The Crying Tree-Naseem Rakha

The Crying Tree

Naseem Rakha

Broadway, Jul 2009, $22.95

ISBN: 9780767931403

In 1983 Union County, Illinois deputy sheriff Nate Stanley calls his wife Irene to inform her without warning that he accepted a position as a deputy post in Oregon.  Irene is angry at her husband for not talking to her before he took the job with his Viet Nam buddy and frightened as she never was west of St, Louis.  Still insisting he knows what is best for her and their two kids (teenager Shep and tweener Bliss), he relocates the family.

In Blaine, Oregon, fifteen years old Shep enjoys exploring the countryside and seems settled to the living on the West Coast.  However, one day Nate comes home after a shift to find his son in their kitchen savagely beaten and shot in what looks like a robbery turned ugly; Shep dies in his arms.  Stunned, Nate and Irene go after the accused cold blooded killer of their oldest child mechanic Daniel Joseph Robbin with cold blooded determination over the next two decades until he is executed by the state.  During much of the obsession, Bliss becomes de facto caretaker of her parents as Irene lives for the devil’s death and Nate cannot find any solace.  However, in 2004 with the execution date set, Irene knows she must see and forgive her son’s killer, whom she recently began exchanging letters with, if she is to move on.

THE CRYING TREE is a fabulous family drama that focuses on what happens to surviving loved ones when a violent unexpected tragedy occurs.  The five key players in this calamity are fully developed in 1983 and in 2004; ergo the audience sees how much they each has changed over the two decades from the murder to the execution.  Although a major “truism” twist will be seen early by everyone and feels intrusive, fans will appreciate Naseem Rakha’s engaging aptly titled character story.

Harriet Klausner

The Elephant Keeper-Christopher Nicholason

The Elephant Keeper

Christopher Nicholason

Morrow, Aug 4 2009, $24.99

ISBN: 9780061651601

In 1766, the Dover arrives from the East Indies docking in Bristol, England.  Rumors spread like an out of control blaze that something special is on board.  Though most assume it is a mythological creature, it turns out two young elephants each over twelve feet and the other live cargo like the zebra is at first sight assumed by many as mythological beasts.

The affluent patriarch of the Harrington merchant family buys the elephants as a present for his kids.   He assigns young teenager Tom Page as the groom of the pachyderms living on his estate.  Tom names them Timothy and Jenny.  Tom becomes attracted to sassy maid Lizzy Tindall, especially after she is kind to his Jenny.  However, when Jenny and Timothy are sold to separate owners, Lizzy tells him ironically to forget Jenny (and Timothy) as she is “only an Elephant”, angering Tom.  He goes with Jenny though he is saddened by his having to leave Timothy.  As the pair moves from one owner to another, he tries to keep up with Timothy’s health until Jenny is moved into a hovel in London where Tom deserts her for the highlights of the decadent big city.  Eventually, he realizes what he has done and returns to his Jenny; writing her story a few years after they first bonded.

This is an excellent refreshing historical tale that uses the uniqueness of an elephant in Georgian England to tell a coming of age tale of loyalty in a violent era in which animal rights are non existent.  Jenny is terrific as she is able to communicate her needs and caring for her human groom to Tom (and the reader) even when he deserts her temporarily; Tom understands her as she is his “soulmate” and realizes especially after London that his bond is unbreakable for his Jenny.

Harriet Klausner

Mastered By Love-Stephanie Laurens

Mastered By Love

Stephanie Laurens

Avon, Aug 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780061246371

In 1816 the Duke of Varisey, Royce heads home, knowing he paid a high price for his work for the Crown.  Sixteen years ago, his father disowned him for dishonorable behavior as a duke’s heir should never be involved in espionage.  He hoped to reconcile, but his father just died before they could; his mother died a few years ago.

At Wolverstone Castle, Royce meets his chatelaine Minerva Chesterone, who was a young orphan his parents brought into the household.  They are attracted to one another, but both hide the unwelcome feelings.  Minerva swore twice to both his parents on their respective death beds that she would help their son become the duke.  She also understands Royce must wed soon and once he does she will leave the castle she has called home for over two decades.

His three sisters and their husbands arrive as do the rest of the family for the late duke’s funeral; the Grand Dames attend too and warn Royce to marry soonest as Prinny is planning something.   Royce is irate as he put his life on hold to protect the crown yet ironically the crown wants to take away his heritage.  He talks about tenant farms with Minerva and asks her to draw up a list of possible wives while his Bastian Club friends and their wives also arrive.  However, the only woman to excite him is the one not on Minerva’s list.

The romance between the lead couple is fun to follow while the Ton’s intervention enhances the tale.  The lead male is too similar to the other Bastian Club members, but Stephanie Laurens cleverly defuses that by having the wives state so during their strategic meeting.  Although the Last Traitor subplot is minor though built up through several books, fans will enjoy the return of a hero who gave everything to the Crown only to come home to learn that his sacrifice is yesterday’s news.

Harriet Klausner

Pitch Black-Leslie Parrish

Pitch Black

Leslie Parrish

Signet, Aug 20009, $6.99

ISBN: 9780451227713

FBI profiler Alec Lambert nearly died during the Professor serial killer undercover operation that turned deadly.  She was exiled for the lethal failure as someone has to take the hit within the bureau and she agreed with the assessment that her unit has failed to catch this serial killer for years.

However, instead of her career dying with the blotched Professor case, Wyatt Blackstone brings Alec onto his BLACK Cats FBI cyber crime unit.  Her first assignment on her new squad: the Professor serial killer who has stayed current on technology and now uses the Internet to find and lure his victims into his deadly web.  Alec’s partner is reclusive scam expert Samantha Dalton who is the agency’s best bet to identify the Professor.  As Alec pursues the killer and his partner, the Professor pursues Alec’s partner targeting Sam as a victim while Sam struggles with her attraction to her partner and her fascination with the Professor who has fisted on making her his next valedictorian.

The sequel to FADE TO BLACK is a terrific FBI police procedural romantic suspense starring two broken winged heroes and a brilliant diabolical villain with a heart that’s cold   The story line is fast-paced from the onset with its failed operation until the finish as the killer seems to constantly trump the Feds.  Although serial killers have become a staple (see Untraceable) fans will enjoy the second Black CATs thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Criminal Karma-Steven M. Thomas

Criminal Karma

Steven M. Thomas

Ballantine, Jul 28 2009, $25.00

ISBN: 9780345497833

In Southern California, two bit crook Robert Rivers wants the diamond necklace valued at $250,000; he does not plan to pay for it, but instead plans to steal it from its owner socialite Evelyn Evermore.  However, his perfect gamut is nuked by a competitor wanting to claim the same prize and somewhat by his all brawn no brains partner Reggie England; the cops home in on Rivers and England.

Rivers like his surname flows to another scheme.  He knows the lightweight Evermore is a New Age freak and in fact is a disciple of popular guru Baba Raba.  Rivers figures how hard can be to infiltrate the base of a charlatan in Venice. However, as he begins to learn more about Evermore Rivers he begins to like her as she is not the dimwit socialite he thought , but has substance; and for that matter so does the guru.  As typical of his capers, all hell breaks loose as he and his sidekick are protecting their targets from a diabolical crime ring.

This is a zany satirical crime caper that hooks the audience from the first failed plan to the last.  The story line is brisk and amusing as Rivers figures his crime karma is so negative, his time is due to balance his cosmic scales.  Instead he finds himself deeper in the cosmic ooze as once again (see CRIMINAL PARADISE) the best laid plans of mice and licentious souls go astray.

Harriet Klausner

Man with the Iron Heart-Harry Turtledove

Man with the Iron Heart

Harry Turtledove

Del Rey, Jul 28 2009, $18.00

ISBN: 9780345504357

In 1942 Reinhard Heydrich, the evil designer of the Holocaust, was assassinated in Czechoslovakia by a partisan who hated the Nazis. However, on an alternate earth, Heydrich survived the attempt on his life and received permission from Himmler to create a guerilla army to harass the allies into leaving Germany so the Reich can rebuild. During the next three years, he dropped out of sight and ammo vanished as Heydrich formed the German Freedom Front secretly.

On VE Day, just like Heydrich predicted, the government signed the declaration ending the war in defeat. However, hostilities were not over as Heydrich and his Freedom Front force began their campaign; their efforts killed thousands of occupying allied soldiers. When Mrs. Diana McGuire receives a call that her son died after VE Day, she started a movement that grew rapidly to bring the men home.  German POWs are on trial in in Nuremburg charged with war crimes, but the courthouse is destroyed. The trials move to Frankfort, but a suicide bomber ignites a radium bomb making the city uninhabitable. They turn to the Russian occupation next, but the guerillas succeed in disrupting the trials.  Germans do not consider the war lost and the allies fear the Nazis like a Phoenix will return to power to continue the fight.

What happened in Iraq and Viet Nam is transposed to late 1940s Germany in THE MAN WITH THE IRON HAND. The German people help the Freedom Front because they seek the removal of foreign occupiers from their soil. The treaty is a piece of paper that proves worthless while the allies ponder a surge of more troops and for how long or withdrawal. Heydrich is sinister and brilliant as he will do anything to force the occupation army to leave.  This alternative historical showcases Harry Turtledove at his thought provoking best as the question is how long does a surge (by definition temporary) remain in place and what happens afterward if conditions fall back?

Harriet Klausner

The Rapture-Liz Jensen

The Rapture

Liz Jensen

Doubleday, Aug 11 2009, $24.95

ISBN: 9780385528214

 

At the Oxsmith Adolescent Secure Psychiatric Hospital in Hadport, England, wheelchair-bound art psychologist, Dr. Gabrielle Fox takes over treating psychotic teen Bethany Krall.  Gabrielle has her issues since the car crash killed her fiancé and left her in the chair.  The patient-prisoner killed her mom and claims the ability to foresee the future; all her forecasts are dire bleak disasters.

 

As Gabrielle uses electro-convulsive therapy to literally shock her patient, she begins to realize the teen’s uncanny grim predictions are coming true every time.  Gabriele begins to comprehend that Bethany’s father Reverend Leonard Krall imprinted his “Faith Wave” view of the coming Rapture and those who bear the mark of the beast cannot go to heaven.  Gabrielle wonders if she is overreaching in her theory of Bethany’s skills and the frequent disasters that the teen predicted and have occurred when she desperately brings her patient’s upcoming calendar of calamities to physicist Frazer Melville, who not only does not laugh at the shrink but takes the forecasts dead serious.

 

THE RAPTURE is an exciting thriller that stars the psychiatrist and the physicist but focus on the teen seer and her skills.  The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action, but even with efforts top prevents the next calamity from happening, the plot as character driven.  Fans and the lead pair will wonder whether the teen is the devil or the savior as Gabrielle and Frazer ironically (from the religious point of view that is) struggle with stopping what seems increasingly the end of days.

 

Harriet Klausner

Beguiled-Maureen Child

Beguiled

Maureen Child

Signet, Aug 20009, $6.99

ISBN: 9780451227720

Maggie Donovan defeated evil fae Queen Mab in a classic cat fight (see BEDEVILED).   Although the part human part Fae woman will never forget what she witnessed especially never listen to ABBA on a full stomach again, she knows she will never return to her previous lifestyle.  Culhane the warrior says she is the Chosen One and struggles with being called Queen Maggie.

Outraged by having her butt kicked in by an impure female, former Queen Mab escapes incarceration and prepares for a rematch as she still believes she, as a purebred fae, is superior to a hybrid fae “diseased” with human blood.  Maggie adapts to being the Queen of the Otherworld especially with Culhane as her adviser and lover.  As Mab vows not to underestimate her foe, she raises their personal war to higher levels when she kidnaps her adversary’s niece at a time when Maggie has doubts about Culhane’s motives.

The conflict in this wonderful sequel is on two levels as the heroine begins to question where her lover’s loyalty lies and the upcoming war with her evil rival.  The story line is fast-paced and filed with action, but it is the strong cast, not just the lead trio, who makes Otherworld seem genuine.

Harriet Klausner

Destined for an Early Grave-Jeaniene Frost

Destined for an Early Grave

Jeaniene Frost

Avon, Aug 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780061583216

Half-breed Cat Crawfield looks forward to some Parisian R&R (romance and relationship enhancement) with her purebred vampire husband Bones.  However, the best laid plans of mice, men and half vamp Cats often go astray.  The master vampire Gregor arrives to claim her as his wife; he insists he had a prior claim to her as her spouse making her a bigamist.

When Cat was a teen, Gregor abducted her with a goal for later the future.  However, Mencheres the master vampire took her away from Gregor, locked the master vampire in a special prison, and erased Cat’s memory of the incident and this master vampire.  Cat is outraged for several reasons but also somewhat fascinated while Bones is reeling as he fears Gregor has a stronger claim and not just with vampire law and Gregor seems obsessed over his assertion.

The fourth Night Huntress urban fantasy is an exhilarating thriller driven by the paranormal triangle (though told through a confused Cat’s perspective).  The overarching story of Cat and Bones spins brilliantly into a darker drama as the heroine must make several complex decisions with convoluted choices to select from.  Another winner from Jeanine Frost, fans of this strong saga will appreciate aptly titled DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE.

Harriet Klausner

Deadlock-Al and Joanna Lacy

Deadlock

Al and Joanna Lacy

Multnomah, Aug 18 2009, $12.99

ISBN: 9781601420558

In 1888 the Zarbo brothers are the meanest outlaws in the west.  They are wanted for murders and bank robberies as they do not care who dies when they do a job.

In Colorado, U.S. Marshal John “The Stranger” Brockman arrests Lee Zarbo, but his siblings Todd and Chice remain free with plans to liberate him.  Lee faces the gallows so the Zarbo brood decides to steal a page from the Old Testament by kidnapping John’s thirteen-year old daughter Ginny.  If he wants her back alive, he must let Lee go; even the Lord cannot give John solace as he loves his three children and his wife with all his heart.

The latest Stranger inspirational western police procedural (see OUTLAW MARSHAL and the mid nineties Western Christian fiction saga The Journeys of the Stranger) is a fabulous historical thriller once the key players are introduced to the audience, but especially after the abduction of Ginny.  John and his wife Breanna have doubts that Jesus will protect their daughter; their fifteen year old son John has given up on the Lord while his nine year old adopted sister Meggie expects nothing less than a miracle.  Feeling like he is being tested, John struggles with what to do as his fans will rejoice with his journey to the Savior.

Harriet Klausner