Do Books Make You Hungry Or Is It Just Me?
Liz Jasper always enjoyed writing, but in college and graduate school dutifully studied things that would make her “marketable.” Fortunately, she loved her stint as a middle school science teacher (most of the time), her time working as a business analyst and still really enjoys her most recent career switch into financial planning.
And yet…while teaching, doing five-page math problems in graduate school, and doing some serious bonding with Excel, she kept haunting bookstores and compulsively read her way through the library system’s fiction sections in three counties. She took unreasonable joy in fact that, while she very properly interned for a bank during business school, part of what she did for them was write magazine articles. The award she’s secretly most proud of? Her high school English department award.
Being a clever analyst, she eventually admitted she’d always wanted to write novels. And then she went ahead and wrote one. She shoved that in a drawer, took some classes and started again.
Why does she always end up writing paranormals? After five years teaching middle school followed by way too much crunching numbers, writing about blood-sucking demons is only natural.
Liz is the award-winning author of the humorous vampire mysteries Underdead and Underdead in Denial. Look for her next book, Crimson in the Very Wrong Fairy Tale, coming soon!
Is it just me or do other people get terrible food cravings when they read about a character eating something?
British novels are the worst for me. I cannot make it through one without ending up in the kitchen mid-way through making pots of tea and snarfing down tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off. And I’m a coffee drinker and a crust eater. The worst is when they eat bread and butter. I have no idea why I must have it when I read about someone in Britain eating bread and butter but I cannot control myself. It’s so bad that just thinking about it as I write this, I’ve had to stop no fewer than two times for bread with butter.
I don’t always feel this way when I read (thank goodness or I’d never make it out of the kitchen). Not once, for instance, have I felt the need to stand over the sink and eat a peanut butter and olive sandwich when I read a Janet Evanovich novel. But then I will never want a PB&O sandwich so perhaps that’s not so surprising.
The funny thing is that I don’t really get food cravings when I read her novels and it isn’t because of the PB&O sandwiches. Her heroine, Stephanie Plum, eats just about every junk food on the planet (God love her).
Why is it that I can’t get through Martha Grimes without having a high tea emergency and yet Stephanie can eat birthday cake in front of me and I’m not shoving people aside to get down to the local bakery? Â And I really, really, really like birthday cake.
I figured this was just one of those odd little things until the day after Christmas when I overheard this:
Liz’s Dad: (Calling from the kitchen, late at night, sounding confused): Do you want jam on it? Or ham or something?
Liz’s Mom: (Answering back from the bedroom): No! Just bread and butter. And tea. Don’t forget the tea!
Liz: (Races into her mothers room): You! You’re reading a British book, aren’t you?
Liz’s Mom: (Holding book protectively to her chest and regarding Liz with alarm as she snarfs  down a piece of bread slathered with butter.) Yes, why?
Quite possibly I suffer from a terrible genetic anomaly. So I must know. Does anyone else crave food when they read about it? What’s the worst for you? What’s the weirdest? What’s the most you’ve done to get something you’ve read about?
Everyone who leaves a comment gets a chance to win an ebook of Underdead. If you
send me to the kitchen, I’ll throw your name in the hat twice! If I have to get in the car
and go to the store on an emergency run, you’ll be entered three times.
Winner to be announced Sunday, January 29th.
January 27, 2012
Posted in: Contests/Giveaways, Guest Blogs 
No Comments
Book Review: Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon
Adrien English Mysteries
Josh Lanyon
Loose ID, May 2007
ISBN 978-1-59632-465-7
Ebook
This edition contains the first two novels in the series, Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing.
Fatal Shadows introduces us to Adrien English, who lives above his Old Pasadena bookstore and is rudely awakened one morning by a pair of detectives, Chan and Riordan, The pair have come to give him the bad news that his employee and long-time friend has been murdered. Not only do they want to know Adrien’s whereabouts at the time of the crime but also whether Adrien was sleeping with Robert. It becomes obvious that the detectives think Robert’s homosexuality had something to do with his death and Riordan in particular seems to have a need to show his manliness. It soon strikes Adrien that he himself may be a target of the murderer but Riordan doesn’t take him seriously. In the meantime, small facts here and there lead Adrien to suspect a connection to his and Robert’s high school days and the body count begins to grow. That’s not all that’s growing though—Adrien can’t help an increasing attraction to Jake Riordan who may or may not be interested in return.
In A Dangerous Thing, Adrien takes a brief vacation to a ranch he inherited near Sonora, leaving his rather strange employee, Angus, in charge of the bookstore. He hopes the peace and solitude will help him break the writer’s block he’s having with his second novel but, just before arriving, he discovers a body lying in the road. Not being a stupid man, Adrien races back down the road and finally reaches someone in the Sheriff’s office. Unfortunately, by the time the sheriff and his deputy arrive, the dead man is gone. A long-lost gold mine, a trespassing team of archaeologists who think Adrien is the trespasser, a field of nicely-growing pot, an 1857 stagecoach robbery and more missing bodies (alive or not) ramp up the tension that Adrien was hoping to escape for a few days. Will Detective Jake Riordan come to the rescue or will perhaps Adrien be the one who rescues Jake after a fashion?
In case it isn’t obvious the two main characters (and some others) are gay but this really is no surprise if the reader does a minimum of research first. The mysteries are light but intriguing puzzles and, although there is some romance (and just plain sex), it’s a pretty good blend. I don’t particularly like to read sex scenes but, in this case, it’s not because the characters are gay—I don’t like it with hetero couples either. So, how did I deal with it? Simple. I used my trusty finger and the touch screen to move on down the road. On the other hand, as a former bookseller, I really enjoyed the details about Adrien’s bookstore, especially the squirrelly writing group and the peculiarities of Angus.
The author has an extensive body of work, plenty to keep a reader going for quite some time, and these are the first two of five installments of the Adrien English Mysteries. I’ll be looking for the next three which, unfortunately, will take me to the end of the series and then I’ll just have to try a lot of Lanyon‘s other books. I expect they’ll be every bit as entertaining as Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2012.
January 26, 2012
Tags: bookseller, California, GLBT, Loose ID, mystery, police procedural, romance, serial killer Posted in: Full Reviews, My Reviews One Comment
Book Review: Naked Heat by Richard Castle
Naked Heat
Richard Castle
Hyperion, April 2011
ISBN 9780786891368
Mass Market Paperback
“All right, fellas, I’ve got my first odd sock.” The detective’s approach to a crime scene, even one in this much disarray, was to simplify her field of view. She pared everything down to getting inside the logic of the life that was lived in that space and using that empathy to spot inconsistencies, the small thing that didn’t fit the pattern. The odd sock.
Raley and Ochoa came across the room to her. Rook adjusted his position at the perimeter to follow quietly from a distance. “Whatcha got?” asked Ochoa.
“Work space. Busy work space, right? Big newspaper columnist. Pens everywhere, pencils, custom notepads and stationery. Box of Kleenex. Look at this beside her here.” She stepped carefully around the body, still cast backward in the office chair. “A typewriter, for God’s sake. Magazines and newspapers with clippings snipped out of them, right? All that stuff makes lots of what?”
“Work,” said Raley.
“Trash,” said Rook, and Heat’s two detectives turned slightly his way and then back to Heat, unwilling to acknowledge him as part of this exchange. Like his season pass had expired.
Capsule summary: NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat’s investigation into the murder of a prominent gossip columnist reunites her with investigative journalist Jameson Rook.
Capsule review: I’ll be honest: I wouldn’t have read this if I weren’t a fan of the TV show Castle. As your standard mystery-thriller, Naked Heat is neither exceptionally good nor exceptionally bad. It was an enjoyable read, a weekend well spent. The real fun in reading it, though, comes from spotting echoes of the previous season (for example: yes, “Schlemming” makes an out-of-the-blue appearance) and, if you ship Castle and Beckett like I do, reading the dedication and acknowledgements for hints to where their relationship is headed. So while someone who’s never seen Castle can easily enjoy Naked Heat and the other Nikki Heat novels, familiarity with the show adds an extra layer of meaning and pleasure to reading them.
Reviewed by Laura Taylor, December 2011, on Beyond the Blurb; reprinted here with permission.
January 25, 2012
Tags: fictional author, Hyperion, mystery, New York, police procedural, TV show Posted in: Full Reviews No Comments
You’ve Changed—Has Your Website?
Returning guest blogger Sunny Frazier, whose first novel in the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries, Fools Rush In, received the Best Novel Award from Public Safety Writers Association, is here to remind us all that freshness is not just important for food.
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Websites are now as important for establishing identity as a birth certificate or a driver’s license. Yet, I’ve noticed that once an author puts one up, the site is often forgotten and neglected.
I research authors when they send me query letters in my capacity as acquisitions editor for Oak Tree Press. I like to know who I’m dealing with and, short of doing a background check, websites are all I have to give me an inkling of their accomplishments up to this stage in their careers.
When all of us tentatively dipped our toes in the Internet waters, websites had to be done by techy people who knew the bells and whistles. Their expertise came with a price tag. The evolution of do-it-yourself sites taught us all what a domain name was and put self-made websites within reach. They became the way we reached out to the world.
What prompted me to blog about this is the realization that my own website construction didn’t in any way reflect who I am today. I had evolved but my website was stagnant.
Of course, the bio info hadn’t changed. The past is what it is, I can’t recreate it. The second page was updated to show the covers of both my Christy Bristol mysteries. But, where was any indication of my current status of scouting for authors and creating careers? There was nothing 
showing this progression.
What I saw were pages that no longer had any use. My links page didn’t attract any attention; in fact, other authors were doing it better with a line-up on the perimeters of their sites. I was more interested in their links and using them for my benefit. I scrapped Links and substituted a page showing off covers of books I’d midwifed into print. I included a video of publisher Billie Johnson and I giving our mission statement for Oak Tree Press. I titled the page “Mission: Acquisitions.” Catchy, right?
“On the Road” wasn’t relevant now because kidney failure curtails future public appearances. The nifty idea I had called “The Murder Circle” to promote authors had given away to another nifty idea: “Posse Posts.” The Posse is a marketing group I lead by sending them to websites that expand their knowledge of promotion. Why not make the links available to everyone?
I encourage everyone to examine what your website says about you to the world and try to keep it current with your growth. After all, the idea is to reflect not just who you are but where you’re going in your career.
January 24, 2012
Posted in: Guest Blogs 22 Comments
Book Review: A Question of Fire by Karen McCullough
A Question of Fire
Karen McCullough
Kindle, February 2011
Also available in trade paperback
Re-issue of an out-of-print edition
Cathy Bennett gets stuck with what she considered an assignment from hell when she gets stuck filling in for the society page editor at her paper. A self-described social klutz, and much happier with her usual local government column, attending the party was bad enough; ending up with a dead guy in her lap was way past her job description.
Not only did she witness a murder, the unseen murderer now thinks Cathy knows a lot more than she does. The victim died before giving the full location of evidence he said he had that would clear his brother, Danny, of arson. She feels obligated to Bobby, who died in her arms while trying to give her the information, but doesn’t really know where to start.
Teaming up with Danny’s lawyer, they set out to find the evidence and clear Danny of arson, but find themselves the targets of some genuinely bad dudes.
This story has good plot twists, a little romance, a lot of action, and is a book I enjoyed. I have to admit, I figured out where the evidence was in the first third of the book, but I’m not giving you a clue; buy the book and challenge yourself!
Reviewed by guest reviewer Jinx Schwartz, December 2011.
January 23, 2012
Tags: attorney, ebook, journalist, missing evidence, mystery, romantic suspense, Self-published Posted in: Full Reviews, Guest Reviews One Comment
Setting As Inspiration
Nancy J. Cohen is an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her popular Bad Hair Day series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several titles in this series have made the IMBA bestseller list, while Nancy’s imaginative sci-fi romances have garnered rave reviews. Her latest book, and tenth in her mystery series, is Shear Murder from Five Star. Active in the writing community and a featured speaker at libraries and conferences, Nancy is listed in “Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers” and “Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets”.
Shear Murder, my tenth Bad Hair Day mystery, was inspired by visits to Harry P. Leu Gardens in Winter Park, Florida. This lovely nature park hosts many weddings, so the sight of a bride being photographed among the trees is a common one. Its fifty acres encompasses a camellia collection, the largest formal rose garden in Florida, a historical house dating from the 1880′s, a tropical rainforest, a vegetable and herb garden, plus palm, bamboo and cycad sections, and more. It’s a beautiful setting and one that I couldn’t pass up for my story. The main building where guests enter contains a gift shop and reception rooms for special events.
After taking copious notes and photos at this Central Florida attraction, I came home and proceeded to transform the gardens into an imaginary nature park relocated in Miami. Welcome to the fictional Orchid Isle, where Marla Shore, my intrepid sleuth and hairdresser, is a bridesmaid in her friend Jill’s wedding.
Here’s an excerpt from Shear Murder that gives you a flavor for the setting:
Reaching an intersection, Marla examined the signposts. Even though she had been here last night, she couldn’t remember which way to go. She aimed to find the Bride’s Cottage, where Jill was getting dressed.
Lugging her bag full of supplies, she swiped at her forehead, beaded with sweat. Her lavender gown swished about her ankles as she swatted an insect, cursing the humidity. She’d left behind the other bridal attendants, still primping in a private room across from the banquet hall. They had the benefit of air-conditioning, while she sweltered in the afternoon heat.
An evergreen scent pervaded the moist air, likely from the pine needles used as mulch.
Colorful orchids mingled among the tropical foliage along with red crotons, pink pentas, and Chinese fringe flowers. Dense growth peppered the area, broken by a trickling stream. Alongside the path, green liriope acted as ground cover while moss-draped live oaks and laurel fig trees provided shade. Ferns, palms, and bromeliads competed for space. The wedding would take place in the gazebo by the Rose Garden. Should she go left or right? She couldn’t remember if the wedding site was by the Floral Clock or the House Museum.
All seems innocent and wonderful at this point. However, the tranquil scene quickly turns deadly as you can see in this passage with Marla and her fiancé, Detective Dalton Vail. They are heading through the park toward a rendezvous with a suspect.
Dead pine needles crunched underfoot as they headed over a less traveled path. An evergreen stand brought a fresh pine scent to her nose. It mingled with a wet earthy aroma and chased away the stench of something rotting in the shrubbery.
A cracking noise overhead made her leap aside just as a large branch fell to the ground in a gust of wind. The breeze picked up, ruffling her hair. She hastened along, aware of clouds accumulating in the wakening sky. Dalton remained silent, his gaze wary as they covered ground.
Straight ahead was the greenhouse, the cemetery off to their left. Marla paused to peer at a memorial plaque in front of the grassy area.
“Dear Lord, it’s a pet cemetery, of sorts. Eww.” Dead animals found on the grounds were buried here in accordance with state regulations. A gruesome tribute, to be sure, but one that respected their natural habitat. With a grimace of distaste, she turned away.
Did you get a creepier feeling from this second excerpt? Words such as dead, stench, rotting, cracking, clouds, cemetery, buried—these should coax you into a watchful mood. Sensory details help bring the scene to life: pine needles crunching underfoot, a cracking noise overhead, a breeze ruffling one’s hair, an earthy aroma.
It’s exciting when we can take a setting we’ve researched and show it through our character’s eyes. With careful planning, our heroine’s sensory impressions will engender an emotional response in the reader, and that’s our goal.
Can you name a place you’ve been that would make a great setting? For what type of story?
<><><>
Shear Murder
Who knew weddings could be murder? Hairstylist Marla Shore is weeks away from becoming a bride herself when she walks down the aisle as a bridesmaid at her friend Jill’s ceremony. Things take a turn for the worse when the matron of honor ends up dead, the cake knife in her chest. Now what will they use to cut the cake?
Follow Nancy on her Social Networks:
Leave a comment during Nancy’s blog tour and enter to
win a set of Paua shell jewelry and a signed copy of Shear Murder.
Nancy will announce the winner on January 31st.
January 22, 2012
Posted in: Contests/Giveaways, Guest Blogs 24 Comments
Book Reviews: Vanish by Tess Gerritsen and Vanish In Plain Sight by Marta Perry
Vanish
Tess Gerritsen
Ballantine Books, 2006
ISBN 0345476980
Mass Market Paperback
Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles receives a big shock when the Jane Doe in her morgue suddenly opens her eyes. Jane Doe is rushed to the hospital but before her identity can be discovered, she shoots a security guard and seizes hostages.
One of the hostages happens to be homicide detective Jane Rizzoli. Jane is pregnant and ready to deliver her baby but is in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The police and Jane’s husband FBI Agent Gabriel Dean work frantically to try to get the hostages out but just when they think they have the situation under control a swat team rushes the scene and Jane Doe as well as the man with her is killed.
Jane, her husband and Maura eventually find Jane’s identity and uncover a scheme for bringing young women into this country that reaches into the top levels of the government.
Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, November 2006.
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Vanish In Plain Sight
Marta Perry
Harlequin Books, May 2011
ISBN 978-0373775767
Mass Market Paperback
Link Morgan has returned to his home and family in Lancaster County. Link has inherited his uncle’s old farmhouse and is in the process of preparing the property for sale. Link is planning to sell the farm and move. Link is knocking down the paneling in a later addition to the farmhouse and discovers an old stained and battered suitcase concealed in the wall. The suitcase contains women’s clothing, including an Amish woman’s black apron and a white prayer kapp.  The suitcase also included a photograph of a woman and child. The child is about four or five years old. Link contacts the Spring Township police. The police arrive and take possession of the suitcase.
One of the officers recognizes the woman as Barbara Angelo. Barbara was an Amish woman who came to town to visit relatives. Barbara met and fell in love with Russ Angelo. The couple married and had a daughter, Marisa. The town gossip spread around that Barbara could no longer live in peace away from her Amish family and had gone home to them leaving her husband and her daughter.
Marisa Angelo had grown into a beautiful woman and is very successful as an illustrator of children’s books. When Marisa was contacted by the police, she returned to claim her mother’s suitcase and try to find out what had really happened to her mother. The Amish in the area were not willing to discuss the matter with her. It is only with the help of Link’s mother and Link’s family that she finally began to piece together what really happened so many years ago when she had lost her mother.
The main flaw that I found in the book was the fact that Barbara found herself in danger when she overheard a meeting that was taking place at Link’s uncle’s home but the purpose of that meeting was never revealed in the book. Overall, the book was an enjoyable read.
Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, June 2011.
January 21, 2012
Tags: Amish, Ballantine Books, book illustrator, Boston, FBI, Harlequin Books, hostage, medical examiner, mystery, Pennsylvania, police procedural, romantic suspense Posted in: Full Reviews No Comments
Beginnings and Endings
Lucy Burdette (aka clinical psychologist and mystery author Roberta Isleib) is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries including An Appetite for Murder (NAL.) You can read more at her website www.lucyburdette.com or follow her on Facebook www.facebook.com/lucyburdette and Twitter www.twitter.com/lucyburdette.
The happy pooch with Lucy is Tonka.
My mother’s not around to ask, but I suspect that my entry into this world wasn’t an easy one. I’m the kind of person who’s more comfortable in the middle of something: I like to know where I’m going and have at least a rough idea of how it’s going to turn out. Beginnings are tough. Okay, let’s face it, endings are tricky too–but more about that in a little bit. In the last year and a half, I’ve acquired a new protagonist, Hayley Snow, a new series–the Key West food critic mysteries, a new publisher, a new editor, and even a new name. A lot of beginnings for a woman who’s most comfortable in the middle. I thought you might be interested in a little bit about how I got here…
I scratched out the opening paragraphs of my first mystery in January 1998–it took me three years to get to know my protagonist, professional golfer Cassie Burdette, well enough to write her story. As with most fictional detectives, Cassie wrestled with skeletons in her closet: her father’s desertion, a melancholy, alcoholic mother, a fog of self-doubt. Ambivalence infused her relationships with men and she tended to defer soul-searching in favor of the anesthetic effects of Budweiser. Notwithstanding these conflicts, I imagined Cassie eventually thriving on the professional golf circuit through a combination of talent, spunk, and the right friends. Cassie and I spent the better part of eight years together. I 
finally talked her into starting psychotherapy (with the help of a couple of other characters) to address her low self-esteem and self-destructive tendencies. She began to play better golf, choose kinder men, drink less, and reconnect with her dad.
I’d begun plotting the skeleton for the sixth installment, involving a golf reality show, a hunky cop, and murder, of course, when the word came from my editor: “We’d rather see a new idea—no more golf mysteries.”
Surprised or not, I was flooded with sadness and disappointment. No more Cassie Burdette? I cried, I raged, I shook my fist. Like at the end of a romance, I wished I’d been the one to call it quits.
But as with life, in publishing you either pick up and move on or get left behind. So about six months later, I signed a contract for my next writing adventure. The new series featured psychologist and advice columnist, Dr. Rebecca Butterman, a woman who’d made cameo appearances in several of the golf mysteries. I soon became just as attached to Dr. Butterman as I had to Cassie. I loved the way she could be intensely intuitive about other people’s problems and yet still struggle with her own–she felt so real to me. Even though I had lots more adventures in mind, her series too had run its course, this time after three books. And this led to another trip through the stages of grief, in order to let my character go. (I told you, endings are hard too!)
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past ten years, it’s that I’m quite capable of starting over with a new idea. And I’ve also learned that before long, I fall just as hard for the new characters and story as I did for the previous books. And that’s how I feel now about my new heroine, aspiring food critic Hayley Snow. She’s had a couple of rough endings of her own and is trying to make a brand new life in funky, foodie Key West, Florida.
You remember those early, rosy days of a relationship where everything about your new love interest seems fascinating and you want to tell all about it to your pals? That’s where I am now with Hayley. I can’t wait for you all to read about her life on a houseboat, and meet her new friends (and enemies), and walk the streets of Key West sampling the food she’s describing. I’m thrilled with the cover the folks at NAL designed–and I’ve had a sneak peak at the next one–show-stopping gorgeous! When culinary mystery maven Diane Mott Davidson wrote a blurb for this cover, I was sure I’d died and gone to mystery heaven…
“What fun! ….Key West and food — a winning combination. I can’t wait for the next entry in this charming series.” New York Times bestselling author Diane Mott Davidson
So sure, after ten years I realize that all good things will come to an end. But I also know enough to enjoy every moment with Hayley Snow–and I thank Lelia for letting me share!
January 20, 2012
Posted in: Guest Blogs 7 Comments
Book Reviews: The Cypress House by Michael Koryta, The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh, and On Borrowed Time by David Rosenfelt
The Cypress House
Michael Koryta
Little, Brown and Company, February 2011
ISBN: 978-0-316-05372-3
Hardcover
Death and corruption haunt this tale about a World War I veteran during the Depression who has a unique ability to see whether a person faces an imminent demise because of a trace of smoke in his/her eyes. Arlen Wagner in the late 30’s was a supervisor at a Civilian Conservation Corps (“CCC”) camp and was transferred to another in the Florida Keys along with several others from his detachment.  On the train he saw the sign of death in his fellow passengers and tried to warn them of impending danger, but only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill listened to him.
The two abandoned the train and found themselves at an isolated inn on the Gulf Coast, The Cypress House (a euphemism for a casket). Â There they discovered a different kind of danger: a corrupt judge and a sheriff who ruled the area by sheer terror, allowing drugs to be imported from Cuba at a boat landing located near the inn.
The eerie but fascinating tale follows the efforts of the two men, along with Rebecca Cady, who runs the inn, to survive not only the massive 1935 hurricane which caused severe death and destruction, but the human forces that ruled the area. Â Written with an excellent eye for describing life during the Great Depression, the novel also exhibits a deep view of human emotions, as Arlen, while wishing to depart as fast as he can, refuses to abandon Rebecca or Paul.
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Ted Feit, April 2011.
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The Attenbury Emeralds
Jill Paton Walsh
Minotaur Books, January 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-67454-0
Hardcover
I have a confession to make: Â I never read any of the Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mysteries. Â As a result, I suppose, I can approach this novel without any prejudice about the originals written by a legendary author, the redoubtable Dorothy L. Sayers. Â And I can firmly state that I have been remiss and must hasten to correct my past negligence.
The author undoubtedly undertook a dream assignment:  to bring closure to the series with this concluding work, bringing Lord Peter full circle to recount his first “detective” assignment and finally bringing the ultimate mystery successfully to a conclusion. Initially, Lord Peter undertook to find the missing Attenbury Emeralds which seemed to disappear during an engagement party.  This novel, however, traces further mysteries surrounding the gems through several decades before, during and after World War II.
I have, of course, no way of knowing how authentic the tone of the book or development of the characters is compared to the originals, but I suspect they are completely compatible. Â The dialogue, deliberately stilted to simulate upper crust English society, is really touching, and, of course, the interaction between Peter and Harriet poignant.
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Ted Feit, May 2011.
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On Borrowed Time
David Rosenfelt
Minotaur Books, February 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-59836-5
Hardcover
This is a potboiler of a novel, the author’s third standalone.  He is remembered most fondly for his Andy Carpenter series and admired for his home for sick and injured dogs.  He has now turned his creative self to a sort of sci-fi mystery in which journalist Richard Kilmer lives in both a real and a fantasy world.
Without giving the plot away, it is safe to say the story relies on the reader to suspend disbelief in some ways. Â Richard is set up to believe what someone wants him to in order to prove the success of an experiment in mind manipulation. Â On the other hand, it becomes quite obvious that the more he is channeled in a specific manner, the more he acts contrary to direction, somewhat opposite to what one would expect.
In any event, the novel progresses to almost a soap opera type of conclusion, detracting, in my view, from an otherwise over-all pretty high standard. Â That is not to say that I have a better idea, or that the ending is not warranted, at least on the level of what went before. Â That said, the book is, for the most part, good fun, and recommended.
Reviewed by Ted Feit, May 2011.
January 19, 2012
Tags: 1921, 1930's Florida, 1950's, aristocracy, bully sheriff, corrupt judge, drug smuggling, England, Great Depression, historical, hurricane, journalist, Little Brown and Company, mind experiments, Minotaur Books, mystery, New York, novelist detective, police procedural, supernatural, suspense, thriller Posted in: Full Reviews No Comments
Book Review: The Hollow House by Janis Patterson
The Hollow House
Janis Patterson
Carina Press/Harlequin, November 2011
ISBN 978-1-4268-9261-5
Ebook
In 1919 Denver, a young woman from the East is in financial straits and must find a way to support herself. Choices are limited for women at that time so Geraldine Brunton takes a position as companion to an elderly widow whose wealth comes from silver mining. Geraldine is also fleeing from her past, hoping that this employment will be the answer to her need to stay hidden from society.
The Stubbs household is not a cordial one, though, and the widow’s son-in-law and daughter would like to take control of her fortune. The strain in the family is carried over to the servants and Geraldine, who is immediately disliked by the daughter, finds herself becoming very protective of Emmaline Stubbs. In turn, Emmaline finds much more than she bargained for in Geraldine and begins to appreciate her as more than an employee. When Emmaline has a sudden peculiar illness and then a servant is found murdered, several truths about Emmaline and her family as well as Geraldine come to light with devastating effect.
The Hollow House is a cozy, an historical and a police procedural all rolled into one . I was very interested to get a glimpse into the Denver of 1919 which had some of the modern trappings of post-World War I but also was still somewhat in wild west mode. Patterson also has done a nice job of showing the reader how the views of society, and men in particular, towards women were in a state of flux at the time. That in itself lends much uncertainty to the mystery of who the killer is and what will happen to Geraldine who is threatened by a terrible secret from her former life.
Patterson‘s setting is a bit unusual because nearly all the action takes place in the house. Her characters come to life on the page and I’d love to hear more about them. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any indication that there will be a sequel but one can hope.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2012.
January 18, 2012
Tags: 1919 Denver, Carina Press/Harlequin, cozy, historical, mystery, police procedural Posted in: Full Reviews, My Reviews 2 Comments
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