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MBR Bookwatch

Volume 6, Number 8 August 2007 Home | MBW Index

Table of Contents

Cowper's Bookshelf Dunford's Bookshelf Kaveny's Bookshelf

Klausner's Bookshelf Laurel's Bookshelf Shelley's Bookshelf

Shirley's Bookshelf Taylor's Bookshelf Vicki's Bookshelf

Vogel's Bookshelf

Cowper's Bookshelf
Mushrooms, Molds, and Miracles
Lucy Kavaler
iUniverse, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
9780595436798, $22.95 www.iuniverse.com

First published in 1965, Mushrooms, Molds, and Miracles is a classic text exploring the true stories behind the fungi kingdom, from the potato blight that ravaged Ireland to the hallucinogenic properties of the LSD mushroom to the bread mold that produced penicillin and the truffle prized as a delicacy. Written in a conversational style accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Mushrooms, Molds, and Miracles in an amazing tour de force of the spore-filled wonders. Enthusiastically recommended for anyone even the least bit curious about these unobtrusive life forms.

He's Not Autistic But...
Tenna Merchent, M.H.
Joyous Messenger, Inc.
c/o Cate Cummings Publicity
7601 East 93rd St., Kansas City, MO 64138
9781933697000, $15.95 www.joyousmessenger.com

He's Not Autistic But... is the true-life story of mother Tenna Merchent and her struggles with recurring illnesses in her son Clay. Though seemingly born healthy, at six weeks old Clay cried for hours if not constantly nursed, he frequently became seriously ill, and at two years old he could only say a few words and was prone to bang his head for no apparent reason, among other symptoms. Some of his symptoms resembled those of autistic spectrum disorder; as a further complication, Merchent also became chronically ill. Frustration and failure in the search a cure for herself and her son drove her from traditional medicine to alternative care. At last she discovered a master herbalist who worked a virtual miracle by revealing that aluminum poisoning was a primary cause of ill health for her and her son. Common sources of aluminum in an American diet include aluminum cans, aluminum and non-stick cookware, anti-caking agent in table sugar and salt (sea salt is better), baking powder, antiperspirant, emulsifiers in some processed cheese, a bleaching agent used to whiten flour, vaccines, antacids, and others. By eliminating such products from her own and her son's daily diet and routine, Merchent prompted a remarkable change for the better. Other uncovered problems, such as numerous allergies to miscellaneous substances and parasitic infections, were also treated more effectively by changing diet and lifestyle patterns and homeopathic remedies. Though He's Not Autistic But... recognizes there is a time, a place, and a need for traditional medicine, and also acknowledges the need for some vaccines, chapters reveal how sometimes the best medicine of all is simply to take good care of oneself and be pinpoint cautious concerning which substances go into or on one's body - whether food, personal care items, or vaccinations. Highly recommended.

Take Time to See Through Children's Eyes
Harvest Resources
PO Box 22106, Seattle, WA 98122-0106
CD-Rom, $40.00 www.ecetrainers.com

Take Time to See Through Children's Eyes is the computer software companion to the book "The Language of Art: Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood" and the DVD "To See Takes Time: Growing Curriculum form Children's Theories". Designed to educate young people, Take Time to See Through Children's eyes encourages viewers to explore the life of a leaf with a group of pre-school children, and listen to the children's theory-making about why leaves change color in the fall. Though there are occasional references to God reflecting spiritual traditions of the children, Take Time to See Through Children's Eyes is primarily about learning to keep an open mind and search for scientific truth. The children's explorations through discussion, debate, graphic and sculptural representations and their relationships with their families and one another are deftly narrated in a soothing female voice, to text and gorgeous color photographs as the CD-ROM plays. An excellent educational tool for teaching young people how to carefully think and learn.

Son of the Star
Janice Dietert
Lulu Press
860 Aviation Parkway, Suite 300, Morrisville, NC 27560
9780615143415, $25.62 www.lulu.com

Writing and literature teacher Janice Dietert presents Son of the Star, an operatic science fiction novel set on Earth and the planet Quentas. Exiled extra-terrestrial Michael Stellan must confront the secrets of his past and his origin, supported by his guardian and mentor Will Shepherdson. and the earth woman he loves, Jan. His quest to find the crucial elements to return home and set his world on its proper path is beset by treachery, intrigue, and power-mongering. A sweeping, epic tale of a royal family's struggle to retake their rightful throne and rebuild society in the wake of enslavement, highly recommended.

Mary Cowper
Reviewer

Dunford's Bookshelf
The Golf Gods
Robert Brown, author
Roger Schillerstrom, illustrator
Ann Arbor Media Group
2500 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
9781587264511, $24.95 www.AnnArborMediaGroup.com 1-877-722-2264

Avid golfer Robert Brown presents The Golf Gods: Who Are They, What They Want & How to Appease Them, an amusing book for golf players everywhere who are willing to acknowledge a bit of divine influence in the curve of their slice, the hunger of the sand trap, or the veer of a critical putt. Chapters cover a diverse, original pantheon of golf gods, from Sarah Winston, goddess of beginning women golfers, to Minerv, golf god of dishonor. Written with tongue-in-cheek humor, and illustrated with amusing drawings by award-winning editorial cartoonist for "GolfWeek Magazine" Roger Schillerstrom, The Golf Gods is an excellent giftbook for any avid golfer who appreciates quick wit.

Jade Phoenix
Syd Goldsmith
iUniverse, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
PO Box 46-195, Taipei, Taiwan 10499
9780595375493, $19.95 www.iuniverse.com

Diplomat and New Voices in Literature Award finalist Syd Goldsmith presents Jade Phoenix, a novel set in America and Taiwan during the turbulent 1970s. Taiwanese millionaire Ko-sa Ong and his best friend Nick Malter have a long history together, cemented by their mutual hatred of Chiang Kai-shek and the American Secretary of State who steadfastly denies to recognize Taiwan as a country. Yet their bond for each other becomes brittle in the presence of the beautiful woman Jade Phoenix. A passionate novel of culture in turmoil, loyalties put to the test, and love so strong it transcends the limits of life itself, Jade Phoenix entrances and compels the reader up to the final page.

The Vagabond Healer
James R. Olson
Publish America
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1424169380, $19.95 www.booksbyolson.com www.publishamerica.com

The Vagabond Healer is a thoughtful novel about a young vagabond with a unique spiritual gift - the power to cure sickness through his touch. Yet when he taps into his power, he gains a momentary glimpse of the depths of his subject's soul, including their deepest secrets and fears. When he meets Lisa Bennet, he discovers a reason to stop running, yet her father Ernest Bennett has received Eddy's healing and is aware that Eddy knows of the darkness in his past. To protect his secrets, Ernest decides to eliminate Eddy, and anyone else who may know. At times contemplative of divine mystery, at times crushing in its exploration of human ruthlessness, The Vagabond Healer is an unforgettable read cover to cover.

Clifford
D. A. McCall
Trafford Publishing
2333 Government Street, Suite 6E, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8T 4P4
9781425115364, $17.75 www.trafford.com 1-888-232-4444

Absolutely not to be confused with the children's picturebook series featuring a big red dog, Clifford is a gritty novel about teenage life without direction or guidance. When the unfettered Floyd and Marsha encounter the homeless Clifford on a road trip, they offer him a ride. Fortunately, they have not invited a psychotic murderer to join them; unfortunately, their own aimless bordering on self-destructive tendencies just might have a comparable effect of their lives. Clifford finds himself increasingly intrigued by Marsha and her utter lack of inhibition, and is gratified to be permitted to stay at her home... yet adjusting to a new way of life with a woman who isn't exactly stable has its own set of challenges, leading up to a potentially life-changing party. Clifford is not a novel that moralizes or preaches; rather, its themes provoke the reader to draw conclusions for himself or herself about whether those on the margins of society are capable of finding inroads back into their graces - or whether they should even want to.

Michael Dunford
Reviewer

Kaveny's Bookshelf
Hi folks. I am back with again this month with Kaveny's Bookshelf. It's about a guilty pleasure which I don't feel the least bit guilty about. To explain what I meant by a guilty pleasure, I turn to one of the greatest minds in the 20th Century, C.S. Lewis, as he presents the concept in the [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] version of

The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis, author
John Clese, narrator
Audio Literature
ISBN 094499315X $24.95 www.amazon.com

read by the wonderful English actor of Monty Python fame John Clese.

The Screwtape Letters was originally made as a series of World War II wartime radio broadcasts for the BBC. It was written and read by C.S Lewis sixty-five years ago, in 1942, when London, and to an extent Oxford, experienced the horror of the Nazi Blitz. The Screwtape Letters is a dramatized and fictionalized correspondence between the senior demon (uncle Screwtape), and his apprentice demon nephew (Wormwood). Wormwood is in the process of leaning how to snare souls for their father below. In the letters, Screwtape issues instructions, in the form of a series of letters, which Wormwood mostly fails to carry out. Yet under it all The Screwtape Letters address the deepest foundational questions of religious studies and modern and postmodern philosophy, two fields which I have devoted my lifetime to study.

The reason this is true is that great philosophical questions need the language of an artist to articulate them in human terms. Sadly much of what I study is written with an almost anti-human coldness, lacking Lewis' warmth, humanity and artistry.

Perhaps one of the best aspects of The Screwtape Letters is that Lewis encourages us to not feel so horrible about our little guiltily, modest, human pleasures. Further, we should not necessarily feel despair about what we are as opposed to what we think we should be. By extension despair itself is not ever a guilty pleasure but in fact kills the soul. Many years ago there was a French movie by that title, but I won't go there.

However, this month's Kaveny's Bookshelf is not about my lifetime of study. Rather it is about the confluence of a number of my guilty pleasures which led me to buy three brand new books at retail price. It all started with National and Wisconsin Public Radio, both of which I listen to while I go about my morning and afternoon business as a public sphere intellectual, hitting the coffee house circuit here in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in our cream, air-conditioned, 2004 PT Cruiser -- of course with the air conditioner running.

Excuse me if I break out of character for a moment as a public sphere intellectual and mention for all you aging motor heads that our cream, air-conditioned, 2004 PT Cruiser can do 0 to 60 MPH in less than eleven seconds. This means it performs quite a bit like the small block 1955-1956 Chevy V8 265 and 283. If you don't know what I am talking about, here don't even ask. If you do, then you really miss your 1955 Chevy, and the America it symbolized.

As a result of three shows I listened to on Wisconsin or National Public Radio I have purchased three books for review brand new, directly from Amazon.com. I would add that this is a really big deal for me. It is such a big deal that it has astounded my wife that I would buy anything retail – since I won't even buy socks that way. And the books are: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (Crown 2007); The World without Us (St. Martins, 2007) and IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea (Wiley, 2007), but more about those later.

I would add that over the last thirty years I have owned and operated a small and not very profitable book business. Throughout those three decades I have always held as an article of my faith that I never buy books retail. Rather, I get them wholesale from a distributor or as review copies from a publisher. However, I seem to have undergone some sort of religious conversion which allows me to go against my values and actually buy new books retail. I guess it is because these public radio, author interview, talk shows make some of them so interesting that I had to order them from Amazon and have them in two days so that I can be part of the conversation I was listening to, in our cream, air-conditioned, 2004 PT Cruiser -- with the air conditioner running.

The way that I am part of the conversation is that because I am retired I can drive to a number of different coffee house venues in Eau Claire and start reading the books I just bought. Since I am a semi-public figure up here in this neck of the woods other customers often engage me and ask me about what I am reading. As I explain to them about the book and why I parted with my hard earned retirement earnings, and even went against thirty years of business practice, their eyes sort of light up, if they are the right kind of people.

You might ask aren't you being a bit elitist by talking about the right kind of people? Yes I would answer if you think as I do that the right kind of person is one who would rather miss dinner than not buy a really interesting non-fiction book. Okay if you are a Harry Potter fan the same thing goes for you too. However, as my Journalist father Edward T. Kaveny 1898-1985 said, "There is no accounting for taste."

On the other hand I have rather well healed friends, who, if they wished, could almost fill their large houses with books. However they never do buy books. As a matter of fact they usually tell me almost angrily that the will wait and get the book I am reading for free from their library, but they don't. I know, remember, I am a bookseller—and yes I do feel superior to people who can but don't buy books, and I feel superior to myself not too many months ago.

But enough about me and on to the three books I ordered from Amazon after each of the Public Radio author interviews I listened to.

Let's start with the July16, 2007 Wisconsin Public Radio 8: 00 AM morning show with Joy Cardin interviewing: Joe Bageant, author of:

Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War
Joe Bageant
Crown
9780307339362 $25.00 288 pages

What was it about that interview which actually made me decide to give up two very nice lunches at The Grand Café here in Eau Claire for two days of "I will just have coffee and a bagel please?"

Well, to make it simple, Joe Bageant has written a book about the people from his home town, Winchester, Virginia. He writes about his people, the white working poor, who vote Republican even though the Republican's care nothing about them. It is about families where both partners work full time at horrible jobs and make less than $35,000, have no heath insurance and think they are middle class.

Further, Joe Bageant argues that these folks are his people and have almost a three hundred year history in this country. They are Scots-Irish "Border Scots," and they have been in this country since before the revolution. Their wives would be qualified to join the D.A.R (The Daughters of the American Revolution), if they were not working double shifts to hang onto their trailer homes, and avoid Medical Bankruptcy, and maybe a few extra hours picking up a shift washing dishes at the country club.

Joe Bageant is about sixty, and from the photo on the dust jacket of his book and his website, he looks like a horse that has been ridden hard and put away wet. He has worked as a journalist and he is one of them. They are the people who have been forgotten by the Democratic Party. These are the folks that are pro-gun, anti-choice, anti-immigration, and have lost what ever hope of decent manufacturing job as all the decent, manufacturing jobs have hemorrhaged offshore. These are the uneducated Americans, mostly white, who are doing the jobs, like working in a rendering plant, or slaughter house, right next to illegal immigrants. They are doing the jobs that a lot of liberals claim Americans won't do. They are working right next to illegal immigrants doing the same kind of work for the same money.

Joe Bageant points out that these are the people who do not choose between food and books, as I have so cavalierly done. They must choose between food, medicine, house payments and bankruptcy, eviction, and homelessness. That is to say they are white, small town, blue collar, red state, Republicans. He argues that the case for his home town Winchester, Virginia, is also they case for the rest of small town working class America. From my standpoint it also looks a lot more like Eau Claire than anybody who works in a profession or for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire would care to admit.

Joe Bageant stands out, as he would put it, because of the historical accident of L.B.J.'s "War on Poverty", and "The Great Society". Without those programs and the education they got him Joe Bageant would simply be one of them, working for $ 9.00 hour at the Rubber Maid plant. No, he is one of them but with a voice as subtle and articulate as Noam Chomsky. Joe Bageant speaks for those who have no voice. So what is to happen to his people? Read his book and find out. I would add one last thing. It is a very funny book and Joe Bageant is a very literate man who loves and is one of the people he writes about.

The second book I ordered was featured on the July16, 2007 Wisconsin Public Radio show "Here on Earth" hosted by twenty-five veteran of Wisconsin Public Radio, Jean Feraca, as she interviewed Alan Weisman, the author of:

The World Without Us
Alan Weisman
Thomas Dunne Books
St Martin Press
9780312347291 $24.95 320 pages

The show itself was one of the best produced radio shows I have listened to in my life. That's saying something because I am sixty-three years old and have been listening to Wisconsin Public Radio since before I could read, and long before it was Wisconsin Public Radio. Time and space do not permit to a very close reading of the book. I will leave that to the reader.

However, what Alan Weisman does is help us to envision what the world will look like after humans are no longer a part of it by taking the work of world-expert scientists and weaving it into his nineteen-chapter topical narrative. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of his book is his describing how things will break down as in Chapter Three "The City Without Us". Here he really shows us how much effort it takes for example to keep the New York subways from flooding, which would in fact lead, in not too many centuries, to the great buildings collapsing in on them like some kind of concrete forest.

What I liked best about the book is that it was human in its approach even when it is dealing with a world without humans. This is because Alan Weisman introduces us to the experts in the areas he is working on. For example in Chapter Six "The Lost Menagerie," he describes the background of Dr. Paul Martin who for the last half century has been working on the Blitzkrieg Theory of large mammal extinction. This theory (which I first read about in Scientific American thirty years ago), attributes the disappearance of all of the extremely large New World mammals of North and South America to systematic human hunting. This took place after humans came across the land bridge that existed at the end of the last ice age. What Alan Weisman does really is put a human face on the abstract science and ecology which is really one of the most coldly methodical of any of the life sciences. I will close by saying that I thought the book would have difficulty living up to the movie "An Inconvenient Truth," but it did and I am delighted. He does the kind of science writing which is both informed accessible, and articulate.

The last book I bought is

IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea
Stephen Murdoch
Wiley
9780471699774 $24.95 288 pages

which I heard about on the June 21, 2007 edition of the NPR program "On Point" hosted by Tom Ashbrook

Upon finishing Murdoch's Smart History of a Failed Idea I was amazed at how much of our 20th century life was shaped by a kind of grim and at the same time almost irrational necessity. A grim and irrational necessity grounded in a kind of dark fear about the menace that some policy makers and people who hide behind a veil of cold hard enlightenment rationalism to exclude with IQs below a certain level from full participation in, and full responsibilities to, both American and European society. Stephen Murdoch is a journalist who has done his historical pick and shovel work which should make him the envy of any publication or instructional historian.

Stephen Murdoch is not against the concept of testing as an assessment tool, as a matter of fact he feels in some ways that it is the best of a number of very bad systems that preceded it. Perhaps the most compelling statement he made in A Smart History of a Failed Idea, both in the book and during the interview with Tom Ashbrook was something to this effect:

"It amazing to me how many lifetime, high-stakes outcomes are based on such faulty and archaic instruments as the IQ test."

Perhaps best thing about Stephen Murdoch is his tone which is highly interested, and at the same time laid back. He finds it just so interesting that so such many of today's IQ tests are still based on a number of decisions that a hand full of men made in a smoky little hotel room in New Jersey right before America entered WW I, in the spring of 1917. These decisions, in light of our 21st century understanding, seem ludicrous at best, and monstrously discriminating at worse.

Well folks that's all for this month's Kaveny's Bookshelf. I hope I a least encouraged you to be part of the conversation. A conversation which I will take up again tomorrow morning. I will be doing this after I drop my wife of at work, which is The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Jan is head of Library collections, a full professor teaching Women's Studies, and upper level English courses. When Jan has time she contributes to Midwest Book Review as its international editor.

One last thing. I just forked over thirty-eight bucks and some change to fill the twelve gallon gas tank in or cream, air-conditioned, 2004 PT Cruiser which it turns out gets about 13 miles per gallon in the city with the air-conditioner running. So it looks like for the rest of the month its going to be:

"Just coffee and a bagel please."

Guilty little pleasures may be harmless, but they are not free. They do have price tags. I wonder if I will get in trouble at the Acoustic Café here in Eau Clare if I bring in my own cream cheese, in order to stretch that retirement income which is now going up in smoke as it goes out our tailpipe. By the way, in 1956 a buck's worth of gas was three gallons and that took you a long way in a 1955 Chevy.

Philip Kaveny
Senior Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf
Life Blood
Penny Rudolph
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
9781590583463 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

Rachel Chavez lives over the downtown Los Angeles parking garage she owns. Rachel becomes upset when she finds two young Mexican children locked inside a van parked in her garage.

Stunned, she gets the kids out of the vehicle and rushes them to Jefferson Hospital. However, she is informed one died while the other one who is badly dehydrated clings to life and will remain at the hospital. The next day, Rachel returns to Jefferson to see how the survivor is doing only to learn there is no record of either child. While the hospital administration wants Rachel to leave, the shocked woman ignores them and begins a search for the still living child who has vanished somewhere in the endless corridors of Jefferson.

The latest "blood" suspense thriller (see THICKER THAN BLOOD) is an entertaining tale as Rachel and two of her buds search the labyrinth known as Jefferson Hospital in search of the missing surviving child. The story line is fast-paced although somewhat seemingly implausible as the trio of females run across other nefarious secrets hidden by the hospital as if the quest itself is not enough to fill the story line. Still fans will care for Rachel and her cohorts to rescue the child, but they wonder form what.

Damned
Lisa Childs
Silhouette Nocturne
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
9780373617692 $5.25

She lives on the street using drugs and alcohol as substances to block out the voices of the sisters that she is not sure are real and the mother who was killed as a witch. She hides from the murderer who is looking for her who intends for her to die in order to absorb her power. These are not part of Irina's psychosis. She, Ariel, and Elena are witches who see the dead and witness the future.

Donovan Rourke searches for Irina because he wants her charm before he kills her. However, she does not recall where she left it. Ariel and Elena seek to reunite with her so that together they can hunt their stalking killer. Their friend suspended police officer Ty McIntyre finds Irina and guards her as she lacks her charm; he learns he does not have to be abusive like his father as Irina brings out his best qualities, which is good because a confrontation is coming and they need peace within themselves if they want to eliminate the enemy.

DAMNED is an exciting urban romantic fantasy that will appeal to readers of both genres. This bewitching tale centers on two downtrodden people who find each other at a time when each has a personal crisis although in Irina's case hers is deadly. There is plenty of action as Donovan tries to kill Irina while Ty tries to keep her safe. The changing relationship between Irina and Ty enhance an exhilarating thriller in which love might not prove strong enough to defeat evil.

Familiar Stranger
Michele Hauf
Silhouette Nocturne
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
9780373617685 $5.25

When he was a child, Jack Harris received a glass gazing ball filled with magic; next he saw a cat turn into a pregnant woman who was about to be killed by a demon. Finally he threw the ball at the demon saving the woman.

Twenty-four years later he works in M-15. Recently a demon murdered his partner; Jack stopped believing demons existed years ago; now he knows first hand the truth. He is recruited by P-Cell, a division of M-15, to kill demons. While on a hunt, he meets Mersey Banes, a demon hunter too. However, unlike Jack she incarcerates them instead of slaying them as her organization, the Cadre, wants to know what and why this species is crossing into the human plane. They agree about many things, but neither wants to admit how much they care about the other although Jack feels queasy when he learns Mercy is a familiar, a bridge that enables the demons to enter our world and can shapeshift into a cat. One demon has dark plans for Jack and Mercy; however, each of his chosen ones is willing to give up eternity for the other to live.

This superb romantic urban fantasy will remind readers of a paranormal modernization of the "Gift of the Magi" as the lead couple is ready to sacrifice what they hold dear so that the other lives. Michele Hauf has an inventive take on demons in which some are good and others are evil. There are many interesting characters who should have their own story, but FAMILIAR STRANGER is owned by the lead couple.

In Between
Jenny B. Jones
Think (Navpress)
PO Box 35001, Colorado Springs, CO 80935
9781600060984 $12.99 www.navpress.com 1-800-366-7788

Sixteen years old Katie understands that she is an orphan of sorts as she has never met her dead beat dad and now her mom is a guest of the State of Texas; for that matter Katie is also a guest of the Lone Star State as she is a ward of the Texas government living in the apropos named Sunny Haven Home for Girls until she was dumped on some foster parents in aptly named In Between, Texas.

Her foster parents James and Millie Scott treat her nicely, but Katie has an issue with them. She needs to know their motive for taking someone like her into their home especially since his full name is senior Pastor James of the In Between Community Church. However, she refuses to ask as she knows from the whispered warnings of her bunk mates at Sunny Haven that she will not stay here very long; the foster home system stores undesirables for short times. However, as Katie works on fulfilling the prophecy, the Scotts continue to nurture her as if she is an angel not a devil. Katie begins to accept the shocker that they genuinely care about her while the Scots realize that their ward is teaching them about life amongst the forgotten downtrodden.

This often amusing, but always poignant contemporary tale makes a strong case that it takes dedicated caring villagers to raise a child. The cast is strong as readers will empathize with Katie's understanding of her world as defined by her throwaway peers and the need for the Scotts to help her. The support characters enhance this fine story as the audience along with these secondary players and the Scotts learn how a foster child follows the money while doing the parenting shuffle.

True Light
Terri Blackstock
Zondervan Publishing House
5300 Patterson Avenue, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530
9780310257691 $14.99 www.zondervan.com 1-800-727-1309

In May a supernova started emitting electromagnetic pulses which reached earth and shorted out everything electrical. In one day, mankind was thrust back into a pre electrical age. Housing developments like OakHollow banded together trading goods and services in an effort to survive and eventually the federal government conscripted mechanics, electricians, and scientists to create by hand radiation hardened material.

Evil still exists as is evidenced by the shooting of Zach Emory. The people of OakHollow blame Mark Green because his father was a convicted murderer and his brothers were also involved with pornography, stolen goods and murder. Two teens testified that Mark was in the area where Zach was shot even though he claims he was closer to town in another hunting area. He is arrested but during a jail break guards are killed and the sheriff critically wounded. Mark doesn't go with the escapees but is released. He wants to prove his innocence and with the love of his life Deni Branning, a relentless reporter, they attempt to do just that although and the killers are closer than they know to them.

This is the third Restoration novel and this is the best book in the series to date. Each novel is built upon the previous one so the readers get to see the event, and the progress man makes in coping with it, but it also behooves the audience to read the previous thrillers (see LAST LIGHT and NIGHT LIGHT). Readers ascertain the practical necessity is the mother of invention treatise as how new ideas find practical uses in a society used to electricity and the luxuries that came with it. The great mystery enhances a fine tale as Terri Blackstock slowly reveals each clue so that readers feel they have a chance of finding out who the shooter is before the lead duo might identify the culprit.

Something Bad
Richard Satterlie
Medallion Press, Inc.
1020 Cedar Lane, No. 2N, St. Charles, IL 60174
9781933836133 $6.99 www.medallionpress.com

In 1982 in Boyston, Tri County, preadolescent Gabe Petersen enjoys stopping at the Catholic Church to confess to Father Costello although the lad is Lutheran. However, this time he witnesses a strange little man pulling out dead animals from a bag and placing them at the alter while Father stands nearby in a daze. Thibideaux notices Gabe; his Organization will not allow him to directly kill an innocent especially a child so he insures the kid forgets everything he observes.

In 2007, Thibideaux returns to the Tri-county area with rumors he is investigating the region for a possible interstate connector. When weird accidental deaths of families begin to occur with one under five years old survivor in each incident, Gabe begins to think Thibideaux is behind this somehow and starts to remember what happened twenty-five years ago. To obtain the truth and defeat the little man, he must travel outside the tri-County to Chicago to see catatonic Father Costello but Gabe has never been able to leave the area as he suffers horrific panic attacks. When the threat turns towards pregnant Deena Lee, Gabe knows he must overcome all his "phobias" for he will not allow anyone to harm the woman he loves.

SOMETHING BAD has come back to Boyston is an enticing thriller that will have the audience pondering how Thibideaux accomplishes his deeds and just who is the Organization that does not allow direct murder, but accepts indirect homicides. The story line is fast-paced with fascinating subplots like Gabe's attraction to the married pregnant Deena Lee and the trio investigating Thibideaux. Although the Organization is not explained much beyond some field rules for its "recruiters", fans will appreciate Richard Satterlie's entertaining suspense filled tale.

Romancing the West
Beth Ciotta
Medallion Press, Inc.
1020 Cedar Lane, No. 2N, St. Charles, IL 60174
9781932815924 $6.99 www.medallionpress.com

In 1878 in California, librarian Emily McBride lives a double life as a prim and proper preacher's daughter and as the author of somewhat heated romantic adventures. However, she is somewhat ashamed that she loves writing these tales. That is until someone apparently knows about her clandestine vocation and threatens to expose her. Emily worries how her parents, especially her father will react and even worse, her new friend, a literary poet, who would find her novels distasteful

President Hayes established his top secret pet project The Peacemaker Alliance (PMA) to bring law and order to the Wild West. PMA Acting Director Athens Garrett hires lawman Seth Wright to enforce the law by bringing outlaws to justice. However he is stunned and a bit chagrined when his boss assigns him to deliver his proposal to Emily in Napa Valley, and when she accepts bring her to him so he can marry her. Still Seth does the job only to find the bride thinks he is a poet and confesses to him that she is doing some illicit activity. Seth wants to escape this obvious staid lunatic until he finds suitors hounding her. He goes undercover as a dandy poet to insure Emily is safe but also to not ruin her reputation because he is falling in love with the book nut.

ROMANCING THE WEST is an entertaining late nineteenth century romance starring two likable seemingly opposites and an eccentric support cast. Emily is a terrific character whose "steamy" novels embarrass her yet she enjoys writing them; those books showcase how far society has changed with the modern day romance novels. Seth is a courageous soul who throughout wonders if becoming a PMA agent is his thing as first the bride escort assignment, then undercover as a poet, and finally falling in love with an author. Fans will enjoy his courtship.

Secrets 20
Amber Green, Dominique Sinclair, Leigh Wyndfield, Charlotte Featherstone
Red Sage
9781603100007 $12.99

"The Subject" by Amber Green. Game designer Tyler was on the verge of making millions, but instead she is on the run with someone wanting her dead. The mysterious shapeshifting Esau seems to show up every time she needs him, but can she trust him with her heart and her life?

"A Woman's Pleasure," by Charlotte Featherstone. Victorian Lady Isabelle has always done what society expects of someone of her station. Now that she given birth to the heir and the spare, she wants freedom. When she meets half-breed outcast Julian, Isabelle thinks he is too young for her and perhaps too exotic with his Turkish heritage, but on the other hand perhaps a taste of him would do no harm.

"Surrender" by Dominique Sinclair. Department of International Crime undercover Agent Madeline investigates Sebastian and the other Maioccos family members. However, she finds a need to go under the cover with Sebastian who makes her forget her mission with his kisses.

"Stasis" by Leigh Wyndfield. Morgan finds her commanding officer Osborn under the influence of the drug stasis that turns people into living statues for about ten days. Morgan plans to take care of her C.O. especially keeping him clean.

Usually this reviewer dislikes mixing of genres, but Secrets seems to do this successfully as evident by the range from paranormal shape shifting to sci fi to Victorian historical to suspense. All have in common strong protagonists and delightful story lines that are fun, exciting, and hot as the tradition of excellence continues with the twentieth edition.

Secrets Vol 19
Elisa Adams, Kathleen Scott, R. Ellen Ferare & Saskia Walker
Red Sage
978075451694 $12.99

"Affliction" by Elise Adams. Shane asks Holly what does his friend Andrew offer her that he does not. She says stability and safety; he says boredom as he begins to understand she fears the fantasies he brings out in her without revealing his most inner secret though the attacks on her make that difficult.

"Falling Stars" by Kathleen Scott. Primon Kingdom needs the alliance so they send Daria as a royal daughter to marry General Kristiano Raven. She does her duty but fears will never live up to his previous betrothal her late sister Lessia. He hides how much he desires Daria and even pretends indifference until a threat endangers both worlds.

"Toys in the Attic" by E. Ellen Ferare. Her friend Rachel asks Gabrielle to check out a vacation place in Santa Cruz for her. She does and asks for the special attic as Rachel told her to do. The place is dumpy and the rain makes it worse except for the naked statue that comes to life, Gavin the cursed hunk who gives her the best orgasm of her life.

These four speculative romances run the gamut from supernatural to fantasy to sci fi to time travel with each containing strong erotic story lines and powerful fully developed lead couples. Fans will appreciate the latest SECRETS anthology as these novellas make for an entertaining read.

Design Flaws of the Human Condition
Paul Schmidtberger
Broadway Books
1745 Broadway, New York, NY, 10036
9780767926751 $12.95 www.broadwaybooks.com 1-800-726-0600

During an overcrowded plane flight, an incident sends Iris Steegers into a berserker rage. She is ordered to attend an anger management seminar or face stronger consequences. Upset over her behavior especially how easily she fell apart though somewhat justified, Iris also thinks her boyfriend Jeremy Eberle is cheating on her.

Proofreader Ken Connelly is fired from his job at a law firm; he comes home early despondent only to find his lover Brett Manikin in bed with another man. Angry, he defaces library books with comments about Brett, but is caught. He must attend an anger management class.

Ken and Iris sit next to one another at the anger management class hosted at Manhattan's West Side Y. They become friends and agree to conduct undercover surveillance of their respective lovers as she expects he will affirm that Jeremy has a side squeeze and he anticipates that she will prove that Brett is depressed but still a cheat.

This illogical and slightly flawed but entertaining contemporary drama digs deep into what is happiness and friendship and how they are key elements in a relationship. The two prime protagonists and their lovers come across as genuine people even when they perform over the top espionage. Lighthearted with a touch of hyperbole, DESIGN FLAWS OF THE HUMAN CONDITION provides readers with an amusing look at how we get along.

Firefly Island
Daniel Arenson
Five Star Books
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594146015 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

In Stonefort, King Sinther lives underground where he is using his magic to turn his skin to stone so knives and arrows can't harm him. Also living in Stonefort is six year old Aeolia, dearly loved by her eleven year old brother Joren. Both are horrified when their drunken father sells her to an ogre as a slave; she is taken to his home in the Beastlands. A decade passes and she is still a slave when Prince Lale of Stonefort comes to her because she is the Firechild who can not only link minds with someone but also link senses.

Sinther fears her which is why his son wants her dead because she is the only one who can kill his father. She escapes and meets Talin, who has a killing grudge against Lale but agrees to accompany her. She escapes to the Forestfolk where they meet Taya also a Firefly but can change into any shape she wishes. She and a group of warrior shifters agree to help them catch Lale but a cruel betrayal causes them to be captured. Aeolia and Talin escape and after much travel and adventuring learn the truth about her; she must fulfill her role if there is to be peace to the island and its fire kingdoms.

Readers who like a sword and sorcery fantasy will find FIREFLY ISLAND a fascinating and enthralling story. Several characters' stories run concurrently and the audience will understand what motivates all of them and yet it is easy to follow. Aeolia is the catalyst who makes thinks happen and others react to her and her power. Compared to her Talin is a gentle soul, who loves his 'Lia' and follows her wherever she must go.

Outlaw Hearts
Diane Amos
Five Star Books
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594145704 $26.95 1-800-223-1244

In England Bekah Benson has possessed half of medallion that once belonged to her missionary parents who worked amidst the Abenaki tribe in Maine. In 1868, the now twenty-four years old Bekah believes that the entire medallion will lead to a treasure so she crosses the Atlantic seeking the other half.

In Londonderry, New Hampshire, Bekah meets the other half as the medallion resides around the neck of gambler Zachariah Thompson. However, there is a slight problem as Zachariah is sentenced to be hanged for killing a man. He swears to her he is innocent and will giver the medallion if she gets him out of jail. Bekah agrees and to his amazement succeeds albeit with some urchin assistance. Instead of just leaving her with his half as he promised, Zachariah joins Bekah on her quest, but the naive American and the cynical card player learn what the greatest treasure of all is, love.

Although most readers will have difficulty accepting any relationship between the lead couple as she is gentle and law abiding while he is a consummate con artist convicted of murder. Still fans will enjoy their teaming up as they search for a lost treasure that might not exist. Reconstruction Era romance readers will appreciate this fun tale filled with an interesting twist as Bekah and Zachariah learn what a treasure truly is.

The Landlord's Black-Eyed Daughter
Mary Ellen Dennis
Five Star Books
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594145759 $26.95 1-800-223-1244

In 1787 "Knights of the Road" highwayman John Randolph "Rand" Remington and gothic romance writer Elizabeth Wyndham meet in London for what both believes is the first time, but each swears they met before, but not know where or when. Rand wonders if somehow they are fated for another, but fears he offers Elizabeth nothing but heartache even as he begins to think the when is in a previous lifetime back in the thirteenth century.

Elizabeth realizes that before she met Rand, the hero of her latest romance is a morphed version of him who was a genuine thirteenth century knight who died in combat. She has problems understanding how either came to her let alone how they consolidated.. Meanwhile, Lord Walter Stafford demands Elizabeth accept his suit; instead she picks Rand. Outraged by the affront an abashed Stafford insures the pair end up in Newgate awaiting the hanging of Rand to the humiliation of Elizabeth.

This entertaining Georgian romance stars a post American Revolution Robin Hood with an author who seems as if she time traveled from the twenty-first century, which she did not. Still the story line is fast-paced and filled with an interesting seemingly reincarnation twist that freshens up the tale. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this delightful tale as history appears ready to repeat itself for this star-crossed couple unless she writes the most passionate pleading words of her life to persuade King George to pardon her Rand.

Lucinda's Summer Vacation
Elizabeth Fackler
Five Star Books
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594145506 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

Lucinda drives up to Salado, New Mexico to be with her lover Devon before her daughter Amy joins them. They live in separate homes because Devon is a fugitive, having committed murder and she doesn't feel that a lasting commitment between them is possible even though she loves him dearly. Often making love, Devon steps out of the house at 3:00 a.m. to see his neighbor widow Natalie Wieland; but when he gets there, he finds her dead body brutally slashed.

Lucinda wakes up and through her tears realize Devon and Natalie were lovers. She can't complain because neither promised the other exclusivity. When Amy hears what happened, she comes up to lend her support and discovers that the chief of police thinks that all of them could have committed the killing. Lucinda's motive was jealous; Amy's was protecting her mother; while Devon was afraid Natalie would tell Lucinda about their affair. Devon inserts herself into the murder investigation to clear his name and discovers that Natalie had to have other lovers including the sheriff and her brother in law, but struggles with a better motive than those pinned on him and his female guests.

This romantic suspense tale is full of action and interesting sub-plots that gives the reader other likely suspects, who had viable motives but the investigation centers on figuring out who had the incentive to kill. Lucinda is brave woman to love a fugitive knowing she will eventually lose him and her daughter is an amazing person who can accept what he did and love him. Readers will admire Elizabeth Fackler's ability to tell a credible sleuth story.

The Accidental Sleuth
Helen Macie Osterman
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594145810 $25.50 1-800-223-1244

Sixty year old Emma Winberry has been living in her town condominium for the last four months after selling her home and she has never been happier. Nate Sandler adores Emma even if he isn't quite sure he believes in her sixth sense and her Guardian Angel. When new neighbors move in next door, she meets Laura Evans a frightened woman and teenage anorexic looking Teresa who is devoted to her aunt. The husband is rarely seen but Emma gets the impression he is a brute who abuses the women in his life. She fears that something that will happen to Teresa and it does.

Something horrific happens to Emma when she is mistakenly snatched by two thugs who leave her tied up in an old apartment house to die. She breaks free of her bonds with the help of her Gardian Angel and a homeless man who is living in the abandoned building saves her. Jake persuades Minnie to come forward to give back what she took from a man that was killed. While helping Minnie and Jake, the homeless man who found and helped her get medical attention after she escaped from the kidnappers, she finds herself in danger from hoodlums seeking her neighbors; Emma vows to keep them safe even if it means carrying a gun.

Emma is strong, independent and willing to help others. This makes her the perfect role model for women to emulate. Although there is no blood and gore and the murder happens before the book begins, this is a delightful sometimes humorous cozy. The secondary characters of Minnie and Jake, two homeless but not helpless people are as important as the heroine because they enhance the plot with depth especially enabling the audience to better understand what motivates Emma.

Ghosttown
Mercedes Lambert
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594145889 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

Los Angeles attorney Whitney Logan has allowed her need for alcohol to dull her constant depression and somewhat derail her professional career. Still she tries to do her best by her clients. However, her latest, court-appointed client for her to defend, Tony Red Wolf, is so churlish, Whitney would like to find him another attorney even if he is handsome.

She gets him out of jail on bail, but that same night he asks her to meet him. Reluctantly she does only to have Tony show her the battered bludgeoned corpse of a girlfriend of his; he swears he did not kill her. Although she has doubts about his plea of innocence and deeper trepidation whether she can handle a homicide defense, which in turns spirals her dark personal feelings to even greater levels, Logan begins making inquiries into the L.A. based Native American culture.

The depressing Whitney is a refreshing protagonist as her dark world is very vividly described yet interwoven throughout this exciting legal thriller. The story line is fast-paced, filled with twists and provides insight into the Native American community living in Los Angeles, but as with Logan's two previous tales (see SOULTOWN and DOGTOWN), the tale is owned by the tough yet vulnerable heroine. In an opening appreciation by Michael Connolly, readers learn that Mercedes Lambert was the pseudonym of Douglas Anne Munson who passed away in 2003; her urban noir legal thrillers pay homage to her skills and it is so fitting that the final sentence to this superb novel is "Farewell my lovely".

Death Under the Dryer
Simon Brett
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
9781594146312 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

In Fethering, England Carole Seddon decides she needs a bit cut off from her hair so she enters Connie's Clip Joint in spite of her trepidations about allowing a local to come near her ears with a scissor. However, she takes a chance because Carole just wants a bit of a snip not a change in her style. To her regret, she finds the corpse of clip joint employee Kyra strangled by a garrote in the salon's back room with evidence that a sexual encounter occurred also.

Thus the Littlehampton police station major crime detectives assume Kyra's kept secret boyfriend (until now), Nathan killed her. Carole assumes that the cops she met are boobs so they need her London based Home office expert assistance on the investigation. She and her reluctant partner Jude make inquiries that annoy the local police as she keeps interfering with their inquiry.

The police procedural is well written and cleverly designed as is the private investigation by Carole and Jude. However, what makes Simon Brett's whodunit so much fun is the amusing dysfunctional relationship between the haughty know it all Carole and the Fethering locals. Twelve championship rounds later Carole has been snipped, nipped and dipped so that she has become localized. Fans will appreciate the latest Fethering caper (see THE BODY ON THE BEACH and THE STABBING IN THE STABLES).

A Shred of Truth
Eric Wilson
WaterBrook Press
c/o Random House Trade Group Publicity
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9781578569120 $13.99 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

In Nashville, Aramis Black has come a long way from his "Live By The Sword, Die By The World" lifestyle. He found God when divine intervention is the only reason he still lives. Now he runs and espresso shop and lives with his half-brother rising country singer Johnny Ray.

At a gala to celebrate Johnny Ray's hit single "Trying to Do the Right Thing", Aramis searches for his sibling; he finds him tied to the statue Musica in nearby Owen Bradley park with the initials AX carved into his back. Later Aramis receives an email from AX to meet in Cheekwood Gardens; thinking an eye for an eye he goes there only to find his former lover during the dark days of Portland Felicia Daly there. The case takes several spins with deaths and a return from the grave that keep reminding Aramis of his sins that he thought he had faced, but now knows he has more to confess.

The sequel to the exhilarating THE BEST OF EVIL is an exciting action-packed thriller that stars an atypical Christian antihero who turns to the Lord for solace, but his gun for protecting those he cherish as he follows the unbelievable clues seeking A SHRED OF TRUTH. The story line is fast-paced and beyond the plausibility zone, but no one will care as the various subplots come together in an entertaining no holds barred climax. Eric Wilson provides a unique Christian thriller due to the one of a kind star.

DragonFire
Donita K. Paul
WaterBrook Press
c/o Random House Trade Group Publicity
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9781400072514 $13.99 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

Married couple Kale Allerion and Sir Bardon resides in the Bogs where they know first hand how difficult it is to keep cretins out. However, they are euphoric because they think they have found a cure for their meech dragon friend, Gilda. Both assume a short jaunt is all it will take on their part although that means going outside the Bogs into the Amara countryside.

When they do they find the easy trek to be a nightmare. In Amara, wizards are at war with one another with the greater Amaran populace being collateral damage. Kale and Bardon try to rouse the people and hatch dragons for a counter attack, but the will to fight back is lacking especially with their leader Paladin ailing and incapable of leading the armies. Worse the pair realizes that the evil Pretender probably realizes the time for a coup is now.

Fans of Donita K. Paul's DragonKeeper series (see DRAGONSPELL, DRAGONQUEST, and DRAGONKNIGHT) will enjoy the latest entry as old friends return during a crisis that threatens their world. The story line is action-packed, but refreshingly different as perspectives rotate between the lead now married couple; thus differing capers occur or at times when Kale and Bardon are together the same event surfaces but seems somewhat dissimilar. Kale especially grows in this tale as she plays a predominant role. Complex with many supporting characters enhancing the plot, Ms. Paul's audience will appreciate her latest tale in what is proving to be one of the better enduring sagas.

Notes From a Spinning Planet: Mexico
Melody Carlson
WaterBrook Press
c/o Random House Trade Group Publicity
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9781400071463 $12.99 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

Aunt Sid decides that Washington is too cold in the winter so she and her teenage niece Maddie Chase leave for fun in the sun of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. However, both women are a bit disappointed with timeshare lodging, but agree not to let that spoil their vacation.

The two females turn euphoric when Sid's friend Ian and Maddie's unrequited love Ryan McIntire arrive from Ireland to join them. However also in town is Ryan's high school girlfriend Shelby Wagner, who may be an alcoholic, but he seems attracted to her; disappointing Maddie.

This is a different emotional spin from the previous two tales (see Papua New Guinea and Ireland), but still emphasizes a world filled with crisis. This time around the traveling female relatives run into the ugly side of excess middle class teen drinking that compares unfavorably against an impoverished soul trying to make it to what others take for granted. Although Melody Carlson hammers her message re the sins of drinking, young adult readers will appreciate the efforts of Maddie's new Mexican friend Francesca Tarrago struggling to leave poverty behind.

Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand
Fred Vargas
The Penguin Press
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780143112167 $14.00 www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

Police Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg and several of his Paris Serious Crime Squad members are going to frozen Quebec for a course on using DNA technology. However Adamsberg is preoccupied with a recent newspaper account reporting the stabbing death of a woman with three cuts; the case reminds him of eight previous homicides spread across France between 1949 and 1983; all solved with eight culprits including Adamsburg's brother caught. Still the prime suspect in the mind of Adamsberg's gut for all eight remains his childhood crony Judge Fulgence, who died a few years ago. However he ponders how the serial killer returned from the grave to commit the latest homicide. Adamsberg discuses the murders with other cops, but all point out the obvious to him that Fulgence is dead.

The trainees arrive in Quebec where, in spite of the cold weather, Adamsberg walks and talks to himself for miles; on his trek he meets an eccentric French woman with whom he shares a tryst. Soon afterward, he learns the woman was stabbed to death and he is the prime suspect. He knows the late Judge followed him to Canada and killed her, but how to prove a dead man committed murder while the DNA affirms Adamsberg was with the victim.

Readers and some police cronies will wonder if Adamsberg has finally gone over the edge as he feels some guilt over the woman's death, but also wonders if he did the crime because he blacked out just like others before him when they were accused of murders dating back to 1949. His peers want to believe in him, but blaming a dead man is hard to accept as rationale thinking especially with family connection. Readers will enjoy Adamsburg's later caper as he assumes that his arch enemy the devilish Fulgence somehow always escapes, but this time has set up the Commissaire as the latest culprit.

By the Rivers of Babylon
Cindy Brown Austin
Strebor (Atria)
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9781593091170 $15.00 www.simonsays.com

With a long term strategy to control drug trafficking in the slum Wards that the major Japanese firms would admire, Lincoln "Linc" Duvall began his ascent up the street corporate company as a runner. Over time he proved effective and efficient even at murder; his superiors kept promoting him. His understanding of supply and demand ultimately led to his becoming his own boss of the Third Ward trafficking with people running and selling under his direction.

The Heartford Chronicle assigns Christian reporter Gabriella "Gabby" Sinclaire to write the story about evil Linc. Although Gabby is engaged to church-attending overly protective Trevis "Trev" Cooper, she and Linc fall in love. However Linc abandoned God for the devil's trade while she remains strong in her belief that all sinners, even killers like him, can find redemption. Will he turn her away from the Lord; will she escort him back to the Lord; or as most likely will occur their relationship die when each rejects the other's opposite pole.

Though conceptually (and legally) difficult to accept the premise that a formerly cold blooded killer can be redeemed if he or she finds God, BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON is a deep contemporary fiction driven by the lead protagonists. To a degree the strong support cast augments the contrast between Linc and Gabriella as opposite vortexes of the religious diameter. The urban setting adds to this deep modern day inspirational thriller as the audience wonders the final outcome between the drug king and the religious reporter.

A Dangerous Return
Rique Johnson
Strebor (Atria)
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9781593090432 $14.00 www.simonsays.com

His beloved Sasha (see LOVE AND JUSTICE) won the lotto enabling Virginia City, Nevada Police Detective Jason Jerrard to retire young and at a time the department leadership and the mayor is irate with their top sleuth. He feels even more fortunate that he re-fell in love with Monique (see WHISPERS FROM A TROUBLED HEART) since Sasha died. They go on a Caribbean vacation leisurely stopping in Aruba, Barbados, Saint Thomas, Bermuda and Puerto Rico.

When they come home to Virginia City, an enigmatic threatening note awaits them. Someone informs Jason that this is "Act 1- The Introduction- we're coming for you"; he knows he must wait for the rest of the play to unfold as he as nothing to act on.

Widower Captain Frank North meets Daiquiri Drinks and for the first time since his wife died, he goes off with a woman. However, she drugs him and with the help of her lover Poncho, places him in his car. When he awakens he turns on the ignition and his vehicle explodes. Frank is dead. Unable to stay out as Frank was his friend as well as his boss, Jason comes out of retirement retuning to the force so that he can officially investigate over the objection of Monique. As their relationship is in danger of ending, Jason begins to uncover ties to the highest state offices not yet realizing the peril he places Monique in.

This is an exciting police procedural in which Jason feels compelled to make A DANGEROUS RETURN to the force although that most likely this will end his loving relationship with Monique. The story line is fast-paced once Jason opens the first act letter and never slows down until the five act tragedy is played out. Although the hero's relationships with women will remind readers of Virginia City's Ben Cartwright, Rique Johnson provides the sub-genre audience with an absorbing whodunit.

Malice
Robert K. Tanenbaum
Atria
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9780743271196 $26.95 www.simonsays.com

At Beth Israel Hospital, New York District Attorney Butch Karp recovers from a gun shot wound inflicted by rival prosecutor Rachel Rachman. His wife Marlene Ciampi saved his life when she killed the assassin.

While Karp heals, he has too much time to think. He is proud of his sundry family members who thwarted a plot by late mayoral candidate Andrew Kane and al Qaeda operatives (see COUNTERPLAY). He knows Kane is dead and that scheme stopped, but someone had to provide information to the terrorist. That person would have to be at the highest levels of American government physical security circle, but who betrayed his country remains just outside Karp's radar scope. Once released he plans to continue his investigation into the leak while Ciampi is in Idaho doing her part to tie up loose ends with an apparent related disappearance of a college student.

COUNTERPLAY was way over the top, but MALICE is over Mt. Everest as plausibility vanishes on page one and never returns. Even Ciampi recognizes how far over the edge the story line soars commenting about killing cartel machines to hide secrets. Although best to read COUNTERPLAY first as references to that tale abound in this directly related sequel, series fans will enjoy the escapades of Karp, Ciampi and daughter Lucy as they complete the anti-terrorist sweep started in their previous adventure.

The First Commandment
Brad Thor
Atria
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9781416543794 $25.95 www.simonsays.com

President Jack Rutledge authorizes a deal with terrorists. Although the American government leaders always insist they will never negotiate with terrorists even for the release of hostages, he secretly releases five hardcore known terrorists locked away at Guantomino as part of a deal to protect at risk children. In fairness his advisors told them they can keep this quintet under control with monitoring of the isotope they put in the blood of these killers.

The President's advisors missed another slammed dunk when they lose sight of the fearsome five. Just under six months later, an assassin shoots Homeland Security agent Scot Harvath's girlfriend Tracy Hastings (see TAKEDOWN), leaving her comatose and he furious as isotopic blood is found at the crime scene. Soon afterward, his mother is attacked by locusts and some friends of Harvath murdered. He knows someone is coming for him, through his loved ones. Harvath begins to make inquiries, but is told to stay out of it. Even before these incidents he knew the leadership saw him as an expendable renegade so he ignores the order to take no action against the person methodically destroying his loved ones.

TAKEDOWN is an exciting action-packed frightening thriller; THE FIRST COMMANDMENT is as exhilarating and action-packed, but even more frightening as the plausibility of the plot will not be questioned. Harvath is at his anguished best in this often violent tale as he is ordered to do nothing although his counter terrorist instincts are screaming to go on the offense. The return of several characters from previous books enhances the feel of the long term concept of the war against terrorism as Brad Thor raises the adrenalin with this terrific thriller.

Someone to Love
Jude Deveraux
Atria
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9780743437165 $25.95 www.simonsays.com

In 2002 Jace Montgomery traveled to England on business; his fiancee, Stacy Evans joined him. However, they got into an argument and she walked out on him. He completed his work expecting both will cool down. Instead he learns that she committed suicide; her family insisted he caused it as she feared breaking off from him, a martinet.

Three years later, a still distraught Jace finds a note asking for a rendezvous the day before she died with a photo of Priory House in Margate, England. Jace needs the truth so he persuades his wealthy uncle to lend him the money to buy the ugly looking Priory House as Stacy killed herself in Margate. He keeps calm when he meets the ghost of Ann Stuart, who lived at Priory House there in the 1870s and committed suicide just before her wedding. He does not stay calm when he meets local reporter Nightingale "Nigh" Smythe, who joins him in his quest to find out what happened to Stacy and Ann, whom thinks was murdered just like he believes his fiancee was too.

Two romances enhance this delightful paranormal romantic suspense. The fast-paced story line grips the reader from the moment Jace encounters Ann and never slows down until the final explosive climax. Jude Deveraux provides sub-genre fans with a fabulous tale due to a strong cast of characters, living and dead.

The Lost
Michelle Hancock
Midnight Ink
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
9780738710365 $13.95 www.midnightinkbooks.com 1-800-843-6666

In December 2004, ninety-five years old Aldo Cecilio dies from cancer; his daughter Pia inherits his vast estate including his Cecilio Museum of Art and Antiquities in New Paltz, New York. Among his papers is an ancient document written in a language that Pia has no idea what it might be. She visits Columbia University where she seeks to meet brilliant ancient language graduate student Guy Coffee Daniels. She asks him to translate her father's apparent Dead Sea scroll.

What Coffee translates crushes his spirit as the document is the gospel by Jesus. In it the Son of God claims to be actually the Devil's disciple. Unable to cope, Coffee becomes a homeless street person carrying a sign John 13.16 instead of the usual 3.16 as this fallen student knows now "the population wants to be deceived, so let them be deceived" for deception is the root of evil. Pia searches for the lost Coffee and her scroll not realizing that he fears revealing the truth because devout believers like her would handle the great con worse than a cynic like him who became a street person once he learned the meaning of the word.

Readers will be hooked by the underlying premise of THE LOST and wonder how Pia will react if she catches up to Coffee and gets him to reveal what he learned that sent him into a mental tailspin. The story line is fast-paced although it contains some well written "required" action scenes that add suspense but also takes the audience away from the powerful thought provoking philosophical issues. Michelle Hancock's tale is stupendous when the plot coaxes the audience to a paradigm switching pondering of the plausibility whether Jesus and company pulled off the greatest hoax in history and if true how the faithful and the non-believers would react.

Silence
Thomas Perry
Harcourt Books
15 East 26th Street, 15th floor, New York, NY 10010
9780151012893 $25.00 www.harcourtbooks.com 1-800-543-1918

Six years ago, when he was still a detective working for LAPD, Jack Till mentored restaurateur Wendy Harper in the art of disappearing with a new identity before adversaries could kill her. Everyone who knew Wendy assumed she was murdered; most believed her boyfriend and Banque Restaurant business partner at the time Eric Fuller killed her as he gained the most with her death. No evidence could prove he committed a homicide until now. Someone has set up an elaborate scheme to frame Eric with Wendy's murder.

Jack is hired to track down Wendy and to persuade her to make an appearance that would exonerate her former boyfriend. At the same time, Jack knows that there remain people who want her dead; he thinks they framed Eric to force Wendy to surface. He especially is concerned with tango-dancing couple Paul and Sylvie Turner, professional hit persons hired to kill Wendy, but they have an ax to grind with their client for exposing them as assassins rather than dancers.

Most mystery readers will agree that the latest work from award winning Thomas Perry will be on the short list of the genre's best novels of 2007. Jack is terrific as he must follow a trail left by his "student" while also not leading the killers to her. Exciting and never slowing down until the final dance step, fans will read this terrific gourmet tale in one delightful sitting.

The Indian Bride
Karin Fossum
Harcourt
9780151011827 $23.00

The corpse of a battered woman is found near the town of Elvestad, Norway. Police Inspector Konrad Sejer is assigned to lead the investigation. The body is identified as Poona Jomann of India, the wife of tractor salesman Gunder, who just married the victim. Coincidently, an auto accident involving Gunder's sister kept him from meeting his new bride at the airport; thus Poona was traveling by herself to their home.

Because of the degree of the battering, Sejer assumes a crime of passion of some sort happened so he concentrates on the townsfolk seeking a motive. He quickly learns that everyone who knows the fiftyish Gunder was stunned when he suddenly married as he was considered a lifetime bachelor by one and all. Still none of the residents accept that one of them is the killer as they prefer a random incident. However, Sejer begins to uncover potential suspects amongst the 2347 residents; a few who might have a motive to commit such a horrific deed.

THE INDIAN BRIDE is an excellent Norwegian police procedural that combines a great investigation with a vivid look at a small somewhat insular Norwegian village. The story line is fast-paced, but also enables the audience to understand life in Elvestad and how much an outsider the former Mumbai, India resident would have been if she lived. Karin Fossin provides a great whodunit that will lead readers to seek other translations of Inspector Sejer mysteries (see WHEN THE DEVIL HOLDS THE CANDLE).

The Potluck Club Takes the Cake
Linda Evans Shepherd, Eva Marie Everson
Revell
9780800730741 $12.99

In Summitt View, Colorado, the Potluck Club members continue to share their friendship with food. However, change is in the Rocky Mountain air. Evangeline is getting married soon. Lisa continues with her "Tea for Two" matchmaking tricks. Deputy Sheriff Donna seems to have a possible suspect, make that beau (could a kiss be in the works?). Vonnie has family woes, but so does Lizzie. Finally Goldie and her spouse Jack have an avalanche of trouble to deal with. As relationships falter due to secrets finally revealed that test each Potluck member, yet love is everywhere.

More a series of vignettes that rotate perspective amongst the prime sextet, the third Potluck Club tale is a fun story that ties up many of the loose threads from the previous works. The cast once again in spite of its size comes across as next door neighbors. Each of their woes seems genuine though that makes it a bit difficult to follow even as the separate strands ultimately tie back together like a six layered DNA helix. Fans of the Potluck Club saga will enjoy appreciate Linda Evans Shepherd & Eva Marie Everson's fine character driven drama while newcomers will be better suited first reading the back list.

Slummy Mummy
Fiona Neill
Riverhead
c/o The Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9781594489440 $24.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

After giving birth, Lucy Sweeney quits her job as a TV news producer to stay home to raise their child Sam. Her anally oriented "Husband on a Short Fuse" Tom supports her decision to be a stay at home mommy.

When Lucy made that decision nine years ago with the support of Tom, she did not have all the facts as the family oriented crowd glamorize raising a kid with a stay at home mummy make that mommy. She was unprepared for the chaos and the mess as no process she undertakes meets the mommy standard operating procedure metrics when it comes to her infant timing or when it comes to her infant eating and excrement tendencies. Once Sam was in school she thought she could regain part of her lost life, but his timing and his eating and excrement habits are still atrocious and she remains the centerfold for chaos theory. Now she also wonders about her two best friends; one is seeing a married man with four children while the other is balancing two hunks. Meanwhile as her spouse avoids domestic non-tranquility, she considers respites with the domesticated dad next door.

SLUMMY MUMMY is a funny anecdotal look at motherhood starring a beleaguered person who believes she is a prisoner of war. Lucy's humorous observations will have readers agreeing with her. However, at times she flashes back to those first volunteer days of yore when she gave up being Lucy Sweeney to become a mummy mommy held hostage by a preadolescent; this can prove disjointing yet the audience will appreciate this zany look at Dads and Moms.

Heaven's Net Is Wide
Lian Hearn
Riverhead
9781594489532 $26.95

Otori Shigeru is the young heir to the powerful ruthless Otori clan. Yet in spite of growing up in an authoritarian pyramidal hierarchy, he understands that greater Japanese society and especially his clan venerate loyalty.

However, his lessons were also tempered as an adolescent when he observed how dishonorable some behaved; seditious backstabbing by his uncles and an assault from the Iida family to gain power. The culmination occurs when his uncles' perfidy and the Iida betrayal lead to the deaths of thousands of Otori warriors at Yaeahara and the eradication of his family. He lives, but is heir to nothing as the Otori clan was exterminated. Although those who murdered his family want him dead so he symbolizes nothing, Shigeru survives with an inner fortitude made stronger with what he saw enhanced by a desire for retribution. He turns to his former mentor warrior-monk Matsuda Shingen for guidance and patience, and meets Lady Maruyama who keeps him human and more as she knows what he is going through as the Tohan destroyed much of what she held sacred. However, the hope for retribution might begin in a mountainous village …

The fifth Tales of the Otori is a brilliant novel that brings the beginning and the end to this great saga of Medieval Japan. The story line is a superb historical fantasy as the audience learns much of how Otori got to where he ends. Fans of the series will fully appreciate this great finish that is also the beginning as HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE completes this non-linear epic saga with a sweeping winner.

One Step Over The Border
Stephen Bly
Center, Street (Hatchette)
9781599956893 $12.99

In 1996 in Wyoming, Laramie Majors follows directions provided to him by his roping mentor Dwight Purley to meet another student Hap Bowman so they can team up as cowboys. Instead of a quiet discussion, Laramie arrives only to have Hap running from a cabin; inside is which a woman throwing things at him. She switches her target to the innocent Laramie. He later learns that when Hap was twelve he fell in love with the daughter of a one time customer of his father. Since that time he has dedicated his life over the last decade seeking out his Juanita with the "silhouette of a petite horse's head under the right ear".

Ten years later, Hap and Laramie remain partners still searching for the right Juanita. They cause an international border incident in Mexico and face other troubles in which they accidentally perform heroic deeds with good intentions but not always good results. Laramie falls in love with widow Anamarie Buchet while Hap falls for Rosa Rodriguez Tryor. Whereas Laramie knows who he wants, Hap still obsesses that Rosa is not Juanita so is not for him.

Stephen Bly provides a wonderful amusing modern day western sidekick romance starring two likable cowboys on a romantic quest, but whose code of ethics (especially Laramie's) leads to one problem after another. The story line is character driven from the insane opening gamut until the final twisted climax. Readers will never look at the Rio Grande the same way as the buddies learn rustling on either side of the border is unhealthy. In summary, a rose is a rose is a rose except she's not Juanita.

A Deeper Blue
John Ringo
Baen Books
PO Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
9781416521280 $26.00 1-800-223-2336

In the Caucasian Mountains, the Keldara Kildar Mike Harmon mourns the deaths of so many of his warriors, but it is the demise of his lover Gretchen Mahona, a warrior as good as any under his command, that huts the most. The Keldara war lord and former US Navy SEAL decides no more for his adopted people who have been very helpful in the war on terrorism.

Mike refuses to risk one more of his warriors even when the American president begs him track down nerve gas heading to Florida. However, he allows some of his subordinates to volunteer. When they are ambushed including a close friend, Mike decides he has had enough with the terrorists who care nothing about innocent lives. He vows to kill every jihad member and anyone supporting tem. His Keldara warriors will follow their Kildar leader into hell if need be, but they hope instead they can pull him back before he goes over the edge of insanity, destroying what is left of his humanity.

The key to the latest Keldara thriller (see GHOST, KILDAR, CHOOSERS OF THE SLAIN and UNTO THE BREACH) is the anguish and grief suffered by Mike. As the Ghost Kildar war lord he struggles with the deaths of his loyal courageous warriors especially the woman he loved and begins to question their role in the Global war on Terrorism. Readers will feel the hero's anguish, pain and doubts as John Ringo provides his strongest tale to date with his champion suffering from A DEEPER BLUE depression yet begins to swing from withdrawal to the suicidal manic need for vengeance. This is a great saga from a master.

Miles, Mutants, and Microbes
Lois McMaster Bujold
Baen
9781416521419 $18.00

"Falling Free". Engineer Leo Graf is sent to Cay Habitat, where bio-engineering led to "Quaddie" children having four arms and no legs to perform in a zero gravity environment. His job is to train these Quaddies in welding in space. However, new technology and a bottom line mentality leave the Quaddies expendable unless Leo intervenes.

"Labyrinth". Over two centuries after Leo's mission, Miles Vorkosigan goes undercover as Dendarii Mercenary Admiral Naismith to escort a genetic research scientist defecting from his current employer on the lawless planet Jackson's Whole. However, instead of completing his secret mission successfully, his pick up refuses to leave without taking his experimental samples with him. However, to obtain them Miles must kill an eight-foot tall bio-engineered killing machine that has the other "species" buried inside his calf. The new corporate owner of the giant learns of Miles' quest leaving the outsider needing help that he receives from enigmatic Bel Thorne and Quaddie musician Nicol.

"Diplomatic Immunity". Imperial auditor Miles Vorkosigan and his wife Ekaterin enjoy their belated intergalactic honeymoon until the ship's Tau Cetan captain informs them that a Barrayaran Imperial Courier has an official sealed data disc for him. Emperor Gregor Vorbarra wants Miles to investigate a murder involving an impoundment of a Komarran trader ship on Graf Station in remote "Quaddiespace".

These well written reprints of three Quaddie tales provide readers with exciting cautionary science fiction thrillers in which Lois McMaster Bujold warns her audience to insure sconce does not cross an ethical line with bioengineering throwaway people. Exciting especially the Miles' saga, Quaddie fans will enjoy this omnibus edition.

North River
Pete Hamill
Little, Brown & Company
c/o Hachette Book Group USA
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780316340588 $25.00 www.hbgusa.com 1-800-759-0190

In the 1930s Dr. James Delaney lives in Greenwich Village still suffering from battle fatigue syndrome as a medico during WWI. His life has recently been further shattered by the disappearance of his wife and their daughter Grace leaving for Mexico. Grace left behind her toddler Carlito so he hires illegal alien Sicilian Rose to care for his grandson.

Meanwhile he provides medical treatment to his indigent neighbors; many of whom cannot pay him in cash so he accepts whatever they can remit including meals or in some cases just a thank you. When he saves the life of gangster friend Eddie Corso, another hood Frankie Botts makes it clear that the general practitioner made a big error. Delaney knows Botts cannot threaten him directly, but can hurt him through Carlito and Rose, the two people who have made him feel human again. On top of that the FBI demands he hand over Grace, who he has not been seen or heard from since she dumped her son on him. Soon life will become even more complex for James with a family reunion.

NORTH RIVER is a terrific historical fiction that brings to life the Great Depression through predominantly the flawed James, who eighteen years after the Great war ended still suffers from the conflict. The story line is fast-paced and quite vivid as the audience can picture the impoverish masses living near the NORTH RIVER (New Yorkers' nickname for the Hudson). Pete Hamill is at his best with the deep look back at a bygone era starring a protagonist who learns to live again through the love of his grandson and the child's caretaker.

The Blood of Flowers
Anita Amirrezvani
Little, Brown
9780316065764 $23.99

Centuries ago in Persia, the fourteen year old girl enjoyed her life; raised by caring parents she knows she will marry within a year. However, when the comet crossed the sky the villagers knew misfortune was coming soon as that is an omen of bad things. The teenage girl learns first hand when her beloved father Isma'il dies in a thresher accident. Her doting mother Maheen grieves her loss. She and her daughter leave the village to move into the home as servants to male relative, Gostaham, a master carpet-maker weaving for the Shah.

Her Uncle Gostaham allows her entry into his workshop where he lets her learn the trade from him, but warns her that females are not allowed to weave outside the home. Wealthy Fereydoon wants her, but cannot make her his wife as she is beneath him so they agree to a three-month, renewable contract. However, when Fereydoon marries her best friend, she angrily ends their relationship, which leads to her and her mom becoming homeless. Over time Gostaham takes her back in and soon afterward she opens up an all female carpet-making workshop catering to the Shah's harem.

This is an incredible work of historical fiction that brings to life Persia from the eyes of a young female (told mostly in the first person by her) struggling to survive in a male owned world. The unnamed woman is a terrific protagonist, who through trials and tribulations dreams of becoming a carpet-maker for the Shah although she knows that can never happen. Anecdotes and stories within stories add depth that will elate an exuberant audience who will feel they rode a magic caret ride back several centuries ago to Persia.

Barefoot
Elin Hilderbrand
Little, Brown
9780316018586 $24.99

Home for the summer, Middlebury College student Josh Flynn meets the two siblings (Brenda and Vicki) and their friend (Melanie) at the Nantucket Airport where he works. The three females and Vicki's two young children will share the small cottage owned by their late aunt while escaping their woes and hoping to regain some equilibrium in their respective lives.

Vicki suffers from lung cancer and will undergo chemotherapy. Brenda recently was fired for breaking the prime directive of college professors when she had an affair with a student; albeit older than her. Finally, Melanie who spent years and tons of money seeking to become pregnant finally succeeded only to ironically learn her spouse is cheating on her. These BAREFOOT females spend the summer of self recrimination with Josh at their side wondering what fall will bring.

This deep character study will hook the audience who will want to know what is happening to each of the women. However, at the same time that contemporary fiction fans will appreciate the drama, only Vicki elicits empathy as she philosophizes about what used to be significant to her but those "Things That No Longer Mattered" once she received the medical verdict; Melanie seems more like a whiner who drove her spouse elsewhere and though realistic Brenda comes across as a hard butt with a chip on her shoulder. Still genre fans will enjoy spending a Nantucket summertime with Elin Hilderbrand's three females.

Capitol Offense
Mike Doogan
G. P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780399154317 $25.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

Just under a decade ago in Juneau, he was considered one of Anchorage's best police detectives; than a night of off duty drinking led to his shooting a twelve year old boy, who a witness claimed was unarmed. Convicted he spent seven years in prison with the end of his reputation. Freed early because the witness admitted he lied as the kid carried, he recently was exonerated, but his wife who stood by him during the trial and incarceration is divorcing him and the APD refuses to take him back. Fiftyish Nik Kane has become a private investigator.

His former boss Police Chief Jeffords hires him to find proof that Native Alaskan state legislator Matthew Hope did not kill the beautiful young assistant. All the circumstantial evidence points in his direction. As he begins to dig around the capital, his estranged son, working as a summer intern there, rejects any contact with him. Meanwhile someone wants Nik to stop his inquiry and that someone has arranged beatings of the sleuth and threatens more than just bodily harm. Nik knows he has frightened the person he assumes is the real culprit.

Juneau is a refreshing change as most Alaskan mysteries showcase the stark beauty of the state's vast wilderness. The story line is fast-paced although the plot has been done many times before albeit in the Lower Forty-eight. Nik is an interesting acrimonious individual as he knows he needs to move past his bitterness but finds it impossible not to react with sarcasm and childish anger. Fans of Alaskan mysteries will enjoy his second escapade (see LOST ANGEL) even if he follows his gut more than the clues.

Critical
Robin Cook
Putnam
9780399154232 $25.95

As required the recent infectious disease deaths are brought to the attention of the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner. Dr. Laurie Montgomery cannot help but notice that the abrupt significant jump in these types of deaths are limited to three Manhattan hospitals, all owned by Angels Healthcare. However, when her husband, ME colleague Dr. Jack Stapleton informs her he is undergoing knee surgery at one of the Angels Healthcare hospitals, Laurie becomes alarmed as the number of post procedural deaths by virulent staph infection becomes personal.

Meanwhile Angels Healthcare CEO Angela Dawson struggles with the same deadly issue that makes no sense unless a new pathogen somehow delivered by her staff between the three hospitals is the cause. She desperately seeks to resolve the issue as her firm is going Wall St. public to avoid bankruptcy; bad PR will kill the company even as her prime backer the Mafia will kill anyone who harms the health of their investment.

CRITICAL is the usual Robin Cook medical thriller filled with plenty of non-stop action and cleverly intermingled with health information especially about infectious disease in hospitals. . Fans of Mr. Cook will appreciate the return of Laurie and Jack stars of the entertaining CRISIS and MARKER. Although the mob link is an unneeded sidebar that adds to the body count, the medical master has cooked up another magnificent suspense thriller that will have the audience wondering about hospital stays.

Catch a Rising Star
Tracey Bateman
Faith Words
c/o Hachette Book Group USA
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780446698931 $12.99

Tabby Brockman worked for five years as a star of the number one soap opera Legacy of Life. She has an affair with her on-screen husband actor Trey O'Dell whom she thinks might be her Mr. Right until she learns he lied about his marital status as he is married to the soap's head writer Julie Foster. Julie has Tabby's character killed off. Now she spends time as Peter Cottontail being abused by children.

Following emergency appendicitis in which she thanks God for saving her life, her friend Freddie arranges for her return to the soap. She leaps at the opportunity although she fears the tension. However when she meets widower stage dad David Gray, the father of her preadolescent soap opera twins children, she finds herself attracted though wary of the kids. Still since she found the Lord, Tabby feels he will guide her to do the right thing with the three Greys.

The first Drama Queens tale is an amusing inspirational chick lit romance starring a likable though non-assertive lead female and a strong support cast. The story line is fun to follow as Tabby struggles with being "killed", an appendicitis, and much more until she turns to religion for solace. Fans will root for her as she brings her beliefs to the soaps even while the audience hopes she miraculously grows a spinal column.

The Penny
Joyce Meyer, Deborah Bedford
Faith Works
9780446578110 $21.99

In 1955 St. Louis their father has abused mama, fourteen year old Jenny Blake and her older sister almost eighteen Jean for years. However, all that time, the siblings had each other for comfort, but now Jean is moving out and Jenny not only knows she will miss her, but fears she will not be able to cope as the solo target of their violent dad.

While walking to the movie theater, Jenny sees a penny buried in the ground. Although she knows a penny buys little more than gum or candy at Woolworth's and to remove it from the asphalt will not be easy, Jenny stops to retrieve it anyway. This seemingly innocuous action starting with the Pevery Diary truck driver abruptly hitting his brakes not to run over Jenny, which lead to bottles flying everywhere, which leads to the "Attack of the Killer Shards", which with a few sidebars ultimately led to the mysterious Miss Shaw, owner of Shaw Jewelry, mentoring the owner of the lucky penny.

Known for her inspirational non fiction, Joyce Meyer and popular fiction writer Deborah Bedford provide readers with an entertaining historical that emphasizes the idea little things matter in a big way. That penny incident leads to a friendship between the two females as each has secrets that shame them. Although the obvious dark journey to redemption to include forgiveness seems genuine, the attainment appears abrupt and forced especially as so much has gone on before. Still, with a nod to the butterfly effect of chaos theory, THE PENNY is an interesting character study that focuses on little things mean a lot when it comes to people.

And If I Die
John Aubrey Anderson
FaithWords (Hachette)
9780446579520 $19.99

None know better the eternal war between good and evil than Missy Patterson. In 1945, Missy and a group of people were in Cat Lake when they were attacked by demonic possessed snakes. The only reason she lived was because an angel told Mason, a believer and a warrior, to be on guard. Mose Washington's son AJ died saving her life and shortly after she gave her life to Christ. Two more times she was attacked and through God's intervention she was saved.

When two demon possessed men beat Bill's mother to death, Mose killed them and now Mose and the lad Buill are on the run. Now Missy, Bill, Mose, and Missy's husband Pat are all in Denton and all are believers except for bull riding Bill. Congresswoman Estelle Bainbridge has hired a hit man to kill them because in her mind they all had a hand in killing her son. All believe that another confrontation with demonic forces is coming. Missy has an important role to play. Although she is scared she is willing to perform what God requires her to do.

The War between good and evil is played out between mortals and angels and demons. Believers will enjoy this tale as will non believer who will read it as a fantastic fantasy story. In some ways the story line warns the audience what is coming, but the solid characters make this a thoroughly fabulous tale.

All In One Place
Carolyne Aarsen
FaithWords
9780446696821 $12.99

In Seattle Terra Froese decides ending another bad relationship is not enough. To distance herself, she leaves the West Coast for Montana to live with her sister Leslie VandeKeer, whom she has not spoken with for quite some time. As she regains her equilibrium, Terra assumes she will need to rescue her sibling from tedious rural family life.

However, she finds Leslie seems shockingly contented and the small town residents wonder about the big city intruder as she lands in some trouble almost from her first step there. Police officer Jack DeWindt thinks Terra will not survive Big Sky Country although he is very attracted to her and her to him. However, Terra wonders if that is enough for her to finally put down permanent roots.

This interesting character study focuses on Terra's conversion (for the most part from her viewpoint only) from a life of wandering disentanglement to one of belief in God and truly caring about others, but does so in a reasonably realistic manner. Although the lack of other perspectives especially that of her sister reduces the impact of Terra's journey, fans who appreciate a simple well written contemporary tale starring a complex woman will enjoy Terra finding her way and self.

Cast In Secret
Michelle Sagara
Luna
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
9780373802807 $14.95

One person in Elantra who made it out of the fiefs, the outposts of poverty and hideouts for criminals, is Private Kaylin Neya. She works as a police officer in the division of the Hawks. Her boss is a Leontine; she wears the mark of Lord Nightshade, an immortal outcast Barrani. She is tutored by a dragon in human form because she has a magic nobody understands, one that can withstand a dragon's breath or heal a dying patient.

While visiting the Keeper in his store because he reported a theft, he takes her to his garden at the center of his shop. There she sees the face of a bruised child in a pool of water and needs to find her as well as the missing artifact. However, first she must visit enclave of the Tha'alanii, telepathic and empathic mind readers who communicate among themselves with the antennae on their foreheads. A girl was kidnapped by a man who is telepathically deaf and she visits Lord Nightshade who gives her the identity of the person involved with the girl and the kidnapper. While she is working the three cases, she learns if she can't retrieve the artifact, Elantra will be destroyed.

Elements of a police procedural and a fantasy tale are combined to create the electrifying and wondrous CAST IN SECRET. It is a magical tale where different sentient races live in the same area ruled by an imperial emperor who is an immortal dragon. The heroine learns and grows while seemingly (the reader's delight) always in the midst of trouble and goes the long way in getting out of it. Fans will enjoy her spunk and elan as Kaylin keeps on ticking.

Beyond Reach
Karin Slaughter
Delacorte Books
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
9780385339476 $25.00 1-800-726-0600

In Grant County, Georgia, pediatrician Dr. Sara Linton is despondent over the death of her young patient Jimmy Powell, but further stunned when his parents, her friends, sue her for malpractice wrongful death suit. Sadly, the reasons held against her were things she did out of friendship because the prognosis was Jimmy was dying with no chance to be saved.

Three days before Sara's life was opened up for the vultures to pick at, her spouse Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver learns one of his detectives Lena Adams was involved in an explosion that killed a woman in Reese, Georgia. However, Lena left the hospital without telling anyone she was leaving. Jeffrey and Sara head to Reese to peel away the layers and soon connect a thriving methamphetamine business with a local white supremacy group, but that knowledge leaves both their lives in danger.

BEYOND REACH opens with the devastating malpractice suit that grips the audience, but quickly switches gear to the Reese scenario where a detective has gone missing and meth is a way of life. The insight into how meth addiction is destroying rural families is stunning. The incredible ending ties everything back together, as this may be Karin Slaughter's best medical-police procedural crime thriller to date.
How to Talk to a Widower
Jonathan Tropper
Delacorte
9780385338905 $20.00

Twenty-nine years old Doug Parker cannot believe how fast life can change when his spouse Hailey dies in a plane crash. However, his grief is so great he struggles to leave their home and he writes about it in his magazine column so that many feel for him as a young widower raising a teenage stepson, Russ with big issues since his mom died. He wants to hide in his grief cocoon, but instead he becomes a media darling as everyone wants Doug on their show.

However, his woes turn uglier when his pregnant twin sister Claire leaves her husband and moves in with Doug and Russ. Her plan is to force her brother to move on with his life. Local females sympathize with Doug while a few want to be the one who take him out of his depression starting with the wife of his best friend, the strippers he meets, and the guidance counselor who worries about both males residing in the Parker home.

This is a well written character study of a young man grieving the unexpected death of his wife after just a couple years together. Doug is an interesting protagonist as he deals with issues ranging from guilt to loneliness to failing Russ, who has his own problems. The outside world wants in to his fishbowl adding more troubles to a troubled soul. Jonathan Tropper provides a strong tale that looks at the grief process from the differing perspective of a man under thirty unable to cope.

Bungalow 2
Danielle Steele
Delacorte
9780385338318 $27.00

Forty-two years old Tanya Harris loves her life in Marin County. She adores her spouse, a San Francisco based lawyer and cherishes their three teenage offspring. She enjoys writing scripts for the soaps and short stories. Her only unanswered dream from her youth is she always wanted to author a screenplay, but does not regret she has not.

However, suddenly her agent calls informing Tanya that Oscar winning producer Douglas Wayne wants her to write the screenplay for his next movie. She wants to fulfill her last fantasy, but worries about the impact on her family if she stays for several months in a posh Beverly Hills hotel; especially with her twin daughters starting their senior year in high school and her son his freshman year at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Her husband and children send her off to the Beverly Hills Hotel where she adapts like she has been part of the Hollywood Rat pack all her life. However, weekends back in Marin County remind her that she is a wife and mother whose husband cheated on her and children who seem not to need her anymore.

Tanya is an interesting protagonist as she worries over worrying; spending much of the novel concerned with what her decision to go Hollywood is doing to her family. The cast in Marin County and Beverly Hills are supportive characters employed so that the reader can see how bone marrow deep Tanya's concerns for her spouse and children go. Although the action is limited, fans of family dramas will enjoy Danielle Steel's the apprehensive mom who took Hollywood but may be at the cost of Marin County.

The Seventh Sacrament
David Hewson
Delacorte
9780385339568 $22.00

Fourteen years ago seven-year-old Alessio Bramante vanished in the tunnels beneath Rome's ancient Circus Maximus. His father, renowned archeology professor Giorgio Bramante had left his son by the underground labyrinth and his students were drunk and with the child when they performed a ritual at the altar of an Ancient Roman God. The kid was not found, but the police further bungled the case when they left their prime suspect, student Ludo Torchia, alone with an outraged Giorgio. He went to prison for murdering the suspect, but is now free.

However, almost from the moment the bitter Giorgio left prison, those associated with the disappearance begin to die and someone assaults Italian Police Inspector Leo Falcone, who worked on the unsolved case. He and his partner Detective Nic Costa begin making inquiries into the original vanishing as well as Giorgio's recent activity as he has the motive for serial killing vengeance plus he knows the underground like no one else does; Costa and Falcone believe the answer lies there.

Costa's last outing (see The Lizard's Bite) was one of the top police procedurals of 2006; THE SEVENTH SACRAMENT will prove likewise in 2007. The story line is fast-paced while it smoothly moves back and forth between the present and the past. The investigation is top rate filled with twists and turns while Leo brings a human element with his feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Fans will appreciate David Hewson's superior Roman adventure.

Remembered
Tamara Alexander
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
9780764201103 $13.99 www.bethanyhouse.com 1-800-328-6109

In 1870 France, Veronique Girard leaves the flower on the coffin containing her beloved mother Ariane while reflecting that she would prefer to ignore her deathbed promise to mamam. However, Veronique swore she would go to the Colorado Territory to find her father Pierre, who left them over a quarter of a century ago with a vow he would send for them; he never did.

Veronique adapts to the wildness of Colorado while hiring Jack Brennan to escort her from one Rocky Mountain mining town to another in her quest to find her papa. Jack wanted to refuse driving Veronique as the towns are dangerous, but the widowed supply hauler cannot leave her to her own devices. As they fall in love, he fears that emotion having grieved the deaths of his wife and child while she remains obsessed with finding Pierre and she has a childhood ami Christophe back in Paris.

The third Fountains Creek Chronicles (see REVEALED and REKINDLED) is a wonderful western romance starring two individuals from different lifestyles falling in love; feelings that neither desire the other. The story line brings out the rugged Reconstruction Era Colorado Territory especially when contrasted with Veronique's Paris upbringing. Veronique is a wonderful protagonist although she adjusts perhaps too easily to the Wild West while Jack struggles with survivor guilt compounded by having a second chance at love if he goes for it. Readers will remember Tamara Alexander's' fine tale of loss and redemption.

Jacob's List
Stephanie Grace Whitson
Bethany House
9780764203268 $12.99

Twenty years old Jacob "Jake" Nolan has drawn up a personal list of ten items he wants to do before he settles down. However, when he dies in an accident, his wealthy parents Pamela and Michael are shattered as they doted on him and he was the prime reason they remained together.

Both grieve differently and separately even when they go on a Hawaiian vacation. Still they have Jake's list and Pamela and Michael would like to complete his quest. Friends try to be there for them and they attend a workshop "How to Help a Grieving Friend" (actually al self-help book written by Ms. Whitson) together. However, as their marriage appears to be on the brink of imploding both knows bad things happen to good people is part of the mystery of God's master plan.

This is an interesting look at grief from the perspective of two parents who cannot turn to one another for solace when a bad thing happens to a loved one. The three prime characters come across as fully developed although Jake is actually seen through the eyes of his parents so the audience extrapolates what the grieving pair hold in common about their son as the most likely truth. Stephanie Grace Whitson provides a well written primer on HOW TO HELP A GRIEVING FRIEND cope through the barely surviving Nolans.

Sophie's Dilemma
Lauraine Snelling
Bethany House
9780764228100 $13.99

For two years, Sophie Knutson waited in her hometown of Red River Valley for Hamre Bjorklund to come home and make her his bride. As the letters dwindle, Sophie begins to believe he will never take that first step until he suddenly comes home and proposes. Excited, she accepts as she finally can escape the over-protection of her father. Her dad demands and then pleads with Sophie to delay the wedding until after she graduates from school, but she and Hamre elope.

They move to Ballad, Washington near Seattle where she finds herself alone as he is a fisherman always at sea. She misses her friends and family, feeling out of place in Washington state. When his vessel is lost, she is informed he died. Pregnant, Sophie heads home praying her family will take her back.

The second Daughters of Blessing novel (see A PROMISE FOR ELLIE) is a wonderful character driven tale of seeking forgiveness, redemption and second chances. Sophie is the fabulous center that holds the strong story line together as her actions from eloping to returning home miserable and alone seems genuine. Lauraine Snelling provides a strong entry that insists that no matter what you might have done with the love of family you can go home.

Baby Crimes
Randall Hicks
Wordslinger
9921 Carmel Mountain Road, Suite3335, San Diego, CA. 9129
9780979443008 $13.95

In San Diego County, thirty-three years old Toby Dillon enjoys being the assistant tennis pro at the affluent Coral Canyon Country Club where he also practices as an adoption lawyer, but his two professions never merged until now. Nevin and Catherine Handley, parents of his teenage tennis sensation Lynn, hire him to "clean" up a mess when his Human Minds Software was just taking off during the beginnings of the dot com boom. They arranged with their pregnant uninsured office assistant Melanie Dubravado to fake her name as if Catherine was carrying the child; after the birth they would take home their "natural" daughter and raise her. Someone is sending them letters warning them to tell the truth or else.

Toby figures that the couple defrauded the insurance company, falsified a birth certificate, abducted a child, and who knows what other crimes were involved. He agrees to work on legalizing the adoption sixteen years after the switch. However, the case takes a dangerous twist when someone murders Nevin while Toby's investigator Gil the gardener traces a money trail to the Cayman islands and Toscanaro the garbage king who is subsequently murdered too.

Filled with several other stunning but plausible spins beyond that described above, the second adoption legal thriller is an exciting tale that climaxes with a triple play twisters. Toby is terrific as he enjoys his two professions although that has alienated him with his parents especially his father. The whodunit is cleverly devised especially the second homicide while the audience will commiserate with the hero as he aces his way through a strange adoption case although a short "visit" with his late grandfather seems too metaphysical of a backhand for this fine thriller.

The Chardonnay Charade
Ellen Crosby
Scribner
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
9780743289924 $24.00 1-800-223-2336

The late seasonal frost endangers the vines in Lucie Montgomery's Virginia based winery. Lucie spends the night freezing as she and her crew tries to keep the vines from freezing. However, upon daylight, to her chagrin, Lucie finds the corpse of politician Georgia Greenwood.

The police investigate the murder with the victim's husband Ross as the prime (and only) suspect. Meanwhile since Georgia's body was contaminated by pesticide, EPA officials consider fining Lucie for misuse. She plans to stay out of the inquiry as she has enough to do with her winery, her alcoholic sister, and her jealous ire at her winemaker. An outraged Lucie decides to investigate the homicide as she does not trust the nouveau officialdom to seek the truth when she and Ross are convenient.

The latest A Wine Country Mystery (see THE MERLOT MURDERS) goes down smooth from start to finish due to Lucie's actions as she adapts from saving her vines to saving her friend and her reputation. The contrast between old money and the invading newcomers add regional depth to this fine tale. However, it is the cast from the bristly heroine to her winemaker to her sister to her friend and finally the cops who turn THE CHARDONNAY CHARADE into a palate pleasing tasty tale.

Night's Touch
Amanda Ashley
Zebra Books
c/o Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022-6222
9780821778357 $6.99 www.kensingtonbooks.com 1-800-345-2665

Twenty-two year old Cara was reflecting on being adopted when she realizes she knows nothing about the parents who raised her Roshan and Brenna DeLongpre, which disturbs her. Upset, she somewhat rebels, which leads to meeting Anton, but though attracted to him decides he is not right for her.

Soon afterward, Cara meets lonely Vince Cordoba; whom she believes is her soul-mate; he agrees as the loneliness that has haunted him since his first encounter contact with vampires has vanished. However, her rejection of Anton angers Serafina, who blames the DeLongpres for killing her beloved; a man she plans to bring back from the dead. As Cara learns the truth about whom her parents are and who Vince is, she has to decide whether vampires can love and be loved before Serafina uses her as a pawn to destroy all of them.

This delightful vampire romantic next generation to NIGHT'S KISS (the saga of Roshan and Brenna) can stand alone as the back story is cleverly interwoven into this fine thriller. The story line is action packed and the support cast is solid whether they are friend or foe. Vince has become more accepting of his fate since he learned the truth about vampires. Although Cara seems too innocent and adolescent for a twenty-two years old woman, fans will appreciate Amanda Ashley entertaining family saga; albeit a family of vampires.

In Her Bed
Deborah MacGillivray
Zebra
9780821780374 $4.99

In 1296 in Coinnleir Wood in the Scotland Highlands, Clan Ogilvie heiress Aithinne Ogilvie knows that the charter signed two centuries ago between the Picts and the Norman monarchy gave them protected rights. However, with the death of her guardian Lord Gilchrist Fraser, she knows that King Edward could do what he just did to her cousin Tamlyn by sending her a loyal knight the Dragon of Challon as her betrothed to allegedly protect her rights (see A RESTLESS KNIGHT) and there is not much she can do about it.

Aithinne knows that once her odious neighboring lords learn of Gilchrest's death, they will want to annex her estate even before King Edward has acted. Desperate, Aithinne needs to be carrying a child and hide the death of her kindhearted Gilchrist until she insures an heir is born. She sends her most trusted knights to abduct someone handsome so that she will take him as he lies chained and naked. Afterward a potion will ensure he forgets he has been used to sire a child. They pick Lord Damian St. Giles, whose cousin Challon married his beloved Tamlyn. The plan works perfectly as a bewildered Damian cannot account for lost time as he explains to his cousin. However, to her shock, she learns Damian is Gilchrest's heir.

IN HER BED is a wonderful medieval romance due to the strength of the heroine and the ironic twist of fate as the missing week just before the wedding of A RESTLESS KNIGHT is explained in detail to readers but not to him. Fans will enjoy this fine historical and although it stands alone is embellished by reading the previous tale first.

Almost Dead
Lisa Jackson
Zebra
9780821775790 $7.99

Although Jack admits spending the night at Larissa's house he denies sleeping with her but his wife Cissy Cahill refuses to believe him. She tossed him out and filed for divorce; he tries to believe she doesn't love him any more. When she takes her son to visit his grandmother Eugenia she discovers the woman lying at the top of the steps in her own blood. Both Cissy and the police believe the killer was her mother Marla who was in prison for murder, but escaped.

Cissy falls under siege when someone, assumed to be Marla, killed her uncle who lived in a home for the mentally challenged. The next victim is Cherisse, Cissy's second cousin. At this point, Jack moves back home, fearing for the life of his wife and son but when the killer strikes again, she forces the pair to act because she is keeping alive someone they cherish dearly.

Lisa Jackson has written another fantastic crime thriller with enough romance to appeal to fans of both genres. Nothing is as it seems in the plot as the author takes the reader constantly down the wrong paths until she is ready to reveal who the killer is. The key characters seem real especially Detective Paterno and the lead couple while several plausible solid twists add tension to a terrific thriller.

Scandal Becomes Her
Shirlee Busbee
Zebra
9780821780244 $14.00

Following the accident, Eleanor "Nell" Anslowe is haunted by nightmares of torture and murder in a dungeon with a shadowy figure nearby. Almost thirty, but sill on the shelf, she flees a libertine after her wealth and inadvertently meets an earl Julian Weston, who is chasing after his inane stepsister. Neither has plans to marry, but caught together, they do and surprisingly fall in love.

In 1804, the bliss ends when the nightmares return with one frightening change; the shadowy man seems to be staring at her. She tells Julian about her bad dreams and he believes that what she sees is real and that a vicious serial killer knows Nell is coming closer to identifying him; making her the next target by they both assume someone they know and probably trust with their lives.

This is a terrific psychological Regency romantic suspense that grips the audience from the first nightmare to the last dream. The story line is fast-paced as Nell and Julian use their love for one another to help them face an unknown killer haunting her sleep. Shirlee Busbee provides a great tale that will have cross genre appeal to historical mystery and Regency romance readers.

'Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy
Leslie Langtry
Dorchester Publishing Company
200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9780843959338 $6.99 1-800-481-9191

Widow Gin Bombay is a single mom, who serves as a daisy troop leader; that is when she is not performing her family vocation, assassin. She knows she must start her daughter's training with knitting needles as her mother did her and so forth for centuries when her offspring turns five.

While browsing in a Border's bookstore, she meets Australian bodyguard Diego. To her surprise she loses track of time as they chat amiably for hours before finally leaving; each feels the attraction gor the other. They begin to see one another.

Meanwhile Gin is assigned to assassinate someone selling top secrets to a foreign country. However, this traitor is Diego's client so she ponders how to not harm him when she performs her task. She succeeds when he stupidly shows up at her home without his bodyguard stating he knows she is a professional killer assigned to take him out. Diego arrives while his client lies dead on her floor. As her family helps her dispose of the corpse, she wonders which relative informed on her.

Tongue in cheek as the family occupation is female assassins, readers will enjoy the humorous adventures of Gin as she begins training her offspring to be a killing chip off the old block and falls in love with her target's bodyguard. The fast-paced romantic suspense chick lit thriller is over the top, but fans will want follow suit as Leslie Langtry provides a satirical family drama.

Dead Sea
Brian Keene
Leisure
9780843958607 $6.99

In East Baltimore Lamar Reed is a gay loner who lost his job when the Ford plant closed. He sees on the news a horrid event of rats coming out of the sewers attacking people; the rodents were dead. Soon after those bitten die, they come back as zombies feasting on live human flesh. Dogs and cats also return as zombies.

The plague spreads around the world leaving Lamar stranded in his apartment until a fire makes him flee his sanctuary. He meets two children, eleven years old Tasha and eight years old Malik who save his life. They flee towards the harbor where they meet Mitch Bollinger who saves their lives. The foursome mange to scramble onto museum ship USCGC Spratling just before it sails on Chesapeake Bay. Feeling safe, but needing supplies, they will soon learn land, air and water are unsafe as the disease crosses species.

Paying homage to Joseph Campbell mythologist theory with overt references, DEAD SEA is an exhilarating end of the world thriller that grips the audience from the moment the TV news shows the dead rat invasion in New York. The story line never slows down as the "hero" and the "warrior" try their best to protect the two children. Fans will appreciate the RISING of the dead tale although the original cause is not known; survival is a human instinct even if as Lamar knows it is a "mother******".

The Concrete Maze
Steven Torres
Leisure
9780843959697 $7.99

You can make it there, but many don't as New York City can eat you up and spit you out if you're not careful. Predators are waiting everywhere waiting for a nice girl to lure into prostitution and drugs. Luis Ramos went to pick up his beautiful thirteen year old daughter Jasmine only she wasn't there. Luis and his nephew Marc look for her and by talking to people they learn she is with Carlos Valle, a drug dealer and pimp. Her loving relatives fear the worst for her.

The police seem very disinterested so it is up to her father to try and find her. They do everything they can, trying to rescue Jasmine from Carlos. They don't stop searching until told Jasmine is dead, her head found first before other body parts were located all around the city. Luis, with the help of Marc are not about to stop looking for the killer(s) and when (not if in their minds) they do, the culprit will learn how feels to sever body parts.

Readers get a look at the underbelly of the city, a place tourists know nothing about as they scurry from one place to another. The residents know what can happen to the young even if they are properly brought up because even a good person can go astray and make a mistake. Readers may have problems with the methods Luis uses to get information but he is not a police officer and a criminal will hardly lodge a complaint against him. Steven Torres has written an urban noir that defies the term, a powerhouse tale of immense strength that shows the author has insight and yes, compassion for what he is writing about.

Mr. Hands
Gary A. Braunbeck
Leisure
9780843956100 $6.99

Most people thought Ronald J. Williamson (not that he was known by that name) aka Uncle Ronnie was a serial killer with seven kills attributed him in one year. Ronnie was a child when he discovered he had the ability to know if a child would suffer as a grown up or inflict agony or others. Those like that he killed until he realized decades later that he made a mistake when he destroys the fetus of a pregnant woman.

This killing caused Sarah to be kidnapped and never found because the big brother she was supposed to have was never born thanks to Ronnie. In his grief, he killed himself, his essence seeping into the ground. Lucy, the bereaved mother of Sarah, happens upon the spot during a storm carrying Mr. Hands, a figure that was Sarah's favorite toy. An alchemical mix of rain lightening, blood, and spirit caused Mr. Hands to come alive under Lucy's command. She had him kill, in horrific ways, the monsters that killed innocent children until the day she made a mistake and condemned an innocent to death. She vows to find a way to stop Mr. Hands from completing his last command because she can't handle the responsibility of an child's death who doesn't deserve it..

Want to get creeped out? Read MR. HANDS, a horror story of the supernatural and human kind. Gary A. Braunbeck is one of the new breed of horror writers, writing dark noir that will have readers back with the lights on and jumping out of their skin. Both Ronnie and Lucy are typical villains in many ways yet have a conscience that disturbs them as to err may be human, but deadly. Their methods are unlawful and ugly but they somehow reach an understanding audience. "Kiss of the Madman, the author's international horror guild Award-winning novella, is included in this book as a fabulous bonus.

A Sister's Secret
Wanda Brunstetter
Barbour
9781597892261 $9.97

In Holmes County, Ohio Grace Hostettler hides from her family and her fiance Cleon Shrock a major secret of what she did while away from the community living amidst the English for two years. If revealed her Amish kin and neighbors would probably shun her although she has been a model citizen since her return four years ago.

However, her plan to conceal her shame is put to the test when Gary Walker arrives in town. Gary threatens to tell those she loves that they were married if she does not cooperate. Despondent and unsure what to do Grace meekly obeys his orders until she realizes Gary is harming her family. She knows to thwart him she must reveal the truth although she assumes that means leaving permanently.

Second chances and redemption after betrayals and lies of omission make for a fine first tale in the Sisters of Holmes County. The story line is fun to follow as the Amish struggle to keep their lifestyle while the intrusive English want to develop the land. Although Grace is tentatively the starring 'sister of this tale, she never provides much action as she is more a marvel watcher while others like Gary propel the plot forward. Still fans of Wanda Brunstetter will enjoy her opening tale in her latest Amish saga.

The Restitution
M.L. Tyndale
Barbour
9781597893619 $9.97

Notorious pirate Kent Carlton seduced and ruined Isabel Ashton. Without a second look back to see how she was doing, he left her unaware she is pregnant. Her parents treated her like a pariah and totally ignored their grandson Frederick as if he was the devil instead of an innocent child.

In 1669 when Frederick is kidnapped, Isabel, in Port Royal, Jamaica, has no choice except turn to Kent, a man she loathes. Whereas she also turns to

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