Double Trouble-Susan May Warren

Double Trouble

Susan May Warren

Tyndale, Jan  2010, $13.99

ISBN: 9781414313139

PJ Sugar roamed the world for ten years, getting in and out of trouble while having fun adventures until she realized that chapter of her life was closed; it was time to go home.  She lives in her sister’s house in Kellogg, Minnesota with her brother-in-law, his parents and their child; and works as an apprentice to private detective Jeremy Kane.  Detective Daniel “Boone” Buck wants to marry her seeing that the girl he loved a decade ago is the woman he loves now though she has doubts as she has come a long way since then.

Jeremy sees Sugar as she is today with no romantic lens filtering their relationship; though he deems her unready for dangerous work.  Instead he assigns her to impersonate free spirited Dally Morrison, who is to testify against gang leader and drug lord Billy Finch.  Fearing Finch has sent a hit man to kill her, Dally needs a new hiding place.  PJ’s impersonation works too well as she is kidnapped and Dally’s house is broken into.  The easy assignment has turned dangerous but PJ feels ready for prime time. She likes Dally’s neighbor and the group who plays on Dally’s softball team and considers deeply how she feels about the two men already in her life.

Susan May Warren has written an intriguing mystery filled with humor and excitement.  The heroine is trying to learn just who she is and who she wants without hurting Boone or Jeremy, which makes all three in diverse ways endearing to the audience although Double Trouble for PJ.  The whodunit is intricately designed to insure the reader has Nothing But Trouble discerning who abducted Sugar acting as Dally.

Harriet Klausner

The Rook-Steven James

The Rook

Steven James

Onyx, Dec 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780451412812

 

In San Diego, FBI Special Agents Patrick Bowers and Lien-hua Jiang investigate several suspicious fires in conjunction with the San Diego metro Arson Strike team (MAST).  The latest at a naval research center is a change in M.O. but the agents believe the work is by the same perpetrator who does not act like a terrorist, a thrill seeker, or covering a crime until the last one was committed.

 

A geo-spatial profiler with a great success record, Pat begins to theorize that the earlier arsons were practice for something in the lab.  The two Feds soon connect dots from the fire to an abduction, an apparent suicide that looks suspiciously more like a homicide and something called Project Rukh.  Behind the scenes is a grandmaster playing everyone including Bowers, his rebellious stepdaughter Tessa, Jiang, and others like a virtuosos moving pawns to do Shade’s bidding.

 

The sequel to the Pawn is a terrific FBI police procedural with a strong cast including a nasty brilliant villain who makes every move like a chess grandmaster.  Tessa helps personalize Pat as each mourns the loss of her mom, his wife one year ago.  With some humor adding to the fun of a strong thriller filled with a myriad of story lines that at times feel as if several chess games were going on at once until they converge, fans will relish the exciting action-packed yet character driven the Rook as Pat explains the true importance of profiling to the audience.

 

Harriet Klausner

 

Tragedy at Two-Ann Purser

Tragedy at Two

Ann Purser

Berkley, Dec 2009, $23.95

ISBN: 9780425230060

 

In Long Farden Josie Meade is considering ending her relationship with her partner Rob.  When they have fight leading to his accusing her of an affair with a cop, he runs out and goes to the pub where he gets drunk and acts violently out of character.  That night he is found on the road severely battered.  He is rushed to the hospital where he lingers for a few days before dying.  Josie feels guilty.

 

Detective Chief Inspector Cowgill leads the investigation in which many of the townsfolk believe gypsies camped nearby killed Rob.  Josie’s mom Lois, owner of New Brooms cleaning firm and amateur sleuth consultant to Cowgill thinks otherwise having met the group’s matriarch Athalia Lee.  Although this case is personal and her husband Derek the electrician wants her to stay out of the inquiry, Lois assists the DCI by “ferretin”.

 

This is an entertaining English village whodunit that is very personal for the heroine; so much so Cowgill is hesitant to use Lois as a resource.  Much of the first half of the story line focuses on family dynamics inside a small village in which everyone knows everyone so secrets are difficult to conceal, but if the hidden is achieved it becomes more shocking when revealed.  Fans of the Lois Meade amateur sleuths will enjoy a deep look at the heroine, her friends and neighbors when a Tragedy at Two occurs.

 

Harriet Klausner

Mr. Monk In Trouble-Lee Goldberg

Mr. Monk In Trouble

Lee Goldberg

Obsidian, Dec 2009, $22.95

ISBN: 9780451229052

 

He has an intensive form of OCD and has more phobias than can be found in a medical text, but give Mr. Adrian Monk a homicide to solve and he will do it regardless of difficulty mostly caused by his disorders.  His friend Captain Stottlemeyer of the San Francisco Police department asks Mr. Monk to come to his office where he informs him that retired cop Manny Feikeman was murdered at the Gold Rush Museum in Trouble, California.  He asks Monk to solve the case.

 

Since his house is being renovated, Mr. Monk agrees to go to the mining town with his assistant and friend Natalie.  While in town he finds out about a cold case he decides to solve in his spare time.  The famous train The Golden Rail Express was robbed of its gold on its last run in 1962, but what happened to the loot or the mastermind was never revealed and a third robber never found.  With brilliant insight and a nod to a gold rush era equivalent with phobias and an assistant Abigail Guthrie keeping diaries of Artemis Monk, Adrian works the train robbery, the murder, and assorted other inquiries until he vanishes leaving an injured Natalie to investigate the case of the missing sleuthing employer.

 

Nobody does novelizations of TV shows better than Lee Goldberg consistently does.  His latest Mr. Monk tale is one of the best due to the intriguing tongue in cheek self mocking subplot involving Artemis who as the assayer who also worked cases in 1852; the local curator insists the two OCD Monks may be a century and a half apart but look like twins separated at birth.  Fans will enjoy the stories of the two Mr. Monk’s.

 

Harriet Klausner

The Lost-J.D. Robb, Patricia Gaffney, Mary Blayney and Ruth Ryan Langan

The Lost

J.D. Robb, Patricia Gaffney, Mary Blayney and Ruth Ryan Langan

Jove, Nov 24 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780515147186

 

“Missing in Death” by J.D. Robb”.  A tourist disappears from a ferry in which she did not leap from but is no longer on board; neither are a dead person and a killer.  NYPD Lieutenant Eve Dallas leads the investigation.

 

“The Dog Days of Laurie Summer” by Patricia Gaffney.  The accident left the mom in a coma, but now the workaholic awakens; but her world is similar yet not quite what her memory recalls as she sees things from the view of a dog.

 

“Lost in Paradise” by Mary Blayney.  The nurse arrives at an island fortress giving hope to the man locked inside by an ancient curse that she is the key to his freedom.

 

“Legacy” by Ruth Ryan Langan. The grieving woman travels to the castle in Ireland where she uncovers a family secret buried on the estate.

 

Though four radically different scenarios, readers will not feel lost with this fantasy-science fiction quartet as each author hits a home run.

 

Harriet Klausner

 

Murder by Artifact: The Murder Quilt-Barbara Graham

Murder by Artifact: The Murder Quilt

Barbara Graham

Five Star, Nov 2009, $25.95

ISBN 9781594148286

 

Park County Sheriff Marc Antony Abernathy investigates the apparent stabbing death of unpopular “Queen” Doreen, wife of the Silersville, Tennessee Mayor Calvin Cashdollar.  Her corpse was placed under a bloodstained “murder quilt”.  He also struggles with letters from places like Cincinnati that contain notes and newspaper accounts of vanishings two decades ago; Tony has no idea why he is receiving them.  However to the shock of everyone who attends Queen’s funeral, Doreen arrives with a smile and a so what attitude.  The victim is her “twin” half sister.

Meanwhile, Tony’s wife Theo, owner of Theo’s Quilt Shop, finds skeletal remains behind the house of her best friend.  Tony receives a tip from a dying man who swears on his death bed that there is a female serial killer who is on the county tax rolls. As he works a homicide and potentially several other murders, the biggest complaints coming into the Sheriff’s Office are the thefts of garden gnomes.

This is a super Smoky Mountains cozy that uses quilts and Quilters to solve the crimes.  The story line is fast-paced from the onset as a bewildered Tony leans one thing leads to another; just not what he expected.  Fans will enjoy this entertaining mystery and Theo’s quilt Night on the Mountain while also seeking out the previous case (see Murder by Serpents).

Harriet Klausner

Dixie Noir-Kirk Curnutt

Dixie Noir

Kirk Curnutt

Five Star, Nov 2009, $25.95

ISBN 9781594148217

 

After a decade behind bars for drug trafficking, former Alabama football star Ennis Skinner is freed from prison.  He returns home to Montgomery, Alabama hoping to atone for his transgression.  His ailing father, who was part of the Civil Rights Movement, welcomes Ennis home.

 

Even before he can settle in with his dad, former Meth salesman High C asks Ennis to find his missing nineteen year old mentally challenged daughter Caroline called Dixie by her late mom Alice “Faye” James.  The request brings back memories Ennis would prefer to forget.  On his way to the NFL, he and the late Faye had a heated tryst that led to the jock’s drug ruin.  At the same time when the city is divided over race as the white incumbent Amory Justice and African-American Walk Compson vie for the mayor’s position, Dixie somehow seems to be caught in the middle somehow.

 

Dixie Noir is an intriguing amateur sleuth mystery that focuses on race relations in the Deep South during a heated mayoral election further fueled by Amory’s daughter.  The story line is fast-paced but character driven with homage paid to local heroes like the Bear, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Joe Willie.  Ennis is terrific as an infamous legend in Crimson Tide football for his “cocaine on the membrane”.  Although a final Dixie twist seems more an unnecessary shocker that detracts from an otherwise strong regional drama, fans will enjoy this fine Alabama thriller.

 

Harriet Klausner

The Poisoning in the Pub-Simon Brett

The Poisoning in the Pub

Simon Brett

Five Star, Nov 2009, $25.95

ISBN: 9781594148903

 

In Fethering, West Sussex, the Crown and Anchor pub has had some recent problems.  First food poisoning with the media all over the establishment forced a temporary shutdown.  Then the grand reopening is devastated by an unruly motorcycle gang.  However, worse is the cruel stabbing of a mentally challenged kitchen helper Ray.  Landlord Ted Crisp is stunned but soon feels like Job being tested when on top of all that a chain has threatened to open in Fethering.

 

Friends Carole Seddon and Jude investigate taking advantage of their age as no one would believe two old biddies would risk their lives except in a Christie novel.  The pair begins to unravel who killed the gentle lad and why as they connect his death to the poisoned scallops.

 

The latest Fethering amateur sleuth tale (see Blood at the Bookies) is a terrific entry containing a cautionary message warning readers to beware of the chain stores as they may be more efficient, but at a price to the local flavoring.  The lead ladies are at their best as they non-intrusively investigate what has been going on at the pub.  Readers will enjoy Simon Brett’s fine village mystery as image (not substance) in a pub, a shop, or a person means everything to most people.

 

Harriet Klausner

The Charm Stone-Lillian Stewart Carl

The Charm Stone

Lillian Stewart Carl

Five Star, Nov 2009, $25.95

ISBN: 9781594147708

 

For the past several years Texas born forty year old writer Jean Fairbairn has lived in Scotland with her lover former cop Alasdair Cameron.  However, she and Alasdair are in Virginia researching an article on Lady Dunsmore, wife of the last English governor of the Commonwealth for the magazine she co-owns, Great Scot.  Whereas Jean plans on working, Alasdair plans on enjoying Williamsburg as a welcome respite from his private security company, Protect and Survive.

 

Dunsmore owned a “witch box” which allegedly contained a charm stone that is on display at the nearby DeWitt Wallace Museum.  Meanwhile Alasdair receives a call from home that someone stole a replica of the Dunsmore witch box from Blair Castle, where his firm provides security.  Apparently Kelly Dingwall accidentally set off an alarm in the private section of the castle; during the turmoil the box was taken.  Alasdair has suspicions that the alarm was deliberate because Kelly is the sister to Tim Dingwall, who along with his wife Sharon, are infamous for their views.  When two murders occur, Williamsburg Detective Stephanie Venegas leads the inquiry, but reluctantly allows the out of towners to assist once she checks up on them.

 

This fascinating romantic police procedural works on two fronts.  First the relationship that seemed so strong (see The Secret Portrait, The Murder Hole and The Burning Glass) seems to be unraveling with plenty of deep symbolism and metaphors in which readers will never look at a toothbrush or a hairbrush the same way.  Second there is the investigation in which the local detective reluctantly allows the lead couple to help as the theft in Scotland seems tied to the homicides in Virginia.  The forth entry is the charm for fans of the series.

 

Harriet Klausner

Ancient Laws-Jim Michael Hansen

Ancient Laws

Jim Michael Hansen

Dark Sky Publishing, Sep 2009, $13.95

ISBN: 9780976924326

 

In Denver almost one year has passed since twenty-two years old waitress Amanda Peterson was murdered.  The killer ripped out the victim’s eyes and put them backwards into the sockets.  The case has gone cold in Colorado but now a second dead female with the same gruesome ritual has surfaced in Paris.  Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry flies to Paris to share what he knows with local authorities in an attempt to prevent further killings.

 

In Paris, Bryson meets his contact Detective Fallon La Rue and feels he is in love at first sight.  However, seeing the corpse of the second person stuns him when Margaux Simon turns out to be Tracy White; she saw the killer in Denver and when Bryson mistakenly gave her name to the killer after being tricked, vanished.  He further explains to Fallon that he took a bullet in the stomach trying to keep Tracy safe, but obviously failed. They work together employing his ruse of using a doctored version of the drawing of the killer as provided by Tracy last year, but this time Fallon is the bait.  However, neither cross oceanic cop is prepared to the twists they face to solve this case.

 

The latest Laws police procedural is an extremely complex tale with multiple story lines that cleverly interact and twist.  Fallon brings a special freshness that will have fans saying oui oui for more appearances by her and Bryson is his usual terrific self.   However, it is the complicated whodunit that grips readers throughout as nothing is quite like it seems.

 

Harriet Klausner