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MBR Bookwatch

Volume 5, Number 12 December 2006 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 Vogel's Bookshelf

Cowper's Bookshelf
Edwards Mill Cookbook
Betty Watts
College of the Ozarks
PO Box 17, Point Lookout, MO 65726
No ISBN, $TBA ulrich@cofo.edu

Every recipe compiled in the spiral bound pages of the "Edwards Mill Cookbook" has been kitchen tested by Betty Watts and represents the best that the Ozark country of Missouri has to offer. From desserts, pastries, cookies and cakes, to main dishes, quick breads, yeast breads, and more, these recipes are as healthy and nutritious as they are palate pleasing and delicious. From Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies; Onion-Cheese Supper Bread; Cranberry-Pineapple Muffins; and Garlic Spoonbread; to Cornmeal Yeast Rolls; Sesame-Wheat Germ Crackers; and Blueberry Pinwheels, the "Edwards Mill Cookbook" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to the family cookbook shelf.

Wildlife Harvest Game Cookbook
John M. Mullin & Peggy Mullin Boehmer, editors
Wildlife Harvest Publications
PO Box 96, Goose Lake, IA 52750
No ISBN, $24.95 + $5.00 shipping, www.wildlifeharvest.com

Compiled and co-edited by John Mullin and his daughter, Peggy Boehmer, "Wildlife Harvest Game Cookbook" is an impressive, spiral bound collection of recipes drawn from North America's hunting resorts and game farms. Enhanced with a description of game farms and hunting resorts; a 'Meat Composition' guide of articular animals in terms of their fat, protein, calories, etc.; a 'Handy Guide to Herbs and Spices', plus an 'Emergency Substitutions' chart, the recipes comprising "Wildlife Harvest Game Cookbook" are arranged in chapters dedicated to Pheasant; Duck and Goose; Quail; Partridge; Venison; Fish; 'Mixed Bag'; Soups, Sauces and Salads; Breads and Stuffing; 'Miscellaneous', Cranberries; and Desserts. From Pheasant Pie; Quail Stuffed with Oysters; Bar-B-Que Venison; and Trout Marguery; to Fried Squirrel; Wild Duck Soup; Cinnamon Bread; and No Bake Cookies, "Wildlife Harvest Game Cookbook" is the perfect addition to the kitchen cookbook collection of families that hunt and fish the forests and streams of America.

Recipes Logged From The Woods Of North Idaho
Priest River Library Club
Friends of the West Bonner Library District
219 Main Street, Priest River, ID 83856
No ISBN, $TBA

Spiral bound for easy kitchen use, "Recipes Logged From The Woods Of North Idaho" is a very special cookbook collection of recipes contributed by the members of the Priest River Library Club and is a fund-raiser for the groups support of their local library. Here are succinct recipes for everything from Appetizers, breads, cakes, and candies, to casseroles, frostings, salads, and relishes. There are special sections devoted to desserts, vegetarian dishes, and helpful kitchen hints. From French Oven Stew; Candied Fruit Nuggets; Anchovy Fritters; and Venison North Idaho; to Sour Cream Raisin Pie; Cinnamon Apples; Erdbeere Bowle Strawberry Punch; and Taco Soup, "Recipes Logged From The Woods Of North Idaho" offers and veritable cornucopia of dishes that would satisfy any appetite and please any palate.

Vera's Still Point
Ruth Perkinson
Spinsters Ink
PO Box 242, Midway, FL 32343
1883523737 $14.95 www.spinstersink.com

Vera's Still Point is a lesbian romance about rediscovering forgotten passions. Vera Curran, a forty-year-old Republican lesbian librarian, has lived alone in a comfortable, yet mind-numbingly boring routine for years, watching the world pass her by. She hasn't had sex in years and repressed the desire so thoroughly she has forgotten why she once desired it. When a brand new faculty member, Frankie Bourdon, dares to try to change the public school's curriculum by adding homosexual sex education, Vera begins to remember, and the two of them gradually forge a lasting bond. A powerful love story about both the connections that people forge, and the trauma and isolation that results when homophobic communities and family members exclude adults, teachers, and teenaged children who happen to be gay. Highly recommended.

Mary Cowper
Reviewer

Dunford's Bookshelf
You Won't Get Fooled Again
Conner O'Seanery & Steve Reed
The Finger Tip Press
931 Clent Street, Victoria, BC V9A 5P7
0973927704 $10.95 www.tipsdigest.com

You Won't Get Fooled Again: More Then 101 Brilliant Ways to Bust and Bald-Faced Liar (Even if the Liar is Lying Beside You) features a side-splitting humorous twist to its very practical list of strategies to discern how to tell when someone is lying to you. From the importance of observing "baseline" behavior (how people normally act) in order to better pick up on any telltale variations, to common body language indications of dishonesty such as fidgeting, touching the nose, or closing hands/interlocking fingers, to sardonic tips for improving one's own lying skills (such as making as little contact as possible with the target so that he/she is unaware of your own baseline behavior), You Won't Get Fooled Again! is a hilariously welcome and useful guide to honing one's personal BS detector. Highly recommended.

Street Smart
Gabriel Roth
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
141280518X $29.95 www.independent.org

Edited by Gabriel Roth, whose expertise includes twenty years of service as Transportation Economist for the World Bank, Street Smart: Competition, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Roads is an anthology of essays by learned authors discussing both theory and practice for private, market-based alternatives for road services from licensing vehicles and drivers to management of government-owned road facilities to franchising, outright private ownership, and more. America's current road transportation system is beset with traffic congestion, unsafe conditions, high costs, political corruption, environmental degradation, pork barrel pet projects and much more. In an era of rising national debt, Street Smart is more needed than ever as a source of ideas for more economic and safer means to look after transportation infrastructure.

World War II: A Legacy of Letters
Clinton Frederick
Zonicom Press
7807 E. Oberlin Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85262
0977849309 $26.95 www.OneSoldiersJourney.com 1-800-223-1244

World War II: A Legacy of Letters One Soldier's Journey presents the authentic World War II correspondence written by author Clinton Frederick's father, Captain George Frederick, to Clinton's mother, then a young woman. A personal viewpoint of unfolding history, World War II: A Legacy of Letters chronicles Captain George's answer to President Roosevelt's desperate call for pilots, his service in the South Pacific, and his battles in New Guinea with the 7th Australian Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division into the Admiralty Islands. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this behind-the-scenes glimpse of life on and off battlefields in the sky and the ground.

Treasure River
Wildwood Dean
Global Authors Publications
PO Box 922, Crescent City, FL 32112
0977968022 $17.99

Written by a lifelong resident of Red River Valley who gathered tales during a 16-day, 400-mile canoe trip down Red River's length, Treasure River blends history and folklore into an intertwined narrative about the length and shores of the Red River, and the remarkable events that have surrounded it over the course of centuries. From President Jefferson's embarrassment over the 1806 Freeman-Custis Expedition's failure at the hands of the Spanish, to the river's usage as the only highway to transport goods through an untamed wilderness, to tales of birth and death along the river shores, Treasure River reveals the river's powerful effect on all who come near it. A wondrous glimpse into days of yore and the connections between man and nature.

Michael Dunford
Reviewer

Kaveny's Bookshelf
Madison in the late 1960's part III the sexual Revolution and music I was there.

I decided to present bibliographic and purchase information on the material I covered in this months Kaveny's Bookshelf as part of the introduction to my feature. All of the items are readily available on Amazon. The publications dates are for the editions available rather than the first editions which I mention in the body of the article. I also include one film which was personally very important to me and help me to develop the interpretive frame work for this article. I also am going to do just a little ax grinding against the academic world which I stand both on the inside and outside though lately I have been giving guest lectures, and thinking I would like to work in the field and get paid for it. My admonition is this, the material I cover in this article is interesting, the theories I cover relate to the world of my senses and experience, and in a sense help to both understand a world I lived through and a world that I will be living in. To say it another way social theory is not a bunch of word games, it is a subject which has an object and the object is our shared lived experience in our world constructed of our histories and livid social interactions. I am willing to write more about this if my readers ask.

Mythologies
Roland Barthes
Hill and Wang (January 1, 1972)
ISBN: 0374521506 $14.00 159 pages

Selections from the Prison Notebooks
Antonio Gramsci
International Publishers (June 1971)
ISBN: 071780397X $14.00 572 pages

The Birth of Tragedy, new unabridged edition
Dover Thrift Editions
Dover Publications (June 1, 1995)
ISBN: 0486285154 $2.50 96 pages

Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon
Penguin Classics; Reprint edition First edition, (June 1, 1995)
ISBN: 0140188592 $18.00 768 pages

The Second World War
John Keegan
Penguin (Non-Classics); Reprint edition (May 3, 2005)
ISBN: 0143035738 $22.00 608 pages

Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Starring: Glenn Ford, Anne Francis Director: Richard Brooks
ASIN: B0007TKNHE $19.98

Madison in the late 1960's part III the sexual Revolution and music I was there.

"By the time we got to Woodstock we were half a million strong,"

As much I love these Joni Mitchell lyrics, I don't think they were exactly what got us there as a matter of fact we didn't get to Woodstock all. Not that I and my crew didn't to try make it to Woodstock. Seven of them both male and female took off in a van from Madison in early August 1969. This included my buddies Neil Hauser, Jeneal Quenelle, Bob McKiernan, Brigid Cook, Don Bushnell, Maureen Frazier, and a wrestler they picked out along the way as they set out for the Woodstock Music festival August 15th -18th 1969 in upstate New York. Well I could not make it because I had my first job since I dropped out of college that lasted more few weeks and I thought I better hang onto it even if it was only the daytime bartender at John Laugin's Bar & Grill at 1226 Regent street In Madison. Incidentally my buddies didn't make it either because the got stopped by the cops about three hundred miles from Woodstock in Western Pennsylvania and were forced to turn around in and head straight back to Madison. You might say that they got off easy since the Pennsylvania State Troopers gave them a get of out jail free card and a warning, instead of busting them.

I need to say a bit more about my why my job seemed so important to me. It broke down to this at the time I seemed to be virtually un employable, having failed at one hundred and three job interviews. I only got the job because my late brother John Kaveny (1939 -1993) sang at John Laugin's when he was off duty as a Madison Firefighter. I guess I will write just a little bit about my late brother here, because I don't think anybody else ever has, and I loved him and he is worth remembering. I also mention him because some of the changes taking place in America at the time made his act possible. First, he worked as a folk singer and then sadly he switched to country and western. I also think it is important that Madison was not just about college students. They called my brother "Big John" because he was about six feet four inches tall and looked the perfect image of what you would expect from an Irish signing fireman. James Joyce called it Stage Irish and Brother John certainly made the most of it. Women adored him, and men loved him. If he was a better singer, then he would have got out of the bar singer ghetto. But my brother john did the best he could with what he had. Also he had the ability to make every woman in the audience think he was singing just to them. John died of alcoholism after his second wife abandoned him when he lost his boyish charm and he retired in 1988. This is why those saints who work in the protective occupations, police and firefighters usually retire at fifty because they die early, and that's it. But, I want to add that it does not have to be that way. The one true and honest thing on just about every TV cop shop is the way that they present the possibility of being cop, or firefighter and recovering alcoholic as a reality

I have a special place in my heart for firefighters both male and female and they are the best we have in that they protect our property and save our lives. I would also add that I have not met anything but good cops in my lifetime some of whom really went out of their way to give me a break, especially before I quit drinking for my lifetime on Feb 2nd 1971, just in time. By the way my quitting entirely drinking thirty-five years ago will be a subject for a future article, if anyone finds thirty five years of total sobriety, and a second chance in life interesting.

This is the time when I am going to introduced former Madison Mayor into the picture, with the hope that some of the fine young men and women I worked with during the election will follow his example. Paul Soglin a former UW while a graduate student in the University of Wisconsin History Department was first elected to Madison's Common Council in 1968. He was re-elected in 1970, and 1972. The following year, he ran for mayor of Madison and was elected in 1973. Soglin while representing the Eighth Ward was twice arrested at the first infamous Mifflin Street Block Party. Soglin was arrested and found guilty for "Failing to Obey the Lawful Order of a Police Officer." As the references books say but what they don't say is that he was arrested by the cops and bailed out by the Madison Firefighters. These were my brother's fellow firefighters the same firefighters who bailed my brother out of jail for not paying his alimony after he told a judge" that he could not get blood turnip, "in 1966. I would add that while my brother John was doing the better part of a month for contempt of court he polished his skills and became a part time singer out of necessity to pay his alimony and keep out of jail. His big hit around the local bar circuit was "The Alimony Blues", or "The Screwing you get for The Screwing You got." As charming as my brother was he had a Neanderthals view of male female human relations.

On to the theoretical

Well if it was not the summer of love that got us there what was it? I think it was a generation of constraint and hegemonic oppression that did the trick. To say it another way we woke up from the American dream. In order to write this article it is essential that I resort to metaphor and social theory to evoke a vast and powerful signifier. I will also need to work in the dead German philosopher and classical Greek scholar Frederick Nietzsche (1844-1900).Among other things he wrote The Birth of Tragedy first published in German in 1872, for my purposes it includes a couple of highly relevant formulations, which will give this article a somewhat darker tone than I first expected and I promise to get to them in just a little while.

First the metaphor, if I visualize it l see a dark deep blue black tsunami hundreds of miles from shore, but gaining height and force and traveling at a speed of hundreds of miles an hour. I think of it as an embodied signifier of the postwar World War II transformations which have carried me across the span of my life. Thomas Pynchon said as much in his monumental and highly misunderstood (at least by English Professors) 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow. Thomas Pynchon goes to the point of arguing that World II was essential to bring the world into the information age. Perhaps even more important he argues that in the second half of the 20th century at least in America technology and culture and information is same thing. Yesterday in my atheistic class in the philosophy department we came to the conclusion that culture was the only industry that had not move off shore. To say it another way in a classical economic sense we now live in an America that consumes everything, and produces nothing tangible its major industry now being its own cultural products, mostly in electronic format. America has come along way, in my lifetime, from being the "Arsenal of Democracy for your grandfathers and great grandmothers' greatest generation to the present. I must say that it is just yesterday that I finally have given up on my rust belt nostalgia for an America that will never be again.

Perhaps this embodied metaphor; is the same thing that made the second half of the 20th century, from 1945 on, American. It has carried me well into first decade of the 21st century and I hope a lot farther. The thing about tsunamis is that they are almost invisible in the open ocean until they reach a harbor, as a matter of fact the Japanese call tsunamis harbor waves even though they may start at the other side of the planet, or for my purposes across vast expanses of time, we all know when they hit a harbor, and grow to twenty meters high all hell to breaks lose, because, nothing human can contain them until their force is spent.

Next, let's turn the social theory to get an idea of what it is I envision that this tsunami was breaking against. Stay with me, as I introduce just a little of the discourse of cultural studies and say a tiny bit about Antonio Gramsci (I890 -1937) Gramsci died while he was imprisoned in Rome by Italian Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937. Antonio Gramsci' had a lot to think about during the last twelve years of his life while he was imprisoned and tortured, and given massive doses of castor oil, which was a fascist cathartic, or laxative, and sometimes method of execution . Between seemingly endless trips to the crapper Antonio Gramsci wondered how that little low life Fascist bastard and Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini could stay in power without having a cop on every street corner, and another under every bed. In the process of thinking about this Antonio Gramsci filled many volumes of what were later published as "The Prison Notebooks."

That's where he came up with his theory of cultural hegemony, which argues that those elites who are in power in any capitalist industrial society maintain that power among those who they rule by using the fiction that these elite's values, tastes, morals, and goals are the same as those who they rule, Thus, they support the idea that they rule by consensus, whether or not it is a fiction. Thus these elites gain a kind tacit mandate to maintain their position of power and privilege. The thing that is most compelling about Antonio Gramsci analysis in absolute Marxist clarity he suggests that it is much more efficient if Fascist Dictator can put the cop inside of everybody's head because then they will police themselves and you will need a lot fewer cops on the street corners and jumping from under peoples beds, and any hint of funny stuff. Funny stuff is really counter-hegemonic and a threat to those who run things. Like the people that are say any thing but heterosexual married procreational only sex. Which I would note is still the position of several major religious denominations, and is sometimes known as the missionary position.

Here I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not think America is a fascist dictatorship, if nothing else the last the results of the last election speak other wise, but I do think that one way the power elites in America maintain themselves is by marketing the idea that maintaining their position of power, morals, privilege and tastes is what is good for everybody, and in fact speaks for everybody. Perhaps the best example of this is a statement made by Charles E. Wilson while president of the General Motors Corporation in the 1950's Wilson who later became Secretary of Defense, and became famous for saying

"What's good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa."

In my own life I found Antonio Gramsci's philosophy played out in a number of very interesting ways, even though I didn't hear about the guy until forty years later. But as I mentioned the last part of this article, you can experience something without having a name for it. I was brought into opposition to the values of American hegemonic elites. This broke to me on gut and then cultural level while I was still watching" The Mickey Mouse Club" in the mid 1950's, and sensed something was wrong.

What was wrong had do with one of my all time favorites movies Black Board Jungle staring Glenn Ford, Vic Morrow Anne Francis, Sidney Poitier, and Bill Haley, and his Comets. It was felt to be Un- American, perhaps even counter-hegemonic by the folks who ran the show, the ones whose job it was to keep us walking and living in The American Dream. In 1955 my father told me, that he had heard from his Republican circles that American Ambassador to Italy under the Eisenhower administration, Claire Boothe Luce, who was the wife of Republican publishing magnate Henry Luce had banned one of my favorite films Black Board Jungle from the Venice Italy Film Festival, I was outraged. She banned it because of ; its negative portrayals of American high schools and its sexy rock and roll theme song "Rock around the Clock," of Black Board Jungle did not properly represent American to the world. Incidentally song "Rock around the Clock" was really about the kind of dancing that you don't do on the dance floor and Bill Haley, and his Comets sold million copies of the 45 single, which lead them to become the first American Rock& Roll group to tour Europe.. Even as an eleven year old in 1955, with a well connected father, and a career trajectory that was supposed to lead me to the fields of power as a corporate attorney working for a major utility company, I did not exactly buy in to all of this. However a dozen years later, I did get as far as a conditional admission to UW Madison Law School in 1969, if I could prove myself contrite enough about my life, incidentally I failed to make a good act of contrition with the dean of the U.W. Madison law School, and I have never regretted it.

My own sensitivity to music has been on a kind of tectonic level. I see, and hear things happening in music like one sees the shot glass start to vibrate, and the stuff inside start to ripple just a few seconds before T Rex appears in Jurassic Park, any way that's how I was introduced to the Beatles in early 1964 right after I won a hundred to one odds bet by predicting that Cassius Clay, later to become Muhammad Ali would defeat Sonny Liston. Incidentally, I only had a dollar to bet at the time, and no, I did not, buy stock in the company that first brought out panty hose.

I was introduced to The Beatles in early 1964 when my friend who is now Dr. John Yost told us about then. He told Neil Hauser, Bob Caspersen, Bob McKiernan, Don Bushnell about them right after we finished puking after eating all fish we could stand and drinking beer we could chug at the Esquire Club's "all you can eat for a dollar Friday night Fish fry." I guess trying to play touch football right afterwards was not the best idea. John took us out to his family's fashionable house in Maple Bluff, then one of Madison's most exclusive suburbs, to hear this great group called the Beatles, However he added, the caution they only sang in German. Well of course, what John had was a recording made from one of their 1962 Hamburg concert, and of course at the time none of us knew who they were or that they were English, but that was the first ripple in the shot glass and the Beatles changed all of our lives. If was as if the world that we were living changed almost instantly from black and white to Technicolor, I thought about how I would present these cultural changes from a value neutral perspective but I don't know how in the hell I can do that.

More like Jim Morrison and the Doors than Joni Mitchell

Instead , I am going to turn to the dead German philosopher and classical Frederick Nietzsche , who though a very rigorous scholar, who really knew his Greek, I am told was not a really great fan of rationality In doing this I have reduced it to it's his work to the conflict between two distinct tendencies - the Apollonian and Dionysian. I would add that it is only as I have written this article that I have abandoned the position that in everything I did I was among the good guys. I will say that if you go back and look at my auto-biographical poem Carnival Pilgrims which appear a few issues ago in The Flipside, it is very clear that I was and am among the lucky. Reflecting a little bit more about Frederick Nietzsche I can't help but wonder if he was born a hundred years later in 1944, if now he would be among the saints in rock heaven.

First let me deal with what I would call a kind of historically constructed image of Apollonian, America, and the American Dream. It is ordered, individualistic, dream like, for example everybody believed in no dreams last forever: at some point the sleep wakes. The American Dream started I suppose with the end of the Second World War on September 2nd 1945, when General Macarthur sailed the battle Ship Missouri into Tokyo bay to accept the unconditional surrender of the Japanese empire, (the Third Reich had surrendered four Months earlier on May 7th in the ruins of Berlin while Radio Berlin played the Twilight of the Gods. American, rationality , know how, individuality, had turned us into the savior of the world, we had delivered the world from the evil Third Reich, Imperial Japan, and crushed that Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, before breakfast. And now we were off to build a brave new world in America's Image, or perhaps better in the Image of a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving painting Freedom from want. We even had our own ideology of American exceptionalism which dated back to 1837 and was coined by French Critic August de Tocqueville. It seemed to say America was the last best hope of the world, and we were going to make that world conform to and share our dream.

We seemed to have been proven in 1945. After the Second World War America was really the last man standing, in the blood soaked ring of international relations that we called World war II, among the great powers, I use the phrase "blood soaked with no reservations since World War II cost fifty Million human lives To give some sort of human scale I think of the American Military cemetery I visited and prayed at in Cambridge England where I saw thirty thousand white crosses and Stars of David commemorating Americans dead. The total American dead for World War Two was no small number three hundred thousand, enough to fill Camp Randal football Stadium in Madison nearly five times. But to commemorate all the dead civilians and military that perished in World War II you would need to fill a thousand stadiums with fifty or sixty million crosses and stars of David, or however the dead are commemorated.

According to perhaps the foremost military historian John Keegan who his monumental history of the Second World War points out the Americans produced half of the gross national product of the entire planet. So what this all mean is that at that historical moment when the Big Mo sailed into Tokyo Bay on Sept 2nd right up to the instant of Kennedy John F. Kennedy assassination November 22nd 1963 a lot of America's energy was eaten sustaining the dream and perhaps to some it seemed like that was making the country like an armed camp. This may seem extreme but ask anybody who lived through the Cold War, and what came to be known can tell you that one had to be very careful what and who one associated with.

"If you can remember the 1960's you weren't there"

R Crumb (But he can't remember where and when he said it.)

Some of the 1960's Icons would say that they are impossible to write about. For example, R Crumb who was the emblematic underground comic artist in late 1960's and famous for his work in Zap Comics and his character's Fritz Cat, Mr. Natural, The Furry Freak Brother's, and lives in a Villa in the south of France because he sold his comic portfolio for a million dollars after his New Museum of Fine Arts exhibition in the 1990's. Of course he was implying that you had Kentucky Fried all your brain cells with bad, or for matter good drugs. In way Crumb falls in with some of the worst critics of the period and gives one the feeling that it was a time of total self indulgence, hedonism and moral collapse. What was true however was the birth control pill had made its first appearance in 1962, and by 1967 among the educated classes and their children it was both readily available, and in general reliable, but it turned out to be not so safe because of side effects But, the biggest factor was that there were no AIDS to deal with so sex was not a life threatening act. Through there is some strong argument out there did and still wish that sex outside of marriage was life threatening, and you know who you are.

Next Time Part 4: Dionysian Hedonism and the counter Culture, and still more about music and the sexual revolution.

Philip Kaveny
Senior Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf
Creepers
David Morrell
CDS Books
387b Park Avenue South, 12th floor, N,Y.C., N,Y., 10016.
1593153570 $7.99

Former Army Ranger Frank Balenger pretends to be a reporter as he joins the "Creepers," a group of urban explorers who enter abandoned edifices as if they are newly discovered caves. Though breaking and entering even forsaken property is against the law, the participants go out of their way to avoid any damage and to especially not steal anything. All they take are pictures Balenger joins a quartet, Professor Robert Conklin, high school teacher Vincent Vanelli and graduate students Rick and Cora Magill. The five members enter the forsaken creepy Paragon Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. They anticipated plenty of decay as the turn of the century structure has not been maintained in years, but did not expect to run into dangerous avarice looters and someone even more deadly. CREEPERS is a fascinating urban thriller that readers will enjoy searching along side the explorers inside this abandoned "tomb" ; something that many New York City teens have done over the years for instance with abandoned subway stations. The story line is action-packed and a bit over the top with some of the incidents caused by the nasties looting the Paragon Hotel. Balenger is a terrific lead character and his teammates easy to distinguish their personalities as their trek inside the paragon Hotel turns dangerous.

The Adulteress
Leslie Margolin
Five Star
1594144818 $25.95

Alma met Francis "Rats" Rattenbury in Victoria in 1924 when he was a highly regarded, but married Canadian architect. He dumped his wife for her and soon they married, but society condemns both of them. Soon design jobs stop coming his way so he decides they should start over in England. Alma gives birth to Rats' son Felix, but when the kid was six years old, he is hospitalized due to injuries while she was driving. Rats refuses to allow her to drive, but becomes testy when she nags him to take her to see their son. Instead he hires seventeen years old Percy Stoner to chauffeur Alma. Soon she and Percy begin an affair as the chauffeur and the spouse taunt one another. Soon Alma realizes she is pregnant, which leads to murder of the heart. Based on the real 1922 Thompson-Bywaters murder, THE ADULTERESS is an insightful character study that looks closely at the relationships between three people that lead to murder. The story line mostly follows Alma as the audience understands her needs, but to a degree Leslie Margolin also enables readers to comprehend the motives of Rats and Percy. Fans who enjoy a powerful historical thriller will want to read this deep look at the disintegration of the triangular protagonists.

Envious Gods
Geoff Gillian
Five Star
1594144591 $25.95

In a world where the use of magic is considered normal, actor, playwright, and booking agent for Sambasso's Wandering Dramaturgicals, Nicholas Rakehell is a person who believes in taking shortcuts through life. When he gets into a fight with Vostak Archangel he uses trickery, sleight of hand and magic to escape her but the sorcerer follows Nicholas to Little Scratching where he is to meet up with his troupe. When Archangel confronts him again, Nicholas once again escapes and steals his coach where he finds a poster offering a reward for the stolen artifacts of the god Lordk Skymark in Skyhaven. With his troupe and his elemental Evangeline that turns into a sword Bloodthorn, Nicholas travels to Skyhaven to claim the reward for the stolen artifacts. He and his company walk into a middle of a war and the high priestess of the god wants Nicholas to find him and bring him back so that the enemy at their gates can be defeated. Using trickery, Rakehell convinces the enemy that Skymark is alive and well but an old adversary captures him and sends him into hell; he causes an insurrection and escapes. Once he is free, he must find Skymark and put an end to his old enemy or he will never know another moment's peace.The protagonist is a man who is out for himself and takes the shortest road to achieving his goal, not caring that his way might harm others. In spite all his faults he is elusive, witty, and when the chips are down loyal to his friends even when he knows it will make extra work for him; work is something he abhors more than Maynard Krebs. He is a likeable near do well who gets into and out of more trouble than any `hundred people. Geoff Gillian has written an entertaining fantasy filled with intrigue and action.

Secret Sister
Sharol Louise
Five Star
1594145326 $25.95

In 1794, London solicitor Bartlestaff informs an outraged Mrs. Pickett that her late spouse's will left her nothing with everything going in a trust fund to his first wife's offspring, Eleanor and Madeline. Mrs. Pickett says that Madeline died in the carriage accident that also killed her husband's first wife while she raised Eleanor. Eleanor's fiance Emerson persuades his cousin Jace Remington to investigate this previously unheard of Madeline. Jace reluctantly agrees because he assumes it will be easy to prove the woman is a fraud and would also end his cousin from no longer begging for money as Eleanor is wealthy. Jace arrives at the home of Madeline's ailing grandfather who raised her, but is shocked when the young woman thinks he is to escort her to London the meet her new family; she thinks he is her grandfather's hunting pal Duncan Albus and he fails to correct her mistake. He quickly believes she is the real thing as she explains about her joy in learning of a sister even as he fumbles his way through an outdoor adventure. When the real Duncan catches up to them, Jace is left unconscious without transportation as Madeline continues to London where she is met with a cold reception. Not long afterward, Jace, still holding her outdoor adventure list, catches up and tries to make amends as he is half way in love with Madeline. SECRET SISTER is an interesting late Georgian romance starring a courageous heroine who just wants to meet her family and a likable dupe who loves her so much he braves the outdoors for her to achieve her list. The support cast augments the insight into the lead couple while what happened to the heroine's parents is cleverly included when her grandfather "confesses". The historical romance crowd will welcome with accolades this new author (I think first published novel).

Before They Made You Run
James Patrick Hunt
Five Star
1594144273 $25.95

Thirty-five years old Paul Kessler is attracted to forty one years old Judge Carol Macy, who happens to be married to Police Chief Sam Clay. Circumstances soon lead to Paul and Carol having an affair. When Sam confronts Carol, she tosses in his face the knowledge of the young whores he visits complements of Police Lieutenant Greg Vannison. An angry Sam hits Carol who falls just as Greg arrived to witness the squabble; Carol is dead. Greg arranges for Carol's lover Paul to be considered the prime suspect. One of his goons, police officer Ray Miller, tries to kill Paul with the intent of making it look like suicide, but instead the rogue patrol officer is killed. Other incidents occur with Paul knowing that someone is trying to insure he take the fall for Carol's death without him having an opportunity to tell his side of the story. Though readers will empathize with Paul, the story line is owned by Vannison, an interesting protagonist who keeps one foot anchored inside the police precinct and another inside the criminal world. His actions whether allowing the mob to kill an informant or set up Paul for the fall while also being a family man makes him a unique character who brings freshness to a superb thriller.

Tabor's Trinket
Janet Lane
Five Star
1594145423 $26.95

In 1430 in the Coin Forest, Lord Hungerford attacks Tabor lands killing the lord and his wife while destroying much of the economy. Tabor's brother Richard barely escapes with his life, vowing vengeance. The new Baron is taken in by gypsies who give him time to somewhat heal from his wounds. There he meets the young Sharai, who saves his life when Rauf Hungerford tries to kill him. Five years later, Tabor still vows revenge even as he searches for Sharai whose courage and beauty haunts him. However, Tabor knows he must marry wealth and power if he is to defeat Hungerford and his knights as everyone knows of their feud including the King, but no one will condemn the atrocities of five years ago or assist Tabor; that is unless he marries into such support. When he sees Sharai he knows his heart conflicts with his brain.Though somewhat similar in tone to too many medieval romances, Sharai refreshes the tale with her courage and fortitude as she comes to the aid of her beloved several times keeping him safe from a backstabbing rival. The exciting story line focuses on the intrigue of an era filled with betrayals while Hungerford seems to have gotten away with the deadly assault though Tabor plots revenge. Fans will appreciate Tabor's dilemma as he believes he must choose between love and betraying a "death bed" vow.

A Minor Case of Murder
Jeff Markowitz
Five Star
1594144877 $25.95

In Doah, reporter Cassie O'Malley meets minor league baseball owner Andy MacTavish following the funeral of his great-great uncle octogenarian local historian Harrison T. Dicke. They talk over hot cocoa and he soon asks if he could call her for a date. The thirtyish widow says yes, which is a first since her spouse died a few years ago. Andy takes Cassie to watch his baseball team, the Sand Skeeters, play. She enjoys the game and the between innings fun especially the mascot Skeeter. Later she meets Skeeter without the costume, teenager Donna Carter, who is dating Andy's younger brother. At the last game of the season, Skeeter dies on the pitching mound; however, the victim is not Donna, but her pal Heather. Andy wonders if the Birders who opposed his ballpark are behind the homicide so he asks journalist Cassie to investigate even as he continues to date her. This fine sports whodunit pays homage to minor league baseball, which is so much fun (this reviewer born near Yankee Stadium and living a few miles from the Braves loved watching the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons play a game last year � if you have not done so try it; so much fun). The story line is a cozy that looks deep into the soul of the heroine as she begins to unravel the motive behind the murder of the mascot until she finally hits a walk off homerun. Sub-genre fans will want to watch all nine innings of this delightful hometown baseball mystery.

Leadville Lady
Leslee Breene
Five Star
1594145466 $26.95

In 1880, bookkeeper Sky Saunders leaves her Placerton home with scandal hanging over her head as her banker husband Thomas embezzled funds. She travels to Leadville, Colorado at the invitation of her cousin, Deputy Marshal Ned Saunders, who is away on his honeymoon. Ned's boss Marshal Cody Cassidy takes Sky into his home that he shares with his dad. While waiting for Ned to return home, Sky is determined not to depend on any man anymore. Following a tip from Saunders' housekeeper, she accepts a position with room and board as a bookkeeper at Bartram's Gaming House. Cody is concerned with her living and working in a gaming house as he believes strongly that is no place for a lady like her. However, he is also as concerned, if not more so, that she co-owns a silver mine as someone is killing or running off claimants to steal mines. Finally the most frightening thing about this obstinate woman in the marshal's musings is he wants her. Sky is an interesting protagonist who learned her lesson about male dependence form her crooked former husband. Thus, her need to take care of herself drives Ned up a wall as he feels he must protect her beyond just his law enforcement position. Their relationship makes for a fun western romance with some late suspense caused by a nasty too stereotypical villain.

Tropical Warnings
April Star
Five Star
1594144796 $25.95

Laura Madison runs Big Pine Key RV Resort campsite in the Florida Keys. Last year an unknown individual began sending her gifts and leaving her notes. Recently the individual has become increasingly graphic with clear threats to kill her family, employees, and family so they can be together on Valentine's Day. Urged by her friend, the only other person aware of "Slippery", Laura visits private investigator David Jennings, who feels he has met the woman he will marry. She does not like his humor or come-ons until he describes exactly her problem. He explains that an erotomaniac stalker distorts reality; he knows first hand as he was the victim of one, who eventually committed suicide. He tells her he will fight dirty to keep her safe, but that they must pretend to be a loving couple to get Slippery out of the shadows. His plans work almost too well when an apparently outraged Slippery angrily tries to burn his beloved and her lover to death. Thus the first salvo in the war has been fired. The cat and mouse fight takes a backseat to the frightening lucid description of an erotomaniac stalker; bluntly this is good to know, but scary as hell. The story line contains two strong protagonists with David's humorous inner thoughts serving as tension abating asides; however he is very serious when it comes to keeping the woman he loves at first sight safe from a psycho. The efforts to uncover and stop the stalker are action-packed, but once again TROPICAL WARNINGS is a cautionary romantic suspense thriller that pulls no punches when it comes to stalking.

Relative Danger
June Shaw
Five Star
1594145318 $25.95

When her beloved spouse died, Cealie Gunther decided she needed to find herself as she felt lost as a couple. She opened up a successful business Deluxe Copy Editors and soon met restaurateur Gil Thurman, owner of Cajun Delights, and they share a romance hotter than his hottest sauce until she decides to end it as she lacked his confidence. Cealie visits her widower son Roger and her granddaughter Kat in order to see the latter graduate from Skidmore High School. She sees Roger is still grieving the death of his wife Nancy and notices that something is bothering Kat, who is skipping classes. To help her granddaughter, Cealie accepts a substitute teaching position at the school and soon learns that custodian Mr. Labruzzo died from a fall with Kat's favorite teacher Marisa Hernandez as the prime suspect. Unable to resist she begins to investigate, which places her in danger from a killer, alienates Kat by butting in, and desires Gil, who opens up a Cajun Delights in town. RELATIVE DANGER is more a family drama than an amateur sleuth whodunit though the latter is cleverly designed to enhance the relationships between three generations of Gunthers. Cealie is a delightful protagonist whose asides (and too frequent laments) and bad run on cars make her a grandmotherly chick lit heroine as all she wants to do is help her angst-laden granddaughter. Readers will enjoy this fine academic mystery starring a feisty protagonist who out of love tries to uncover the identity of a killer.

Love, Death, and the Toyman
Robert S. Napier
Five Star
1594144907 $25.95

In 1983 Tacoma, Washington, veteran and former investigative reporter Jack Lorentz enjoys selling collectible toys to baby boomers though he only makes a modest living at the Olden Daze co-op. However, his mild contentment is shattered when his "Mandy" arrives at his place of business. Fifteen years ago, she was his fiancee, but she dumped him to marry wealthy Michael Howard. Mandy wants to hire Jack to help Michael with a bit of a problem. On property owned by Michael, remains of a late male teen have been found; this would be a minor irritant if Michael was not running for Congress. Initially refusing, Jack is forced to help when Howard Industry threatens to kick everyone out of the co-op building they own. Jack begins making inquiries into identifying the deceased, why he was buried there, and who killed him. Suspects are everywhere and worse he still wants Mandy. LOVE, DEATH, AND THE TOYMAN is a fun Reagan era whodunit starring a reluctant former investigative journalist who knows that when it comes to his client he thinks with the wrong head, but though she hurt him he remains obsessed. Jack knows Mandy is bad for him, but cannot help himself though he tries while a support character Beth adds depth to understanding the hero. Though Jack's muses can become wearying, readers will enjoy Jack's private investigation into who killed the teen and why bury the lad on Howard property.

Something Very Wicked
Mary Zelinsky
Five Star
1594145547 $26.95

Needing to get away and to take care of business, Ethan Galen decides New Orleans Times "fluff" reporter Cora Dearing is perfect to clean up his family's not so stellar reputation devastated by the antics of his siblings as much as by his own playboy reputation. He needs to persuade her to do a piece on his grandma who for decades has rolled up her sleeves and performed good deeds for those in need. Times editor Jim Matthews assigns Cora to write a series of articles on romance and intrigue though she objects to another feel good assignment as she wants to be considered a serious journalist. Through some clever manipulations, Ethan gets her to visit the Water Lilies while he is there under the name of Ethan Auxler. At Water Lilies, odious guest Mrs. Rothman vanishes and Cora suffers from food poisoning. As Ethan hangs around her, she begins to believe that Ethan might be a killer and a thief; she wonders if he murdered Mrs. Rothman and stole her heart. Readers will wonder alongside Cora about Ethan also as all evidence points to his being at a minimum involved in an abduction and perhaps a homicide. The story line is action-packed as Ethan makes Machiavelli look like an amateur with his ability to manipulate, but also fails to control his heart as he falls in love with the person he is "controlling". Though Mrs. Rothman is stereotyped as the ugly American so no one on tour or reading will miss her except perhaps her daughter, fans will enjoy this suspenseful investigative tale especially to learn the motive for her disappearance.

Why Casey Had to Die
L.C. Hayden
Five Star
1594144931 $25.95

Dallas Police Detective Harry Bronson was on the force for over three decades before being forced retired. When he looks back at his illustrious career, he knows his first case; the Casey Secrist murder was the most influential on how he conducted an investigation. He followed procedure and soon arrested her boyfriend, who was convicted of the crime. However, Harry had some doubts and vowed to never allow bureaucratic rules to interfere again with an inquiry. When the Slayers mystery group consultant for several years dies in a hit and run, Lee Chalmers hires Harry. He and his wife drive from Texas to Safford, Arizona where they are available to help participants solve a week long murder mystery. However, not only are they followed by an intrusive person who slashes the tires of the Bronson vehicle, the script is the Secrist homicide. Harry sees this as a second chance to atone for his biggest blunder, but had not anticipated his beloved Carol would be a pawn of an avenger. This is a superb police procedural tale that uses an annual event honoring Dorothy L. Sayers as the milieu to a murder mystery. Harry, though retired, uses his police force connections and his experience to investigate what is going on today and how it ties to the past. Readers will enjoy his efforts although the original motive to WHY CASEY HAD TO DIE seems a stretch.

A Family of Strangers
Sanchona
Five Star
1594145431 $25.95

In 1793 fifteen year old Kate O'Neal is convicted of stealing the silk hanky of her employer's wife. She is being transferred on the Merry Mersey to the Botany Bay penal colony for seven years. Kate knows the charge is unfair, but cannot do anything about this injustice just like when her dad sold her to the Rustands in the first place. However, she has some satisfaction having castrated Lord Oliver, the son of her employer, for molesting her. On the ship she begins to learn how to survive until she reaches her new home Australia. There the frightened teen becomes mistress to Lieutenant Kendrick, but his beating almost kills her. She soon becomes Captain Spencer's mistress, who is much nicer and kinder to her; he even helps her open up a store. As she dreams of marrying him, he leaves his convict behind for England. Merchant Bert Rowley helps Kate stay afloat even as they fall in love; but Kendrick is back claiming he owns her possessions while Spencer offers to make her his mistress in England. A FAMILY OF STRANGERS is a deep late eighteenth century historical tale starring a young woman trying to survive in a world in which she has no rights. Kate is terrific as she adapts to her situations starting with the vividly described ocean voyage and at the fully envisioned penal colony. In every case, she is forced to play by the rules of men who often lack scruples. Fans will root for this brave heroine as she proves survival of the fittest even when the rules are rigged for her to fail.

How to Marry a Ghost
Hope McIntyre
Mysterious Press
0892960140 $24.99

English ghostwriter Lee Bartholomew travels from London to the Hamptons in Long Island as the Maid of Honor at her mother's commitment ceremony to her partner American billionaire Philip "Phillionaire" Abernathy. Mom got the idea from the wedding section of the New York Times where gay couples, unable to legally marry because of sacred law sanctioning divorces between a man and a woman, announce their relationship. Of course mom is heterosexual but she still is married to Lee's dad (bigamy being another sacred anti-sanctioning law). Lee figures while helicopter flying amidst the rich and famous, she plans to interview secluded rock legend Shotgun Marriot; ghostwriting rival Bettina Pleshette plots to do so also. However, Marriot's son and soon afterward Pleshette are found dead, apparently murdered. The attendees at the ceremony of Hope's mother and those living at the Marriot estate are the prime suspects. Knowing she now needs to mind her business and work with a new odd client Miss Haverstram, Hope inadvertently finds herself investigating the case. Crossing the Atlantic HOW TO MARRY A GHOST, the sequel to the witty amateur sleuth, HOW TO SEDUCE A GHOST, is an amusing intelligent cozy that will hook readers even before the first corpse washes onto the beach. Lee is terrific with her ironic assessments of relationships and the law before she gets involved in the homicides and with Miss Haverstram's familiar sounding manuscript. Readers will enjoy Lee's antics as she tries to solve the murders whodunit murders and the manuscript mystery before returning across the pond.

Zoia's Gold
Philip Sington
Scribner Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
0743291107 $26.00 1-800-223-2336

In 2000 London, art dealer Marcus Elliot is hired to write the catalog on the sale of works by the Russian-born artist Madame Zoia. The "painter on gold" is considered the last known survivor of the Bolshevik Court who died one year earlier in Stockholm. Marcus studies her work and her papers as he learns that the Russian painter Zoia "Madame Zoia" Korvin-Krukovskyas was born in 1903 Russia into an aristocratic family. In 1917, the Bolsheviks incarcerated her as they did any of the aristocracy they captured during the Revolution. A communist admirer got her free with her fleeing to Sweden before going to Paris and ultimately returning to live the rest of her life in Sweden. This is an interesting biographical fiction work of Madame Zoia who proved you can go home when Yeltsin welcomed a show on her works in Moscow in 1993. The story line is at its best when it focuses on Madame Zoia's life in Paris, North Africa and Sweden whether it is through her letters of Marcus' musings filling gaps of knowledge. A subplot involving Marcus's family is well written, but feels intrusive from the prime theme of ZOIA'S GOLD that of an entertaining portrayal of a fascinating twentieth century artist, the last known living link to the Tsars.

Bad Blood
Linda Fairstein
Scribner Books
0743287487 $26.00

Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper knows proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Brendan Quillian killed his wife Amanda will be difficult especially since the businessman has an out of town alibi, but she feels she has a strong case. Quillian is in trouble based on powerful circumstantial evidence. However, countering it is the testimony of Kate Meade, a friend of the accused since they were teens and a wife and mother; she is the ideal witness. Alexandra completes her questioning feeling rather good about where she ended. That is until Quillian's defense attorney Lemuel Howell affirms that Kate and Brendan were having an affair; the credibility of this important witness falls apart. Cooper is shook because the revelation was hidden from her by Kate. Cooper struggles to regain the upper hand in a trial that has fallen somewhat apart. However, an explosion rips the third water tunnel construction site that should have nothing to do with the Quillian murder trail, but does as Alex finds a link to Brendan. As she digs deeper into the Quillian connection to the water tunnel explosion, Copper places herself in jeopardy seeking conclusive proof that Brendan is a cold blooded killer. BAD BLOOD opens with a gripping courtroom scene and never slows down after that until the final confrontation in a dark tunnel. This legal thriller is as equally exciting during the trial scenes and the investigative scenarios. However, some like this reviewer do have problems with prosecutors playing the role of undercover "cops" rather than letting the pros do the job. That quibble aside, sub-genre fans will receive plenty of entertainment as Cooper struggles to save a case that unraveled over an affair.

The Guy Not Taken
Jennifer Weiner
Atria Books
1416535209 $24.95

This is a terrific eleven story chick lit collection that fans will appreciate and accentuates how great that sub-genre is in the shorter format (as opposed to novels). Interesting chick lit obviously was around before authors tried to keep up with Jones as six of the tales are from the 1990s with one as early as 1990; the rest are from the last two years. Each tales is well written as the audience will care what happens to each of the beleaguered heroines, as they wish to be a Phoenix rising out of the ashes of bad relationships to forge strong new families, but have doubts they are capable of achieving their aspirations. Adding to the fun is the cast from the novel Good in Bed return for a second round (see "Good Men"). Jennifer Weiner provides a delightful anthology that her fans and other chick lit readers will fully appreciate as these women provide strong convincing asides on life, love, and family.

The Budapest Connection
Dr. Henry C. Lee and Jerry Labriola, MD
Prometheus Books
59 John Glen dr., Amherst, N.Y. 14228-2197
159102465X $24.00

In spite of too many gruesome crime scenes, criminologist Dr. Henry Liu and the four other members of the Global Interactive Forensics Team (GIFT) are stunned by what they see winking back at them lying at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Three naked late teen female corpses each having one eye opened and one shut arranged to form an equilateral triangle. The women were executed by a shot to their heads. GIFT begins its investigation informing NYPD that it is too soon to jump to conclusions. However as they start to follow the clues Dr. Liu and his three males and one female teammate run into a dangerous adversary who want Gift eliminated before they uncover the head of an international gang into all sorts of insidious activity including a white slave sex ring that leads them to Budapest. The forensic science is terrific as the renowned Dr. Henry C. Lee and Dr. Jerry Labriola collaborate on an exciting global thriller. However, having the GIFT players also act as warriors seem over the top though it is fun to root for them as they kick butt. Still Dr. Liu and his squad provide readers with an interesting forensics investigation that takes the audience on a wonderful magical mystery tour from New York to THE BUDAPEST CONNECTION.

Sagramanda
Alan Dean Foster
Prometheus Books
59 John Glen dr., Amherst, N.Y. 14228-2197
1591024889 $25.00

Sagramanda, India is a Megatropolis of 100 million residents; the city like all major urban areas run the gamut of the economic spectrum from affluent international CEOs to those so hopelessly poor one would classify them as being beneath the food chain's lowest rung of wretchedly poor existing in the ooze. Those of wealth would do nothing to hurt their status as all one has to do is look at the legions of poor as a reminder of how good life is for those with money and power. His family, especially his humiliated father, cannot believe that the heir scientist Taneer Buthlahee ran off for a forbidden love with his Untouchable beloved Depahli. Worse than that shame, he also stole research secrets he was working on; an insult his father plans to correct by having his son killed by company fixer Chal Schneemann before the information is sold on the black market. Taneer contacts street fixer Sanjay Ghosh to help his with the sale that will finance his escape with his beloved Depahli. Complicated as that family squabble may seem, a born again Hindu worshipper whose drug induced brain thinks she must sacrifice people to Kali believes that the two lovers would be a perfect send off while Sagramanda Police Chief Inspector Keshu Singh closes in on the sword slashing serial killer. This is a wild police procedural crime caper that occurs in a futuristic society in which the gap between haves and the have-nots are wider than the Grand Canyon and the number of the lower class is so great, substrata have been defined within the social group. The superb story line contains several other subplots besides those above, but all are developed and ultimately tie together in a final exhilarating confrontation. Readers will enjoy this strong tale of near future India.

The Blood Debt
Sean Williams
PYR Books
1591024935 $25.00

In the distant future Earth is a vastly strange different place in which magic is the energy source of choice in isolated enclaves. With this energy source comes unwelcome byproducts; living humans uneasily share the area with ghosts, golems, and other paranormal creatures that run the gamut of myths including living statues. Separately friends Sal and Skender become concerned over their respective missing parents who apparently vanished due to some unexplained esoteric disorder. Each without consulting with the other decides on a quest to find and if need be rescue their parents from whatever void that traps them. However, neither is quite ready to learn about a dangerous homunculus pseudo human that apparently Sal's dad brought back from the Void Beneath which may lead to death and destruction of more than just their parents: a world is at risk. This tale somewhat suffers from the middle book syndrome even though plenty of action occurs, but for practical purposes nothing is resolved. As testimony to the spellbinding writing skills of Sean Williams, fantasy readers will still enjoy the latest Book of the Cataclysm as the lead duo Sal and Skender return (see THE CROOKED LETTER) to embark on a new quest. Readers will root for the pair whose adventures are exciting, dangerous, and fun to follow as they anchor the exhilarating story line of THE BLOOD DEBT.

The Wrekening
Jayel Gibson
Synergy
19333538309 $14.95 http://www.bookpros.com/pub_pages/pub_synergy.php

Niece to the Dragon Queen Yavie and daughter of one of the Guardians, Cwen of Aaradan is estranged from her family as they condemn her as evil for having been captured and raped by their enemies. She, in turn, rejects anything related to her heritage even the magic she can employ as she leaves her home behind. However, her Aunt the Queen is worried with open hostilities already killing many. Yavie has learned that the enemy is plotting to gather the thirteen ancient crystal shards invented by the Wyrms that are scattered throughout their world. Though created by the ancient and long since vanished Wyrms to protect the world from evil; the plot calls for using the crystal to raise an invincible unit of underground stone soldiers. The Queen sends her niece and four companions (Talin, Caen, Brengven and Klaed) to prevent that from happening. On the surface , THE WREKENING will sound somewhat similar to the Tolkien tales (which in turn paid homage to Beowulf), but has a freshness of its own due to the heroine, who leads her band on the quest, while coming of age during the adventure. Cwen makes the tale as, in spite of loathing her mother Nall who condemns her as being weak and her people who assume she is tainted, she accepts her Aunt Yavie's mission to save their world. Her fellow travelers are fully developed and in subtler ways coming of age too especially her best friend Talin. Fantasy readers will appreciate this fine Ancient Mirrors saga.

Journey Out of Darkness
Jean Darby
Synergy
1933538414 $14.95 http://www.bookpros.com/pub_pages/pub_synergy.php

Doreen Daniels gives birth to triplets. Sibyl was dead coming out of the womb strangled by her cord; Rita and Maureen survived. The soul of the dead one was given to Satan by her mom, a devil worshipper. The father vanished five minutes after lying with Doreen, never to be seen again. When the two survivors turn three, Doreen insists they call her Cassandra rather than mom. She feels that name fits a mighty sorcerer controlling demons as part of her satanic pact with the King of Hell. Her daughters are frightened of her so they cling to one another though their witch mother recognizes rebellion in the eyes of Rita and obedience in that of Maureen. Over the next few years, Cassandra keeps her two kids under total control, as she has plans for both of them. The schools do nothing for the two little girls. However, some contact with Jesus lovers leads to Rita talking to God even as she tries to keep the timid Maureen safe from their mother who would sacrifice either without a look back. This is not an easy novel to read as Cassandra's parenting is clearly abusive as her family values are vastly different than those of the Religious Right though ironically she is religious and to the right. However, once started, JOURNEY OUT OF DARKNESS is impossible to put down as the audience prays that Rita and Maureen find their way out of hell; no one in authority will help them except the Lord. Making no apologies for preaching the message that God is salvation (perhaps over done) even for those seemingly abandoned at birth, Jean Darby provides a character driven inspirational tale.

Missing Magic
Karen Whiddon
Love Spell
0505526425 $6.99

King Roark of Rune and Mort the Mage of Rune are worried. They summon Prince Cenrick to travel across the veil to the mortal world because several Fae have returned as husks having lost their souls and with that the use of magic. The monarch and the mage think Cenrick's cousin Talmick is the cause. Cenrick is to go to Rome where Talmick lives to uncover the truth, but must be cautious not to lose his soul as no cure, not even by the Oracle, has been found. South Worth Police Department Officer Dee Bishop is on suspension facing charges that she knows are false. She turns to her fiance Peter, but he dumps her. Dee seeks her best friend Mick Morsi, but he apparently has vanished without a trace. However, in his garage is Cenrick, who sounds loony as he explains he and Mick are Fae cousins. As the female human and the royal Fae search for Mick, they begin to fall in love, but first there is the missing magic that could ruin Rune. MISSING MAGIC is a wonderful romantic fantasy that sub-genre fans will cherish. The story line is fast-paced once Cenrick and Dee meet and never slows down as they fall in love, search for Talmick (Mick), and seek the truth behind the soulless Fae though each means facing the dark figuratively or literally. Fans of Karen Whiddon will immensely enjoy this fine tale starring a dedicated beleaguered cop and the brother of the star of LONE STAR MAGIC.

The Mannequin Man
Luca Di Fulvio
Bitter Lemon Press
37 Arundel Gardens, London W11 2LW, United Kingdom
1904738133 $14.95

In Italy, his passion is taxidermy. He accomplishes his craft in two clever steps. First he captures his prey and then he completes the conversion. Both stages provide his sadistic tendencies with euphoria as he appreciates the kill as much if not more so than the transformation. Still he remains ever diligent and careful not to make any mistakes especially since some of his subjects are human though he leaves behind mutilated corpses using taxidermist threads to complete his trophy. Chief Inspector Giacomo Amaldi knows he is dealing with a brilliant serial killer at a time when he already feels overwhelmed. The garbage strike has turned the city into a big dump, making all investigations smell worse than usual while a questionable fire at the nearby orphanage should be tying up his time. Instead he walks amongst the trash seeking clues to a deadly killer one stitch at a time. THE MANNEQUIN MAN is an excellent Italian serial killer thriller that uses satirical symbolism to delineate the human condition. Amaldi is a fascinating character as he wades through garbage in search of clues that will enable him to identify the killing taxidermist while his adversary is brilliant at both of his crafts. Police procedural fans will want to follow the Chief Inspector as he struggles to separate the trash from the clues.

Hallowed Ground
Lori G. Armstrong
Medallion Press
1932815740 $6.99

In Bear Butte County, South Dakota, Julie "Jules" Collins worries about her private investigator partner and mentor Kevin Wells as he is oo preoccupied with the imminent death from cancer of his beloved Lilly to train her at the moment. when Tony Martinez, owner of a couple of bars and other questionable dealings, wants to hire her for a sizable fee, Jules has to decide on her own. She thinks they could use the money so agrees to find the missing five years old niece Chloe Back Dog of Tony's friend and number one man Harvey. Jules assumes that Chloe's father Donovan kept the child instead of returning her to her mother, his ex-wife Rondelle Eagle Trail. She easily tracks down Donovan at a Brush Creek Construction Company site, which makes her wonder why Martinez could not have done this. Donovan and Jules talk at remote Bear Butte where her brother died years ago. He denies having kidnapped his daughter, telling her to talk to Rondelle and the Smart Start School just before someone shoots Donovan. As the truth begins to surface involving the Carlucci gang, Native American casinos, and the safety of a little girl, a killer targets Jules. This exciting private investigative tale stars a likable rookie struggling with a case that seemed simple but with each new revelation spins further out of control. Jules is a strong protagonist who holds the tale together whether it is a sleuthing subplot or her attraction to Martinez, who reciprocates as he wants "Blondie". Readers will enjoy this superb thriller in which the politics of casinos are right out of Abramoff headlines.

The Key
Jennifer Sturman
Red Dress Ink
0373896034 $13.95

In Manhattan, Rachel Benjamin feels her chances of making partner at Winslow Brown Investment Bank remains excellent in spite of her obnoxious demanding new boss from hell Glenn Gallagher. Under his difficult direction, she, Jake Channing and Mark Anders are working on a buy-out of Thunderbolt Industries that looks suspicious to her. She believes it is a bad deal. She also receives emails at home from the anonymous Man of the People insisting that Gallagher has done this questionable transaction before. When Gallagher dies from chewing on a poisoned pencil, suspicion falls on Rachel because she had described the modus operendi to her work-mates not long before the murder. Someone looking just like Rachel pushes office assistant Dahlia towards a train just after mentioning to Rachel she needed to tell her something important. With the help of her friends and her live in boyfriend Peter Forrest, Rachel investigates while hiding from the law and from clever killers. The third Rachel Benjamin Mystery (see THE JINX and THE PACT) is a wonderful amateur sleuth thriller in which the female buddies and Peter play the key roles in helping the heroine extract herself from being the prime suspect. Rachel is wonderful as she goes from sure shot partner to loathing her odious new supervisor to woman on the lam trying to prove her innocence and not get killed while doing so. Readers will appreciate this pleasing tale that also warns fans not to chew on their pencils.

Good Times, Bad Boys
Melanie Murray
Red Dress Ink
0373895941 $13.95

In New York Echo Brennan writes for the Brooklyn Art & Times while dreaming of covering the superstars of rock and roll for either Rolling Stone or Disc magazines. After failing to fly from BATS into the big time, Echo decides to take charge of her career and her life. She cons her way into the VIP secret room at the in crowd's Edge Bar to persuade Jack Mantis and the Butter Flies to let her interview them as her first step. She kicks her musician boyfriend Matt Hanley out of her aprtment having given up on his ever making the record that he is capable of doing as her biggest leap forward. Matt is hurt by her dumping him though in some ways it is because he has become complacent. He writes a single about the loathome woman who destroyed him. The song is a sensational hit and Matt is not considered a one hit wonder or even the next big thing; as he is the current big thing while Echo becomes the most hated person in music in two decrades. She is immortalzied along side of Donna the Prima Donna and Runaround Sue. This happened all because she wanted to start her life anew. Readers will appreciate this delightful lyrical chick lit tale starring a besieged woman who over night has become a legendary bad girl. The support cast, especially Matt, Echo's sister and best friend add depth to the fun tale. However, GOOD TIMES, BAD BOYS belongs to Echo, who is the star of this amusing show that looks closely at how heroes and villainesses are created.

1635: The Cannon Law
Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis
Baen Books
PO Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
1416509380 1-800-223-2336

In 1634 the transplanted twentieth century Grandville, West Virginia diplomacy team led by Sharon Nichols seemed to be on friendly terms with Pope Urban VIII. His Holy See is very interested in future papacy rulings and has welcomed the Americans. However, by 1635, Pope Urban VIII has to watch his back as Spanish Cardinal Gaspar Borja y Velasco is outraged that he fails to condemn the foreigners for their heterodoxy as unholy beliefs. This Inquisitor wants these heretics burned at the stake. He also claims that the Pope's failure to do so proves that Urban must be removed from St. Peter's and for accepting sacrilege burned at the stake. Finally he plots to place himself on the Vatican throne with the most powerful country in the World, his homeland of Spain backing his Machiavellian manipulations. This is a terrific entry in the "1632" alternate history saga as Cardinal Borja with Spanish support plots to unseat Pope Urban using an insidious campaign to demonize the Grandville Americans and in turn paint the Holy See as being spiritually corrupt (sounds like a modern day political campaign). The story line is fast-paced, but contains a more serious tone than its predecessors (see THE GALILEO AFFAIR), but is just as good, as the quality by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis pay homage to the late innovative publisher Jim Baen, who passed away this summer.

Hell's Gate
David Weber and Linda Evans
Baen Books
1416509399 $26.00

In parallel universes, two humanoid cultures share in common the belief that they are alone as neither the Sharona or and the Union of Arcana have encountered any other civilization as they expand through their universe. The Sharona combine technology with some psionic abilities while the citizens of the Union of Arcana use magic as an everyday energy source.
The Arcana have begun to enter portals that take them into the Sharona universe. When these two monolithic societies meet for the first time someone fires the shot heard around the multiverse. Arcanian expedition and military leader Hundred Jasak Olderhan is upset that his squad opened fire and hopes to prevent a war with the survivors of this other human species, but one of his soldiers Fifty Garlath kills an unarmed man. Soon the rest of the Sharonian party of all civilians is annihilated except for two that are taken prisoner, Shaylar and her husband, Jathmar. Now Magic and Science has collided with the first encounter being open hostility. This is a terrific opening of the Multiverse series that has two competing societies colliding with distrust and an inability to communicate. The story line is filled with action, but also provides the needed input for readers to understand and believe that Arcana and Sharona exist without choosing magic or science as being the more civilized. Fans of either author will appreciate this fine collaboration in which fantasy and science fiction blend delightfully into a strong out of space thriller.

Unto the Breach
John Ringo
Baen Books
1416509402 $26.00

The terrorists hold hostage the beloved daughter of Russian research biologist Dr. Tolegen Arensky. They demand that he provide them with weapons of mass destruction from his place of work, the Russian Institute for Agricultural and Biological Research, or else his offspring and others he cherishes will die. Meanwhile in Georgia, American expatriate Mike Harmon is the warlord of the Keldara Caucasus tribe. He enjoys his life in the former Soviet republic, but worries about the nearby Chechen war. Now his former associates from when Mike was a Seal operative and instructor ask him to rescue a Russian scientist and his daughter from terrorists who demand Arensky abet their efforts to obtain WMDs. Mike reluctantly agrees to enter Chechen with some of his best warriors, but soon realizes his so called friends failed to tell him the rest of the story. The fourth Mike Harmon thriller is John Ringo at his best. The story line is loaded with action especially a terrific battle scene climax yet it also deeply allows the reader to see inside Mike as he struggles with values he took for granted, but no longer can as he wonders just who the terrorist is. Readers of the series will want to read this latest entry, perhaps the best of a strong series while newcomers will enjoy this stand alone, but also seek the backlist (see GHOST, KILDAR and CHOOSERS OF THE SLAIN).

Sight Unseen
Robert Goddard
Delta Books
0440242800 $12.00

In the summer of 1981 near the Avebury Neolithic henge circle, a woman walks with three children; a nine or ten years old boy and a seven years old girl are slightly ahead of the adult and the third child is a toddler. Suddenly a man grabs the infant whose sister reacts instantly and gives chase while the nanny stares in revulsion. The kidnapper jumps into a van, runs over his seven years old pursuer, and flees with his catch. Historian David Umber witnessed the horror over twenty-five years ago in which Tamsin Hall was abducted and her older sister Miranda killed. David eventually married the stunned nanny but his wife never moved on from the shock that initially bound them until she finally committed suicide filled with guilt that she was negligent in her diligence. Retired Wiltshire Chief Inspector Sharp informs David he received an anonymous letter with clues to what happened on that fatal day in '81. The letter focuses on the true identity of an eighteenth century political meddler known as Junius, who happens to be the subject of Umber's Ph.D. research. David begins to reconsider his wife's suicide and wonders if someone murdered her to further bury the truth. The historian and the former cop team up to follow the new leads to hopefully uncover a murderous kidnapper. If not the best, Robert Goddard has to be one of the top five suspense writers today. With exhilarating works like BORROWED TIME, HAND IN GLOVE, and now SIGHT UNSEEN, Mr. Goddard consistently entertains with exciting tales that are plausible and gripping. His current thriller will hook the audience from the opening 1981 sequence and throughout until the final present day confrontation; thus another great thriller from a genre grandmaster.

The Shadowkiller
Matthew Scott Hansen
Simon & Schuster Books
0743294734 $25.00

In the Pacific Northwest people are vanishing with the only clue left behind being giant odd looking footsteps. Authorities are concerned as these disappearances are too many with the seemingly same modus operendi. Unknown to law enforcement is that a patriarchal Bigfoot came home to find his family dead from an inferno set by the uncaring humans; outraged he is on a mission of vengeance. Sheriff Office detective Mac Schneider found the initial evidence that these abductions were not by Homo sapiens, but that of a large intelligent and angry beast. Two other men seek the creature. Ty Greenwood sees the happenings as a chance to prove his claim to have sighted Bigfoot that led to ridicule and his ruin. Native American Chief Ben Eagleclaw has a spiritual link to the Bigfoot. These three humans with differing reasons to "hunt" the berserker Bigfoot compete more than they team up to capture, kill or free the creature depending on their perspectives. Fans who appreciate a vividly grisly Bigfoot thriller with little on the social, cultural or science of the species will appreciate this action-packed tale. The story line is fast-paced never pausing for a nanosecond as in graphic detail Bigfoot goes on a rampage that makes the Hulk look like a two year old. Clearly targeting the red meat crowd, readers who demand non-stop adventures will want to join the hunt for Bigfoot; those in the audience who want to know more of the Bigfoot culture should pass.

Measuring the World
Daniel Kehlman
Pantheon Books
0375424466 $23.00

In 1769 Alexander von Humboldt was born; in 1777 Carl Friedrich Gauss was born; both in Germany. Humboldt became a renowned naturalist visiting the globe to map unknown territories and find new flora and fauna; Gauss became a renowned mathematician, staying at home to map unknown mathematical relationships and write treatises. These two have nothing in common except their heritage. They meet in 1828 at a science convention with neither thinking much of how the other lives life. Somehow they become friends though they share nothing in common not even a vision as the outdoorsman sees joy in being a scientist today while the indoors-man sees how much his world is limited as he extrapolates what the future will hold. This is a superb work of biographical fiction that uses comparative analysis to look deep into the lives of two giants of the early nineteenth century. Humboldt and Gauss are very different in personality as the former needs to explore nature first hand while the latter needs to explore numbers in his room. Bringing alive Napoleonic and Post Napoleonic Germany as well to a lesser degree other locations visited by Humboldt, Daniel Kehlman provides a strong historical tale that measures up well with other genre entries.

Shadow's Destiny
Rachel Lee
Luna
0373802196 $6.99

Eons ago, the Firstborn Son of the Firstborn King Annuvil, was king of his own city, and loved the Iliduin (mage) Theriel. His brother Ardred loved her as well. The two brothers went to war. Annuvil created the race of the Anari, a peaceful, long-lived species whose magic is to hear voices in the stone which makes them builders. The gods were angry for it was given to them to create the races and as a result Annuvil was punished, an Immortal unable to be harmed forced to walk the world until the second battle with his brother commences. In the present, the time of prophecy is at hand. Tess Birdsong is the Weaver who the white wolves rally to her side. She has magic more powerful than any other Iliduin and she is determined to work with Annuvil to free the Anari who are slaves of the Bozanari. Fighting forces gather to fight the final battle. Rachel Lee brings to a grand conclusion her fantasy trilogy with SHADOW'S DESTINY a work that is full of sword and sorcery romance, epic battle scenes and political intrigue. The growing love between Tess and Archer is obvious to all around them but he is afraid to say the words for he fears she will die in the last battle. Tess overcomes her own demons and works to bring the warring races together. She is a strong powerful woman and readers will love how the tale ends.

Silver's Lure
Anne Kelleher
Luna
0373802374 $12.95

In the land of Brynhyvar, the High Queen Meeve is slowly dying from what she thinks is the same illness that took her mother. In reality she is slowly being poisoned by one of her inner circle and the Loquileans whose ambassador is on a state visit and whose mercenaries are spread around the countryside. The land knows something is wrong and it is not faring well. Blight is spreading across the land, goblins are on the rampage and Meeve's children answer her summons out of duty not love. The realm of Faerie is affected by events in the mortal world. The goblins kill much of the court including the king and queen, silver fromm the mortal world is making its way into faerie poisoning the land and the magic isn't grounded. Timias, who was sent to the human realm to learn druid magic in hopes of finding some way of learning to control the magic want to keep the borders between faerie and Shadow (the human world). Timias is an unnatural creature who can become Faerie, goblin and human depending on what realm he is in. Because of his desire to make Faerie safe for the Sidhe he becomes the catalyst to changes the way the mortal world is ordered. SILVER'S LURE is a very pleasant fantasy that focuses mainly on Meeve's children, all of whom are on a quest of some kind. In their own heroic way they are at the mercy of their feelings of duty and obligation to the land and to their mother. Readers may have a little trouble following all the subplots because they are linear and not sequential while the romantic sub-plot takes a back seat to the action oriented storyline.

Divine By Choice
P.C. Cast
Luna
037380251X $7.99

In the magical world of Partholon, where creatures of myth and legend exist, Shannon Parker, known as Lady Rhiannon, with the help of her allies has won the war with the demonic vampiric race the Famorians and killing their leader Nuada. Shannon was originally from Oklahoma but the real lady Rhiannon; High Priestess Incarnate and Beloved of the goddess Epona created a spell that had the two women change places. Shannon is happy in her new world and in love with her husband the centaur ClanFintan. She is pregnant with his child and is happy until another spell is cast and Shannon is returned to Oklahoma. The spell caster Clint was hoping to send the real Rhiannon back to her world but that part of it failed. He hates her perverted uses of sex, the murders she has committed, her need to be rich and powerful. Shannon wants to return to her home but she can't because in our world, Rhiannon has raised the spirit of Nuada who intends to kill all those she loves. She must find a way to banish him and she hopes with Clint's help, they can defeat the dark evil that that Rhiannon has called up. DIVINE BY CHOICE is a delightful continuation of the adventures of the former Oklahoma schoolteacher and her evil "twin" (see DIVINE BY MISTAKE). Readers curiosity about Rhiannon is totally satisfied and the love Shannon feels for her husband and Clint takes away from neither because it is blessed by Epona. P.C. Cast is a magical storyteller, a fantastic worldbuilder and a creative fantasist.

The Suspect
John Lescroart
Dutton Books
c/o Penguin Putnam
375 Hudson Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10014-3657
0525949984 $26.95 www.penguinputnam.com 1-800-847-5515

When he returns to his San Francisco home following a weekend at Tamarack Lake, outdoor author Stuart Gorman finds his naked wife Dr. Caryn Dryden dead near their hot tub. San Francisco Police Department Inspector Sergeant Devin Juhle leads the official investigation. Stuart admits to the homicide detective that Caryn asked for a divorce, that their relationship was filled with domestic trouble and confesses that he hated her at least for this weekend though he also loved her; he has no alibi. More so he will receive a large life insurance settlement so his close friend, California State Assemblyman Jedd Conley recommends he obtain a lawyer because his arrest seems imminent. Jedd gets his pal the services of attorney Gina Roake, just back from sabbatical following personal tragedy. Though her ego is lifted by being chosen, Gina wonders why her when her client and senator could choose anyone in the city. Still she quickly sends investigator Wyatt Hunt to see if someone can affirm that Stuart was in the Sierra Nevada lake at the time of death and to look closely into Caryn's medical career to see if that had something to do with her homicide. The media accuses Stuart of drowning his wife, which sends the accused on the run; making the case that much more difficult to defend as the jury is already tainted before the trial has begun. This is an interesting legal thriller with a partner in Dismas Hardy's firm taking the lead on defending the client, convicted by a press frenzy before he even reaches the courtroom. The story line is fast-paced with interesting court scenes and a solid investigation into Caryn's professional connections. Though the ending seems implausible especially the post game twist and to dependent on an opening that Perry Mason would avoid, John Lescroart entertains his fans with this exciting tale.

The Perfect Fake
Barbara Parker
Dutton
Dutton Books
c/o Penguin Putnam
375 Hudson Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10014-3657
0525949860 $25.95 www.penguinputnam.com 1-800-847-5515

In Miami, realtor developer Stuart Barlowe lends a valuable five centuries old map to retired Judge Royce Herron before it was to be part of an exhibition and subsequently after that to be given as a present to a Russian mobster. However, someone assassinates the former judge whose blood seeps onto the rare map while the bullets also damage it. Barlowe is upset as he needs the Russian money to finance his latest deal but also fears how the mobster will react if told the truth. He offers a lot of money to graphic artist Tom Fairchild, who used to date his daughter Allison the lawyer, to develop a fake map. Though Tom's sister Rose begs him not to take the job, he takes the position and obtains advice from a professional forger who skipped the country and Rose to avoid jail. None of the Barlowe family trusts Tom. Stuart, his wife, his daughter and his stepson watches his every move while behind them the nasty Russian observes all of these throwaway pawns scurrying for safety. Except Rose, everyone else in this exciting thriller is at least bit amoral though the degrees vary amongst the players as Allison is much more ethical than her father or her former lover. The interplay between the members of the two families is fun as the audience wonders who will out-con who as trust is a dysfunctional verb. Fans of Barbara Parker will read THE PERFECT FAKE in one sitting to learn who is left standing.

Find Me
Carol O'Connell
Putnam Books
0399153950 $24.95

Historical Route 66 has become a death road with serial killer "Mack the Knife" having murdered over one hundred people. NYPD Detective Kathy Mallory is on vacation when she learns about the toll this killer has enacted. She vows to bring this sociopath to justice though her partner Riker and police psychologist Charles Butler reluctantly agree to assist her after failing to talk her out of leaving the killer to the local law enforcement agencies.Mallory acts as if she is the detective in charge running roughshod over the irate locals. Still she finds roadblocks not clues until Mack the Knife switches calling cards. The culprit leaves his victims on Route 66 with one hand chopped off and replaced by that of the previous prey. As she gets closer to the predator, Mallory risks her life to stop this efficient killing machine from murdering anyone else. In some ways Mallory is as obsessed as Mack the Knife is as she is fixated on stopping him while he is engrossed with killing especially since she spices up the kill in his warped mind. The action-packed story line is a classic case of cat and mouse with the locals wishing both contestants would take their mano a mano road show elsewhere. Machismo and testosterone (in spite Mallory being female) flows in this High Noon cop vs. serial killer journey on historical Route 66.

Trouble
Jesse Kellerman
G. P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0399154035 $24.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

Following a shift as third year medical resident at St. Agatha's teaching hospital, Jonah Stem heeding to the unwritten guidance of the ghosts of students past of ODT (out the door or else be available) walks towards Time Square at two forty five in the morning. He needs to buy steady comfortable shoes as his Rockport Walkers died after two years on his feet. However, he follows up to a scream he hears; and intercedes between a knife wielding man and a pretty woman. The wannabe killer goes after Jonah, who instead kills the adversary. Jonah gains his fifteen minutes of fame, but quickly dives back into the medical student world. The woman he saved, Eve Gones, personally thanks him, which leads to a heated affair. However, her sado-masochistic needs scare Jonah who decides this it not right for him. He ends their relationship only to find himself being stalked by the dead assailant's family, the DA who questions the use of excess force and worst yet, Eve Gones ultimately leading to Stem understanding the motive of the man he killed. This is an excellent character study that digs deep into the mental deterioration of a nice Good Samaritan who goes from enjoying adulation to empathy towards the man he killed because of the relentless trouble caused by the woman he rescued. Readers who appreciate a deep powerful psychological thriller will want to Jesse Kellerman's second tale (see SUNSTROKE) that will be considered one of the sub-genre's top ten of the year.

Re'Enev
Mike Maranhas
Pink Granite Press
0977780996 $14.95

They met in college, knew they were in love and got married. They had an idyllic union until Luke's brother died in a senseless accident. He withdraws from his wife Meesha, whose insecurities of abandonment turn her into a shrew. Meesha confronts him about a woman named Sandy at work when he comes home smelling of her scent. He goes off on Meesha, telling her the ugly things he feels about her. When he awakens in the middle of the night Meesha is not in the bed. He finds her in the cellar bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. They work to save their marriage and Meesha gets therapy and they get therapy as a couple as well. To cement their new beginning they fly to the Pacific island of Re'Enev with the blessing of their counselor. Luke persuades Meesha to explore the jungle with him only tragedy strikes on the isolated trail and she is badly injured. Luke tries to get help but he has difficulties of his own; without a miracle, both will die. Great characterizations, a fast paced plot, an exotic locale and a touch of intrigue make RE'ENEV a novel that will appeal to readers who like mainstream fiction, romance and suspense. The two protagonists are so realistic that readers know people like them. Luke makes some bad decisions and finding a way out of his dilemmas take all the courage and fortitude he possesses, which is plenty, but may not prove enough.

Vampire Apocalypse
Derek Gunn
Black Death
c/o KHP Industries
PO Box 588, Effort PA 18330
097679148X $14.99

With the depletion of fossil fuels, technology came to a grinding halt, the war in the mid-east making the oil reserves radioactive for years to come. The United States quickly developed into a new feudal society, with those with nuclear power plants charging enormous rates for limited power. Without communication, each community was left to survive or persist depending on their strength and supplies. It is then that the vampires came out of the night and began the enslavement of the human race. They were helped by thralls, humans bitten by vampires who were stronger and in league with their masters. The humans were penned up in walled cities to give blood once a week and take the serum that makes them zombies once a month so they have no will to fight or even think. However, there is hope because the resistance is alive and well and living on a military installation they call the Cave. On a raid to get medical supplies, another group simultaneously was sent for food and the third group was sent to kill the head vampire Nero. They didn't kill him, but they came back with the serum, a live sample of vampire blood and they have a scientist analyzing them to see what the serum does and if they can learn to make a weapon that will kill vampires at long range. They discover if they don't find a way to kill them and soon, the serum will destroy what is left of the human race. Horror fans especially those who love to read vampire thrillers are going to thoroughly enjoy this paranormal apocalypse tale. Although the humans are over powered by vampires, Derek Gunn's take on the mythos is fascinating, portraying them as sentient, long range planning beings who look upon humans as cattle. The audience will enjoy watching David take on Goliath.

Midnight Premiere
Edited by Tom Piccirilli
Cemetery Dance Publications
132-B Industry Lane, Unit #7, Forest Hill, MD 21050
1587671468 $40.00

These eighteen horror stories pay homage to the genre's classic B movies with some of the contributors coming from the silver screen. The collection has a few excellent tales (mostly by veteran writers) such as Gary Braunbeck's scary "Onlookers", Thomas F. Montelone's "End of Story", Ray Garton's "Everything Must Go" and Ed Gorman's "Scream Queen", etc. However those written by the filmdom contributors even in tandem with a veteran author seem aimed more at zombies rather than horror fans. Still overall this is a fun compilation with the extra incentive of trying to pair the tale to a B, in some cases a D film.

Mad Dogs
Brian Hodge
Cemetery Dance
132-B Industry Lane, Unit #7, Forest Hill, MD 21050
1587671492 $40.00

B level (some will insist F level) Hollywood actor Jamey Sheppard is driving from California to marry his fiancee when he makes a pit stop at a Gulp 'n' Go in the Arizona desert. As he fills his vehicle with gas, a drunken deputy sheriff asks for ID and vehicle registration before smashing the actor's head against the car. The lawman pulls out his gun and accuses Jamey of being Duncan MacGregor, a role he played on TV's American Fugitive. The deputy fires the gun at Jamey head causing him to wet his pants, but no bullet was in the chamber. A second shot is fired, but this time the drunk kills himself accidentally. Jamey flees, but Arizona law enforcement, Duncan, and a few others believe he killed the deputy come after this "mad dog" for varying reasons. The lawman want to kill the punk who murdered one of them, Duncan wants to meet the dude who portrayed him and now joins him on the lam; others see large reward money for his apprehension, dead or alive. Finally Jamey's sister Melissa sees an opportunity to make money if he is dead as she would own her detestable sibling's films even as his notoriety as a national fugitive rises. She joins the manhunt to kill her dangerous brother. MAD DOGS is an insane thriller that satirizes reality TV especially reenactments of real crimes. The story line is fast-paced and at times is almost out of control like the beleaguered lead character that has done nothing wrong, but is the target of man hunts as if he is a rabid dog. Though the key motive why Melissa and Jamey loath one another is never explained, readers will appreciate this zany dark crime caper.

The Nativity Story
Angela Hunt
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
1414314620 $13.99 www.tyndale.com 1-800-323-9400

This is the novelization based on Mike Rich's screenplay for the upcoming Nativity Story film. Angela Hunt for the most part tells THE NATIVITY STORY as most readers know it (no sense repeating the obvious). However, surprisingly, she makes her rendition fresh especially humanizing the Three Wise Men by intelligently yet humorously having them tease each other (sort of like locker room bantering) as a needed counterpoint to the cruel excesses of King Herod. Ancient Judea is vividly portrayed so much so that readers will feel they journeyed along side the travelers until they reach the stable while also avoiding Herod. This is a great rendition of the "greatest story ever told" that fans of Christian literature will fully appreciate as the holiday season is upon us.

Whispers of Winter
Tracie Peterson
Bethany House
5505 SW Illinois Street, Portland, OR 97221
0764227750 $12.99

In 1917 in the Alaskan Territory, with their ship sinking into the icy waters, Jacob Barringer, Jayce Kincaid and others are in trouble as they struggle to survive the freezing weather. They pray a rescue team will find them before each of them dies. At the same former Pinkerton Agent Helaina Beecham and Leah Kincaid pray for the safe return of their loved ones who have been away much longer than expected. Perhaps it is this common fear for their missing soul mates, but the close friendship between Helaina and Leah turns stronger as they turn to one another and to God for solace. Whereas Leah begins to doubt her Jayce will return to her, Helaina believes that Jacob will come home to Lost Chance, but not necessarily to her as he never told her he loved her; still all she prays for is the safe return of all the missing men. The final Alaskan Quest tale (see UNDER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS and SUMMER OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN) is a superb inspirational historical thriller that hooks the audience from the start as the women worry about the men stuck on some ice floe with little hope of rescue. Readers will appreciate the two subplots as the citizens of Lost Chance struggle with concern and with a debilitating epidemic while the men try to survive their ordeal (you will need a winter coat, gloves, a hat, and a scarf as the reader will feel the frozen temperatures). Tracie Peterson provides a terrific climax to an exciting early twentieth century inspirational saga.

Freefall
Kristen Heitzmann
Bethany House
5505 SW Illinois Street, Portland, OR 97221
0764228293 $13.99

On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a young woman lurches down the side of Hanalei Mountains. Monica Pierce finds the severely injured female who also suffers from amnesia. Unable to ignore the woman's plight Monica takes her in to care for her, but also wisely informs her twin, insurance investigator Cameron, who lives on the mainland. Though he is unable to figure out Jane Doe's con, Cameron thinks the "guest" is faking her memory loss. However, as the woman regains glimpses of her recent ordeal, she fears that the person who was with her may remain in danger though she cannot identity the person or even the gender. Cameron investigates the little that is known until he and the amnesiac locate the missing man, her uncle, who is also ailing. She is movie star Gentry Fox coming to Hawaii with her uncle to escape allegation of her committing indiscretions. Threats to her life while also feeling guilty for not believing her and sensing her vulnerability, Cameron risks his wellbeing to keep the woman he now loves safe. Readers will fully enjoy Karen Heitzmann's superb romantic suspense thriller with the emphasis on the suspense that keeps growing until the final altercation. The action-packed story line is so vivid the audience will believe they are in Hawaii worrying about who the mainlander is. When that is solved, the plot spins into a woman in peril as someone wants Gentry dead. The romance between the movie star and the insurance investigator remains mostly in the background serving a "required" but unneeded purpose as fans will appreciate this exciting thriller.

Revealed
Tamera Alexander
Bethany House
5505 SW Illinois Street, Portland, OR 97221
0764201093 $12.99

In the late 1860s with the death of her spouse, pregnant Annabelle Grayson McCuthens feels alone as her life is filled with mistakes and regrets. She decides to leave Fountain Creek, Colorado to start fresh in a new home in Idaho in hopes of leaving behind her failures. She seeks to hire a guide to take her to her new beginning. Two men respond to her want ads. The younger one Matthew Taylor is running from his past just like Annabelle is. He applies for the position that he sees as a chance to start anew, but is stunned to learn if hired his employer is the Widow McCuthens, the woman he blames for his friend's death though he admits he helped cause the wrong that will haunt him for ever. The second Fountain Creek Chronicles (see REKINDLED) is an inspirational tale starring two souls with much remorse over errors they made that cost them and others plenty. The irony of this superb Americana is that Matthew scorns Annabelle though he holds himself in contempt too. Readers will be hooked early on to learn why as Tamara Alexander provides an interesting Reconstruction Era tale.

A Woman's Place
Lynn Austin
Bethany House
5505 SW Illinois Street, Portland, OR 97221
0764202650 $13.99

In Michigan during WW II, four women from different walks of life want to help the fight against the Nazis so they follow the ads of Rosie to accept jobs in factories. Ginny is a bored mousy housewife who assumes her spouse has cheated on her. Rosa fears nothing not even her new in-laws who demand she fit the mold of a nice Italian girl now that she is married to their son. Jean wants to leave the farm and her boyfriend Russ behind to attend college. Helen feels all alone since her parents death makes the spinster schoolteacher wealthy and depressed. These four females meet and forge a sisterly bond helping one another cope better with their problems and trepidations. Lynn Austin provides a deep historical look at A WOMAN'S PLACE during WWII when many of the gender stereotypes were broken. Each member of the quartet has problems with what society expects of them to include whether to obey is God's way. Inspirational fans and historical readers will enjoy the pivotal period in women's rights when proof became obvious that a female can do much more than housekeep and raising a family; we have come a long way baby.

Daylight Comes
Judith Miller
Bethany House
5505 SW Illinois Street, Portland, OR 97221
0764200003 $12.99

In 1882 Truth Wyman has remained in her hometown Nicodemus, Kansas while her husband Moses has served as the Graham County representative at the statewide Republican Convention for several months. He is the first black man to hold that honor and now is about to embark on another mark of distinction having been nominated by the party as the first black man to run for state auditor. A pregnant Truth is stunned as she does not wish to leave her family or her home to relocate, albeit temporarily, in Topeka. She struggles with her choices. After a European tour, Macia Boyle has returned home to Nicodemus' thriving twin prairie town Hill City thinking of the young men she left behind before she crossed the ocean. The blacksmith Jeb Malone wants to court her and she finds him quite handsome. The store owner's son Garrett Johnson is also a keeper. She struggles with her choices. The third book Freedom's Path historical novel (see FIRST DAWN and MORNING SKY) is a strong entry in a series that provides refreshing insight into the lives of African-American heritage on the Great Plains in the early 1880s. The story line focuses on the two females (and to a lesser degree a newcomer); each has tough decisions to make. Truth fails to live up to her name as she turns manipulative to get her husband to drop his run for state office while Macia must choose one and leave the other behind. Readers will enjoy this fine Americana tale in which choices are not often easy, but honesty rather than cruelty goes a long way to living with one's decisions afterward.

Nearlyweds
Beth Kendrick
Downtown Press
c/o Pocket Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 13th fl., New York, NY 10020
0743499603 $13.00 www.simonsays.com 1-800-223-2336

Pastor Rick married the three couples (Stella and Mark, Erin and David, and Nick and Casey) in the past year, but failed to submit the appropriate documentation as required by law. In other words these three couples are not legally married. Now each has a second chance to reconsider whether they want to marry. All have doubts having had a first hand look at the baggage their mate's carry. The trio of females goes so far as meeting each other to compare notes and discuss their doubts. Will they choose I do or nevermore? Though the premise has been used quite often, Beth Kendrick provides a fun tale as the audience wonders if any or all of the couples will marry. Readers will understand the doubts and desires of the three females as they are reasonable developed. However, the men who might remain in their lives never come across beyond their fault lines so their doubts and desires never fully surface. Still this is a well written fine tale as each ponders to do or not to do for that is the question.

Eye of Heaven
Marjorie M. Liu
Leisure Books
0843957654 $6.99

Dirk & Steele operative Blue Perrineau is injured from an explosion and he knows he is fortunate to be alive. Needing to recover, he is taken off his current assignment and sent home to heal. Blue is unhappy with this turn, but understands he is unable to complete the mission. In the San Francisco airport, Blue learns of the death of the "great" man, his father Felix Perrineau, dead at seventy from a heart attack in his sleep. When his cell phone rings on the other end is a person speaking his mom's language Farsi and knowing too much about Blue and his parents. He meets the stranger who takes him to his "dead" father. Felix demands that Blue find his other son Daniel or his mom and his Dirk and Steele pals will pay the price. Though he loathes his sire, Blue believes the evil man and sets off to locate his half-brother. He easily fined Daniel working at a Vegas circus where Blue meets and is attracted to animal trainer Iris. When the shapeshifting woman is assaulted, the two siblings vow to keep her safe while both wonder if their dad is behind the attack while Blue finds himself in love. The latest Dirk & Steele thriller, as always, is a fast-paced, action-packed tale with the twist that the lead male is not on a work assignment, but instead this one is personal from the airport phone call through a complex lethal conspiracy until the final altercation. Blue and Iris are a fabulous pairing who as a team can handle almost anything, but supplemented by Daniel, they actually have a chance against overwhelming odds especially when the diabolically clever Felix is involved. Fans will enjoy perhaps the best novel in the series while newcomers will seek out the D&S backlist (see TIGER EYE, SHADOW TOUCH, and THE RED HEART OF JADE).

Ferocity
Stephen Laws
Leisure
084395695X $7.99

After writer Cath Lane's husband was killed by a mugger in New York City, she moves with her daughter Rynne to a rural town in the Northumberland Moors. Although two years have passed, Cath still grieves and hasn't written a book since the mugging. Drew Hall, the owner of Fell Farm is their nearest neighbor and is also mourning for his wife who was killed when she fell into their shredder. They meet when Drew is in a near accident by Cath's home. Her housekeeper Faye assures Cath that Drew is a wonderful person. When they both give a talk at the meeting hall, Drew and Cath find they like each other. One day Drew calls her to come up to the farm because he wants to tell her something. There are Big Cats on his land, panther looking with a demonic face and he has spent the last two years hunting them because they have some unknown way of camouflaging themselves that makes them impossible to catch. They accidentally kill one of the creatures, capture another and put both in a cage but the dead one's mate is coming. While they are dealing with that problem, they are taken hostage by three killers who have stolen drugs from a businessman in town. The storm keeps them trapped in the house with a monster coming for them and it will be a miracle if any of them make it out alive. FEROCITY is part horror, part thriller and a totally entertaining work reminiscent of THE FLOCK by James Robert Smith. There is plenty of action on different fronts, the big cats, the kidnappers, and the storm but it is the characters who make this book a cut above the average horror thriller. The protagonists are likeable and will go to the wall for each other and Cath's daughter. Though over the top, this is definitely a one sitting reading experience.

Love in a Bottle
Zoe Archer
Leisure
0843957387 $6.99

In 1763 England, botanist Sophie Andrews meets handsome rogue Ian Blackpool, who sells love potions. Attracted to him before his revelation, Sophie calls him a con artist and accepts his challenge to try his formula. Still she has no time to waste ogling the handsome man or the "effect" of his so-called love potion. She sets off on her own as she feels she must save her uncle kidnapped by Dark Dan McGannon and his deadly cohorts. To his chagrin Ian feels a need to keep Sophie safe so he joins her on her trek over her objections. As they trek together, he explains that love is a chemical reaction that can be bottled with his insistence his formula is the one elixir that can work. However Ian begins to wonder if he drank the potion as he keeps disproving his theory that love can be bottled one kiss at a time. This is an amusing Georgian romance with some suspense enhancing the wonderful tale of two individuals debating whether love can be bottled. Sophie, to her mom's chagrin, is a unique female blueblood botanist while Ian is the classic impish hero (Think Han Solo), who cannot stop himself from having to help her. Zoe Archer hits Cupid's bull's-eye with this fun historical.

The Mad, Bad Duke
Jennifer Ashley
Leisure
0843956070 $6.99

Meagan Tavistock ridicules the notion of love potions or amulets and charms as just a way a con artist can take money from a fool. Still she is willing to try anything to woo the mad Duke Alexander into her bed; thus she assumes she is a fool in love and acquiesces to a friend's idea to buy a love token. With charm in place, Meagan and Alexander meet and the attraction is incredible as neither can resist the sexual lure. When they are caught in a compromising position, they are forced to marry. As she has doubts about whether her love is real or magically induced, she wonders what dark secret her mad duke hides from her. As she uncovers his ability to shift change, Meagan gets involved on a mission he must complete if they are to have a life together. Jennifer Ashley stays on land with this delightfully charming paranormal historical romance starring a courageous take that hill female and a fascinating dark brooding duke who gives the early story line a gothic feel until the audience learns his secret. Meagan takes charge of the plot as she decides that THE MAD, BAD DUKE is hers though she is a bit worried about what he ultimately unsuccessfully tries to hide from her. Readers will enjoy her amusing yet dangerous escapades that beings out the loving beast in Alexander.

Erinsong
Diane Groe
Leisure
0843957891 $6.99

Without a thought for her own safety, Princess Brenna races to her sister Moira, who just shrieked, but to her elation her sibling is okay, but the muscular Normanni lying on the beach looks dead. However, this Northman proves to be alive when he grabs Moira's wrist. Outraged by his touching her sister, who was raped by one of his species, Brenna buries her staff into his thigh forcing him to let go of her sibling. To her surprise he understands her cursing him in Gaelic, but he cannot remember why or even who he is. He takes the name Keefe. Unable to let him die, Brenna helps him heal. As he recovers his health, Keefe displays a kind gentle nature instead of the berserker warrior stereotype raider she expected like those who assaulted her sister. As Brenna and Keefe fall in love and her father chooses him as her handfast husband, they learn who he is truly is when they travel to Dublin where the King of the Vikings rules. ERINSONG is an engaging medieval star-crossed romance as the Irish princess and the Viking warrior fall in love though their people detest and distrust one another. The story line is driven by Brenna's changing attitude towards Keefe; as he heals he proves not to be a raging marauder raping and plundering, but instead he shows kindness to everyone especially her sister. Though the action picks up in the latter half when the lead duo journeys to Dublin, historical romance readers will want to read Diane Groe's fine tale that brings to life early Eire at a time when the Vikings have already raided and conquered part of the country.

Darkness Wakes
Tim Waggoner
Leisure
0843957948 $6.99

Aaron is a middle aged man, who lives in the small Ohio town of Ptolemy, and he is restless and unfulfilled. He feels like life is passing him by and although he loves his wife Kristen her low sex drive has him fantasizing about his neighbor Caroline. One night he drops off some CDs at the shopping center when he sees Caroline with a man not her husband and they go through a door that he never noticed before using a key in her possession. The next day she comes to his vet practice where they participate in sexual foreplay before she invites him into Penumbra, the place she entered the night before. He accepts thinking it is a sex club which it is, but it is also much more. Towards the end of the evening, the members take him into a dark locked room and tell him not to enter the circle embedded in the concrete. They have a rabbit enter the circle and the Overshadow grows eating the essence of the sacrifice. As a reward, the Overshadow touches each member giving it pleasure so intense that they become addicted to it. Aaron is in for a surprise because the Overshadow has special gift for him. Tim Waggoner is a magnificent horror writer who will be appreciated by readers who like Douglass Glegg and Bentley Little. DARKNESS WAKES is worthy of a Bram Stoker nomination because this is one creepy and scary horror thriller. The erotic sex scenes are a necessary prelude to the real intense pleasure given by the Overshadow. As in his fantasy books, Mr. Waggoner doesn't neglect character development so readers understand what motivates each person in the story.

Hired Gun
Bobbi Smith
Leisure
0843956658 $6.99

In the Arizona Territory, Apache marauders kidnap a young girl. Although there is little hope to get the Ryan child back alive, the family hires the best, Trent Marshal, a loner with extraordinary hunting skills for two footed predators. However, before he can get on the trail, the victim's older sister Faith demands she accompany him on his quest. He tells her no, but she vows to follow him. Rather than waste time he agrees, but warns her to keep up or he will leave behind regardless of where they are. On the trail Trent finds the woman can keep up with him, but also is a distraction as he realizes he desires her. Still though he enjoys the taste of Faith's lips, he controls his passion because her sister comes first with the promise of rewards when they succeed in the rescue. However, as they continue to search for her sibling, he fears they have no future because he has so many enemies wanting him dead who are willing to kill anyone he cares about. This reconstruction western romance is an interesting tale starring a loner, who lives by his guns and the woman who has him doubting his lifestyle. Though the plot focuses on the rescue mission, the lead duo makes it fun as he goes from resentment to desire while she goes from scorn to desire. The story line is action-packed as Bobbi Smith once again brings home the danger of the 1870s in the Southwest.

Hawk's Prize
Elaine Barbieri
Leisure
0843956380 $6.99

Drew Hawk assumes his two sisters died in an inferno at the orphanage. Heartbroken, the former Confederate solider comes to Galveston hoping to find his brother Whit though he must do so serendipitously because he is also a wanted man. Still suffering from a leg wound that he has not given it enough time to heal, Drew, suffering from a related fever, collapses at Madame Chantalle's bordello. As he recovers he sees an "angel" of mercy caring for him. When he fully regains his senses Drew finds he is attracted to his angel, Tricia Lee Shepherd, who reciprocates his deepest feelings. As they fall in love, Simon Gault, who wants the Hawk siblings dead, observes the goings-on between the two lovebirds with euphoria; he believes he has an expendable pawn to draw Drew out into the open; all he has to do is abduct Tricia. Fans of the Hawk's P tales (see PASSION by Elaine Barbieri, and PLEDGE and PURSUIT by Constance O'Banyon) will appreciate the final western romantic suspense as Drew is somewhat distracted from his quest by falling in love. The action-packed story line never slows down from the start until the final confrontation. However, what makes the quartet fun to read is how effortlessly the two authors insure their key cast remains consistent. HAWK PRIZE is a fine Reconstruction Era Texas thriller.

So Much for My Happy Ending
Kyra Davis
Mira Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
077832351X $13.95 www.mirabooks.com

While the stars twinkle above the Golden Gate Bridge, Tad Showers tells April Silverperson that he loves her and wants to marry her though they are only dating for three months. April reciprocates his feelings and has waited two decades to change her last name as no one should be called Silverperson, but to become April Showers is a cruel joke of fate. Still she accepts as she feels safe and protected when she is with Tad. Nothing goes right with the wedding that she thought would be a small personal affair without her mother attending for some enigmatic reason that only mom understands; instead half of the city shows up for the nuptials. At Dawson where she works, her boss insists that she needs no time off for a wedding, honeymoon, or the rainbow test. Worse, April finds she prefers spending time with musician Jeremiah Ramano than with Tad. Then there is mom messing up again. However, the final straw is Tad who lied about his childhood, has bipolar disorder that is controllable when he takes his medication, and has other sociopath issues that leave April frightened and worried instead of safe and contented. SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING is a deep character study that is told from the perspective of a beleaguered April who struggles to cope with her bipolar disorder husband especially as his lies and his extreme behavior swings surface at a time she is attracted to someone else. The story line is driven by April, a wonderful protagonist, who provides a deep a look inside a person's soul. Kyra Davis provides her audience with a powerful insight into living with someone suffering with a mental disorder though Tad assists her in making her choice too easy at the end.

Bogeyman
Gayle Wilson
Mira Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778323617 $6.99 www.mirabooks.com

After her spouse John died, writer Blythe Wyndham, accompanied by her four years old daughter Maddie, returns to her hometown of Crenshaw, Alabama to be near her family, especially her grandma Miz Ruth. However, rather than impose on her beloved grandmother, Blythe rents a somewhat isolated small house. Soon Blythe begins hearing noises at night that frighten her while Maddie suffers from apparent nightmares, something that never happened to her before the move. Blythe begins to wonder if this home could be haunted by Rachel who was murdered there twenty-five years ago. Desperate to know the truth, Blythe asks Sheriff Cade Jackson to investigate while elderly Miz Ruth's long time companion psychic Delores Simmons insists she sees something from the beyond calling to her daughter. Cade agrees though he assumes both ladies are on edge because of the death of the paternal member of the household as much as from the homicide history of their rental. However, before he can dig deep, the house burns down. Though no one is hurt Cade believes a mortal person wanted the past left dead. BOGEYMAN is an excellent one sitting paranormal romantic suspense thriller in which readers will jump at every noise they hear during the night (and several subsequent evenings afterward). The gripping story line is fast-paced as the audience agrees with Cade that the two female Wyndhams are suffering from grief, but like the sheriff soon change their mind wondering if Delores is right or someone living wants the past buried. Gayle Wilson is at her best with this superior tale that should have cross genre appeal to suspense fans too.

The Secret Lives of Doctors' Wives
Ann Major
Mira Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778323463 $6.99 www.mirabooks.com

In Austin, Texas, someone murders plastic surgeon Dr. Pierce Carver. Austin Homicide Detective Michael Nash leads the investigation into the slashing killing of the renowned physician whose hands were tied together with a black bra that the cop assumes belongs to nurse Rose Marie Castle, a woman both men knew intimately. Michael quickly learns that Rosie was the last person to have seen her late fiance alive with their parting being an argument and a broken engagement. She is a prime suspect having motive, means, and opportunity. However, so did Carver's former wives, his business associate, and just about anyone who met the arrogant but gifted plastic surgeon. Knowing she is a prime suspect and not trusting her former boyfriend to look elsewhere, Rosie begins her own investigation, quite amateurish. She gets in Michael's face and he is bothered because he still wants her. Combining an amateur sleuth thriller with an urban police procedural, Ann Major provides her audience with a strong romantic suspense tale. The story line is action-packed though some slapstick moments seem intrusive while lessening the tension. Still the suspense hooks the audience wanting to know what twist comes next and whether the lead couple will end up together handcuffed in or out of bed. THE SECRET WIVES OF DOCTORS' WIVES is a strong whodunit romance.

The Crystal Rose
Rebecca Brandewyne
Mira
0778322963 $6.99

In 1835 Delhi, India, Lord Thornleigh's haveli (home) is on fire. Young Rose Windermere watches the blaze from her window next door and worries that her best friend thirteen year old Hugo Drayton, Thornleigh's son, will die in the inferno. Rose and her family survive the conflagration while the Thornleigh brood including Hugo is assumed to be all dead. A sad Rose believes that her pal survived because she knows she would somehow feel a loss inside if he died. Her family returns to E

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