to Scott is not the cure-all he had imagined. Even his daughter, with whom he stays while attending the reunion, is not entirely convinced of Frank's innocence in Sandy's disappearance. And on the Scott grounds, another puzzle preoccupies Frank : years after Frank's departure, four schoolboys disappeared on the campus, and their classmates, back for a reunion at the same time as Frank, want answers. Aided by his childhood sweetheart Rosemary Mitchell, Frank searches for the boys--and stumbles upon more academy secrets.

The mystery-writer-turned-amateur-sleuth plotline is familiar and Frank and Rosemary's constant reflections on their age are wearying. But Impulse is suspenseful and satisfying because Ramsay humanizes Frank and other characters' reactions to him. While we want to believe in Frank's innocence and cheer on his burgeoning romance with Rosemary, Ramsay plays up the other characters' doubts of Frank enough to make the reader skeptical and curious.

Super User
2010-04-24 20:56:39

Two deaths--the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife Sandy and the long-ago suicide of his brother Jack--haunt mystery writer Frank Smith as he returns to Scott Academy for his 50th reunion. He goes to the reunion partly to escape Arizona, where, despite his alibi, a local police officer is pursuing him as the main suspect in Sandy's death. But Frank's retreat to Scott is not the cure-all he had imagined. Even his daughter, with whom he stays while attending the reunion, is not entirely convinced of Frank's innocence in Sandy's disappearance. And on the Scott grounds, another puzzle preoccupies Frank : years after Frank's departure, four schoolboys disappeared on the campus, and their classmates, back for a reunion at the same time as Frank, want answers. Aided by his childhood sweetheart Rosemary Mitchell, Frank searches for the boys--and stumbles upon more academy secrets.

The mystery-writer-turned-amateur-sleuth plotline is familiar and Frank and Rosemary's constant reflections on their age are wearying. But Impulse is suspenseful and satisfying because Ramsay humanizes Frank and other characters' reactions to him. While we want to believe in Frank's innocence and cheer on his burgeoning romance with Rosemary, Ramsay plays up the other characters' doubts of Frank enough to make the reader skeptical and curious.

Lights Out
Verna Suit

Jake Thomas and Ryan Rosetti were high school baseball stars picked up by major league teams. Jake's fame soars, but Ryan was dropped after blowing out his elbow and now paints houses back home in Canarsie. He's also fallen in love with Christina, Jake's long-neglected fiancee. This weekend, when Jake comes home to a hero's welcome, Christina plans to break their engagement and declare her love for Ryan, while Jake plans to finally set their wedding date to deflect adverse publicity over a rape accusation. The scene is set. Only the details of the unfolding disaster remain unknown.

Author Jason Starr displays prodigious talent as he compounds the conflict in each scene, bringing the train wreck of a conclusion inexorably closer. A counterpoint to the main story is that of Saiquan, a young black man who's caught in a spiral of unemployment and bad friends, and whose trajectory will eventually intersect Jake's and Ryan's.

Starr gets the characters just right. His blue-collar people are disappointed by life, trying to get by, and weighed down by family. Jake is deliciously insufferable, a self-absorbed phony who's in love with fame. The characters all rationalize their actions and catch glimpses of the truth, but to them the truth is just one of many possibilities. Lights Out is a superb contemporary noir with a high body count and some truly funny scenes. The breathless curiosity it produces over what's going to happen next keeps the pages turning.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

Jake Thomas and Ryan Rosetti were high school baseball stars picked up by major league teams. Jake's fame soars, but Ryan was dropped after blowing out his elbow and now paints houses back home in Canarsie. He's also fallen in love with Christina, Jake's long-neglected fiancee. This weekend, when Jake comes home to a hero's welcome, Christina plans to break their engagement and declare her love for Ryan, while Jake plans to finally set their wedding date to deflect adverse publicity over a rape accusation. The scene is set. Only the details of the unfolding disaster remain unknown.

Author Jason Starr displays prodigious talent as he compounds the conflict in each scene, bringing the train wreck of a conclusion inexorably closer. A counterpoint to the main story is that of Saiquan, a young black man who's caught in a spiral of unemployment and bad friends, and whose trajectory will eventually intersect Jake's and Ryan's.

Starr gets the characters just right. His blue-collar people are disappointed by life, trying to get by, and weighed down by family. Jake is deliciously insufferable, a self-absorbed phony who's in love with fame. The characters all rationalize their actions and catch glimpses of the truth, but to them the truth is just one of many possibilities. Lights Out is a superb contemporary noir with a high body count and some truly funny scenes. The breathless curiosity it produces over what's going to happen next keeps the pages turning.

Little Faith
Mary Welk

Former child star Faith Copeland is a washed-up drug addict doing porn flicks to pay her debts. When she's found drowned in a bathtub, Austin Police Sergeant Dan Reles is handed the case. Evidence points to a man in Faith's apartment prior to her death, but Reles has few leads to go on and no support from his superiors.

Sergeant Cate Mora is looking for the missing son of a woman wrongly accused of selling drugs. Embarrassed by the false arrest, the police are dragging their feet on releasing Carla Ortiz. Cate's disgust with the department turns to anger when 13-year-old Rolando Ortiz is found murdered.

Reles and Mora are outcasts on a force ruled by the Family, a group of high-ranking officers who control promotions and cover up the actions of bad cops. Stymied by departmental politics and adrift in personal problems, the two join forces to investigate both crimes. Working together, they link both Faith and Rolando to a powerful Texas family whose influence on state politics is tainted by religious fervor.

Former Texas corrections officer Michael Simon takes a hard-hitting look at police corruption and its effect on honest cops in this multi-layered mystery. Rich in detail, the story contains strong sub-plots that explain the main characters while exposing the flaws of a political system ruled by business and religious interests. If half of what Simon writes is based on fact, this book is a chilling look at what justice shouldn't be.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

Former child star Faith Copeland is a washed-up drug addict doing porn flicks to pay her debts. When she's found drowned in a bathtub, Austin Police Sergeant Dan Reles is handed the case. Evidence points to a man in Faith's apartment prior to her death, but Reles has few leads to go on and no support from his superiors.

Sergeant Cate Mora is looking for the missing son of a woman wrongly accused of selling drugs. Embarrassed by the false arrest, the police are dragging their feet on releasing Carla Ortiz. Cate's disgust with the department turns to anger when 13-year-old Rolando Ortiz is found murdered.

Reles and Mora are outcasts on a force ruled by the Family, a group of high-ranking officers who control promotions and cover up the actions of bad cops. Stymied by departmental politics and adrift in personal problems, the two join forces to investigate both crimes. Working together, they link both Faith and Rolando to a powerful Texas family whose influence on state politics is tainted by religious fervor.

Former Texas corrections officer Michael Simon takes a hard-hitting look at police corruption and its effect on honest cops in this multi-layered mystery. Rich in detail, the story contains strong sub-plots that explain the main characters while exposing the flaws of a political system ruled by business and religious interests. If half of what Simon writes is based on fact, this book is a chilling look at what justice shouldn't be.

Lost Angel
Linda Piwowarczyk

After serving seven years on a false murder charge, former police investigator Nik Kane is released into the unlikely setting of a closed Christian community in rural Alaska. Faith Wright, the teenaged granddaughter of Moses Wright, the founder of the religious settlement of Rejoice, is missing. Is her disappearance one of choice, or is it the result of something more sinister? When the local trooper dismisses Faith's disappearance as being just another teenage runaway, Faith's father and Rejoice's elders hire Kane to find her. What he uncovers will shake the small community to its core.

Mike Doogan, popular columnist for the Anchorage Daily News</em?, has created a brooding protagonist and set him dramatically against a stark Alaskan backdrop in a classic plot. It works. Nik Kane is an underdog you're bound to bet on--sympathetic yet strong, down but defiant. Doogan's vividly descriptive writing style is salted with a dash of wry humor. The mystery is engaging, mixing the expected with the unexpected in its solution. This is Doogan's debut novel and the promising beginning of a new Alaskan mystery series.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

After serving seven years on a false murder charge, former police investigator Nik Kane is released into the unlikely setting of a closed Christian community in rural Alaska. Faith Wright, the teenaged granddaughter of Moses Wright, the founder of the religious settlement of Rejoice, is missing. Is her disappearance one of choice, or is it the result of something more sinister? When the local trooper dismisses Faith's disappearance as being just another teenage runaway, Faith's father and Rejoice's elders hire Kane to find her. What he uncovers will shake the small community to its core.

Mike Doogan, popular columnist for the Anchorage Daily News</em?, has created a brooding protagonist and set him dramatically against a stark Alaskan backdrop in a classic plot. It works. Nik Kane is an underdog you're bound to bet on--sympathetic yet strong, down but defiant. Doogan's vividly descriptive writing style is salted with a dash of wry humor. The mystery is engaging, mixing the expected with the unexpected in its solution. This is Doogan's debut novel and the promising beginning of a new Alaskan mystery series.

Mad Mouse
Hank Wagner

As Labor Day approaches, young Danny Boyle, a summer cop serving a Jersey shore community, is looking forward to the end of the hectic tourist season, and to a possible full time job with the Sea Haven, NJ police force. Although his summer started explosively, with rookie Boyle assisting veteran police officer John Ceepak in cracking a murder case (as detailed in Grabenstein's debut Tilt-A-Whirl), things have been relatively quiet since then. Quiet, that is, until someone starts shooting at Danny and his friends, first with paint balls, and later with real bullets. Apparently, the group of local twenty-somethings have rankled someone pretty badly; trouble is, they have no idea who. Could it be one of their own, or a complete stranger? Danny has to sift through his past in search of clues to the killer's identity, before someone close to him dies.

Thoroughly enjoyable, Mad Mouse is a nearly perfect read, one probably most appreciated by people familiar with the New Jersey shore and all of its colorful attractions. That's not to say that others won't enjoy Grabenstein's well wrought thriller, only that the experience is enhanced by having actually visited Danny Boyle's stomping grounds--Grabenstein does such a good job evoking the shore, you can practically smell the aroma of fast food wafting from the restaurants and the creosote they use to preserve the planks of the boardwalk. That he does such a great job with his varied cast, and in keeping readers rapidly flipping the pages, is a welcome bonus.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

As Labor Day approaches, young Danny Boyle, a summer cop serving a Jersey shore community, is looking forward to the end of the hectic tourist season, and to a possible full time job with the Sea Haven, NJ police force. Although his summer started explosively, with rookie Boyle assisting veteran police officer John Ceepak in cracking a murder case (as detailed in Grabenstein's debut Tilt-A-Whirl), things have been relatively quiet since then. Quiet, that is, until someone starts shooting at Danny and his friends, first with paint balls, and later with real bullets. Apparently, the group of local twenty-somethings have rankled someone pretty badly; trouble is, they have no idea who. Could it be one of their own, or a complete stranger? Danny has to sift through his past in search of clues to the killer's identity, before someone close to him dies.

Thoroughly enjoyable, Mad Mouse is a nearly perfect read, one probably most appreciated by people familiar with the New Jersey shore and all of its colorful attractions. That's not to say that others won't enjoy Grabenstein's well wrought thriller, only that the experience is enhanced by having actually visited Danny Boyle's stomping grounds--Grabenstein does such a good job evoking the shore, you can practically smell the aroma of fast food wafting from the restaurants and the creosote they use to preserve the planks of the boardwalk. That he does such a great job with his varied cast, and in keeping readers rapidly flipping the pages, is a welcome bonus.

Messenger of Truth
Jackie Acampora

Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, has been employed by journalist Georgina Bassington-Hope. Georgina wants to determine if her twin brother's fall from scaffolding while preparing for a gallery exhibition was an accident or something much worse. It seems his main piece--a triptych on a controversial subject--but no one knows where he kept it. Maisie is aided in the investigation by her assistant Billy Beale. Billy doesn't like Georgina or see any reason for someone to pay a lot of money for something that hangs on a wall when he doesn't have enough to pay for decent health care for his family.

We are in 1930s England, a country still reeling from the effects of World War I. Although the rigid class division so evident in the Victorian era has eased a little, it can still be felt, especially in the way money is spent. As Maisie and Billy search for the triptych and dig into the private lives of Georgina's family, they are forced to confront some truths--that the rich love their children, too; privilege doesn't mean happiness; love is a fragile thing.

This is not a happy ending sort of book, but if you enjoy excellent writing, interesting characterizations, and thinking about social issues that exist in our own time, I recommend it highly. Jacqueline Winspear really is a messenger of truth.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, has been employed by journalist Georgina Bassington-Hope. Georgina wants to determine if her twin brother's fall from scaffolding while preparing for a gallery exhibition was an accident or something much worse. It seems his main piece--a triptych on a controversial subject--but no one knows where he kept it. Maisie is aided in the investigation by her assistant Billy Beale. Billy doesn't like Georgina or see any reason for someone to pay a lot of money for something that hangs on a wall when he doesn't have enough to pay for decent health care for his family.

We are in 1930s England, a country still reeling from the effects of World War I. Although the rigid class division so evident in the Victorian era has eased a little, it can still be felt, especially in the way money is spent. As Maisie and Billy search for the triptych and dig into the private lives of Georgina's family, they are forced to confront some truths--that the rich love their children, too; privilege doesn't mean happiness; love is a fragile thing.

This is not a happy ending sort of book, but if you enjoy excellent writing, interesting characterizations, and thinking about social issues that exist in our own time, I recommend it highly. Jacqueline Winspear really is a messenger of truth.

Murder Passes the Buck
Sue Reider

Gertie Johnson is convinced that a local man has been murdered when he is found shot in his deer blind on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The local sheriff, Gertie's son Blaze, is just as sure the shooting is accidental. After receiving a threatening telephone call, Gertie sets out to prove him wrong.

The characters in the book are all--well--characters. Energetic and in good physical condition, Gertie runs a Christmas tree farm almost single-handedly. She is outspoken, unfashionable, unconventional, and proud of her eccentricities. Among other things, she has started driving without benefit of lessons or licensing and has also taken all her money from the local bank. These actions convince Blaze that she is losing her mind, while Gertie sees her actions as expressions of her independence. Blaze is going to court to be appointed her conservator in an attempt to gain control of the family property.

Gertie's best friend Cora is a beautician who knows almost everyone's business--and enjoys sharing it with others. She is always trying to make Gertie into a more stylish person, with hilarious results. Another friend, the vastly overweight Kitty, volunteers to be Gertie's bodyguard although she is usually too focused on food to notice much of what is happening around her.

With an unusual motive uncovered by some quirky and most enjoyable characters, this debut novel is a pleasure to read.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

Gertie Johnson is convinced that a local man has been murdered when he is found shot in his deer blind on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The local sheriff, Gertie's son Blaze, is just as sure the shooting is accidental. After receiving a threatening telephone call, Gertie sets out to prove him wrong.

The characters in the book are all--well--characters. Energetic and in good physical condition, Gertie runs a Christmas tree farm almost single-handedly. She is outspoken, unfashionable, unconventional, and proud of her eccentricities. Among other things, she has started driving without benefit of lessons or licensing and has also taken all her money from the local bank. These actions convince Blaze that she is losing her mind, while Gertie sees her actions as expressions of her independence. Blaze is going to court to be appointed her conservator in an attempt to gain control of the family property.

Gertie's best friend Cora is a beautician who knows almost everyone's business--and enjoys sharing it with others. She is always trying to make Gertie into a more stylish person, with hilarious results. Another friend, the vastly overweight Kitty, volunteers to be Gertie's bodyguard although she is usually too focused on food to notice much of what is happening around her.

With an unusual motive uncovered by some quirky and most enjoyable characters, this debut novel is a pleasure to read.

Never End
Derek Hill

It's been a rewarding time for fans of crime fiction hailing from Northern Europe, and this moody, character-driven mystery is no exception. A young woman is raped in a deserted Gothenburg public park; not long after another young woman is raped and strangled to death. Both crimes have an eerie similarity and Chief Inspector Erik Winter suspects that they may also be connected to an unsolved rape/murder incident in the same park years earlier. But if the new crimes are connected, why didn't the perpetrator kill the first girl? Then, a third woman is killed and Winter and his associates uncover a possible link between the victims that takes them into the sordid underbelly of the city's nightlife and possibly deeper. Unfortunately, Winter's obsession with the case propels him into a grim psychological state that not only endangers his own life, but that of his partner, and of his family.

This is the second book in the Erik Winter series to be published in this country and it rivals the very best. The prose is sparse, punchy yet finely detailed, and the characterizations are intimate and messy with the troubling yet bountiful ring of truth. It's also a commanding page-turner that will have you racing through it till the very last sentence. Who would have thought there was so much murder and mayhem in Scandinavia? And that so much of it would be so bloody good.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

It's been a rewarding time for fans of crime fiction hailing from Northern Europe, and this moody, character-driven mystery is no exception. A young woman is raped in a deserted Gothenburg public park; not long after another young woman is raped and strangled to death. Both crimes have an eerie similarity and Chief Inspector Erik Winter suspects that they may also be connected to an unsolved rape/murder incident in the same park years earlier. But if the new crimes are connected, why didn't the perpetrator kill the first girl? Then, a third woman is killed and Winter and his associates uncover a possible link between the victims that takes them into the sordid underbelly of the city's nightlife and possibly deeper. Unfortunately, Winter's obsession with the case propels him into a grim psychological state that not only endangers his own life, but that of his partner, and of his family.

This is the second book in the Erik Winter series to be published in this country and it rivals the very best. The prose is sparse, punchy yet finely detailed, and the characterizations are intimate and messy with the troubling yet bountiful ring of truth. It's also a commanding page-turner that will have you racing through it till the very last sentence. Who would have thought there was so much murder and mayhem in Scandinavia? And that so much of it would be so bloody good.

On, Off
Verna Suit

At a Connecticut neurological research center, body parts of a 16-year-old girl of mixed race are discovered in a lab waste disposal refrigerator. This beastly murder throws the center--nicknamed the Hug--into an uproar. The year is 1965 and the crime also enflames local racial tensions. Two months later, the stakes rise when a similar body is found. And then another. The killer's skill, technique, and pattern suggest he or she is a medical person conducting sex experiments in a cold, clinical way.

Police detective Carmine Delmonico doggedly tracks down every lead, hoping to catch the killer before the next murder. The staff interviews reveal that every one of the Hug's researchers--people with oversized egos who manipulate family and assistants--could be a suspect.

On, Off begins as a challenging read because of its extensive technical language, but it quickly becomes compelling as the reader enters the lives of the staff. The unfolding investigation affects everyone at the Hug, as well as Carmine himself, a sensitive man with refined tastes. The book is as much about relationships and families as it is about the search for a horrific killer.

Colleen McCullough is best known for her 1977 bestseller, The Thorn Birds. She is a masterful writer. Her foray into crime writing is an expert blending of red herrings and legitimate clues, character studies, and gripping suspense. You'll have a hard time putting it down.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

At a Connecticut neurological research center, body parts of a 16-year-old girl of mixed race are discovered in a lab waste disposal refrigerator. This beastly murder throws the center--nicknamed the Hug--into an uproar. The year is 1965 and the crime also enflames local racial tensions. Two months later, the stakes rise when a similar body is found. And then another. The killer's skill, technique, and pattern suggest he or she is a medical person conducting sex experiments in a cold, clinical way.

Police detective Carmine Delmonico doggedly tracks down every lead, hoping to catch the killer before the next murder. The staff interviews reveal that every one of the Hug's researchers--people with oversized egos who manipulate family and assistants--could be a suspect.

On, Off begins as a challenging read because of its extensive technical language, but it quickly becomes compelling as the reader enters the lives of the staff. The unfolding investigation affects everyone at the Hug, as well as Carmine himself, a sensitive man with refined tastes. The book is as much about relationships and families as it is about the search for a horrific killer.

Colleen McCullough is best known for her 1977 bestseller, The Thorn Birds. She is a masterful writer. Her foray into crime writing is an expert blending of red herrings and legitimate clues, character studies, and gripping suspense. You'll have a hard time putting it down.

One Man and His Bomb
Joseph Scarpato Jr.

This is H.R.F. Keating's sixth British police procedural featuring Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens, and it's his most unusual. Martens learns that a terrorist bomb has killed one of her twin sons and seriously wounded the other. At almost the same time, she's asked to investigate the theft from a local agricultural lab of a toxic weed killer that could possibly destroy all plant life on the planet.

Despite her own devastating loss, and as a way to cope with it, Martens directs all her energies into discovering who took the small sample that was supposed to have been destroyed, and how they intend to use it. As her investigation begins, the theft seems to be an inside job, yet no one seems to have a motive for it. Is the toxic herbicide in the hands of an Al Quaeda-type organization or home-grown eco-terrorists?

In the hands of a consummate pro like Keating, who has also written more than 20 Indian Inspector Ghote mysteries, the story, which unfortunately could have been "ripped from the headlines" of almost any country in the world today, moves quickly to an exciting conclusion.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

This is H.R.F. Keating's sixth British police procedural featuring Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens, and it's his most unusual. Martens learns that a terrorist bomb has killed one of her twin sons and seriously wounded the other. At almost the same time, she's asked to investigate the theft from a local agricultural lab of a toxic weed killer that could possibly destroy all plant life on the planet.

Despite her own devastating loss, and as a way to cope with it, Martens directs all her energies into discovering who took the small sample that was supposed to have been destroyed, and how they intend to use it. As her investigation begins, the theft seems to be an inside job, yet no one seems to have a motive for it. Is the toxic herbicide in the hands of an Al Quaeda-type organization or home-grown eco-terrorists?

In the hands of a consummate pro like Keating, who has also written more than 20 Indian Inspector Ghote mysteries, the story, which unfortunately could have been "ripped from the headlines" of almost any country in the world today, moves quickly to an exciting conclusion.

Out Cold
Jeff Siegel

How enjoyable are William Tapply's Brady Coyne books? So enjoyable that even if you don't like fishing--and Coyne is obsessed with it--they're still a pleasure to read, to watch a professional go through his paces with skill and intelligence.

In this, the 22nd novel featuring the Boston attorney and semi-pro sleuth, Coyne lets his dog out the back door one morning and finds a young teenager buried in the previous night's snow. How did she get there? Why was she looking for Coyne? And what was she doing with his address on a slip of paper in her pocket? The trail takes the attorney through Boston's homeless community, where someone seems to be killing people just after Coyne asks them about the missing girl. It also involves his girlfriend Evie Banyon, a hospital administrator who knew the young girl at her previous job. Tapply moves the plot along deftly, giving the reader a chance to appreciate what's going on without any of the pyrotechnics so many authors seem to prefer.

Super User
2010-04-24 21:00:06

How enjoyable are William Tapply's Brady Coyne books? So enjoyable that even if you don't like fishing--and Coyne is obsessed with it--they're still a pleasure to read, to watch a professional go through his paces with skill and intelligence.

In this, the 22nd novel featuring the Boston attorney and semi-pro sleuth, Coyne lets his dog out the back door one morning and finds a young teenager buried in the previous night's snow. How did she get there? Why was she looking for Coyne? And what was she doing with his address on a slip of paper in her pocket? The trail takes the attorney through Boston's homeless community, where someone seems to be killing people just after Coyne asks them about the missing girl. It also involves his girlfriend Evie Banyon, a hospital administrator who knew the young girl at her previous job. Tapply moves the plot along deftly, giving the reader a chance to appreciate what's going on without any of the pyrotechnics so many authors seem to prefer.