Hallowed

In the second installment of the Unearthly Trilogy (after Unearthly), teenaged Clara Gardner is learning more about her abilities and obligations as an angelblood, a human who is part angel by birth. She and her mother and brother, all angelbloods, had moved to Wyoming because of the fiery visions Clara was having and the wildfire had, indeed, occurred. In a departure from what she believed she was destined to do, Clara had rescued a fellow student, Tucker, rather than Christian, another angelblood. Now, Clara is confused, being unsure of what her true purpose might be and torn between destiny and free will. She’s becoming very sure of one thing, though—there is going to be a death and someone she loves will not be at the graveside service.

Adding to Clara’s fear is the unwanted attention of a fallen angel, known as a Black Wing, a being who has tried to kill her and her mother and who creates an aura of overwhelming sorrow whenever he’s near. Unable to tell Tucker everything because of the danger full knowledge would bring, Clara’s main source of comfort is all the other angelbloods in her community and there are quite a few. Maggie, Clara’s mom, has her own secrets and begins to divulge them to Clara and her brother, Jeffrey, culminating in two major revelations.

Angels are the theme of more and more dark fantasy or paranormal books these days, especially in the young adult arena, but Hand brings a fresh perspective to the angelbloods of her trilogy. The religious aspect is handled lightly but with enough depth to convey understanding and the expected rollercoaster of feelings of those just learning what they are—confusion, anger, fear, joy, guilt, shock, sadness, peace—are shown to the reader as though there really is not much difference between angelblood and human teenagers when it comes to emotions. That in itself is unusual and very welcome in this subgenre. The author also gives Maggie a complexity that is often ignored in young adult novels and it’s refreshing to have a parent play such a central role.

The trouble with a really good book is having to wait so long for the next in the trilogy or series. The third Unearthly novel cannot come too soon and Hallowed is the first book I’ll be putting on my list of favorites in 2012.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2012.

A Place of Forgetting

This novel could be classified as Young Adult in that the protagonist is just nineteen, I certainly remember the 1960’s as a teenager, but it’s meaty enough to  also be classified as literary women’s fiction.

Nothing seems to be going right for Elizabeth as disappointments pile up one on top of the other; her dog dies, the young man she’s loved all her life boards his flight to Vietnam where he becomes one of many MIA’s,  and then she’s presented a note that she should help take care of the flighty young woman who claims to be his fiancé. All of it is too much and she flees in her rusty old car, “Buggy” for a better life in Chicago. But, nothing goes as anticipated. For one thing, the so-called fiancé decides she’ll go along for the ride. Detours abound, until they reach a new and life-changing destination that will make all the difference to Elizabeth.

As a reader and a writer, I thought I knew how it was going to go, only to be surprised at the originality of the plot. I don’t want to do a run down on the events—the turns along the way for any reader are too sweet to spoil, but let me say that this is one of the best fiction books I’ve read all year. It was delightful in its intensity, the development of the characters,  and mostly in how Elizabeth finally comes into her own as a young woman.

I can see this novel as a really good subject for a college class. And, best of all, I believe that it’s going to become a much loved favorite for many young women.

Reviewed by guest reviewer RP Dahlke, January 2012.

The Cleveland Creep

Cleveland’s favorite private investigator is back for another riveting case. Milan Jacovich explores the northeast Ohio metropolis and winds up gaining a new friend while losing a few others. Still, he keeps his sense of humor and salute to the city and its personages. Fans of this series should expect and receive another great mystery with a little bit of humor, a little bit of action, and a very good detective story.

Milan Jacovich, Cleveland private investigator, is hired by Savannah Dacey to find her lost son, Earl. Earl is twenty-eight and as Jacovich discovers into taking ‘upskirt’ videos of teens at local malls. The missing person case turns creepier when Jacovich starts speaking with individuals involved with the mob and those dealing in pornography. Also, he’s been persuaded by another PI friend to hire an assistant, a man with temper and fists to back it up. When a dead body turns up dead, Jacovich is hounded not only by the local police (with whom he’s no friend) and an FBI agent (with whom he doesn’t want to be a friend). Missing person to murder, with trouble adding up for Jacovich in every chapter.

This is a very well written book. In depth memorable characters, a little bit of dry wit to soften the edges of deviant subject matter, and sharp descriptions of people and places and Cleveland becomes a not so subtle character, affecting attitudes and action. You’ll drop to look at the city’s bottom feeders and become nostalgic for better times. Roberts comes through with another winner in the Jacovich series.

Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, December 2011.

Adrien English Mysteries

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.

Naked Heat

“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.

A Question of Fire

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.

Vanish

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.

The Cypress House

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).  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.  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:  I never read any of the Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mysteries.  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.  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.  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.  Richard is set up to believe what someone wants him to in order to prove the success of an experiment in mind manipulation.  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.  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.  That said, the book is, for the most part, good fun, and recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, May 2011.

The Hollow House

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.

Open Season

One white cop struggling to get back on the job after a drug operation gone bad. One black cop, new to homicide, struggling with a racist family and her own prejudice. A city in panic and the police force’s hierarchy bearing down on an unlikely pair of detectives as a killer seeks revenge for injustices. There’s high tension and mystery in this police procedural from Maryann Miller.

Dallas Detective Sarah Kingsley is up against a review board and protesters after she shoots and kills a black child during a case in which her partner also ends up dead. Coming back to the job after some leave time, she’s paired with Angel Johnson, a new detective to the department. Neither is happy with the situation. First up for the pair is the murder of a mall employee. However, one murder turns into two as a security guard at another mall is found dead, followed days later by a window display worker. Both detectives have to deal with almost nonexistent clues, pressure from above to catch the killer, changes in their personal lives, and constant racial issues driving a wedge between them.

This is a good introductory novel for this series. It touches on a topic that never seems to disappear. Both characters are given a fair shake for background and personal information and the reader is drawn to find out if they can work with each other. Add in a little romance, a gung-ho reporter, and some interesting coworkers, this should be an interesting series to follow. Look forward to more from this pair of Dallas cops because there are many areas in their relationship and lives to explore.

Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, December 2011.