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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, There’s A Body In The Car

There is never a dull moment in Callie Parrish’s life.  Callie is employed by Middleton Mortuary.  Her job title is mortuary cosmetologist but Callie also answers the phone, talks to clients and does whatever Otis and Odell Middleton need her to do.  Callie is currently living with her friend Jane while her home is being redone.  Jane is engaged to Callie’s brother.

When Callie makes a stop at the bookstore to pick up a couple of mysteries, she spots a man in a car with a fly on his nose.  She soon realizes that there’s a good reason he doesn’t swat the fly off his nose. The guy is dead.  Not only is he dead but there’s also a snake in the car.

Callie gets back to the funeral home to find that Odell is leaving and wants her to talk to a Mrs. Joyner who according to Odell wants a St. Patrick’s Day funeral for her husband, which is a bit unusual since it is October.  It turns out that Odell misunderstood and Mrs. Joyner wants a green funeral where the body is not embalmed and the casket is environmentally friendly.   Mrs. Joyner also wants a set of fingerprints so that she can have the fingerprints preserved in gold.

The fingerprints are taken by Callie but before she can turn them over to Mrs. Joyner a police officer runs the prints and it is found out that Mr. Joyner is not who everyone thinks he is but a participant in an armed robbery years ago.

The Sheriff is busy trying to find out the identity of the man who was found dead in the car as well as seeking more information about Mr. Joyner. As usual, Callie is drawn into the mess and finds herself in one predicament after the other.

This is the fourth Callie Parrish novel.  It is always fun to read about Callie who has more adventures in a few days than most people have in their whole life.  Odell and Otis are characters that bring a chuckle.  Callie’s father and brothers are fun and there is just no one like Callie’s friend Jane.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, April 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Devil Wind
Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid
Oceanview Publishing Company, April 2011
ISBN: 978-1-933515-89-2
Hardcover

It is 1999 and in Los Angeles Santa Ana winds are causing wildfires and Y2K is right around the corner.  Sammy Greene who is hosting a talk radio show finds that there is no end to the wild events that Y2K will bring.  Sammy’s father, Jeffrey Greene, is a real estate tycoon in the city but Sammy is hesitant to make contact with him.  Sammy was close to her previous step-mother but since her father got a divorce and is now remarried Sammy hasn’t bothered to get in touch with Jeffrey since she moved to California.  Sammy has always felt that her dad was more interested in his own life and concerns than that of his daughter.

When Sammy gets a call about the discovery of a burned body, she decides to check into the story and discovers that the body has been identified as Ana Pappajohn, the daughter of Sammy’s old friend Gus Pappajohn.  Sammy notifies Gus Pappajohn who immediately flies to California to claim his daughter’s body.

The story switches back and forth between Sammy’s actions and that of Ana Pappajohn who actually was still alive.  Ana is working for an expensive escort service and is separated at a party from her friend and roommate Sylvie.   Somehow the two had gotten their purses mixed up and Ana wound up with Sylvie’s purse.  When Sylvie’s body is discovered it is thought that the body was that of Ana’s since Sylvie carried Ana’s ID.

Ana’s date was Neil Prescott, a U. S. Congressman, who was working with Sammy’s father and had some deals going to insure his reelection.  The people Prescott was working with were ruthless individuals that would go to any lengths to promote their own interests.  Ana soon discovered that Sylvie was passing information regarding the activities of the escort service’s clients.  Ana stumbled on some documentation that Sylvie had hidden and the fact that she might have the documentation put Ana’s life in danger.

This novel has several story lines going at the same time. Sammy and her friend Gus begin to believe that Ana is still alive and in hiding and that many details of the burned victim’s death have been manipulated to avoid anyone discovering the true identity of the victim.

Sammy takes many chances to discover to locate her friend Gus’ daughter.  It seems that at every turn there is intrigue and cover-up.  The authors bring the multiple story lines together in a satisfying and surprising way.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, April 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Worst Thing
Aaron Elkins
Berkley Prime Crime, May 2011
ISBN No. 978-0425240991
Hardcover

Bryan Bennett has a happy and successful life and his worst thing is something that he manages to put on a shelf a big percentage of the time. Bryan’s worst thing is panic attacks but he has learned to deal with them, at least in his opinion.  Bryan works at Odysseus Institute where he specializes in issues relating to kidnapping and extortion.  His panic attacks are a result of his abduction and imprisonment in a Turkish dungeon as a young boy.

Bryan’s wife, Lori, loves to travel but Bryan is not comfortable when traveling unless he can manage to do so without getting on a plane.  Enclosed places bring on his attacks and Xanax helps but the pills are a crutch and not a cure.  When Bryan’s boss suggests that he make a trip to Iceland to teach a kidnapping seminar, Bryan senses Lori’s disappointment and decides that it is time to face his problems and allow Lori to enjoy an expense paid trip to Iceland.   Lori is thrilled with the idea of the trip but insists that it is time that Bryan consults a professional regarding his fears.

Bryan agrees and makes an appointment with Zeta Parkington, retired professor, whose specialty was anxiety disorders.  Zeta met with Bryan and among other things told him that the only real cure for anxiety problems was to face the fear and conquer that fear.  The time for facing his fear was not far away for Bryan

The couple arrives in Iceland without a problem and are soon enjoying the trip.  However, the fun is brought to a sudden halt when a group of radical citizen-soldiers executes a kidnapping attempt.  The attempt goes wrong and Bryan winds up as a hostage.  Now he has to face his old fears and conquer them in order to survive.

The Worst Thing is a novel full of suspense and some surprises.  This book gives the reader a real insight into the horrors of panic attacks and makes for excellent reading.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, May 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midnight Fires
Nancy Means Wright
Perseverance Press, April 2010
ISBN No. 978-1564744883
Trade Paperback

The crossing by sea from Holyhead to Dublin proved to be calm for Mary Wollstonecraft for the most part but a wind came up and blew her hat away.  A young sailor rescued the hat and Mary discovered the sailor had been to the colonies and been able to purchase a small piece of land and hoped to return to the colonies with the woman who was waiting for him in Ireland.  That dream would never come true for the sailor for shortly after talking to him Mary witnessed his body pitching overboard.  However, the sailor had managed to pass Mary a note and whisper to her to deliver the note to Liam in Mitchelstown.

Mary’s destination was Mitchelstown where she was to serve as a governess at Mitchelstown Castle for the Kingsborough family.  The year is 1786 and Mary was not happy about her new position.  Family problems and debts had forced Mary into accepting the position.  Mary was independent and had written a book soon to be published.  The fact that she had authored a book gave her a bit of status in the castle.  Mary hoped that her time as governess would pass quickly.

Life at the castle was hectic and the children’s mother was more concerned about her assortment of dogs than she was about the children.  Mary’s independent attitude did not please the Lady of the castle but Mary was determined to hold onto her pride in spite of her dependency on the funds to be earned as governess.

After making discreet inquiries, Mary learned that Liam did live near the castle and one of the servants agreed to put Mary in touch with him so the note could be delivered.  There was much turmoil and rebellion during this time and Mary seemed to wind up right in the middle of the turmoil.

Midnight Fires takes the readers through the many adventures that Mary endured while living in the castle not the least of which is a murder and a suicide.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, May 2011.

Scared to Death

The first murder in Wendy Corsi Staub’s newest thriller occurs on page 7, and the suspense hardly lets up from that point on.

Marin Quinn gave up her newborn son at the insistence of her husband, Garvey Quinn.  Elsa Cavalon adopted that same child, and is now on the brink of finalizing the adoption of a seven-year-old girl, Renny.  The horror that binds these two women is that Jeremy, the biological son of one and adoptive son of the other, was kidnapped while playing outside of his home fifteen years earlier; less than a year ago, Mike Fantoni, the detective the Cavalons hired after Jeremy was first kidnapped and who vowed not to rest until the boy had been found, tells them that Jeremy had been taken overseas to Mumbai, India, and murdered shortly afterwards.  Garvey Quinn, a man who had hoped to become the Governor of the State of New York, is now serving a prison term for having engineered that crime [among others].

But the nightmare of that loss seems to be repeating itself, as the new family of each of these women is threatened, and no part of their present lives seems to be outside the reach of a determined and very deranged mind.

The book alternates p.o.v. between the two women at its heart [as well as that of the killer, from time to time], as they variously run to the suburbs of Boston and an Upper West Side aerie in Manhattan.  But try as they might, they each find that there seems to be no safe haven.

A tale of vengeance with a stunning twist as the conclusion nears, Scared to Death is great escapist fare, one you’ll want to read with all the lights on.

Reviewed by Gloria Feit, May 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Nomination
William G. Tapply
Skyhorse Publishing, February 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60239-990-7
Hardcover

The Nomination is a posthumously released novel by William Tapply, and a terrific one it is.

Thomas Larrigan is about to be nominated by the American President to fill the seat on the U. S. Supreme Court of an associate justice on the verge of retirement.  He, of course, needs to be vetted before the inevitable Senate confirmation hearings, and even before his nomination is publicly announced.  At first blush his bona fides appear to be impeccable:  A youthful-looking 59 years old, handsome despite his black eye patch, he was a Marine lieutenant, decorated Vietman vet, who had been awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart; he has a reputation as an “intrepid prosecutor, tough on criminals, elected twice as crime-busting District Attorney, once as state Attorney General, self-respected Federal District Court judge, loving family man.”  [It doesn’t hurt that he occasionally plays golf with the President.]

As the president is told, “Larrigan’s perfect.  Almost too good to be true.”  Of course, as the author points out, “if you looked close enough, you’d find a skeleton in every closet in America.  If you looked close enough, you wouldn’t find anybody who’d qualify for the Supreme Court.  Old dusty skeletons, long dead.  Skeletons can’t tell stories.”  Some of those skeletons are not quite dead, it soon appears.  In the process, several lives are linked in disparate ways, some characters confronting their past, others running from theirs, including events from the Vietnam era that had/have life-changing effects.  The author skillfully weaves these threads together, and when this reader thought she knew what was coming, unexpected plot developments proved me wrong.

Others caught in the web of the vetting process include Jessie Church, who had worked for 18 months as an undercover cop in Baltimore, now working as a private investigator; Simone Bonet, cult film goddess who has dropped out of sight; Mac Cassidy, celebrity ghostwriter recovering from the death a year earlier of his wife and now trying to raise their teenage daughter by himself; among others.  Each of these is a fully fleshed-out character brought to wonderful life in the hands of Mr. Tapply.  This is a beautifully written tale of love and loss, full of suspense but still managing to tug at the heart. Nearing the end of the book, I did something I had never done before: I had gripped the bottom corner of the page so tightly in my fingers that a small piece was ripped out.

I felt it might be appropriate to include here the following, contained in an epilogue to this novel, in part wrapping up the tale and spoken by Mac Cassidy, but which I suspect were also Mr. Tapply’s thoughts about his own writing process:  “Eight hundred words a day, through sleet and snow and flu-like symptoms.  That’s how books got written.  Not in great bursts of inspiration.  You wrote a book one painful sentence at a time.  Eight hundred words a day, which was a lot of sentences, whether it took an hour or ten hours.”  It is our loss that this is the last book from this author we will have the pleasure of reading.  It is, obviously, highly recommended.

Reviewed by Gloria Feit, May 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agent X
Noah Boyd
William Morrow, February 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-182698-6
Hardcover

Kate Bannon, the Assistant Director of the FBI who readers, and ex-FBI Agent Steve Vail first met in this author’s The Bricklayer, returns, in fact, in the first sentence on the first page of this, the second in the series.  And a most welcome return it is, of those protags and the series itself.  I am delighted to report that all the taut writing, suspense and wonderful characters of the initial book in the series are abundantly present in Agent X as well.

Vail, a maverick who can’t/won’t confirm to rules, was fired by the FBI five years previously.  He has since then been working at least nominally as a bricklayer [thus the title of the first book] and had met Kate in LA when they worked together on a case which had a successful conclusion, mostly due to his efforts.  [He was an ‘independent contractor’ of sorts in that instance for the FBI.]  They had dated for a while, until Kate broke it off.  Beyond the delightful banter, the two make for a terrific team as the FBI persuades Vail to head up their investigation into finding a number of agents to whom vital US secrets are just a commodity to be bartered.  As if that weren’t enough, Steve is asked by an agent who had been Vail’s partner several years back to assist with a case involving the disappearance of a female intelligence analyst.  As the tale unfolds, one thing becomes clear:  Very little is as it seems.

The Vail/Bannon relationship is an ambivalent one.  As is the Vail/FBI deal.  Bannon tells Vail:  “You have advanced degrees.  The director has offered you complete autonomy if you’ll come back to the Bureau, but instead you choose physical labor just so you won’t have to take orders. . . Not everyone who takes orders for a living is a mortal enemy of Steven Vail.”  The cleverly constructed sleuthing [which was a challenge at times for this reader, I must admit], and the occasional philosophical ruminations, make for a fascinating read.

Recommended.

Reviewed by Gloria Feit, May 2011.

Chomp

Teenager Wahoo Cray doesn’t live the life of the average kid. Having a dad who’s a wildlife wrangler with a private zoo, Wahoo has grown up with alligators, monkeys, birds of all sorts, giant tortoises, snakes, you name it. His dad, Mickey, hasn’t done much running of the business, though, since he got a concussion from being hit on the head by a falling iguana that died in a hard freeze. With money running low, Wahoo’s mom has gone to China on a two-month teaching job and she’s depending on Wahoo to keep an eye on his dad.

Wahoo has always looked after all the animals, including a twelve-foot alligator named Alice with movie credits to her name, and he has—or actually doesn’t  have—the missing thumb to prove it (he was showing off to a girl so he can hardly blame Alice). When he takes a call from Expedition Survival! looking for a place to shoot an episode of  the reality TV show starring fake wrangler Derek Badger, Wahoo accepts the job on his dad’s behalf.  After all, a thousand bucks a day plus animal rental fees is awfully hard to resist when you can’t pay the mortgage.  Badger especially wants to shoot scenes with Alice and with Beulah, a fourteen-foot python with a penchant for biting (although she can be persuaded to let go with a slug of liquor).

Who could predict that Derek would go missing in the Everglades after being bitten on the tongue by a bat that crashlanded into his cheesecake crumbs (of course, she wouldn’t have bitten him if he hadn’t tried to eat her for the camera) or that he would convince himself he was going to turn into a vampire? Misappropriated airboats, a drunk with a gun, and a kidnapped Mickey lead to more mayhem and there’s no one ready to come to the rescue except Wahoo and a girl named Tuna Gordon. Can they learn to drive an airboat to get there in time? Will Derek turn into a half-vampire because there’s a half-moon?

Carl Hiaasen never fails to be entertaining and Chomp is no exception. It might be written for young middle-graders but adults will love all the action and craziness, too, and will sort of wish they could visit Wahoo and the family zoo.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor,  December 2011.

Messages

Mike Lyons cannot believe that his mother is guilty of murder but a jury says she killed her lover, Alex Reed.  He is so convinced that he decides that he will prove her innocence.  Mike’s mother owned a company called Power Meetings.   Alex worked for the company and traveled giving inspirational speeches to various groups.

Mike contacts his father who he has not communicated with for several years.   His conversations with his father reveal a side of his mother that comes as a surprise to Mike.  Mike knew that his mother had contacted his father when she arrived at her home and discovered the body of Alex Reed.   His father told her to call the police immediately but she didn’t do that and now she has been convicted of murder.

An animal rights group had threatened Mike’s mother and Mike feels sure that this group had something to do with the murder of Alex Reed.  Mike makes a decision to travel to the Caribbean resort, the last place Alex Reed was seen alive.

Messages has a number of strong characters and a lot of excitement.  The story is somewhat confusing at times but all becomes clear in the exciting conclusion.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, October 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel Lost
F. M. Meredith
Dark Oak Mysteries, February 2011
ISBN No. 978-1610090056
Trade Paperback

The small town of Rocky Bluff in Ventura County is abuzz with excitement.  An angel is sighted in the window of a downtown store.  Residents gather to view the angel and give their opinion as to the reason the angel has appeared.  Most agree that it is a miracle but no one knows how the angel happened to appear.

There’s also a lot of excitement regarding the forthcoming marriage of Officer Stacey Wilbur and Detective Doug Milligan of the Rocky Bluff Police Department.  The wedding has been planned down to the smallest detail with Stacey’s family and friends all pitching in to make Stacey’s wedding a day to remember.

Abel Navarro, Stacey and Doug’s fellow worker, has a lot on his mind.  Abel’s mother is beginning to show signs of Alzheimer’s.  The new addition to the Rocky Bluff Police Department, Vaughn Aragon, a transfer from Los Angeles, is having  second thoughts about requesting the transfer to Rocky Bluff.  Vaughn is haunted by a shooting that happened in Los Angeles but is not comfortable enough to share his experience with his fellow officers.

However, there is more going on than the angel miracle and the personal happenings of the officers in the close knit community.  The department has received several complaints about an early morning jogger who is flashing women on the beach.  When Stacy takes on the job of attempting to catch the jogger, she runs into more trouble than she ever expected.

This is the seventh book in the Rocky Bluff series.  The book can be read as a stand-alone.  Many of the characters have been highlighted in previous books in the series and readers will be glad to see their return.  Although a lot of the book dwells on happy events, there is plenty of crime going on in Rocky Bluff to keep the readers glued to the book.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, March 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hell To Pay
Wendy Corsi Staub
Avon Books, September 2011
ISBN No. 978-0061895081
Mass Market Paperback

Jeremy Cavalon and Lucy Walsh Cavalon are happily married and expecting their first baby.  This should be a happy time for the couple whose past has brought much happiness to both the Cavalon and the Walsh families.  Someone from the couple’s past has plans for the new baby.  Jeremy and Lucy would be horrified if they had any hint of what was in store in the weeks ahead.

Jeremy’s grandmother, Sylvie Durand, recently passed away.  Sylvie’s body was discovered in the bathtub in her lavish apartment at The Ansonia in New York City.  It appeared that Sylvie just passed away while bathing.  There were no clues to lead anyone to believe that her death was actually a murder.

Jeremy and Lucy received an eviction notice and suddenly had to find a new place to live.  The eviction notice was unexpected and Christmas was just around the corner.   The couple decided to move into Sylvie’s vacant apartment.  There was no way of the couple knowing that the eviction had been carefully planned by someone who needed the couple in Sylvie’s apartment  and cameras had been set up in Sylvie’s apartment so that every move the couple made could be documented.

The person from the couple’s past is believed to be dead but that is far from the truth.   Not only is their stalker alive but also a mental case that feels God is giving directions and the stalker is merely doing God’s will.

This book is terrifying and the suspense builds to a dramatic climax.  The Walsh and Cavalon families were first introduced in Live To Tell.  Their story continued in Scared to Death.  If you haven’t read the first two books, the author gives enough background that Hell To Pay is an enjoyable read.  I’ve read all three books and can recommend the series as an exciting one with many surprises.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, October 2011.

G.I. Bones

Seoul, South Korea, is one of the more exotic locales for a murder mystery, and the C.I.D operatives, Sgts. Sueno and Bascom, are two of the more different protagonists around.  This is the sixth entry in the series, but the first this reader has undertaken.

The setting is not only Seoul, but Itaewon, the red-light district, ruled by the Seven Dragons, a mafia-like group born during the Korean Conflict and following the truce in 1953, where they ran all the night clubs, prostitution and other enticements for the 50,000 American troops stationed there.  The heart of the plot is a simple one:  Sueno and Bascom undertake to find the bones of a “sainted” soldier who played a key role in rebuilding the district after the war before he was murdered, presumably by the Seven Dragons.

All other side issues seem irrelevant, but take up space and time, as the dynamic duo wander around, from time to time attempting to accomplish their main purpose.  It is a perfectly acceptable “police procedural,” however it seems at times to drag on and on.  That said, much of the writing and observations about military life are pungent, oft-times witty, and the novel is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, February 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Devotion of Suspect X
Keigo Higashino
Minotaur Books, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-37506-5
Hardcover

Cleverly pitting the logic of a mathematician against that of a physicist, and then the physicist vs. an intuition-leaning detective, this Japanese novelist has written a clever murder mystery with an innovative ending.

There is no mystery as to the murderer:  A single mother, aided by her daughter, strangles her abusive ex-husband.  What then follows provides us with a chess match between her next door neighbor, a mathematician, who undertakes to create a scenario to provide the two women with iron-clad alibis, and a detective and his logic-leaning physicist friend, who analyzes each possible clue.  It is an interesting technique, and one that works well.

This is the author’s first major English publication (he is a big seller in Japan, where more than 2 million copies of the book have been sold), and the translation seems to have been made with the formality of the original language in mind.  “Devotion” won the Naoki Prize for Best Novel, the Japanese equivalent of the National Book Award.  Deservedly.  And it is, here, heartily recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, May 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stolen Lives
Jassy Mackenzie
Soho Press, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56947-909-4
Hardcover

Four subplots coalesce in this second novel featuring Jade de Jong, the South African PI who makes her home in Jo’burg, where it all comes together.  However, the story begins in Great Britain, where a Scotland Yard raid on a brothel finds six victims of kidnapping later forced into prostitution. Unfortunately, the brothel owner is not present as expected, and remains at large, and the manager escapes as well, setting off a manhunt for the two.

At the same time, Jade is retained by the wife of the proprietor of an “upscale” strip joint called Heads and Tails as a bodyguard when her spouse goes missing.  And the woman also wants Jade to protect her daughter, who manages one of the clubs.  This draws Jade into a series of situations involving the human trafficking scheme.

There is some violence in the novel, especially with Jade’s predilection for committing murder, but it is relatively unobtrusive. The writing is vivid, and the character development solid.  The plot moves forward at a steady and interesting pace, so that the novel is an excellent follow-up to Random Violence, its predecessor in the series.  Recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, August 2011.

The Craigslist Murders

Sometimes, don’t the ‘concerns’ of the super rich drive you so crazy you could just…kill them? Do their ‘worries’ over $15,000 toilets or the cleaning costs of $50,000 curtains make you want to, oh, say, bash a fire poker to their skulls? Well, meet one New York interior decorator who is fed up and decides to do something about it. Plus, through an on-line marketing site, she gets a few rewards out of the process.

Charlotte Wolfe: New York interior decorator dealing with the demands of the very wealthy while  searching for her ‘victims’ through the popular Craigslist.  She contacts young trophy wives who are selling items owned by previous wives. Then she kills them. However, Wolfe’s life is in turmoil and about to get much worse. She suffers the psychosomatic pains of childhood neglect from a mother who only wanted to rise to the top of wealth and society. She endures the indignity of her mother’s constant presence and nitpicking in her adult life. The friendship with her college chum is eroding quickly. Bills are piling up. Her clients are driving her mad with their insane ideas. Plus, the cops may be closing in on the killer of young wealthy wives in the New York area.

This fast read spends a lot of time in the past explaining Wolfe’s current situation. At times you shake your head in disbelief at some of the eccentricities of the wealthy and Charlotte’s reaction to them. However, Charlotte’s is a tragic case as you see how her past is affecting her present and how her life is spinning out of control. Cullerton does a good job of tying together events to show us Charlotte’s world and you sometimes wonder why more of us don’t similarly  go off the deep end.

Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, September 2011.

Night Corridor

Sometimes the world can be a scary place. Who knows what evil may lurk around the next corner…or just outside your door? Enter the Night Corridor and follow the lives of some of the people in a small town coping with both personal problems and a vicious killer.

It’s 1973. Residents in the town of St. Simeon are in fear. A serial killer is roaming the streets. Caroline Hill, in a mental hospital for nine years, is released to start her new life. With help from the hospital, she is set up in an apartment and a new job. While she rediscovers herself and tries to cope with the world, she deals with a sexist co-worker and realizes she’s being watched and followed. As the weeks roll by, the body count grows and Caroline’s fears mount. With the inevitable meeting with the killer she must wage a desperate fight for survival.

Short chapters and slow action make for low level of suspense. It’s interesting to see a new twist in the year the story takes place. Hovey reminds us of the era with music and technology references. This story presents a good picture of how a young woman learns to cope with life outside of the institution, how she handles various types of people and relationships, and how she, like a flower in spring, slowly starts to open up and bloom.

Reviewed by  Stephen L. Brayton, August 2011.

County Line

Skin Kadash returns home after spending a month in a retreat called Last Homely House.  Last Homely House is a bed and breakfast where Skin has been recuperating from a near-fatal gunshot wound.  Skin has been following doctor’s orders but now he is back and anxious to see Ruby Jane Whittaker.  Skin keeps trying Ruby’s cell phone on the way back home but he doesn’t get a response.  Ruby Jane owns several coffee houses and Skin is sure he will find her at one of them but that does not happen.   She has left town without telling anyone her destination.

When Skin gains access to Ruby’s home, he finds a homeless man dead in Ruby Jane’s bathtub.  Skin contacts the police and gets the body removed but is still no closer to finding out what has happened to Ruby Jane.

With a gut feeling that Ruby is in danger, Skin begins a search for her.  His first stop is Pete McKrall.  Pete now lives in Walnut Creek, California.  Pete had a relationship with Ruby Jane but that is in the past.   Now Skin fears that Ruby has gone back to Pete.  Pete knows no more about where Ruby Jane has gone than Skin does but decides he is going to join in the search.

Ruby’s trail leads the two across the country and deep into Ruby Jane’s past.  It appears that Ruby Jane has not been totally honest about her past.   The two uncover one surprise after another but Ruby Jane seems to be one step ahead of them.  It is obvious that she doesn’t want to be found.  This makes Skin and Pete even more determined to locate her.

Skin is a retired police officer who knows his way around trouble and there is no end to the trouble he runs into in his search for Ruby Jane.  There is excitement on every page and Ruby Jane’s background is a puzzle that takes a while to put together and reveals a young Ruby Jane very different from the adult that Skin is familiar with.

Bill Cameron has developed some wonderful characters in his Skin Kadash novels.  County Line can be read as a stand-alone but the previous novels are well worth reading and it is difficult to pick a favorite.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, July 2011.

An Uncertain Refuge

I downloaded An Uncertain Refuge, by Carolyn J. Rose for an afternoon read on the couch, chips and ice-tea at hand. I managed to move from couch to dinner table, then back to couch, then to bed and by 11:30pm I finished this very satisfying Indy author’s book in record time because I simply had to read it all without stopping.

This is suspense at its finest.

Kate Dalton runs a women’s shelter in Arkansas, but when an abusive ex-con husband takes a knife to his wife, Kate steps out of her comfort zone and in the altercation, he dies. Pushed by her superiors to capitalize on the incident with a sleazy movie company, Kate, without anything to keep her in this town, leaves her job for the open road, intent on starting over.

Then she gets a request from the battered woman whose husband Katy killed—take her son. Kate has no husband, no children and she intends to keep it that way. But, the woman is adamant, take him, or she’ll put him in foster care.

In spite of her better judgment, Kate’s heart softens and she agrees to take the shattered woman’s nine-year old son, nick-named WayRay for two weeks while the woman recuperates—that is until they get to Oregon and the boy has a medical emergency and Kate must get the mother’s permission for an appendectomy. The message machine for the mother refers all questions to a lawyer. She’s gone, leaving behind a sick and agitated child, and Kate, who tries not to panic. The lawyer fixes the problem with the hospital and Kate’s guardianship, but not the final question of where WayRay’s mom has gone or why she ran.

Seeing an opportunity to get a cheap place for the boy to recover and some additional money, Kate takes a temporary job in a local motel as manager, and in doing so, acquires a ready-made circle of friends in Rhea, the wise cracking, chain-smoking and big hearted motel manager, and Evie who runs a wildlife refuge on the coast; and eventually, a man of steadfast character who sees something special in Kate and comes to love her.

The question of why the boy’s mother is gone is soon resolved when Kate hires a PI to look for her.

This book reads like women’s fiction, thick with beautifully written atmosphere. The protagonist is a deeply introspective woman and the story has incredibly well developed secondary characters. The ending is perfect and remarkable in that there was not the over-the-top violence done in so many suspense novels.

I’m going back for more Carolyn J. Rose books—they’re terrific at any price and this one is just $.99 on Kindle.

Reviewed by R.P. Dahlke, guest reviewer, June 2011.