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MBR Bookwatch

Volume 6, Number 7 July 2007 Home | MBW Index

Table of Contents

Cowper's Bookshelf Dunford's Bookshelf Klausner's Bookshelf

Laurel's Bookshelf Shelley's Bookshelf Shirley's Bookshelf

Taylor's Bookshelf Vicki's Bookshelf Vogel's Bookshelf

Cowper's Bookshelf
The Basic Baby Food Cookbook
Julianne Hood
AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403
9781425960674, $12.99 www.authorhouse.com 1-800-839-8640

"The Basic Baby Food Cookbook" by Julianne Hood offers concerned parents wanting the very best, healthiest, freshest, flavorful, yet inexpensive nutrition for their infant or toddler a series of do-it-yourself, step-by-step instructions for making baby food in their own home kitchen. After explaining just how to get started with making baby food, "The Basic Baby Food Cookbook" offers an especially useful (and user friendly) chapter on how to steam, process, strain and freeze. The recipes themselves are then organized around age groupings: Four to Six Month; Six to Ten Months; and Ten to Twenty Months. "The Basic Baby Food Cookbook" is further enhanced with sections on Menu Planning and 'Tips for Travel'. From Banana Cream of Rice Cereal; Mango Yogurt; and Butternut Squash Barley; to Peas-n-Carrots Cottage Cheese; Scrambled Egg with Diced Tofu; and Ham Mac-n-Cheese, "The Basic Baby Food Cookbook" offers 'kid friendly' dishes that are easy to prepare and so completely superior to anything coming out of a Gerber's bottle from the grocery store!

Raising an Adult
Mark L. Brenner, MFT
BrenMark House
1333 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
9780970876645, $30.00 www.parentbooks.com

Written by licensed marriage and family therapist Mark L. Brenner, Raising an Adult: The 4 Critical Habits to Prepare Your Child for Life! is a solid guide for parents to helping children grow up psychologically well-adjusted. The four important critical habits to ingrain while parenting are learning to acknowledge the moment, speak with respect, enforce limits, and show an unrelenting and deep belief in one's child. Additional chapters cover common motivations for misbehavior, how to change a negative self-image, an overview of social development concerns, how to break negative parenting habits and shift one's mindset, and much more. "When disturbing and angry outbursts occur, and when it is practical, remove the child from the situation immediately and calmly. It is difficult to calm a child down in front of strangers or other family members. This only embarrasses and humiliates the child, and upsets your other children as well." Highly recommended for parents everywhere.

Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully
Nancy Manahan & Becky Bohan
Beaver's Pond Press
7104 Ohms Lane, Suite 216, Edina, MN 55439
9781592981793, $17.00 www.BeaversPondPress.com 1-952-829-8818

Living Consciously Dying Gracefully: A Journey With Cancer and Beyond is a memoir reminiscing about and paying tribute to nursing professor Diane Manahan, a courageous, warm and loving woman. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she chose to blend complementary therapies and orthodox cancer treatments, and she lived a full and vibrant life for five and a half years until her death. Written by Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan, life-partners who were both graced to know Diane, Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully isn't just about illness and death, but also life and spirituality. A heart-touching journey, and uplifting inspirational resource for anyone going through life-or-death trials or witnessing such challenges visited upon a loved one.

A Very Very Beginner's Guide To Using Computers
Kara Glover
Lulu Press
860 Aviation Parkway, Suite 300, Morrisville, NC 27560
9780615140506, $19.95 www.karathecomputertutor.com www.lulu.com www.amazon.com

"A Very Very Beginner's Guide To Using Computers" by Kara Glover is specifically designed and deftly presented for those who have virtually no previous experience with computers and scarcely even know how to turn one on. Indeed, the first chapter of step-by-step instructions is on how to turn a computer on and off! Kara then goes on to provide 'user friendly' instructions on how to access and navigate the web using Internet Explorer and AOL. Of special note are the tips about visiting at websites. Kara then covers bookmarking websites. The final section of instruction and advice is dedicated to using email beginning with registering for an email address, then moving on to reading email, writing and sending email, replying to email, forwarding email, attaching files and pictures to email, downloading an email attachment, and more. Also addressed is Microsoft Word work processing software basics, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software. Kara then concludes with a section dedicated to keeping a PC safe from cyberspace attacks. "A Very Very Beginner's Guide To Using Computers" is an ideal introduction to computer basics and confidently recommended as a thoroughly 'user friendly' self-instruction manual for anyone unfamiliar with computers.

Mary Cowper
Reviewer

Dunford's Bookshelf
Einstein's Design
David Jackson
Trafford Publishing
2333 Government Street, Suite 6E, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8T 4P4
1425103456, $22.00 www.trafford.com 1-888-232-4444

"Einstein's Design" is the debut novel of David Jackson and clearly documents his talent as an original and 'word skilled' crafted of riveting mystery and suspense. The plot centers around the discovery of a twenty-five year old secret embedded in an inbred relationship between elements of the bloody-handed Ku Klux Klan and certain radical Christian fundamentalists in Wichita, Kansas. The target of this infamous cabal is a condemnation of rational, scientific theory about the creation of the cosmos developed by Albert Einstein and Dr. Bhartiya Bharti concerning pre-Big Bang existence and the concept of God. These fundamentalist and racist forces are behind a brutal assault of Dr. Bharti's granddaughter Kamala when she, as a Professor of Physics at Friends University, because of her criticisms of certain Christian religious beliefs. A gripping and deftly written work of fiction based on the relationship and the struggle between science and religion, "Einstein's Design" lays out just how religious extremists can and will divide their communities (and a nation) into competing factions and groups resulting in the attempt of suppression by violence dissenting opinions and those who hold them. Very highly recommended reading, "Einstein's Design" from beginning to end is as thoughtful and thought-provoking as it is entertaining, leading the reader to look forward eagerly toward the author's next novel!

Constant Bearing - Decreasing Range
Skip Vogel
Booksurge LLC
7290-B Investment Drive, Charleston, SC 29418
9781419651458, $20.99 www.booksurge.com

Written by 20-year Navy veteran Skip Vogel, Constant Bearing - Decreasing Range: The Collision of Public Policy and National Defense is a novel based on true-life ramifications of President Lyndon Johnson's ill-advised choice to swell the American military's ranks by allowing freshly convicted criminals to join. The result was a souring of the nation's armed forces; the misfits and felons that entered its ranks proved difficult to integrate and sometimes became the nation's worst enemy. Constant Bearing - Decreasing Range also focuses upon the personal story of one high-risk sailor named Sam, as the military strives to shape him into a true soldier without jeopardizing the success of its missions. A captivating, action-packed read with insights about the dangers of lowering military recruitment standards too low that are immediately relevant in today's modern age.

Cameron
Patricia Averill
Xlibris Corporation
International Plaza II, Suite 340, Philadelphia, PA 19113
9781425712143, $22.94 www.xlibris.com

Written by history scholar Patricia Averill, Cameron: Family, Technology and Religion in a Rust Belt Town as Seen by Averills, Nasons, McCormicks, and Others Who Passed Through is the true story of a Michigan town that originated in the 1820's, enjoyed the leisurely procession of a traditional local history common to Midwestern towns up through the 1950's, then endured a catastrophic decline when its industrial economy soured. Cameron traces both plant closings and members of the class of 1962 as they responded to changes within the town as well as elsewhere in the country. Blending the meticulous accuracy of a historical research project with the pacing of a novel, Cameron is absorbing to read in its own right yet also a superb microcosm and portrait of the hardships of economic blight, as well as racial, ethnic, and religious tensions. A heartbreaking yet indispensable case study of those who suffered from America's deindustrialization.

Comrades in Courage: The British Army in France and Flanders, 1914-1918
B. Cory Kilvert Jr.
Booksurge LLC
7290-B Investment Drive, Charleston, SC 29418
9781419657801, $18.99 www.booksurge.com

Comrades in Courage, The British Army in France and Flanders, 1914-1918 is a visceral immersion of the British Army's harrowing experience in France and Flanders during World War I (though a few Canadian, American, French, and German soldiers are spoken of). Drawing heavily from non-copyrighted British regimental, brigade, and divisional histories (though usually paraphrasing their wording), Comrades in Courage presents a chillingly clear image of life in the trenches, without creature comforts, enduring nearly constant rain, poison gas attacks, enemy bombardments that could last for days, and the threat of injury or death at any moment. An eclectic variety of tales from those who served under such nightmare conditions induce the reader to understand the bonds, loyalties, and sacrifices of those who put their lives on the line. A respectful and welcome addition to military testimony shelves.

Michael Dunford
Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf
Let's Misbehave
Lisa Plumley
Zebra
9780821780527 $6.99

After years of partying, the only skill Marisol Winston has is how to spend money. However, she decides to change her image so she asks her usually compliant daddy to invest in her opening of a Los Angeles deluxe boutique. Her father offers his beloved but wastrel offspring the capital if she meets his stipulation of checking into shopaholic rehab clinic in the Arizona desert. Marisol readily agrees figuring how hard can it be to go "designer-less" for a couple of weeks; millions do it their whole lives?

However, after weeks of shopping detox, part of rehab calls for real work. Marissol is assigned as a housekeeper where she is to take charge of an alien species, three preadolescent children. To her surprise she finds herself attracted to this anti-designer species and even more shocking the always soiled six year old triplets seem to like her. Even more so she desires their dad, quarterback Cash Connelly who has thrown a Hail Mary pass back to the pros, but needs a nanny to watch the kids although he keeps fantasizing the out of place newcomer will spend quality time alone sacking him.

This is an amusing contemporary romance starring a spoiled but likable female and a hunk in need of a practical nanny. The triplets become matchmakers between the unlikely pair. Thus havoc is the norm as readers will enjoy this humorous lighthearted desert frolic due to the strong characterizations.

The Broken Shore
Peter Temple
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
19 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003
0374116938 $25.00 www.fsgbooks.com 1-888-330-8477

Former Victoria Police Detective Joe Cashin almost died during a homicide investigation. As he physically heals, he mentally is no longer the confident sleuth he had been. He quits the metropolis force and returns home to be a rural cop in South Australia.

His quiet job reverts back to his previous work when local millionaire Charles Bourgoyne is beaten to death. The evidence points towards three Aboriginal teen males who were pawning the elderly victim’s watch. However, the cops end up killing two of the boys. To Joe’s shock, the department says case closed on the three deaths. Unable to let it go Joe investigates unofficially only to be buried in the slime of child pornography and sexual abuse.

THE BROKEN SHORE uses a relatively easily solved murder to provide readers with a deep look at social class in Australia. The story line is filled with plausible twists and turns as Joe cannot back off from learning the truth about the Bourgoyne murder, the official homicide investigation, and the inquiry into the sue of force. Police procedural fans will want to read this strong mystery that brings to life rural Australia.

Safe Harbor
Christine Feehan
Jove Books
c/o The Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0515143189 $7.99 1-800-847-5515

Mendocino County Sheriff Jonas Harrington takes a bullet when he finds himself in the middle of a Russian Mafia hit. His childhood archenemy supermodel Hannah Drake uses her paranormal skill to control the wind by calling up its force to save his life.

However soon after rescuing the sheriff, Hannah is brutally attacked and left to die. Ilya Parkenskii keeps her barely alive waiting for the Drake sisters, powerful witches to arrive to save their sibling’s life. Meanwhile a stunned Jonas stops running from his attraction to Hannah, vowing to not only keep her safe if her siblings miraculously save her life; he swears he will hunt down her adversary, not understanding what he has vowed to defeat.

Readers who have followed the previous tales of the seven Drake sisters (see OCEANS OF FIRE AND THE TWILIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS) know that the lead couple has been bickering nonstop since they met as children and continue in this paranormal romance until danger stalks Hannah. The story line is action-packed and like the previous sibling thrillers over the top yet the support cast keeps the plot focused. Christine Feehan provides a bewitching Drake thriller starring the pair fans have waited for.

The Hanging Mountains
Sean Williams
PYR
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591025443 $25.00 www.prometheusbooks.com 1-800-421-0351

Thousands of years after the Cataclysm eradicated civilization, Sky Warden Marmion reluctantly detours from his prime mission to uncover the source of the flood that apparently rose out of the Divide that splits the Earth. Instead frustratingly, he and his traveling compatriots are stuck in a forest trying to prevent war between the Milang human foresters and the Panic beasts.

Meanwhile the twins Hadrian and Seth continue to occupy the same body that of a Homunculus. They, tracker Habryn Kail and others flee the rising waters that inundate the land near the Divide hoping to find some safety in the legendary balloon cities of the Hanging Mountains. Sal and his companions on a ship of bones pursue them even as the siblings and Habryn begin to realize there is an unknown force at work trying to deliberately bring forth a second Cataclysm; evidence mounts that the original apocalyptic pandemic was caused by Homunculus so that Hadrian, Seth and Habryn wonder if they are the source again.

The third tale in the second saga is a well written entry that in one exciting (in of itself) subplot moves the overall chronicle glacially sideways (Marmion’s tale) while the other prime adventure (the twins’ tale) moves closer to the final confrontation though it also contains an entertaining unneeded “debate”. Still fans of the series will enjoy this volume (newcomers need to pursue at least the previous two novels if not the first series too) as Sean Williams sets in motion the final confrontation in the upcoming book four.

The Dark River
John Twelve Hawks
Doubleday & Company
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0385514298 $24.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

Both Michael and Gabriel Corrigan are Travelers able to send their consciousness into other realms and when they returned from their journey, they had visions and information to change the world. Throughout time they were opposed by the Brethren who systemically hunted down in order to maintain the status quo. The Brethren are an uber-Big Brother who want to establish an invisible prison where all are spied upon, their every moment known. Various computerized information systems flow from the Vast Machine.

The Brethren are going to implement the next advanced monitoring program in Berlin and they know when it proves successful it will spread to all Germany and the rest of Europe. Michael has allied himself with the Brethren wanting the power they possess while Gabriel is on a collision cause with him because he his mission is to stop the Brethren from making the world an invisible prison with no freedom or human rights. Travelers always are by the ultimate fighting machine the Harlequin and Gabriel is guarded by Maya. Both brothers discover their father a powerful Traveler is alive and both get to find him. Gabriel become lost in one of the realms called Hell and Maya must risk everything in the hopes she can find and bring him home knowing she might be stranded in a word without hope or love.

Sometime in the future, computer technology will be so advanced that spying and monitoring everyone in the whole world will be commonplace. Those that persist against the technological imprisonment like, Gabriel, the Harlequins and the people that they persuade to go into battle with them are heroes as they are a very tiny minority willing to enter hell for their heavenly cause. Most people rather have their freedom curtailed to remain safe from terrorism. Michael isn’t the typical villain because he has some redeeming qualities and it wouldn’t surprise readers to feel he is more like us than his brother. This Orwellian tale is plausible and frightening built off of today’s anti terrorism practices in environs in which current technology has continued its rapid evolution.

Heat
Geneva Holliday
Broadway Books (Doubleday)
076792116X $12.95

In New York, two hundred thirty pounds waitress Geneva feels pulled in two directions due to her excess weight. Her six-year-old daughter makes her feel obese but her younger lover Deeka the hunk thinks big is beautiful.

Crystal makes good money as the director of a not for profit corporation. However, she misses her significant other, Neville who lives in Antigua working as a gigolo. Her fear for her figure makes her drown in diet pills as she wants to successfully compete with all the females Neville charms

The debt collectors swarm over Chevy tying her paycheck up with remittances. She has saved some money by living in her friend’s home, but a nasty fight with Noah ends that arrangement. Worse she is falling in love with a former convict who is struggling as much as she is.

Noah feels bad about his spat with his pal Chevy, but has problems with his girlfriend who wants them to have a child, but rejects anything Noah says on the topic. He begins to look elsewhere especially when his past resurfaces.

This is an interesting look at four New York singles who use sex to escape everyday living, but allowing their libido to rule their respective lives leads to major mistakes. Although at times it can become confusing who is talking as the plot is rotating first person at times without warning, fans will enjoy this close bite of the Big Apple. The support cast adds eccentricity to the tale, but it is the HEAT generated by the fearsome foursome that keeps the fun story line moving.

Wired
Liz Maverick
Dorchester Shomi
200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
0505527243 $6.99 1-800-481-9191

L. Roxanne Zaborovsky is graduating college, but does not plan to attend the ceremony. Instead before her interview, she heads to the neighborhood 7-Eleven, thinking nothing could happen to her on such a short walk; although she repeats that mantra several times trying to keep the panic at bay as her lack of memory of key events and people frightens her.

Suddenly two men come out of nowhere with one shouting at the other she is mine and the second one saying au contraire. As Leonardo Kaysar and Mason Merrick argue with one another over Roxy, she is ready for flight not fight. Still she knows they want something from her but Roxy is confused as she is not sure what and because Mason seems familiar yet unfamiliar as if they shared an attraction and more. She learns she is a player and so are they in a game of life in which fate is a zillion wires that crisscross, but though she feels she once loved Mason and may still she believes he will do anything to win including harming her. However, this time Roxy understands more than the apparent myriad of previous times with these two competing punks; she plans to change the rules although she has no idea how or if successful what that will do to her and the two male hunks sniffing at her.

This is a terrific science fiction thriller that readers will be WIRED into one sitting as “reality” consistently shifts depending on who controls the threads of time and place. Fans will cheer on Roxy as she begins to comprehend the rules of the game in which there are none except whatever the rivals Leonardo and Mason separately decide as they manipulate everything and everyone with Roxy their current expendable game pawn. However, she plans to become lean and mean kicking butt. Liz Maverick provides a strong tale told by her heroine.

The Chosen of Azar
Carol Kluz
WestBank Books
4408 Bayou Des Familles,Marrero, LA 70072
0978984005 $14.95

Azar the all powerful chooses a teen quintet to save Haven’s Hold from the fearsome fivesome of his evil brother Condragon. The all mighty knows his young warriors have quite a task ahead of them so he assigns wizard Mo Demz, the hero of the Third Age demon siege, to mentor and train the Chosen five so that when they face the ultimate malevolence in the Fifth Age with a world at stake they will be ready.

To teach them even an iota of what they will need Demz takes THE CHOSEN OF AZAR on a dangerous journey in search of talismans to use one day when the final battle occurs. Demz knows how difficult his task is, but realizes how much harder it will be on the Chosen, three boys and two girls who must grow up too fast as youthful exuberance and angry exasperation will vanish rather quickly or they will fail and die.

The above describes the opening sequences of an exciting epic coming of age fantasy. The story line is action-packed from the moment Demz and his followers recruit and trains the champions, and never slows down as they battle demons and churls; knowing defeat means death. Readers will enjoy the CHOSEN OF AZAR, a terrific first entry that introduces a strong cast preparing for the coming Fifth Age as chronicled in the Book of Empyrean.

Dead Copy
Kit Frazier
Midnight Ink
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
073870959X $13.95 www.midnightinkbooks.com 1-800-843-6666

Twentyish Cauley “The Obituary Babe” MacKinnon wants to make it as a highly respected reporter. She feels being an obit writer is stuck in the muddy ooze underneath the lowest rung of the journalistic food chain ladder.

When her sometimes boyfriend FBI hunk, that is agent Tom Logan, asks her for a favor besides sharing the sheets, she agrees to help him on a witness protection case as long as he provides her with the SCOOP. He wants her to write and print a fake obituary for Wiley Ray Puckett; Tom wants to keep him safe until he testifies against the El Patron gang leader Selena Obregon. However, Wiley is murdered anyway and a dead canary left by Cauley as a warning to back off or her obit will be next. With her faithful companion at her side (that is Marlowe the dog not Tom the rat who told her to back off) Cauley, being a typical sweetened tea Texan searches for Wiley’s missing sister Faith.

Though the coincidence meter is way beyond the top metric of plausibility (then again this is in the Austin area), chick lit investigative readers will enjoy Cauley’s latest escapades to obtain a scoop so she can escape the dead letter office hopefully without her own obit written. The zany story line is fun to read if the audience ignores the doses of luck (more than the sugar her mom puts in the tea) that leads Cauley one heel at a time on her inquiry. Tom is always there at the right moment whether that is for some kissing or for some rescuing, sub-genre fans will laugh with the antics of the heroine of this lighthearted mystery.

Wicked Things
Thomas Tessier
Leisure
0843955600 $6.99

The insurance company hires private investigator Jack Carlson to look into an extremely excessive number of filings due to accidental deaths in the small rustic town, Winship. Jack arrives in Winship; his first impression is somehow he went back to a 1950s Norman Rockwell designed rural village.

Still Carlson is a pro so he goes about his work only to find a new mystery as those who die also vanish in a sort of personalized RAPTURE. He goes to visit the local insurance agent only to discover the salesman and his secretary were murdered with no apparent motive; law enforcement fails to investigate the homicides; in fact they fail to prevent marauding thugs assaulting the locals. He visits the town doctor to learn more about the accidents only to observe the physician commit suicide in front of him. As he keeps digging Carlson finds himself feeling like Alice through the rabbit hole. Even at night he feels haunted by the town as an eerie glow lights up the otherwise dark sky. As he begins the FINISHING TOUCHES to his inquiry, Carlson believes the strange happenings are linked to the enigmatic Order of St. Michael.

Jack is a fabulous protagonist who struggles with learning the truth, but keeps finding new WICKED THINGS instead. That in fact is the problem with this exciting horror thriller as the audience must read it in one sitting because they want to find out what is going on behind the Rockwell façade, but never seem to learn the answers. This is a thrilling tale that hooks readers from the onset but the climax leaves readers with too many unanswered questions. Fans of the award winning Thomas Tessier will appreciate this enjoyable stop in the Twilight Zone. Apparently the book also contains a second tale that this reviewer has not read.

Tempted Tigress
Jade Lee
Leisure
0843956909 $6.99

Anna Marie Thompson is stranded as an orphan in China. She survives by becoming an opium drug runner for her adoptive father, but quickly becomes addicted to the drug. However, she soon runs afoul of the Emperor's most zealous enforcer Zhi-Gang who destroys her current shipment and catches her.

Zhi-Gang is on a personal mission to rescue his sister from the traffickers who abducted her. During his quest he destroys their cash crop opium. However, his current prisoner Anna makes him reconsider all he does as he wants her. She reciprocates his deepest feelings and believes she has a reason to end her addiction. Although he does not trust her as opium users will sell anything even their body, they fall in love while teaming up to kill those human traffickers peddling young girls to the brothels.

Having the heroine addicted to opium and her beloved distrust her because of it make for a unique couple finding a delightfully different path to heaven as the lead pair refreshes the Tigress tales. Perhaps the most distinctive erotic historical romantic suspense around today, series readers will appreciate TEMPTED TIGRESS starring two fascinating heroes united in love and against the flesh vendors but initially on different sides of the opium issue that haunts late nineteenth century China.

Angel’s Embrace
Charlotte Hubbard
Leisure
0843958034 $6.99

In 1876 Missouri, good friends Billy Bristol and Emma Clark are at the altar about to marry. He has doubts, but she is sure. So when nine-month pregnant Eve Messena from nearby Richmond arrives, he is relieved while Emma is upset.

Eve insists that the father of her unborn is Wesley Bristol, Billy’s vanished outlaw brother and that she was looking for any of his kin. When she goes into labor right there in the church, a nervous Billy delivers the newborn. Everyone believes the baby girl born in the church has to be an angel. Billy feels a love towards his niece that he has never felt towards anyone. Billy is attracted to the mother, who shares his growing love, but she fears those feelings having been hurt by a Bristol brother once before and he is unsure of such an emotion; however both love the baby angel and are not afraid to show it.

This is a terrific Reconstruction Era romance that sub-genre fans will enjoy as the inspirational elements are interwoven into the plot so that they are inclusive not intrusive. The key characters are fully developed so that the reader understands their deepest feelings including why they fear love. Using historical tidbits and the vernacular of the era, Charlotte Hughes provides a wonderful nineteenth century Americana tale.

Savage Intrigue
Cassie Edwards
Leisure
0843955368 $6.99

In 1862 Minnesota, the angry desperate Dakota strike out at those nearby in Mankato to claim what was promised to them as once again the American government broke a treaty that included food and protection from settlers. Outraged whites retaliated lynching hundreds of the Dakota. Tribes fled to neighboring Wisconsin, but three years later lynching fever has returned; even white Doctor Hicks who provided medicine to the people is killed.

The doctor’s daughter Sheleen flees before she becomes a victim too; her hope is to reach her late mother's people. However, young excited Indian Gentle Bear out hunting accidentally hits Sheleen with an arrow. He takes the unconscious woman to his tribe where Chief Midnight Wolf decides to keep her prisoner until he can decide what to do with her as he has a problem with her story. As Colonel Robertson and others search for Sheleen, she and Midnight Wolf fall in love, but she knows she must leave as her troubles will harm his tribe just like the shaman insists.

Although the traits of the key characters are interchangeable with their counterparts in previous Savage tales, as always Cassie Edwards provides an entertaining historical romance. The well written story line is built on the real ugly events of 1862 that haunted the Dakota especially when it appears the ugly lynching mentality had returned three years later; Ms. Edwards captures that fear in such a deep way that readers will feel the trepidation. Fans of the series will enjoy this latest historical Indian romance as Ms. Edwards uses her recurring theme quite nicely.

Head On
Colleen Thompson
Leisure
0505527138 $6.99

In Hatcher County, Texas, using a cane to walk, Beth Ann Decker works as a dedicated hospice nurse while most locals feel pity towards her because she survived a deadly tragedy with noted physical reminders. Sixteen years ago her life changed dramatically when an automobile accident left three cheerleaders dead and she badly injured in her car; to this day she still limps notably. The driver of the other vehicle, Mark “Hell on Wheels” Jessup walked away without a scratch although he spent time in jail for vehicular homicide and never recovered from his sister being one of those he killed.

Mark returns to Hatcher County for the first time since the deadly crash to care for his dying father, who rejected him when he most needed his dad. The older Jessup has not forgiven Mark for the death of his daughter and even now takes his anger out on his grandson, Eli, snubbing the lad. However, Mark has other problems as he quickly becomes the prime suspect when a murder occurs. He also finds he still desires Beth Ann, but feels guilty over what he did to her. She reciprocates as the demon she always though he was turns out to be a false assumption; instead he is a caring father and son struggling with what he caused. When someone tries to kill Beth Ann, Mark risks his life to keep her safe.

Although sixteen years have past since the trauma that shook Hatcher County, few if any have healed. Thus when Mark returns home festering wounds reopen as this town without pity forgives no one. Interestingly readers will believe in the love between Mark and Beth Ann although they would seem more obviously natural enemies and in Mark’s case a whole lot of regrets. The murder subplot seems unnecessary, as the plausibility of the lead couple’s relationship and the reaction of the townsfolk to the return of the prodigal killer make this a fine tale.

Soul Song
Marjorie M. Liu
Leisure
0843957662 $6.99

Violinist Kitala Bell has always run away from her curse of seeing the future as her visions are always that of violent death. She escapes her vivid nightmarish foresight by burying herself in music and never staying still always performing to different audiences in differing locations nightly.

However, her music fails to keep away the vision of a knife in the head of an unfortunate woman sitting in the front row of the Queen Elizabeth Theater; Kitala tries to warn this Alice and her companion Uncle John, but instead learns why the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The cops want her, but not for questioning instead they want her dead as she knows too much. At the same time that Kitala is attacked by landlubbers, a soul eating witch sends her imprisoned M'cal the Krackeni merman to use his song to capture the powerful soul of the violinist. Instead M’cal watching Kitala perform is spellbound by her music and knows he cannot steal the soul of his soulmate and live. He risks all defying his “owner” and her enchantment because he believes in the magical music of the love he shares with Kitala.

The latest Dirk & Steele thriller (see EYE OF HEAVEN, TIGER EYE, SHADOW TOUCH, and THE RED HEART OF JADE) is fabulous romantic suspense fantasy that will hook the audience from the first note to the incredible climatic coda. The fast-paced story line contains two interesting protagonists who are united by love and music as they battle police, a malevolent witch, and much more while trying to stay alive.

Silk Dreams
Diana Groe
Leisure
0843958693 $6.99

Considered a witch by her Norse people for her gift of the “sight”, Valdis is sold by her family into sexual slavery. Her owner takes her to Constantinople where she ends up in a harem. Exiled Erik the Viking is to teach her the special siren arts of a female’s true gift to lure men; while tutoring her he also encourages Valdis to use her visions as a help not a hindrance curse. However, in spite of her gains in position and skill, Valdis feels lost in this strange city.

Valdis panics when she sees the death of Erik, who her heart tells her is the one who can not only free her from bondage but also is her soulmate. He hides that he loves her and would die to free her. However, Valdis knows only she has the power to save their lives and keep them together sharing SILK DREAMS, but one miscue means violent death for both of them.

This is a refreshing historical romance starring two fascinating exiles falling into a forbidden love with one another. Not sure of the concept of harems in the 1100s Constantinople as the Ottoman Empire does not conquer the Byzantine Empire until the mid fifteenth century, readers will believe they are inside a twelfth century harem as the senses are on full alert as the audience cans taste and smell this strange exotic world. Diana Groe provides a deep picturesque Middle Ages eastern tale of love.

The Marsh Hawk
Dawn MacTavish
Leisure
0843959347 $6.99

In 1812 Cornwall, England, Lady Jenna Hollingsworth shoots the infamous highwayman THE MARSH HAWK; before she can ascertain whether he is dying, she flees the scene as she hears voices. Jenna assumes that she killed the brigand who murdered her beloved father.

At a masquerade gala where Jenna and Viscount Rupert Marner are to announce their betrothal, she sees a masked man with the same hypnotizing ’eyes of the felon she shot. However, before she can follow up on whether this masked hunk is THE MARSH HAWK, Jenna finds herself married to the earl Simon Rutherford to avoid a scandal. As the newlyweds are deeply attracted to one another and both believing they must hide their love for the other from their mate, she wonders how to unmask him and he wonders how to remain masked while an outraged Rupert plots to destroy the pair who publicly humiliated him.

The fun in this Regency resides with the dynamic pairing who for the most part dominate the story line. The Rupert subplot distracts from the prime theme of two opponents playing chess with love as Jenna and Simon move and counter move back and forth seeking checkmate, which in her case is proving her husband is (or is not) the highwayman and in case hiding his secret identify. For the most part the audience will enjoy their antics until Rupert intrudes on the plot when he brings them together with his perilous mischief.

Belisarius: The First Shall Be Last
Paolo Belzoni
Arx Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 1333, Merchantville NJ 08109, USA
1889758787 $14.95

The once invincible Roman Empire has been collapsing from within as much as from the barbarians attacking at the edges. Most citizens regardless of locale feel strongly that the great state is going in the wrong direction with little hope for the future. That changes when war hero Justin is offered the throne and accepts after rejecting the emperor position in the past. His rise from common birth to soldier to leader to emperor brings new hope of a cleansing. His heir nephew Justinian rules the kingdom in Justin’s name, but though all know this no one cares as a rebirthing of optimism is everywhere.

Justinian wants real leaders to take charge of the legions not noble connections. Soldiers like Belisarius in Thrace join with a chance to make their mark after learning to fight by defeating looters. He and his friends join Justin’s military and quickly become part of the Imperial household guard. With trouble on the eastern flank from the Persians, the competent Belisarius is sent to Constantinople to battle the enemy where he meets his assertive future spouse Antonina. He moves up the ranks as the Persian Wars occupy the eastern legions.

BELISARIUS, Liber 1 of a biographical fiction saga, is a superb Ancient Rome tale that brings to life one of the last great generals of the empire focusing on the Persian Wars; thus the story line reads for the most part as a fictionalization of military history. Told almost exclusively from the Roman perspective especially that of the lead hero; his side in the conflict comes across as honorable while the enemy consists of murderous thugs; to the victors go the fictionalized history books. Although readers will have to overcome the tiny font size, teens and adults will appreciate this spotlight into sixth century Rome at a time when the empire and in some chronicles of the time the world was on the brink of collapse as cultures collide.

Soon I Will Be Invincible
Austin Grossman
Pantheon
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
0375424865 $22.95 www.pantheonbooks.com 1-800-726-0600

As he remains behind bars for his latest failure to conquer the worlds, brilliant diabolical scientist Doctor Impossible wonders where he went wrong. His family deserted him when he lost again to the super tights type and now the government has claimed his secret fortress under some sort of patriotic legal mumbo jumbo.

While Impossible struggles with his superego, the worlds’ greatest superhero team, the Champions, invites Fatale the cyborg to join them which she does. However, as she begins to train in earnest, team leaders Corefire vanishes and Doctor Impossible begins his latest conquer the world plan in which he plays billiards with the planet by knocking it out of orbit leading to leaders bowing to his superiority. Fatale is forced into battle before she feels ready as the doctor’s doomsday plan begins; but she understands that she belongs to the Champions, who will keep on fighting until the end because the Champions have no time for losers especially doubting cyborg queens.

Paying homage to superhero comic books, SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE is a terrific fantasy thriller that surprisingly has deep characterizations. Especially developed are Fatale who finds the team’s mission and vision quite humorous and the Doctor who feels like Wile Coyote as his perfect plans somehow are foiled again and again by losers. He also wonders if he is currently doing the right thing as who will he rule once the planet turns total iceberg (at least he will have stopped global warming). The story line rotates between these two lead adversaries, but also provides strong secondary players who are mostly superheroes. Satirizing the superego power grabbers who will do anything to gain and maintain supremacy even destroy a planet, Austin Grossman provides a winning tale.

Circumference of Darkness
Jack Henderson
Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0553805150 $23.00 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

John Fagan is held in awe in the hacker underground for the misdeed he accomplished in cyberspace. He lives like a hermit in New York City that is right out of a Star Wars movie with a talking intelligent computer called Kate. Jeannie Reese was a math and computer prodigy who was hired by the government to create a surveillance program that would eliminate extraneous data and put security risk information in a logical order

She initiates IRIN shortly after 9/11 and meets John in cyberspace where he is the first one to defeat her in a game of chess. He feels guilty because he was in an IRC chat in the 1990’s and talked about a blueprint to bring the U.S. to its knees. Someone intercepted and partially initiated that plan. She would like to talk to him but she is kicked out of her job by the power that be who want to control IRIN and he is kidnapped by those loyal to Edward Latrell, a survivalist militiaman who played a part in 9/11 and demands John’s expertise to break the U.S. and rebuild it in his image. John finally agrees to stop Latrell killing the innocents in the camp but is rescued by one of Jeannie’s people. They meet up in Las Vegas seeking to find a way to stop the doomsday scenario from happening but John built something he doesn’t know how to dismantle.

In his debut, Jack Henderson acts like a veteran thriller writer with strong plotting, solid three dimensional characterizations (especially the lead misfits) and exciting action adventure scenarios that grip readers from the onset. CIRCUMFERENCE OF DARKNESS is one of the best the thrillers to come along in years. The two protagonists are social misfits trying to save the world that neither feels comfortable in. Readers will admire and their courage and perseverance.

The Midnight Road
Tom Piccirilli
Bantam
0553384082 $6.99

Flynn works for Suffolk County Child Protective Services and an anonymous tip has him heading to the Shephard house where he sees Kelly playing in the snow with her dog Zero. They enter the home where Flynn meets high strung Mrs. Shephard, who shows him her house and declares she can care for Kelly very well as there is not a mark on her. Flynn gets set to leave when he hears singing so he heads to the basement where the voice seems to come from. There he finds a man all scarred up in a cage big enough for a German Shepard.

Mr. Shephard says he made the call, but his wife shoots him. She goes after Flynn who gets away from her in his 1966 Charger, but falls into icy river. He is underneath for twenty-eight minutes when he is rescued and miraculously resuscitated by the paramedics. While in the hospital, Zero who was in Flynn’s car when it went through the ice appears and talks to him. In the aftermath of his near death experience, someone starts killing people around him, one who he knew pretty well. Flynn needs to learn who is taunting him and trying to kill him or die trying.

THE MIDNIGHT ROAD is an amazing thriller that shines a spotlight on the hidden dark corners of the human psyche. Tom Piccirilli creates a complex lead character who knows he is losing his grip on sanity yet also believes someone is terrifying him to drive him further over the edge. The protagonist is a refreshing protagonist mentally crippled (he knows Zero is a talking hallucination) yet must move on. Readers will finish this gripping Noir in one tense sitting.

Little Heathens
Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Bantam
0553804952 $22.00

Mildred Armstrong Kalish provides a deep look back to growing up on a farm in Iowa during the Depression. Ms. Kalish’s family of seven lived a frugal lifestyle in which three generations resided in the home with the only missing person being her exiled father although why she was not sure. Her cousins lived on nearby farms so the extended family was nearby to help if needed.

The key to this superb discerning memoir is Ms. Kalish avoids acrimony and sugared (except when grandpa bought some) nostalgia to provide a vivid picture of a bygone era in which an extended family was there to raise the children with positive values. Life on the farm during harsh economic conditions was fun to a preadolescent Mildred although some chores were simply work. With black and white pictures to enhance the era and “farm food” recipes that were not microwave, LITTLE HEATHENS is a well written winner providing a powerful look at the 1930s in the Midwest. Ms. Kalish showcases how different life was back then from today when for instance the three Klausner brothers live in Georgia, New Jersey and Texas respectively and outhouses is a Three Stooges’ joke.

Trial and Error
Paul Levine
Bantam
0440242762 $6.99

In Miami, attorney Steve Solomon prevents the abduction of two dolphins from Cetacean Park. Ironically, the radical green hugger he captured asks Solomon to defend him against a murder charge as his kidnapping partner died in the botched “rescue” mission.

The State Attorney General recluses himself because the accused is his nephew; so to the defense lawyer’s shock, he names Steve’s girlfriend Victoria Lord as the chief prosecutor. As the two do what they always do when it comes to legal matters, they argue in and out of court driving the judge to distraction. However, it is the insight of Steve’s autistic adopted son, Bobby, who brings a surprising lucid perception to what happened.

Sort of mindful of a legal thriller version of Moonlighting, the latest Solomon vs. Lord tale TRIAL AND ERROR is a fun lighthearted thriller that fans of the series will enjoy especially when the lead couple objects. The story line is at its best in the courtroom where humor and insight make for a fine lawyer war between the lovers. When the plot turns introspective into Bobby’s mind it loses some of the edge and when it morphs into an action thriller near the end it loses its keen edge. Still readers will receive pleasure from this amusing war of the attorneys.

The Dark Garden
Eden Bradley
Bantam
0553589733 $13.00

In California Rowan Cassidy works the perfect job for someone with her dominant personality; she is mistress at Club Prive bondage club. However, much of what her peers and customers believes about her is image as she hides the psyche damage from her last relationship.

Christian Thorne meets Rowan at the club; he wants her like no one he has been with before, but this alpha male must be on top. He also feels she has a submissive soul that she conceals behind the leather dominatrix impression she emits. He offers her a deal of thirty days to prove to her he is her master and that her preference is that of a “bottom”. She wants him to dominate her, but fears returning to the hurt of her past.

This complex erotic relationship drama hooks readers from the moment Christian and Rowan meet and never slows down as Eden Bradley takes her audience not just inside the BDSM scene, but into the inner minds of her prime players. The fascinating story line is a psychological study especially of Rowan who struggles between her fears and her desires. The hunk who loves her as his submissive and the strong secondary cast enhance the deep peep at the BDSM landscape.

The Good Guy
Dean Koontz
Bantam
0553804812 $27.00

After work mason Tim Carrier drinks beer at his friend Liam Rooney’s bar, Lamplighter Tavern. Tim prefers routines so although Liam wants to set him up with his wife’s cousin, he makes it clear that he prefers being alone or perhaps having his testicles cut off instead. However, he also enjoys quiet conversation so when the stranger with the manila envelop sat next to him, he thought this might prove an interesting discussion as the man with a beer seems like a fellow “wet nurse” nursing a drink or two for the night.

The stranger tells Tim his stomach is in knots just like skydiving for the first time. He then gives Tim the envelop stating "Half of it's here. Ten thousand. The rest when she's gone." Not sure where the man is going, Tim pretends to listen until the stranger abruptly leaves. Stunned Tim opens up the envelop to learn the target is writer Linda Paquette of Laguna Beach when a second stranger sits down and says to Tim “you’re early”. For not heeding mom’s advice of never talk to strangers, Tim finds himself as target number two from an invincible killer with government connections. As the targeted pair meet and flee together, they struggle to learn why even as the hit man keeps coming.

No writer today takes an everyman and places them in scenarios where they die or adapt better than Dean Koontz consistently does. His latest thriller hooks the audience from the moment Tim meets the two strangers and never lets go as Tim and Linda struggle to elude a killer out of the Energizer Bunny mold. Suspense fans will want to read Mr. Koontz's action-packed thriller starring two sly everyday people and a cold blooded terminator.

Old Wounds
Vicki Lane
Dell Books
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0440243599 $6.99 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

Life seems good to Elizabeth Goodweather who has finally made peace with the death of her husband who died six years ago in a plane accident. She even reciprocates the interest of retired police officer Phillip Hawkins, a teacher at the college. However, he is not feeling euphoric because his past has arisen to haunt him. H Elizabeth’s husband and a other man in their unit in Vietnam ignored the atrocity performed against civilians by the man about nominated to be the next Secretary Of Defense.

Elizabeth is worried about her daughter Rosie who wants to find out what happened to her best friend Maythorn; the girl who vanished without a trace nineteen years ago. Both mother and daughter do not realize their inquiries will bring them to the attention of different evil men who want the past left buried.

OLD WOUNDS is an atmospheric work of suspense almost gothic in tone and set in an isolated part of North Carolina. The two tales runs parallel before interconnecting to the delight of an enthralled audience. Both female protagonists are well developed and believable as they make inquiries that lead them to danger in Vicki Lane’s tense thriller.

The Manny
Holly Peterson
Dial (Dell)
0385340400 $25.00

Thirty six tears old Jamie Whitfield and her lawyer spouse Phillip raises three children on exclusive Park Avenue in Manhattan. She also works part-time as a producer for a news program. However, though the Whitfields seem to be living the American dream, she is worried about her troubled nine year old son Dylan, whose father is never home and lacks an older male role model. Though it disturbs her Middle America upbringing to pay for a man, Jamie has adjusted to the lifestyle of the rich and famous in which all problems are solved by throwing money at it.

She hires almost thirty Peter Bailey to be the MANNY, “a nanny of male persuasion” to help raise the kids especially Dylan. However, Peter obtains funding for his software business so he can quit the demeaning position, but does not. He is attracted to his employer and believes she reciprocates, but wonders whether she will act on her desires especially when she is chasing down a news story that could make her career if she stays faithful.

This amusing tale lampoons the hypocrisy of some of the affluent who complain when the government spends money on problems, but resolve personal issues by spending money on them. Surprisingly even with the Manny and his employer fully developed and fun to follow their antics, the tale is stolen by her spouse whose temper tantrums over nothings seem more like a two year old used to getting his way. Holly Peterson provides a fabulous look at the changes in the individuals of a wealthy Manhattan family once they have their own male Poppins join them.

Beg Me
Lisa Lawrence
Delta Trade Paperbacks
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0385341040 $13.00 1-800-726-0600

In Thailand Chinese Jeff Lee hires Londoner Teresa Knight to learn what happened to his sister Ana. Some sick a**hole sent him pictures of her nude and bound; he claimed she died in Brooklyn while holding a gun on a drug dealer trying to get crystal meth from the man. Jeff insists Ana was not an addict, but was into a black BDSM scene; at least that is what her former English boyfriend Craig insisted before they broke up. Jeff wants the truth although Teresa thinks he wants to kill Ana’s killer and the BDSM members.

Teresa returns to the New York fetish scene seeking a black BDSM club that Craig said was more a cult. She quickly realizes that she must go undercover, which means letting go of her emotional defenses as she will run the gamut of the kink scene. However, as she begins to penetrate the cult she has joined, Teresa needs increasingly more thrills; Simon, who she just met, seems to be the best at servicing her libido. However, between her investigation into Ana’s death and a four decade old homicide that Simon is interested in, Ana begins to conclude that the cult members enjoy sexual execution.

The sequel to STRIP POKER, BEG ME is an entreating erotic investigative tale starring a woman whose defense mechanisms collapse under a libido siege leaving her vulnerable to other cult members and especially to Simon. The sleuthing is fun to follow though that takes a back seat to the kink. Fans who enjoy their mystery thrillers to be over the edge with sexual escapades that run the gamut will want to accompany Teresa as she frolics in New York.

Final Stroke
Michael Beres
Medallion Press, Inc.
1020 Cedar Lane, No. 2N, St. Charles, IL 60174
1932815953 $24.95 www.medallionpress.com

In Chicago former police detective Steve Babe recovers from a left brain stroke at Saint Mel in the Woods Rehabilitation Facility, affectionately known by the residents as “Hell in the Woods”. His wife Jan visits Steve all time trying to help him recover. For the most part he is doing better, but speaking is difficult as communication is easier by using a computer.

When his best friend at the joint octogenarian right stroke victim Marjorie Gianetti, a mobster’s widow, dies in an accidental fall, Steve has problems with discrepancies in what he knew of her and how the accident occurred. He begins investigating by sneaking down to the scene of crime where the puddle of pee that Marjorie slipped on remains. After the finger-mouth taste, he knows the liquid is water and begins to believe murder occurred. As he gets in trouble with Washington, an aide at the rehab facility who is selling stolen equipment through a fence, Flat Nose, tries to pretend stupidity caused by the stroke. When Washington dies, Steve realizes that someone wants to silence witnesses, but to what and who remains outside his scope even as he uses his wife to assist him in uncovering the truth behind Marjorie’s murder not understanding that the connection is as far away as the Everglades and retired Feds.

The investigation by the Babes and the Feds domestic spying take a back seat to the deep look into recovering stroke victims. The communication between the Babes is incredible especially the patience of both as it must be frustrating to not be able to say what you mean to the transmitter and to the receiver. Although there is perhaps too much going on in the background (though not explored to any intruding depth), readers will appreciate this character driven whodunit starring a unique pairing of an amateur sleuth and a left brain stroke former cop.

Enslaved
Hope Tarr
Medallion Press, Inc.
1020 Cedar Lane, No. 2N, St. Charles, IL 60174
1933836121 $6.99 www.medallionpress.com

In 1876 at the Roxbury House Orphanage in Kent, England, the four friends (Teenagers Patrick O’Rourke, Harry Stone and Gavin Carmichael and nine years old Daisy) meets in the attic whenever they can. Daisy believes they are a “real family” until Gavin’s hard-nosed grandfather Friend St. John arrives to take him home with him. Gavin promises Daisy he will never forget her.

In 1891 now a barrister Gavin has almost given up his search for Daisy as even a private detective has not been able to find her since she was adopted by the Lakes in 1877. Gavin’s two pals Harry and Patrick persuade him to attend a show starring Delilah du Lac. He is stunned to realize she is his Daisy; she is as shocked to realize he is her Saint Gavin. As they fall in love, Gavin remains upset she never wrote him and Daisy thinks he can do much better than her; however, both also dream that they can become a “real family”, but first one of them must have the courage to step forward and explain their doubts to the other.

The likable lead couple makes for a fine Victorian romance that will have the audience rooting for the pair to find a way to remain together. Character driven, Gavin and Daisy struggle to overcome their past and their perceptions of what is best for the other. Although Gavin’s his cold blooded interfering grandfather seems more like a Dickensian stereotype, the support cast especially his two pals Harray (see VANQUISHED) and Patrick (future tale) augment an enjoyable historical tale.

The Mark
Jason Pintor
Mira Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778324893 $7.99 www.mirabooks.com

Henry Parker dreams of becoming an investigative journalist like his heroes Bernstein and Woodward. So when he has an opportunity to work in New York he leaps at it. However, still new to his job and the city, Henry is assaulted while on assignment.

When he regains consciousness, Henry finds he no longer seeks the news, he is the news. The NYPD think he is a cop killer while the FBI considers him as the prime suspect. He realizes if law enforcement catches him, he will take the fall as no one will believe his innocence; even he has doubts with the evidence that he knows of. On the lam with the Feds and local cops giving chase, Henry quickly learns how dire his predicament is when mobsters seek to silence him after they recover a package he allegedly possesses; Henry realizes if the mob gets him he would need to turnover to them what they demand if he is to die without a brutal beating, but the problem is that he does not have what they require. He knows he needs to elude the cops and the mob while also pursuing the same clues that will lead the cops and the mob to him.

This is a terrific thriller starring an interesting protagonist who goes from awe to desperation as everyone wants a piece of him. The exhilarating story line is told either in the first person by Henry or in the active third person with the switching very smooth so that no disruption occurs. Readers will appreciate the insight into the frightened frantic hero as he explains what he thinks is happening to him while inside of an action-packed on the run investigative tale.

2 Bodies for the Price of 1
Stephanie Bond
Mira
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778324842 $13.95 www.mirabooks.com

Former socialite Carlotta Wren assumes life cannot get much worse since her parents fled the States to avoid white collar prosecution ten years ago and recently she survived the Atlanta police believing her as the prime suspect in a murder (see BODY MOVERS). The last thing she expected was someone stealing her identity, but apparently it has happened. Her credit cards have been run up to the max and her credit dragged to the lowest score conceivable.

As she tries to fix her financial problems, Carlotta returns home to find four men looking like their most loved person died. Her brother Wesley, Detective Jack, her former fiance Peter (who dumped her), and possible boyfriend Cooper are mourning her death; apparently Carlotta has learned she committed suicide or at least her identify theft double has. Will word reach her parents that she died bringing them home for her funeral watched by law enforcement or is there something even more nefarious going on as Carlotta wonders why her?

This is an amusing Body Mover tale starring a likable quirky heroine and her male harem. The story line is fast-paced but focuses on Carlotta and her problems as she begins to feel like a modern day female Job. Reader and Carlotta will wonder what next will happen to her even as she believes it can’t get worse but soon learns it can. Stephanie Bond provides a fun tale in which the audience will wonder who the dead double is while rooting for the delightful trouble magnet to overcome her latest woes.

Blood Red
Heather Graham
Mira
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778324869 $7.99 www.mirabooks.com

In New Orleans, close friends Lauren Crow, Heidi Weiss and Deanna Marin are enjoying a bachelorette weekend together before the countdown to Heidi’s wedding begins. The three pals stop at a portable table near the Cathedral where Susan the fortune teller reads their future. In a crystal ball Susan shows Lauren the image of a man offering her “a world of blood and death and darkness”; Heidi and Deanna do not see what Lauren saw. She is stunned when a dark smooth evil voice whispers he is coming for her. She makes a noise and the crystal ball breaks. Susan warns them to stay in crowded places fearing for Lauren.

The vision and Susan’s reaction convince Lauren that her feelings that someone is following her are true and not just a response to the atmosphere of the French Quarter. Vampire hunter Mark Davidson trails malevolent bloodsucker Stephen who has ‘seen” Lauren and believes she is the reincarnation of his long dead beloved. The vampire plans to reunite with her while dining on the blood of her friends. Mark plans to keep the three females safe although like Stephen he is attracted to Lauren.

Although the lead and secondary cast members are three dimensional, this terrific vampire romance is owned by post Katrina New Orleans as the atmosphere of the city is everywhere in the exciting story line. Mark is a fascinating obstinate hero who finds love distracts his edge by taking away from his narrow single minded focus. Lauren also changes from a disbeliever to a firm understanding that vampires exist. Although no monster twists occur as Heather Graham’s fine tale is within the BLOOD RED sub-genre norm, fans will appreciate Heidi’s bachelorette weekend in the French Quarter.

The Death List
Paul Johnston
Mira
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778324818 $24.95 www.mirabooks.com

In London, novelist Matt Wells receives a series of e-mails from a fan that gives him the idea for a story. Initially he thinks nothing of this beyond someone likes his work, which makes him feel good. However, he soon finds a lethal pattern that frightens him; Matt believes his biggest fan is a cold blooded serial killer who has targeted him, his ex-wife and his daughter for execution.

The White Devil is working his death list getting closer to reaching Matt and his loved ones. Chief Inspector Karen Oaten and her police force suspect Matt is the killer as the White Devil cleverly leaves incriminating evidence that places the writer at the murder scene. Matt realizes he must risk his life before the police arrest him if he is to keep his beloved family members safe from a diabolical killer who knows him and watches his every move.

From the onset, this is an exciting thriller that will have readers guessing how the White Devil is performing his deeds that set up Matt who is under tight police surveillance; the climax reveals the means, which the audience in a Monday morning look back will say is obvious if one applied Holmesian logic. Although the characters are developed enough to matter, it is the anticipation throughout that the White Devil is methodically coming one corpse at a time towards the final kill that grips readers even when the plot seems over the Thames embankment.

The Summit
Kat Martin
Mira
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778324702 $7.99 www.mirabooks.com

A dozen years ago, Autumn Sommers ignored her nocturnal dreams resulting in a tragedy that she feels she could have prevented. Filled with guilt and remorse, she vowed never again.

Currently in the Seattle area, school teacher Autumn has visions of a young girl. She follows up by looking at missing persons reports until she thinks the star of her dreams is Molly McKenzie, the daughter of the CEO of McKenzie Enterprises. Divorced Ben has never been the same since his beloved Molly vanished six years ago although he hides his feelings as much as possible from his beloved other child ten years old Katie. When Autumn tells him what she has seen, he explodes in outrage accusing her of trying to take advantage of a grieving father. Fully convinced she is the only one able to rescue Molly, Autumn refuses to back down until she persuades, albeit reluctantly, skeptical Ben to follow her lead that takes them to a religious sect.

This paranormal romantic suspense thriller stars two interesting “antagonists”; who share in common obstinacy that comes in handy when they must confront a charismatic sect leader (think Jim Jones) who has plans for the flock. What takes the story line to the SUMMIT of the sub-genre is the reactions of Ben, his ex-wife and the rest of the family to the disappearance of Molly thought dead by all; readers will feel the anguish, the guilt, and the uncertainty of what to wish for as closure is nowhere near until Autumn arrives with a spring of hope. In spite of being well written and interwoven into the story line, the love subplot seems unneeded (except to fit inside the sub-genre) as the rescue of Molly is the key link between the lead duo. Kat Martin is at her best with this exhilarating tale.

Touching Stars
Emilie Richards
Mira
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
0778324729 $24.95 www.mirabooks.com

Since divorcing broadcast journalist Eric Fortman, who deserted her and his kids, Gayle and their three sons (eighteen years old Jared, sixteen years old Noah and thirteen years old Dillon) live a nice life in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Her Daughter of the Stars bed and breakfast is a major success while she also covers for her former spouse when he consistently fails his offspring.

Whereas Eric is never there for his children, Gayle’s neighbor Travis Allen is always there for the kids. He also has become her best friend. As Jared is about to graduate, Eric comes home for solace. He almost died at the hands of the Taliban while on assignment in Afghanistan and has not mentally recovered. Gayle offers him a chance to make it up with his three boys by offering him a room at the inn. Eric accepts but though he loves his former wife and his sons, he thinks of returning to the international scene if he can find his courage. However, this is also perhaps his last chance with his family as each of his three sons takes him to task.

This is an interesting family drama starring a hot shot journalist struggling with battle fatigue syndrome after a close brush with death. The lead pair and the ensemble cast (including a female reporter girlfriend) are fully developed characters highlighted when Eric who is no Fred McMurray deals with his angry at him offspring in combo and as individuals. Readers will appreciate Emile Richards’ strong contemporary tale with a delightful final spin that feels plausible and right but will surprise the audience.

Chesapeake Summer
Jeannette Baker
Mira
0778324591 $6.99

When his mom died, he inherited her property in Marshy Hope Creek. Bailey Jones plans are simple when he returns home; get out ASAP. He will sell the property to a developer for a fortune and hook up with his friend Chloe Richards who has just come home too.

The townsfolk, who never liked bad boy Bailey, are irate when he announces his plan to sell. However, his scheme is placed on halt when workers digging on the land uncover the remains of a human. Bailey knows whoever interred the victim, most likely killed the prey; but remains ignorant to the fact that the predator watches very carefully the inquiry and is prepared to cause more deaths to keep the deadly secret concealed.

CHESAPEAKE SUMMER, the sequel to the exciting romantic suspense CHESAPEAKE TIDE, is an entertaining second chance at love mystery. Bailey is terrific as Chloe and some others prove his uncaring bad boy persona is all facade and image. Although the killer is obvious, readers will enjoy the return to the Chesapeake Bay area as more than the culprit fears what law enforcement will uncover as the icons have skeletons in their closets that could scandalize their family name and nothing is as sacred as their untainted blue blooded pedigree.

Christietown
Susan Kandal
HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022-5299
0061452173 $13.95 www.harpercollins.com 1-800-242-7737

Cece Caruso writes biographies of mystery writers. Her backlist includes Erle Stanley Gardner (see I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason), Carole Keene (Not a Girl Detective) and Dashiell Hammett (see Shamus in the Green Room). Her current assignment involves the opening gala of Christietown, a housing development duplicating a Cotswold village where else but in California; her plan is a Miss Marple theater production.

However, Liz “La Duchesse de Danse” Berman, who is playing the starring role, vanishes. Since Cece wears the same dress size she is expected to replace Liz. Instead Cece accompanied by her fiance Detective Peter Gambino searches for the missing thespian. They find Liz except she will no longer perform on this stage unless a corpse is needed before she is buried; someone murdered her.

The latest homage to the greats of mystery writing, CHRISTIETOWN is a delightful whodunit. Cece is her usual self, stealing the technique of the author she honors; this time being Dame Agatha. However, like in some Christie novels, clues that the reader will immediately know are shams slow down the plot at times. Still with Cece performing as Miss Marple, the audience will appreciate this fine mystery that provides insight into the great Agatha Christie.

Defiant Heart
Tracy Bateman
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0061246336 $12.95 avonbooks.com

In 1847 their stepfather sold Fannie Caldwell and her preadolescent siblings Katie and Kip to Tom as indentured servants. Over the next three years raging drunken Tom treats them horribly, abusing them although Fannie as a lioness protecting her cubs absorbs most of his wrath. However, she is concerned by the way Tom stares and leers at twelve years old Katie; she vows they will escape before he assaults her younger sister.

Fannie befriends Toni the town’s fallen woman. They agree to flee together with the former’s siblings at the first opportunity. When wagon master Blake Tanner arrives in town, the two females book passage on his trip west although he objects to single women with no man to protect them. As Fannie and Blake, and Toni with the wagon master’s best friend Two Feathers fall in love, danger seems everywhere besides the normal perilous journey as someone wants either one or both women dead although no reason seems apparent except perhaps Tom seeking revenge for the Caldwells running away.

The first Westward Hearts tale is a wonderful western romance starring fully developed characters bringing to life the decade before the Civil War on the Great Plains. The story line is driven by the cast who face all sorts of peril as they seek a new hopefully better life. Readers will admire the intrepid Fannie who is fierce when it comes to keeping Katie and Kip safe, but also loving and vulnerable. Toni will receive much empathy from the audience for her trials and tribulations. Tracy Bateman shows why she is an award winning author with this suburb Americana romance.

Sleepless At Midnight
Jacquie D'Alessandro
Avon
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
006123138X $6.99 avonbooks.com

The Ladies Literary Society of London are excited that a woman wrote the scary gothic Frankenstein as they are not tame Jane Austen supporters. Using literature purloined from males, they debate the perfect man. Afterward SLEEPLESS AT MIDNIGHT, Miss Sarah Moorehouse observes from the shadows Marquess Matthew Devenport sneaking home in the early morning hours holding a shovel; she wonders why such a tool at such a late hour. Unable to resist after the Shelley thriller stirred her imagination, she decides to investigate the nocturnal Marquess starting with his bedroom. However she proves to be a poor sleuth as Matthew catches her snooping.

Although he finds Sarah quite beautiful, Matthew has no time to fool with her and her literary ladies. Instead he worries that snooping Sarah will find what he has hidden behind a curtain, which would be the final nail in the coffin for his family. Still he wonders why this female “spy” seeks out his activities so he decides to play at her game and make inquiries into Sarah in order to learn why him.

This entertaining late Regency romance stars two fascinating lead protagonists and a strong support cast gathered together for a party. The fumbled “investigations” between Matthew and Sarah lead to humorous scenarios as each wonders what the other hides even as their attraction grows. Sub-genre fans will appreciate the Ladies Literary Society of London tale as love finds a way.

When She Was Bad
Cindy Kirk
Avon
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0060847905 $5.99 avonbooks.com

Jenny Carman is an honest person who has always tried to play fair, but she is upset that doing so is a punishment. She not only was by-passed for a promotion she felt strongly should have been hers at the CPA firm that she works at, she failed to get the guy she wanted. Her friend Marcee suggests she find a hunk while Jenny agrees that no more Ms. nice gal being screwed by rule breakers.

She changes her garb from businesswoman to sexy siren in red that is a second skin it is so tight. Next Jenny goes to a bar where she meets businessman Robert Marshall who cannot keep his eyes off of her. She says she is Jasmine the hairstylist and looking for a one night stand to end all nights. However, as Jenny the accountant finds herself attracted to the hunk, she fears he only has eyes for wild Jasmine Coret, her phony persona.

This is an amusing contemporary romance starring a good girl turning into a bad girl by emulating the tales she heard of a deceased friend of her grandmother. Jenny-Jasmine makes the tale fun especially when passion confuses her alterego with the prime and proper person she believed she once was until Robert. Although the plot device has been used often, Cindy Kirk provides a fresh look at WHEN SHE WAS BAD.

Wedding Bell Blues
Linda Windsor
Avon
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0061171379 $12.95 avonbooks.com

In Piper Cove, designer Alexandra “Alex” Turner is stunned to see her ex- husband rock star Josh Turner in town, as this is not the type of place for a person like him even if he is back to attend her younger sister's wedding as the best man. However, Josh has an ulterior motive for coming home earlier than he had too. He has radically changed his life having found the Lord and wants a second chance with the woman he still loves.

Alex also loves Josh, but does not trust him with her heart. Josh knows his work is cut out for him to prove to Alex he is not the same person who hurt her. As she struggles with her father’s health and his giving away the home she cherishes to her sibling as a wedding present while also helping her sister with her upcoming nuptials, Alex turns to the bible for solace, but has troubles with accepting that “to err is human; to forgive divine”.

This inspirational second chance at love tale stars two likable individuals who made lack of communication mistakes their first time around leading to their separation and divorce. The secondary cast, mostly the townsfolk, enhances the deep look at the fully developed lead couple. Readers will root for them to find a way back to each other. Although some passages might stun parts of the audience with their titillating metaphors, fans will enjoy this warm tale of history repeating itself as love may not prove enough once again.

Dead on Arrival
Lori Avocato
Avon
006083708X $6.99

As a former registered nurse, Scarpello & Tonelli Insurance Agency investigator Pauline Sokol is unhappy with her newest assignment. She is going undercover as a RN at TLC, a land-and-air ambulance company, which has recently had an incredible increase in charges since the nephew and niece took over from their uncle. Making matters worse to Pauline who left the medical world due to burnout is that much of the job is in the air.

As Pauline adjusts to flying time, she is not shocked to find the enigmatic Jagger working as an undercover paramedic. However, the employee who has her flying is TLC’s most experienced medic bone weary "ER Dano". The case takes a wild spin when a homicide occurs and the proud killer telephones Pauline, who wonders if she is on a hit list by the culprit or by some crazy patients.

The latest Pauline caper (see NIP, TUCK, DEAD) has her in trouble on the job and in her personal life. The two hunks have pet names for perilous Pauline as Jagger calls her "Sherlock" and Dano "Nightingale". The case is fun to follow, but it is the romances that add the depth to the latest lighthearted insurance investigation of Pauline Sokol, ex RN still working as an undercover RN.

Desperate Duchesses
Eloisa James
Avon
0060781939 $6.99

Having a father known by the Ton as the "Mad Marquess" is not a strong enabler of acceptance by the ton; in fact it is a detractor. Residing at the family country estate in the middle of nowhere makes acceptance utterly impossible. Lady Roberta St. Giles knows that if she is to make a proper match, she must leave the shelter of her home and also leave her father to his poetry in order to begin attending galas especially now that she has selected her future spouse even if the Duke of Villiers remains ignorant of her choice.

The Duchess of Beaumont Jemma has just returned from some French mischief so agrees to help a friend destroy the rogue Villiers for hurting her. She thinks the naive country mouse Roberta would be a perfect foil to ruin the rakish Villiers so she invites her to a party at her home. However, Jemma failed to account for her brother Damon Reeve, who will not allow Villiers to hurt the innocent pawn Roberta. As he ponders his altruism, Damon realizes part of the reason he wants to keep Jemma from getting hurt is that he loves her and believes she reciprocates although she insists Villiers is her true love.

This terrific Georgian romance is a comedy of errors that showcases the brilliantly creative talent of Eloisa James as she uses a ton of the Ton to tell a delightful historical tale. The fast-paced story line is very humorous as Jemma sets up the game with the precision of a grandmaster and never slows down until the final checkmate occurs. The cast is three dimensional and not just the prime players as Ms. James uses aristocratic pawns to enhance an entertaining eighteenth century romance.

Castaway Kid
R. B. Mitchell
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
1589974344 $13.99 www.tyndale.com 1-800-323-9400

This may be the memoir of the year as no one will get through it without crying at least once especially with the provided proof at www.amillionlittleproofs.com and within the bio supporting everything that R.B. Mitchell claims. When financial guru Mr. Mitchell was three years old his mother abandoned him. He was placed in an orphanage as a “lifer” distrusting everyone. As he got older he wondered why she dumped him as he began to question whether anyone could love him. His mom tried to kidnap him from the orphanage; his father tried suicide, but lived suffering from brain damage. His grandmother showered him with the little love he received as a child, but always left him behind in the orphanage, making him feel further rejected and unworthy of being loved. Finally at seventeen when he appeared heading down a path to self destruction, Mr. Mitchell turned to Jesus to help him overcome his nightmare of a life. That was the beginning of the turn around as he found Jesus loved him. Without preaching, the CASTAWAY KID is inspiring, encouraging the young that they can make it as he did it. Mr. Mitchell provides a gripping account of overcoming being dumped and turned into a lifer once he found the Lord.

Fatal Laws
Jim Hansen
Dark Sky
0976924366 $13.95

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is working what appears to be a serial killer case as corpses appear in shallow graves. However, the problem with this theory is that each person died differently; serial killer typically uses the same MO.

His investigation leads Bryson to the avaricious Degan. This affluent man apparently chooses the victim, whom the predator kills. The case also brings him to Tianca Holland, a woman of interest to him not just because of her ties to the dead. Still none of what he finds makes sense to Bryson as it goes against what is known about serial killers and his desire for Tianca. Yet to have multiple murderers burying their victims in easy to find shallow graves makes less sense than Tianca being a killer, associate, or next victim and where Degan fits is even more complicated as nothing adds up except that Bryson believes somehow this man is being compensated.

The latest Brysan “law” tale is an exciting police procedural in which the sum of the murders add up to be greater than the individual killings. Brysan is at his best trying to determine whether a serial killer or multiple killers are the murderers while also struggling with Tianca whose seductiveness has his blood flow entirely to his lower head. Fans of the series will enjoy his latest thriller while newcomers will seek previous Coventry investigations (See NIGHT LAWS and SHADOW LAWS).

To Dance With Kings
Rosalind Laker
Crown Three Rivers
0307352552 $14.95

In 1664 in the tiny village of Versailles, Jeanne Dremont, a peasant fan-maker, gives birth to her only child, whom she called Marguerite. Witnessing the birth is Augustin, a not quite twenty drunken aristocrat, who was actually coming to pay his respects along with his comrades like much of the French aristocracy to King Louis XIV. Excited by what he observed, he vows to come back for newborn Marguerite when she turns seventeen.

The Sun King’s court accepts Marguerite as one of them, which leads to her daughter Jasmin being raised in affluence and privilege as a favorite on the monarch. Her daughter Violette enjoys the wastrel lifestyle that proves the descendents of that fan maker have come a long way from their peasant mud. However, all of what these generations of women have achieved will implode when Violette’s daughter Rose becomes a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette.

This historical saga follows four generations of women as each rises a bit higher from their peasant roots only to find everything gone once the Revolution began. The entreating sweeping storyline chronologically focuses on each of the femmes enabling the audience to obtain deep insight into a century and a quarter France prior to and during the Revolution. Historical fiction readers will want to dance with Rosalind Laker as she provides a compelling drama that vividly showcases late seventeenth and eighteenth France through a strong cast.

The Wish Club
Kim Strickland
Crown Three Rivers Press
030735282X $13.95

The five women (Claudia, Lindsay, Gail, Mara and Jill) make up a book club. Each enjoys the camaraderie of the get together as they chat about life while drinking wine; they even occasionally discuss a book.

After reading a novel involving witchcraft and trying a light spell as a joke, Lindsay brings Benton’s Grimoire, a book on witchcraft, to the next meeting although that tome is outside the normal reading material for the quintet. Fascinated by the spells, they jokingly test the incantations starting with stopping the rain; to their amazement it worked. Awed they tried to cure diabetes inflicting a cat; it works. Excited, the five decide to make their personal lives better with a series spells.

Claudia asks for a baby and the writing a novel. Gail, the mother of three, wishes for some quiet time. Lindsay wishes to lose weight so that she participates in the Women’s Foundation fashion show. Mara asks for money and for her former singing career to start over. Finally Jill wishes to be inspired by the perfect man when she paints. However when the Wish Club members begin to get their desires fulfilled; they find their lives out of control. Panicking they need to find a real witch to return them from the Wish Club back to the Book Club.

Based on the concept that sometimes you get what you wish for, this well written lighthearted amusing chick lit tale stars five likable women who learn powerful life lessons. The changing needs of the quintet make the tale fun to follow as Kim Strickland cleverly insures each of the protagonists maintain their underlying basic personality even as their desires keep modifying. Fans who enjoy a charming whimsical fantasy will wish to join the WISH CLUB whose members ultimately wish to revert back to when they were a simple book club.

Wandering Hearts
Donna J. Grisanti
Phoenix Publishing
4139 Via Marina, Suite 801, Marinna Del Rey, Ca. 90292
0970886098 $14.95

During the latter stages of the Depression, orphaned eighteen year old Raine Foster lived with her beloved grandmother Just before WW II broke out, Raine’s grandma died. Her choice is simple to marry a nasty Silas Marner type of scrooge. She refuses to even consider that option, instead she decides she must leave and takes with her two younger cousins. The trio fakes their deaths so no one follows them.

On their trek, they meet Touhy, who offers no surname; he feels sorry for the pathetic threesome so begins to mentor them in living safely on the road as he takes them under his wings. However, he panics when he realizes how much he likes Raine so he initially flees, but he returns to see them settled, which he succeed doings on an apple farm with Chinese-American China Joe. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the locals attack the farm to get at China Joe, but no one is hurt. Touhy leaves to join the military while Raine and China Joe marry. However, Joe loves wealthy Mayleen Walters while Raine loves Touhy.

This is a terrific WW II historical drama that provides fans with a strong look at what was going on at home. Interestingly the focus of the entertaining plot is while Americans of all races were volunteering or being drafted, racism still prevailed in the States. Readers will enjoy observing life (and death) at the farm although the complexities of who is with whom at the end cleans up perhaps to easily. Donna J. Grisanti provides a warm character driven 1940s tale in which “every heart needs a home” filled with loving caring people regardless of race, religion, origin, or sexual preference.

Dying To Live
Kim Paffenroth
Permuted Press
177 Hillcrest Ln, Mena, Arkansas71953
097897073X $12.95

As far as he knows, which he admits to himself during his lonely muses as very little, Jonah Caine wonders if he is the last human alive? Wherever he travels he finds zombies whom he tries to avoid not always successfully. Jonah feels the solitude eating away at him at time though he is a loner by nature. This is compounded by survivor’s guilt and he wonders if staying alive is worse than letting the zombies go at him.

After months of finding no one, Jonah miraculously meets a small commune of humans hiding in a museum. After telling his tale of woe, Jonah is accepted without a second thought by the leaders Jack, Tanya, Popcorn and Milton, but first he must undergo a religious rite of initiation involving a pilgrimage into the realm of the Undead.

This is an interesting tale of survivor in which those who still live establish new rites of passage in a post-apocalyptic world owned by the living dead. The fascinating story line focuses on the rituals that include risking one’s life while proving one’s worth by a willingness to slice off the heads of the undead. Although the museum encampment seems filled with too much rapport and positive vibes especially in the situation they find themselves in, fans of zombie thrillers will appreciate this deep look at a small group of humans simply DYING TO LIVE in a world gone to hell.

Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines
D.L. Snell
Permuted Press
0978970713 $12.95

Living humanity’s reign is through. First the Zombies devastated much of those still breathing. The few survivors were captured by Vampires, who saw their food supply dwindling towards extinction due to the violence of the dead. Now the berserker Zombies are literally at the door trying to break through barbwire and other barricades to get at the vampire clan and their lobotomized human cattle.

Vampiress Queen Shade wants only to keep her kingdom in tact; her top military officer General Frost feels the cost to maintain the status quo is more than just too high; inevitably the enemy will win. He believes they must flee to an island where the natural habitat will keep the Zombies away while they breed humans. However, neither vampire defenders, invading Zombies, and the few humans like Ann who can think realize that the new generation of the reanimated living dead is something more horrific and dangerous to all three species.

This is a terrific reworking of the zombie- vampire sagas that will grip readers from the moment the living dead attack the apartment building where the vampires are hiding and never slows down for a moment. The fast-paced story line is so filled with action that George Romero would give it five stars. However, it’s the two lead vampires, Ann, and a dangerous reanimator who all seem genuine in this post-apocalyptic world that turns the Snell mythos into one of the better supernatural thrillers of the year.

Split Ends
Kristin Billerbeck
Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
1591455081 $13.99 1-800-251-4000

Sarah Claire Winowski believes that if she stays in Sable, Wyoming she is wasting her talent as a hairstylist and will end up like her fortyish mom looking and acting like a octogenarian. Thus her dream has been to follow in the footsteps of her famous cousin Scotty and become a hairstylist to the rich and famous at Yoshi’s salon.

When Scotty gets her work in Beverly Hills, Sarah Claire believes she is on her way to becoming the one that Hollywood turns to for that special look. As she begins to achieve success, Sarah Claire finds men want her, which has further increased her self esteem, but on the downside her alcoholic mother has arrived in town so that her daughter can buy her drinks.

SPLIT ENDS is an amusing chick lit tale that stars a woman with dreams who concludes the road to success is one way out of Sable. Sarah Claire is a fascinating protagonist who understands that her unsophisticated innocence leaves her one rung above the Clampetts without their money in the world of Beverly Hills. Although at times her aside complaints disrupt the interesting coming of age plot, sub-genre readers will feel that is splitting hairs as this is overall a fine character study.

The First Assistant
Clare Naylor & Mimi Hare
Plume
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0452288363 $14.00 www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

A the Agency, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Miller feels euphoric over her promotion from Second Assistant to First Assistant at The Agency although she does not have to work. Her fiance is wealthy movie superstar Luke Lloyd, who would gladly let Lizzie spend his money. However, she feels she must make it on her own even though that means at times living below the poverty line.

Currently Luke is on location in the Czech Republic filming a movie with his ex-girlfriend Emanuelle Saix as his costar. Amber Bingham Fox, the person who replaced Lizzie as Second Assistant when she was promoted, is a nasty SOB who plans to do anything to replace the FIRST ASSISTANT ASAP. Finally, Scott Wagner, her boss at the Agency, sends Lizzie to Thailand for three months to work with star teen Emerald Everhart, who has allowed fame to get into her head and turned her into a party hardy child. Worse for her, Luke’s housekeeper found her sleeping with a man. Work for Lizzie as THE FIRST ASSISTANT gets just as crazy as when she was THE SECOND ASSISTANT; only this time her personal life has fizzled out while the adventures keep on coming.

This is a fun look “behind the Hollywood curtain” at those who hope to one day walk on a red rug instead of rolling it out for others. Lizzie is at her frazzled best struggling with work and the collapse of her personal life. Although there is little that has not been used before in books including THE SECOND ASSISTANT, fans will enjoy this amusing chick lit continues to go Hollywood (and Thailand).

Lost in the Garden
Philip Beard
Plume
0670037591 $14.00

In the Pittsburgh, area, forty-five years old Michael Benedict decides he wants to live his dream of becoming a professional golfer so he plans to join the senior tour. His wife Kelly is unhappy with his desire although they live comfortably with their two children and his investments are growing. However, Kelly says if he score under seventy twice, she will support his Peter Pan fantasy.

When she learns she is pregnant he reacts by being cold towards her. She is hurt by his icy demeanor, but she reacts by withdrawing from him. Needing sex and not getting any home cooking he moves out becomes a recurring client of Healing Touch sexual therapy. He makes his bid to join the tour, but lacks conviction until his caddie Sal gets into his face that he has the talent to play, but not the heart.

LOST IN THE GARDEN is a terrific look at relationships when a man rejects his lifestyle to keep his youth even as he enters middle age. Michael is a deep person as he is the focus of the story line with his refusal to bring anything further into his relationships with loved ones and willingly gives up everyone he cherishes. The rest of the cast is not quite as developed as the prime player. Although the ending implies reconciliation, which goes against the trend of the plot, readers will appreciate making par with Philip Beard.

Dragon Queen
Jayel Gibson
Synergy
1933538465 $14.95 http://www.ancientmirrors.com/index.html

In Aestretfordae, the Ancients grant great power to the three Guardians in training Yavie, Ryden and Nall. However, before their first official mission and in spite of these gifts, Nall is wounded by the deadly slitherwort poison; to save his life, Yavie gives him a blood oath.

The trio’s opening project seems simple enough. They are each assigned to contact a different dragon flyte, who will in turn consign a quest to the visiting Guardian. Nall travels to the Ice and Accordant flytes; Yavie meets with the Wind and War dragon horde; Ryden, who hates dragons, visits the Sea flyte, but also cuts a side deal with a siren. After the Guardians complete the dangerous missions, war erupts when a kingdom under Yavie’s watch attacks dragons. Sides are forming amidst the flytes, the kingdoms and the guardians with no one trusting their so-called allies or even a blood oath as betrayal is the norm amidst the Seven Kingdoms.

This is an interesting coming of age fantasy saga that focuses mostly on heroic Yavie although the other two guardians have their subplots told also just not as deeply as hers unfolds. Apparently THE WREKENING: An Ancient Mirrors’ tale was released before DRAGON QUEST, but this novel’s events occur earlier; thus the audience is better off reading this exciting story first. Though containing too much sidebar description, the brilliant use of On the Job Training to introduce the prime threesome make each of them seem genuine. Filled with political intrigue (especially interesting is the thought processes respectively of the Ancients and the flytes), military battles, and several surprising twists, Jayel Gibson provides an brilliant opening fantasy novel.

Serpentine
Thomas F. Monteleone
Borderlands Press
PO Box 660, Fallston, MD.21047
1880325764 $16.95

In Scarpino, Italy, the old too small village church was replaced by a modern edifice with its altar moved. No one was prepared for what resided underneath the altar in the old church when the religious icon was moved.

Just after the altar was relocated, Sophia Rousseau appears out of seemingly nowhere and begins a trek as she has done for many millennia. Men and women desire her at first sight and die for her at first contact. Sophia is on her way to Manhattan looking forward to mingling with its phallic towers as she brings her ancient supremacy to the new age seat of power. Deaths remain her calling card leading to fifty year old paranormal expert Matthew Cavendish to conclude that a beautiful ancient demon is sucking out the essence of life; some religious types would insist the Angel of Death is stealing their souls.

From the opening sequence in Italy to Sophia Manhattan journey, readers will enjoy this terrific battle between good (Matthew) and evil (Sophia) although the audience will ponder the absolutism of what is evil once Sophia’s cause surfaces. The story line is fast-paced, but is at its best with the hero and villain stepping closer to a modern day confrontation. Flashbacks to several historical periods like the Ancient Greeks enables the reader to better understand Sophia’s motives and how powerful she is, but that also slows down the overall tense tale; these side trips and more tales of Sophia’s past would make a great short story collection. Still Sophia steals the novel as she is more than a sexy soul eating demon; she is female on a mission to achieve an objective.

Neverland
Douglas Clegg
Borderland Press
1880325780 $16.95

When Beau is ten years old he, his parents and twin sisters go to Gull Island, Georgia to see his granny. Also visiting at the same time is his cousin Sumter and his parents. The children watch their parents get drunk every night and say terrible things to each other. Sumter has a teddy bear called Bernard that he clings to while his father calls him a sissy who should act like a boy instead of a girl.

It is Sumter who finds the abandoned shack on his granny’s property and he calls it Neverland. He brings Beau to it and introduces him to the god he worships in a crate. Strange inexplicable things happen in this shack as they worship the god. He puts his hand in the crate as do his sisters when they come to Neverland and feel something bite them. A blood sacrifice is made as the children put their blood in the crate. Beau and the children believe they fly over Gull Island and see the ghosts of dead children; Sumter communicates telepathically with Beau who believes what happens is real. He knows that some things are inexplicable because his dreams come true. It is when Sumter wants them to make the final sacrifice that Beau turns against him risking his life to stop it from happening.

Douglas Clegg is a talented horror writer who manages to creep out his audience with a very visual picturesque storyline so that the reader feels as if they are inside the storyline. This is dark atmospheric work, gothic in tone that makes the readers question whether the events Beau experiences have more than one explanation. Neverland is a scary work written by an author soaring to the top of his game.

Lost Son
M. Allen Cunningham
Unbridled Books
2000 Wadsworth Boulevard, #195, Lakewood, CO 80214
1932961348 $25.95 www.unbridledbooks.com 1-888-732-3822

In 1902, twenty-six-year-old Rainer Maria Rilke has received a commission to write the definitive biography of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. Accepting the work, Rainer leaves his wife and their newborn daughter behind in rural Germany seventeen grueling travel hours away from his new residence in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The rustic writer is overwhelmed by the city with its affluence and poverty side by side. He feels overwhelmed as his childhood nightmares of being a stranger amidst strange people frighten him, but mostly he fears failure as a poet, as a biographer, and as a writer. His abandoned family females give him moments of concern, but they tie back to his childhood, which he needs to escape from and find with his poetry and with his writing peer and muse Lou Salome.

This is an insightful biographical fiction of Rainer Maria Rilke, considered by many to be Germany’s greatest twentieth century poet. The story line focuses obviously on Rilke from the opening baptism in Prague to his schism with Rodin in Paris, but also provides a discerning window into the artistic movements of Western Europe during the tumultuous first two decades of the twentieth century. The not chronological in order events lead to a more vivid astute look at the period, but also make it more difficult to follow the prime focus of the novel, the life of Rilke. This is an entertaining account of a poet whose haunting dark work makes many consider Rilke as having one foot within the competing classical and another with the modernist movements.

The Crime Writer
Gregg Hurwitz
Viking Books
c/o Penguin Putnam Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0670063215 $24.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

In Los Angeles crime writer Andrew “Drew” Danner wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how he was found holding a knife and blood is all over him that is not his while his former fiancee Genevieve Bertrand lies dead nearby. Having recently undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor, his short term memory is off. Thus he cannot remember how he came to the crime scene let alone killing Genevieve, but refuses to believe he would murder her as he feels that goes against his natural instincts.

Drew is found not guilty due to temporary insanity. However, he obsesses with knowing the truth as to whether he committed the homicide as everyone else assumes he did. He makes himself the amateur sleuth in a detective story and begins his investigation. When a second murder similar to the Bertrand homicide occurs, Drew looks guilty, but this time he knows he did not murder anyone. Someone is out to get him by using seemingly innocent people that Drew knows to point the police at him.

The first part of this exciting thriller may be the best opening ploy in the mystery genre this year. Once the court case is finished, the story line remains strong as readers will want to know whether Drew is capable of killing especially an innocent, but loses some of the momentum as the police become culpable with mistakes in their inquiry. Still Gregg Hurwitz provides an exhilarating tale starring a fascinating beleaguered protagonist who along with the audience wonders if H. Rap Brown’s famous saying "violence is American as cherry pie" is true?

The Last Summer (of You & Me)
Ann Brashares
Riverhead
c/o The Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
1594489173 $24.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

The family always spent summer in Waterby on Fire Island so not breaking from her childhood tradition twenty-one year old Alice and her older sister twenty-four year old Riley are there. The tomboyish Riley actually is working as lifeguard.

Also on the island for the first time in two summers is Riley's best friend Paul. His father is dead and he never sees his mother. However, he is not back on Fire Island for a vacation; Paul must decide what to do about the family house not used last summer. Paul also has to decide what to do about his neighbors as he wants Alice, but fears hurting Riley if he makes a move; he also believes Alice is attracted to him but like him does not want to hurt her sister. Riley has issues too that impact the other two members of the triangle.

Fans of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants will enjoy the first adult tale as the players somewhat grow up though at times they behave more like teens especially when conflict arises. The story line is fun to follow as change is in the air of Fire Island with Paul wanting to come out and declare his love for Alice. The Pants crowd will enjoy this fine summer entry, but the lead trio has not fully turned adult.

High Noon
Nora Roberts
G. P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0399154345 $26.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

Savannah Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara is the Georgia city’s top hostage negotiator. Her work is how she meets sports bar owner Duncan Swift when he observes her talk a leaper whom he just fired from jumping. Unable to resist this fascinating woman, Duncan romances her although Phoebe's family baggage, her young daughter and her agoraphobic mother causes difficulty in their relationship.

At the police station, someone assaults Phoebe; battering her after he or she put a hood over her head so she cannot identify who her attacker is. She is stunned as this is the last place she would expect anyone to be so brazen. She looking deep inside herself and remembers when she was a child and she and her family were terrorized by a dangerous intruder in their home. Phoebe refuses to back down and become a victim though she is very shook up. When the terror campaign continues with threats to her loved ones, the frustrated Phoebe decides to uncover the culprit so that she can get into his or her face before her fears of harm to her loved ones cripple her.

This is a one sitting action-packed thriller that grips the audience from the moment they meet the intrepid Phoebe and never slows down until the final confrontation with her unknown adversary. The entertaining cat and mouse police procedural story line is gripping because the beleaguered heroine is likable while her anonymous antagonist remains shadowy adding tension. Fans of Ms. Roberts or anyone who appreciates a tense HIGH NOON drama will want to read Ms. Roberts’ strong Savannah saga.

The Secret Servant
Daniel Silva
Putnam
0399154221$25.95

Gabriel Allon, one of Israel’s most dangerous and brilliant operatives, is sent to Amsterdam on what is supposed to be a quick in and out mission. Dutch citizen Solomon has sent Israel good Intel for years and has made many enemies because of his his speaking out against Islamic fundamentalism. Now that he was killed Allon is supposed to look for his files and wipe away any connection between the dead man and Israel.

He meets one of Solomon’s informants, who tells Allon that Solomon was going to tell his handler that a terrorist cell was slipped into England and there would be an attack someplace in the country. Finding verification, he warns London but it is too late, the American ambassador’s daughter is kidnapped and bombs are exploded at a stop on the underground, at Piccadilly Circle, and other crowed places. The Sword of Allah is behind the kidnappings and al Qaeda is behind the bombings. The terrorists want to destabilize Mubarik’s regime where the martyrs were recruited so that a fundamentalist government could come into power. The Sword of Allah says it will exchange the hostage for the prisoner Sheik Abdullah dying from cancer in an American jail. Allon is the only one who has the ruthless qualities necessary to rescue the hostage but he has to evade capture and death from his many enemies.

As action thrillers go, THE SECRET SERVANT is one of the best to come along in the last year. Daniel Silva starts off at the speed of light and the plot only defies physics by accelerating. What sets this book apart is it has depth because the author shows by the actions of the characters why the Muslim fundamentalists feel like they do (similar to Congressman Ron Paul at the Republican debates), how governments cope with constantly being in a state of red alert and how the terrorists mold the minds of the youth generation after generation in hopes of reestablishing a Caliphate in the Mideast. Mr. Silva also shows why there is so much Muslim unrest in Europe. This is the thinking person’s thriller.

Eye of the Beholder
David Ellis
Putnam
0399154337 $24.95

In the summer of 1989, six women were found in the basement near the maintenance lockers of Mansbury College. All the women were tortured and each died in a different manner ranging from strangulation to near decapitation. One of the victims, college student Ellie Danzinger had gotten a restraining order out against Terry Burgos, a part time handyman at the college. Whey they went to his home, they found enough evidence to convict him for five of the killings. The case of the sixth girl he killed Cassie Bentley, daughter to a mega-mogul billionaire was never tried to her father’s influence. In 1996, Terry is killed but his last words, cryptic though they might be, were to the prosecutor Paul Riley: “I am not the only one”.

In the present, a series of murders are linked to the killings in 1989. Paul Riley, now the head of mega powerful law firm, receives strange notes from the killer, has his finger prints on one of the victims and is forced into part of the new case with it evidence similar to the case that solidified his reputation. Looked upon from a fresh perspective with new information, Riley finds that the 1989 case didn’t reveal all its secrets and someone wants them to stay buried.

This is one of the most energizing and emotionally satisfying police procedurals of the year. David Ellis makes his characters come alive so that readers will either root for or detest them; no one will remain detached. There is plenty of action and the changing from the eighties to the nineties to the present is smooth so that the readers are never jarred out of the storyline. The protagonist as he ages from a man who sees life as black and white to a person who realize there are subtle greys has to make some decisions as he confronts his greatest success with the realization it is also his greatest failure.

Killer Weekend
Ridley Pearson
Putnam
0399154078 $24.95

Attorney General Elizabeth Shaler reflects back to eight years ago when she was a victim and almost killed when an intruder attacked her in her Sun Valley, Idaho vacation home. Only the efforts of a dedicated rookie cop Walt Fleming saved her life.

Walt’s excellent police work has been rewarded as he is the Sun Valley sheriff. However, he and his staff are preparing for a difficult weekend as Ms. Shaler, who is planning a run for the White House, has come to town to announce her intentions at an upper crust conference. Fleming is concerned that a hitman coming for Shaler has vanished off the radar screen when he should have been on the plane from Salt Lake City. Shaler’s security team and the zillionaire host scoff at Fleming’s paranoia; writing him off as a local rube trying to pretend he belongs with the big guys. Meanwhile assassin Milav Trevalian has usurped the identity of a Utah blind man he killed because he knows no one would expect a “blind” person to be the professional killer.

This is an exciting police procedural political thriller starring a likable dedicated hero who is treated with disdain by the “big boys and girls” and by his staff; one deputy believes the job should be his just like Fleming’s wife is apparently his. The motive why Trevalian’s employer wants Shaler dead is not provided with any depth, but most readers will not care as the action never stops. The audience will enjoy this fine tale starring an overworked sheriff struggling with a murder investigation, an animal cruelty case, the Shaler protection entanglement, and his ambitious treacherous deputy in what proves to be a lost KILLER WEEKEND.

Requiem for an Assassin
Barry Eisler
Putnam
0399154264 $24.95

John Rain is an assassin ready to retire. He lives in Paris with his lover Delilah an Israeli agent who kills when the situation warrants it which doesn’t make it easier for Rain to shed his old habits. Half a world away a mercenary group led by Jim Hilger has worked out a plan to kidnap Rain’s friend Dox in order to get the professional killer to do three hits. When Dox is in their hands they contact Rain and order him to kill three people but if he makes it look like accidents they will free Dox.

Rain doesn’t believe Hilger will let Dox go but he agrees to do the assignment in order to buy time. He needs to locate where Hilger has stranded Dox and free him because he knows the man will kill him just as he knows that Jim plans to take him out as hit number three. The first hit is the CEO of a CIA funded neural net database company; the second victim is Michael Accinalli CEO of petrochemical industries. After Rain kills the two targets, one of Hilger’s henchmen tries to take him out and fails. Now Rain has to find Dox and rescue him and foil Hilger’s plan that would cause panic throughout the world.

Barry Eisler writes a great thriller with an unusual protagonist. Part of him is the cold murderer he calls the ice man while the evolving Rain starts to feel and care. There is plenty of action as Rain travels around the world trying to find his enemy’s goal which is not what the audience believes it is. Hilger has become what Rain was and Hilger likes that person which makes the audience dislike him and root for Rain to take him out on top. REQUIEM FOR AN ASSASSIN is the quintessential cat and mouse thriller with fans wondering just who the rodent is and who the feline is.

A Stranger Lies There
Stephen Santogrossiv
Thomas Dunne Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
0312364415 $24.95 1-888-330-8477

In Palm Springs, California, carpenter Tim Ryder steps outside onto his porch to drink his first cup of coffee. However, he does not need caffeine to wake him up as he sees the body of a young man lying on his lawn. Tim asks his wife Deirdre if she recognizes the corpse, but like him she does not.

Tim ponders if his past has caught up to him. Three decades ago back in 1972, Tim went to jail for his role in a bank robbery that he and his college age pals thought was part of a Viet Nam protest. The leader of the heist, the much older Turret, spent the most time behind bars as the others gave testimony to reduce their incarceration. Tim learns Turret is free and believes he has begun a terrorist campaign of revenge although he has not been able to figure out how the lad fits into the war as he has no idea who the victim is. Still the carpenter vows to prevent Turret from harming him, Deidre or others as Tim has picked up the gauntlet, but not before death number two occurs.

The winner of the St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic contest for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel, A STRANGER LIES THERE is an exhilarating amateur sleuth cat and mouse tale. The story line is fast-paced and the characters fully developed especially the reluctant hero and to a degree Deidre whose past also haunts her. Although Stephen Santogrossiv at times passively pontificates the flow instead of allowing the action to move the plot forward, readers will appreciate this tense thriller with a terrific finish.

Old Town
Bill Vernon
Five Star Books
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
1594145520 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

In Shawnee County, Ohio hermit like Cliff Saunders runs a wooded path when he comes across the body of his friend Sam. His first inclination is to get the hell out of there as he does not want trouble with the police; having had enough for a lifetime. However, when he gets home he feels guilty that he owes Sam so he calls the cops.

He meets the police at the crime scene and quickly alienates the investigators (Lieutenant Grimes and Detective Shepherd) with his bad-ass attitude and record. He soon learns Sam’s full name is Sam Burkhoffer, a person he had an incident with over land use several years ago. He did not recognize old Sam as that individual and wonders if Sam knew who he was. He remains the prime suspect in spite of someone breaking into his home seeking something and likewise in Sam’s home. When his place is torched, Cliff decides he must uncover the truth before he is hurt or arrested because he knows everything the law enforcement types find is proof of his guilt with Sam’s will serving as the motive

OLD TOWN is an entertaining investigative tale that employs the overly used theme of an amateur sleuth trying to prove their innocence during a police investigation in which all evidence points towards one suspect. The story line is refreshed by Cliff’s sarcastic acerbic attitude with the cops and his attraction to Grimes. The whodunit takes a back seat to the discussions between the lead character and the two cops investigating him. While wondering along with Grimes and Saunders why Sam sought out Cliff of all people (revealed late), readers will enjoy Bill Vernon’s fun mystery due to Cliff’s uncanny ability to put his feet into his big mouth.

Diamond in the Sky
Margaret Bailey
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
1594145660 $26.95 1-800-223-1244

In 1895 in Leadville, Colorado, Juliet Corcoran and her ailing younger brother Larry arrive from Baltimore hoping the drier climate will help him with his fight to survive consumption. Shopkeeper Thaddeus McElwain and wealthy widower Noah Ralston are attracted to the lovely vivacious Juliet, who plans to open up a tailor shop unaware that the town is dying with its last hope being an ice castle to serve as the center of an annual winter carnival.

However, Thad’s hopes to win the hand of Juliet take a setback when his nasty brother Zeb arrives in town. Soon afterward “Marsh” Marshall who opposes the ice castle is killed following a fire and a public argument with Thad. All evidence points towards Thad although Noah witnessed who killed the curmudgeon. He blackmails Juliet into becoming his fiancee if she wants him to help keep her beloved Thad out of prison.

Although Zeb’s bitterness and jealousy makes him unlikely to seek out the object of his disdain, western romance readers will enjoy this fine tale of the gay nineties just after the Silver Panic. The lead triangle is a fine setup as each is fully developed and knows what they want and how to achieve it. Especially fascinating is Noah whose wealth comes from his late wife who died along with their offspring in childbirth. Margaret Bailey provides a solid look back through the interrelationships of her prime trio plus Zeb and Larry that enables the audience to watch a dying town grasping one last desperate attempt to survive.

Bad Thoughts
David Zelsterman
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
1594145407 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

Considering the trauma he experienced when he was thirteen years old and the emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Billy Shannon grew up to be a fine man and a fantastic police officer. However, a few weeks before the anniversary of his mother’s death, he begins to dream but they are no ordinary nocturnal reveries. This year he dreams of a woman who was murdered and from his mind he pulls out the real time location of where her body is located.

He experiences his usual blackout after he goes on his yearly “binge” but this time the dreams don’t stop. Two other murders occur to women and in the same manner in which his mom was murdered, a knife in her throat by drifter Herbert Winters. All the evidence points to Shannon as the killer and he keeps dreaming and hearing the whispers of Herbert Winters claiming one of his alter egos are killing the women. Shannon knows he has killed nobody but he also believes Herbert isn’t the murderer because he killed him when he was thirteen after hours of torture. Someone is out to frame him for the killings and when he figures out why, he will know who and the reason this person has such a malevolent lethal grudge against him.

David Zeltserman is a talented noir thriller writer who throws one surprise after another at the audience so that they find themselves totally bewildered about what is really happening to the protagonist. Shannon has not had an easy life but his suffering never turned him to the dark side. Instead it made him a strong person determined to see justice is done which is why he became a police officer. The villain is so over the top that he makes the audience feel creepy as if spiders are crawling all over their bodies. This is a must read for thriller fans.

The Edge of Forever
Nancy Kelley
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
1594145784 $26.95 1-800-223-1244

Nurse Jennifer Denton was hired to look after the wealthy and ailing Belinda Wilson Now that her charge is dead, she realizes the family survivors are eagerly waiting to hear the will so they can find out how much she left to them. Nobody is more surprised then Jennifer when she is asked to stay for the reading of the will. Each Wilson is left $100 but the heir is her grand niece’s son John and Jennifer is asked to take care of him for a considerable fee.

His father Stuart, a member of the diplomatic corps stationed in Panama has gone missing so he needs a guardian Belinda could trust and she knew Jennifer was responsible and would take great care of her Johnny. Soon after the reading of the will, Stuart makes an appearance but he stays in the shadows because some very bad killers of a drug cartel are after the agent. Jennifer sees the scars on his back from torture and her heart goes out to him. As they spend time together their feelings for one another grow and when Jennifer is kidnapped to be used as bait to capture Stuart, he moves heaven and hell to find her. Together they have to elude the enemy and Jennifer is determined to help him whether he likes it or not.

If one can accept the premise that a very sheltered woman is outwitting professional hitmen of a drug cartel and driving like a secret agent man, one will thoroughly enjoy the exciting THE EDGE OF FOREVER. When the plot remains a thriller , the audience will find it plausible although tottering the edge; but when it turns to a romance readers will find it hard to believe that the in peril lead couple are truly in love. Still Nancy Kelley writes a fun over the top romantic suspense.

Fitness Kills
Helen Barer
Five Star
295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901
1594145877 $25.95 1-800-223-1244

Max and Nora have each other but their differences make them separate. She thinks he is too controlling and dominating and looks at her career as a food critic and columnist as fluff. She takes a job at Rancho de las Flores in Baja, California in order to revamp the old fashioned vegetarian recipes and when she leaves she will write a book on the new food served at the spa. The first couple of weeks she is lonely because the chef doesn’t want her to make changes.

During her third week there is a group of people who go from spa to spa around the country. Nora immediately likes millionaire businessman Alison Evans and Cece who takes the instructor under their wings. One of the group never shows up and his body is found on Mount Chuchuma, his head injury the cause of death. They are not sure if it is an accident or murder until Cece imbibes a drink with her name on it and dies instantly. It is obvious she is poisoned and Nora believes the same person also killed Alan. She investigates in the hopes of finding the killer and two attempts on her life don’t stop Nora even though Max, who has arrived on the scene, begs her to leave it to the police to find the murderer.

Within the group there are plenty of suspects from a land deal that went south causing some members to lose money to Alan’s in laws who grow and export marijuana to the United States. Nora is a strong willed woman who does what she believes is best even if it means getting Max angry at her. Helen Bare

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