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Volume 6, Number 3 March 2007 Home | MBW Index

Table of Contents

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

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

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

Vogel's Bookshelf

Cowper's Bookshelf
All Time Is Now
Katie Letcher Lyle
Infinity Publishing
1094 New Dehaven Street, Suite 100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2713
0741425203 $11.95 www.infinitypublishing.com

All Time Is Now: Adventures with Jennie is author Katie Letcher Lyle's family memoir the adjustments that she, her husband, and her son learned to make when her daughter Jennie graced their lives. Jennie was born with cerebral palsy and mental retardation; her arrival was the coming of an "imperfect" child into a "perfect" family. Yet Jennie's coming was a blessing that proved to them all they knew nothing about "perfect", and taught them everything about what it means to be human. Tracing the years of Jennie's life from early childhood to adulthood, the search to find the proper school for her, and the discovery that no family is truly "perfect" no matter how hard they try to maintain the illusion, and much more, All Time Is Now is a one-of-a-kind candid story, recommended for readers of all walks of life.

The Planets Align So Rare
Ray Sette with Carlo DeCarlo
Outskirts Press
10940 S. Parker Rd. - 515, Parker, Colorado 80134
1598007203 $24.95 www.outskirtspress.com

Written by psychic astrologer Ray Sette with Carlo DeCarlo, The Planets Align So Rare: Twelve Dimensions to the Human Potential offers the conundrum that all human potential already lies within the fabric of each individual's being, waiting for the choice to bring out the potential and make it real. Based on the concept that each person's astrology chart, choices, and free will are therefore unique, The Planets Align So Rare outlines astrological influence upon each of twelve aspects of human potential: the physical being of self, self-worth and abundance, thoughts, foundations, creativity, health and well-being, balance, transformation, beliefs and psyche, achievements, awareness, and knowing. Drawing connections between astrology and the spiritual realms as well as the earthly material realms, The Planets Align So Rare is a positive affirmation of the human will to destiny as well as a user-friendly introduction to the life-shaping influence of heavenly harmony. Recommended for astrology buffs.

A Drifter in the Mind
J. Roberts
Tate Publishing & Enterprises
127 E Trade Center Terrace, Mustang, OK 73064-4421
1598864653 $14.95 www.tatepublishing.com

A Drifter in the Mind is author and poet J. Roberts' memoir of adjusting to the challenges of his wife's bi-polar disorder. An honest account that does not varnish the difficult truth of day-to-day living with a person who almost literally has two faces and does not minimize the author's own human shortcomings, A Drifter in the Mind pulls the reader in with its candor and at times philosophical reflection. Written with a flair for almost lyrical description, A Drifter in the Mind is an unforgettable true-life story.

How People Change
Timothy S. Lane & Paul David Tripp
New Growth Press
c/o The B & B Media Group
109 South Main Street, Corsicana, TX 75110
0977080722 $17.50 www.tbbmedia.com

Written by Christian counselors and faculty Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp, How People Change discusses the biblical pattern of change that any Christian can apply to the challenges of his or her daily life. Encompassing the principle that change comes not only from within, but also with the guidance of God helping the individual become what he or she was created to be, How People Change is embraces the qualities of love and redemption. "Without an awareness of Christ's presence, we tend to live anxiously. We avoid hard things and are easily overwhelmed. But a clear sense of identity and provision gives us hope and courage to face the struggles and temptations that come our way." A profound self-help guide grounded firmly in Christian faith.

The Legends of Bearlandia: Book One Escape From Innocence
Julio Romano
R&R Publishing House
1616 W. Chanute Pass. Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85041
0978968204 $18.99 www.legendsofbearlandia.com

The debut novel of a brand new fantasy series, The Legends of Bearlandia: Book One Escape From Innocence is the captivating chronicle of Ronin, a child prince who suffers repeated nightmares and blackouts. As he awakens in the land of Sequoia, the entire Kingdom of Foralgel searches for him - yet it is ultimately Ronin himself who must come to terms with destiny, when he awakens in a dark underground room without any memory of who he is. An evocative, emotional saga about coming of age and discovering oneself amid other people's hidden agendas.

What Feeds Us
Diane Lockward
Wind Publications
600 Overbrook Dr, Nicholasville, KY 40356
1893239578 $15.00 www.windpub.com/books

Winner of the Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize 2006, What Feeds Us is former high school English teacher Diane Lockward's latest collection of brief, free-verse poems that embraces all forms of nourishment in life itself. From a petulant, invective poem against bumblebees to enjoying and celebrating the pleasure of an anniversary to the haunting analogy between creating a house for wrens to nest in and trying to become pregnant, What Feeds Us paints sublimely with descriptive language, sometimes plain-spoken, sometimes obliquely surreptitious. "Reconstruction": I am a house he would move into, / so framed for this man. With hammer / and nails he holds me together, / such tools he carries, his pliers, his adze, / gives me his awl, his drill and bits. / He puts a roof over my head. / I am shingled and waterproofed, / plumbed, mitered, and wired. He makes / of me a dream house, a cream puff, / my rough-hewn timber smoothed. / Broom-clean, in move-in condition. / I am two-storied now. He builds a fire in me.

No More Goodbyes
Carol Lynn Pearson
Pivot Point Books
1384 Cornwall CT., Walnut Creek, CA 94597
0963885243 $14.95 www.nommoregoodbyes.com

Written by award finalist author Carol Lynn Pearson, No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Loved Ones is a collection of true vignettes about religious Mormon people who relate to their gay loved ones, who are in turn often condemned by the church (and according to some people's beliefs, by God) for their homosexuality. Though No More Goodbyes tells the stories of Mormon families adapting to the tumultuous change that a revelation of homosexuality brings, the stories are sure to strike a chord with all readers who have had to navigate the difficult waters between religion and sexual orientation. No More Goodbyes does not judge or condemn; Pearson loves and wishes well gay friends who choose lifelong celibacy, openly gay friends who attempt to preserve their heterosexual marriages despite the obvious difficulties, and gay friends who choose to pursue gay relationships. What No More Goodbyes does denounce are the tragedies of high suicide rates among gays, the terrible anguish that results from hiding one's sexual orientation in order to marry someone of the opposite sex, and any religious or simply bigoted promotion of hatred or suffering. Also highly recommended is Person's previous best-selling book "Goodbye, I Love You" about her own husband, whose homosexuality simply could not change and inevitably led to divorce, eventually followed by her caring for him as he died from AIDS in her home.

Mary Cowper
Reviewer

Dunford's Bookshelf
Doing Business With Saudi Arabia, third edition
Anthony Shoult, series editor
GMB Publishing
525 South 4th St., Suite 241, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Ingram Publishers Services, distributor
1 Ingram Blvd., La Vergne, TN 37086
1905050062 $143.00 www.globalmarketbriefings.com www.ingrampublisherservices.com

Now in a fully updated third edition, Doing Business With Saudi Arabia: A Guide to Investment Opportunities & Business Practice is an in-depth guide written especially for foreign investors and business developers, both within and without the oil industry, about the practical realities, legal requirements, cultural necessities, and other factors of doing business with the oil-rich nation of Saudi Arabia. From banking, accountancy and taxation to profiles of leading Saudi companies and twelve key industry sectors, to the ramifications of the recent Foreign Investment Act that now allows foreign investors to have full ownership of their investment project and much more, Doing Business With Saudi Arabia is the absolute "must-have" comprehensive resource for anyone even considering the titular possibility. Highly recommended.

They Always Get A Pass, Don't They?
Rob Robinson, author
Jerome Sator, illustrator
Koolrobpubs
105 Parkway Drive Hampton, Virginia 23669
0972797610 $24.95 www.therobinson.com

The debut publication of firefighter, soldier, and public school teacher Rob Robinson, They Always Get A Pass, Don't They? is a no-nonsense look at the seamy side of the National Football League. They Always Get A Pass, Don't They? exposes how the thirty-two team owners of the NFL harm the quality of the game and exploit their fellow Americans in search of monstrous profit, as well as the racism that oddly pervades a sport in which the majority of players are black, and even offers step-by-step rules of thumb to effectively identifying winning teams (statistically speaking, the team that scores the first touchdown is most likely to win - and coaches that start the game holding something in reserve are more likely to have losing strategies). A tell-it-like-it-is, "must-read" for football enthusiasts everywhere.

Scatterlings of Africa
Peter Davies
Literally Publishing Ltd.
The Covert, Main Street, Claydon, Oxfordshire OX17 1EU, England
Peter.e.daviies@ntlworld.com enquiries@literallypublishing.com
0955440904 $18.99 www.peterdaviesbooks.com www.literallypublishing.com

Written by African native and former part-time soldier Peter Davies, Scatterlings of Africa is an action-packed adventure, set in the early seventies during Rhodesia's war against terror (Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980). Lieutenant Ron Cartwright is committed to defending his nation against insurgents; while abduction, intimidation, and torture are par for the course during the brutal civil war, many cities, towns, and farms remain safe havens. Yet separation from his beloved wife is taking its toll, and the arrival of her cousin along with the impending threat of the war's escalation add further pressure to the situation. A gripping and severe novel of sacrificed paid struggling to defend, protect, and survive.

Investing Without Losing
Don Sausa
The Vision Press
6900-29 Daniels Pkwy, #147, Fort Myers, FL 33912
0978834607 $19.95

Investing Without Losing: The Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Tax Lien and Tax Deed Auctions is a no-nonsense primer to profiting from properties and tax liens that are sold every month in the United States, often at pennies on the dollar for their real market value. One doesn't need a real estate license or experience to get started in taking advantage of auctions for the sake of investment plans and strategies. Investing Without Losing offers auction bidding strategies, valuable checklists for investing like an expert, state by state summaries of tax auction types and redemption periods, quite title alternatives and avoiding court action to insure tax deeds, "flipping" tips, and much more. Black-and-white illustrations and sample forms round out this handy introduction to profitable real estate for readers of all backgrounds.

The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia & Karabagh
Matthew Karanian & Robert Kurkjian
Stone Garden Productions
PO Box 7758, Northridge, CA 91327
096721209X $24.95 www.stonegardenproductions.com

The first edition of The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia & Karabagh was the 2005 Independent Publisher award finalist in the category of best travel guide. Now in an updated second edition, Armenia & Karabagh remains thorough, practical, and completely up-to-date in its information concerning this predominantly Christian nation that borders Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Written by Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian, two experts who have each spent a decade traveling in the region, Armenia & Karabagh is filled cover-to-cover with full-color maps, photographs, must-see sights, and solid general advice for business and pleasure travelers alike (drink bottled water instead of the local water unless it has been boiled, and also avoid using ice cubes in restaurants or using nonsterilized water to brush one's teeth). An all-inclusive, absolute "must-have" for anyone interested in experiencing the uniquely rich cultural heritage of Armenia for themselves.

Alterity
Ronald E. Moore
Current
608 East Greenwood, Enterprise, OR 97928
0915214431 $17.95 www.alterityonline.com www.hiatt-literary.com

The debut poetry collection of composer and former health care executive Ronald E. Moore, Alterity is an anthology of brief, free-verse poems that evoke a musical quality. Contemplating history, art, legends, love, death, and psychological insights into the fleeting nature of a transient world, Alterity can be read quickly but is meant to be savored in its full mellifluous glory. "A Note from Nietzsche to Freud": Yes I heard / you helped Mahler / find the memories / oddly piping / in his music. / What makes / you think / you could / fix me? / Surely you understand / what ails me / has never been / subject / to tinkering. / The cure / for this angst / is another 10th Symphony / that doesn't / exist.

Cooking With Gas
Luke V. Saucier III
Booksurge.com
1419631896 $19.99 www.booksurge.com

Written by restaurant business veteran Luke V. Saucier III, Cooking With Gas: The Official Guide for Restaurant Start-ups and Operations is a practical, no-nonsense manual to getting a restaurant business off the ground and running it successfully. Chapters cover deciding whether to franchise, organization types and paperwork that must be filed with the state, how to control food and labor costs, risk management, taxes and much more. An absolute "must-have" primer to read cover to cover before investing one's assets, time, and energy into a restaurant start-up or franchise.

The Selling Machine
Michael Canno, Michael Pace, & Landy Wingard
New Model Publishers
300 Hunting Hollow Road, Greenville, SC 29615
097858550X $19.95

Michael Canno, Michael Pace, and Landy Wingard present their combined 50 years of sales experience in The Selling Machine, a straightforward manual to regularly closing sales deals from small-time transactions to multimillion-dollar operations. Condensing the essentials of the sales process into 100 pages, without relying on gimmicks, The Selling Machine covers all dimensions of solid sales: planning, prospecting, qualifying, proving, proposing, and closing. "The best way to close the right way is to avoid closing the wrong way. Don't ever close with tricks or dishonesty. Anything gained in the short-term will be lost double in the long-term." An absolute "must-read" primer for anyone participating in or considering a career that has anything to do with sales - including and especially most entrepreneurs starting up a new business!

Michael Dunford
Reviewer

Kaveny's Bookshelf
A critique of Spinoza and a Defense of the Science Fiction Series Stargate SG-1.

A number of my academic colleagues love look down their rather long wrinkled noses at me, when I mention television, and to reply to me with a high degree self satisfied disdain when I mention a particularly interesting program I watched on television as follows. "Oh I never watch television." Some even go so far as to say, "We don't even own one." Of course the implicit sub text of these sorts of replies is either one of two things. The first of course is. "What makes you think that I would talk to you Philip, and the second, is a kind of pathetic attempt to position them with a taste culture that they really are not a part of. But, I think, the saddest thing of all is that they are missing out a lots of really fun and interesting stuff by not at least watching a science fiction channel The reason I say this is Science Fiction is still about really big ideas, and the don't get any bigger than ideas about cosmology, the universe and free will and determinism, which are the areas the philosophers have been reflecting for the last four thousand years.

All of this came together though, a little project I am working, my critique of Spinoza. The project grew out of a fascinating class I am taking here at U.W. Eau Claire in religious studies From Dr. Ned Beach called Critiques of God. What we are really doing is approaching some of the major thinkers in western, and eastern theology with an open and yet critical mind. Perhaps the most interesting thinker we have worked with so far is Baruch Spinoza who was born in Amsterdam in 1632 into a Jewish family and was highly educated in the Jewish faith and finally excommunicated for his radical pantheistic ideas of substance in which God was of single and complete substance and was both equal to and greater than nature. Further he states that it is an indifferent god that loves us not and perhaps cares nothing for humanity. In addition for Spinoza the universe is fully determined and the following proposition would always be true in the past present and future, he was one of the first to develop the watch maker view of the universe

What follows is my critiques of Spinoza's determinism from a Twenty First century based on my summary of his position on free will extrapolated from our classroom discussions and readings the material then inside the quotation marks is my own, and drawn from my dialogue with professor Beach.

"What ever decision you make in any given situation is the only one you could have made"

If decision equals choice for Spinoza and this statement applies to future choices and it is grounded in mechanistic enlightenment 17th century model of the operation of nature is he claims it. It follows for me that it is inadequate because precludes the probabilistic model of operation that is the paradigm for all modern science which includes within it quantum physics, theory of relativity, chaos theory, dark matter, and black holes. All of these must be understood with probabilistic, rather than a mechanistic model of nature, a probabilistic model which demands neither cosmological watch spring, nor watchmaker.

Last night Feb. 22, 2007 my wife and I watched an episode of Series Stargate SG-1 in which one of the main characters gained the power to see into the future as a result of head injury and was concerned that in the process off seeing the future he was making it the only future which was possible, the other female character must have read my critique of Spinoza because she responded to his concerns almost the same way as I did in my little project. So as we say in the business, thank god I am an atheist, and god bless science fiction, well I am not exactly an atheist, I am a Christian in some un Biblical ways a very literal one, but that will have to wait for my next Kaveny's bookshelf in which I promise I will actually write about some books.

Philip Kaveny
Senior Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf
Sex � and Shopping
Various authors
Black Lace
0352340762 $7.99 http://www.blacklace-books.co.uk/

These eighteen stories focus on the link (some quite nebulous) between sex and shopping. Each of the entries was previously published in one of the Black Lace continuity anthologies (Wicked Women or Sex �). The tales are all fun and obviously hot as they run the gamut from exchanging your man for a new hunk to buying action toys to being a retail deviant to having sex with the shoplifter, etc. The stories are mostly amusing though the format of a short story does not allow for relationship development much beyond the tryst in spite of some superb writing. Still erotic fans will fully appreciate this heated compilation that might even get my significant other, who hates to shop till you drop, to go shopping.

Bygones
Kim Vogel Sawyer
Barbour Books
PO Box 719, 1810 Barbour Drive, Uhrichsville, OH 44683
1597894044 $9.97

Over two decades ago her Mennoite family disowned Marie Koeppler when she married Jep Quinn, an outsider. She left Sommerfield, Kansas with her spouse knowing she will never see her parents again. She gave birth to Beth, became a widow and never returned; she lives with her daughter in Cheyenne, Wyoming. When Aunt Lisbeth dies, she leaves her estate to Beth. However, for Beth to inherit the house and cafe, she must live in Sommerfield for three months. Though she expects a shunning even from her mother, who never claimed her granddaughter as kin, Marie and Beth agree to try it. However, just after they arrive in Sommerfield, thefts occur; the locals blame Beth while Marie investigates to prove her daughter and her are innocent. Even Henry Braun, who came to Cheyenne to tell her Lisbeth died and whom loved Marie when she fled over twenty plus years ago, thinks either her and or her daughter are the thieves. Though she still owns his heart, he also refuses to allow BYGONES to move on as he fears she will break it again. Readers obtain a deep look at the modern day Mennonites in Kansas when a former resident returns home knowing she belongs there, but also assumes she will never be accepted as part of a community that condemned her for marrying an outsider. The cast brings to life this teriffic family drama as Marie and Beth try to do what is best for the other even sacrificng their own needs. The mystery and romance, though both well written and key elements of the deep story line, play supporting subplot roles to the prime theme of you apparently can't go home even to Mennonite Sommerfield once you have left.

Plain & Fancy
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Barbour Books
PO Box 719, 1810 Barbour Drive, Uhrichsville, OH 44683
1597893005 $9.97

Minneapolis resident Laura Meade uses the phone and her laptop to keep in touch with her family and friends as she attends the Lancaster School of Design in Pennsylvania. She plans to visit the Farmer's Market in Bird-in-Hand. Eli Yoder works in Strasburg at a store that makes handcrafted Amish furniture. Tomorrow he has rented a booth at the farmer's market where he plans to sell some of the items he crafted at his home woodshop. At the farmer's market, Eli of the People and Laura of the English meet and are immediately attracted to one another. The rare church going outsider and the member of the Amish church know they must not pursue their feelings, but neither can prevent love from springing up between them nor stop the vitreous jealousy of the acceptable Pauline Hostetler who wants Eli to court her. Either he leaves his church and face a shunning that means no longer seeing his beloved family or she must find God and give up her fancy life to become one of the Plain as his spouse. This is a somewhat expanded reprint of the third Lancaster Brides' tale though this reviewer does not know how much it differs from the original. PLAIN & FANCY is a fascinating modern day courtship tale starring two people in love with totally opposite lifestyles and belief systems. The story line focuses on each struggling to find a way to a permanent relationship though the adjustment by Laura is depicted as complex it still seems a bit too easy. Still readers will appreciate the comparisons between a Plain Person and a Fancy person while looking forward to the expansion of the fourth story, THE HOPE CHEST.

Looking for a Miracle
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Barbour Books
PO Box 719, 1810 Barbour Drive, Uhrichsville, OH 44683
1597892998 $12.95

Waiting in her Aunt Mim's carriage for a ride home, a tree snapped leaving preadolescent Rebekah Stoltzfus wheelchair bound. While physically her legs are paralyzed, no one in her Pennsylvania Amish community understands how thirteen years later she mentally remains crippled too. Rebekah knew within one month of the accident that she will always be a burden to her loved ones and still feels that way as she will never marry and raise a family since no man wants a cripple for a wife. Still she tries to be helpful and does write a monthly column for the Lancaster County the Budget newspaper. At a songfest Daniel Beachy admires Rebekah's courage but also sees the sadness of loneliness in her eyes; he wants to see her, but she refuses to believe a handsome man like him would court a half woman like her. When he keeps hanging around, though she falls in love with Daniel but she assumes he is either using her to attract one of her cousins probably Mary Ellen or pities the cripple. She will settle for nothing less than a shared love so she tries to drive her persistent suitor away. This is a somewhat expanded reprint of the second Lancaster Brides' tale though this reviewer does not know how much differs from the original. The story line focuses on Rebekah whose childhood accident (occurred in A MERRY HEART) has left her thirteen years later emotionally scarred. Daniel's patience to court and win the heart of his beloved makes for a superb Amish romance.

The Dinner Club
Saskia Noort
Bitter Lemon Press
1904738206 14.95, Meryl Zegarek, T: +1 917 493 3601, E: mz@mzpr.com

The inferno destroyed the villa killing wealthy Evert Struyck; his wife Babette was injured but their two children, Luuk and Beau, managed to escape Babette's four female friends (Karen van de Made, Patricia Vogel, Hanneke Lemstra and Angela Bijlsma) who make up along with her the female part of "the dinner club" couples, try to help the distraught woman. Adding to the shock is that the police found Evert's "farewell" note in his car asking the others for forgiveness leading to the police to conclude suicide. However, not long afterward Hanneke falls from a hotel balcony. Unable to ignore what is happening to her friends and fearing her family is next, Karen begins to piece together the motive behind the two deaths as she begins to understand that The Dinner Club and its male spousal equivalent are tied not by friendship and caring, but by crime and adultery. The tale starts off as an extended family drama in which the audience sees how each of the surviving seven members of the Dinner Club and their offspring cope with the first death of one of them though that look is mostly filtered by Karen. Half way into the story, when Karen calls to speak to Hanneke, but instead gets an Amsterdam cop the story line turns into an amateur sleuth mystery. Thus the audience will know the key players at least through the Karen sieve before the thriller kicks into first gear. Well written but somewhat slow at first, this is a fine Dutch mystery.

Hostile Environment
Patrick C. Crowell
Synergy Books
2100 Kramer Lane, Suite 300, Austin, Texas 78758
1933538600, $21.95 http://www.bookpros.com

In Orlando, Florida, Lou Scarlechek heads the legal department of the Western Town family oriented theme park. However, he also enjoys using his powerful position to score with subordinate females throughout the company. Lou does not care what the women want as he harasses them to give him what he desires through real threats. His current target for his sexual pleasure is a young secretary DeeDee Lane. However, her rejection of his advances are ignored by him as he threatens her employment with the theme park and work anywhere else in Orlando if she does not play his game. DeeDee finds inner courage and sues under the state's sexual harassment law. Already doing legal work for Western Town, successful competitive rower (against males) Adel Blair is expected to defend the company from the latest charge. However, as she prepares her case, she finds her client, the firm as well as Lou have mistreated and sexual harassed women for years while also placing a gender ceiling that says men only can enter. HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT is an exciting legal thriller that focuses on sexual harassment in the workplace, a demoralizer that hurts more than just the victim as data shows its negative impact on productivity. The story line is fast-paced as Lou finds herself in a dilemma caused by her belief that the opponent is legally right while her side is hiding the facts that would look bad especially to the customers they covet. Though the final confrontation seems over the top, sub-genre fans will appreciate this synergetic look at a major cause of the workplace turning into a HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT for those on the receiving end of harassment regardless of gender.

Somehow the 'info block' for this review didn't come through for some arcane reason. Please add the usual info block and then send it back to me.

Hot Rocks
Lev Raphael
Perseverance Press
c/o John Daniel & Co.
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519
1880284839 $14.95 1-800-662-8351

After a week in the Caribbean with his life partner Stefan Borowski a writer in residence at the State University in Michigan, English composition Professor Nick Hoffman plans to relax until the semester starts. He finds out that is not to be when he enters the steam room in Michigan Muscle. There he sees Vlado Zamaria just sitting there not moving a muscle; the man is dead. Since he found the body he is a person of interest to the police. Juno, a professor who Nick is physically is attracted to even though he is gaywants to help him find the killer. Both of them like playing detective and they want to solve the murder. The first person Nick talks to is the victim's wife who doesn't seem broken up that her husband is dead. They find a box full of pictures of him copulating with different women. Also in the box is an expensive woman's watch. Besides the women there are plenty of suspects including the trainers who he treated as his servants, a former trainer who refused to have sex with Vlado so he fired him, and a member of Michigan Muscle who had a secret he wanted kept quiet. Lev Raphael is one of the most intellectual authors writing academic mysteries and he uses his brain power to have his protagonist, who is also brilliant, interview suspects, piecing together bits of information to get the real picture of who the killer is. Lev Raphael is a writer who imbues his protagonist with a dry wit which makes him see real even as he investigates a homicide in which the police hone in on him.

Girl Most Likely To
Poonam Sharma
Red Dress
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, Canada, M3B 3K9
037389550X, $13.95

In spite of making a fortune as a Wall St. investment banker living in Manhattan, her dad always compares his offspring to her mom. When her mom was twenty-seven she had a daughter, a dog, a spouse and a medical residency. Vina Chopra has a minimal hour workweek and no daughter (or son), no dog (or cat), no husband (or boyfriend), and no positive future beyond making money for her hard but boring work. Unable to find love and sick of Fred the ulcer, Vina allows her parents to choose for her a proper boyfriend. However the parade of Indian doctors makes her feel worse as none seem right. At the office her rise up the ladder of success seems in jeopardy as a scandal threatens anyone near its epicenter. Taking a sabbatical from her job, her Great Neck family and from her tedious life, Vina goes on a hunt to find her inner self not expecting to meet and like Mike. This is a coming of age chick lit romance starring a fast track Yuppie who finds her banking life inadequate, but has nothing else. The story line follows Vina as she leaps from one incidents to another (perhaps too many to lament over) while becoming increasingly despondent over having nothing that excites her. Poonam Sharma provides a fine character study of an Indian-American female who feels displaced at work, at home, and at life.

Dumbstruck
David Grant
BookSurge, LLC
7290 B Investment Drive, Charleston, SC 29418
1419636731, $17.99

Neuro-psychiatrist Dr. J.M.J.J. Watson first saw his newest patient Creighton Dumbstruck in Clara's Coffee Emporium in the historical district of Charleston, South Carolina. They sat at adjoining tables where they began a discussion on geography. Watson quickly realized that Dumbstruck was the perfect specimen as the retired military man preaches on anything and everything claiming in each case to be the world's greatest authority (Professor Irwin Corey aside), but never gets it quite right. The psychiatrist plans to use Dumbstruck's musings as the basis of a book on mental disorder that will make him renowned and wealthy. Since both of them love geography they agree to do a walking tour of the South Carolina barrier islands. However, as Watson dreams of grandiose fame on a level of Freud, Dumbstruck continues his dissertation on whatever strikes his fancy. However, Watson becomes dumbstruck when his patient introduces him to M. Hirsute and the members of the American Lycanthropic Association who are holding their annual convention nearby. Dumbstruck explains that their family histories intertwine with his. While Watson fears being the main course at the gala, Dumbstruck explains how the lycanthrope are misunderstood by the normals. As they move on, the psychiatrist wonders how to explain what he has seen, but the tour has just begun as Dumbstruck is an author of note amongst those living outside what Watson can perceive and accept. This is an interesting, entertaining but not easy book to read as the character driven plot lives up to the cover statement that "sanity is not all its cracked up to be." Readers will wonder just who is crazier as the doctor and patient tour together while also deciding whether the various "people" they meet are real or imaginary. Fans who want something wildly different will want to peruse David Grant's satirical paradox look at sanity from an insane focus.

The Secretary of Dreams
Stephen King; illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne
Cemetery Dance
132-B Industry Lane, Unit #7 � Forest Hill, MD 21050
1587671409 $75.00

"Home Delivery". Maddie knows the world may be ending with the dead returning to life, but she is handling her pregnancy, five months old, quite well on Little Tall Island. "The Road Virus Heads North". Novelist Richard stopped at a yard sale where he had to buy an odd looking watercolor by an artist named Hastings, who committed suicide. Richard soon finds he has a companion, the kid in the picture. "Jerusalem's Lot". In 1850 Charles writes letters to his friends Bones and Richard telling them about a deserted village Jerusalem's Lot that the Lord apparently abandoned as he describes pictures he found there that is closer to home. "Rainy Season". John and Elise arrive in Willow, Maine where they meet Laura and Henry who warn them that it is seven years to the day it last rained toads in town and they must leave before the torrent begins. "The Reach". Gram explains to her great-grandchildren that the Reach between Goat Island and the mainland was much wider when she was younger, but as people leave they die shrinking the distance and this is why she never stepped on the mainland. "Uncle Otto's Truck". He writes down what he knows about his Uncle Otto who he found grotesquely dead in an oily haunting way when he delivered food as is his weekly assignment since his own father died two years ago. These six tales are reprints of Stephen King short stories with one from 1978, two from 1985, two from 1993; and one from 2002. Thus the audience has an opportunity to see how much Mr. King has changed at least with his shorts over the two plus decades. The tales are refreshed by Glenn Chadbourne illustrations with three including pictures to enhance the vivid tales while the remainder are in graphic comic format. This is a terrific and unique anthology that fans of the grandmaster of horror will enjoy.

The School for Husbands
Wendy Holden
Plume
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0452285887 $14.00 www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

Sophie and Mark are the perfect couple obviously in love with one another though he recognizes that his mother-in-law blames him for her not having a big hat moment at her daughter's wedding as they had no reception. With the birth of her first grandson Albert, Shirley tosses the big wedding reception that she did not have for her offspring even if it is to celebrate a christening. Shirley also demands that rich and successful Simon, Sophie's former boyfriend, be invited as Albert's godfather as the kid will need good male role models. Implications aside, Mark barely survives the gala. Simon agreed not because he loved Sophie, but because he loves money and its associated acclaim. He needs an in into top society, which the obnoxious Shirley who loathed him when he had a summer fling with her daughter, could provide if he was Sophie's spouse. The only obstacle is Mark. Meanwhile Mark gets a promotion that keeps him away from his wife and child. Sophie already feels abandoned so he hurts her even more so with accusations involving other men like his business partner and Simon. Outraged, she leaves him taking Albert with her. Knowing he made a monstrous error, a desperate Mark enrolls in the SCHOOL FOR HUSBANDS to learn how to treat his wife with love, dignity and respect before he loses her to Simon whose campaign is abetted by Shirley. This is a fascinating family drama starring a desperate husband whose wife has given up on him and her mother pushes a wealthy former boyfriend to the front of the line. The extended cast makes for a fine tale as each one of them except for Simon learn what really matters in life is your loved ones so Wendy Holden makes it quite lucid to honestly communicate with one another.

Grits Friends Are Forevah: A Southern-Style Celebration of Women
Deborah Ford
Plume
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0641783558 $14.00 www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

This is an amusing yet adulating look at Grit Girls of all ages. The book provides insight as to how to recognize whether that female friend is forevah grit or just a catty short time discard. Also known as steel magnolias due to the movie or Southern Belles north of the Mason-Dixon line that in the twenty-first century is more in the minds of people than on maps. Explaining the difference between Instant GRITS, Seasoned GRITS, and Steeled GRITS, Ya Ya Sister Deborah Ford as she did with the previous Grits guide adoringly explains that GRITS are simply Girls Raised in the South who know her females buds and duds better than the spouse does. This reference book contains a deep underlying message that everyone needs friends, but done with a fun look at female southern living through the eyes of a native GRITS card carrying member.

Special Relationship
Robyn Sisman
Plume
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0452288266 $14.00 www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

In 1992, Jordan Hope runs for the President of the United States, but has one secret that could derail his bid. In 1970 while he attended Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship and played the sax, he met Annie. She was the right woman for him, but she just vanished from his life. Sad he moved on until he recently began a run for the top office in the world. However, Anne, a top London literary agent, is happily married with three offspring. She never forgot her first love and is proud of his accomplishments, but even if he was not a media darling, the evidence of their tryst lives with her, her oldest son Tom. However, following a comment related to a photo of a young Jordan that someone mistook as Tom, the lad realizes he could be the American candidate's twin as they look so alike at twenty. He realizes why Jordan sired him and rushes across the Atlantic to meet his biological dad. While the Secret service makes that seemingly impossible, Anne pursues her son and to warn Jordan using her dying mother as an excuse for saying her goodbyes to her in Chicago. The obvious Clinton (Bill that is) connection aside, SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP is a delightful contemporary tale that provides a fascinating spotlight on the late 1960s and early 1970s through a filtering look back 1992 "lens". Tom is terrific as he stirs the game to meet and confront his father while Anne tries to prevent a cross Atlantic incident that would derail her first lover's political ambition. Jordan adds to the mix of the past coming home to roost (along with a couple of other family secrets) as he never forgot his SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP.

The Perfect Royal Mistress
Diane Haeger
Three Rivers Press
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
0307237516, $13.95 www.crownpublishing.com 1-888-523-9292

Nell Gwynne grew up in impoverished fire and plague racked London. She supported herself selling oranges outside the King's Theater. There she gains a reputation for her intelligent tongue that uses double entendres that catch the extra attention of her male customers. Soon her lewd wit leads Nell onto the stage itself where her humorous bawdy asides and physical charm catches the attention of womanizing King Charles II, who has left a horde of illegit offspring wherever he visits. King Charles II not so shockingly makes her his mistress as many other men coveted doing, but the stunner is he also makes her his most trusted advisor. Even when French King Louis XIV sends a beautiful noble to court Charles, he may use the visitor's obvious allure, but it is Nell he turns to in crisis. This is a fabulous Restoration historical due to THE PERFECT ROYAL MISTRESS as Diane Haeger catches the era by capturing the essence of Nell Gwynne especially after her performance in a 1668 John Dryden play. The story line focuses on the heroine especially her relationship with Charles. Though the plot implies that if she was a blueblood she would have been Queen of England not just in the royal boudoir; that concept is based on her personality remaining as bawdy as it was when she sold oranges. Still readers will appreciate a deep look at late seventeenth century London through the eyes of a woman who went from barely surviving the 1666 inferno that destroyed much of London to becoming in just a couple of years the most influential woman make that person at the court of King Charles II.

Fringe Benefits
F.M. Meredith
Tigress Press
P. O. Box 30859,Columbia, MO 65205-3859
097716019X , $13.95

Rocky Bluff, California police officer Cal Sylvester detests his rookie partner Gordon Butler whose features seem so girlie to the rugged veteran. However Cal does cede the loser has one hot wife that he plans to make more than an acquaintance with. Soon after that first meeting, Cal and sexy Darcy begin a tryst as both seeks excitement not to be found in this sleepy town twenty miles from Ventura. However, after a few months of heat, Darcy makes it clear to Cal that she expects more from any man who desires her. Cal is obsessed, but does not earn enough as a cop to keep Darcy in the style she demands. In spite of having young daughters at home, Cal plots the perfect murder to obtain the money he needs to keep Darcy. He will kill his wife Lee Ann but set it up so a troubled teen Adler "Patch" Costello, Jr. would take the fall though a serial rapist that is stalking the town could prove handy also. The third Rocky Bluff Police Department (see FINAL RESPECTS) is a terrific tale of an egotistical cop who behaves amorally in the best of times but goes over the edge even for him due to the lure of an avaricious woman. Cal is an interesting protagonist whose ego is in the stratosphere, but it is the femme fatale that steals the show as Darcy uses men like puppets on a string. Mindful of the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity (based on a James M. Cain novel), sub-genre fans who enjoy twists in their police procedurals will appreciate this tense thriller as they wonder whether Cal will go through with the homicide-frame and if yes will justice fail.

Every Inch a King
Harry Turtledove
Del Rey
c/o Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0345487362 $14.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

One night after a stellar performance given by Dooger and Clark's Traveling Emporium, circus performance Otto of Schlepsig reads in the paper that the temporary ruler of Shqiperi wants the Hassockian Empire to send Prince Hallim Eddin to be their new king. Accompanying the article is a picture of the prince who could be Otto's identical twin. Not one to miss such an opportunity, Otto and his friend Jim the sword swallower head for Shqiperi. On the trek they have to first fight off a sea serpent and a vampire which they ultimately do. When they arrive, Otto, masquerading as the prince, orders Essad Pasha to introduce him to the army. He also wants the treasury and his harem moved to his palace after he is crowned king. He shows Essad Pasha in various ways that he will not be a puppet ruler and earns respect for that. Otto shares everything with Jim but his friend worries that they will be found out and if they don't come up with a plan of escape if circumstances warrant, they will be killed. EVERY INCH A KING is a delightful, straight forward fairy tale that will definitely enchant the audience. The main character is an anti-hero scammer and con artist, who doesn't have a mean bone in his body and would be a good ruler given the chance. Readers will adore him and hope he doesn't get himself killed. Fans of Harry Turtledove's epic alternate histories should know he is a great fantasist of smaller scale alleged events as well.

Ink
Hat Duncan
Del Rey
c/o Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0345487331 $15.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

The three main characters in INK are Jack "Flash" Carter, Thomas Messenger (known in some worlds as Puck) and Guy Reynard Carter (Jack's psychiatrist in one particular time and place). Other key players include Seamus Finian, Phreadom Messenger and Joey. The storyline is non-linear as it goes back and forth in time and jumps into different realities where the characters are shown in different times in the past and of course the present. Each story is told from the perspective of each participant, which can get confusing as the scenes jump without any notice so it takes the audience full attention and some time to figure out who the narrator of each particular scene is. The characters are larger than life and eventually become archetypes or avatars. Jack is fire, willing to see a mission through until he burns himself out. Finian is a firebird who is a revolutionary in the Vellum but disappears some when in the Vellum for much of the book. Guy thinks before he acts and when he does so he has a plan so he doesn't go off half-cocked. Thomas is doomed to die early in every time in every universe much to the horror of his friend. Phreadom evolves from a goddess to an earth mother demigod. In some worlds at times Joey is jack's friend or ally and in some places he is his enemy. These are characters linked together because of their reincarnations while traveling the universe as some worlds are not at all friendly and to further confuse the audience, not all names remain the same in the various worlds. A good example is that in some places England is called Albion. . One of the main plots of the story should be mentioned because in some form it occurs on most of the worlds. It is the rise of Hitler's fourth Reich and his land grab in Europe by conquering his neighbors. In some realms he fails while in other realms he is successful while in some world he is defeated by the Futuristics who are more fascist than the Germany of our 1930's and 1940's ever was

Canaan
Donald McCaig
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
0393062465 $24.95 www.wwnorton.com 1-800-233-4830

Lee's surrender at Appomattox impacts all Americans, but especially those in the south, the border states and even out west. Everywhere people struggle to adjust to the new world order as lives and relationships have changed. In this post war era, on their Stratford plantation, family patriarch Samuel Gatewoods seems in shock as he adjusts. His son Duncan comes home having lost an arm and suffering from battle fatigue syndrome compounded by his fighting as an officer for the losing side. Instead of working the plantation, Duncan builds railroads for former Confederate General Mahone while Samuel supplies them with crossties. Mahone's financer northern carpetbagger Eben Barnwell audaciously courts Samuel's granddaughter Pauline. Samuel's freed slave Jesse gives up on his dream of reuniting with his wife Maggie sold by Samuel when he owned both of them. Instead he is elected a Virginia Assemblyman. Out west, Lakota woman She Goes Before talks about her father's hanging and her rape as she travels to Montana to marry a former slave, Union Sergeant, Ratcliff. As the years go by, Custer is in Montana along with some of those easterners like Eben who left his wife Pauline to seek a new fortune and Ratcliff returning to his military glory days. Though a lot is packed in this profound fascinating look at the grim Reconstruction Era, historical fiction fans will want to read Donald McCaig's CANAAN, the sequel to JACOB'S LADDER. Give yourself plenty of time as the back and forth action can turn complex and convoluted though always intense. The story line focuses on these harassed characters representing three races as each tries to survive a world no longer remotely what it was before the war. Americana readers will appreciate this strong look at what happened in the east, south and west from the day after Appomattox until Custer's Last Stand.

The Sultan's Seal
Jenny White
W.W. Norton
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
0393329208 $13.95 www.wwnorton.com 1-800-233-4830

In 1886 Istanbul social unrest is heating up especially with the numerous British expatriates living the good life in the city while many Turks struggle as the once mighty Ottoman Empire nears collapse. Many of the locals are especially outraged by the total disregard of native custom by these aristocratic British immigrants, who flaunt their immodesty. However, both groups are stunned when royal governess Mary Dixon is brutally murdered. The English demand swift justice while many Turks believe she deserved it as all English females are brazen. In reality few knew the reticent Mary. At the same time Magistrate Kamil Pasha investigates the homicide while also struggling to keep the peace between the angry groups, a local girl Jaanan is forced by her family to marry a man she fears almost as much as she loathes even as he is linked to the English victim. Jenny White paints a powerful and colorful panorama of late nineteenth century Istanbul at a time when national fervor is heated in every corner of the capital city. Though Kamil is a fascinating protagonist struggling with a difficult case made geometrically harder by English and Turkish demands, the whodunit takes a back seat to touring 1886 Istanbul. Fans will enjoy visiting the palace especially the harem, the various ethnic quarters and finally the affluent European section mostly English expatriates that anger the native purists with its gaudy brashness.

The Heir
Paul Robertson
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
076420324X $18.99 www.bethanyhouse.com 1-800-328-6109

Jason Boyer was somewhat estranged from his father Melvin over the business of the Boyer Foundation. Everyone assumed once Mel died that the company would pass to someone like Nathan Kern or even Melvin's younger progeny Eric. Everybody is proven wrong when a car accident kills his father and Uncle Fred says Jason is THE HEIR. The angry Jason has no time to decide what he will do with the Boyer Foundation. Politicians offer their services in exchange for campaign funding and other favors. His dad's cronies especially Nathan demands he join them by bloodying his hands or else face their wrath. Mel's second wife believes she was cheated and Eric feels left out. However, it is Nathan who anticipated wielding more power with Mel's death who is most irate. As Jason is tempted to abuse the influence as his dad did, he tries to hold on to his principles. However, he has not understood the corrupt game of power yielded by those with the mindset of a fanatical terrorist; they insist Jason play in accordance with the rules his father established or watch helplessly as his loved ones die one at a time that is unless they kill him. THE HEIR is an intriguing thriller in which a somewhat ethical person is forced into situations not of his making where he must act against his beliefs or watch loved one suffer perhaps die. The story line is driven by a cast who for the most part thirst for power with most willing to use it regardless of the cost to others. The temptation on Jason to simply join is incredible as fans wonder will he totally replace his father or will he keep his morality and sense of self.

Return of the Guardian-King
Karen Hancock
Bethany House
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
0764227971 13.99 www.bethanyhouse.com 1-800-328-6109

Like its neighbor nations Kiriath has fallen. The Shadow rules with an iron fist oppressing any opposition. While most of his countrymen assume he is dead, a few close advisors are fleeing with distraught Abramm Kalladorne as they are forced to take flight way from his beloved Kiriath to take temporary sanctuary in the desert. He hopes to reach his wife Maddie in Fannath Rill in the last realm of Eidon's Light, mountainous Chesedh. Once there he plans to assist his father-in-law fight the Black Moon legions of the Shadow. However no matter how hard he tries to reach his spouse's side, he stumbles until finally Abramm assumes that for whatever reason Eidon has a different fate in store for him. Meanwhile her family insist Abramm is dead having fallen nobly in combat and that to save their country from being the next and final domino to fall she must marry a suitor who can provide the realm galleys that could turn the tide in their favor. Without this aid, Chesedh will lose. Maddie tries to resist the pressure as she believes in her soul she would know if her beloved died, but saving her people and her family seems the right thing to do as the conquerors head in their direction. The fourth tale in the "Legends of the Guardian-King" (see THE LIGHT OF EIDON, SHADOW OVER KIRIATH and THE SHADOW WITHIN) continues the exciting fantasy war between the Dark Moon forces of the Shadow and that of the Light of Eidon. However in this tale the hostilities play more of a doomsday countdown backdrop to the dilemmas of Abramm and Maddie as each ponders what to do next as duty supersedes their personal relationship. Fans of Christian Armageddon sagas will enjoy the fight between the light and dark due to the quandaries confronted by the lead pair, who put human faces on the supremacy war.

Web of Evil
J. A. Jance
Touchstone
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
1416537074 $25.95 www.simonandschuster.com 1-800-223-2336

Ali Reynolds provides emotional support to her cyber buddies with her web site Cutlooseblog.com though she has never met her electronic pals. However, now she needs the crutch of them as she must deal with divorcing her cheating spouse Paul. Her friends are all there for her as she leaves her new home in Sedona, Arizona to return to Los Angeles so her odious husband can marry his eight month pregnant girlfriend April Gaddis before she gives birth. Once she is back in Southern California her life takes a nasty spin when someone murders Paul. The police suspect she killed her husband in a crime of passion. Soon after his homicide April's mother dies with the cops looking at Ali again in spite of her solid alibi. Realizing she can not trust LAPD to do a thorough job beyond railroading her, Ali with the support of her Cutlooseblog.com crowd investigates. This is a fun amateur sleuth thriller that uses the modern version of pen pals and the blog to anchor the sense of time. The story line is fast-paced but requires a leap of faith wider than Evel Knievel's failed leap across the Snake River; that is LAPD narrowly looks at the heroine as the only person of interest even after the second murder. Still J.A. Jance provides the audience with a likable heroine (she even befriends the girlfriend) whose blog and stumbling sleuthing are fun to follow.

Hume's Fork
Ron Cooper
Bancroft Press
PO Box 65360, Baltimore, MD 21209
1890862509 $25.00 1-800-637-7377

In Florida AmWorld University philosophy Professor Legare Hume knows he is a fraud, but he has a job so what does it matter. Plenty, he must give a presentation at a professional convention to obtain tenure and has an opportunity at the American Philosophical Association's annual meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. The night before the convention begins, he informs his wife Tally that he is attending without her. She is irate and hits him with their best china; albeit a chipped dish. Still Legare calls his associate brilliant Saul Grossman to pick him up as they will go together. After a circuitous drive to avoid bad bridges, Saul and Legare reach the hotel only to find they have no reservation nor are there any rooms available. Legare reluctantly takes Saul to the home of his parents realizing the genius manipulated him to meet his sister Willie whose picture Saul has seen. As wrestlers give talks at the convention and his family wonder why Tally whom they cherish more than the prodigal son is not with him, Hume suddenly turns ill while deadly family secrets surface that leave him pondering to be or not to be that is not the question Descartes asked. Using philosophical debate including in the professional wrestling ring as a backdrop to a combo buddy trek and family drama, Ron Cooper provides a deep poignant tale that focuses on HUME'S FORK in life. The story line is character driven as Hume provides a series of simple treatises on philosophy interwoven with his extended family's antics, other philosophers' arguments, apocalyptic wrestling and NASCAR and the final Tally. Fans who enjoy something different and unique will appreciate Mr. Cooper's satirical take on the American way of I am therefore I don't think living philosophically that is.

The Physics of the Buffyverse
Jennifer Ouellette
The Penguin Press
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0143038621 $15.00 www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

Jennifer Ouellette analyzes the Buffy and Angel TV shows through the spectrum of science using several disciplines besides the obvious misleading title Physics to include zoology, and several branches of math (when did a curve become the shortest distance between two points?). Fans of the two related series will enjoy the deep insight into the biology of vampires, demons and other supernatural essences as much as the deep look into robotics. Also adding fun to the tale is the theory behind multidimensional portals such as wormholes and the energy displacement physics of a witch's spell. Obviously targeting fans of the Buffyverse, but within that circle to an even more limited cell of those who enjoy reading the complexities of how string theory applies to the multiverse of vampire slayers. In short this reviewer enjoyed the convergence of science and Buffy, but not as much as my husband who tries to keep current on the latest theories in science and math.

Sinner
Sharon Carter Rogers
River Oak
4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
1589190971 $13.99

The Stranger attacks Father Michael Renault of St. Anthony's Cathedral with a strength and viciousness few could conceive in anyone human. Considering that the priest is a big man and former linebacker, the intruder's assault easily accomplished is shocking as he breaks Michael's ribs and arm and physically removes an eye; leaving one to see as a warning reminder to stay away from young Hector Gomez as the Father has failed to do with other youthful parishioners. Investigative writer CK Ivors is shocked at the fury of the attack and the symbol left behind that of the legendary Sinner, who allegedly meted out justice to those deserving of punishment but above the law of man and God since the Civil War. She obsesses with knowing the truth so using money earned from previous books she hires a team of experts to help her make inquiries into Sinner though she believes he is just a series of different people over the last century and a half using the cloak of myth to hide their vigilante justice. As she gets closer to the truth, she meets Loftis Johnson who seeks the Sinner for personal revenge motives. Meanwhile her target must decide what to do with the obstinate investigator who has not caused anyone harm yet may expose him to the light of day. This is a great suspense thriller starring two incredible "antagonists"; whereas Sinner is the Frank Miller dark Batman, CK is early Lois Lane needing to uncover the secrets of this super avenger; and Johnson adds a sense of impending doom and confrontation to the mix. Sinner pulls no punches when he cleanses evil as Sharon Carter Rogers is vividly graphic (my left eye still blinks). Fans will appreciate this stark tale of a collision between an avenging angel who believes God is a sinner, a tenacious writer and a third party with revenge on the mind.

By Slanderous Tongues
Roberta Gellis, Mercedes Lackey
Baen Books
PO Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
1416521070 $25.00 1-800-223-2336

The prophecy is clear that Princess Elizabeth will eventually sit on the throne bringing an enlightened period to the mortals. The fairy realm remains divided as it has for several years over the now fourteen year old offspring of the late King Henry VIII who is being hounded eternally by a gaggle of executed spouses. The dark Unseleighe Sidhe Prince Vidal Dhu believes that preventing Elizabeth's ascension will mean a return to their glorious Dark Ages filled with horror and misdeeds that fueled these malevolent elves. However, to achieve his side's darkest objective of insuring Elizabeth's fall from grace, they must remove preferably by death her overly protective guardians, the traitorous Seleighe twin elves, Lord Denoriel and Lady Aleneil. Dhu assigns the elimination of the Princess' protectors to twins Rhoslyn and Pasgen; if anyone can get at Denoriel and Aleneil it is their Dark elven half-siblings. With them removed from the scene the prophecy will fail as Elizabeth will surely find a spouse or some way to alienate her half-siblings the recently crowned boy King Edward VI and the heir their older half sister Princess Mary. The third Scepter'd Isle Elizabethan historical fantasy (see ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT and THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE) is an excellent blending of mid sixteenth century English royal history and a fantasy thriller. The stakes are high as the rival elven groups battle not only for their future but that of the humans. The key players from the mortal and paranormal realms seem genuine including the target Princess Elizabeth due to the mixing of real events and known facts of her young teen years into the story line. Fans will cherish this top quality collaboration between two distinguished authors from differing genres who prove that adding one and one can surpass two when greatness join forces.

Rags and Old Iron
Lorelei Shannon
Juno Books
9710 Traville Gateway Dr. #234, Rockville, Md. 20850
0809556243 $12.95

In Arizona, college coed Amy Sullivan suffers from vicious nightmares that are destroying her sleep and consequently her health. In classes, she struggles to remain alert as she seems to drift into sexual dreamland with hunks. Her best friend Sarah worries about her "spewpuppy" roommate, but though always there for Amy, she feels helpless as her buddy seems to slowly lose her mind especially since she claims someone is stalking her, but no one is ever there. Amy senses danger and that a confrontation with her night stalker is imminent; one that she does not expect to survive. Another friend Xavier a Yaqui mystic tries to help her troubled soul as she too feels an evil presence persecuting Amy; he tells her she is not a lunatic as the malevolence is real and gives her a desert banded Gecko to remove her bad dreams; he also knows her nightmares are her past warning her that dej� vu is coming. Time passes and the dreams and stalking worsen. Childhood friend Louis Bouvier knows Amy needs him because what is happening to her occurred to his mother, a Voodoo Queen. Amy concludes that voodoo offspring Louis is either her salvation or the final straw. Fans of horror thrillers will want to read the terrific RAGS AND OLD IRON that grips the audience from the opening classroom sequence until the final dream occurs. Readers will wonder whether Amy is losing her mind and causing the terror that haunts her or is something wicked from beyond coveting her in a bizarre courtship. Lorelei Shannon provides a powerful tale that will have her audience desiring more as we wonder until the end whether this is a tense psychological thriller or a terrifying supernatural suspense.

Sisters
Danielle Steel
Delacorte Books
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0385340222 $27.00 1-800-726-0600

The four sisters have come a long way from their affluent Manhattan home. The youngest twenty-one years old Candy is a supermodel working in Paris; twenty-six years old artist Annie is studying painting in Florence; twenty-nine years old Tammy works as a TV producer in Los Angeles; and finally the oldest thirty-four years old Sabrina is a hard working New York attorney. No matter where they are or what they are doing the siblings return to the home of their parents to celebrate Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. However during their latest family get together, a car accident leaves mommy dead and Annie blind. Sabrina suggests they grieve together in a New York brownstone. Over the next year each of the sisters are there for each other. The 6'1" 116 pounds Candy can no longer hide her eating disorder, Annie struggles with being unable to paint, Tammy adapts to having real life relationships and Sabrina deals with her commitment phobia. They bond as the four musketeers realize it is all for one and one for all. Danielle Steel has written her strongest tale in years with this inspirational saga of four sisters coming together seeking solace from a tragedy, but slowly with the help of one another obtaining so much more. Readers will appreciate each of the siblings as unique individuals with personality's flaws that hamper them from becoming a complete person. This strong novel hooks the audience from the opening scene in Paris to the final look back at the wager they made one year earlier.

The Strangler
William Landay
Delacorte
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0385336152 $24.00 1-800-726-0600

In 1962 Boston, someone shoots and kills Irish-American police officer Joe Daley, Sr. in an alley while he is on duty. His three sons, Joe the cop, Ricky the thief, and Michael the lawyer grieve the loss of the family patriarch while the widow, their mother Margaret, did her grieving gig for a year and now lives with the late cop's partner, Brendan Conroy. Her offspring detest Brendan and are angry with their mother for sleeping with the person they hold culpable in their dad's death as they wonder if he set up Joe to walk point into an ambush and why a cop killer has not been caught. However the three sons have their own issues to contend with. To pay off his enormous gambling debt to the mob Joe Jr., works for Vinny "The Animal" Gargano. Gangster Capobianco wants Rickey beaten to a pulp for stealing diamonds from someone who pays the hooligan for protection. Michael, who works in Eminent Domain Division of the Attorney General's Office insists that Albert DeSalvo is not the Strangler, but instead just a lunatic seeking fifteen minutes of fame. When Ricky's girlfriend Amy is murdered with the Strangler' MO while DeSalvo is a guest of the state, the Attorney General claims he did the crime anyway; Michael with the help of his siblings investigates the latest homicide. Using the Boston Strangler as a key link and reference point, William Landay provides a fascinating look at family bonds cemented by an odd form of honor and even stranger type of justice. The tale also implies that DeSalvo was not the Strangler, but Mr. Landay employs his theory more as an aside in support of his overall theme of unity during a crisis. Suspense thriller fans will appreciate this fine historical thriller.

Simply Magic
Mary Balogh
Delacorte
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0385338236 $22.00 1-800-726-0600

In Bath twenty-three years old Susanna Osbourne is contented with her life as a teacher at Miss Martin's School for Girls. To her the school is home because ever since her father left her over a decade ago she has felt alone and fears to love somebody as those who matter leave you alone. When Susanna meets handsome Viscount Peter Edgeworth, she immediately considers him an inconsequential flirt. He on the other hands thinks she is a rustic boob who never left the classroom. However he also finds her rejection fascinating and thinks there is a bit of a mystery behind the teacher that he plans to explore. Surprisingly, though somewhat disparaging of one another, they become friends although both fears exploring the attraction that simmers in each of their minds. The third Simply Regency romance (see SIMPLY UNFORGETTABLE and SIMPLY DANGEROUS) is a delightful tale starring two interesting protagonists whom if first impressions mean anything should never have forged a loving relationship, but a game of cat and mouse gives them the needed time to do so. On the surface Susanna and Peter appear like typical regency characters; however Mary Balogh makes their relationship an engrossing SIMPLY PERFECT (next book) read.

Command Decision
Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey
0345491599 $24.95

In the very distant future whole galaxies have been colonized by humans and the ISC has created the ansible system which allows instantaneous communication between worlds and solar systems. Gammis Turek leads a pirate empire that has knocked out much of the ansible system making trade very difficult. One of the first targets of the pirate empire was Vatta Transport and Vatta Enterprises killing most of the family members. The remaining family members are determined to continue. Stella is now CEO of Vatta Enterprises the entire fleet has ship to ship ansibles so that a threatened ship can communicate with one another instantly. She is also successful in reviving the trading part of the company. Kylara has a fleet of three ships that make up the new Space Force and she hopes to get other worlds to join them and get the ship to ship ansibles put in their ships. The outcome of a battle between Ky's forces the ISC and the pirates will determine if Ky's enterprise will be a success. Readers who like the Honor Harrington works of military fiction will thoroughly enjoy the Vatta's war series starring a stubborn, dedicated heroine who intends to take the war to the enemy and defeat them. Elizabeth Moon's Vatta books are filled with plenty of action especially when a coup topples the ISC leadership and places a rebel in power which could help Ky succeed in her quest.

From the Notebook of Dr. Brain
Minister Faust
Del Rey
c/o Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0345466373 $13.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

Most of the superheroes suffer from differing mental problems, but fighting their adversaries, supervillains, has proven a terrific release of aggression that enables them to stay emotionally healthy. It has also given this group of brave men and women a cause to live and occasionally die for. However, the worst that could happen occurs to the superheroes when they defeat their super foes leaving them with no one to vanquish and their quest ends. Now these renowned heroes who no longer have to save the world turn to therapist Dr. Eva Brain-Silverman for treatment for such problems as an inability to score without wearing a mask or having split personalities unless they happen to be in denial. This is an amusing satirical look at the psychological reactions of our greatest superheroes after they have won the war and are no longer needed. The members of the Fantastic Order of Justice need help to adapt to a peacetime environs so Dr. Brain tries to assist them in letting go of their anger. Fans of comic book superheroes will fully enjoy this lampooning while pondering the ultimate universe question of the boomers: what would have happened to Lois if Superman had a super orgasm with her.

The Poisoned Crown
Amanda Hemingway
Del Rey
c/o Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0345460804 $12.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

In the English village of Eade lives an extraordinary group of people. There is the sorcerer who is several millennia old.; Anne who followed her dead lover into death and was raped by a man from another world; the fledgling witch Hazel and Nathan who contains a portal in his mind so that when he sleeps he travels to other worlds in spirit and sometimes in body. During his travels he meets the Grandir, the ruler of a cosmos that has died with only one planet Eos hosting some life. Nathan likes the Grandir and helps him to perform the Great Spell which will supposedly fix the problem of magic causing pandemic death of a cosmos. So far Nathan has retrieved the Sword and the Cup on two different worlds and now seeks the crown on the underwater realm of Widewater where it is held in an underwater cavern of air by the goddess Nefanu. The goddess wants the mermen folk to go to war with the beings in the north since she hates all air breathers. Nathan wants to prevent the war and retrieve the crown but his troubles are far from over; in fact, they are just beginning. THE POISONED CROWN, an interesting take on the great mythos of the Grail, concludes the Sangreal trilogy, tying up all the loose ends from the previous books in the series. Amanda Hemingway is a fantastic storyteller whose works will appeal to the Harry Potter Crowd and remind boomers of the early fantasy works of Andre Norton. Young adults as well as older discerning readers will find this book thoroughly enjoyable.

Un Lun Dun
China Mieville
Del Rey
c/o Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0345495160 $17.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

London is connected to Un Lun Dun through a variety of ways including climbing up the shelves of a library to turning on a tap. Deeba and Zanna know nothing about this other realm until they find a way of reaching it. When she arrives there Zanna is welcomed as the chosen to defeat the very sentient smog. Unfortunately, she is knocked unconscious when she inhales it. To the rescue comes Brokenbroll, Un Lun Dun's greatest defender with umbrellas that blow away the smog. His friend Instable is working on a method of getting rid of the sentient smug paranormally. Zanna recovers and she and Deena are sent home to their world. Zanna has no memory of all the wonders and trials and tribulations she experienced. Deeba remembers and returns to Un Lun Dun where she finds her sentient milk carton Curdle waiting for her. The smog is spreading and growing more powerful and it is now up to Deeba to find a way to stop it. A sentient book says the only thing the fog is afraid of is the UnGun so she and her allies go to Webminster Abbey where they fight horrible monsters guarding the weapon. If she doesn't find it then Un Lun Dun will be a city of slaves to the smog. Cross Alice Threw The Looking Glass with the Xanth series and reader will have some idea of what Un Lun Dun is all about. Written for a young adult audience, it will be enjoyed by adults who find the Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter charming reading experiences. The heroine is a very special young lady with the heart of a warrior and the dedication of Mother Teresa. The characters are very special and unusual including sentient umbrellas and words made incarnate.

Swordbird
Nancy Yi Fan
HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
0061131008 $15.99 www.harpercollins.com 1-800-242-7737

Turnatt takes control over the hawk population of Stone-Run Forest. He demands loyalty and will punish those who disobey though he can be fickle and inconsistent with his commands. His goal is become the Evil Conqueror and Slayer known as the "Tyrant of Fortress Glooming" that will eventually encompass the entire forest. As his forces attack the other bird species, the blue jays and the cardinals think the other has attacked them. Their hostility is open and war seems imminent with the only winner being Turnatt whose minion caused the argument between the blue and the red. Unless a miracle occurs many will die and a free forest will become a vicious malevolent dictator's realm. However, only the Swordbird, son of the Great Spirit, can prevent the tragedy and return the forest to domestic tranquility for all its creatures. The only problem is the Swordbird is a myth. This is a fascinating well written personification fantasy aimed at the 8-12 years old crowd. Readers will see differing personalities especially between the various bird species. As the non Hawks pray for a hero especially Swordbird, fans will enjoy the confrontation between evil and good.

The Bloomsday Dead
Adrian McKinty
Scribner
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
0743266447 $24.00 1-800-223-2336

He has been on the run for twelve years ever since he turned informer, killed her father and her lover. He broke up the New York mob and went into the witness protection program because there is a bounty on his head put there by Bridget Callaghan. Though he was her lover, Michael betrayed the mob and killed her loved ones but so far he has escaped these assassination attempts. Now he is working as head of security for the Miraflores Hilton in Lima, Peru when two thugs grab him. They call Bridget who tells Micheael Foesythe that her daughter Siobhan disappeared and if he comes to Belfast and finds her, she will call off the hits. Although he doubts her sincerity, he travels to Dublin where two hits are made on his life. He escapes and gets to Belfast where he gets information he needs to begin a search knowing one of Bridget's men Marso will tell kill him regardless of whether he succeeds or not. His search takes him to many places where he kills in self-defense. What he doesn't know is that Bridget has an enemy she knows nothing about and Michael is the bait and her daughter is the prize. Talk about action, THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD starts off at light-speed and swiftly goes to warp drive in a matter of a few pages. None of the characters are very likeable because they rationalize their actions by insisting the end justifies the means. Readers get a pulse for Northern Ireland where one misstep could break the truce and hostilities are still simmering. Adrian McKinty gives the audience a thrill a second which is better than the fastest twisting roller coaster.

Death Pans Out
Ashna Graves
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103 , Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1590583736 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

Her mortality hammered at her mental well-being from two fronts. Forty-five years old Willamette Current reporter Jeneva "Neva" Leopold's mother recently died while she battles breast cancer with a double mastectomy. Needing to emotionally recover perhaps more than physical, Neva hides at the cabin of her Uncle Matthew Burt, who went missing fifteen years ago in desert town Billie Creek, Oregon. Besides healthy outdoor activity, Neva keeps her mind off of the stress of grief and cancer by investigating her uncle's disappearance after he claimed a gold mine and why he and her mom abruptly stopped talking to one another. Neva questions the locals, but soon uncovers the corpse of miner Roy DeRoos. Another miner whom Neva befriended Reese Cotter is accused of the homicide; an allegation that the newcomer refuses to accept as true. However, as she keeps digging, Neva finds strange phenomena while someone wants her to cease and desist or else. This is a terrific investigative thriller whose setting, the Oregonian desert, adds suspense to the tale. Neva is a fine person who turns to her experience and skill (inquiries) to help her regain a lust for life after taking two emotional blasts. The locals add regional eccentricities to a delightful "cold case" mystery, but Neva is the headline star of Ashna Graves' DEATH PANS OUT.

Murdering Americans
Ruth Dudley Edwards
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103 , Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1590584139 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

The Mistress of St. Martha's College in Cambridge, England, Professor Baroness "Jack" Troutbeck accepts an invitation to become a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Freeman State University in New Paddington, Indiana. Leaving behind the House of Lords, Jack, accompanied only by her loquacious (some might say loud mouth � just not in front of Jack) right wing spouting Horace the parrot, expects hotbeds of philosophical debate as seen by 1950s classic movies. Instead Jack is appalled by what she finds in Indiana; and not just the prison food and chlorine water. The campus is owned by the liberal leaning politically correct police called Freeman State University academia who dumb down debate and threaten the essence of civilization dating back to Ancient Athens as no group has ever challenged it before. Ready to wrestle these miscreants into submission, the outraged outrageous right winger begins to make quiet inquiries into the death of the Provost Helen Fortier Pritchardson even as the Baroness struggles with the Americanization of thought starting with Randy the waiter and ending with an amalgam of anti alliterations. Ruth Dudley Edwards provides a take no prisoner satire that rips into the phoniness of political correctness and the perhaps even more phony anti-political correctness by the use of hyperbole and character comparisons. The whodunit is cleverly designed to support the Baroness' foray into life in the proper American Midwest. Lampooning liberals and stinging anti-liberals, Ms. Edwards writes an amusing tale in which the assimilated Americans don't know Jack even after the third war with the Brits ends.

Lipstick and Lies
Margit Liesche
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103 , Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1590583205 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

In 1943 Women Air Forces Service Pilot (WASP) Pucci Lewis flies planes around the country as needed by the military. Pucci also works for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) as a counter spy insuring no axis rings operate within the United States. She flies a B-24 to Willow Run aircraft factory near Detroit. There Pucci stumbles on the corpse of a worker when FBI Agent Dante finds her and informs her that the deceased was a Nazi spy. He further explains they are shadowing another factory employee Otto Renner suspected of giving the Germans aircraft information. Finally he drafts Pucci to go undercover as a caught jewel thief sent to prison. Her assignment behind bars is to determine whether exposed double agent Countess Grace Buchanan-Dineen is working for or crossing the Bureau as she is supposed to obtain evidence against her cohorts. The interrelated cases seem simple enough until Pucci ends up at the Cosmos Club, where she wonders if this spy and counter spy scenario consists of no Nazi sympathizers as the adversaries seem to belong to either the FBI or the OSS. LIPSTICKS AND LIES is a fabulous WWII espionage action adventure that gives the audience a taste of the era from a rarely seen focus; that of a WASP. Besides a fabulous spy thriller and a vivid look at Detroit in 1943, the tale also provides a fascinating undercurrent as the two federal agencies compete rather than cooperate as it is heresy to collaborate; apparently based on the 9/11 Commission that rivalry had not changed as of September 2001 except the OSS morphed into the CIA. Margit Liesche provides a soaring historical thriller that takes off at the onset and never lands until the final quite interesting especially because of who's who confrontation.

Amen Corner
Rick Shefchik
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103 , Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1590584112 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

On medical leave recovering from a gunshot to the knee two years ago that required surgery, Minneapolis Police Detective Sam Skarda played a lot of golf as rehab. Shockingly last summer he won the US Public Links tournament. Thus he receives an invitation to play at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia while his former partner Stensrud tells him to decide whether he is a cop or not. Also in Augusta is recently freed convict Lee Doggett, who as he stepped out of prison, had no one waiting for him because the only person, who cared, his mother, died while he was incarcerated. He blames his plight on his absentee biological father who never raised him. On the tenth hole someone burned the words "THIS IS THE LAST MASTERS" next to the murdered corpse of Rules Committee Chair Harmon Ashby. Doggett learns he killed the wrong person as his target is his father Ralph Stanwick. The media blame a women's protest group and the police look at club members. New Chair David Porter hires Sam to quietly uncover the culprit before anyone else is aced especially on Sunday when the world watches events unfold at AMEN CORNER. This sports mystery will be enjoyed more by golf aficionados than detective fans as the homage to the Masters is the prime theme of the eighteen holes. Readers know Doggett is the killer early on even before he confirms his identity when he watches CNN to learn he murdered the wrong balding sexagenarian white guy. Thus the suspense resides in the cat and mouse encounter between Doggett and Sam still a cop regardless of his doubts. This is an interesting thriller though cluttered with too many golfing and music references whether it is George Archer winning in 1969 paired with "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" or Billy Casper in 1970 teamed with "Bridge Over Troubled Waters", etc.

Disturbing The Dead
Sandra Parshall
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103 , Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1590583787 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

Ten Years ago, Pauline McClure, a rich and desperate Melungeon widow, vanished from her country estate and hasn't been heard from or seen since. She was a child of poverty and racism but the wealthy McClures accepted her because she gave them an heir. In the present on top of the mountains a skeleton is found and dug up. Near the first burial site another skeleton is discovered. The dental records of one of the skulls match Pauline's; police Captain Tom Bridget is out to find the killer. His father was obsessed with the case because it was his first that he failed to solve. When he goes to question Pauline's mother, Mrs. Turner, he runs into her grand-daughter Holly. Holly's mother left the family though she supposedly sends money from time to time. When Tom mentions to veterinarian Rachael Goddard how great Holly is with animals, the vet hires her on the spot even though her grandmother tries to guilt her into staying and her father, Mr. Shackelford, the local drug supplier, uses threats to make her return to her grandmother. Both Holly and Rachel refuse to be intimidated but someone really wants Holly out of the way because she is shot at, the office is torched and her family tries to physically get away from Rachel. Tom is determined to protect Rachel but when another skull is found and he begins to hear rumors about his father's relationship to Pauline, he finds his objectivity is not what it should be. Sandra Parshall is a wonderful storyteller who creates a small rural backwater town where race and class divisions still exist and people of mixed blood are subjected to prejudice. Her characterizations are fantastic especially Tom, who is half Melungeon heartwarming and sensitive willing to give Rachel all the time she needs to figure out what she wants even as he investigates a mystery that creeps closer to home.

Secret Sins
Kate Charles
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103 , Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1590583566 $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com 1-800-421-3976

In London recently ordained Anglican cleric Callie Anson is happy with her relationship with police officer Marco "Mark" Lombardi though he seems to avoid having her meet his Italian family. Callie tries to provide solace to new parishioner Morag Hamilton, who is worried about her beloved preadolescent granddaughter Alex who never goes outside unless she has to; her father Alex is to busy with work and her stepmother Jilly is too busy with her own needs to care that Alex lives on the Internet. While Callie worries about Morag and Alex, Detective Inspector Neville Stewart investigates a missing jogger, computer guru Trevor Norton whose wife is about to give birth. Though he hopes the runner is found okay, Neville fears the worst while welcoming the respite from his personal problems of a maybe romance with the woman he has always loved who dumped him a decade ago. Now Neville has a second vanishing to investigate; that twelve years old Alex whose grandmother reported her missing. The key to this exciting London investigative tale is the extended cast are fully developed three dimensional people who make the several plots merge into a terrific one sitting thriller. Alex is the link that ties the multitude of plots into one superior story line. Readers will want to obtain Kate Charles' fine character driven tale SECRET SINS and the previous novel with much of the same lead players EVIL INTENT.

Christine Falls
Benjamin Black
Henry Holt & Company
175 - 5th Avenue, Suite 400, New York, NY 10010-7725
0805081526 $25.00 www.henryholt.com 1-888-330-8477

In Dublin after a few drinks at an office going away party for a nurse, pathologist Garret Quirke enters his prime work area the morgue only to be stunned by what he sees in spite of being drunk. His stepbrother Dr. Malachy Griffin was sitting at Quirke's desk writing in a file that the pathologist noticed is that of Christine Falls. Too tired to think any further Quirke leaves a nervous Mal behind. After several hours of sleep, Quirke wonders why Mal was at the morgue instead of home with his wife Susan. He begins to look closer at the death of the young maid, Christine Falls, who died during childbirth especially since he knows Mal changed the file. However, whenever he raises a point, he finds the Irish medical establishment protecting one another while the clues take him to Boston. This is terrific 1950s medical thriller that constantly pulls the rig out from underneath the reader with fabulous unexpected yet plausible twists. The subplot in Dublin is foggy and mysterious as the audience alongside the obstinate hero wonders what is going on. The shift to Boston turns more detective like in tone and less sinister, as the clues begin to come together though spins still will fool the reader. Benjamin Black provides a superior medical investigative tale that will have fans clamoring for more work by quirky Quirke.

Ace of Spades
David Matthews
Henry Holt
175 - 5th Avenue, Suite 400, New York, NY 10010-7725
0805081496 $24.00 www.henryholt.com 1-888-330-8477

David Matthews provides an interesting memoir of growing up in racially mixed America. He is the son of an African-American journalist and a schizophrenic white Jewish mother, who deserted the two males just after David was born. Over the years he passed for white at school and in the middle class neighborhoods he and his dad lived in. While his dad spent most time at work, David's grandmother took care of him showering him with love until she died. Without her anchor, he turned to drugs, crime and not caring about anything or anyone. As he left his teens he began to turn his life around trying to come to grips on his mixed racial heritage that had no blocks on the EEOC classification. This is an interesting autobiography of a mixed racial person struggling with his identity and a need to belong. Mr. Matthews provides fascinating anecdotal bios from his life especially growing up in the 1970s and 1980s (pre Tiger Woods' opening the mindset of Americans). Though at times the language feels overly emotional and flowery to invoke reader compassion, ACE OF SPADES is a well written memoir of a zebraic man who is part Black Nationalist and part Jewish intellect in a country that prefers neater stereotyping.

Keeping It Real
Justina Robson
PYR
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591025397 $15.00 www.prometheusbooks.com 1-800-421-0351

No one anticipated what the reactor meltdown of the Texas Superconducting Supercollider would do but it led to a Quantum Bomb explosion that ripped open portals to other realms where magic instead of science was predominant. Five years have passed since the Quantum Bomb Lost Year of 2015, earth is no more at least as we knew it; in fact the name is now Otopia with five other realms while the former earth resides in the fourth area of I-space. Relations with the other realms remain top secret, but between us it is not so good so the Odonian Security Agency was created to combine espionage, antiterrorism, and criminal investigation especially with the third real Demonia sending agents into the neighboring fourth realm to cause mischief and to control magic leaking into Otopia. OSA Special Agent Lila Black, a bomb survivor who has become more than human due to all the technology imbued in her to keep her alive, provides protective services to an elf Zal, who is lead singer of the No Shows band. Zal's manager fears someone wants to kill his star attraction as the elf has received threatening notes. The undercover bodyguard and the obstinate lead vocalist argue over her protecting him because he wants no babysitter. One thing both hide is their desire for the other. The first Quantum Gravity KEEPING IT Real is a strong blending of science fiction and fantasy that fans of both genres will enjoy. The story line is action-packed with the heroine trying to keep the singer safe as attempts on his life occur. Though for someone born in the twenty-first century, Lila has quite history that at times overwhelms the prime plot, fans will root for her as she battles Otopian enemies who want to use Zal as an expendable pawn in a unique cold war that traverses the realms. Hopefully future books will provide fans with more insight into the other realms of elementals, elves, demons, death and fairy.

Fast Forward: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge, Vol. 1
Lou Anders (Editor)
PYR
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591024862 $15.00 www.prometheusbooks.com 1-800-421-0351

In his introduction to what he plans as being a continual science fiction anthology containing all new stories, Lou Anders explains the premise is "making sense of a changing world" as "the implications of technology on society � makes it (SF) the most relevant branch of literature". Bias aside, the contributions of nineteen original shorts and two poems (by Robyn Hitchcock) live up to Mr. Anders' prime objective. The tales focus on people struggling with an exponentially changing world that leaves many behind. The contributors are a who's who of Sci Fi or fantasy to include Larry Niven (with Brenda Cooper), Justina Robson, Stephen Baxter and Louise Marley. All the entries are strong with the best being those concentrating on everyday people dealing with commonplace technology like Paul Di Filippo's Wikiworld" and Justina Robson' The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One" (in Mappa Mundi world) and those bringing the past into the future such as Tony Ballantyne's "Aristotle OS and Ken McLeod's "Jesus Christ, Reanimator". This is a fun collection that forecasts where technology will take humans including those left behind struggling with yesterday's artifacts.

Gradisil
Adam Roberts
PYR
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591025389 $15.00 www.prometheusbooks.com 1-800-421-0351

Decades after the last moon landing, NASA still struggles with strategic objectives and vision. Many of the wealthy class feels NASA is a failed earthbound bureaucracy that cannot get a mission to reach the stars. In 2059, wealthy American Kristin Janzen Kooistra makes a deal to pay an exorbitant fee to hide from her government in the "Uplands". Now Gradisil's grandfather has the finances to turn over the paradigm caused by that former Nazi von Braun when he persuaded the Americans to go fixed wing aircraft in the 1940s and 1950s. Thus he builds airtight flying houses to orbit the earth with families residing inside them that will be free of government intervention and intercession on their lives. Over the decades however, the earthbound governments especially the tax hungry United States see things differently from the Utopian freedom lovers. Told in three parts with the first two sections being novel length and the final segment more of a coda novella, GRADISIL is a much more complex tale than the above paragraph provides in order to avoid giving away what happens to those orbiting the planet. The story line follows the orbiters over several decades as a stratospheric Utopia is under increasing scrutiny from below. Key players like Gradisil come across as fully developed yet lacking a motive of why anyone would voluntarily live such a limiting lifestyle. Sort of turning Swift's of Gulliver Part III, The flying island of Laputa, upside down, Adam Roberts captures the attention and imagination of cerebral science fiction fans with his tale of a nation in the sky formed from courage and conviction not continual conquest.

Nineteen Minutes
Jodi Picoult
Atria Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas , New York, NY 10020
0743496728 $26.00 www.simonsays.com

It takes nineteen minutes to kill nine students and one teacher and wound 18 students to the extent that they need to be hospitalized. On March 6 2007, Seventeen year old student Peter Haughton put a pipe bomb he constructed n a student's car as a diversion than went to Sterling High School where he shot a student on the steps, went into the cafeteria wounded and injured a few more, walked the hallways leading to the gym and into the locker room where his killing spree ended when police detective Patrick DuCharme ordered him by gunpoint to drop his weapon. He was carrying two handguns, two shotguns, and some incendiary devices. Peter tells his lawyer that he killed those who made his life hell since he was in kindergarten when one of the bullies threw his lunchbox out of the school bus window. Peter has been systematically abused verbally, emotionally and physically for the last twelve years because he was a misfit who didn't fit in. His only friend Josie, the daughter of Judge Alex Cormier, was the catalyst that drove him over the edge. His only friend Josie dumped him to be one of the in-crowd and be Matt Reyson's girlfriend. Matt is the last person that Peter killed. His defense attorney Jordan McAfee has to plan a defense even though his client was caught on tape killing students and there were hundreds of witnesses who saw him do the shooting. Jodi Picard blends a legal thriller with a family drama and comes up with a fascinating (in a macabre way) work of mainstream fiction. The author doesn't ever excuse what Peter did but through the use of flashbacks and rotating perspectives shows how years of torture erupted in a killing spree. Although readers will loathe Peter for what he did, they will understand that it takes a village to raise a child and in the case of Sterling, New Hampshire, everyone, including his own parents, failed in some way.

Restore My Heart
Cheryl Norman
Medallion Press, Inc.
1020 Cedar Lane, No. 2N, St. Charles, IL 60174
1932815864 $6.99 www.medallionpress.com

Financial wizard Joe Desalvo regrets he did not come home to Louisville more frequently as he feels guilt that he failed to recognize the signs that his dad was depressed enough to commit suicide. Joe's mom believes her beloved Leo would never kill himself; she thinks he was murdered. Joe is unable to persuade his mother otherwise. Sally Clay's bought the Mustang Sally classic car restoration business from her Uncle Sal in hope that her dad would be motivated to get out of the house to work on the autos. Her business is in trouble due to new competition and the death of her best customer Leo of Bloom-Desalvo Motors. When Joe arrives with a rare 1954 Kaiser Darrin sports car that his dad bought the day before he died, Sally is excited until she looks under the hood and finds a Ford engine inside the vehicle. She notifies FBI Agent Ferguson and Joe. As they investigate how his knowledgeable father was conned, they fall in love. However, neither realizes someone is watching their every move in case they get to close to the truth. RESTORE MY HEART is an exhilarating romantic suspense thriller starring two likable protagonists. Sally is especially a fascinating lead character as she is wheelchair bound with a father who thinks of her as flawed. Her dad's scorn of her has led the heroine to believe a hunk like Joe would never desire her. Adding to the fine lead characterizations is the gender bending as she knows her cars while he knows how to drive an automatic. Though the villain seems out of left field and the late suspense takes away (can't explain further without a spoiler) from a wonderful contemporary, fans will want to ride with Cheryl Norman's fine Louisville slugger.

The Gold Covenant
Roberta Clark
Medallion
1020 Cedar Lane, No. 2N, St. Charles, IL 60174
1933836016 $6.99 www.medallionpress.com

Renowned historical archeologist Gustav Nikulasson dies in a plane crash. The investigation concludes it is a tragic accident occurred. TV stars of the show Power Line Ivar Whelan and Lawrence Halvern meet in New York with Gustav's daughter Katherine, a reporter; they show her dad's last work, classified research papers with some pages missing, as they want her to join forces with them. She refuses, but assumes that the only person with access to Gustav's notes would be his friend and associate Sheppard Wilde. Katherine journeys to Sheppard's English country estate where she hopes to uncover the truth behind her father's death. However, before she can act on her Wilde suspicions, dangerous art smuggler Enrique Quisette arranges the kidnapping of Katherine. Once he knows she is abducted Wilde fears the daughter of his best friend is expendable if he fails to rescue her soonest. Only because Quisette thinks she knows the secrets he wants involving an ancient race is why he is keeping her alive. He also realizes that to save Katherine he would have to break a vow he made to protect the ancient people; thus he too accepts she is expendable. THE GOLD COVENANT is a fast-paced thriller in which readers like the beleaguered heroine will wonder who is friend and who is foe. The competitors with the exception of the heroine and to a degree Wilde will do anything including kidnapping and murder to obtain the ultimate treasure. Though somewhat convoluted as the story line races from New York to England to Athens and beyond, fans of exhilarating action-packed thrillers will hitch a ride on Roberta Clark's enthralling tale.

An Accidental American
Alex Carr
Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
0812977084 $9.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

The first time she sees John Valsamis in her French countryside driveway, he says nothing before driving away. He returns the next day at the same time saying he needs her help. He wants her to find her former lover Rahim Ali, who he claims is a terrorist recruited by the Islamic Armed revolution; he also shows her pictures of what the LAR has wrought on innocent people. She agrees to help the DOD agent and journeys to Lisbon where he lives as a documents forger. Word gets around that Nicole Blake seeks Rahim Ali. When they finally meet, John shoots Rahim, but before he dies he directs Nicole to go to his office where she finds a suspicious looking document and its forgery. John plans to kill Nicole, but she eludes him while wondering what is going on and why evidence points toward Beirut just after the embassy bombings. Readers who like dark thrillers in the tradition of Le Carre will enjoy AN ACCIDENTAL AMERICAN. Nicole is a gusty quirky heroine who wants to be like her father even though he gave her up to the police. Her years in prison strengthened her resolve. Espionage thriller fans will enjoy her cat and mouse battle with a clever killing machine.

Hunter's Moon
Randy Wayne White
G. P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0399153705 $24.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

Doctor Marion Ford is a marine biologist who runs a store on Sanibel Island that supplies marine samples to labs and schools across the country. He is also something of a spy who came in from the cold although he occasionally gets his feet wet when the situation warrants. When former President Kal Wilson asks him and Tomlinson for their help in exchange for a presidential pardon, they both agree but not because they were coerced; they respect the man who has a one million dollar bounty on his head. The Panama Canal is owned by a radical fundamentalist and his mentor Allif Halibi is an Islamic cleric who ordered the Fatwa because of Wilson's beliefs that a group of religious fanatics want to start the apocalypse. Wilson's wife was murdered along with six others on aplane that he was supposed to be on. Wilson is determined to avenge his wife's death and he needs Tomlinson's mysticism and Ford's pragmatism to do it. Randy Wayne White has written a chilling thriller that will have readers feeling as if they are unable to catch their breath. Kal Wilson is one of the most likeable secondary characters in the Ford series. He needs to kill his wife's murderer who turns out to be Ford's enemy and has a limited time to achieve it. He also takes a stand in Panama on what he thinks of Islamic terrorists in a way that resonate with the audience. In other words, Kal steals the show.

The Long Road Home
Martha Raddatz
G. P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0399153829 $24.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

This is a terrific true bird's eye view of life on the ground in Iraq especially starting with April 2004 Sade City bloodbath that killed eight American troops. TV journalist Martha Raddatz interviews the soldiers caught in street fighting against the Mahdi militia in what was considered a babysitting mission until all hell broke out. The author also takes the audience back to the states to meet family members who lost loved ones. There are no political spins like recent claims the bombing of the mosque last year started the insurgency. Or even a worse lie that the American people are sacrificing to bring democracy to Iraq, Ms. Raddatz makes it clear from one small concise chapter to the next that in the United States only the soldiers and their family members are sacrificing. What have I given up � nothing; not even taxes to pay the war costs or the subsequent reequipping bill; while the military in some cases have lost their lives or limbs.

Relentless Pursuit: A Story of Family, Murder, and the Prosecutor Who Wouldn't Quit
Kevin Flynn
G. P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
039915406X $25.95 www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515

In 1993 Katrina Hawkins was only thirteen when she and her mother Diane Hawkins were brutally murdered in their Washington DC home. Still even with the horror of the killer cutting out Katrina's heart, no one would do more than a superfluous investigation as these were two poor inconsequential nobodies; that is proven when they were buried in Maryland with Diane having no marker as her family could not buy one for her and her daughter. However, federal homicide prosecutor Kevin Flynn, a father of a little girl at that time, was (and still is) haunted by the killings even as his father was dying from cancer. He needed to bring justice to the Hawkins extended family. Ultimately with the help of Detective Dean Combee, who was stunned by the domestic violence that took two seemingly innocent lives, they find the killer. This is a deep, moving and graphic at times account of the real investigation into the murders of the Hawkins females. However, the well written true crime book is much more as Kevin Flynn makes a heart felt plea that all of us must do much more to stop domestic violence especially against women and children. His RELENTLESS PURSUIT provided some closure for the family and for himself, but Mr. Flynn knows this is one case that he too will take to his grave; so will readers after this harrowing case of the "prosecutor who wouldn't quit".

There Goes the Bride
Lori Wilde
Warner Books, Inc.
1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 913, New York, NY 10020
0446618454 $6.99 www.twbookmark.com 1-800-759-0190

In Houston the upcoming marriage between Delaney Cartwright and her fiance orthopedic surgeon Dr. Evan van Zandt makes all of the societal pages of newspapers and magazines. However, the bride has doubts although she admits her fiance is a nice likable person; she wants sparks and there are none. She even agreed to his suggestion no sex until they marry because she does not expect to miss it at least with Evan. Delaney stops at a consignment shop that sells wedding attire; there she buys a veil that seems to be calling to her and makes a wish to get out of her nuptials. Her friends persuade her to abduct Evan and have her way with him. Instead she almost kidnaps Evan's patient, undercover Detective Dominic Vanetti, whom she has seen in a vision when she first touched the veil. Still her plan now is to hire someone to abduct her so she does not have to say I do, but someone else has the same agenda with a different outcome. THERE GOES THE BRIDE is a Wilde madcap contemporary romance with paranormal elements. Delaney is a nice person that readers will not initially respect because of her fear of behaving wrongly in the eyes of her societal mother. That includes avoiding telling her she does not want to wed Evan; this leads to her concocting this maniacal scheme even as she knows her fiance is a kind person deserving better treatment from her.. Ironically her plot becomes real with the cause inadvertently being the prime reason her mother demanded proper behavior from her, her late older sister and her father.

The Leopard Prince
Elizabeth Hoyt
Warner
1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 913, New York, NY 10020
0446618489 $6.99 www.twbookmark.com 1-800-759-0190

In 1760 twenty-eight years old Georgina Maitland is wealthy so she can enjoy being single; she has no plans for a spouse as that means giving up her independence. When her sister pleads with her to return to the family estate in Yorkshire, she flees London with her land manager Harry Pye. At her home she learns that their neighbor Magistrate Silas Granville blames Harry for poisoning his sheep and demands she fire him before he arrests him. George refuses and directs Silas to leave her home. As tension mounts because Silas and Harry have a history involving his father, George and her estate manager fall in love. However, he will do nothing to jeopardize her position while she fears losing her autonomy if she boldly goes after the man she loves. This is an interesting Georgian romance between an aristocrat and her commoner employee that showcases what happens when a person in authority abuses their public trust. The story line is at its best when it concentrates on the lead pair including incidents fostered on them by their odious neighbor. Silas is so nasty he is more a caricature of an abusive person though his actions serve as a warning not to allow one person so much authority even in a localized setting. He affirms Lord Acton's admonition on power and another of his cautionary commentaries that "Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity". Elizbath Hoyt provides an exhilarating historical romance that will have waiting for the next prince to appear.

Kitty Takes a Holiday
Carrie Vaughn
Warner
1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 913, New York, NY 10020
0446618748 $6.99 www.twbookmark.com 1-800-759-0190

Kitty Norville hosts a radio show that deals with the creatures of the night as she is an expert since she also happens to be a werewolf who was publicly outed when she changed in a visible place (KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR). After the Senate Hearing Committee she testified at and the events in Washington DC (see KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON), Kitty decides to lay low taking time off to write a book. Her vacation abruptly ends when Cormac the bounty hunter arrives at her cottage with a friend. Ben was bitten by a werewolf in New Mexico and wants to die. Something that looks like a werewolf is following Ben and Cormac. This creature has killed farm animals. Kitty has been magically attacked by locals who do not know what they have wrought as they have brought evil to the area. She and Cormac know they must stop the malevolence, if they fail they die (if fortunate that is) while if they succeed they will still have to pay an exorbitant price. KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY continues with the new twist of adding a humorous chick lit flavor to the werewolf mythos with another winning paranormal romantic suspense. When Ben turns, he becomes Kitty's pack of one and that adds a romantic element that rings true even in this supernatural setting. Kitty has become a modern day alpha woman even though she feels otherwise as she helps Ben with his initial conversion, tries to save the townsfolk from what they did, and is determined to kill or be killed when she battles the malevolence. Carrie Vaughn writes another biting thriller.

Sight Unseen
Samantha Graves
Warner
1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 913, New York, NY 10020
0446618381 $6.99 www.twbookmark.com 1-800-759-0190

Raven Callahan has a unique job description of legalized thief as she recovers stolen art for the Antiquities Preservation Institute (API) to return to the lawful owner. API management including Raven's immediate supervisor "Bigs" Bigley recognize that she is the best recovery agent in their firm. What they do not know is why she is so superior to the rest. She has psychometric skills sothat when she touches something her five senses receive images, sounds and feelings. A killing maniac has kidnapped her current partner Walter; threatening to kill him if Raven fails to steal Vassalo's self portrait from Matador's Auction House in Miami. However, also at the auction house is former cop David "Dax" Maddox who recognizes Raven. He is on a vendetta since he left the force following the murder of his police partner, which he blames himself for; he needs to destroy the killer. Reluctantly tied to a mad man's death threats, Dax and Raven must team up, but neither trusts the other as a thief and a cop, even a legal thief and a former cop, see the world from different perspectives. This is a refreshing paranormal romantic suspense thriller in spite of combining two overly used recent themes that of the art thief with that of the psychic. Though Raven's skills are more obvious and legit in some ways she will remind the audience of Blanche in Hitchcock's Family Plot. Dax adds to the investigation as he has his own agenda and as a cop distrusts burglars even those allegedly legit. Fans of psychic romantic investigative thrillers will want to read the brisk, unique and fun SIGHT UNSEEN in one sitting.

Dead Shot
Annie Solomon
Warner
1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 913, New York, NY 10020
044661632X $6.99 www.twbookmark.com 1-800-759-0190

People either love or loathe the gruesome self-portraits of photographer Gillian Gray. However, she has only one person that she wants to provoke, the culprit who murdered her mother years ago while she was nearby. She wants this unknown beast to come after her, which is why she has allowed a showing of her work in Nashville at the Gray Visual Arts Center sponsored by her wealthy grandparents. Carleco Security is assigned to protect Gillian especially from protestors who might turn violent. When an incident occurs during the opening gala, former cop turned personal security specialist Ray Pearce reacts instantly; no one is hurt, but Gillian's grandparents demand he personally keeps her safe. Her message to the killer has reached someone as people are being murdered and posed to emulate Gillian's images. As a confrontation seems in the works shortly, Ray and Gillian fall in love, but first she must complete her quest and he must keep her safe by preventing her from completing her quest. DEAD SHOT is an exciting romantic suspense thriller starring two individuals who differ on her quest with he worried about her safety while she offers herself as a target. The story line focuses on the relationship between these stubborn lead protagonists. Though using herself to coax out her mother's killer, who may be dead after all this time, seems a stretch, no one will care deeply as Annie Solomon hooks her audience with the first spilled blood and never lets go until the final DEAD SHOT reckoning occurs.

Knight's Prize
Sarah McKerrigan
Warner
1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 913, New York, NY 10020
0446618861 $6.99 www.twbookmark.com 1-800-759-0190

In 1136 Miriel of Rivenloch is happy that her two older sisters, the Warrior Maids of Rivenloch have found men (see LADY DANGER and CAPTIVE HEART). With the addition of these strong males and their Knights of Cameliard, Rivenloch is defended apparently quite solidly. However, being the third Warrior Maid, though no one recognizes her as such since she is petit Miriel keeps a vigil as the outlawed Shadow. However her teacher Sung Li tells her in his cryptic way that the night comes to swallow the shadow. Soon afterward the Lord of Morbrach hires mercenary knight Sir Rand la Nuit to capture the notorious Shadow. She notices him lurking in the nearby forest while he hears her quiet movement. When he arrives at the castle, as a cover he claims he came to court Miriel, whose name he keeps saying wrong. She wanting to learn what he is hiding so she kisses him saying they met at a tournament. The game of love and sleuthing has just begun. The final Warrior Maids tale is a terrific ending to a wonderful mediieval romance trilogy as impressions prove false. The cast makes the story line. Sarah McKerrigan's appreciative fans will adore the hero who courts the third Maid. It is funny that unlike the audience he doesn't realizing she is also the criminal he hunts. Miriel is an interesting protagonist able to perform feats that most westerners cannot because of her teacher, the fascinating Sung Li. Fans will enjoy this Night's prize as he tries to capture the heart of the shadowy Warrior Maid.

Fit To Be Tied
Karen Kendall
Signet Books
c/o New American Library
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0451220781 $6.99 1-800-847-5515

In the Hartford area, this should be the happiest day of her life. Yet with each step towards the altar and the groom, Jen Canby feels like a condemned woman facing a firing squad. She wonders how she ended up on death row, as kindhearted Tom Brookhaven calmly waits apparently due to imbibing for her to exchange I do with him. Cowardly she goes through the vows rather than flee as her gut insists she do because $35,000 would go down the toilet. At the ceremony afterward, Jen's parents are living up to what she expects from them, causing havoc as they fight publicly over every nuance. Their upcoming divorce sounds like the Paris Peace Accords to end some war. Tom is drunk when an uninvited six foot amazon arrives claiming she is the groom's former wife. Perhaps Jen needs a divorce or an annulment though she admits to herself she loves Tom, but her only concern is who would gain custody of the dog. Though humorous, contemporary readers will want to admonish Jen for not taking the time to talk with her new husband instead of saying I do want a divorce as she insists after she feels he got drunk to marry her and hid his first wife from her, which reminds her too much of her parents. Tom tries to atone for his poor performance, but Jen refuses to listen to his apologies. Told from Jen's perspective only, the audience sees the dysfunctional relationships (there are several) from her limited tainted viewpoint. Karen Kendall provides a lighthearted chick lit tale that has amusing moments and asides, but Jen fails to obtain reader empathy.

Murder of a Botoxed Blonde
Denise Swanson
Signet Books
c/o New American Library
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0451221419 $6.99 1-800-847-5515

Scumble River school psychologist Skye Denison is now a paid consultant in the SRPD. Margot Avanti, owner of a beauty spa and resort on the old Brufeld Estate, asks the "Nancy Drew of Scumble River" to investigate vandalism with holes in the ground and walls that keep appearing. Margot assumes it is treasure hunters seeking the rumored buried jewels hidden by the former owner allegedly somewhere on the property or inside the converted building. Skye first says no but her best friend persuades her and asks to come along as her guest so she won't have to host Thanksgiving for a horde of relatives. From the very beginning she knows she isn't the stereotype type of the guest with the emphasis on beauty and being thin. When one of the women, a former high profile model is murdered, the chief of police wants Skye to help on the investigation. While she is delving into her inquiries, treasure hunters keep appearing on the property and valuable items go missing. The staff have secrets that they are hiding but which one has a secret so deadly he or she is willing to kill to keep it from being revealed. The Scumble River mysteries are one of the most satisfy cozy series on the market today. The heroine is a perfect role model for anyone. She sticks to her beliefs but isn't inflexible, is strong enough to accept her full figure size and is bold enough to solve a whodunit that has the police stymied. The romantic triangle between her, Simon the undertaker, and Wally the chief of police jazzes up an already satisfying storyline.

What's A Ghoul to Do?
Victoria Laurie
Signet Books
c/o New American Library
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0451220900 $6.99 1-800-847-5515

M.J. Holiday was always able to see and speak to ghosts so she became a medium and her clients would ask her to try to contact their loved ones. Although she was very successful and the money was rolling in, she changed directions and became a ghost buster helping spirits move on. She works with computer guru Gilley Gillespie who loves the computer world but is afraid to go into a haunted house. Dr. Steven Sable contacts M.J. because he wants her to contact his father's ghost (which he has seen) in his lodge. The police say he committed suicide by jumping off the roof but Steven is positive that his grandfather wasn't suicidal. When they arrive at the lodge M.J. contacts three ghosts but none of them seem to want to talk to her. In the meantime they have a bigger problem. Steven's father who had never acknowledged him is in town and it is obvious he wants something and will do anything to get it. Steven and Laurie intend to stop him but they need the help of the ghosts to do it. This paranormal cozy mystery is a ghost lovers' delight. They play a small but crucial plot in this fast paced tale. Victoria Laurie is a storyteller who charms her audience with benevolent ghosts, a romantic interest for M.J. and a smashing and surprising climax. Each ghost has their own personally which adds to the atmosphere of WHAT'S A GHOUL TO DO? The writer uses words to create a novel so that readers see the paranormal with the mind's eye.

Dragon Lovers
Jo Beverley Karen Harbaugh, Mary Jo Putney, Barbara Samuel
Signet Books
c/o New American Library
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0451220390 $14.00 1-800-847-5515

"The Dragon And The Virgin Princess" by Jo Beverly. The people of Saragond choose Rozlinda as the Sacrificial Virgin Princess to the Dragon. Seyer Rouar the Dragoner marries Rozlinda. He takes his spouse to his home to complete the fertility sacrifice so the Dragons can lay eggs before they die out, but falls in love with the needed expendable female. "The Dragon And The Dark Knight" by Mary Jo Putney. William of Penruth promises Sir Kenrick of Rathbourne land if he kills a dragon. On Dragon Island, instead of slewing the beast, he rescues the beauty Ariane from mercenaries, but only her healing prowess saves his life when they nearly kill him. As the slayer and the protector fall in love, dragons divide them. "Anna And The King Of Dragons" by Karen Harbaugh. Soon after the Vanderzee family arrived on Kyushu Island, Japan, an accident kills her parents, leaving Anna alone to grieve. Near a pond, a noise startles her and Anna falls over the edge, but Ryu-kami-sama the Dragon Lord saves her life. He demands books in payment for her life. When thugs attack Anna, Samurai warrior, Nakagawa Toshiro rescues her. What will he wa

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