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MBR Bookwatch

Volume 3, Number 2 February 2004 Home | MBW Index

Table of Contents

Cynthia Penn's Bookshelf Donovan's Bookshelf Kaveny's Bookshelf

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

Shirley's Bookshelf Vicki's Bookshelf

Cynthia Penn's Bookshelf
Personal Assets
Emma Holly
Jove Books
Berkley Publishing Group
A Division of Penguin Putnam Inc.
375 Hudson Street, Sew York, NY 10014
ISBN 0425193713 $14.00 304 pages

Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence. The elite Meilleurs Amis Boutiques cater to rich taste and exclusive design. Both the founder and her daughter recognized the exquisite treasures that made the store a huge success. With Evangeline Clouet's death, however, the boutiques might have failed if not for her boy toy husband Philip Carmichael's management. Certainly the inheriting daughter, Beautrix Clouet expresses little passion for the family trade, preferring to pursue her career in art. But the family business does bring Bea to Philip's office one fateful day. Bea has loved Phillip, who was ten years younger than her mother, since she was a teen. Now in her twenties, her feelings have not abated. Finally she risks all in a kiss that leads to a rather risqu‚ encounter in Phillip's office. Hiding under his desk while performing oral sex, she overhears the news that the New York store is in trouble. Phillip might prefer to downplay their encounter, but Bea has other ideas. Soon he will find himself unable to resist temptation, even as a hostile takeover of Meilleurs Amis threatens to derail their romance and the relationships of people they care for. Author Emma Holly pens a boldly daring tale that is impossible to put down in PERSONAL ASSETS. Fans of sexually explicit tales with richly realized characterizations will adore this sensual treat. However, readers uncomfortable with more than traditional partners, traditional places and traditional relationships will want to pass. Nevertheless, for readers who like their sex hot, the action intense, and their sensuality audacious, PERSONAL ASSETS brings erotica the perfect combination of the risqu‚ and the sensual, the tantalizing and the scintillating. An absolute treasure, PERSONAL ASSETS earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

The Christmas Wife: Harlequin Superromance No 1169
Sherry Lewis
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373711654 $5.25 304 pages

A merry holiday tale - Highly recommended. A single father of two, Beau Julander finds the daily household tasks daunting while trying to fulfill outside obligations. Broken promises to his children have led to a rebellious daughter as he tries to serve as a member of the Serenity Homecoming Week Committee. Worse, an overly "helpful" ex-mother-in-law sabotages his efforts to establish his own routine and rules for his children. When former classmate Molly Shepherd returns to town, however, Beau finds himself torn between scars of the past and a desire for a different sort of future. Molly returns for the Homecoming hoping to discover answers to her past. Since her mother's fatal accident, her father refused to discuss her mother. He destroyed even the pictures saying he could not bear the reminders. But Molly's tentative inquires into the past lead to silence that forces her to only delve deeper. Moreover her former high school crush on Beau runs abated even after ten years. But his scars from the past threaten any possible future for the without a bit of a holiday miracle. A celebration of the holiday season, THE CHRISTMAS WIFE is a delightful holiday tale readers will treasure any time of year. Although Molly's coping skills with Beau's children seems a bit idealized, her need to create a new life and find answers to the past results in a well rounded character. Beau's foibles as his struggles with parenthood and priorities will strike just the right note of realism with the reader. Indeed, Sherry Lewis displays a knack for capturing the essence of the challenges of a single father in a small town. A delightful read, THE CHRISTMAS WIFE comes highly recommended.

March to the Stars
David Weber and John Ringo
Baen Books
ISBN 0743488180 $7.99 640 pages

Terrific military science fiction -- Very highly recommended. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang Alexander MacClintock, Heir Tertiary to the Throne of man proved himself to be such a spoiled and foppish distraction that his mother sent him on a useless mission to keep him busy in MARCH UPCOUNTRY. In MARCH TO THE SEA, he and his Marines battle their way across the remote planet of Marduk in their attempt to return to earth. Now in MARCH TO THE STARS, Roger leads the Bronze Barbarians of the Imperial Guard across the Eastern Ocean of Marduk in quest of the spaceport that will get them home. During a deadly sea crossing, more than a hundred men are lost to a giant sea monsters or pirates. But more danger threatens, as half way through the novel stakes are raised when Roger learns of the changes of political climate affecting himself and his mother the Empress. Indeed, he will have to take more than just the spaceport if he ever wants to return home. Further, those changes threaten everything he holds dear, including the romance he shares with Despreaux. Authors David Weber and John Ringo continue their highly successful military science fiction series in MARCH TO THE STARS. While collaborations can be easily flawed by a mix of writing styles, Weber and Ringo offer a seamless blend of voices that becomes an impressive tour de force. Roger comes of age through these novels, growing from court foppishness into a true leader. Written on multiple levels, Weber's background as a historian and Ringo's military background add not only technical proficiency but an insider's observation of our own times and past. As with many of these author's works, many of the characters are amazingly expendable, resulting in exciting action but caution on the reader's part regarding emotional involvement for secondary characters. Nevertheless, readers that have not indulged in the first two books of this series, MARCH UPCOUNTRY and MARCH TO THE SEA, will be scurrying to the bookstore. MARCH TO THE STARS comes very highly recommended.

Don't Tempt Me
Julie Ortolon
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
ISBN 0312983492 $6.99 352 pages

Enticing contemporary romance - Very highly recommended. Although Jackie Taylor has already turned his sisters down, Adrian St. Claire intends to persuade the cruise ship owner to aid them with a treasure hunt. Adrian believes his family's B&B on Pearl Island will benefit from the treasure's discovery, and Jackie could profit with an upswing of business. Family diaries led the St. Claires to Jackie, who owns a letter referring to "Lafitte's Treasure." While the treasure most likely only consists of a powder horn once owned by George Washington, its existence is enough to convince the Texas Historical Commission to sanction a scavenger hunt. Jackie fears pursuing this quest because of her father who had been a con artist, using treasuring hunting as a scam and often sucking his young daughter into his illegal activities. Jackie is determined to remain above board and earn her living honestly, and she does not want the public scrutiny a treasure hunt might bring. Nonetheless, Jackie agrees at last, but only in exchange for reading the St. Claire diaries. But she has no intention of yielding to the kind of flirtation Adrian offers, not matter how persuasive he might try to be. The third of the St. Claire trilogy, DON'T TEMPT ME tantalizes readers with its paranormal and historical elements. Although the hero might portray an air of light hearted frivolity, he is serious when it comes to business and to Jackie. She, on the other hand, takes everything seriously, except Adrian, whom she believes to be a playful flirt who has never had a woman tell him no until she met him. While fans of previous novels will be pleased by their characters return, DON'T TEMPT ME works perfectly as a stand-alone. An alluring and enticing read readers will find impossible to put down, DON'T TEMPT ME comes very highly recommended.

Passionately Ever After: Desire No 1549
Metsy Hingle
Silhouette Books
300 East 42nd Street, New York, New York, 10017
ISBN 0373765495 $4.25 192 pages

Very highly recommended. A millionaire by the time he was twenty-five, Steven Conti wants the one thing he cannot have; he wants to marry Maria Barone. Despite his family's claim, he does not believe that her family has been sabotaging Baronessa Gelateria, his family's chain of Italian ice cream shops that also distributes products nationwide. Unfortunately, when she learns of her pregnancy, Maria disappears leaving only a note saying that she needed to get away and time to think. Not knowing of his expected child, Steven eventually traces her to Silver Valley, Montana. Seven decades of misfortunes have befallen the Barone family as a result of the Conti family's curse, resulting in unceasing enmity between the families. Despite his best efforts, Steven fails to convince Maria that the tragedy her family has suffered is only coincidence. So now she worries about how the curse could affect her child. At seven months pregnant, Maria cannot hide her pregnancy from Steven when he finds her, but she cannot yield to her heart's desire and marry him. So Steven refuses to leave Silver Valley without her. Author Metsy Hingle brings the Dynasties: The Barons continuity to a satisfying conclusion with PASSIONATELY EVER AFTER. With her inexhaustible charm, Hingle confronts powerful tangles of the heart and family. Indeed, Hingle faces one of the greatest challenges of a continuity by deftly bringing to a conclusion the many threads of the previous installments including cousin Emily's amnesia and Derrick's and Bianca's kidnapping, as well as various engagements. Despite the necessity of completing previous stories, the plot moves quickly with legal and family angst to hold the reader's interest. PASSIONATELY EVER AFTER works amazingly well as a standalone, though it will have readers seeking other installments in the series. PASSIONATELY EVER AFTER comes very highly recommended.

Charming Grace
Deborah Smith
Little, Brown & Company
Time Warner Books
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0316805874 $24.95 336 pages

Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence. Grace Bagshaw Vance does not hesitate to wield a shotgun or dump gravel on the only paved road that leads to Stone Senterra's mountain production headquarters. Widowed, this thirty-four year-old ex-beauty queen and former host of a popular morning show on Atlanta TV earns the classic southern pronouncement, "She's crazy, bless her heart." Her husband Harp, a GBI agent, gave his life to prevent a serial killer from blowing up Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. His status as a national hero garnered the attention of action-movie superstar Stone Senterra who plans to direct the movie about Harp's life and death. Unfortunately, with such blockbuster films to his credit as Viper Platoon and Death Squad Patrol, Stone's ability to keep his outrageous tendencies under control seems doubtful. Stone's bodyguard Boone Noleene proves to be the only hindrance in Grace's plans. She gracefully handles Stone's outrageous sister who stars in his movies and oversees publicity. She forces Stone changing locations to Alabama, and she strongly affects those who star in the movie. But Boone and she quickly develop a passion and an impossible desire that neither can afford to fulfill. Beneath the surface they are surprising alike, concealing poignant and painful pasts. They are equally loyal and equally determined as well, despite the fact that Grace intends to stop the movie Boone's boss vows to film. CHARMING GRACE becomes a poignant and provocative account of the power of the media to reshape the world according to the price of a ticket. Grace struggle to preserve the memory of her husband even as Stone's careless exposure becomes far less than the truth. Her instant attraction to his bodyguard lends profound shades of grey to a tale that is at once simple and yet deeply complex. Furthermore, outrageous characterizations and marvelous witticism combines for a fast-paced read that readers will find impossible to put down. Fans who adored Deborah Smith's previous release, SWEET HUSH, will easily recognize her remarkable style as both lyrical and mesmerizing. Indeed, Smith's voice has certainly made an indelible imprint and although I had forgotten reviewing Smith's previous novel, I immediately recognized her wonderful authorial voice before finishing the first few pages. CHARMING GRACE earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

Passionately Ever After: Desire No 1549
Metsy Hingle
Silhouette Books
300 East 42nd Street, New York, New York, 10017
ISBN 0373765495 $4.25 192 pages

Very highly recommended. A millionaire by the time he was twenty-five, Steven Conti wants the one thing he cannot have; he wants to marry Maria Barone. Despite his family's claim, he does not believe that her family has been sabotaging Baronessa Gelateria, his family's chain of Italian ice cream shops that also distributes products nationwide. Unfortunately, when she learns of her pregnancy, Maria disappears leaving only a note saying that she needed to get away and time to think. Not knowing of his expected child, Steven eventually traces her to Silver Valley, Montana. Seven decades of misfortunes have befallen the Barone family as a result of the Conti family's curse, resulting in unceasing enmity between the families. Despite his best efforts, Steven fails to convince Maria that the tragedy her family has suffered is only coincidence. So now she worries about how the curse could affect her child. At seven months pregnant, Maria cannot hide her pregnancy from Steven when he finds her, but she cannot yield to her heart's desire and marry him. So Steven refuses to leave Silver Valley without her. Author Metsy Hingle brings the Dynasties: The Barons continuity to a satisfying conclusion with PASSIONATELY EVER AFTER. With her inexhaustible charm, Hingle confronts powerful tangles of the heart and family. Indeed, Hingle faces one of the greatest challenges of a continuity by deftly bringing to a conclusion the many threads of the previous installments including cousin Emily's amnesia and Derrick's and Bianca's kidnapping, as well as various engagements. Despite the necessity of completing previous stories, the plot moves quickly with legal and family angst to hold the reader's interest. PASSIONATELY EVER AFTER works amazingly well as a standalone, though it will have readers seeking other installments in the series. PASSIONATELY EVER AFTER comes very highly recommended.

The New Man: Superromance No 1166
Janice Kay Johnson
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373711662 $4.50 256 pages

Deeply moving -- Very highly recommended. Helen Schaefer lost her beloved husband to a two year battle with cancer, and has no interest in marrying again. She and her daughter live with friends in an extended family relationship that works very well. While she dreams of creating a home for just the two of them, career opportunities dictate a different path for the time being. Right now Helen intends to leave behind a job in retail to market products she and her business partner have been manufacturing and selling. When she meets widower Alec Fraser at a craft fair, however, Helen does not expect him to impact her plans and dreams so profoundly. Alec lost his wife in a stunningly short period of time after her diagnosis. Goodbyes were lost to necessity, unlike Helen. While she does not wish to marry again, Alec is not interested in a relationship without commitment. With much in common and yet such diverse views on love and marriage, Alec faces a tremendous challenge if he wants to convince Helen to risk again. Author Janice Kay Johnson completes the Under One Roof trilogy with a powerfully told tale in THE NEW MAN. Grief threatens to insulate Helen from the joys and possibilities of love until Alec rocks her world. While loss of their spouses might have drawn them together, a whole lot more holds them together. Certainly Johnson demonstrates that it is not blood which creates a family but love. One of the strongest elements of the novel is that both Helen and Alec had good marriages filled with love that were ended by death not living issues. Often these types of plots reveal a less than happy previous marriage and it refreshing to find a story that allows happiness twice. A deeply moving story, THE NEW MAN comes very highly recommended.

When She's Bad
Leanne Banks
Warner
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0446611735 $6.99 324 pages

Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence. Delilah had an unusual relationship with her benefactor. In exchange for appearing in public as arm candy, Howard "Cash" Bradford passed on his business knowledge and part ownership of DeMay Health Spa following his demise. Unfortunately, his daughter retains partial ownership as well, and loathes the woman her father had supposedly slept with. Sworn to uphold Cash's reputation as lady's man, Delilah does not reveal the true nature of their celibate relationship. Following Cash's death, Delilah learns the multitude of secrets he had kept, including dealing with blackmail. Further, Viagra had given him the opportunity to impregnate a young woman who subsequently drops her baby off on Delilah's doorstep. Her neighbor Benjamin Huntington, previously determined to perform loud home renovations late at night, soon finds himself helping her with the baby. He is also the brother of the man Cash's daughter wants to marry. With such convolutions, the complications promise high entertainment! With WHEN SHE'S BAD, author Leanne Banks pens the dynamic sequel to her first single title SOME GIRLS DO that readers have been begging for. Fans will be incredibly pleased with Katie's sister Delilah's story. Her eccentric and multifaceted character provides an abundance of surprises with her intense loyalty as well as a unique combination of naughty and nice characterization. While neighbor Benjamin might seem too good to be true, his early determination to renovate his condo while neighbors sleep proves his charming foibles. Although many readers believe that a baby dropped from heaven is an overused plot device, Banks makes it work in a witty, memorable way that readers will adore. With two such remarkable novels to her credit, one can only hope that Banks has another full length novel in the works! WHEN SHE'S BAD earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

What a Girl Wants: Blaze No 116
Jamie Sobrato
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373791208 $4.50 256 pages

Sizzling! Very highly recommended. Author Jane Langston penned the self-help book THE SEX FACTOR, encouraging women to seek emotionally fulfilling relationships rather than focus on sex. While hugely successful with women, however, the book elicited an outcry of protest among men who suddenly find they are sleeping alone. Jane appears on shock jock Jax Reed's talk show to defend her book and her ideals, only to find herself in possible danger from a threatening listener. Jax recommends that Jane seek protection and recommends his own security service. When her sister seconds the recommendation following further threats, Jane contacts Luke Nicoletti. Luke fails to understand how a woman as hot as Jane can recommend celibacy. His own previous girlfriend ditched him after following Jane's advice, and Luke agrees with the general consensus among men that Jane just has not met the right man yet. Certainly when she meets Luke she suddenly wants to throw caution to the wind and explore the sizzling chemistry that they share. Furthermore, in spite of their business relationship, Luke wants to explore the possibilities that their passion presents and prove that her book's premise is wrong. Fans of Jamie Sobrato's previous Harlequin Blaze release SOME LIKE IT SIZZLING will recognize her scintillating style in WHAT A GIRL WANTS. Indeed, Sobrato demonstrates a remarkable gift for capturing the heart of what a girl wants in a sizzling combination of emotional possibility and sensual promise that readers will treasure. As Sobrato explores the dynamics between desire and love, readers will be amused at the contradictions and convolutions both Jane and Luke must confront. Realistic portrayals provide rich characterization and a delightful plot that will tempt the reader to complete the book in a single sitting. Add WHAT A GIRL WANTS to the keeper shelf and watch for more from this talented romance author. Very highly recommended.

My Favorite Thief
Karyn Monk
Bantam
A Division of Random House, Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York, New York, 10019
ISBN 0553584413 $6.50 368 pages

Terrific Victorian romantic suspense -- Highly recommended. Intimately familiar with the challenges of poverty and necessity, Charlotte "Lottie" Kent offers her abductor advice rather than resistance during a foiled robbery attempt. Little seems to faze this sassy young woman who is under the guardianship of the Marques of Redmond. The administrator of a London refuge shelter for unfortunate women and children, Lottie attends high society events hoping to secure support for the shelter. While attending a social event, raise money for her center. While at one of these galas, Lottie interrupts a robbery attempt, and helps the wounded thief, dubbed Dark Shadow by the press, escape. It does not take Lottie long to identify the thief as Earl Harrison Payne, and when her deadbeat father shows up demanding money, she is forced to resort to extortion to protect her family and the shelter. Specifically, she demands that Harrison heist jewels that she might sell to dodge her father's threats. Lottie's demands bring about an unexpected chain of events. Harrison cannot resist the quiet charm of this crippled woman with a heart of gold. But they both will soon find themselves in danger and must join forces to identify their common enemy. Author Karyn Monk pens an unexpectedly delightful Victorian romantic suspense with MY FAVORITE THIEF. With a quick moving plot and original characterizations, Monk draws upon expected qualities which make her work sparkle. Seldom does fiction allow a less than physically perfect heroine, but both Lottie's physical challenges and family challenges lend her an unexpected yet delightful vulnerability. Harrison's motives especially will keep readers guessing with his dark reputation and high societal position. With an unexpected and intriguing conclusion, readers will find themselves quite satisfied with this delightful read. MY FAVORITE THIEF comes highly recommended.

Cynthia Penn
Reviewer

Donovan's Bookshelf
The Industrial Design Reader
Carma Gorman
Allworth Press
10 E. 23rd St. #510, NY, NY 10010
1581153104 $19.95 www.amazon.com

This anthology is the first to focus on the history of industrial design, providing essays written by designers, policy makers, critics and historians on the topic. From the introduction of industrial design in the 1850s to its present mass production, this provides a fine selection of writings by Nader, Fuller, Wright and other leaders in the field.

Zuni Cafe Cookbook
Judy Rodgers
W.W. Norton & Company
500 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
0393020436 $35.00 1-800-233-4830

Recipes from a popular San Francisco institution and culinary tradition are packed in here, with dishes providing a delightful array of innovative and refreshing ideas, from Spicy Squid Stew with Red Wine and Roasted Peppers to Beef & Onion Gratin with Tomatoes. Cooks who don't mind spending time in the kitchen will find these dishes appealing and delicious.

Of Moths and Men
Judith Hooper
W. W. Norton
500 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
0393051218 $26.95 1-800-233-4830

Peppered moths of England were the most renowed insects in the world, featured in nearly every scientific textbook and acquiring fame through a British physician and amateur lepidopterist who used moths to demonstrate evolution in action. This explores new evolutionary theories of the peppered moth, exploring how the moths became invisible to birds and escaped being preyed upon. Kettlewell and his theory of natural selection is surveyed in a lively, informative guide.

An Audience With An Elephant
Byron Rogers
Aurum Press/Trafalgar Square
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
1854107860 $19.95 1-800-423-4525

This blends travel and nature in the finest of methods and traditions, probing the variety and comedy of encounters with animals around the world and lending a chatty, adventure-filled tone which should particularly appeal to fans of Eric Newby. Both a travelogue and a nature title, it covers encounters with both.

Macmillan UK/Trafalgar Square
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
1-800-423-4525

Nigel Henbest & Heather Couper's EXTREME UNIVERSE (0752261630, $29.95) explores the most violent and awesome objects in time and space and will appeal to a wide and general interest audience. It deserves ongoing mention as a fine library acquisition, packed with color photos and details rich in scientific history and insights on the Universe's origins. Duff Hart-Davis' FAUNA BRITANNICA (0297825321) has a specialized focus which may limit its audience to British libraries, but this colorful and weighty reference will prove a strong work for any whose interest in animals has been awakened. Creatures wild and domesticated which have lived and now live in the British Isles are covered in colorful detail enriched by a healthy dose of natural history.

The Edge of Pleasure
Philippa Stockley
Time UK/Trafalgar Square
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
034911546X $13.95 1-800-423-4525

Gilver's childhood talent is to understand the connections between artistic skill and the granting of sexual favors: his early understanding leads to a rich life, but at age 28 he's forgotten the talents which formed the wellspring of his success. When ruin strikes, he's ill-prepared to recover in this moving story of change and talent.

Driftwood Furniture
Derek Douglas
Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1552977293 $29.95 1-800-387-5085

Readers with a ready access to driftwood will find this an ideal crafts guide to using driftwood as a building material. Tables, benches, arbors and more can created easily through these step-by-step instructions, which include listings of tools and materials needed. An excellent furniture-maker's guide.

The Music Lover's Quotation Book
David Barber, Editor
Sound and Vision
c/o Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
092015137X $19.95 1-800-387-5085

Words and quips from composers, performers, and listeners of music provide hundreds of entries covering a range of musical genres. This is packed with delightful observations on music and musical styles: the perfect gift for that musician who 'has everything' but the proper quote at hand for an occasion.

Food Lover's Atlas of the World
Martha Rose Shulman
Firefly
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1552975711 $3.00 1-800-387-5085

From the different culinary styles and regions of France to the history of and cultural influences upon North African cuisines, this provides a wide-ranging discussion of various food trends, styles, and influences around the world. Color photos of fresh ingredients and regional marketplaces accompany histories which focus on regional signature dishes and their evolution. A bright, fascinating coverage which invites browsing.

The Complete Kids' Allergy and Asthma Guide
Dr. Milton Gold, Ed.
Robert Rose/Firefly
155 E. 34th St. #5B, New York NY 10016
0778800784 $17.95 www.amazon.com

How will a parent know if a rash or reaction is due to a flu, an insect sting, or a more serious allergy? The Complete Kid's Allergy and Asthma Guide: The Parent's Handbook for Children of All Ages provides parents with a handbook for all ages, including food allergies, airborne allergies, and insect allergies among its quick reference lists of symptoms and treatment options. An essential home guide, this should be in every parent's health library.

The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro & Other Stories
Paul Theroux
Houghton Mifflin
215 Park Avenue So., NY, NY 10003
0618265155 $25.00 www.amazon.com

This collection of stories presents a 21-year-old art student narrator a countess traveling with a companion who witnesses aging and decay in a golden age of Europe. Written from the perspective of a sixty-year-old looking back on her life, this blends short stories and novels in a vivid portrait of a Europe changed.

Knopf
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.aaknopf.com 1-800-726-0600

Two excellent new titles provide lively histories and discourses on science and nature. Gaby Wood's EDISON'S EVE (0-679-45112-9, $24.00) tells of the search for mechanical life during the 18th and 19th centuries, from a fabricated mechanical duck which was touted to digest its food to the Turk, a chess-playing machine proported to think. Hoaxes, shams, and efforts and experiments in artificial intelligence are examined in this fun guide to past concepts. Pieter Folkens' GUIDE TO MARINE MAMMALS OF THE WORLD (41141-0, $26.95) describes all 120 species of whales, porpoises, and marine mammals, from behavior and reproduction to distribution around the world. Packed with color photos and illustrations, it will make an excellent library reference for any researcher seeking basic information in a single volume.

Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York NY 10019
1-800-250-5308 www.amazon.com

From shared decision-making to organizing more effective meetings through adjusting programs and structure, Eli Mina's THE BUSINESS MEETINGS SOURCEBOOK (081440670X $65.00) provides business managers with important insights on efficiently managing meetings. Introductory chapters provide learners with the ideas to form a business meeting foundation, while experienced managers will want to turn to the later chapters on converting dysfunctional groups and handling more complex group issues. An essential executive's guide. Allan Henderson's E-LEARNING (0814471692, $19.95) tells how to make the most from an online learning environment. From budgeting costs for e-learning to supporting employees who respond to e-learning opportunities, this is packed with interviews with experts plus examples of e-learning in sales, legal training and HR. An exciting survey.

Dover Publishers
31 E. 2nd St., Mineola, NY 11501
1-800-223-3130

These new Dover publications are outstanding values: they provide reprints and coverages of topics ranging from fashion and decoration to architecture, and will please any seeking value for their library holdings. William Radford's ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS AND MEASURED DRAWINGS OF HOUSES OF THE TWENTIES (0-486-42156-2, $14.95) provides an unabridged republication of a 1921 classic which holds value for modern readers. This offers a collection of scaled, measured drawings in 1920s styles for domestic architecture craftsmen, lumber dealers and builders: residential structures receive meticulous coverage. MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE by Edward Hoak and Willis Church (42231-2, $29.95) provides a republication of a 1930s original covering major notable American buildings and their designers. Lack and white photos and scaled plans pack the presentation of classic structures. Matthaeus Merian's GREAT SCENES FROM THE BIBLE (42043-4, $12.95) reproduces over two hundred 17th century engravings all the plates from Icones Biblicae, originally published in Germany in the 1600s. Black and white plates show intricate detail. John Batchelor's 100 HISTORIC SHIPS IN FULL COLOR (42-67-1, $11.95) provides the artist's panoramic views of a number of historic ships dating from ancient to relatively modern times. This is an original Dover publication packing in some truly outstanding ship paintings. He 1919 catalog ROYCROFT DECORATIVE ACCESSORIES IN COPPER AND LEATHER (42112-0, $12.95) presents over two hundred photos of elegant, hand-hammered bowls, vases, bookends and other materials. Collectors and antiquarian dealers in particular will find this fascinating. MASTERPIECES OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE (42113-9, $16.95) reproduces the Majorelle catalogue of 1910, presenting a host of black and white images of the specialty furniture produced by this designer. An excellent reference for art libraries. The Dover library's GREAT SELF-PORTRAITS (42168-6, $5.95) provides over forty works of art, edited by Carol Belanger Grafton and coneying in black and white some of the finer images artists have of themselves. JoAnne Oilan edits PARISIAN FASHIONS OF THE TEENS (41750-6, $16.95), a collection of over three hundred costumes from L'Art et la Mode. This origina Dover publication holds over a hundred black and white plates representing early 20th-century fashions and styles. Olian's EVERYDAY FASHIONS OF THE FIFTIES (42219-4, $14.95) provides excellent fifties styles as pictured in Sears catalogs of the times. Over a hundred captioned Sears catalog holdings are packed into this representation. All are outstanding values.

Diane C. Donovan
Reviewer

Kaveny's Bookshelf
This month I will focus on a fascinating and ground breaking new book about World War I. It was brought to my attention almost by accident at the semi-annual Anglo-Saxonists' Conference held in Scottsdale Arizona in August 2003. That's where I purchased its pre-publication galleys from another bookseller. One of the reasons I function as a bookseller at number of conferences that I attend and participate in is that the booksellers' room is kind of a cultural space where interested parties are drawn together. In terms that might be used by Jurgen Habermas, the bookseller's room becomes a public sphere where those who might not otherwise meet are drawn together by some common thread or interest.

That is how I met Dr. Allen J. Frantzen, who noticed I was reading the galleys to his forthcoming book,

Bloody Good: Chivalry, Sacrifice, and the Great War
Dr. Allen J. Frantzen
University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226260852 $35.00 335 p., 26 color plates, 93 halftones

After several conversations with Dr. Frantzen, it became clear that Bloody Good was a book that I had to review as Literary Editor of Midwest Book Review, because it addresses seemingly unanswerable questions about sacrifice and suffering during World War I.

Those of you who have read Kaveny's Bookshelf for the last several years know that World War I (also known as The Great War), and sometimes by fools as "the war to end all wars" is my interest of a lifetime. Elsewhere, I have written extensively about the horror and banality of The Great War 1914-1918 so I will summarize my remarks here.

After 90 years, has World War I has fallen off the event horizon for the contemporary reader. Yet its magnitude is such that it is a cultural watershed of Western civilization. Confounding the understanding of World War I is the problem of numbers, which is further confounded by the problem of imagination. For example, recently we were given the sad news that American combat deaths in Iraq after ten months have reached five hundred men and women. A generation before, American combat deaths in Vietnam totaled more than a hundred times that number over at least a decade conflict. Yet these totals for were approximated during the first forty-eight hours of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, where a combined British-French offense (unsuccessfully) sought to break the German deadlock of The Western Front, which comprised sections of Northern France and Belgium. The entire offensive gained less than a score of square miles of territory and no militarily significant objectives.

All this is true and all this has been said before, and in much greater detail than my single example which may be taken as a part for the whole of the Western European theater of The Great War, but not quite. For a long time I have felt as if the whole field of World War I studies has been deadlocked in a game of numbers which can go only so far in contributing to our understanding of The Great War. Because large numbers are un-imaginable for most of us. For example, two years ago, when we traveled to Salisbury Cathedral in England, I visited an art exhibit called "40,000 souls." It was made up of something that looked like red (regulation size) tennis balls with gaping open mouths. They covered a walkway along the interior of the courtyard which was about one hundred feet long and ten feet wide. More than that number of young men died in two days of the Somme offensive.

To this point, no one has really posed a satisfactory answer to the question; why did the soldiers keep fighting? To this point one of the best answers to has come (amazingly) from an episode of the British television black comedy "Black Adder," called "Black Adder Goes Over The Top," which brought me to tears when I watched it last. It brought me to tears because of the ineffability and inevitability Black Adder's Doom. The line I remember most from the episode was something to the effect of "one moment I was sitting in a pub looking for somebody to shag and the next moment I had four million incredibly pissed off Germans coming at me."

But, Frantzen's new book has changed that. Because, while by no means glorifying the horror and futility of The Great War, Frantzen succeeds in at least raising the specter of the tragic and horrific suffering of a generation of individuals who literally descended wave after wave into four years of hell from August third, 1914 to the Eleventh Minute of the Eleventh hour of the Eleventh Month Of 1918 with to a of dignity and sacrifice which is at least approximates the subtext of many of Wilfred Owens's poems.

However, Frantzen does not resort to some sort of historical pragmatism which views suffering and sacrifice as a means to an end of some sort of public good because he draws his sources from both sides of the conflict. I doubt if anyone could have written this book besides Frantzen because his methodology draws from such a wide range of source material ranging from Medieval to Postmodern and includes manuscripts, postcards, literary sources, and even television commercials. Frantzen has set the stakes high with this sort of book because his methodology requires him to move freely between high and popular culture and across thousands of years of Western, and military history as he explores the various iterations and reiterations of the chivalric. And the Chivalric is central to his analysis and embodies both his thesis of sacrifice and anti-sacrifice, tied to the representation of Christ's passion and suffering for the sake of humanity which is necessary but not sufficient to make Bloody Good a great book. What makes it a great book is that it is also a study of the use and power of culturally imbedded images, which are used sometimes opportunistically by the hegemonic powers as in the case of adoption conscription in Great Britain at the start of the war, as a means of circumventing domestic socialist resistance to the Great War. Or, in the German case, to fund at least eight war loans. As part of the process he has integrated the study of World War I with its effect on the American and European popular consciousness with nearly two thousand years of Western cultural and religious studies in order to throw new light on perplexing questions. Questions like "What made the soldiers go on?" and "What made most civilians support their efforts, at least until the collapse Kerensky offensive implemented in post Tsarist Russia in the summer of 1917?" and, for that matter, "What sent most of the War poets back to die at the front?"

Of course Frantzen book is of interest to the specialist, but I feel because it is so well written it will also appeal to a much broader audience and highly recommend it for secondary school public and college libraries and for any part of the informed reading public. I must say that my absolute favorite section of Frantzen's book was on postcards which because of the frequency of mail delivery in early 20th Century Europe (as often as eleven times a day) approximated some aspects of the contemporary internet. One also feels that World War I combatants where inescapably trapped in their situation as Christ was to his humanity. However the soldier's sacrifice can only be sanctified when made for other soldiers, or perhaps families, but not for king or country.

From Saint Wilfred to Wilfred Owen.

It is now exactly two months since I took my thirty mile day trip From Leeds to Ripon England by bus to visit Ripon Cathedral. As much as I love the British train system I also like to take inter-city buses whenever I can sneak away from my companions and have a day to myself. If you want to find out more about I suggest that you check out their handsome Website, http://www.riponcathedral.org.uk/frames/frame_history.htm to find out about one of England's oldest stone churches founded in 672 by Saint Wilfred, however the only thing that is left of the original church is the stone crypt. Incidently I went down into it but got scared and came up rather quickly to say the least. However what caught my attention was a little bulletin board which announced an upcoming exhibit entitled From Saint Wilfred to Wilfred Owen. I asked one of the clergy what was the Connection between Ripon England and The World War One Poet Wilfred Owen. Her answer expressed just exactly what I love so much about England. She said, "after Owen was wounded for last time he was invalided out for part of to Ripon and stayed at this address. While I founded the residence where he stayed and had tea at a shop where he might have had his tea.

That is where I revised these paragraphs which I originally wrote several years ago.

For more than forty years I have felt a spiritual link to the World War One Poet Wilfred Owen, who died on the last day of that war. It has taken me nearly that long to understand why but as you follow through my first review I hope I can share at least some of my insights with you. Strangely, at certain times of my life I have felt that I carried a part of Wilfred Owen's spirt in my soul, and in a way that same spirt warmed me in my darkest hours. My links to the Great War are three fold, intellectual, Spiritual, and familial

I was born nearly sixty years ago on July 08, 1944 in the midst of another great but very different war. I was named my mothers brother First Lieutenant Philip J. Dunn 1920 -1996. At the time my uncle Philip was an infantry officer fighting in General Dwight Eisenhower's Crusade in Europe to liberate France from the Nazi yoke. He told me the last time I saw him a few years before his death that news of my birth was brought to him at the front within eight hours of its happening.

However, my World war I connection is through my father Edward T Kaveny 1898- 1985. My father was born the same year as Albert Maria Remmarque author of great realistic War novel All Quiet on The Western Front. My father was technically a World War One Veteran because he was inducted into The United States Army in Sept 1918, but never had to go "over there to see The Western Front, because The Great War ended while he was in OCS at Holy Cross University where they trained with broomsticks, because there were not enough rifles to go around. Never the less I as I grew up, my father loved to discuss with me the logistics of the failure of all the great German Offensives. He also like to give me harrowing accounts of the effectiveness of the Paris Gun which turned a German long range artillery shells into ballistic missies which escaped the stratosphere with a range of seventy-five miles.

So in a way I felt that I had historicised a memory and re-kindled a memory. By the way the Evening Song at Salisbury Cathedral which I mentioned last month was video taped by the BBC and who knows maybe it will be broadcast with me not singing since a carry a tune like a concealed weapon

Philip Kaveny
Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf
The Spare
Carolyn Jewel
Leisure
ISBN: 0843953098 $5.99, 352 pp.

In the village of Far Caister, Sebastian Alexander spent his early life as THE SPARE to the spare. However, over a decade ago his oldest brother died making the middle son Andrew the heir and Sebastian the prime spare. Still as expected of a third born aristocratic son, Sebastian joined the Royal navy in the war with Napoleon. In 1811 his father and his sibling die not long apart. Sebastian inherits the title to Pennhyll Castle. As Sebastian heals from a near death war wound he plans to do his duty by marrying and siring the heir and a spare. However, most important immediately is to learn what happened to Andrew as the new lord believes someone murdered his brother. He plans to start his inquiries with Olivia Willow who has survived tragedy twice. Her father and brother died in a carriage accident that also crippled her mother and she was thought dead when his brother and sister-in-law died. However, Olivia insists she remembers nothing about what happened on that fatal day. Sebastian begins to fall in love with her, but wonders if he is besotted with a serial killer? Though the who-done-it remains too much in the background, fans will enjoy this entertaining Regency romantic suspense. Sebastian is a delightful lead protagonist who is obsessed with learning the truth. Olivia is the classic female sub-genre character struggling with tragedies and poverty though the amnesia is too convenient of a gimmick. Still fans will find THE SPARE is a fine jewel of a tale.

Cat Fear No Evil
Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Harper Collins
ISBN 0066209498 $24.95, 336 pp.

In the small town of Molena Point, just South of San Francisco, live three very special felines who can talk to and be understood by humans. Only six people in the town know the secrets of the cats and since they love Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit, they will not tell anyone. In the past, these precious felines have solved crimes for the local police and it looks like their help will be needed once again. Three recent robberies were committed in the area but only one item from each theft was taken. The evil black cat known as Azrael is back in town and since he always hooks up with criminals, the trio of felines believes he is somehow involved. Kate, Lucinda and Pedria Greenlow have some very unusual jewelry in their possession and someone wants it badly enough to kill which gives Joe Grey his first clue on the road to discovering who is responsible for a variety of crimes. Fans of Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series, Carol Nelson Douglass's Midnight Louie mysteries and Richard Bach's tales will purr with pleasure while reading this whimsical amateur sleuth tale. The investigation into a slick cat burglar is fun to follow for those who enjoy personification starring delightful cat detectives and hissing at feline villains. Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey mysteries are so delightful; it is hard to for the next one to come to life.

Broken Angels
Richard Morgan
Del Rey
ISBN: 0345457714 $14.95, 384 pp.

In the twenty-fifth century, three decades have passed since Laurens Bancroft hired Takeshi Kovacs to investigate the murder of Bancroft (see ALTERED CARBON). Now Takeshi has returned to his main profession, soldering. The Protectorate of Sanction IV hired a mercenary unit that Takeshi joined to destroy an inane uprising. Wounded in action, Takeshi recovers in an orbital hospital-while his consciousness is loaded into another bodily sleeve. He meets pilot Jan Schneider who informs Takeshi that the war interrupted her transporting of archaeologists on a Martian artifacts dig. She also says that she found a hyper gateway that is a shortcut to a distant outer space vector where she observed the find of the millennium, a Martian spaceship. Jan wants Takeshi to free the head archaeologist from the military prison so that when they find corporate backing, they can complete the mission and become wealthy without risking their lives. Jan's description is not quite as simple to execute so Takeshi does what he does best, killing others on the dangerous mission. Though the antihero protagonist spews too much galaxy weary angst about being a killing machine, BROKEN ANGELS is a terrific futuristic outer space tale because Richard Morgan widens the look at the disorganized mess of a small galaxy sector. The author cleverly adds depth to his universe via the war, the hyperspace discovery, and the finding of ancient artifacts throughout the galaxy from a race that no one knows anything about, but experts ponder away with claims of knowledge. Takeshi is a superb lead protagonist as he takes the audience on an action-packed ride accompanied by double crossing allies who will sell him out without blinking.

Death in Vienna
Daniel Silva
Putnam
ISBN 0399151435 $25.95, 446 pp.

When he is not restoring art, Israeli Gabriel Allon works as an espionage agent for his country. He is sent to Vienna to investigate the bombing of the Wartime Claims and Inquiries Bureau run by Eli Lavon. Gabriel learns that Eli was trying to prove that wealthy businessman Ludwig Vogel was an SS officer at Auschwitz. Vogel is spending millions to get the Austrian National Party candidate elected as chancellor. When Gabriel is kicked out of Austria, he travels to Israel and with the information he accumulated. People working on the Holocaust believe that Vogel is actually Erich Radek, a monster responsible for the killings of thousands of Jews. Gabriel recognizes a picture of Radek because he is in one of his mother's paintings. He did something terrible to her as they were evacuating Auschwitz in 1945 and for Gabriel this case has become very personal. An organization that has international tentacles wants Gabriel to stop investigating and they hire the infamous hitman the Clockmaker to kill him before he exposes secrets that the group wants to stay buried. A DEATH TO VIENNA is an exciting espionage thriller that will appeal to fans of John de Carre, Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler. The action is non-stop but the author does not neglect his characters that have a depth rarely seen in a work of this type. Drawing on facts, Daniel Silva portrays a world that would rather forget about the Holocaust or just as bad, believe it never happened. Readers will adore the troubled and vulnerable protagonist who fights in an invisible war against his country's enemies.

Auriel Rising
Elizabeth Redfern
Putnam
ISBN 0399151052 $24.95, 400 pp.

In 1609 London, King James I wants peace with Spain while his son and heir Prince Henry, a staunch anti-papist wants England freed of Catholics. After helping the Dutch fight the Spanish in the Low Countries, Ned Warriner returns to England to see the now married Kate Pelham, the only woman he ever loved. During his first week back in the country, he wins a letter in a dice game that he later finds out is written by the dead alchemist Edward Dee. The letter is a formula to create the Philosopher's Stone, which many people believe will turn any substance into gold. Whomever Ned talks to about the letter winds up murdered by a group of men who have the protection of someone powerful. Ned tries, for reasons unknown even to him, to create the Philosopher's Stone. He also deals with enemies who want nothing more than to see him dead for the knowledge he has in his possession about plots, gun shipments and gold making its way into the prince's coffers. Cross Caleb Carr's THE ALIENIST with any work of Charles Dickens and one will have a feel for the historical mystery AURIEL RISING. The protagonist is a good man who finds himself in dangerous situations but is willing to pursue that course even though it might mean his life or his freedom. Elizabeth Redfern captures the mood of England less than a decade after the death of Elizabeth I adding background depth to a one-of-a-kind fascinating reading experience.

Bad Business
Robert B. Parker
Putnam
ISBN 0399151451 $22.95, 320 pp.

No case is ever easy for Boston private detective Spenser. Wealthy socialite Marlene Rowley hires Spenser to find evidence that her husband Trent, the CEO of Kinergy (an energy trading business), is cheating on her. He tails Trent and quickly learns he is having an affair with Ellen Eisen and that another sleuth is following Ellen, whose husband Bernard also works at Kinergy. Spenser's case becomes ludicrous when he realizes that a third private detective is following Marlene. On only Spenser's second day of surveillance, Trent is murdered in his office during working hours and nobody saw a thing. Marlene wants Spenser to find out who made her a widow, which leads Spenser into a cesspool containing sexual predators, financial finagling and serial killers. It has been three decades since Robert B. Parker write the first Spenser novel and the series is as fresh, innovative and appealing today as it was then. The sublime but well written story line is fun to follow as private sleuthing seems like a lucrative business at least in the Boston area. Told in the first person from Spenser's point of view, BAD BUSINESS is a work of humorous prose and fantastic characterizations.

Firecracker
Ray Shannon
Putnam
ISBN: 039915146X $23.95, 288 pp.

Entertainment public relations specialist Reece Germaine and professional football star Raygene Price shared a tight wild weekend in Vegas. Raygene, a Dallas Cowboy player, bets $25,000 on the Arizona Cardinals winning the Superbowl at 50-1 odds. He gives the ticket to Reece as a seduction sweetener and because as a player he is not allowed to bet on the games. Now eight months later Reece is pregnant from that tryst and Raygene refuses any involvement including child support as this situation is not new to him. Besides his finances are a disaster, he has impregnated other women. However the improbable is that the longshot Cardinals are playing in the Superbowl on Sunday so that if they win, Reece will forget child support and run with the 1.25 million. Others vicious people want a piece of Raygene's hide and that wager would make a fine down payment. FIRECRACKER is quite exciting while showing the darker side of American professional sports. Paraphrasing LBJ, the irresponsible and unlikable Raygene seems like he played football without a helmet and the prime thug acts like his brain tripped and never recovered. The wild Superbowl weekend is vividly described and Reece is a solid heroine whose efforts to keep safe (ask the drunk she knocks out with a punch) and retain the ticket is fun to follow, but Raygene, not her, is the center anchoring the story line and he fails to stop the sacking of the plot.

High Country
Nevada Barr
Putnam
ISBN: 0399151443 $24.95, 336 pp.

National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon is senior ranger at the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, but at the moment she works undercover as a waitress in the Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park. Four young adults who worked at the park disappeared, but after unsuccessfully looking for them for days the searchers gave up. The Chief Ranger of Yosemite thinks something criminal is going on at the park and she wants Anna to find out what it is. Anna shares a dorm room with two young roommates, who once shared a room with one of the girls that disappeared. One of the mates that vanished has four thugs living in his small cabin and every one of Anna's instincts believe they are somehow connected to the missing park employees. When Anna starts investigating in earnest, she finds out why the employees were killed, why one of her roommates is scared to death and why her immediate superior hates her. Now if she can only live long enough to expose the guilty parties. There is a chase scene that is right out of the movie Deliverance and readers will believe Anna will never escape those who want to kill her. How she does it is a thing of beauty, pitting woman against mother nature and man. Nevada Barr is in top for with her crisp, melodic and sharp writing and her extraordinary characterizations. HIGH COUNTRY is a very visual work and most scenes can be pictured by even those whose mind's eye is blind to the great outdoors.

Mallets Aforethought
Sarah Graves
Bantam
ISBN 0553803085 $21.95, 298 pp.

When she realized her teenage son was moving deeper into the NYC hardcore drug culture, financial planner Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree left her six-figure job and moved to Eastport, located on a barrier island off the coast of Maine. She moved into a fixer-upper that even years later still needs repair, had to make accommodations with her ex-husband who left a thriving medical practice to be near his son, and married a man who gave her the love and security her first spouse couldn't provide. Now an integral part of the small seaport community, Jake and her best friend Ellie are just two of the volunteers fixing up Harlequin House for a fundraising gala. When the two women uncover a secret room, they open it and find two bodies inside. One is a woman who disappeared eighty years ago while the other corpse is the enemy of Ellie's husband. Jake knows that the police will have to arrest George since he told everyone in town he wanted to kill Hector and he will not give the cops an alibi. Jake starts investigating and her search leads to a suspect that plans to kill her so he can go on living in Eastport. Sprinkled throughout the storyline are house repair tips that are very helpful and easy to follow, but also provide a sense of normalcy that augments the who-done-it. The heroine goes the extra mile for her friends in MALLETS AFORETHOUGHT, risking her own life to save the life of her spouse whom she knows is innocent. Sarah Graves is a very descriptive writer so the reader can visualize each scene in their head.

Bachelor List
Jane Feather
Bantam
ISBN: 0553586181 $6.99, 368 pp.

Due to the dumb investments of their father, The Duncan sisters are broke. Their dad refuses to listen to their financial plight as that is beneath a gentleman. Instead the three siblings publish and secretly sell the "Mayfair Lady", a gossip political newspaper pushing women's suffrage that now accepts personal ads. Oldest sister Constance meets Parliamentary representative from Southwold Max Eisner, who realizes that she is gently mocking him and his sister. He finds himself attracted to her because, unlike his shallow featherbrained sister, Constance displays obvious intelligence and wit; she reciprocates though she loathes his opinion on women voting. When his party leadership assigns him to expose the unknown authors of the "Mayfair Lady, he believes the clever writing skills and subjects mean a member of the Ton. The dry sense of humor sounds very much like the Duncan siblings, but opening them up for ridicule could be very costly personally to Max. Historical romance readers will receive a delightful bounty of joy with this deep look back on the early stages of the women's suffrage movement in England. The story line displays its theme in a clever gentle mocking manner so that the audience understands the sympathies and antipathies while also receiving a warm romance. Fans will enjoy this tale and look forward to the next two Duncan sisters star in their respective novels.

Fool's Fate
Robin Hobbs
Bantam
ISBN: 0553801546 $24.95, 640 pp.

The heir to the throne of the Six Duchies, Prince Dutiful promises his fianc‚e, that he will present her with a dragon's head, which means an expedition to the remote tundra like Out Island. The former fool Lord Golden knows that he is going to die on this northern wasteland trek, but feels it is his duty to accompany the Prince. His friend, who is also an assassin, FitzChivalry Farseertries tries to persuade Golden into not going, but fails. When they reach one of the independent Out Islands, the royal retinue meets the Hetgurd who disagree with the slaying. The teenage prince negotiates a deal with the Outislanders. He and a small party accompanied by Hetgurd warriors will set off on the trek to slice off the head of a dragon. However, Dutiful and company run into a new problem as the local dragon community refuse to cooperate. Will the two species war, cooperate with some sort of deal such as an exchange for one of the regal crew, or will Dutiful break his first promise to his future wife? The third entry in the FitzChivalry Farseertries narrated fantasy series is a delightful tale that shows the complexities of groups trying to come together on an objective, but with each member bringing baggage and an agenda to the table (ship?). The story line is exciting, but it is the ensemble that makes Robin Hobb's realm seems so real. Fans will enjoy this deep look at those who must carry out the wishes of their leader although unlike real life whether it is World War One or Operation Iraqi where the decision makers stay away from the battlefield, Dutiful to his credit joins them on the front line.

Dance With Me
Luanne Rice
Bantam
ISBN: 0553802275 $22.95, 340 pp.

In Twin Rivers, Rhode Island, former high school Principal Margaret Porter slides in and out of senility. Her youngest daughter Sylvie takes a leave of absence from her job as the local high school librarian to care for her mom. Margaret's oldest daughter Jane, a successful New York baker, comes home to help, but brings with her a very sweet cake that her mom the diabetic should not eat. Though her mother seems to have forgotten the secret they shared, Jane feels guilt over the hush-hush that drove her out of town. Jane meets and befriends young Chloe, the child she gave up at birth under pressure from her own mother. The Chadwick brood adopted Chloe and love her as if she was biologically one of their own. Soon Jane and Dylan Chadwick, a former US Marshal whose wife and child died in a shootout, fall in love. However, she has the Chloe secret and he still feels guilt over what happened to his previous family making anything permanent seem impossible. Fans of contemporary romantic family dramas with deep relationships will appreciate the latest Luanne Rice entry. The story line is solid due to a realistic cast struggling with interrelating with one another. The two siblings and the Chadwick crew seem so genuine while Margaret's condition comes across so real and adds depth as to what is best for an aging parent and for their caretaker. Though the reconciliation ending seems to easily done even if Chloe "named" herself, fans will enjoy this delightful tale.

Shady Lady
Elizabeth Thornton
Bantam
ISBN: 0553584901 $6.50, 384 pp.

In 1817, irate Waldo Bowman visits the printing office of the Avon Journal to confront J.S. Chesney for the comments on his being a rake by her columnist the unknown Lady Tellall. Waldo is stunned that J.S. is a widow Jo, who keeps the paper going as a tribute to her late husband. Lady Tellall who is actually Chloe Webberly sends a letter to Jo warning her to be careful. Not long afterward, Chloe comes up missing. Jo seeks her best friend's diary hoping there may be clues to her disappearance. At the same time, her aunt involves her in a "criminal" incident with a young lad at a boarding school. Jo heads to London with Waldo following her because he believes she is in over her head and insanely feels he needs to protect her. After bailing her out of jail, Waldo shadows Jo and soon becomes deeply involved in the search for Chloe, but also needs to keep his now beloved Jo safe as someone believes she has the infamous diary. SHADY LADY is an exhilarating Regency romantic suspense that takes off from the moment J.S. tells Waldo to leave until the final moment when he knows he must face danger to try to keep his beloved widow safe. The lead couple is a delightful duo and his friends provide insight into both stars. Fans also get a sense of Chloe through the words of others. Though the villain's motive to protect his family name from scandal at any cost seems off kilter (why cause the problem in the first place), fans will gain plenty of pleasure from this fine historical.

Dead Canaries Don't Sing
Cynthia Baxter
Bantam
ISBN: 0553586416 $6.99, 372 pp.

Veterinarian Jessica Popper has a very unique practice called Reigning Cats and Dogs. She has a clinic on wheels and travels allover Long Island meeting her clients in their homes. She just broke off with her boyfriend, a private investigator who she still loves, because he wants to marry her and she wants no part of the institution after seeing all the fights that happened between her parents. One day while driving along the back road of the Atherton Farm to treat a sick horse, her two dogs find a dead body. When Jessica looks at the murdered victim she sees a canary with his neck broken lying next to the human victim. Jessica wholeheartedly throws herself into the investigation determined to unmask the killer. Although she has never done such a thing before, she gets very close to getting some answers but also almost gets herself killed in the process. This amateur sleuth novel has plenty of action and enough romance to appeal to readers of both genres. The heroine has two rescued dogs, an arthritic cat and a parrot that repeats back anything he hears. Jessica is a smart, independent and clever woman who works the case as well as a private investigator and readers will find her actions very believable once the audience overcomes the initial doubt that is part of any first time amateur sleuth voluntary involvement in an investigation. Cynthia Baxter's DEAD CANARIES DON'T SING is a mystery lover's delight.

The Wicked Lover
Julia Ross
Berkley
ISBN: 042519406X $13.00

Robert "Dove" Dovenby finds his lover Lady Grenham burning up his wardrobe in a bonfire that will make them the talk of the town. She angrily accuses him of cheating on her with some strumpet. Dove deals with her actions with an aplomb considering he knows this will be a cold winter without his bedmate or his coat. Disasters come in three with the third inside his townhouse. There a lady and a young man are tied up. The gentleman explains that they are in Dove's bedroom to steal an item of clothing in order to win a wager, but were caught and tied up by Lady Grenham. Dove realizes the gentleman, who claims to be George White, is actually a lady. Countess Sylvie Georgiana barely stays alive by destroying men. Her current assignment is to obtain Dove's secrets so that treason can be proven and he will subsequently be hung. However, he is not a peaceful dove idly letting her take her best shot. All changes when love shakes up both participants. THE WICKED LOVER is an exhilarating Georgian romance that starts off wildly when Dove returns home to the fiery ire of his mistress. The story line never slacks off until the final vows of love as the duo duel in a fabulous cat and dove game in which his enemies want him dead. Though Dove's cool rivals that of Fonzie, he realizes that he has loved Sylvie ever since she was a "young lad" while she struggles with caring for someone when her life has been that of the ultimate survivor player. Julia Ross provides an enticing tale that fans will cherish.

Always the Bridesmaid
Whitney Lyles
Berkley
ISBN: 0425195139 $13.00, 336 pp.

In just a few months, San Diego kindergarten teacher Cate Padgett has earned a Purple Heart as she has served in combat, being a bridesmaid at four weddings. Besides purchasing gifts that the members of the Cheney energy task force could not afford and buying and wearing one time use ugly dresses, Cate also attends boring bachelorette galas. Cate is sick of helping others on their trip down the aisle. She feels ready to plan her own wedding. However, she wonders whom she should encourage as her mate. Should she select the centerfold hunk "No Call Paul" or her faithful companion dependable nice guy Ethan? That is assuming either would even walk down the aisle with the perpetual ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID. Fans of contemporary tales will find the amusing ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID quite entertaining especially the scenes leading up to and occurring at a wedding. Readers will recognize the diva from hell, the drunk who was stoned before arriving, and other disasters that typically make up a decent sized wedding ceremony. Though who should prove the victor between the rivals is too obvious to everyone as Paul's ego is bigger than the Pacific Ocean, making him the top discerning fan a loser. Still this is Cate's choice so that the audience will have to read this amusing charmer to decide whether either one is the groom or if there even is one in this unhappily unmarried chick lit tale.

Cape Light: A New Leaf
Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer
Berkley
ISBN: 0425193985 $23.95, 341 pp.

Cape Light, New England resident Molly Willoughby works very hard bringing in income while raising her daughters (fourteen years old Lauren and eleven years old Molly) with no help from her Peter Pan like ex-husband Phil. Instead her family provides as much assistance to her as they can. For instance her sister in law currently watches her children while she cleans the rental for a Dr. Matthew Harding of Worcester, who is arriving in town tomorrow. However, before she leaves to pick up her children and treat them to pizza, Dr. Harding shows up. They talk about the area and being single parents. He invites her and her two daughters to meet his daughter fourteen years old Amanda. As Matthew and Molly become better acquainted they begin to fall in love with one another. However, she distrusts matters of heart as Phil shattered her hopes and dreams and he feels hesitant to dive into a relationship ever since his wife died. Additionally, they must consider the children. Though the climax seems to simplistic, fans of the series or anyone who enjoys a warm contemporary tale with a strong cast will enjoy the latest Cape Light tale. The story line centers on second chances at love if the individuals are willing to risk their heart and perhaps their soul to take a risk. The children are a delightful trio and the townsfolk open their doors to the audience, but the novel belongs to the M&M lead couple struggling whether they gamble on love.

Shades of Black: Crimes and Mysteries Stories by African-American Writers
Eleanor Taylor Bland
Berkley
ISBN: 0425194027 $23.95, 368 pp.

This delightful twenty-two short story collection is written by African-Americans though some of the writers are not household names yet. The stories are all solid with no losers, but only a handful attain the great label such as Walter Mosley's thought provoking take on the use of the race card. In fact the better known authors like Mr. Mosley, the late Hugh Holton, Frankie Y Bailey, and Gar Anthony Haywood provide the best tales. Much of the remaining stories are well written, but seems a bit formulaic yet fans will enjoy the contributions while getting a glimpse of the future. Look forward to see how far African-Americans have come (especially this group of authors) in a decade when one compares editor Eleanor Taylor Bland today to what she was writing ten years ago. It is interesting to see who was writing then and how many more have joined the rapidly growing community. SHADES OF BLACK: CRIMES AND MYSTERIES STORIES BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN WRITERS contains reliable tales that entertain the audience.

The Wishing Chalice
Sandra Landry
Berkley
ISBN: 0425194582 $5.99

Twenty-five year old Isabel currently lives in England at her late grandmother's cottage as she recovers from a miscarriage and a divorce. England is not a strange land for Isabel as her English mother has lived there following the death of her American husband (Isabel's father) three years ago. Isobel wanders a cemetery filled with the gravestones of her ancestors when the weather turns nasty. She seeks shelter, which Isabel finds in a dilapidated castle. There she notices a beautiful chalice. Not long afterward, Isobel realizes something is not right in her world. She is no longer amidst ruins, but instead is inside a thriving castle. Stranger yet is the body that her mind resides in as she learns she is married to Hunter and living in Windermere Castle as his wife Detra in 1315. As she adapts to a new body and century (a bit too easily) she falls in love with her spouse who wonders if his wife is beginning to love him though he worries about her sanity. Fans of time travel romance will enjoy the fine THE WISHING CHALICE though the story line is somewhat typical of the sub-genre as Isabel mentally adapts too easily for a modern day western woman going back to medieval times. Used to freedom of decision, Isabel would have to deal with loss of independence similar to the women trying to obtain any authority in post Taliban Afghanistan. Still the lead couple is a charming duet as Hunter is bewildered by his spouse's seemingly attitude adjustment and the support cast brings to live the early fourteenth century. The sub-genre audience will appreciate Sandra Landry's quality tale.

On The Edge of The Woods
Diane Tyrrel
Berkley
ISBN: 0425194779 $6.99, 384 pp.

In 1994 San Francisco architect Stacy Addison buys an old dilapidated house that at best can be labeled a fixer upper in the Sierras. Her neighbor who shares the county access road, Brandon Vandvere, is irate that he was not offered first buy from the elderly former owner now in a home. Since purchasing the house, Stacy finds someone leaving crank calls at her San Francisco apartment and sending threatening letters telling her to leave her new home. Her clients are also receiving nasty nutty untrue innuendos and disinformation about Stacy that ultimately costs her jobs. Still she refuses to give up the home that she cherishes with the bigger threat being falling in love with Brandon. Alas poor Stacy wonders if her beloved could be the "Creeper" behind the attack on her well-being as everyone insists he would do anything to gain ownership of her new home. Readers will enjoy this absolutely enthralling modern day gothic romantic suspense that reads some what like a modern day Suspicion. Though Brand's behavior is intended to make him seem suspicious, fans will dislike his attitude towards Stacy. On the other hand, readers will fully appreciate Stacy, who displays courage though under siege. The support cast provides depth to the small somewhat isolated Sierra community that hopefully will lead to future stories starring several of them.

Cold Blood
Aaron Elkins
Berkley
ISBN: 0425194116 $23.25, 304 pp.

In the village of Stresa, near Lake Maggiore, Italy a well planned kidnapping is carried out. Achille de Grazia, the sixteen-year-old heir to wealthy and aristocratic Vincenzo, the owner of numerous business enterprises and his own island, is being ransomed for the sum of five million Euros. While the family is raising the money, the bones of a murdered man are found at a de Grazia construction site. Forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, his wife Julie and a de Grazia cousin Phil are in Stresa to host a "Travel of the Cheap Tour." The carbineer in the form of Colonel Caravale asks Gideon to help him identify the skeleton and find out the cause of death. With the information Gideon gives him, Caravale identifies the body of Vincenzo's father who was thought to be lost at sea. After Achille is returned, somebody tries to steal the bones and kill Gideon, making him believe that the two crimes are linked in some manner. Further investigation proves he is right but it does not get him any closer to identifying the perpetrator or the mastermind who is orchestrating events. After reading COLD BLOOD, an appropriate title if ever there was one, readers will find themselves wishing they could go Italy and immerse themselves in the culture, just not the sidebar that Gideon becomes part of. With only a few days of holiday under his belt, Gideon is so antsy to get back to work that he leaps into the case and makes such a good impression on the colonel that he becomes his de facto partner. This is an exciting police procedural set among the blue bloods of Italian society.

Bride & Groom
Susan Conant
Berkley
ISBN: 0425194124 $22.95, 279 pp.

Now that Cambridge, Massachusetts veterinarian Steve Delaney's divorce is final, he is able to marry the woman he really loves Holly Winters. She is a dog trainer; a columnist for Dog's Life and the author of her first book 101 WAYS TO COOK LIVER. Her friend, veterinarian and fellow author Mac McLoud is sharing book signings with her. Between getting ready for the wedding and doing her best to promote her book, Holly doesn't have a moment to breath. When the first murder occurs, Holly doesn't think anything of that because the victim is a doctor from out of town that she never met. The second victim of the Cambridge killer is known in dog circles for her canine tarot cards. By the time the third killing occurs, Holly is becoming concerned because the victim was a woman who Holly once interviewed. As more murders occur, Holly realizes she knows each of the victims and it becomes obvious that the culprit is someone amongst her dog-loving friends. Holly starts investigating so that she can discover who the killer is and put an end to the crimes so she can enjoy her wedding. Between Steve and Holly, they have five pedigreed dogs and a ferocious cat. The animals steal the show with their antics and lessen the tension when it threatens to overwhelm the reader. Each victim is female, bludgeoned to death and is then given an injection of medicine that most vets use in their practice. BRIDE AND GROOM is a romantic mystery that will appeal to dog lovers and readers who like a fantastic who-done-it.

At Wick's End
Tim Myers
Berkley
ISBN 0425194604 $5.99, 192 pp.

Bell Black knows who robbed the jewelry store and murdered the owner. She confronts him with his crime after she hides the jewel he dropped. She asks him to give himself up before she turns him in, but he kills her after she refused to give him the diamond with his fingerprint on it. The culprit makes it seem as if she had an accident while climbing up a ladder to get inventory. Harrison Black is shocked to learn his Great Aunt Belle has died and that she left her candle making shop At Wick's End to him along with River's Edge, the shopping complex where the store is located. Almost from the very beginning he doesn't think Belle's death is an accident and since the police can't be bothered, Harrison sets up a trap that almost makes him the killer's next victim. Before Harrison got his inheritance he was a drifter going from job to job living to find a career that satisfied him. When he inherits AT WICKS END he learns the business and finds for the first time in his life he's contented. He's motivated to learn the ins and outs of the business and the audience sees a maturity in him that wasn't there at the beginning of the story. Tim Myers' new amateur sleuth series is a smashing successful debut.

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure
Alice Kimberly
Berkley
ISBN 0425194612 $5.99, 272 pp.

After her husband died, Penelope Thornton-McClure's in-laws wanted to keep her under their thumb so they can raise Calvin's son in the manner that is expected of their brood. When Pen's Aunt Sadie informs her that she's closing her bookstore in Quindicott, Rhode Island, her niece uses the insurance money to escape from her golden cage and invest in the bookstore. After a thorough remodeling, Pen persuades famous mystery writer Timothy Brennan to do a book signing in their store on the first stop of his tour. His series is based on a hardboiled private detective Jack Shepard who mysteriously disappeared in 1949, but is now haunting the bookstore that Pen owns because that is where he was murdered. The only person who can communicate with him is the unbelieving Pen. Events make her believe in him and she even takes his advice when Timothy is killed in her bookstore and she is one of the prime suspects. Together they try to figure out who the real killer is before Pen is charged with murder. THE GHOST AND MRS. MCLURE is a charming, funny and quirky mystery starring a suppressed widow and a simulating ghost who is attracted to her even though they can only meet in her dreams. His is hard boiled in the tradition of Phillip Marlowe and she is a genteel Miss Marple; yet the two opposites make an explosive combination. Alice Kimberly definitely has a hit series if the first book is anything to go by.

In Your Face
Scarlett Thomas
Justin Charles
ISBN 1932112081 $24.95, 264 pp.

After actress Lily Pascale solves a homicide that brings her fifteen minutes of fame (DEAD CLEVER) she moves to Devon and becomes a crime fiction lecturer at the local university. Her personal life is not going well because the man she cares about is marrying another woman who he got pregnant. When an old school friend Jess Malone calls her up and asks her to come to London to help her out of a spot of trouble Lilly leaps at the chance. When she arrives in London, Jess has disappeared and her live in lover Tyler has no idea where she has gone. Jess wrote an article for Smile Magazine about three women who were victims of stalkers. On the day the magazine hit the stands, the three women were murdered and the police have evidence that it was by the same person. Lily decides to look into the matter hoping to find the killer and Jessica who has vanished without a trace. IN YOUR FACE is a complex, entertaining who done it with a supportive plot that leads the readers into false trails. Every time the spunky heroine hits a dead end, she looks for another path to follow and gradually accumulates enough evidence to finally figure out what is going on. This action packed, fast paced and very entertaining amateur sleuth tales has more twist and turns than the most intricate maze.

In Full Bloom
Caroline Hwang
Plume
ISBN: 0525947116 $13.00, 291 pp.

Korean American Ginger Lee enjoys her New York lifestyle. Ginger gave up on attaining a PhD and ultimately becoming an English professor. Instead she currently works as an assistant drone at what she dubs "Waste" magazine for the brain drain of the staff. She is also quite comfortable with no long term relationship with men. However, Ginger's mom arrives unannounced from Milwaukee with plans to matchmake her with purebred Korean males. Mom refuses to allow Ginger to go down the unholy path of her other child George who committed family heresy by marrying a white woman. Ginger cannot turn to her sibling for help because he has severed the family ties so instead she agrees to go out with some of her mom's choice cut. At work cat-fighting may cost Ginger her job. Turning to her only ally mom for solace and strategy, Ginger begins to reconsider her heritage. She starts recognizing that though a Manhattanite, she is also a Korean-American. Accepting the complete Ginger is the only way that she becomes IN FULL BLOOM. This well written novel cleverly moves along on two obvious levels. First is the noticeable New York scene including the publishing infighting war. Second is the traditional Korean lifestyle modified in America as portrayed by mom with her take on life including marriage and her vividly uttered Korean-English that showcases a first generation individual. However the urban old country tie supports the genuinely brilliant message that the whole person cannot ignore their roots as in a sense it is not whether you can go home, but that "home" came with you.

The Doomsday Brunette
John Zakour & Lawrence Ganem
Daw
ISBN: 0756400902 $6.99, 368 pp.

The only freelance private detective in the year 2058 has HARV, the world's most advanced artificial intelligent super computer hardwired into his brain. At times Zachary Nixon Johnson does not know when his thoughts end and HARV's begins but he knows it is the computer in his head that is waking him up to take a call from a client at three o'clock in the morning. Ona Thompson of the famous Thompson quads, genetically engineered to be powerful, invulnerable and unbelievably intelligent, wants Zach at her estates post haste because she has a problem and nobody says no to Ona. When he (and HARV) arrives, they find three live Thompson Quads and one dead one. Since it is widely known that the sisters all hate each other, Zach is hired to find the killer so Ona can be exonerated in the court of public opinion and with the police department of New San Francisco. John Zakour & Laurence Ganem are an excellent writing team who work in the comic book industry that manifests itself in the storyline reading at times like a graphic novel without the pictures. Between the interactions of HARV and Zach and the Thomson quads, one of who is a super crime fighter and one is believes she is a fairy godmother; readers will find themselves in stitches of laughter. This work of speculative fiction is first class entertainment.

The Magic Shop
Denise Little (editor)
Daw
ISBN: 0756401739 $6.99, 320 pp.

The premise of this fifteen story collection is relatively simplistic: what would happen to a customer if the magic shop found in many cities sold real magic? The contributors, whom are a virtual who's who (though there is one new author for me), provided a wide range of tales with some classified as horror, others are fantasy and science fiction, and finally a few that cross the speculative plain. Even the tone vastly differs with some authors writing amusing fictions of getting what you ask for while others take a more somber pitch. Each tale is well written as if Denise Little used a magical editing device to raise the bar. Most interesting is that the simple concept is turned into complex effects as the purchaser should have paid close attention to the maxim "buyer beware" since no hazardous to your health warning label accompanied the goods. Readers will enjoy these fine new stories that cast a spell requiring a one sitting read. Aside to Ms. Little: is the magic store that ensorcelled you the one near NYU or the one in Times Square that hooked many of us boomers back in the 1960s-1970s (don't know if they are still there)?

Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld's Breakthrough Health 2004
Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld
Rodale
ISBN: 1579549004 $14.95, 288 pp.

DR. ISADORE ROSENFELD'S BREAKTHROUGH HEALTH 2004 is a tremendous guide book that provides easy to follow insight on a variety of health topics (apparently 167 areas, but actually more as the author spins related subject into the text) Each section is sub-divided into a comment on what helps, what is new, and the bottom line. This reviewer did not read the entire book as many of the 167 subjects have no interest to me or my family. Instead I selected specific items of personal concern either amidst myself, my spouse, son, or parental sibling history that I also know enough about to be dangerous. The write ups on high blood pressure, weight loss, high cholesterol, Alzheimer's, stroke, and heart conditions, etc. were enlightening and, most important, it is easy to understand what Dr. Rosenfeld is saying. Some of the information is surprising like a comparative analysis of two high risk groups using Dr. Atkins' diet vs. an American heart Association diet, though the long term effect remains unknown but the author adds his spin of be smart and use the best from both or the benefits of almonds. This is a terrific self help guide that already contains rabbit ears and situated on the front of my keeper shelf at least until perhaps Dr. Rosenfeld provides the 2005 update.

Lasting Love: The 5 Secrets of Growing a Vital, Conscious Relationship
Gay Hendricks, Ph.D. and Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D.
Rodale
ISBN: 1579548326 $21.95, 249 pp.

The Hendricks make a strong case that people can achieve much if not all they want out of life while also becoming closer to their significant other if they are willing to commit the time and effort to do so. LASTING LOVE provides a method to achieve a closer commitment with a loved one. Based on a study of 2000 plus couples, the Hendricks isolated five prime causes that often kill relationships: (1) "an imbalance between the creative energy each partner contributes " (2) "a lack of emotional honesty" (3) "an unwillingness to accept responsibility " (4) "deep-seated commitment problems" and (5) "a deficiency of daily appreciations". The Hendricks offer detailed solutions to overcome any of these obstacles to include an action plan to change the relationship for the better. Finally there are joint activities aimed at improved communication between partners. LASTING LOVE: The 5 Secrets Of Growing A Vital, Conscious Relationship is well written and easy to understand. The anecdotal stories and sample dialogs enable the reader to better comprehend what the Hendricks are describing. However, though a strong self help book, it takes two to apply and many couples will find the cost of adhering to the entire meticulous program quite difficult, but those who do will feel rewarded. Even using segments though not intended that way is useful. I tried a few exercises with my spouse and the communication techniques with my son. Though we honestly talked I did not like hearing what my son said about my book reviewing "obsession".

Call the Devil by His Oldest Name
Sallie Bissell
Dell
ISBN 0553584944 $6.99, 370 pp.

Assistant district attorney Mary Crow is an excellent prosecutor and genuinely nice person but she has one small problem. She keeps seeing a dead man and it unnerves her so much that she is seeing a psychiatrist who believes she's suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The police and the FBI believe that Stump Logan, known conspirator against the U.S. government and the suspect in the murders of Mary's parents died in the explosion at Russell Cove. Nobody knows that Logan is still alive and Mary did see him three times when he was looking for an opportunity to kill her. He has now come up with a scheme to force Mary to come to him by kidnapping her goddaughter Lily. At first the police don't take the abduction seriously, thinking it is a domestic dispute. As Mary begins receiving e-mails of Lily, she realizes Stump lives and decides to use herself as bait, a risky move that might get her killed. Sallie Bissell has written as extremely exciting crime thriller about an obsession taken to extremes and the tragic results that happen because of that compulsion. The protagonist comes across as a very sympathetic person, leading to readers rooting for her to triumph over the adversary she knows about and the one who has stayed in the shadows waiting for the right time to strike. CALL THE DEVIL BY HIS OLDEST NAME is a pulse pounding, adrenaline-pumping novel that the audience will remember long after finishing the last page.

A Slow Walk to Hell
Patrick A. Davis
Pocket
ISBN: 0743474309 $7.99 417 pp.

Warrentown, Virginia Chief of Police Martin Collins raises his thirteen-year-old daughter on his own since his wife died five years ago. He is not ready to let go of the past even though he cares deeply for Major Amanda Gardner, a situation that becomes very awkward when they are forced to work together. That happens whenever Martin works as a civilian consultant for the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations. Their latest case involves the death of Major Franklin Talbot who was involved in a scandal when his boss Colonel Kelly brought charges against him because his subordinate told him he was a homosexual. That affair was squashed thanks to the machinations of Congressman Garrison Harris, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the person expected to become the next President of the United States. As Martin and Amanda delve into the homicide, the body count rises. A SLOW WALK TO HELL is a fascinating police procedural that is a partnership between the OSI and the Arlington Police Department. Readers get a fascinating look at how the same investigation is handled by civilians and the military. The issue of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is used as a plot device to emphasize how unworkable the policy actually is (sexual preference does not protect anyone from enemy weapons). Patrick A. Davis knows how to tell a terrific story by creating characters that matter.

Bird of Prey
Tom Grace
Pocket
ISBN 0743457862 $6.99, 354 pp.

The Chinese launch the Shenzou 7 spaceship with a private corporation paying them to launch a commercial satellite into orbit. C.J. Skye of Skye Aerospace destroys the spaceship using a laser beam that is on the Zeus 1 satellite that she launched years ago. C.J. wants to be the one who gets the jobs of launching commercial satellites into orbit and she will not hesitate to kill the competition with her star wars weapon. When NASA wins the bid to launch a satellite into space, the Liberty is to do the job before rendezvousing with the international ISS space station. C.J. uses the laser to destroy the satellite that was an espionage weapon. When the Liberty goes to retrieve what is left of it she destroys the spaceship too. An astronaut survives and Kelsey Neaton on the ISS retrieves him. He has proof that the destructions of the Liberty and the satellite was deliberate. Kelsey emails the evidence to her fianc‚ scientist Nolan Kilkenny. With governmental approval, KilKenny investigates the incidents unaware that C.J. will kill to stop him. Commercial espionage can be just as deadly as government intrigue as the hero finds out as he survives one attempt on his life after another. BIRD OF PREY is an action packed thriller that moves at light speed but does not stint on characterizations. The cooperation of nations as they try to figure out this international problem is believable and the characters' actions realistic. Though C.J. seems cartoonish in her zeal, BIRD OF PREY is the ultimate cat and mouse thriller with the stakes being the freedom and safety of outer space.

Experiencing the Next World Now
Michael Grosso, Ph.D.
Pocket
ISBN: 0743471059 $14.00, 302 pp.

Dr. Michael Grosso uses anecdotal evidence that contends there are paths to the afterlife available for those willing to take a peak or more. He uses some examples gathered under professional observation and others that are more hearsay and not under a controlled environment to provide specific peepholes that a person can look through or for the more daring take a deeper dive into the afterlife pool. The roadmaps Dr. Grosso says exists consist of a wide variety of otherworldly phenomena such as ghosts, reincarnation and past life experiences, seeing the Light, out-of-body events, UFOs, and mystical experiences, etc. This is a fun book that especially true believers will enjoy for the "true life" tales (some more famous than others) as well as the guide to experience the next world. Besides my read, I asked my husband (a skeptical statistical trend analysis expert) how statistically based is the evidence. He said: that Dr. Grosso uses too few examples (sample of the population not considered) in too many subcategories to draw any generalization/conclusions and that each anecdotal is accepted as truth regardless of the source adding doubt of reliability of the data to the already questionable validity of each subcategory. Still these are interesting stories that readers will enjoy, but for those who want to take that one giant step there is no simple instruction except austere practices that are way outside the norm. EXPERIENCING THE NEXT WORLD NOW is for those who appreciate "true" tales of those experiencing otherworldly events.

Oyster Blues
Michael McClelland
Pocket
ISBN: 0743477316 $6.99

Waking up to a hangover in the Dominican Republic, loser sleuth Harry Harper pulls out his gun and fires at two bugs scoring more than he was. His bullets go through the thin walls and kill the "lover" of his landlady. Harry is on the lam though he remains unaware that he murdered a chicken. He agrees to sail back to the states with a coffin containing obviously a corpse (hint: nothing is obvious when it comes to Harry). In Florida, Harry meets oyster shucker Jane Ellen Ashley. Before anyone knows why, she gives up her only love, reading, to join him on the run together. The mob pursues them trying to kill the duo who suddenly have a save the environment cause, that is if they can solve a murder and a mob-legislative connection in a third world environs (the Caribbean including Florida). OYSTER BLUES is a wild wacky amusing Florida thriller that starts at a high knot rate and picks up speed until the final docking. The story line is out of control so that fans receive a hilarious novel though at times the jocular sidebars take away from the center. Readers will appreciate the lead couple, a pair of losers as individuals who prove that two minuses in deed make a positive as together they are charming misfits who lead politicians, mobsters, and the audience on a frantic fun frolic.

French Twist
Roxanne St. Clair
Pocket
ISBN: 0743477294 $6.00, 384 pp.

FBI Agent Tristan Stewart captures notorious art thief Nick Jarrett, ending the infamous career of the Scorpion. However instead of jail Nick cuts a deal to enable the Feds to capture bigger fish. When her mentor Dr. Garrow died in what has been ruled a suicide, UCLA art professor Dr. Janine Coulter takes over as the curator of a Versailles art exhibit he was to host. The focus is the three Pompadour Plum vases. However, security headed by Luc Tremont insists on safeguarding the vases rather than placing them in the center of the show. Janine and Luc argue, but he has a hidden agenda to catch a thief and he finds the American curator quite a distracter perhaps for the felon. When his plan fails, Luc knows he has a few days to recover the vases and catch the crook or face prison as the Scorpion. However, he never expected Janine to join him on his quest nor to fall in love with her. Fans of the Grant-Kelly vehicle To Catch a Thief will appreciate this FRENCH TWIST version of the classic movie. Janine and Nick are a fine duo though each blame the other for the theft of the vases yet they work so well together even if neither welcomes the growing attraction. The support characters provide the reader with a deeper look at the prime pair whose desperation turns the tale into a terse romantic suspense as each has a different reason to recover the lost cases.

Highlander Unbound
Julia London
Pocket
ISBN: 0743465067 $6.99, 384 pp.

Even though it is 1816 and a few years have passed since the armed combat ended, Navy Captain Liam Lockhart still suffers from battle fatigue. However, he has other concerns besides his nightmares as his family is broke. He agrees with the proposal to steal back a gold beastie heirloom from the English branch of the family for the Scottish Lockharts to sell. In London in the house where he rents a room at usury rates he meets nine year old Natalie, granddaughter of his nasty landlord. Through the child who constantly visits him, Liam meets Ellen, the lass' mother. Liam falls in love with Ellen, but she seduces the location of the heirloom from him and steals it to insure a future for Natalie. Liam is filled with rage and a need of vengeance for he allowed passion to hurt his family and devastate his honor. He will follow Ellen's trail to wherever it leads, for he will regain the beastie and avenge the betrayal. Readers will appreciate this exciting Regency romance in which a sailor scorned is someone to beware of as Ellen will learn. Natalie is too precocious though readers will understand her need for any companionship beyond her mom while her grandfather is a very odious a soul who deserves an eternity of loneliness. The lead couple is a delightful duo, who make the tale, as Ellen feels bad for what she did to the man she loves, but like any lioness feels her first priority is her cub. Fans will enjoy this interesting tale.

Game Over
Adele Parks
Downtown
ISBN: 0743457617 $13.00, 368 pp.

Cas Perry knows herself quite well even to the point of understanding her life's pivotal moment that shaped her beliefs. When she was seven, her father deserted her and her mother. Since that time, Cas' values are simply that relationships are based on dumping before being dumped and that nothing lasts so cynically calculate what you want so that you cannot be damaged. Understanding that men leave, she lives her life to insure that no one ever walks out on her before she can walk out on them. When the beautiful tree surgeon Darren enters her life, Cas knows her philosophy is being challenged yet she cannot help herself as she wants him in something more permanent than her usual evanescent relationships. Will Cas risk her carefully balanced mental state by taking a chance on Darren for if he deserts her she is not sure she could emotionally recover as she never truly rebounded from when her dad left her? GAME OVER is an interesting chic lit tale because the heroine is not seeking Mr. Right, but instead is a sort of female rake that is successful in business yet has flaws that she is well aware of and does not care to change until she meets Darren. Readers will see her as vulnerable yet cold similar to how delightful Darren perceives her as chilly callous Cas yet desires her. The game show Cas invents, his family, and a cast of weirdoes add humor to a tale that will have sub-genre fans park for a few hours of a zany with serious undertones fun.

Calling Romeo
Alexandra Potter
Downtown Press
ISBN: 074347032X $13.00, 368 pp.

In London, Juliet and Will have been seeing one another for over two years and have lived together for the past eighteen months. However, she is increasingly becoming disillusioned with Will's selfish tendencies towards his new landscaping business. Currently, she waits for him to meet her at a bar before they are to go out to celebrate Valentine's Day, but he fails to arrive. She assumes he forgot being preoccupied with his work rather than her, but instead unbeknownst to her he fell asleep. Juliet turns to her pal Trudy for a chick lit whine (no cheese). Several drinks later, a drunken Juliet, vowing to never forgive Will, goes to the Gents room to take a leak. The stranger with the sophisticated voice offers her toilet paper and himself in that order. Sykes, the creative director of a rival company, takes Juliet to Italy while Will mopes over his loss. Sykes showers the love starved Juliet with attention that Romeo would envy, but though she enjoys every fun filled moment, Juliet wonders if like a Shirelle, is she a lasting treasure or just a moment's pleasure? Though the ending seems phony due to an easy resolution, fans will enjoy this English contemporary romance filled with amusing acerbic comments about male shortcomings (physically and emotionally). Readers will feel for Juliet when she comes across insecure, but also be upset with her selfish outlook. Will seems pathetic especially when compared to his rival Sykes; so the former gets empathy. In all, the audience will enjoy the lighthearted CALLING ROMEO.

Love is the Drug
Sarahbeth Purcell
Atria
ISBN: 0743476166 $23.00, 208 pp.

Tyler Tracer lives life through American 80's pop culture whether it is television shows, music, or some other former in from a decade known for furthering the arts (just ask Senator Helms). She makes up top ten lists that Letterman would envy often with four letter words used as participles. As her daddy dies, Tyler draws up a list of why he must not and writes another top ten of why she belongs with her true love David, who lives in Los Angeles. Her David list persuades Tyler to drive to L.A. from her Tennessee home because she knows he needs her. Tyler also talks in four-letter adjectives, four letter nouns, and four letter verbs, at times all in one phrase, as her road trip includes bad sex with losers and using drugs like cigarettes and crystal meth as fast food. Between road kill and her car killed, Tyler tastes America and conversely America tastes Tyler, but no one knows when either will be ready for the other

Though at times amusing and poignant, LOVE IS THE DRUG never fully captures its audience because the list maker seems too self-centered, self-destructive, and simply inane (this reviewer's top three list). The road show story line pays homage to the Reagan Era so that even those who moved the Reagan film off network to cable will find the book acceptable (Atria will not have to take it off the bookshelf). Sarahbeth Purcell displays a fine comedic touch with a humorous story line, but the chick in her chick lit tale is shallower than Hal as she makes her top ten rules of the road regardless of impact on others.

Bad Men
John Connolly
Atria
ISBN 0743487842 $25.00, 400 pp.

In the 1600's, the colonists, tired of the Indian raids, settled on Sanctuary Island off the coast of Maine. For a time life was good until one of the settlers was suspected of various crimes and fled to the mainland. He returned with a gang of criminals killing all the settlers. In the present day, Sanctuary Island, now called Dutch Island, contains a thriving community but from time to time inexplicable things happen to evil men. The island is preparing for the coming of Bad Men including Edward Molloch, a sociopathic predator who is coming to Sanctuary to kill the wife who betrayed him and retrieve the money she stole from him. In his need for revenge, he leaves a trail of destruction that begins when he escapes from his prison guards and ends on the island he dreamed about during his last year in prison. Accompanying him is groups of fellow sociopaths who do not believe the laws of society apply to them. Dutch Island will once again flow in a sea of red with no one being safe. John Connolly, the author of the Charlie Parker mysteries, has written a very dark gothic crime thriller that will frighten readers because the fear comes from real people, not imaginary monsters. Written in the third person from both the viewpoints of the islanders and the criminals, the audience sees that the true monsters wear the mask of humanity to hide an evil core. In many ways, the predators are more interesting than the heroes of this book because their thought processes are so alien to what makes people human. BAD MEN (a very appropriate title) is as terrifying as a novel gets.

The Best of Good
Sara Lewis
Atria
ISBN: 0743436717 $24.00

Forty-seven year old Tom Good was once a rising rock and roll superstar during the 1970s when he simply left the music scenes. Now he works at night as a San Diego bartender and collects royalties while ignoring his glorious past except when he hears one of his hits played in the supermarket. Surprisingly though he makes no effort to make a comeback, he enjoys writing songs, but only in the context of a rigid schedule with room for no change. Good's idyllic world of habit is in for a change when he learns he may be the father of a ten year old boy. The mother of the lad Diana prefers not to have a relationship with Good who is trying to change his ways. Worse his probable offspring Jack wants nothing to do with Good. Still he tries to finally grow up making overtures of friendship and caring to an elderly neighbor and a single mother with loud (no Brady Bunch) children. Though the ending is too much like a fairy tale like with the hermit Good becoming good neighbor Sam, this warm insightful coming of age of a middle class person is a solid tale. The story line centers on Good's struggle into adulthood that seems genuine due to the aging man-child seeming real. As he changes from selfish self-centered middle aged Peter Pan to a likeable caring nice person dealing with setbacks as he tries to transform, fans of Sara Lewis will hope he succeeds.

Dead Line
Brian McGrory
Atria
ISBN: 0743463668 $25.00

Lawyer Hilary Kane comes home early from a business trip only to find her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Instead of clubbing him with Big Bertha, Hilary chucks him for the Ritz Carlton where she drinks at the bar when Boston Mayor Daniel Harkins arrives. Hilary and Daniel end up in his room for the night. As she goes to sneak out of their room while he is asleep, she cannot resist peaking into his computer files where she finds a link to his allegedly estranged son Toby the mobster, who the Mayor has sworn he has not had contact with in a decade. Also in those files is a link between Toby terrible and the thirteen years ago robbery of eleven paintings worth thirty million dollars from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Not long afterward someone kills Hilary. Boston Record reporter Jack Flynn vows to uncover the truth. DEAD LINE is an exciting investigative tale that never slows down from the moment that Hilary uncovers the mayor's secrets (aside: the painting theft is a real incident that obviously adds realism) until the final confrontation. However, though the plot is exhilarating Jack's obsession to solve this due to remorse seems weird because his despondency does not seem linked to the victim. Instead his regrets tie back to his pregnant girlfriend reporter Elizabeth Riggs ending their New England Turnpike relationship. Still fans of the series (see THE NOMINEE) will appreciate Jack's Beantown romp, but newcomers will wonder why he races this marathon.

The Feng Shui Detective
Nury Vittachi
Dunne
ISBN: 0312320590 $23.95, 288 pp.

Singapore feng shui guru Mr. C.F. Wong receives negative vibes besides that emitted by his teenage intern Joyce McQuinnie as he inspects the apartment of the Tsai-Leibler family. A fire breaks out that Wong puts out, but the damage to the already badly aligned flat is outright devastating. Adding to the mess as his assistant calls it is a ghost who haunts Dr. Leibler's dental office though feng shui in a house of pain is difficult to accomplish. A Malaysian witch doctor hires two of Wong's friends to help a doomed client. They in turn obtain Wong's aid as the customer seems fated to tragedy based on every known (and a few unknown) pseudo and occult consultation science employed by the Singapore Union of Industrial Mystics. Wong agrees to assist, but also seeks a kidnapped girl and tries to solve the murder of Dr. Leibler's hygienist with his only guide being that occidental teen who he still is not sure how he became her mentor. Everything seems to come together at the feng shui catastrophic edifice known as the Sydney Opera House, but though they are close to resolutions, the dynamic duo might not survive what they learn. This feng shui amateur sleuth tale has a madcap story line that entertains readers with an east meets west blending of cultures inside several mysteries. The key to the tale is the relationship between Wong and McQuinnie that is father to daughter, teacher to student, and friend to friend. Though the cases are fun to follow, they act more like support to the lead duet who feng shui their way throughout the delightful plot.

We'll Always Have Parrots
Donna Andrews
Dunne
ISBN: 0312277326 $23.95, 304 pp.

Blacksmith Meg Langslow accompanies her fianc‚, drama professor and actor, Michael to the Friends of Amblyiopia convention though neither wants to attend. Michael has a minor part in the cult hit TV series Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle that requires him to grace several of these events as insisted upon by the executive producer Tamerlaine Wynncliffe-Jones, who also stars in the title role. Michael hopes he can persuade the unpredictable star to give him a break, but expects nothing but grief from QB as everyone calls Tamerlaine behind her back. Following the release of screeching parrots, someone kills the unpopular star. The police quickly learn that many people associated with the show and some just attending the convention detested the victim. Unable to perch on the sidelines and not trusting the police to follow the real clues amidst a pageant of costumed characters, Meg investigates the murder, unaware that if she learns the truth a buzzard will kill her. The fifth murder so fowl Langslow amateur sleuth tale is an amusing mystery that pokes fun at hero worship that places stars on pedestals. The only seriousness in this very humorous story line is Meg's inquiries into the homicide. Fans will delight in the zaniness of the support cast whether they are a monkey, parrots protesting their candy cotton candy roles in the TV show, actors who cannot use any pronoun but I, and Meg's wacky family. Still Meg as in the previous terrific bird brained who-done-its is the glue that keeps the plot together. Donna Andrews furbishes a fabulously loony entry in her delightful offbeat series.

The Carbon Murder
Camille Minichino
Dunne
ISBN 0312319584 $23.95, 256 pp.

After retiring from her job as a research professor at a California college, physicist Gloria Lamerino returns to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts. In her late fifties, she met the love of her life homicide detective Matt Geneva and after a two-year courtship, she moves into his home. Matt undergoes a physical that reveals he suffers from prostrate cancer. Meanwhile Gloria, a police consultant, is forced to work with Matt's partner on a case that is very close to her heart. Her goddaughter M.C. Galigani, who left her teaching and research position in Houston, believes that her abusive ex-boyfriend Jake Powers is stalking her. Her former coworker Wayne Gallen is the one who shows up at her apartment warning of the danger she is in because of a misdirected email. When a private investigator posing as a student of M.C. is found murdered in Revere, Gloria really starts to worry. Between taking care of Matt and connecting the dots on an illegal medical experiment run by someone who doesn't hesitate to kill those who get in his way, Gloria is busier than when she worked two jobs on the Pacific coast. Two of the reasons Camille Minichino's mysteries are popular is that they are intelligent and believable. The heroine is a police consultant who handles herself in a professional manner, which gives her legitimacy to readers who appreciate some realism in their novels. Superb plotting, likeable characters and enough romance to appeal to fans of that genre turn THE CARBON MURDER into a fabulous crime thriller.

Arch Angels
Robert Randisi
Dunne
ISBN: 0312308787 $24.95, 352 pp.

So far the victims are all between the ages of eight and ten. The three strangled in St. Louis were female: in Chicago three boys were murdered in the same manner. Every couple of days a killing occurs. The police in both cities remain baffled over whether there is one culprit, two in tandem, or an originator and a copy cat as the I-55 serial killings of these little angels leave law enforcement officials feeling helpless and distraught. Federal Service Killer Task Force Detective Joe Keough flies to St. Louis while his partner Harriet Connors travels to Chicago to help with the inquiries. The local cops are irate that these superstar outsider hired guns are perching in their territory, but that does not stop Joe and Harriet from taking over much of the investigations. Soon the DC based duo finds twin suspects, but are they the "divine" driven killers or is there something even more diabolical behind the serial murders of the angelic children? Though Joe and Harriet are an interesting duo whose teamwork makes this serial killer investigation work as the latest of what seems like the zillionth serial killer novel offers quite a stretch of a solution to the murders. The story line moves at a leisurely pace more suited to a cozy belying that a killing machine or two is preying on the preadolescent populace. The territoriality of the local police seems genuine though one would hope that they would welcome outside expertise. ARCH ANGELS is a solid tale, but the climax and the feel that they have all the time in the world to stop the culprit(s) takes away from the latest Keogh tale.

An Animated Death in Burbank
Mike Joens
Dunne
ISBN: 0312307160 $24.95, 352 pp.

Once he was considered by Hollywood as one of animation royals, but though he remains a force in the industry the virtuoso Parker Stewart is descending from the mountaintop. His descent becomes complete when he is found dead with a bullet in his head and a suicide note of sorts on his computer screen: "That's All Folks" in a house surrounded by pictures of the Looney Tune characters. Though it looks like suicide, Burbank police detectives Tom Rigby and his partner Dan Bolt make inquiries anyway. Soon LA County Sheriff Detective Sergeant wealthy Sandy Cameron joins the team and works closely with Tom. As they begin to follow a loony trail of real life murder, Tom and Sandy are attracted to one another. However, he still struggles with his ex-wife aborting their three month old unborn and she wonders if she really wants a relationship when her lifestyle is near perfect. Of course there is a serial killer to catch before he downsizes more of the animation population. This is not Bugs or Mickey, but more like a version of Roger Rabbit without the humor. The story line is action-packed as the two police officers work the case while desiring one another. The serial killer scenario seems absurd, but then again this is a cartoon killer. The lead duo is a delightful spunky pair who provides this tale with extra pow and zap so that the audience has a good time following their exploits in the dangerous La La Land of Hollywood.

The Angel with One Hundred Wings: A Tale from the Arabian Nights
Daniel Horch
Dunne
ISBN: 0312325991 $13.95, 260 pp.

In the ninth century in the City of Peace (Baghdad for ye unfaithful) elderly alchemist Abulhassan is confronted with a dilemma. A confidant of his chess partner and best friend the Sultan, Abulhassan has been asked by the Prince of Persia, who he mentored like a son, to aid young love. The Prince and the sultan's favorite mistress, the independent Shemselnehar, have fallen in love. They know that if they are to share happiness they must flee to the Western Kingdoms of the vast empire. Only the alchemist has a chance to get them out of town, but he would have to risk his life and betray his friend. Abulhassan believes they ask too much of him as he knows that the chances of success are nil with so many informers lining the city. Still he reflects on his own life and knows he has not treated his own family with the love and nurturing people deserve. Because of his guilt at his own failures, Abulhassan decides to assist the young lovers in their attempt to find happiness together. This is a great tale filled with a very exciting but rocky path towards freedom as the plan does not implement smoothly. The prime trio is unique individuals each facing remorse yet embracing love. Insight into early Islam and Dark Ages alchemy adds a deep historical base to the tale to include how much light existed in the so called Dark Ages in the Persian Empire. Readers will appreciate this strong historical tale of star-crossed lovers risking all for love.

The Ten Word Game
Jonathan Gash
Dunne
ISBN: 0312323476 $23.95, 288 pp.

Lovejoy hides in plain sight accepting a low paying job that he could define in his ten word descriptions as: hard, stinky with no financial or otherwise satisfaction, but safe. However, as is the norm with Lovejoy a woman intercedes so that the word safe changes to shanghaied. The female and the antiques expert finds himself imprisoned in a mollycoddled way on the cruise ship Melissa heading to Russia with a boat load of antique lovers and experts, and a few passengers with criminal intent needing Lovejoy's talent. The plan is simple. Lovejoy will visit Leningrad's Hermitage Museum to allegedly abscond with a master or two. However, as he is pampered from Amsterdam to Oslo, and finally Leningrad, he learns the true caper. Lovejoy is to steal the renowned wall panels of the Amber Room, a feat ranking with those of Hercules. As usual with a Lovejoy tale, the plot is all over the place in a frantic, often amusing, but always meandering manner even when someone lectures on seemingly dry topics. The key to this novel and any Lovejoy story is the antihero whose two vices are women and antiques with no compunction on how he scores with either. THE TEN WORD GAME is Lovejoy at his delightfully cocky witty best in a tale that ambles across Europe.

A Detective Under Fire
H.R.F. Keating
Dunne
ISBN 0312316577 $24.95, 249 pp.

She started her career in London's Metropolitan Police Force but quickly realized women, in subtle ways, were discriminated against with no chance of advancement. She took a job on the Birchester Police Force and rose up the ranks to become Detective Superintendent. The media find her fascinating, dubbing her the "Hard Detective" because of her strong stance on getting the criminals off the streets and into a cage. She is temporarily assigned by a senior member of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to investigate the Maximum Crimes Squad. This elite special force of police officers deal with a Columbian drug lord who has just taken over the people smuggling business. Harriet Martens is to see how high up corruption goes in the Max but she faces one obstacle after another as the men and women try to stonewall her. The author has toned down the protagonist's strident speeches thereby making her more approachable and likeable. Her investigative methods are easy to follow and eventually yield results because the heroine is tenacious and determined. A DETECTIVE UNDER FIRE is a very fascinating police procedural in which teamwork and trust in your comrades get the job of placing the criminals behind bars done.

A Risk Worth Taking
Robin Pilcher
Dunne
ISBN: 031227002X $24.95, 320 pp.

Dan Porter believes his life is near perfect as he has a wonderful job with a dot com firm, married to a loving wife for twenty years, and three precocious children. However, when his company hits bad times, the policy of last in first out leaves Dan unemployed. Meanwhile his wife Jackie is managing director of Rebecca Talworth Design Limited, but makes little money as profits are returned to the company. Dan fails to get a new job, which leads to a tear in his relationship with Jackie because she feels he has become complacent while their lifestyle slips. When he reads an article in Women's Weekly about a small Scottish firm Vagabonds needing help to expand, he races north while Jackie is on the continent on business. Though the makers of the popular "Vaggas" is not what Dan expected, he finds his life changes perhaps even more than when he lost his dot com job, but Jackie's resentment grows. This is an engaging character study of a person who once was riding the crest, but since has lost his self esteem. He begins to regain his confidence with his trip to Scotland, but the cost may prove too high. The cast is a delightful ensemble, especially Dan, his family, and the Turnbows (owners of Vagabonds). Robin Pilcher provides a deep look at what really counts as Dan reassess his values and how he has lived.

Playing With Fire
Peter Robinson
Morrow
ISBN: 006019877X $23.95, 384 pp.

Near the village Molesby, a firefighter noticed that an accelerant may have caused the inferno that destroyed two barges and killed two people in the dead end canal. The Western Area Police Headquarters Major Crimes took over the investigation into what caused the deaths of the two charred corpses that if not for the firefighter's recent class and observation would have been written off as accidental deaths of apparent squatters. Inspector Alan Banks and Detective Inspector Anne Cabbot lead the inquiries. Before they leave the scene the police catch a young man Mark who says he lived on one of the burned out barge and asks if Tina escaped. He mentions a Tom lived on the other barge. Banks and Detective Inspector Anne Cabbot follow up on Mark's alibi and soon make other inquiries trying to determine if an accident, arson, or a deliberate murder cover-up occurred. Surprisingly the investigation turns into a complex inferno as several individuals have motives and opportunities to kill either of the deceased. The latest Banks investigation is an exciting tale that hooks the audience from the moment the hero quotes Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra. The story line never slows down even when it shines on the personal lives of the lead duo as the inspectors dig deep seeking motive and opportunity on what turns out to be several prime suspects. When it comes to British police procedurals, fans know that they can always bank on Peter Robinson to provide the best.

Cold Feet
Brenda Novak
Harlequin
ISBN: 0373836007 $6.50, 384 pp.

The Seattle police felt that Ellis Purcell committed the serial murders of eleven women though they never found the evidence to prove their case. The investigation went cold when Ellis, dubbed the Sandpoint Strangler, committed suicide. His adult daughter Madison firmly still believes he was innocent. Her marriage to Danny ended and she struggles to raise her six year old daughter Brianna by herself while trying to make a go of it in real estate. However, Madison's belief in her dad is shook when she finds evidence in her parents' attic that links him to the murders of the women. At about the same time that Madison finds damaging proof of her father's guilt, true crime author Caleb Travato, who was a cop on the Strangler task force, leaves San Francisco for Seattle to help his ex-wife Holly find her missing sister Susan. He rents a cottage on Madison's property, but hides his identity from her because he knows she will toss him out. As he searches for the missing Susan and tries to learn what his landlady is hiding, Caleb falls in love with Madison and she reciprocates. As the Strangler truth shockingly surfaces, Madison knows he must reveal his identity to his beloved and her daughte

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