KEEP IT REAL by Bill Bryan: Former investigative reporter and now reality TV producer Ted Collins accidentally witnesses a violent exchange between gangsta rapper Boney and his current hottie, Patrice, just before Patrice goes missing.  Since rap music and reality TV rank right up there with prostate exams and root canals in my list of favorites, along with “TV personalities,” this was not a book I would normally purchase.  However, since it was sent to me to review, I felt honor bound to give it a try.  Reading the book reminded me of the evaluation a college friend got for a college ROTC paper he turned in after 72 hours of coffee, No-doz, and similar substances. “Well written and covers the subject matter.  Would have been more effective and very much shorter if the quantity of profanity had been reduced by at least 50%.”  That said, if you can get past the subject, the setting and the language, it ain’t that bad a book, just not for me. 05/07 Jack Quick 

THE KEEPER by Sarah Langan: Susan Marley wanders the town of Bedford, Maine, leaving a trail of nightmares in her wake. Everyone in the town thinks of Susan at their worst moments. Thoughts and dreams of her come unbidden and are beyond the townspeople’s control. Then, Susan Marley is dead. Rather than relief, her death brings a plague of darkness and evil to the dying town of Bedford. Those who are able, leave before the worst of it begins. Everyone who remains hides a dark secret in their past, a secret that the dead Susan Marley can now release upon them. Sarah Langan’s Stoker nominated debut is an absolute must for horror fans. This creepy tale will, at times, remind readers of King’s Needful Things. Like King, Langan’s characters are not ideal small town folk. Most of them are barely able to keep their dirty secrets hidden from the prying eyes of gossipy neighbors. It is just this element that makes the people of Bedford more realistic, if grandiose, depictions of the worst sort of people today. Langan has an impressive voice that is all her own. I recommend you lock your doors and curl up with this book late into the night. The Keeper is only the beginning. Langan’s recent follow-up, The Missing, revisits the cursed town of Bedford.  11/07 Becky Lejeune

KEEPING IT REAL by Justina Robson: When I picked this up, I was kind of like, "elves, bleh, they make my teeth hurt." But they kind of have the same effect on the heroine of the book, with lots of complaining about their twinkly pan flute music and prissy attitude. ("Elves don't rock!")
    In the story, it turns out there was some kind of temporal anomaly or something, it doesn’t really matter, and now people can travel between dimensions to the elf world and the demon world and possibly others, I don’t remember exactly. And there’s this one elf who is a rock star in the human world, and a human woman who is assigned to be his bodyguard because she was in a horrible accident and is now basically the Bionic Woman and more or less invincible. It’s definitely an unusual take on the whole elf thing, and it was pretty fun with lots of sciency details about magic.
    My only problem with it was the rather pointless romance aspect, which is a bit like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series with the "we LOVE each other because we are SOULMATES because we LOVE each other because we are SOULMATES because we LOVE each other". Even so, I liked it a lot and will probably read the next one in the series. Jenne Bergstrom 03/08

Kentuckiana by Johnny Payne:  This was seriously funny stuff, brilliantly written, about a family that will be impossible to forget.  I wasn't sure what to expect, I never heard of metafiction and still had some trepidations about Southern fiction.  Braselton drew me out, and now this...I may be over it!  I read it to gain some insight into the author, and I think I accomplished that, but I gained so much more.  Onward to North of Patagonia... 

KEY LIME PIE MURDER by Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen returns in Fluke’s latest mystery, the ninth in the series. Swensen, the owner of The Cookie Jar bakery in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is still bothered by the decision to marry Mike Kingston or Norman Rhodes. However, for a week in June, she can forget about it because it’s time for the Tri-County Fair, and Hannah’s whole family is involved. Hannah’s a judge in the baking contest. Her sister Michelle is competing to be Miss Tri-County Fair Queen, and Andrea is competing in the mother-daughter lookalike contest. Hannah’s other problem, besides her love life? Why is Moishe, her cat, giving up food to stare out the window? Those are her problems until another judge, a teacher’s aide, is murdered at the fair. Hannah’s family comes together to investigate Willa Sunquist’s past, because something in it might lead to the killer. Fans of Hannah Swensen will enjoy the return to Lake Eden, with its familiar cast. And those of us not on a diet will enjoy the wonderful recipes that Fluke includes in each book. 03/07 Lesa Holstine

KEY WEST CONNECTION by Randy Wayne White:  Ex-Navy SEAL Dusky MacMorgan will need all his military skills when a psychotic pack of drug runners turns the Gulf stream waters red with the blood of his beloved family.  His new life as a fisherman is shattered but soon he is tracking the pack responsible right into the island fortress of a corrupt U.S. Senator.  However, even that fortress in vulnerable to a one-man hit squad with MacMorgan’s expertise and arsenal.  Originally published in 1981 under the pen name of Randy Striker.  Hope they have some more stashed away. 06/06 Jack Quick

KIDNAPPED by Jan Burke: Reporter Irene Kelly and husband Detective Frank Harriman return in this latest installment to the series. The mystery begins with the murder of Richard Fletcher, member of the famous Fletcher family, and the disappearance of his infant daughter Jenny. Five years later, Jenny is still missing. While investigating a story on missing children, Irene fills in for another reporter at a crime scene where human remains have been discovered. The scene turns out to be strangely linked to Irene’s own story. As she investigates further, she becomes entangled in something much bigger than she could have imagined. With original stories and an engaging cast, Jan Burke always delivers. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. This is also a perfect opportunity for newbies to jump in, though there are a few references to past releases. 10/06 Becky LeJeune

THE KIDNAPPING OF ROSETA UVALDO by Zane Grey:  Good westerns are like potato chips.  It’s hard to stop with just one.  Twenty years as a Texas Ranger were about enough for Vaughn Merrill.  He was ready to settle down with a good wife, and raise children and cattle on a spread of his own.  However, when the lovely dark-eyed Roseta Uvaldo is kidnapped by bad guys from South of the Border, Merrill knows he could never pursue his own dreams until he rescued her and made sure her captors paid the price. 04/06 Jack Quick 

KILL ALL THE LAWYERS by Paul Levine: Levine delivers yet again with this fast, funny legal thriller, third in the Solomon vs. Lord series.  Steve Solomon, Miami lawyer who lives by his own law and favors t-shirts with pithy sayings like, "Lawyers do it in their briefs" has his hands full.  A former client, Dr. William Kreeger, recently released from prison, has somehow learned that Steve threw the case and got him convicted.  Instead of appealing or suing, Dr. Kreeger, a well-known psychologist, decides to torture and kill Steve.  Steve's law partner & lover, Victoria Lord, is pressuring him to make a commitment, and worse than that, he thinks he wants to.  Steve's lovable-albeit-challenging nephew, Bobby, is at full pubescent turmoil, compounded by Bobby's drug-addict mother finding Jesus and trying to move back into his life. To round out this picture of family dysfunction is Steve's father, who has also found religion - he's become an Orthodox Jew and is driving Steve crazier than usual.  But despite all their faults, none of them really wants to see Steve get killed. With a little help from friends and family, Steve & Victoria live to fight another day.  And to fans of this series, that is very good news indeed.  I love this series; it's become one of those that when I read the latest book - a couple of weeks before the on-sale date, mind you - I'm immediately impatient for the next.  Hey, Levine, I know you're reading - can't you write any faster???  08/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

KILL ALL THE LAWYERS by Paul Levine: The oddest of odd couples continue their legal practice and love-hate relationship. She honors the rules, he bends them, she wants to settle down, he is too high flying. This time Steve has a little problem, an ex-client and convicted killer psychologist with a genius level IQ discovers that Steve deliberately lost his case. This is not someone you want as an enemy as Steve learns when a 300-pound fish is found dangling from Steve’s door. The threats escalate from there and strain the relationships to the max, before the matter is finally resolved. Please, please keep them coming, Mr. Levine. This has got to be more fun than practicing law. 11/06 Jack Quick

KILL ME by Stephen White: Clinical psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory plays only a cameo role in this tale about a wealthy, happily married businessman with an adventurous streak who becomes one of Gregory’s patients. The businessman has learned of an organization that, for a hefty fee, will end your life should you become a burden to family as the result of catastrophic accident or illness. He signs up, only to learn that while he has a potentially deadly medical condition, it could strike now or twenty years from now. The problem is that the organization has activated his contract. Can our hero evade the assassins he paid with his own money in time to put his house in order? Bizarre and thrilling, but bottom line - I think I prefer White’s other efforts better. 08/06 Jack Quick

KILLER INSTINCT by Joseph Finder:  Finder pens another corporate thriller that is his best yet - and that's saying a lot for the "John Grisham" of the corporate world.  Jason Steadman is a happy guy; he's a successful salesman for Entronics, Panasonic's biggest rival, he works with some good guys, plays softball for the company team.  His wife isn't so happy; she'd like to see him work a little harder, get further ahead, buy her a bigger house.  When he accidentally drives into a ditch, he befriends the tow truck driver, Kurt Semko, ex-Special Forces and semi-pro ball player, recruiting him for the corporate team and getting him a job in security.  In a strange twist of fate, good things start happening for Steadman while bad things are happening to his rivals.  He becomes uneasy with all the yin and yang and the suspense gets thick as Steadman tries to figure out what is going on and how, or if, to stop it.  Believable characters doing unbelievable things combine to make a fast paced, tension filled story that works because of Finder's superb writing and storytelling skills.  This is a page turner of the highest order; don't plan on putting it down until you turn the last page.   05/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline: After Dead Ringer, Mary DiNunzio and the all-women law firm of Rosato & Associates are back in another installment of the popular series. While it's chock-full of Scottoline's trademark murder, mayhem, and merriment, this time she has a more important and personal story to tell-that of the little-known internment camps for Italian Americans during World War II. Scottoline discovered her own grandparents' alien registration cards, giving her the impetus and passion to bring this story to light. DiNunzio has taken on a pro bono case for the family of Amadeo Brandolini, an Italian immigrant fisherman who settled in Philadelphia but died under mysterious circumstances in one such camp in Montana; now, his family is seeking retribution. DiNunzio takes his case to heart, but her fervent research uncovers more subterfuge than she was supposed to find. Her crazy blind dates offer some comic relief, but the threats, violence, and bodies continue to pile up, and the truth remains elusive throughout this complex and riveting tale.

KILLER SWELL by Jeff Shelby:  Smart-talking, wisecracking, surfing San Diego PI Noah Braddock, has a problem with his newest prospective client.  Marilyn Crier is the mother of his high school sweetheart, Kate, and was actively involved in making sure the romance didn’t last.  But Kate, now married, is missing, and Marilyn plays on his old feelings for her daughter to get him to take the case.  After he finds Kate, too late, he sets out to find out exactly what has happened in the dozen years since they parted.. Drugs and drug lords, Federal and local police, Kate's parents, sister and husband, all work to complicate the puzzle. Good action and a surprise plot twist make it a safe bet that Braddock will return.  WICKED BREAK is his next one.  04/06 Jack Quick 

KILLER VIEW by Ridley Pearson: It’s a return to Blaine County, Idaho in Pearson’s latest Sheriff Walt Fleming mystery. Once again, the likable sheriff has a mess on his hands with two kidnap victims, a murder, and local ranchers and politicians who seem to be blocking his investigation. Fleming is stubborn, though, and two of the victims were childhood friends of his. He’s not going to let any politician stand in his way. This book has a few too many technical details about guns, hunting, and tracking for my taste, but it’s still a page-turner with a killer ending. 08/08 Lesa Holstine

KILLER WEEKEND by Ridley Pearson: As a rookie cop, Walt Fleming saved Elizabeth Shuler from a knife-wielding attacker. Now he’s the sheriff in Sun Valley, Idaho, and she’s about to announce her candidacy for President. He’s not looking forward to a weekend coping with assorted security forces. He also has to cope with the father he hates, a troubled teenage nephew, and a cougar on the loose. Throw in a woman who disappears, and a killer who seems headed straight for Sun Valley, and there’s a Killer Weekend. Pearson creates a very human hero in Sheriff Walt Fleming, and throws him into a tough situation. He tells the story in crisp, short chapters that move the story quickly along. James Patterson fans who haven’t yet discovered Ridley Pearson are in for a treat. 08/07 Lesa Holstine

KILLER YEAR, edited by Lee Child:  Killer Year features a group of 13 debut crime/mystery/suspense authors whose books were published in 2007. The graduating class includes such rising stars as Brett Battles, Robert Gregory Browne, Bill Cameron, Toni McGee Causey, Sean Chercover, JT Ellison, Patry Francis, Marc Lecard, Derek Nikitas, Gregg Olsen, Jason Pinter, Marcus Sakey, and David White.  These stories are intorcued by the likes of Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver and Tess Gerritsen, In addition there are stories by Ken Bruen, Allison Brennan and Duane Swierczynski and essays by Laura Lippman and MJ Rose.  Lee Child proves to be as adept as an editor as he has already shown as an author.  Definitely a keeper. 04/08 Jack Quick  

KILLER YEAR: STORIES TO DIE FOR…From the Hottest New Crime Writers edited by Lee Child:  If you’re interested in discovering new crime writers, this is a perfect anthology to pick up. Thirteen of these authors had their first crime novel published in 2007. Together, they formed the group Killer Year 2007, designed to get buzz for their first novels. It certainly succeeded. It caught the attention of International Thriller Writers (ITW), a group that offered to mentor the new writers. This compilation is one result of that partnership. It’s an intriguing group of stories, introduced by Lee Child, and summarized by Laura Lippman. Each new author is introduced by their mentor in the book. If you like dark crime, this is a perfect collection. Discover Gregg Olsen, Toni McGee Causey, or J.T. Ellison. Let Brett Battles’ take you to the Philippines. You’ll read stories told by detectives, killers, and the victims themselves. It’s a great way to find new authors, if you’re a crime fiction reader. 01/08 Lesa Holstine

THE KILLER'S WIFE by Bill Floyd:  What if your somewhat controlling, know-it-all husband turned out to be a serial killer?  That is the intriguing premise of Floyd's debut novel that never quite lives up to expectations.  Nina Mosley has a baby before she is finally able to admit to herself that there is something wrong in her marriage and with her husband.  By that point, he's decided to trust her, and leaves her the evidence she needs to turn him in, get a divorce, move cross country and change her name.  Years pass and then she is confronted by the parent of one of her ex's victims, turning her new life upside down.  When her son is kidnapped by a copycat killer, the tension really escalates.  While interesting and towards the end, very suspenseful, the book tends to meander choppily between the back story and the present day situation, but all in all, a very impressive debut. 04/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE KILLER’S WIFE by Bill Floyd: Leigh Wren has been through one of the worst experiences any wife can imagine. Her husband, Randy, was a serial killer and it was Leigh who discovered the truth and turned him in. Some people couldn’t believe that Leigh had nothing to do with the murders. It is one of these people, the father of one of Randy’s victims, who has tracked Leigh down six years after the fact and has turned her world upside-down. Now, neighbors look at her with suspicion, her son is being bullied in school, and it seems that the two may have become a target for a new killer. This is an explosive debut that elicits the most visceral emotional responses - everything from sympathy to downright anger. Like many novels, this one picks up in the middle, Randy sits, running through appeal after appeal on death row and Leigh has attempted to make a new life for her and her son. The story alternates between the events of the present and the events of the past – from the point when Randy first meets and woos Leigh, through her discovery of his terrible secret, to her new life and identity in Cary, North Carolina. This is one of the most talked about debuts of the year, and Bill Floyd really delivers. 03/08 Becky Lejeune 

KLLING ART by Jonathan Santlofer: Kate McKinnon is back and has some major adjusting to do since her husband's demise.  She's moved out of their luxury digs into a slightly more modest Chelsea apartment.  She's working on a new book on the 1930's-40's New York School of artists, which included such artists as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.  Then in an odd coincidence, the de Kooning painting that Kate had donated to a museum in her husband's memory is slashed during a museum benefit.  More paintings are destroyed - and their owners are being murdered.  The trend continues with an intriguing twist: the murderer is leaving a calling card, paintings that include clues to the next victim.  Santlofer is a gifted artist and these paintings are featured throughout the book, putting an unusual spin on the thriller that really draws the reader in.  Top notch. 02/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE KILLING ART by Jonathon Santlofer:  Kate McKinnon, a former NYPD detective turned art historian has given up her rich clients and is now writing a book about the New York School of painters of the 1930s.  After someone slashes a painting by Willem de Kooning, which was loaned to a museum by Kate's late husband, she reluctantly returns to police work, helping the NYPD's art squad find out who's behind this and other slashings.  An interesting look into what, for me, was a totally different world. 05/06 Jack Quick

THE KILLING CIRCLE by Andrew Pyper:  Widower and single father Patrick Rush is looking for more out of his life than his journalism career has been giving him. On a whim, he joins a writing class. He finds that he has trouble developing his own story, but he quite enjoys one of his fellow classmates’ tales in particular. Time passes and Patrick hears that the author of this tale has died in a car accident. Patrick, who still has no story of his own, decides to tell hers instead. Then the dead girl shows up at one of his signings cryptically telling him to watch out, that he has awakened the Sandman. Soon, others from the class reveal that they have felt a presence, perhaps someone stalking them, a malicious being hiding in the shadows. Patrick, too, has felt this and believes that the person behind it has to have been one of the members of that writing group. Then the first body appears and Patrick knows that time is quickly running out for them all. At first, my impression was that Killing Circle bore a strong resemblance to Jincy Willett’s Writing Class. Quickly, though the book took a much darker tone than Willett’s more sarcastic tale. Pyper’s story is an ominous thriller with a really great ending. Certainly readers who enjoyed Willett’s novel will also like The Killing Circle, but in the end they are refreshingly different. 09/08 Becky Lejeune  

Killing Floor by Lee Child: Western readers might even enjoy Child’s debut thriller because it has that traditional western plot
- stranger rides into town, woos woman, cleans up town, and rides out of town. In this case, Jack Reacher, Child’s hero is introduced when he arrives off the bus in a small Georgia town, only to be arrested for a murder that occurred before he arrived.  He discovers a personal interest in finding the killers, so he gathers a few allies to help in his search. It’s a riveting first novel which, upon its debut, gave clues as to the powerful writer Child would become. 08/06 Lesa Holstine

THE KILLING GROUND by Jack Higgins:  Is there anyone better at writing about bad guys doing good things?  Sean Dillon, the colorful former IRA hit man turned British intelligence antiterrorism op is back, along with his able sidekick, Billy Salter, son of London pub keeper and career criminal, Harry Salter.  The actual villain is Muslim extremist Hussein Rashid, aka the Hammer of God, one of the most successful assassins alive, with 27 certified kills of American and British soldiers and Iraqi politicians.  This time Hussein is after Charles Ferguson, head of British intelligence. It's a longstanding grudge, complicated by the recent kidnapping of Hussein's promised bride, his 13-year-old cousin Sara, who was earlier kidnapped by Hussein himself.  Don’t worry, it reads easier than it explains.  Just don’t get too comfy because you never know what the next page will bring.  With almost forty of these published, Higgins knows how to pull all the strings and without ever a letdown.  Definitely recommended. 03/08 Jack Quick 

The Killing of Strangers by Jerry Holt: Sam Haggard was in Vietnam on May 4, 1970, when the Kent State shootings occur. However, twenty-five years later, the ex-cop turned fired security guard knows the story of Lucifer and Crystal Jones, ex-hippies who were involved with Kent. Lucifer disappeared that day, but Crystal, a drunk, dependent on her wealthy father, claims she’s seen him in her backyard. When Crystal’s daughter asks Sam to look into it, he finds himself caught up in a dangerous game. As Sam runs around Ohio looking for answers, he realizes he feels alive for the first time in a long time. This is a novel, with no answers for “one of the unsolved mysteries of the century,” but it’s a haunting, intriguing story. 05/06 Lesa Holstine

A KILLING NIGHT by Jonathon King: This time out Florida PI Max Freeman, is primarily in Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia helping pal Bill Manchester look after the interests of a dozen immigrant cruise ship employees who were injured in a boiler explosion. Freeman is also looking into the murder of three pretty female bartenders. The suspect is Philadelphia ex-cop Colin O’Shea, with whom Max once worked. King just keeps getting better and better. 05/07 Jack Quick

KILLING RAIN by Barry Eisler: A blown assignment in Manila for his new employers – the Mossad - leaves two CIA agents dead and John Rain in the cross hairs as the Israelis fear his continued existence will lead back to them. Mossad operative Delilah who had become Rain’s lover and introduction to Mossad is now tasked with finding him and setting him up for elimination. But the dead agents are actually ex-CIA and there is more going on here than suspected by anyone. There are both official and unofficial agendas being pursued. Most of the action actually happens in Bangkok and Rain and his partner Dox seem to be under the gun all the time. Rain is a contradictory character, but Eisler makes him likable and the pace is always fast. Expect the unexpected and you may still be surprised at the end as I was. Recommended. 07/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

KILLING TIME by Linda Howard: In 1985, a fifteen-year-old Knox Davis watched the town fathers place a time capsule in the ground. His curiosity as to its contents was aroused, but forgotten when the high school football coach committed suicide that night. Twenty years later, both events come back to haunt Knox, now the chief county investigator. Why would someone dig up and remove the time capsule? Why doesn't the thief show up on the security cameras? Knox' interest is once again aroused by the appearance of Nikita Stover, an FBI agent who shouldn't be looking into a local murder and showing interest in the time capsule. Knox Davis is a strong, likeable character in this suspense novel with an unusual twist.  07/05 ~This review contributed by Lesa Holstine.

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS by Katrina Kittle: Sarah Ladens is struggling to keep her family intact after the death of her husband. Her oldest son, Nate, has been getting in trouble at school and her youngest, Danny is barely getting by. Sarah learns that her best friend is charged with a horrendous crime against her son, a classmate of Danny's, as well as several other young children in this small, close-knit town. Sarah must determine who to believe--the scathing evidence the police has found, or her best friend. And caught in the middle is Jordan, Danny's classmate. Jordan has never known what it feels like to really be loved. Now, without parents, he's destined to become part of the foster care system. The Ladens step up and offer to foster him. After a long and difficult struggle, the Ladens, once again a family of four all begins to heal. The Kindness of Strangers is powerful and full of emotion. Katrina Kittle deals with a sensitive topic that is often buried. The emotion that each of the characters experience is genuine and believable. The reader feels that they are part of the story, a member of the community that is forced to deal with this horrendous crime. 05/08 Jennifer Lawrence

KING OF THE HOLLY HOP by Les Roberts: It's been six years since the last book in the Milan Jacovich series, and it's been way too long. Milan attends the fortieth reunion of his East Cleveland high school. He witnesses an argument between a famous playwright and a doctor, but doesn't see the doctor shot in the parking lot. When the playwright asks him to find another suspect, Milan discovers his entire class is suspect. This is a sad, nostalgic novel, as Milan investigates and loses friends, and realizes he can't recapture the past of his class, his life, or the city of Cleveland. This could serve as the successful conclusion to a series, or the turn in Jacovich's life and career. It will be interesting to see what happens. I'm hoping Roberts brings Milan back. He's Cleveland's answer to Robert B. Parker's Spenser.  07/08 Lesa Holstine

The King of Lies by John Hart: This powerful literary thriller starts off slowly but builds momentum like a runaway train. Jackson Workman Pickens, Work to his friends, is an unambitious criminal defense lawyer in a small North Carolina town who has some serious baggage. He's lost his mother, his father Ezra has been missing for more than a year, leaving Work to deal with his psychologically damaged sister, and his marriage is on the rocks. Ezra, a prosperous attorney of questionable ethics and Work’s boss, made a lot of enemies, so when his body is found pretty much everyone is a suspect – but only one man is charged with the murder. Small town ostracism and a social climbing wife only add to the difficulties of trying to find out the truth behind the murder, which eventually opens a Pandora’s Box for Work. The writing is beautiful and the story is gripping, but it is the character study of a damaged southern lawyer that puts this debut novel on the must-read list. 06/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch. Copyright © 2006 Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Reprinted with permission. 

THE KING OF LIES by John Hart: This debut novel is evocative of some of the early John Grisham works. “Work” Pickens is a second-generation lawyer in Salisbury, North Carolina who has always lived in the shadow of his father, Ezra. Ezra’s body, with two .357 bullet holes is found over a year after he disappeared the same night Work’s mother died. Because Work stands to inherit over $15 million, he is an immediate suspect, although it is known that Ezra had a number of people who actively disliked him. Then Work learns that Alexandra, his sister’s partner, was convicted of killing her own abusive father which makes Work fearful for her safety an well. A powerful story and reasonably well written. I found it a bit long on “touchy-feely” and had some difficulty in warming up to Work because of his brooding nature and some of his personal predilections. I look forward to Hart’s next effort to see if there is improvement. 04/07 Jack Quick

KING OF THE ROAD by Paul Hemphill – Paul Hemphill grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and became a featured daily columnist in the Atlanta Journal during the 1960’s. In this novel, he captures the spirit of the last American cowboy – the over the road trucker – who is trying to pass along his love of this life to his son. Jake and Sonny go on the road for Jake’s last trip from Alabama to Nevada – a journey that will enable Sonny to see his father, and himself, in a new light. Jake is over seventy, his wife has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t know him most of the time, his daughter and son-in-law have disowned him. All he has left is Dixie Red ball IV – his gasoline powered Dodge truck - and Sonny, an alcoholic want-to-be writer who has settled for teaching at community colleges rather than reaching for his goals. Extremely well written and accurately depicts the time and location. 08/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

A KISS GONE BAD by Jeff Abbott:  Welcome to Port Leo, Tex., original home of porn star Pete Hubble, the black sheep son of a senator, who returns only to be killed.  His producer and girlfriend, Velvet Mojo, along with rookie Judge Whit Mosley and police detective Claudia Salazar, a pompous southern sheriff, a wrestler turned evangelist, a shadowy psychotic killer named Blade, a corrupt female senator and a delightful sidekick who sticks to his ethics even if they don't always coincide with judicial law seek to get to the bottom of the matter.  You’ve probably guessed the conclusion by now, but you still should give it a read.  06/06 Jack Quick

KISS ME, JUDAS by Will Christopher Baer: Remember the one about the man who wakes up in a hotel bathtub full of ice to discover someone has removed a kidney?  That really happens to Phineas Poe, an ex-cop on his first night out from a six month stay in a psychiatric hospital.  Poe heads to the sex-shop where his friend Crumb works.  “Crumb isn’t really a doctor. He does cheap abortions and gunshot wounds and even dental work for the mad and desperate.”  Crumb confirms the absence of Poe’s kidney and even further complications : but you just have to read it for yourself…. 11/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

KISS ME, KILL ME by Lauren Henderson:  Every girl knows how hard it is to be a teenager. Scarlett Wakefield is one the very unlucky ones. When Scarlett is invited to attend a party thrown by one of the most popular girls at St. Tabby’s private school, she is elated. Her crush, Dan McAndrew will be there. Her two friends are understandably angry at being ditched, but Scarlett can always deal with that later. After all, this could finally be her chance with Dan. Everything is going fantastically well. She and Dan are talking, and then, magically, kissing, but something is wrong with Dan. Dan is dead and it seems like Scarlett must be cursed with the kiss of death. Shamed out of St. Tabby’s, Scarlett is whisked away by her grandmother to attend Wakefield Hall Collegiate. Wakefield Hall is a far cry from St. Tabby’s and being the headmistress’s granddaughter isn’t helping. At least no one knows about Scarlett’s killer past. There is even a boy at Wakefield, the gardener’s hot grandson. Scarlett can’t shake the horrifying memory of Dan’s death, however, or the guilty thought that it was all her fault and she vows to find out the truth at any cost. This is Henderson’s first young adult title and the start of what promises to be a great teen mystery series. It’s fun for adults as well. Henderson is no newbie to the mystery trade. She is the author of seven precious adult tart noir mysteries.  01/08 Becky Lejeune

Kisscut by Karin Slaughter: In this sequel to Blindsighted, Dr. Sara Linton and Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver are back, dealing with very disturbing subject matter; a child porn ring and teenage genital mutilation, in a story even more depraved and gory than it's predecessor.  Slaughter borrows a page from Andrew Vachss, but unfortunately doesn't quite measure up.  The story just plods along in places, and certain plot points were dubious at best.  

KISSING BABIES AT THE PIGGLY WIGGLY by Robert Dalby: Dalby, author of Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly, takes readers back to Second Creek, Mississippi, for an election. Hale “Mr. Choppy” Dunbar is running for mayor, with the support of the Nitwits, a group of wealthy widows. Laurie Lepanto Hampton was president of the Nitwits, until her recent marriage, but she still has a voice with the group. She and her husband have an idea for radio spots done by the Nitwits, a scheme that just might help Dunbar defeat the incumbent, Floyce Hammontree, a man with his hand in his pocket. Second Creek and its residents are just as eccentric as ever. Dalby skillfully inserts issues such as library funding, Alzheimers, gay children and second marriages. At the same time, the book maintains its fun spirit. Readers looking for a book with enjoyable characters and a charming small town won’t be wrong to pick up either of the Piggly Wiggly books. In fact, meet the characters in Walting at the Piggly Wiggly, and Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly will give readers a chance to know them, and appreciate them, even more. 09/07 Lesa Holstine

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto:  Quirky first novel, more accurately a novella.  I found the translation a bit awkward but it was a funny, touching story worth reading.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: I had the privilege of meeting Josseini this past summer which compelled me to finally pick up his book.  This book is an incredible coming-of-age story along with a fascinating history of modern Afghanistan.  Amir is the son of a very successful businessman in Kabul and he grows up in privilege.  His closest friend, Hassan, is the son of their servant.  Amir's mother died in childbirth and Hassan's mother left him as an infant, and they shared the same wet nurse.  They grow up together, playing games and flying kites, which is serious business in Afghanistan.  They would be as close as brothers, except they are separated by class and by a horrific incident during their teenage years.  Eventually Amir and his father flee Afghanistan and end up in California, (rather like the author's own experience) but as an adult, Amir ends up going back to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to right some wrongs. Anyone with an interest in other cultures, especially in light of what's going on over there, should plan on reading this.  Beautifully written and very autobiographical, it is a book that will be haunting me for years to come.  This one is definitely going to make my top ten for the year.

KLLRS by Phil Bowie:  John Hardin has just been given an offer he can’t refuse, literally. Living under an assumed name and working as a pilot specializing in aerial photography, Hardin has some skeletons in his closet that are better off remaining hidden. When Nolan Radar, a former ATF agent, approaches him and blackmails him into helping him on a job, Hardin has no choice. Radar’s younger brother is missing and he believes that the notorious motorcycle gang, Satan’s Ghosts, is behind it. Radar wants Hardin to infiltrate the group and find his brother in exchange for keeping quiet. What the two don’t know is that a man calling himself Brain has taken the younger Radar as part of a twisted experiment and it’s just a matter of time before he’s killed. A great thriller that just sucks you in! Kllrs is third in a series that has been praised by both Lee Child and Stephen Coonts.  10/08 Becky Lejeune

KNEE HIGH BY THE FOURTH OF JULY by Jess Lourey:  Chief Wenonga is one muscled dude.  Of course, he is also 23 feet tall and formed from fiberglass.  But when he goes missing just before the town of Battle Lake, Minnesota celebrates the statue’s 25^th anniversary, there is sadness throughout the land.  Enter amateur sleuth Mira James.  However, her investigation is quickly interrupted by both the disappearance of her second biggest crush after the Chief, one Johnny Leeson, and the discovery of a dead body.  So is Mira after a statue thief, a kidnapper, or a murderer?  And the clue?  A scalp left at the scene of the Chief’s disappearance.  Better cook up another hot dish, Mama, this one is going to take awhile.  One of the better cozy series, but then again I also love Prairie Home Companion. 11/07 Jack Quick   

KNEE HIGH BY THE FOURTH OF JULY by Jess Lourey: Lourey’s amateur detective, Mira James, returns in the sequel to May Day and June Bug. Mira has settled in to the small town of Battle Lake, Minnesota, working part-time as the librarian, and part-time writing a column for the local newspaper. Since she’s a little sexually frustrated, she’s fallen for the 23-foot high statue of Chief Wenonga, the town’s mascot. When he disappears shortly before Chief Wenonga Days, Mira is determined to find the culprits behind the theft of her beloved statue. Lourey’s cozy mysteries vividly portray small town life in the Midwest during festival season, while introducing enjoyable plots and characters. 03/08 Lesa Holstine

KNOCKEMSTIFF by Donald Ray Pollock: If Flannery O'Conner and William Faulkner created a bastard lovechild, the result would be Donald Ray Pollock. Instead of the deep south, Pollock sets his stories in Knockemstiff, Ohio. The town is harsh and unforgiving. This despair is reflected in the lives of it's characters. Incest, drug abuse, and domestic violence are pasttimes for the denizens of Knockemstiff. The factories are closing. Poverty is rampant. This is the forgotten underbelly of America where life is cheap. While the subject matter may be grim, it is delivered with a deft touch. Pollock's writing style is nothing short of high-art, the work of a craftsman. This book will delight fans of transgressive fiction and university professors alike.  05/08 Dan Cawley

THE KOREAN INTERCEPT by Stephen Mertz:  This one avoids Iraq and Afghanistan in favor of the other member of the Evil Axis – North Korea.  The space shuttle Liberty, in orbit and set to deploy a defense satellite while making repairs to other satellites, has its mission aborted on order from NASA.  Veteran captain Ron Scott is uneasy but obeys the order--then crash-lands in the frontier between North Korea and China.  Scott, copilot Kate Galt and handsome but hotheaded crewman Bob Paxton survive.  Scott must try to help the others avoid capture until Kate's estranged husband, Major Trev Galt, a special-ops type for the National Security Council, can get them out of harm’s way.  Not great literature but enough action to satisfy those who prefer an adrenaline rush to more subtle pleasures. 02/07 Jack Quick

La Cucina:  A Novel of Rapture by Lily Prior: I absolutely loved this book!  Set in Sicily, it encompasses food, love, the Mafia, sex, romance, and fun, all rolled up into one tantalizing read.  Warning:  guaranteed to cause severe afterglow in all who read it!

L.A. DEAD by Stuart Woods:  Stone Barrington is about to marry the beautiful (but seriously crazy) daughter of a high-ranking Mafioso, whose other daughter happens to be married to Stone's best friend, an NYPD cop, when Stone is called to L.A., where his former lover has just discovered her husband's dead body.  The lover is Arrington, the dead husband is a famous movie star, and everyone except Stone, who's still in love with her, thinks she killed him.  Stone manages to save the damsel in distress, get rid of his nutty near-wife without offending her father, and wrap up all the details except the most important one – whether he will make the. woman of his dreams Arrington Barrington?  Stay tuned. 07/06 Jack Quick

L. A. OUTLAWS by T. Jefferson Parker:  Parker is one of my favorite crime fiction writers but he hasn't achieved the name recognition he deserves.  Hopefully, this book will do just that.  Suzanne Jones is a mild mannered teacher by day, but at night turns into Allison Murietta, fast food restaurant robber and car thief, who shares in the proceeds with local charities, including the local law enforcement fund raising arm.  Murietta believes herself to be the many times removed grandchild of a famous California bandit, Joaquin Murietta.  She gets a little out of her league when she stumbles onto a diamond deal gone bad; ten dead bodies and the diamonds just sitting there, waiting for her.  But Lupercio, a machete-wielding madman, is looking for the diamonds and he doesn't care who he has to kill to get them.  Meanwhile, Suzanne meets straight-as-an-arrow deputy Charlie Hood, who's been temporarily assigned to the murders.  Pretty soon things are heating up between them just as he is figuring out who she really is.  Take a wild ride with this one, you won't be sorry - it's sure to make my best of the year list. 02/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

L.A. OUTLAWS by T. Jefferson Parker:  Another outstanding offering from Parker who always comes up with the neatest characters.  By day, Suzanne Jones is an eighth grade history teacher with three sons in Los Angeles.  By night, she dons a mask, pockets her derringer and steals – cash from fast food places, cars, and in the instant case, almost half a million in diamonds.  You see, Suzanne aka Allison Murrieta, claims to be a descendant of Joaquin Murrieta, a 19th-century California folklore figure who was either a ruthless robber and killer or an Old West vigilante and Robin Hood.  Suzanne/Allison’s problem is that the diamonds are the basis of a gang disagreement and a master criminal known as the Bull has sent Lupercio, a ruthless assassin, to recover them.  Lots of violence and hot car action with just a touch of s-e-x makes this a fun read.  One of my best of the year. 11/08 Jack Quick

The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis: This is a story about the Orthodox Jewish community of Memphis, TN and how they deal with someone new and a little bit different moving in.  The narrator is the community itself and it makes for a compelling voice indeed.  Don't miss it. 

THE LADY ELIZABETH by Alison Weir: Historian Weir’s latest is a fictional depiction of Queen Elizabeth I in the years prior to the beginning of her monarchy. As with last year’s Innocent Traitor, the story of Lady Jane Grey, Weir has used historical record and creative license to create an addictive and dramatic story that begins with Mary’s revelation to her younger sister that her mother, Anne Boleyn, has been put to death for the crime of treason against the king in 1536 through to Mary’s death in 1558. A twist in Weir’s tale is the notion that Elizabeth conceived and miscarried a child fathered by Thomas Seymour. People have been fascinated with tales of the British monarchy for ages, and the timely release of Weir’s novel provides a perfect opportunity for fans of titles such as The Other Boleyn Girl to gain more insight into this fascinating piece of history – taken with a grain of salt, of course. Readers looking for a more accurate depiction can tackle Weir’s extensive non-fiction collection on the Tudors, but the fictional interpretation leaves more room for the consideration of less popular, but still remotely possible, “conspiracy theories” that make for provocative reading.  05/08 Becky Lejeune  

LADY KILLER by Lisa Scottoline: It’s great to be back with the all-girl law firm of Rosato & Associates, especially when Mary DiNunzio is at center stage.  Mary is young and sharp as a tack, yet somehow exudes an innocence and Old World charm despite dealing with impending wars between the Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin fan clubs, high school “Mean Girls” all grown up, or the mob.  She’s bringing home the bacon with all the neighborhood cases she takes, so it’s no surprise that former parochial school classmate and head mean girl Trish “Trash” Gambone looks to Mary for help when she fears for her life from her abusive gangster boyfriend. But Trish isn’t walking down any legal avenues to help herself, and she ends up disappearing along with her boyfriend.  Mary is beside herself with worry and guilt, and the rest of the mean girl claque go into overdrive harassing her, the cops and anyone else they think will help them find their friend.  Lady Killer is a thoroughly enjoyable read with warm, wonderful characters, gentle humor, and some unexpected twists and turns.  02/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch Copyright © 2008 Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Reprinted with permission. 

LAST BREATH by George D. Shuman: Shuman’s debut, 18 Seconds, was a major hit with mystery fans and Last Breath promises to continue this trend. Sherry Moore is a blind woman with a very unique talent - she has the ability to “see” a person’s final eighteen seconds of thoughts. Sherry has become something of a celebrity after she uses her ability to help in several high profile murder cases around the country. Lately though, her ability has been clouded by a deep depression resulting from the murder of her friend John Payne. Sherry reluctantly agrees to help when the bodies of three missing women are discovered in a storage container at an abandoned meat processing plant. It has been two years since the women disappeared. Just after their abductions, two teenage boys were caught on tape kidnapping a young woman in a parking lot and forcing her into a van. Police chased the suspects until the van careened over the edge of an overpass and exploded. Now, authorities finally have a chance to close the case. As it turns out, the teenagers were not the killers after all. No, these three women fell prey to a much more dangerous and twisted killer, one that has been active and covering his tracks all this time. Although officials are hesitant to use Sherry, the killer takes a special interest in her ability and begins to pursue her personally, ensuring her involvement in a case that could be her last. This is a great new series for mystery and suspense fans. Last Breath is a chilling and perfect follow-up to 18 Seconds. 08/07 Becky Lejeune 

Last Car to Elysian Fields by James Lee Burke: Homicide Detective Dave Robicheaux of the Iberia Sheriff's Department, an alcoholic in recovery, is in serious emotional trouble in this book. His wife Bootsie has died. His daughter Alafair (see review of Judgment Calls) is away at college. And he has sold his bait and fishing business to his old partner, Batist. He is alone and he is thinking about drinking. Obsessively.
    The story line begins with Dave ("Stretch" to his friends) assuming personal responsibility for protecting an activist Catholic priest, Father Jimmy Dolan, from an ex-IRA hitman. The hitman, Max Coll, is a complicated and interesting soul. Burke's books are philosophical enough in tone that using the word "soul" seems entirely appropriate.
    Other story threads have to do with the prison camp death of a blues singer named Junior Crudup, a contemporary of Leadbelly's, many years ago and the continuing coverup of that old death as well as the coverup of new ones. Hitman, oldline corruption and historical evil persisting to the present are stirred up by Robicheaux and his former partner, the hell-raising, good-hearted slob, Clete Purcel.
Evil with a capital E and racism are recurring themes in Burke's work and Last Car is no exception. He also reminds us that the beignets in the Cafe du Monde are not far from the St. Louis cemetery and that bodies not properly interred will float to the surface.
    All of Burke's Robicheaux's stories are worth reading and this is particularly good. It is a mark, I think, of Burke's story telling ability that I wanted to shake Dave and tell him to call his sponsor. ~This review contributed by Geoffrey R. Hamlin.

THE LAST DARK PLACE (#8) by Stuart Kaminsky:  Newly married Bill Hanrahan is trying to save his pregnant wife from a stalker while Abe Lieberman has his own problems.  Thirty three years ago he arrested a gunman who has now re-entered Abe’s life as a professional assassin.  The gunman is killed by an elderly janitor at the airport where Abe is preparing to fly him back to Chicago.  Abe is trying to find out why when an Asian-Latin gang war break outs.  Just another outing for our two long suffering Chicago cops in this eighth from Edgar-winner Kaminsky.  Vengeance is mine sayeth a lot of people in this one. 05/08 Jack Quick  

THE LAST EMBRACE by Denise Hamilton: Los Angeles in 1949 is the setting for Hamilton's first standalone, a story that brings the city to life in all of its contrasts. Lily Kessler is back in the U.S. after working as a spy for the OSS in the war. Her first stop was at the home of her deceased fiance, where his mother asks her to go to L.A. searching for his sister, a missing actress named Kitty. Almost as soon as she arrives, Lily learns that Kitty's body was found under the Hollywood sign. Since she doesn't trust the cops, she starts to ask questions, questions that could lead to a share in Kitty's fate. As more young women disappear, and their bodies turn up, Lily is just more determined to find the person responsible for killing young women, and their dreams. Some of the characters are a little weak, but Lily and the city are vivid characters in this mystery that celebrates class L.A. noir. 07/08 Lesa Holstine

THE LAST QUEEN by C.W. Gortner:  Anyone who appreciates outstanding historical fiction should try Gortner's outstanding story of a little-known queen, Juana of Castile, better known in Spain as Juana la Loca. It's said that she went mad from love. But, history can be deceiving, particularly when it's history written by men about a strong woman. Was there method to her madness? Gortner tells the story of the sister of Catherine of Aragon, and the mother of Charles V, a woman who claimed the throne of Spain, but was kept from it by powerful men. It's a story that is as filled with intrigue and suspense as the best adventure novel. It's a meaty examination of the politics in the 16th century through the eyes of a woman. I'd recommend this book for book discussion groups interested in an exciting story of a woman almost forgotten by history. 09/08 Lesa Holstine

THE LAST QUEEN by C.W. Gortner:  Juana de Castile was born in Spain in November of 1479. The daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand was also sister to Henry VIII’s Catherine of Aragon. For all of that, it seems few really know this amazing woman’s story. In 1496, in an agreement that would provide protection to Spain from possible French enemies, Juana was married to Phillip I (Habsburg) and in the same agreement, Juana’s brother Juan, destined to become ruler and uniter of Castile and Aragon, was married to Philip’s sister, Margaret. Philip died just a few months later and his would-be heir arrived stillborn. Juana and Philip subsequently became next in line for the Spanish throne. Juana would be the last queen of Spanish blood to sit on the throne. Unfortunately, Juana became the center of a ruthless power struggle that eventually lead to her title as Juana la Loca, Juana the Mad. Gortner’s passion for his subject is quite evident and it seems that after six years of research, he has uncovered enough evidence to support his belief that Juana was not in fact crazy at all. The Last Queen is a fascinating novel. Gortner builds Juana as a strong and noble woman who suffered for her unwavering beliefs and loyalties. For so long, the Tudors and the British monarchy have been the darlings of the genre. I found it most refreshing to read not only about historical Spain and the wonderful atmosphere that Gortner creates, but also about someone that history seems to have forgotten.  09/08 Becky Lejeune  

The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg:  In this fast paced and timely thriller set a few years into the future, Osama Bin Laden is dead, Saddam Hussein plans to launch something nasty - biological, chemical or nuclear - against Israel and/or the U.S. and someone is trying to assassinate the President.  Jon Bennett, Wall Street mogul who worked for the President before he became President, is Army-volunteered into helping arrange an Israeli-Arab oil agreement that could bring about world peace.  But first there's that little nuclear thing to take care of...nothing like the threat of nuclear war to keep the pages turning.  I would have liked to know these characters better, and some of it was hard to believe, or that could just be my naiveté or wishful thinking.  Fans of Clancy, Follett and Ludlum will enjoy this book; once started it is almost impossible to put down.  

THE LAST SECRET by Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore: Journalist Cotton Stone is on top of the world after the Grail Conspiracy but then she falls for a hoax in one of her stories. What goes up must come down and she begins a slow downward spiral career-wise. A year later she finds a crystal tablet at an ancient Inca site that predicts the Great Flood and another “final “ cleansing yet to come. The second cleansing is to be led by the daughter of an angel. Legend has it that there are a series of tablets and the last one in the series will hold the key to surviving Armageddon. Needless to say, Cotton is soon on the trail of the ultimate tablet encountering various and sundry misadventures on the way. Well written, but reads almost like a movie script in process. Maybe Ms. Sholes and Mr. Moore will hit it lucky and this will be the next “Da Vinci Code” flick. Recommended. 08/06 Jack Quick

THE LAST VAMPIRE by Patricia Rosemoor and Marc Paoletti:  When the military discovers a mummified body hidden away in a Texas cave, they unwittingly release a power unlike any other. At first, they are able to keep the body in a sleep-like state, unaware even that awakening it is a possibility. They harvest DNA from the remains and use what they’ve found to create an elite race of super soldiers. Their facility in New Orleans is breached, however, when a voodoo priestess with somewhat honorable intentions, compromises one of their own. Through him, she is able to awaken Andre Espinoza de Madrid, a vampire dating from the Spanish Inquisition. Captain Scott Boulder, leader of the unit is the only one left who can fight the creature. The military also brings in Leah Maguire, an anthropologist whose specialty is white magic. She too once survived an attack by this creature. Together, they must return him to the hell that he came from, before it’s too late. An interesting concept that was something of a disappointment. It worked well enough that I would like to see what happens in subsequent titles, if they continue, but as an individual novel, it fell short for me. 07/08 Becky Lejeune  

THE LAST VOICE YOU HEAR by Richard B. Schwartz: An apparently maniacal killer is on the loose in London, someone strong and very practiced at impalement. So far, so nasty, but when a victim is dispatched in similar fashion in Disneyland, of all places, Jack Grant is called in. He discovers the killer's identity, but there's a problem. There's a method to the killer's madness. Moreover, Grant has an ethical problem of his own, he's plagued by his conscience, since he understands and even sympathizes with the murderer's cause. The division between right and wrong is blurred in this twisting tale of vengeance and deadly justice. 06/06 Jack Quick

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman:  Jane Hudson was a scholarship student at Heart Lake School for Girls when her two roommates and a boyfriend all die tragic deaths, attributed to suicide.  Twenty years late Jane returns to teach Latin, newly separated, toddler in tow, when history seems to start repeating itself.  Very tight, well written suspense.

THE LAST CATO by Matilde Asensi:  Dr. Ottavia Salina, a brilliant and highly esteemed paleographer, is working away at her classified workspace deep within Vatican City when her routine is interrupted.  She is given the task of deciphering the strange tattoos -- seven Greek letters and seven crosses -- found on an Ethiopian man's corpse.  Found next to what was left of the body were three pieces of wood -- suspected by Vatican scholars to be fragments of the Vera Cruz, actual splinters from the Cross on which Christ was crucified.  Actually written in Spain prior to the explosion of religious-themed thrillers such as THE DA VINCI CODE, THE LAST TEMPLAR, THE TEMPLAR LEGACY and THE SECRET SUPPER, it follows the now familiar line uncovering deceptions, corruption and outright lies that have shaped the “truth” as we know it.  What hath Dan Brown wrought? 05/06 Jack Quick

THE LAST COYOTE By Michael Connelly: Detective Bosch is a very aggravated fellow. After stuffing Lt. Pounds head through a glass door, he's put on involuntary paid suspension, and forced to go to Chinatown for therapy.
Meanwhile his earthquake damaged house has been red-tagged by the city for demolition, his squeeze left him because she thought she found out who he was....he did not contest the matter, and he comes into therapy with Dr. Hinios with an extremely bad attitude.  But along the way, the therapy sort of starts to take, in a weird way,
and Harry decides because he's got some time on his hands, he's going to re-open the case of his mother's murder.  All people make choices in life along the way, to explore their inner self.  There are all certain roads we should not go down, or revisit.  Harry, being Harry, ignores all that, and bends as many rules as possible, as usual. (His explanation of why he got PO'd at Lt. Pounds, to Dr.Hinios, is priceless.) And being Harry, he thinks he's doing the Lord's work here.  He makes progress, which leads him along an old trail that is packed with ghosts. Hell, half the people he's investigating are nearly dead.  What Harry does not realize, nor understand, is that he's opening a book into his personal hell. And along the way, he inadvertently gets innocent people killed.  Of course he rationalizes it by thinking they were scumbags anyway, but that only holds up for so long.  A powerful and searing read.  02/06 DOC

THE LAST DAYS OF DOGTOWN by Anita Diamant: Diamant is sure to please fans of The Red Tent with this historical novel as she once again manages to make a distant place and time come alive.  Dogtown is a poverty stricken village on Cape Ann, Massachusetts and this is the story of the people who were too poor, too sick or too old to move away.  Each chapter is a character study interwoven into a story that brings Dogtown of the early 1800's to life.  Judy Rhines is an unmarried woman whose secret lover Cornelius is a freed slave, and she is at the heart of the story.  Other townsfolk include the madam, Mrs. Stanley, a female stonemason, Black Ruth, who dresses like a man, Oliver Younger who lives with his very strange aunt, and Easter Carter, whose diminutive size belies a big heart.  Their stories will linger long after the last page is turned in this fascinating story of 19th century New England. 09/05

THE LAST QUARRY by Max Allan Collins: Quarry, Collin’s hit man that he put to rest many years ago, is retired and living in the Minnesota woods. He accidentally gets involved in rescuing the kidnapped daughter of a Chicago media baron, who then wants to hire him to kill a young librarian in Colorado. When he winds up falling for his target, one Janet Wright, Quarry begins second-guessing his assignment and experiences an uncharacteristic change of heart that almost gets him killed. The latest from Hard Case Crime bringing back the best of the pulps – in new adventures. 08/06 Jack Quick

The Last Detective by Robert Crais:   I'm rolling out the welcome mat for Elvis Cole and Joe Pike; I've missed these guys but it was worth the wait for a book this good.  Elvis is still with his girlfriend Lucy, and is babysitting for her son, Ben, while she is away on business.  Lucy calls to say she's on her way home so Elvis tries to let Ben know, but he is nowhere to be found.  First thought is that he's wandered off down the hill behind the house to play, but after several minutes of searching and yelling that yields no response, Elvis realizes something is seriously wrong.  Lucy gets home and there is still no Ben - and then the phone rings with an ominous message.  A man claims he has taken Ben in retaliation for something Elvis did when he was in Vietnam.  Elvis lets Joe know, and calls a cop he knows.  Who should show up to take the report - Carol Starkey, the bomb squad cop of Demolition Angel (which was terrific) who is now working juvenile.  Tension builds throughout the story - an especially good touch was using the time lapsed since Ben's disappearance as chapter headings -  until the final twists force everything into place.  Personal note: the back cover alone would be worth the $24.95 - but the inside is just as satisfying.

LAST LULLABY by Denise Hamilton: While on assignment with customs officials at the Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond is caught in a shootout.  Among the casualties are three dead passengers and a mysterious Asian infant who disappears in the confusion.  Finding the missing girl becomes a n obsession with Eve, even though this places her at risk physically and professionally as she gets caught up among immigration officials (who have taken the little girl into hiding, supposedly for her own protection), armed goons (who'll do almost anything to get her back), and an immigration attorney (who hopes to win political asylum for the toddler).  Spice it up with a former lover, a bad-ass ten year old video wizard and a few other routine (for Los Angeles) characters and you have a twisty tale that, while sometimes over the top, delivers a satisfactory ending.  Of all the crime fighting journalists, broadcasters, et. al., that are out there, Eve Diamond remains more credible than most. 11/07 Jack Quick  

THE LAST SIX MILLION SECONDS by John Burdett: Nicely done police procedural set in Hong Kong in the final days before its reversion to the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong Chinese-Irish Chief Inspector Chan Siuka, AKA “Charlie” Chan, is trying to solve a gruesome triple murder. His investigative efforts are hampered by corrupt British diplomats and businessmen, as well as by the usual bevy of gangsters and Chinese warlords. Burdett’s real life experience as a practicing attorney in Hong Kong lends credence to the portrayal. 07/08 Jack Quick

THE LAST SPYMASTER by Gayle Lynds: International spy thrillers are a rare breed ever since the end of the Cold War (if it really ended...) and ones with characters are rich as these, a storyline as plausible yet frightening as this, are even more rare.  Charles Jay Tice was the station chief in Berlin for the CIA towards the end of the Cold War.  In a shocking turn of events he is convicted of treason and gets life imprisonment in a maximum security prison - yet he manages to escape.  Elaine Cunningham is one of the best "hunters" that the CIA has and she is put on the case - and quietly.  No one wants word to get out that the world's most dangerous spy is on the loose.  But what she learns makes her question her assignment and her future - she uncovers a much larger conspiracy than anyone ever suspected.  Lynds sets a new standard with her taut plotting, believable characters and terse, exciting writing - this is a page turner of the highest magnitude.  06/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE LAST SPYMASTER by Gayle Lynds:  This is the way a thriller should be.  Jay Tice is a legendary spymaster during the Cold War until he is sentenced to life in prison for treason against the United States.  For three years he is a model prisoner, before he makes a daring escape using a roll of clothes in a blanket, a fake head, and a wooden arm covered in upholstery from the craft shop.  Enter Elaine Cunningham, one of the CIA’s best “hunters” who is herself in jeopardy at the Agency.  Elaine is given the task of finding Tice and so, it’s down into the rabbit hole of darkest corners of the spy game where nothing is as it seems and no one is who you think they are.  Enemies are deadly, but then so again are friends. Is Tice innocent or guilty?  Will Elaine succeed or will this be her swan song?  Good enough to interfere with Super Bowl watching. 02/07 Jack Quick

THE LAST STRIPTEASE by Michael Wiley: I love finding new authors so I was delighted to find this one - Wiley is the most recent winner of the PWA/SMP Best First Private Eye Novel Contest.  Previous winners include Steve Hamilton and one of my favorites, Michael Koryta.  Wiley's debut puts him in good company, and he lives up to it.  Joe Kozmarski is a private investigator in Chicago who was formerly a cop.  He went private after getting drunk and smashing up a patrol car, never a good career move.  He still has friends on the force, which comes in handy after he witnesses a murder in a store while on surveillance.  He goes after the murderer, who escapes, and calls the cops.  The two officers who respond are young and don't know Joe, who soon finds himself handcuffed and face down on the floor until the detective in charge, his best friend, appears on the scene.  But that's a case for the cops, not a PI, so when retired Judge Rifkin calls and offers him ten times his usual fee to help investigate a murder, Joe can't say no.  An old friend, Bob Piedras, is the chief suspect in the murder of his girlfriend, Le Thi Hanh, but of course swears he didn't do it.  Joe has his hands full between Hanh's brothers following his every step and with babysitting his eleven year old nephew.  Joe is an interesting character, the novel is fast paced and twisty, making The Last Striptease one terrific read. 10/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE LAST STRIPTEASE by Michael Wiley:  Joe Kozmarski is another new Chicago PI who hopefully will be around for some time.  If it weren’t for bad luck, Joe wouldn’t have any.  Being an ex-cop and the son of a cop gives him just enough advantage to stay in trouble.  The central issue here is finding proof that Bob Piedras, an employee of retired Judge Peter Rifkin, did not kill his Vietnamese American girlfriend Le Thi Hanh, after a lover's tiff.  But there are other murders to be dealt with along with a rebellious 11-year-old nephew.  As Joe says, I have a Glock 23, a1989 green Buick Skylark, half rust, with no tread tires, and an office computer. If my life depended on it, I would fire me and hire someone else.  I think Wiley is on a par with Sean Chercover whose BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD was also an excellent read. 12/07 Jack Quick 

THE LAUGHTER OF DEAD KINGS by Elizabeth Peters: I hope other readers aren’t as disappointed in this book as I was. I can’t believe I waited fourteen years to read the concluding Vicky Bliss mystery, and discover whether or not her lover, “Sir John Smythe”, was related to the Peabody-Emerson family of her Amelia Peabody books. Yes, there’s a theft of an Egyptian treasure, and it brings recurring characters back together in this book. And, naturally, everyone suspects that John has gone back to his previous life as the mastermind of the theft. But, the romantic suspense misses both the romance and suspense in this volume. And, it’s not a caper. Instead, it was a long, long drawn out chase all over Europe and Egypt in which very little happened, and not much was discovered. I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth Peters’ books under this name, and Barbara Michaels. This one let me down. 09/08 Lesa Holstine

LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN by Janet Evanovich:  Stephanie Plum is back and she's in top form.  This time her weasel of an ex-husband, Dickie Orr, is under investigation by Ranger. Dickie disappears, leaving behind a bloody trail and leaving Stephanie as a person of interest in his disappearance.  Further investigation finds that Dickie had some unsavory partners and now $40 million is missing from their business account.  One of the partners turns up dead and the others are convinced Stephanie has the money.  Stephanie is still torn between the hot, hot, hot Ranger and her equally hot honey, Joe, but it's the crazy situations, the cast of zany characters that play off Stephanie like Grandma Mazur and Lula, that make this book a laugh-out-loud funny yet comforting read. 06/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch  

LEAN, MEAN THIRTEEN by Janet Evanovich:  By now reviewing a Stephanie Plum is kind of like Radar’s public address announcements in MASH.  They really shouldn’t be that funny but they are.  Steph is recruited by Ranger to plant bugs on Dickie Orr, her two-timing ex-husband.  But after she threatens to kill him in front of witnesses, he disappears, which makes her the prime suspect.  From there on its Ranger and Morelli, Lula and Joyce, and don’t forget Grandma who has a new boyfriend.  Steph’s Mom kills the boyfriend’s toupee with an empty wine bottle when it falls off on the dinner table during the Friday night dinner.  Lula and Steph partake of the senior Citizen’s buffet at Costco and so on and so forth.  Just find a place where no one will pay any attention to your laughing and have at it.  Oh, beware of the exploding squirrels as well. 07/07 Jack Quick 

LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN by Janet Evanovich: Did you remember that Stephanie Plum was once married to Dickie Orr? The marriage was so short, I had forgotten about it until Ranger asks Stephanie to plant a bug on her ex-husband. She goes ballistic in his office, so naturally, the Burg suspects Stephanie of doing about with Dickie when he goes missing.  Fortunately for her, he’s not the only one to disappear from the office. Instead of exploding cars, this time we have exploding animals at a taxidermist’s home, exploding buildings and an incident with a staple gun. The Stephanie Plum series is getting a little stale, but at least her sister and the children are not in this one. Lean Mean Thirteen is a little better than the last couple books in the series, but certainly not as good as the early ones. 07/07 Lesa Holstine

LEARNING TO KILL by Ed McBain:  Before Ed McBain became famous for the 87^th Precinct series he paid his dues writing “paid by the word” stories for the 1950’s pulps like Manhunt and Argosy under the names of Richard Marsten, Hunt Collins, and Evan Hunter.  Prior to his 2005 death, McBain oversaw the assemblage of this anthology of his early work.  This collection presents 25 of those crime stories, published between 1952 and 1957.  All are hard-boiled, short on subtlety and classic McBain.  In addition to the stories themselves, McBain’s prefaces give insight into the origin of many of these pieces and how they ultimately affected his later work.  Existing McBain fans will love this and for this not familiar with his work, Learning To Kill provides a great introduction to the man who held the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award as well as being the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association’s highest award.  The New York Daily News called McBain “one of the most prolific and admired writers of crime fiction in the world…McBain could not write a bad line.”  What more can you say? 07/06 Jack Quick

LEFT TO DIE by Lisa Jackson:  In the remote and unforgiving Bitterroot Mountains of Montana, a brutal killer lies in wait. His first victim was discovered in September, naked and bound to a tree; it is now November and two more bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have uncovered some unique facts pertaining to the killer’s MO. It appears that he stalks his victims, waits until they are in the perfect spot, and then shoots the tire out on their car forcing them into an accident. He then takes them home and heals them before abandoning them in the woods to die. One month later, the police are no closer to identifying the killer. Then another car is discovered in the woods and the detectives know that it is only a matter of days before another body is found. This chilling (literally.) thriller marks the beginning of a brand new series for Jackson. It’s a great place for new readers to pick her up, and I recommend that you do. Left to Die is an intense romantic thriller with a tight plot and a killer ending.  07/08 Becky Lejeune

LEGION by B. J. Kibble:  You need a scorecard for this Spy Vs. Spy tale.  Ex-British agent Alex Jordan (good guy and now restaurant owner) is trying to find out who killed his friend and mentor, Billy Fawlks.  The trail leads to Paul Grady (bad guy), former MI-6 boss and Soviet double agent.  Grady is plotting to kill the North Korean President (bad guy) during a state visit to Britain (bad timing).  He would succeed but, but Fawlks has left behind a coded journal as life insurance after infiltrating Grady’s organization.  Fawlks leaves it with Emile Cassel (good guy), but Cassel is murdered.  That leaves Jordan’s former lover Sonya Wells (now a high ranking police officer). They have less than 72 hours to pull all the threads together and prevent the assassination.  Can you hear the Mission Impossible theme running in the background?  Great read.  11/07 Jack Quick   

LEGWORK by Katy Munger:  A simplistic description would be that Casey Jones is Stephanie Plum without the humor, or a rough edged Southern edition of Kinsey Milhone.  She's smart, talented and durable, and reminds me most of Barbara Seranella’s Munch.  She served time in Florida on a drug bust engineered by her ex-husband, so she can’t get her North Carolina private investigator's license.  She has to be content with doing legwork for legitimate Raleigh private investigator. Bobby D -- a blimp-sized eating machine with a bad toupee.  Her latest assignment – body guarding Senatorial hopeful Mary Lee Masters – turns deadly when a shotgunned corpse is found in the candidate’s jeep at her home.  Its obviously dirty politics, but just who is responsible.  Recommended. 04/08 Jack Quick  

LEMONS NEVER LIE by Richard Stark: When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton is alleged to have replied, because they have the money. Part-time theatre operator Alan Grofield must have been thirsty, because he joins a plot to knock over a brewery in number 22 of the Hard Case Crime series. When Grofield flies in to Vegas he drops a coin in one of the arrival gate slot machines. When it turns up three lemons, he knows he has used up all his Vegas luck. Unfortunately when he and friend Dan decide to walk away, the instigator of the plot, a man named Myer, is not thrilled and plans a payback. This results in Dan tracking down Myer for his own vengeance, which results in a vicious revenge circle that pulls Grofield away from his theatre with only one purpose - to find and kill Myer. 11/06 Jack Quick

LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL by Jo Knowles:  A strange book.  A long time ago and far far away I didn’t understand teenage girls and I still don’t.  I also don’t remember Young Adult books as they are apparently being written today.  Basically this is a story about the effect on one girl of some adolescent sexual experimentation initiated by her friend.  Leah Greene is dead.  Laine has wished her to be so for a long time and must now live with the consequences.  In the process she must try to find meaning in her past experiences and decide whether she can forgive Leah for “messing with her.”  Not badly written, but just not my cup of tea. 03/08 Jack Quick 

LET ME IN by John A. Lindqvist: Twelve-year-old Oskar knows all too well what it is like to be an outsider. He is bullied on a regular basis for being different. He dreams of revenge, of one day being able to stick up for himself against those who taunt and torment him. It is 1981 and new neighbors have moved into the building next to Oskar’s. Eli and her father share a wall with Oskar and his mother. He and this mysterious girl strike up a friendship and tap messages to one another throughout the night. Oskar doesn’t know that his new friend is not quite what she seems. He doesn’t know that she is responsible for the sudden rash of killings in the areas surrounding Blackeberg. Oskar does know that since meeting Eli, he finally has the confidence to stick up for himself and now that he has a friend, he won’t let anything separate the two of them. Gone is the romanticized vision of vampires that is so popular today. Lindqvist’s vamps are complicated creatures whose desires, depravities, and even fears are magnified by their situations. In Eli’s case, she still struggles to come to terms with what she is and the fact that she needs people to ensure her survival, in more ways than one. In my opinion, the translation of this work is excellent. All too often, readers come away with a sense that some pivotal piece of information is missing in a translated work. That is not the case here. Lindqvist deserves and wider audience and I think Let Me In will earn it for him. 10/07 Becky Lejeune 

LETHAL SECRETS by Pete Earley:  Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Conway is charged with guarding Sergey Pudin, a Russian Mafiosi.  Russian intelligence agent Colonel Khrenkov is blackmailed into murdering Pudin before he can testify against major crime bosses.  In distant Chechnya, Movladi "The Viper" Islamov, a former student of Conway's, has become an international terrorist in the Chechen cause.  Islamov has discovered that in the 1950s, the Soviets built a thermonuclear "sleeper bomb" that was secreted in the basement of the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C.  Conway, a throwback to the manly values of earlier years, uses his appeal to Kimberly Lodge, a shapely CIA counter terrorism expert to make monkeys of the best of the U.S. and Russian officials.  Obviously, a work of fiction.  Can you say Conway, Wyatt Conway? 04/06 Jack Quick

Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy:  Meloy has written a family saga that spans several generations, starting with the Santerre family matriarch, Yvette.  She claims her daughter's out-of-wedlock son as her own, hiding the truth from everyone, even her husband.  The sins grow proportionately with each generation, but this is no monument to angst.  These characters are well defined, real people who live imperfect lives, with all the joy, chaos, laughter and infighting one would expect.  They just have the added bonus of Catholicism, from visions, to priests dropping by, to the always-present guilt, forging a strong family bond.  Meloy does a good job of speaking for each generation, making each decade come alive with its own idiosyncrasies, but never feeling cliché as each character takes charge of their story.  Publishers Weekly called this a "haunting novel" and it is - these characters will be with me for a long time. 12/03

LIARS AND THIEVES by Stephen Coonts: Tommy Carmellini is a thief with a somewhat questionable past who has been recruited to work for the CIA. Mikhail Goncharov is a Russian defector who was supposed to be under government protection. As the former chief archivist for the SVR (formerly the KGB) Goncharov had access to, and began collecting copies of, top-secret Russian files. These files are of major interest to the powers that be. Unfortunately, someone has leaked information regarding his whereabouts. Tommy is sent to assist in the protection of Goncharov, but he’s not the first to arrive at the government safe house. Tommy stumbles onto an assassination attempt and barely manages to make it into the house in time to save a translator that has been working to decipher Goncharov’s files. When Tommy finally manages to call his superiors and tell them what has happened, he is informed that he is the top suspect in the murders. Tommy enlists the help of his friends Willie the Wire and retired Navy Admiral Jake Grafton to help him clear his name. Fortunately, Goncharov is discovered to have survived the attack. Unfortunately, he can’t remember who he is or just what information was in the files. What the group discovers leads them to suspect that the orders to kill Goncharov may not have come from his own betrayed countrymen, but from inside the U.S. Although readers have been introduced to Tommy Carmellini in previous titles featuring Jake Grafton - this is the first novel to feature Carmellini as the main character (followed by The Traitor). Liars and Thieves should be at the top of the list for anyone looking for a fun action/suspense novel.  07/07 Becky Lejeune

THE LIAR’S DIARY by Patry Francis:  Jeanne Cross and Ali Mather’s friendship may seem awkward to some outsiders, but they say that opposites do attract. Quiet Jeanne is the perfect wife, the perfect mother, and the perfect society lady. She works the front office at the local high school, the same school her teenage son attends, and spends her evenings caring for her family. Outward appearances are very important to Jeanne’s doctor husband. Behind closed doors, however, they are far from the perfect family. Ali Mather, the new music teacher at the same high school, could care less what others think of her. She lives separated from her loving and doting husband and is involved in numerous affairs. She also believes wholeheartedly in always telling the truth. Each of these ladies brings to the friendship something the other needs. Understandably, Ali’s murder leaves Jeanne considerably shaken. Worse, though, is the moment when her son becomes the number one suspect. This excellent psychological suspense is also a chilling character study. The revelation of the number of secrets being held by each individual leads to a truly surprising and shocking end. Patry Francis’s complex and sympathetic characters along with her intricate plot show that she is an immense new talent on the scene. 02/08 Becky Lejeune

LIBERATION DAY by Andy McNab:  Although the story drags a bit in places there is enough action overall to satisfy any adrenalin junkie.  Former British SAS agent Nick Stone is now working for a special antiterrorist U.S. strike team.  His assignment: choke off al-Qaida’s money line by tracking down and eliminating the participants in the so-called hawalla, a secret network of underground bankers who finance the operations of al-Qaida and provide compensation for the families of those killed in action.  Stone and two Egyptian compatriots go to Cannes with orders to kidnap three of these bankers and take them to a U.S. warship off the French coast for interrogation.  Stone is a reluctant participant in all this as he really would like to retire and spend time with his new love, Carrie, but she has turned her back on him because of his continuing involvement in these kinds of missions.  You will learn probably more than you ever wanted to know about the minutiae of commando tactics and equipment, but when the action starts all the preparations are put to use in amazing ways to accomplish Stone’s objectives. 07/06 Jack Quick

LIE DOWN WITH THE DEVIL by Linda Barnes:  It was supposed to be an easy case: a simple tail, a favor for a friend of a friend that would ease Carlotta back into work. Jessica Franklin, a distraught fiancé suspects that her soon-to-be hubby may be having an affair. She hires Carlotta to follow the man on a Friday night and see where he stays for the evening. That’s all. Carlotta’s an old pro at tailing and surveillance, and this is an easy enough task that will keep her occupied for an evening, focusing on other people’s problems rather than her own. Unfortunately, she blows a tire and loses her tail. The following week, the girl who hired Carlotta turns up dead and surprise, surprise, her name is not really Jessica Franklin. There is no wedding, there is no cheating fiancé, and the cops who question Carlotta about her client, think she’s taking them for a ride. With everything that’s been happening since she returned from Columbia, and with the feds hounding her about her relationship with longtime lover Sam Gianelli, the last thing Carlotta needs is to be stuck in the middle of some weird murder case. Carolotta feels that she owes something to the dead girl, though, and she needs to follow this thing through to the end. Another great addition to this long-running PI series, Barnes has yet to let me down. If you’re a fan of Sue Grafton or Janet Evanovich, you should be reading Linda Barnes.  08/08 Becky Lejeune 

LIE DOWN WITH THE DEVIL by Linda Barnes: Can you believe an even dozen Carlotta Carlyle outings?  Not bad for the part-time PI/ part-time taxi hack, and full time conflicted lady.  She is still engaged to Sam Gianelli, her mob-connected boy friend who has had to flee the country after the discovery of a dead girl.  Her old fiend and former boss at the Boston PD, Joseph Mooney, wants to help her but there is just so much he can do, after Carlotta’s newest client is killed in a hit and run and it is discovered that she had come to Carlotta with an alias.  Can Carlotta keep her mind on the current situation or will her concern for Sam cause her to screw up?  A hint. I’m sure we will see volume thirteen next year.  Recommended. 09/08 Jack Quick