OBEDIENCE by Will Lavender: Students taking Logic and Reasoning 204 at Winchester University have been handed a strange assignment. They must, using logic, solve the hypothetical kidnapping of a girl named Polly. Each week they will be given a new set of clues and if, at the end of the six-week semester, the class has not solved the case, Polly will be murdered – hypothetically, of course. The assignment begins to bleed into their daily lives, consuming the students. They begin to see clues all around them and some even begin to believe that the case may be more than just some classroom assignment. With the clock ticking, can they really solve the case and maybe prevent a real-life murder? Will Lavender’s electrifying debut is brilliantly constructed. The clues are all there for you, the reader, to figure it out, but I guarantee that you won’t. Simply genius. 03/08 Becky Lejeune 

OBIT by Anne Emery:  This is the second part of a planned trilogy featuring Canadian criminal lawyer Monty Collins and Father Brennan Burke.  In 2006's Sign of the Cross, Collins clears the priest of murder charges and now sets out to explore the history of Burke’s father with the IRA.  Brennan, along with Monty, is scheduled to officiate at the wedding of his niece in New York.  Before they leave Halifax, Brennan's brother Patrick sends him a cryptic obituary that appeared in a New York paper.  Their father, Declan Burke, who fled Ireland 40 years earlier, understands it as a threat to his life, and sure enough, Declan is shot and wounded at the wedding.  Monty is having his own marital problems while the Brennan family is being torn apart as they search for the truth about Declan’s past.  Well written and leaves you ready for the promised third part. 12/07 Jack Quick

OBLIVION by Peter Abrahams: Very different and very interesting story about a private detective, Nick Petrov, son of a former KGB agent. Petrov came to fame for solving a serial killer case which was turned into a movie starring Armand Assante, which lent a touch of realism to the novel in a rather unique way. He is hired to find a missing girl but has health issues that affect his memory, turning a good mystery into something much more complex. Very well done. 06/05

OCEAN WAVES by Terri Thayer:  Ah, the things I do for the good of the genre.  At least there are no talking cats in Thayer’s latest Quilter’s Paridiso cozy.  Dewey Pellicano is planning to mix a little pleasure with business at the Sewing-by-the-Sea Symposium in Asilomar, California, but in a rare free moment, as she sneaks a walk on the beach one foggy morning she witnesses a woman disappear into the Pacific Ocean.  Unfortunately, when no body subsequently appears, everyone thinks she imagined the entire thing.  Soon after an attendee disappears, an antique sewing kit is stolen, and conference coordinator Martha Madsen is found dead.  Dewey must piece together the facts from an odd assortment of clues.  (Did I really say that?)  At least there is no cover up.  With that, I’ve got to go. 04/09 Jack Quick   

ODD MOM OUT by Jane Porter: This former romance-turned-chick-lit writer switch hits for another solid hit in her newest effort after Flirting with Forty.  Marta Zimmer, the "odd mom", has had her heart broken and sworn off men.  Determined to be a mom anyway, she goes the sperm donor route, and creates a very comfortable life for herself and her precocious 9 year old daughter in Manhattan.  But her mom is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and an opportunity arises to set up the Seattle office of the advertising agency she works for out in Seattle near her mom, she jumps on it.  But the agency is bought out and the west coast office closed shortly thereafter.  Determined to not uproot her daughter again, Marta starts up her own company and finds success, but also loneliness.  She doesn't fit in well with the wealthy suburban moms whose days are filled with nail appointments, the country club and the PTA, but her two best friends from high school, very successful working women, convince her that she can make friends if she tries.  Instead, she meets a man, the first man she's had any interest in since her daughter was born.  But the daughter and the career come first, can Marta make it work?  Odd Mom Out is a fun read, perfect for whiling away a lazy Indian summer afternoon. (I live in south Florida, lucky for me Indian Summer lasts most of the year!) My only negative comment is that if a character is saying "fuck off" then she should say it, not have it represented like this: "F___ off".  That was just adolescent, disingenuous, and the greatest sin of all for any writer - distracting.  09/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

O’FEAR by Peter Corris:  Australian "enquiry agent" Cliff Hardy's old friend, the shady Kevin O'Fearna, is awaiting trial when Hardy learns the last words of another friend Barnes Todd were “O’Fear”, Kevin’s nickname and hence the title.  Todd is a trucking entrepreneur, photographer and painter and has left a note with his lawyer engaging Hardy to look into any accident that might befall him.  Todd’s widow agrees and O’Fearna persuades Hardy to put up his bail, but is stabbed before his release.  Hardy is being tailed and Todd’s widow’s house in ransacked.  Is this all about Barnes Todd’s art or is there something else?  Another well-paced outing for what I suspect is Australia’s premier Private Eye. 10/07 Jack Quick 

OFF THE CHART by James W. Hall: With this one, you may need a scorecard to keep up with the body count. Thorn has a brief fling with Anne Joy, daughter of a Kentucky pirate wannabe family, who has come to the Keys after her parents are murdered in a drug running dispute. Years later her brother Vic, who has become a “land pirate” of sorts, decides he wants Thorn’s land and doesn’t respond well to Thorn’s refusal to sell. Vic then proceeds to kidnap the nine-year-old daughter of Thorn's best friend which eventually leads Thorn into all out war against Vic, whose complement of U.S. helicopters and a small army of cutthroat international pirates are not nearly an even match for an enraged Thorn. In addition to pirates on land and sea, murder and mayhem, there are few juicy sex scenes and beautiful descriptions of Key West flora and fauna. What else could you ask for in a book, except perhaps a sequel fairly soon. 07/06 Jack Quick

Office of Innocence by Thomas Keneally: After side trips into history-writing and biography with The Great Shame and American Scoundrel, Mr. Keneally has again turned his hand back to fiction with Office of Innocence which should be nominated for several major awards by the end of the year. 
       Keneally's story-telling often involves an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances.  In To Asmara, it was a journalist heading to battlelines in Eritrea and in Flying Hero Class (my personal favorite and a book ahead of its time) it was the manager of a troupe of indigenous dancers caught up in an air hi-jacking.  Schlinder's List, involving similar issues, became better known because of the movie that was made from it.
       In Office of Innocence, the ordinary man is Frank Darragh, a young Australian priest caught up in the turmoil of the Second World War as the Japanese march ever southward through Asia, towards Darwin and Northern Australia. 
       Frank is a simple man, from a rural family and has not had a lot of experience with life or any great yearning for such experience.  In other words, he was prime seminary fodder.   Mr. Keneally's ear as a story teller seems to ring true when he has more jaundiced seminarians translating "Memento homo quia cines es, et ad cinerem reverteris" into "Remember, squirt, that thou are dirt, and unto dirt thou shalt revert."  Frank's innocence is bemused but not distracted by such by-play.
       During his initial assignment as a parish priest, Father Frank finds hearing confessions rewarding and it becomes his forte.  While his contemporaries and seniors are hardened to the routine sins they must hear over and over again, Frank responds to those on the other side of the screen and quickly becomes the most popular confessor in the area. 
       His lack of worldliness presents problems for Frank as he confronts the loneliness and selfishness that reach extreme levels under the stresses of wartime.  It also presents problems for his superiors who fear scandal and wish that he would spend more time learning the "business" of the church.     
       At the heart of the story is the testing of Father Darragh's faith and his innocence by a variety of parishioners and others - a dying woman in a non-traditional relationship, a trade union rabble-rouser, the lonely wife of a prisoner of war and an aggressive American military policeman.  Frank's background simply does not equip him to understand such people, but his desire to help is such that he must get involved.  The core issue is whether he will gain understanding at the cost of his faith.
       There is also a late-developing murder mystery contained within the story, the resolution of which costs Father Frank his position and his reputation, but gains him a new knowledge of himself and how he may play a meaningful role in the world.
       This is another fine book from an extraordinary author.  ~This review contributed by Geoffrey R. Hamlin.

OFFICER DOWN by Theresa Schwegel: This first novel is a police procedural of the best kind - Samantha Mack is a police officer with a future.  She drinks too much, picks the wrong men, and appears to have accidentally killed her partner.  When the department wants to resolve it quickly and just call it an accident, Smack, as she is affectionately known, just can't live with that.  She can't let a little thing like suspension from the force and investigation by Internal Affairs deter her from finding out exactly what happened.  Lots of good twists and a terrific ending make this debut a winner.  11/05

OFFICER DOWN by Theresa Schwegel: Samantha "Smack" Mack, a chain-smoking, hard-drinking Chicago police officer, and her partner and ex-lover, Fred, storm a pitch-dark tenement house. Smack wakes up later with a nasty concussion, but Fred, shot during the attempted arrest, never does. Police officials decree that Smack's "friendly fire" killed Fred, but she's sure there were others in the room with them that night. Smack realizes that the only way to clear her name is to capture the child molester they had gone into the house to arrest, and she will have to do it alone, since all the bureaucracy is against her. Schwegel's fast-paced action turns out an impressive, gripping first novel. 01/06 Jack Quick

The Old Buzzard Had It Coming by Donis Casey: This first mystery introduces Alafair Tucker, farm wife, mother of nine, and, now, detective.  Set in Oklahoma in 1912, this story is filled with historic details of daily life, along with romance and mystery. When Harley Day, the town drunk, is found murdered, no one mourns, particularly the family that he abused. When Alafair learns of her daughter's romance with the oldest Day son, she worries that the two young people could know more than they're saying about the death.  If she has to solve the mystery in order to clear the way for the romance, she'll do that. Alafair Tucker is a wise, kind woman who knows enough about the people in her community to be a capable detective.  With such a large family, hopefully there will be a number of stories to bring Alafair back again and again. 09/05 ~This review contributed by Lesa Holstine.

OLD CITY HALL by Robert Rotenberg: Panned by Publishers Weekly and praised by Booklist, I found this to be a pretty good debut thriller, albeit a bit overlong with multiple threads and a few “coincidences” that might have been better handled. The story begins with celebrated radio host Kevin Brace (aka the Voice of Canada) confessing to the murder of his wife, Katherine, in their Toronto apartment. Afterwards, he refuses to say a word to anyone, even his attorney, Nancy Parish. The police presence includes homicide detective Ari Greene and ex-lawyer-turned-cop Daniel Kennicott (Kennicott joined the department after his brother was murdered – Green was the detective investigating that murder) while rookie prosecutor Albert Fernandez gears up for his first murder trial. Fernandez is from Chile and the chief prosecution witness, Mr. Gurdial Singh, who delivers the newspaper to the Toronto penthouse apartment of Brace, is from India. Add in the English French dichotomy of Canada and you have quite a stew for Mr. Rotenberg to stir. I ended up agreeing with Booklist that the good far outweighs the bad and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good legal thriller, with all sorts of nuances and international overtones. 09/09 Jack Quick  

OLD MAID’S PUZZLE by Terri Thayer:  There are two mysteries here.  One, why would anyone want to run a quilt shop, and two, who left the dead body in the alley behind the store.  Dewey Pellicano has inherited Quilter Paradiso from her mother along with problems with competition and employee relations.  The employee is her sister-in-law which makes firing her problematic.  Anyway, Dewey hopes the store’s 20th anniversary sale and appearance on national television will help her save the business.  In the meantime, the killer better be found or there might not be a business to save.  Heavy on the estrogen, but readable. 12/08 Jack Quick

OLD SCHOOL BONES by Randall Peffer:  Nice concept but somewhat clumsily executed.  A young black student dies in mid-winter at a New England prep school.  Is it suicide or a racially motivated crime?  The girl’s faculty advisor, Awasha Patterson, is racked with guilt because she turned the young woman away the night she died.  There are rumors of secret societies allegedly banned years ago after a hazing death, but which may have simply went “underground.”  Patterson will not rest until she gets to the bottom of the matter, even if it kills her.  I had problems with the book jumping from scene to scene with minimal transitions making it difficult to stay within the plot.  Not nearly as well done, in my opinion as Peffer’s 2005 Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues. 08/08 Jack Quick

ON CHESIL BEACH by Ian McEwan:  This novella centers around the wedding night of a young couple in the early 1960's.  Unlike their freewheeling, sexually permissive counterparts that were the hallmark of that decade, these two are both shy and sexually inexperienced.  However, this is not a book about sex, but rather how one incident, one night, can cataclysmically change lives.  McEwan gives us just enough background on each of them to see how and why they reach this point, but nonetheless it is still a heartbreaker.  Beautifully written, this compelling yet simple story has the hallmark of a classic. 06/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

ON DEADLY GROUND by Michael Norman:  Fairly ordinary tale about conflict between environmentalists and ranchers in Kanab, Utah.  Environmentalist David Greenbriar is found dead, and newly appointed Law Enforcement Ranger, J. D. Books is co-opted into the case because he is a native returned home after a stint as a homicide detective in Denver.  Books discovers that the victim’s widow has been having an affair with Lance Clayburn, who is tied to the killing with physical evidence. Throw in a corrupt Sheriff’s Deputy, the obligatory mob connected Las Vegas businessman and a   very dangerous mob contract killer…. Good guys win in the end, as expected. 03/10 Jack Quick

ON EDGE by Barbara Fister: Konstantin Slovo is a vacationing Chicago cop who gets caught up in the events of the coastal town of Brimsport,. Maine. Initially rousted as a potential suspect in a recent child abduction, Slovo is freed when the local police chief discovers he is a cop. Slove ends up staying in town and makes friends with the chief’s daughter Ruth, who along with Slovo’s Doctor Chakravarty, fill him in on the town’s history of child molestation and abuse. Not the most pleasant subject matter, but well written and while you probably won’t want to invite Slovo to your next dinner party, he is the one you want on your side when things get tough. Well done and recommended. 01/07 Jack Quick

ON, OFF by Colleen McCullough: It is fall, 1965, and the torso of a young woman has been discovered in a storage refrigerator at the Hughlings Jackson Center for Neurological Research, aka the Hug. Detective Carmine Delmonico is convinced that the perp is a member of the Hug faculty. When the body is identified as that of a missing girl from a local high school, Delmonico discovers that this was not an isolated event -- there has been a string of missing teenage girls in the area, all matching the same description. Suddenly, Delmonico is up against a shrewd and manipulative serial killer; a killer who is able to move about seemingly undetected. While this was an intriguing read, I had hoped for more details specific to the time period in which the book takes place. With the exception of the lack of DNA testing, this could have been any modern mystery. I expected McCullough, who is best known for her historical fiction, to have made more of an effort to clearly outline the time period in which the book took place. I think that the lack of support for the setting diminishes the overall effect of the story.  09/06 Becky LeJeune

ON STRIKE FOR CHRISTMAS by Sheila Roberts: If you’re sick and tired of sugary Christmas stories, this is the one for you. What happens when the women of Holly decide that their efforts at holiday time aren’t appreciated, and turn Christmas preparation over to their husbands? It’s a funny, warm story of a woman’s comments that snowball. Joy Robertson adores all the parties and fun of the holidays, but her husband is a Scrooge who just wants to be left alone. She tells her knitting group that she should go on strike. Suddenly, her friends are on board, and their husbands are in the line of fire. Even the newspaper shows interest in whether or not the men can handle the Christmas cards, cookies, pageants and parties. If John Grisham’s Skipping Christmas struck you as ho-hum, but you don’t want sweetness and light, try Roberts’ story of a women’s campaign for appreciation. 12/07 Lesa Holstine

ON THE ROPES by Tom Schreck:  There’s a new superhero in town – Double D - Duffy Dombrowski, mild-mannered social worker by day, Elvis aficionado, boxer, and beer drinker by night.  Whatever you want to say about Duffy, he does care for his clients and his pledge to take care of the Muslim basset hound and find the missing daughter of one Walanda, a schizophrenic, crack-addicted prostitute, who is murdered, leads him into all manner of peril and evil doings.  Thank goodness Duffy survives because he’s the kind of Robin Hood, supported by a band of drunken friends, whom you want to follow in further adventures. 09/07 Jack Quick 

ONCE… by James Herbert:  Four months ago, Thom Kindred would have considered himself a healthy young man. That was before the twenty-seven year old suffered an unexplained stroke. After months of physical therapy, Thom decides to leave London and return to his childhood home, Castle Bracken, to recuperate. Thom and his mother, Bethan, lived in a small cottage on the estate until Thom was ten. It has been seventeen years since Thom left for boarding school, seventeen years since his mother died and Sir Russell began sponsoring his education. Upon his return, Thom realizes that things are not as they once were at Castle Bracken. Sir Russell is nearing his own death and the estate has been allowed to fall into disrepair. Something dangerous lurks amongst the halls of Castle Bracken, and something magical has long awaited Thom’s return. Herbert combines both fantasy and horror elements in this very adult fairy tale.  12/07 Becky Lejeune

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY by Jennifer Rardin: On her last assignment as a Helsinger – a team of elite CIA agents charged with killing vampires – Jasmine Parks lost her fiancé, her sister-in-law, and her best friend in one fell swoop. Now, she suffers from frequent blackouts and has managed to disconnect herself emotionally from almost everyone around her. She’s also discovered that she can sense vampires. Vayle, one of the Company’s most respected and important operatives has requested that Jaz be assigned as his partner, and the Company willingly agrees. Part of his request is due to her new-found talent as a Sensitive, another is due to the fact that she has a death wish that makes her a reckless but effective agent. The two have been sent to spy on a well-known plastic surgeon who is suspected of having terrorist links. While on assignment, they discover that Vayle, or possibly even Jaz, has been targeted. By whom, they aren’t quite sure, but this person – or vampire – is quite possibly one of their very own. Rardin’s debut is compelling to be sure, but seems a bit uneven in the beginning. The story runs straight ahead with the action, but the explanations lag a bit behind giving the reader the sense that they missed something. Thankfully, the story does balance out shortly thereafter. Jaz is a quirky, sometimes goofy, and certainly damaged character and Vayle, the smoldering Romanian vampire, is equally absorbing. I’m interested to see just where Rardin takes this series. Overall, a great read – one that adds Rardin to the ranks of such authors as Kim Harrison and an earlier Laurel K. Hamilton. 10/07 Becky Lejeune

ONCE WERE COPS by Ken Bruen: Michael O'Shea is an Irish Guard sent to work with the New York Police Department on a sort of exchange program.  Shea, as he likes to be called, blackmailed his superior to include him in the program and that's just your first inkling that this cop is not one of the good guys.  Shea is, in fact, a sociopath and a serial killer who is paired up with his NYPD counterpart, a rough street cop nicknamed Kebar.  Kebar is under investigation by Internal Affairs with good reason, and things take a violent turn for the worse when these two butt heads with the mob.  The writing is noir at its best; sparse and brilliant, and the characters both dark and yet somehow poetic.  Graphic, violent and full of despair, this brief book is a hard-boiled triumph.  11/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

ONE BAD APPLE by Sheila Connelly:  The first Orchard Mystery has everything a cozy mystery should have – a likable heroine, a dislikable victim, a charming small town setting, and a puzzling mystery.  When Meg Corey moved to Granford, Massachusetts, she planned to renovate the house she owned with her mother, sell it, and move on with her life.  Instead, she found a 200 year old house with character, plumbing problems, and her ex-boyfriend’s corpse in her septic tank.  Suddenly, she’s a murder suspect with just a few friends in town, and a stakeholder in the town redevelopment project.  Cozy lovers should appreciate this story that has a little more depth, and more character development than many mysteries. 08/08 Lesa Holstine

ONE FOOT IN THE BLACK by Kurt Kamm:  This is somewhat of a “factional coming of age” account of a wild land firefighter.  Greg Kowalski is the son of an abusive firefighter in Saginaw, Michigan.  As soon as he is old enough he flees to California to become a seasonal firefighter with CDF.  In 48 hours he loses both his father to a fire in Saginaw and his mentor and captain to a wildfire they are fighting.  Extremely detailed but interesting, the book takes you inside Kowalski’s training and shows how the profession creates bonds that can be even stronger than family.  A first rate debut. 08/08 Jack Quick 

ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost: It’s been four years since the events of Frost’s debut Night Huntress title, Halfway to the Grave. Cat has agreed to work for Homeland Security tracking down and eliminating evil vamps, but she can’t help pining for the man that got away – or the vamp that she let go, in this case. She did it to protect him from her new employers, so she knows that it was for the best, and she’s finally going to attempt to move on. Unfortunately for her, someone has placed a significant bounty on her head and Bones has decided that they’ve been apart long enough. It seems he’d rather stay where he can keep a close eye on her and protect her, especially when his own sire decides that he would like the Red Reaper (the vamp nickname for Cat) for his very own. Course Cat’s boss and coworkers are none too pleased about the new setup, until they realize just what an asset Bones can be. Frost toes the line between the newly minted urban fantasy genre and paranormal romance. The book contains enough steamy sex to earn itself a place firmly in the romance genre, but in my opinion the series will still appeal to readers who aren’t normally too big into the romance aspect. 05/08 Becky Lejeune

One for the Money by Janet Evanovitch: and the rest of that series, I read them all in 2 weeks, then read them again!  Her main character is a sexy, smart and sassy 35 year old single with an eccentric bent apparently inherited from her grandmother.  Every character is a treasure.  These books are laugh out loud funny!  Read them in order please...  Two for the Money; Three to Get Deadly; Four to Score; High Five; Hot Six; Seven Up

One Hot Summer by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera:  One Hot Summer is one hot beach read!  Happily married Margarita seems to have it all; a wonderful, wealthy husband who adores her, a beautiful son, good friends, a dream job as a partner in a big Miami law firm.  But when her husband starts pressuring her to give up her job to have another baby and her college boyfriend blows into town, cracks start showing in that perfect life.  This is a new direction for Ms. Garcia-Aguilera, author of the Lupe Solano mystery series, but she pulls it off beautifully, with grace and much good humor.  

THE ONE MINUTE ASSASSIN by Troy Cook:  Someone is killing the candidates for California governor – and that may not be such a bad thing.  The race includes such stereotypical candidates as a rap star named Two-Bits and a former movie star named Arnold “The Mountain” Schwarzkov.  The frontrunners are a lobbyist for a pharmaceutical giant, a former child actor, and Mayor Eleanor Black, who is a member of a Kennedy-like dynasty.  Her brother John is the anti-politician of the family, and spends his time hunting down dead beat dads until Eleanor is almost killed and he's forced into the ring. Throw into the mix two bumbling assassins (reminiscent of Tim Dorsey’s excellent series) and you get a macabre mixture of murder and dirty politics.  After Cook’s terrific, utterly original debut, 47 Rules for Highly Effective Bank Robbers, this sophomore effort is a bit of a disappointment. Although much of the humor is just plain silly, John Black is a very likeable protagonist and the plot is engaging, making this a very entertaining read.  09/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch Copyright © 2006 Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Reprinted with permission. 

THE ONE MINUTE ASSASSIN by Troy Cook: Think dumb and dumber in the world of assassination. Ex-football player Dennis “Nail” Nalen and his erstwhile partner Barry Jones have been hired by Richard “Tricky Dick” Steel to eliminate Steel’s competition in the race for Governor of California. Steel is a lobbyist for Pfester Pharmaceuticals that has two members of the Russian Mafia on its Board of Directors. His primary opponent is Eleanor Black, mayor of Los Angeles, whose mother is a senator and is known as the barracuda. John Black, Eleanor’s brother, is a PI who specializes in child molestation cases but gets involved when his sister is the target of an assassination attempt. Black calls upon his Crocodile Dundee look alike partner to use all of their quirky and unconventional talents to find out who is trying to put his sister out of commission. In spite of the stereotyped characters, the pace is good and the plot is marvelously twisty. Recommended. 09/07 Jack Quick 

ONE MISSISSIPPI by Mark Childress: It's the early '70s and Daniel Musgrove's father moves the family from Indiana to rural Mississippi. Daniel starts the 11th grade with a new best friend, Tim. When they double date for the junior prom, the teens have an accident on the way home and cause the prom queen to fall off her bike and hit her head. The prom queen of the newly integrated high school is black, but the injury leaves her believing that she is white. When I read Crazy In Alabama, I thought it was an unauthorized biography of my family. With One Mississippi, I realize my younger brother is Daniel. Childress captures the essence of growing up in the South during this era better than anyone. The only other book to come close was Bleachers by John Grisham. So if you grew up in this era as I did, this is a must read. If not, it's still a damn good one. 08/06 Jack Quick

ONE MORE BITE by Jennifer Rardin: Jaz and team are back and this time they’re up against witches, ghosts, and worst yet, Jaz’s dad! When the CIA receives a report that a group of weres has taken a contract out on a Scottish coven leader, Jaz, Vayle, and Cole are sent to find the hit man, or in this case hit woman, and protect the witch. Jaz’s father decides to tag along and it takes all of her effort not to kill the man. Their mission is further complicated by the fact that the witch in need of protecting has some scheme up her sleeve that Jaz is determined to uncover. Problem is that this little plan may directly conflict with official orders to protect the woman. Oh, and one that’s not all. Jaz’s father thinks a ghost may be out to kill him and Jaz has been claimed by a dead Scottish King who wants her to rule the underworld with him. I love that each new installment to this series takes it in a new direction. New revelations about each character and what makes them tick, plus the new and original bad guys are what keep me coming back for more. Well, that and Vayl. 01/09 Becky Lejeune  

ONE SHOT by Lee Child: Nine books now and each one is better than before. This time Reacher is called in to help solve an Indiana sniper case. The accused, James Barr, claims they have arrested the wrong man and tells them to get Jack Reacher. Reacher hears about the case on television, knows the accused, and comes to Indiana with astounding news. Is Barr guilty? Can Reacher help? How about the fact that the DA’s daughter is Barr’s attorney? Reacher is no friend of Barr’s. In fact he has evidence that could seal Barr’s fate. But did they arrest the right man? Russians in Indiana? There are unresolved issues down to the last two pages and no slow downs or pauses in between. Again, in my opinion, the best Reacher yet. Recommended. 07/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

ONE SHOT By Lee Child: Another great entry from Lee Child in the Jack Reacher series. Ex-MP Major Jack Reacher is sunning his butt on on a Florida beach with a Norwegian dancer when he sees a tale on TV about an Indiana sniper named James Barr.  Reacher heads to Indiana post haste to bury Barr. It turns out that this guy did this before, and because of politics, Reacher had to reluctantly walk away.  Now he's determined to wax this guy.  Meanwhile, a young defense attorney, who happens to be the prosecutors daughter, enlists Reacher's help as an investigator (something he does very well.)  The police have a bulletproof case, but the more Reacher looks, the less he likes it.  Eventually, Reacher knows that those aren't the winds that prevail and he reluctantly becomes an advocate for the defense. He gets set up for a beat down in a local bar, which he avoids in typical Reacher fashion, and then realizes that this ain't the usual sit/rep. One of the great things about these books is that Child maintains Reacher's "invisible" status - a guy who can float loose in a post 9/11 world, a virtual impossibility by today's standards. But he still manages to do it, and create major mayhem along the way.  This one's really good. Waiting on the next one breathlessly.  A four star good read.  05/06 DOC

ONE SMALL VICTORY by Maryann Miller:  Drugs killed her son even though he wasn’t a user.  Unfortunately his friend, the driver of the car, was high and as a consequence Michael Jasik is dead.  His mother vows revenge and also to protect her two younger children.  So the small town Texas single mom becomes a CI – a Confidential Informant, whose activities are known only to Chief Gonzales.  Her son and daughter notice Jenny is behaving strangely and report that to their father, who suddenly decides it is better if he has custody of the kids.  Jenny is obsessed enough to make it all work, although not without sacrifice.  While the war on drugs may not be winnable, there are occasionally small victories.  Not bad. 08/08 Jack Quick 

ONE SMALL VICTORY by Maryann Miller:  Young Michael Jasik is killed in a car accident at the hands of his drug abusing friend, Brad Brennan. His mother, Jenny, a single mom, is destroyed by the news. When she learns that her son's death was influenced by Brad's drug addiction, she has to take action. She storms into the local police station and demands to be put on the undercover drug enforcement task force that she heard about on the news. Police Lieutenant Steve Morrity is leading the task force. While civilians aren't typically involved in this type of police work, Morrity knows Jenny will take action on her own if she isn't selected. So, after a grueling physical test, Jenny passes and becomes an undercover informant. She is forced to hide this from her two surviving children, Scott and Alicia. They notice a change in her behavior and contact their father, who has never really been a part of their lives. Jenny risks her life, and the custody of her children for this mission. I commend Jenny's character for her strength, and the fearless acts she performed in an effort to bring down a big time drug pusher. ONE SMALL VICTORY is an amazing, heart pounding, emotional tale about one mother's love of her children, and the steps she takes to protect them from harm. 09/08 Jennifer Lawrence  

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus:  Thoroughly engrossing fictionalized account of a true historical incident.  The Chief of the Cheyenne tried to reach an agreement with President Ulysses S. Grant in an effort to promote peace and integrate the Cheyenne into Christianity; in a secret deal, the U.S. government would trade 1000 white women for 1000 horses.  It didn't get though Congress, but it did ignite the imagination of this author!  He found his women, all volunteers, in a variety of places; prostitutes, imprisoned women granted their freedom for this, and women from hospitals for the mentally ill.  One of the latter is the voice of this novel that is told in the form of her journal.

Only Child by Andrew Vachss:  The newest title in the series finds Burke back where he belongs, in New York - with Max, Mama, the Mole and all the regulars in this realistic portrait of the seamier side of filmmaking.  Burke is hired by a member of the Mafia to investigate the murder of his teenage daughter, and has to depend on her friends for help.  Some great characters (that I hope will be back again) and flawless description in a story that is so dark and twisted I couldn't put it down until I turned the last page.  

Open & Shut by David Rosenfelt:  This legal thriller is one of the best debut novels I've read in a while.  I love finding new authors, and last week this book literally dropped into my hands.  It immediately caught my eye, so I read the flyleaf and was hooked: 

"I hate DNA more than I hate opera. I hate it more than I hate meaningless touchdowns by the underdog that cover the spread when I'm betting the favorite....I hate DNA because it's boring, because I will never understand it, and because it almost always works against me." 

A legal thriller, humor and sports talk; what more could a girl want?  I flew through this book in a few hours, alternating between sitting on the edge of my seat and laughing my head off.  This is a legal thriller with enough twists to keep you guessing, and enough humor to keep you laughing, always a terrific combination. The mélange of the outrageous lead character Andy Carpenter, a self-deprecating lawyer with chutzpah, his strong female P.I., and even his whiny wife and her super-rich dad, stir up a terrific story.  

Andy's father, a former District Attorney, asks him to handle a convicted death row murderer's appeal - one that he himself put away.  The overwhelming evidence just seems too perfect, and Andy takes it on.   Lots of interesting developments along the way, but it's really the characters and the humor that will hold you spellbound.  The good news is that this is the initial entry of a series; there are more Andy Carpenter books to come. You can read the first chapter online.

Open Season by C. J. Box: Well written suspense set in the wilds of Wyoming.  First of a series featuring game warden Joe Pickett, a good guy who screws up occasionally, but gets the job done.

Open Season by Linda Howard:  Exceedingly simple story; no words longer than three syllables and not too many of those; sticky sweet romance/suspense genre.  I read it because the main character was a librarian and it is a best seller.  Complete and utter fluff.  

Open Season on Lawyers by Taffy Cannon:  A serial killer is on the loose, killing the sleaziest lawyers in town.  You're not sure who to root for in this clever, fast paced thriller.

THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE by Julie Buxbaum: Emily Haxby is a successful young Manhattan attorney. It appears as though she has it all—a successful job, a handsome, wonderful boyfriend, Andrew. But before Andrew has the chance to propose to her, she ends the relationship. Her life begins to fall apart—she’s assigned to work on a law suit she doesn’t believe in, working side by side with an attorney that is known to be overly friendly and her active, loving, Grandpa Jack is suffering from the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. Emily begins on a journey, aided by her close friends, to find herself and soon discovers what is important in life. We begin to learn the motivation for Emily’s choices. This debut novel was comical, but also incredibly raw and emotional. The author’s writing style is right on—she uses the perfect language to describe an emotion, or a setting, which makes the reader feel that they are part of the book. 05/08 Jennifer Lawrence

THE ORCHID SHROUD by Michelle Wan: Mara, Julien and the entire cast return in this follow up to last summer’s Deadly Slipper. While renovating the de Bonford estate, two workers discover the desiccated remains of a baby boy, hidden in the wall. In an attempt to protect the family name from subsequent media fallout, Christophe de Bonford enlists Mara’s help to find out who the child is and clear the de Bonford name. Meanwhile, animals and villagers are being savagely attacked by what is described as a giant beast. On the outset, Wan presents the beauty and tranquility of the Dordogne region. As she draws readers in, however, she scratches away at this façade to reveal the darkness that lurks in the corners of this sleepy French region. Some readers may cringe at the seemingly gimmicky nature of this series but I find that Wan’s titles toe the line of being a true “cozy” mystery. By combining history, mythology and orchidology, Wan is able to create original and interesting stories without falling into the “cute” trap that so many series fall prey to. 09/06 Becky LeJeune

ORDINARY HEROES by Scott Turow: Moving away from legal thrillers (Reversible Errors) and nonfiction (Ultimate Punishment), Turow has penned a searing story of World War II interwoven with personal family drama that is simply mesmerizing. Stewart Dubinsky is not especially close to his father David Dubin, even their names are different, yet his death prompts Stewart to try and find out more about this enigmatic man. He uncovers some startling information: that his father was engaged to another woman before his mother, and that he was court-martialed during the Battle of the Bulge. Dubinsky decides to write a family history, starts digging and uncovers a manuscript his father wrote about his war experiences that is alternately moving and horrifying, vindicating and vilifying and shines light on a side of his father, and mother, that he never knew. While some of the historical facts presented are not one hundred percent accurate, the emotional wallop of the book more than justifies the literary license and should secure its place in the canon of WWII literature. Ordinary Heroes is an extraordinary, unforgettable novel, which Turow notes was inspired by his own father's military experiences. 11/05 Copyright © 2005 Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Reprinted with permission. 

ORIGIN by Diana Abu-Jaber:  Although I personally found this book disappointing, I suspect many women would like it.  The plot – Lena Dawson, a fingerprint specialist in the Syracuse, NY forensics lab gets involved when there is a pike in local SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) cases.  Is it an anomaly or is there a more sinister solution?  Dawson is a former foster child with an ex-husband and a tenuous current relationship with one of the detectives, all of which are sources of stress as she pursues the mystery.  Nicely written, but too slowly paced with too much estrogen content for me to really enjoy.  08/09 Jack Quick  

ORIGINAL SIN by Allison Brennan: Moira O’Donnell was raised with one purpose: to serve a specific role in her mother’s coven. You see Moira’s mother, Fiona, is one of the strongest of her kind, but she wants more. Ever since her escape, Moira has been working to help a secret brotherhood of priests whose purpose is to defeat people like Fiona. In spite of the black mark of her heritage, Moira will be an important ally and a secret weapon when the final battle comes. Moira’s mentor knows this and has made sure that she will be prepared when that day arrives, but many of the brotherhood have their doubts, including Anthony Zaccardi. When Moira follows her mother’s trail to the tiny town of Santa Louisa, she finds signs of a terrible ceremony gone wrong. Fiona wanted to trap the demon incarnations of the seven deadly sins. Instead, she unleashed the demons on an unsuspecting world. Now, Moira is the only one who can stop the evil. Brennan’s first paranormal outing is a winner. I love the detail that has gone into this book and can’t wait to learn more as the series develops. 1/10 Becky Lejeune

THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE by Bill Pronzini:  Rick Fallon is a corporate security office.  His marriage became brittle when he lost his son, Timmy.  It eventually came apart and he decides to take two weeks vacation in California’s Mohave Desert to get his life back together.  Three days into the trip he finds Casey Dunbar, who's tried and failed to kill herself after months of fruitlessly searching for her young son, who's been abducted by her ex-husband.  Fallon realizes that while there is no hope for his son, perhaps there is for young Kevin Spicer, Casey’s eight and one half year old son.  There’s plenty of action in the resulting search-and-rescue.  Pronzini once again shows why he is a Grand Master, with his ability to create strong characters, compelling plots, and excitement.  Definitely recommended.  10/08 Jack Quick    

OTHERS by James Herbert: Nicholas Dismas has been given a second chance to save his soul. This time around, he’s been cursed with deformities and handicaps. He also has no knowledge of his past life or the choice spot in hell his exploits once earned him. In this life, Nick, a private investigator, must make the right choice or suffer eternal consequences. Shelly Ripstone has hired Nick to find a missing person. Not just any missing person, her son. The problem is, Shelly’s son was pronounced dead at the time of his birth eighteen years ago. Recently, Shelly has been told by a psychic that her son is in fact alive and in desperate need of her help. Nick is ready to refuse the case immediately, but something urges him to move forward with the investigation. This brutally shocking and disturbing case will test Nick like no other. Herbert, one of the best in the horror business, brings to life a truly grotesque cast of characters. Probably the most frightening part of this gruesome book is the author’s note at the end, which states that the idea for this story stemmed from actual events in a London hospital.  10/07 Becky Lejeune

OUR LADY OF PAIN by Elena Forbes:  A fairly straight forward, but interesting, police procedural featuring the Barnes Murder Squad of West London.  The bound and nude body of art dealer Rachel Tenison turns up in Holland Park.  In her mouth is a page of verse, eventually identified as an excerpt from Swinburne.  When the squad learns of a similar crime a year earlier that claimed the life of university lecturer Catherine Watson, they wonder if a copycat killer might be at work.  In the meantime, the Squad, led by Detective Mark Tartaglia uncovers evidence that the ostensibly prim and proper victim did indeed walk on the wild side, and that some people close to her, including her step-brother, an MP, have something to hide relevant to the murder. Solid second outing in this series after 2007’s Die With Me. 01/09 Jack Quick  

Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson: As with his earlier books, Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains, Mr. Guterson has set his most recent tale in the Pacific Northwest. His portrayal of a depressed logging community is brutally honest, but without judgment. Just as the forests have been logged out without any thought of future consequences, so too have the people of North Fork been depleted of something vital and beautiful.
    His story revolves around a young woman, living minimally in a campground and eking out a living by picking mushrooms in the forest. As Guterson is wont to do, she is described in detail, down to her sniffles. On one of her forays, she believes that she has a vision of the Virgin Mary who speaks to her and asks her to build a church on the site. A religious flash mob ensues, to the chagrin of the lumber company which owns the property and the Catholic church in the person of Father Butler who is sent to evaluate the "miracle."
    The honesty and accuracy of Mr. Guterson's descriptions are one of the strengths of his writing here. However, this honesty seems to dictate a lack of feeling for or commitment to his characters and the forces moving them. That distance interfered with my becoming totally involved in his story.
    This is a very good book, but I think that a little more feeling would have made it something more special.  ~This review contributed by Geoffrey R. Hamlin.

Out of Mind by Catherine Sampson: Camerawoman Melanie Jacobs, an employee of the Corporation, disappeared one evening while participating in a hazardous environment training course. When journalist Robin Ballantyne decides to investigate, as part of a series on missing persons, she finds her work blocked by their mutual employer, the Corporation, as well as by people who knew Melanie. As she neglects her children, her policeman boyfriend, and her other work, Robin is sucked deeper and deeper into Melanie’s story. Out of Mind is a slow-paced story, drawn out as Robin questions herself, her motives, the disappearance, and other people. This is a story for those interested in character struggles, rather than fast-paced plots. 09/05  ~This review contributed by Lesa Holstine.

OUT OF MIND by Catherine Sampson: Robin Ballantyne returns to work at Britain’s largest news corporation and immediately raises hackles with a new documentary series on unsolved missing persons cases. Melanie Jacobs, an experienced combat photographer, has disappeared in Britain and it is obvious no one wants Robin to follow-up. Minding new twins and maintaining a fragile relationship with her policeman gentleman friend add to Robin’s challenges. In the end, solving the mystery becomes a matter of life and death. Before that we are treated to quite a rambling adventure, which seems to involve most of Britain’s adult population. Although I have encountered stronger plotting the descriptive writing is good and the suspense element is maintained throughout the book. 10/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

THE OUTSIDE MAN by Richard North Patterson: The outside man is society lawyer Adam Shaw. First he is a Yankee and second he is in the South, which makes him a Damn Yankee. Then he finds the dead body of his best friend’s wealthy wife, and the friend is missing. No one other than Shaw really wants to open this can of worms, and the further it goes, even Shaw begins to have doubts. Patterson’s books all seem to have an underlying social theme that sometimes can get in the way of the story, but they are still good reads. 07/06 Jack Quick

The Outside World by Tova Mirvis:  This captivating novel is really a comparative cultural study of Modern Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox Jews.  Over the last century most Jews have slowly shed their strict laws, with modernization as the goal.  But then the tide started turning back, and over the past couple of decades younger people seem to be going back to the older, stricter ways.  Mirvis does a masterful job of illustrating their differences. Tzippy is 22 years old and unmarried, a very worrisome situation in the Ultra Orthodox world she lives in.  Bryan was raised Modern Orthodox, and after he graduates from high school, he spends a year studying at a Yeshiva in Israel before he heads off to Columbia University, his father's alma mater.  But during his time in Israel, he has a spiritual awakening, changes his name to his Hebrew name, Baruch, and dons the black hat and clothes of the Ultra Orthodox.  His only goal in life is to immerse himself in the study of the Torah, which causes his family to feel bewildered and inadequate.  Meanwhile, Tzippy decides to escape the constant matchmaking of her community and insists on spending a year in Israel herself.  And so they become a match made in heaven, or in this case, Israel.  Mirvis obviously knows her subject and this is a very enlightening and engaging book. 05/04

OVERKILL by Eugenia Lovett West: In this follow up to Without Warning, Emma Street is called to Italy to intervene when her opera singer niece gets involved with a rich playboy. It seems the girl is ready to throw everything away on a romantic whim. When Emma arrives, however, things take a drastic turn and the singer’s accompanist is found dead in her hotel room. Although it appears to be an obvious suicide, further investigation reveals evidence of foul play. Meanwhile, Emma and her niece are allowed to return home, where the girl falls ill as the result of an unknown virus. Emma finds herself once again involved in a grand conspiracy that threatens the safety of the nation. I enjoyed this mystery, though I’m not sure how much of it is entirely plausible. Fortunately, West does a good job of distracting readers with fun characters and an interesting plot. 01/10 Becky Lejeune 

THE OXFORD MURDERS by Guillermo Martinez: An unusual read. An Argentinean math student is studying at Oxford when his landlady is murdered. His hero, an Oxford don who has written a text on logical series, receives a note with a symbol. Another murder is committed – another note. The don fears that the killer may be testing him, thanks to a chapter in his book on serial murders. The police work is not very convincing and unless you are a math nut (I am) this one is probably not for you. 08/06 Jack Quick

The Oxygen Murder by Camille Minichino: This is the eighth and latest in Minichino’s Periodic Table mysteries, featuring Gloria Lamerino, a retired physicist. On a vacation trip to New York City with her husband, Matt, and their best friends, Gloria finds a dying woman in the apartment of Matt’s niece. Lori and the dead woman were working on a documentary film about ozone, which immediately peaks Gloria’s interest. Was the murder work related, or did the deceased have other secrets that caused her death? Gloria is out of her element in New York, so she’s dependent on Matt’s relationship with another policeman, and Lori’s knowledge of New York. Once again, Minichino finds ways to educate the reader while telling an intriguing story. 09/06 Lesa Holstine

PAINKILLER by Will Staeger:  First novel from an ESPN Television Network producer rambles a bit but is not badly written.  A semiretired local CIA operative in the Caribbean is involved in something which may or may not be related to events in China which cause a young analyst in Washington forecast an invasion of Taiwan, possibly by North Korean troops. Throw in a touch of voodoo, self-serving higher ups and the usual politicos and you have a pretty convincing yarn. Written in short chapters alternating between the enigmatic W. Cooper in the BVI and ambitious Julie Laramie in Virginia, you will see the connection before they do.  Book reads much longer than it is because for the most part it is two books until well past the half way mark.  Recommend and look forward to more from Mr. Staeger. 06/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

A PALE HORSE by Charles Todd:  Hmm. To start with, Charles Todd is really a mother and son writing team.  She lives in Delaware.  He lives in North Carolina.  The book is decidedly British, with much of the action occurring not in the London we know but in Berkshire, specifically where cottages once built to house lepers stand in the shadow of a great white horse cut into the chalk hillside.  The action occurs during that lull after the Great War and before the Great Depression.  The protag, Inspector Ian Rutledge, is a World War I vet who regularly listens and often talks to Hamish, a ghostly character whose acquaintance he made in the trenches in France during the war.  I am so glad I didn’t pay any attention to the above because this is one great book.  A police procedural with a puzzle that keeps you turning page after page.  Now I have learned this is the tenth outing for Inspector Rutledge so I have nine more treats in store.  Awesome. 04/08 Jack Quick  

A PALE HORSE by Charles Todd: Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge handles a complicated case of guilt in the latest book in this post-WWI series. When a group of schoolboys finds a body in the ruins of an abbey, their guilt and fear of the devil allow them to let their schoolmaster to become a suspect. It’s only when Rutledge shows up, looking for a missing man for the War Office, that the boys admit to their discovery. Even so, Rutledge doesn’t have answers, because no one will claim or identify the man. Todd’s latest mystery is an intriguing story of the past haunting the present. Although it’s set in 1920, the story is timeless. 04/08 Lesa Holstine

PANIC by Jeff Abbott: This fast paced thriller is based on a simple yet terrifying premise - what if everything you thought to be true about yourself and your family, your reality, turned out to be totally fabricated?  That's what happens to Evan Casher, a young, up-and-coming documentary film maker.  He receives a panicky phone call from his mother, urging him home under mysterious circumstances.  His new girlfriend slips out of his apartment without him realizing it, and his life as he once knew it begins to unravel, and fast.  Enter the mysterious and dangerous Jargo - friend or foe yet to be determined.  Ditto the CIA.  And Casher's father appears to be missing on top of all the other duplicity.  The pages fly by, rife with international intrigue and a whirling cast of players who seem to be changing sides by the minute.  Casher has no one to trust as the bodies start falling and the truth finally wins out.  What a wild ride... 08/05

PANIC by Jeff Abbott: Evan Casher is a successful documentary filmmaker in Austin, Texas, when his mother telephones him to come home immediately. Upon arrival, he finds her murdered and is almost killed himself. Thus starts an adventure where nothing is at it seems. A group of spies called the Deep is after him. His girlfriend is one of them. The CIA is involved. Is the CIA contact on his side or is he aligned with Jargo, a cunning, brutally efficient point man who believes that Casher has a computer file containing secret information about the organization’s contacts. Why does Jargo think he has the file? Where is it? Was Casher’s mother really a Deep operative? What about his father? Where is he and what connection does he have with Jargo? It was enough to make me panic, even if Evan didn’t. Well done, with a final twist that will leave you breathless. 10/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

PANIC ATTACK by Jason Starr:  Things were nearly perfect for Dr. Adam Bloom. Admittedly, he did have some bad dreams, but he and his wife Dana live in a luxurious house and his practice has given him financial security.  All this is shattered when Marissa, their twenty-two-year-old college graduate daughter wakes him up one night and says, “Somebody’s downstairs.”  Adam shoots one of the two intruders dead, but the other escapes, and this ends the Bloom’s orderly life. Adam no longer feels safe but refuses to move since he has lived there all his life.  The ensuing stress takes its toll on their marriage.  Then Marissa meets a young, talented artist named Xan.  Adam feels that something’s not quite right with Xan, but his daughter ignores his warnings and falls deeply in love with him.  Because this is a Jason Starr novel, you know these people going to make a train wreck of their lives. 06/09 Jack Quick

PANIC ZONE by Rick Mofina:  A young mother in Wyoming is thrown clear of a devastating car crash. She thinks she sees someone pull her infant son from the crash. The police believe it's a case of trauma playing cruel tricks on the mind, until the night the grief-stricken woman hears a voice through the phone: "Your baby is alive."

Jack Gannon's first international assignment is to find out whether his colleagues killed in a café’ explosion in Rio were innocent victims or targets, who got too close to a huge story.  In the Caribbean, a cruise ship passenger has an agonizing death. How are these events connected?  Robert Lancer is a top ranked counterterrorism official trying to determine whether someone has resurrected long-buried secret research, research that is now being used as a deadly weapon.  With millions of lives at stake, experts work frantically against time as an unstoppable force hurls them all into the panic zone. Another first rate thriller from Mofina. 06/10 Jack Quick 

PANIC ZONE by Rick Mofina: In this follow up to Vengeance Road, reporter Jack Gannon has left behind small-town Buffalo to join the World Press Alliance, a move that has more seasoned WPA journalists a little miffed. When a bombing in Rio de Janeiro kills two of their own and the Alliance is scrambling for coverage. Jack is sent to the scene itself where he quickly steps on locals’ toes, but what Jack discovers is more far-reaching that the purported drug bombing itself. Jack’s digging eventually leads him to Big Could, Wyoming where a recent widow has been investigating her husband’s death. The couple was involved in a devastating car crash and her husband was killed almost instantly. Authorities told the woman that her baby died in the accident as well, but she distinctly remembers seeing someone pull the infant from the wreckage. Jack may be the only one who will listen and together they will find themselves at the heart of a plot that has global ramifications. Mofina has certainly shown his ability to stretch his creative talents in this second Jack Gannon installment. From the beginning, I had no idea where the story was heading. The addition of a sort of bio warfare theme was an unexpected surprise. For some it may be too far, but I found it to be an interesting twist. 07/10 Becky Lejeune 

PAPER WOMAN by Suzanne Adair: Adair wastes no time plunging her heroine into danger in her debut historical novel. At thirty-three, Sophie Barton has already buried two husbands, raised a daughter, and operated her father’s printing press. She wants more out of life than the small town of Alton, Georgia can offer. However, Sophie didn’t plan to identify her father’s corpse. Nor did she think that excitement meant fleeing from British soldiers and rebels since both groups were intent on discovering what messages she received from rebel forces. Sophie, who was neutral during the American War of Independence, was suddenly caught up between those opposing forces. As she fled toward Florida with a small group of friends, they fought off bandits and Spanish assassins, while rescuing escaped slaves. Sophie Barton is a strong, independent woman, caught up in the events in the southern theater of the war. Adair combines romance, history, suspense and adventure in this fascinating story about a little-known aspect of our history. Paper Woman is the first in a series. I’m looking forward to the next novel, The Blacksmith’s Daughter. If it measures up to the first one, it will be a compelling story of our history. 11/06 Lesa Holstine

Paranoia by Joseph Finder: I haven't been this excited about a book in a long time; Joseph Finder has taken the ordinary-guy-in-extraordinary-circumstances thriller to a new level. Adam Cassidy is a worker drone, but manages to use his computer skills to one-up his company by throwing an executive style $78,000 party for a retiring dock worker, and sticking them with the bill - or so he thinks. But he gets caught and much to his surprise, being fired isn't an option. He is offered a choice - certain jail time, or the chance to infiltrate a competing company and pass along their secrets. Under intensive tutelage, Adam manages to work his way into a position as assistant to the competing CEO, thus avoiding the prison stint. But his new boss treats him like a son, and he finds himself with a deep moral dilemma - should he pull out, and even scarier, can he? The tension mounts almost unbearably as Adam is caught in the middle, making Paranoia impossible to put down. The technical stuff is handled masterfully - it's obvious Finder knows what he's talking about, but he isn't the least bit condescending, and the writing is clear and concise and gives the reader enough information to make the story work without getting bogged down in details, which is a really tough ratio to find. Perfect pacing, and even more impressively, a perfect ending, should put Finder at the forefront of the thriller genre. 01/04. 

PARANOIA by Joseph Finder: Adam Cassidy becomes an unwilling industrial espionage agent for Wyatt Telecom and its slick and relentless CEO Nick Wyatt. Cassidy is placed at competitor Trion Systems where he becomes personal assistant to Trion founder Jock Goddard. Adam comes to admire Jock and certainly is deliriously happy with all the trappings of his new position but he can’t get away from the demands of his former employers, or can he. The ending is a shocker. May well be Finder’s best yet. 03/06 Jack Quick

PARIAH by Dave Zeltserman: This is the second (after 2008’s SMALL CRIMES) of a planned “bad ass out of prison” series.  Kyle Kevin was a power in the South Boston Irish Mob until a falling out with head mobster Red Mahoney lead to an eight year term in prison.  Now Kyle is out, has come home, and wants revenge on both Mahoney and on his girlfriend Janet, who didn’t wait for him while he was sent away.  Imagine his surprise when he finds his younger brother has gone straight, has a straight job, and a straight girl friend.  Kyle lures his brother back into the life with unforeseen consequences that ultimately give Kevin the celebrity status he has been seeking.  But all things come with a price. Its noir, its satire, and its Boston that you don’t see on Cheers.  Nicely done follow-up to SMALL CRIMES. 10/09 Jack Quick

THE PARIS ENIGMA by Pablo De Santis:  I don’t do many “historicals” but found this one to be first rate.  The 12 Detectives, the world’s most famous sleuths, are scheduled to meet in Paris for the first time at the 1889 World's Fair.  Founding member Renaldo Craig of Argentina, is taken ill and sends in his place, Sigmundo Salvatrio, loyal assistant and last remaining member of Craig’s “Detective Academy” that was set up to pass along the skills of the master detective.  Salvatorio is also the unwitting messenger conveying something from Craig to fellow Twelve co-founding member Viktor Arzaky.  Shortly before the fair’s opening, Louis Darbon, one of two claimants among the 12 for the title of Detective of Paris, falls to his death from the Eiffel Tower.  Arzaky takes Salvatrio on as his apprentice, and the pair struggle to solve the mystery before more victims are claimed.  They soon realizes that the stakes involved are unimaginably high; they must not only catch the stalking murderer but also alter the fate of their precious brotherhood.  Definitely recommended. 01/09 Jack Quick   

THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin: The end begins with an experiment gone awry. There were twelve chosen for the program—twelve convicts, plus one little girl. Amy was the last. She was different from all of the others. Almost a century later, humanity is on the brink of extinction. A group in California built a careful and precarious community that has somehow managed to survive. Amy’s return will prompt a small group of these survivors to begin a quest that will change everything. Mankind’s continued existence rests in the travelers’ hands. Whether they will succeed remains to be seen, but learning the truth about Amy will prove to be a pivotal part and could be their last hope. Folks have been talking about The Passage with great anticipation, making it what promises to be the big blockbuster book of the summer. I have to say that the hype is very well deserved. The first part of a projected trilogy, The Passage is a gripping and hefty post-apocalyptic vampire book that lived up to, in fact exceeded, every expectation that I had of it. Cronin builds a magnificent landscape filled with a rich history and a fantastic cast of characters that will sweep readers along on an epic tale of survival amidst the end of the world as we know it. [Note from the BookBitch: Director Ridley Scott owns the film rights, and it is in development] 06/10 Becky Lejeune 

PASSPORT TO PERIL by Robert B. Parker:  Way back before Robert B. (B for Brown) Parker started writing about Spenser, there was another Robert B. Parker (B for Bogardus).  The original Robert B. Parker is spotlighted in this Hardcase Crime Book Number 57 which takes you on a run behind the Iron Curtain.  Parker, a World War II foreign correspondent knows the territory and this 1951 thriller originally published almost sixty years ago captures the fears and dangers of the era perfectly.  So take a trip on the Orient Express back into time to a place that is no more – “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.” 06/09 Jack Quick 

PATHS NOT TAKEN by Simon R. Green: This latest novel in Green’s Nightside series brings back John Taylor, a private investigator with a gift for finding things. This time, he’s determined to find the origin of the Nightside, because he’s been told his mother created it. The Nightside is the sick, magical city within London where it is always 3 am at night. Taylor has to convince Old Father Time, who controls time travel, to send him back in time. Along the way, he picks up a fascinating companion, Tommy Oblivion, who is an existential detective. This character adds an interesting element of humor to the story. Together with Tommy, and Taylor’s regular sidekick, Shotgun Suzie, they set out to travel back to the creation of the Nightside, with some interesting stops along the way. As always, Green includes mythology, history, the Bible, and fascinating stories in his fantasy. Once you’ve picked up one of the novels of the Nightside, you might find yourself hooked. Paths Not Taken is another intriguing book in the series. 09/07 Lesa Holstine

PATIENT ZERO by Jonathan Maberry:  Maberry’s latest, and the first in a new series, begins with Baltimore cop Joe Ledger going up against a dead man, literally. Ledger is part of a task force tracking terrorist movement in the States when he kills a man named Javad Mustapha. Just days later, Ledger is picked up by some agents representing a group called the Department of Military Science. The DMS has been involved in a very strange and interesting case and they want Joe’s help, but first they need him to kill Javad, again. Seems someone has been experimenting with some pretty unique viruses and has managed to create killer zombies. No group has taken responsibility just yet and given what they’re up against, the DMS thinks Ledger could be just what they need to lead their new elite team. Joe and his fellow badasses vow to do their best to track the people responsible while eliminating the threat before the virus spreads, but when it begins to look as though someone in the DMS may be helping the other side, Joe gets pretty pissed. Patient Zero is part horror, part thriller and all action. Both horror and thriller fans alike are sure to love this one. A smart blockbuster novel.  03/09 Becky Lejeune  

PATRIOT ACTS by Greg Rucka:  Love your country.  Fear your government.  Know your enemy.  Although bodyguard Atticus Kodiak is ready to settle down it is not to be.  He is almost killed in an ambush that does take the life of one of his closest friends.  Afterwards he and Drama, now known as Alena, try to break away from The Ten - a group of cold-blooded killers operating around the globe.  A conspiracy that reaches high into the U.S. government will not allow this, so the two set to work to clear their names and avoid death in a desperate chase around the world.  This is possibly the best ever Kodiak book. 01/08 Jack Quick

THE PATRIOTS CLUB by Christopher Reich:  At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, a group of the founding fathers form “The Patriots Club” - to preserve the political special interest initiatives that the country's founding fathers had defended in the foundation of this nation.  Fast forward to the present and Thomas Bolden, a successful 32-year-old investment banker and Harlem Boys Club Foundation trustee, come into the sights of the successors of that group.  Bolden chases a pair of muggers through Manhattan's financial district after they rob his girlfriend, Jenny Dance. They abduct him at gunpoint, but a narrow escape reunites him with Jenny.  Bolden already knows too much, though, and the Patriot Club begin to systematically dismantle Bolden's life.  He and a newly pregnant Jenny run for their lives, tracked at every turn by the well-connected "club," which is headed by retired detective Francois Guilfoyle.  Politics and wealth fuel the chase which ultimately leads to a satisfactory conclusion showing why Reich is still among today’s leaders in the international thriller genre. 09/09 Jack Quick 

PAY THE PIPER: A Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple: A young adult book that doesn't quite read like one; PAY THE PIPER offers a protagonist who is an adolescent girl with smarts. This short book is strongly written, well told by a mother and son team who combine their writing and music skills to tell an old tale.

Callie MacCallan knows that something is just odd about the appearance of big-name band the Brass Rats, in her town. For one thing, her parents loved the band when they were young and the band members don't seem to have aged. And this isn't exactly a major concert venue. When she overhears and sees some odd things, she wonders just who will believe her. When all the children in town disappear Halloween night - except for Callie who had to stay home, trying to write this very tough story for her school newspaper (they gave her the press credentials to cover the concert) - she knows that what she saw wasn't to be ignored.

Interspersed with Callie's story, is the story of the otherworldly band, especially lead singer Peter Gingras, an exiled prince of Faerie. He made some very bad mistakes in his youth (centuries past), and he owes the price, which is normally silver and gold. But a misunderstanding with the tour promoter leaves him with the other option - payment in souls, and thus the band takes the children of the town to pay Peter's debt. And it's the smart kid who finds a way out that works for pretty much everyone. 07/05 ~This review contributed by Andi Shechter.

PAYING THE PIPER by Simon Wood:  Wow!  Eight years ago reporter Scott Fleetwood was interjected into the case of the serial kidnapper called the Piper.  At the time, Scott thinks he is dealing with that person, but instead, he and the FBI are fooled by a wannabe.  The confusion leads to the real Piper taking his first life, that of the only child of wealthy real estate mogul Charles Rooker.  Now the Piper is back and wants revenge.  To start, he has kidnapped one of Fleetwood’s twin sons, and demanded $2 million ransom.  But is it really money he wants, or Fleetwood’s help in tracking down the man whose imitation created the earlier problems.  Its every parent’s nightmare and it affects everyone, Fleetwood, the FBI agent who was originally on the case, Rooker, the wannabe Piper, and of course the Piper himself.  Hard to believe this is Wood’s sophomore effort.  Delightfully twisty and an amazing climax. 03/08 Jack Quick  

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger: I loved this beautifully written book about a family and a place - Minnesota and the North Dakota Badlands.  Every character comes to life through the narration of 11-year-old Reuben Land, who suffers from asthma. I fell in love with his sister Swede, a 9-year-old writer of enchanting cowboy poetry with exquisite meter.  But older brother Davy kills two boys that have been attacking this family and pays a steep price for it, sending them out on the road and into what surely must be some of most beautiful land in America.  But it's Reuben's father, Jeremiah Land, conduit of miracles, who holds them all together.  Suspend your disbelief and plunge headlong into the inspirational world of the Land family; you will not forget them.

Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke: Robicheaux is still going strong and sober in his fifteenth adventure (after Crusader's Cross), only this time it’s personal. During the dark days in Miami, Robicheaux witnessed the execution of his friend Dallas Klein during an armored car robbery. Fast forward many years to New Iberia, Louisiana, where a young girl with everything to live for commits suicide, a homeless man is killed in a suspicious hit and run, and another young woman – Dallas’s daughter, Trish – is caught passing a hundred dollar bill with the telltale dye mark of stolen funds. Robicheaux hooks up with his former partner, PI Clete Purcel, who does a little private investigating and somehow ends up involved with Trish. While Robicheaux is obsessing over his cases and seriously butting heads with the politically ambitious district attorney, he also manages to unsnarl the mess and get the bad guys with his own inimitable style, while just briefly touching on the horror of Hurricane Katrina. With his superbly written prose and intricate plotting, Burke's latest is sure to please his legion of fans. 07/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch Copyright © 2006 Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Reprinted with permission. 

PEGASUS DESCENDING by James Lee Burke: Dave Robicheaux can’t escape the past.  Years ago when he "was still going steady with Jim Beam straight up and a beer back" a friend, Dallas Klein, was killed in an armored car robbery that Dave witnessed but was too drunk to stop.  Now Dallas’ daughter Trish, a grifter and con artist, shows up in New Iberia apparently intent on getting revenge on the mobsters who caused her father’s death, mobsters who coincidentally now live in New Iberia.  If possible, Burke continues to get better.  Not only is the story riveting and the prose as elegant as ever, but he breaks the mood from time to time with outrageously funny moments and characters before ratcheting the tension up another notch.  For instance, there is “Calamity Jane” AKA Betsy Mossbacher, an FBI agent originally from Chugwater, Wyoming, who deserves her own series.  She begins by crashing her vehicle into a New Iberia police cruiser, insults the chief and generally acts more like the proverbial bull in the china shop than a heifer.  Mixed in with the serious stuff are incidents like the 911 call from a meth addict who was outraged when his dealer showed up without the drugs the caller had paid for, thereby committing fraud, and according to the caller, added insult to injury by robbing him at gunpoint of seventy-eight dollars and his stash.  It just doesn’t get any better. 07/06 Jack Quick

PELHAM FELL HERE by Ed Lynskey:  Wow!  If you are a Lee Child fan, then plan on grabbing this one to keep you going between Jack Reacher adventures.  Frank Johnson has been around the block more than once.  Like Reacher, Johnson is a former Military Policemen and now works as a PI and part-time gunsmith.  When his cousin Cody Chapman is gunned down with a twelve-gauge shotgun, Johnson starts looking for answers.  Before he gets them, two deputy sheriffs ambush and try to kill him.  Two on one aren’t sufficient odds as he survives, but only by killing the deputies.  Now he is both the hunted and the hunter.  Thank goodness he survives, with a little help from his friends, because we want to see more of this guy. 06/08 Jack Quick  

PELICAN POINT by Douglas Quinn: A worthy sequel to Quinn’s Blue Heron Marsh.  All army veteran Webb Sawyer wants to do is relax in his North Carolina Outer Banks stilt house, fish, spend quality time with his cat Basil, and make the occasional casual foray with one of the local women.. It is not to be.  When his college student son Preston makes the gruesome discovery of the body of the Director of Arts and Humanities with a letter opener stuck in the back of his head, Preston is tabbed as a primary suspect.  Then Preston disappears leaving Webb and Preston’s girlfriend, Sunshine Bledsoe (got to love these character names), to discover what has happened to Preston and hopefully solve the professor’s murder that has set this chain of events in motion.  Having lived in this part of the world for seven years, I can honestly say that Quinn gets the location right, and also tells a mean story well. Definitely recommended.  (Author furnished book). 10/09 Jack Quick 

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March and Year of Wonders, takes readers back through the history of one book, the Sarajevo Haggadah, to tell a story of racism, discrimination, and hatred, but sometimes the courage of individuals. Hanna Heath, a book conservator, is asked to restore the invaluable manuscript. Intrigued by the work, Hanna longs to know why an insect wing, a white hair, and a wine stain are in it. Those remnants allows the author to trace the Haggadah’s history, back through Sarajevo, Vienna, Venice, and Spain. The book bears silent witness to religious intolerance, back from the Nazis to the Inquisition and earlier periods. Time after time, though, individuals rise up to save the Haggadah, and, in doing so, save something in the human spirit. Even Hanna is forced to fight to preserve the book, in a fascinating story. 04/08 Lesa Holstine

THE PEOPLE WHO WALK IN DARKNESS by Stuart Kaminsky:  Kaminsky continues his methodology of having the Moscow version of the 87^th Precinct work on three cases simultaneously.  This time, however, all three are interrelated, and Chief Insp. Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov only has nine days in which to solve them.  He and Emil Karpo (The Vampire) are off to Siberia to investigate the death of a Canadian geologist who died in a Siberian diamond mine rumored to be haunted by ghosts.  His son Josef and his partner Zelach are sent to look into the torture-murder of two black South Africans whose bodies were found seated in a cemetery and Sasha Tkach and Elena Timofeyeva are looking into the murder of a Moscow prostitute found dead in the most expensive private care on a train from Kiev to Moscow.  The stakes are high – Rostnikov’s continued employment is at stake, and the time is short.  One the best yet from an MWA Grand Master. 10/08 Jack Quick   

PERFECT KILLER by Lewis Perdue: Project Enduring Valor has for seventy years sought the ultimate warrior drug – one that would turn ordinary soldiers into ruthless killers. Dr. Bradford Stone, "legendary Marine recon operative turned healer and scientist," is contacted by a woman from his past with a baffling mystery. Why would a black civil rights attorney in Mississippi want to save a convicted white racist murderer on death row? What is the connection to Project Enduring Valor and who will be the next president of the United States? Add in a female sniper, a love interest, a massive conspiracy and the richness of the Mississippi Delta and you get a very exciting novel. 01/07 Jack Quick

PERFECT LITTLE LADIES by Abby Drake: It all begins with a pair of La Perla panties. Purple La Perla panties. And a ransom note for said pair of lacy undies. To the world, Elinor Young would seem to be the perfect Washington wife. But Elinor is hiding a secret behind her sweet suburban façade. Elinor’s been having an affair and is desperate to keep it a secret from her husband. Now she must appeal to her very best friends for help in retrieving the notorious underwear, tack down her blackmailer, and in keeping her trysts hidden from the rest of the world. As the five women band together in this light caper, they will each have to fess up to secrets of their own. Perfect Little Ladies is a quick and breezy read with more than a few laughs at the expense of the well-to-do upper crust of society. 09/09 Becky Lejeune 

Perfect Match by Jodi Piccoult:  A legal thriller from a master storyteller.  Nina Frost is a driven D.A. who specializes in convicting child molesters.  Her world is turned upside down when her 5 year old son is sexually abused, the chief suspect a Priest.  Nina knows all too well how the legal system fails children, so she takes the law into her own hands with devastating results.  This is a very emotional, very intense story that is extremely well done.

PERFECT ON PAPER: The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson, by Maria Murnane:  It’s the day every woman remembers—her wedding day. For Waverly Bryson, it’s a day she’ll never forget. Before she can even walk down the aisle, her fiancée calls off the wedding, claiming that they weren’t meant to be. Waverly’s life goes in a downward spiral. In addition to the breakup, she has a horrible relationship with her father, and her job in sports PR isn’t quite as exciting as it should be. But one thing Waverly is able to retain is her sense of humor. When times are bad, she writes “honey” notes to herself, putting a humorous spin on that particular situation. Example: “Life has its ups and downs, right? Honey, if you’re talking about my weight and my bank account the unfortunate answer is yes, in that order. “Waverly’s “honey” turn out to be the key that opens to door to her success and happiness.  PERFECT ON PAPER is a hilarious and addictive book. I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down. Waverly’s character leaves you laughing so hard you cry. Waverly, and her close network of friends, are unforgettable and easy to relate to. Each chapter begins with a “honey” note. I jotted several down myself. PERFECT ON PAPER is definitely a book I would recommend. 01/09 Jennifer Lawrence

PERFECT ON PAPER: THE (MIS)ADVENTURES OF WAVERLY BRYSON by Maria Murnane: Waverly Bryson finally had things in place: great career, great friends, and just two weeks away from walking down the aisle. But then her fiancé called the whole thing off. It’s now one year later, and Waverly is no closer to finding Mr. Right. As each new date turns into a total disaster, Waverly is also faced with the fact that her career isn’t what she’d hoped. Throughout it all, Waverly buoys her own spirits by creating “Honey” notes—funny little pieces of wisdom inspired by her daily life and experiences. But Waverly is not alone in her (mis)adventures and given the chance, she might be able to inspire others who share the same doubts and fears in life. Maria Murnane’s debut is a light and funny read about a twenty-something woman facing the same decisions and challenges as the rest of us. If you’ve ever felt like your life wasn’t going the way you’d planned, then you can’t help but connect with Waverly’s tale.  02/10 Becky Lejeune

THE PERFECT VICTIM by James McKimmey:  Al Jackson was mostly talk but the townspeople of Willow Creek didn’t know that.  So when the beloved town beauty ends up dead, murdered in her room above the Willow Creek coffee shop, and Al Jackson is the only stranger in town, its not hard to see why the folks of Willow Creek suspected Al, particularly since he had been coming on to her in the Coffee Shop.  Published in 1957, this is a quick and easy read, about small town life and whether justice can be had.  The clerk at the used bookstore said this one was “so old and so thin,” she would only charge me a quarter.  Not bad for a Dell First Edition and paperback classic. 03/08 Jack Quick 

PERFECTION by Walter Satterthwait: What kind of serial killer targets overweight women in order to bring them to “perfection?” In St. Anselm, Florida, a small gulf coast city, police detective Sophia Tregaskis and Sgt. James Fallon are in charge of this strange case. They have to battle departmental politics, an FBI profiler and a hurricane to solve the baffling case. Satterthwait’s thriller is intriguing and fast-paced with a shocking ending. 02/06 Lesa Holstine

PERMANENCE by Karl Schroeder: Schroeder’s Sun of Suns was on the less sciency side of SF, but Permanence is pretty much full-bore, spaceships-aliens-and-nanobots, convention-attending, total-nerd Science Fiction. And it is awesome. The setup here is that there is a big galactic civilization, with some planets orbiting actual stars and others farther out that orbit brown dwarfs—they give out enough heat to support life, but not enough to power the faster-than-light starships that connect the inner worlds. SO, there are these enormous ships called cyclers that travel (below light speed) between the outer worlds and pass on supplies and passengers, keeping the society connected and thriving. The only problem is that now the inner worlds have the fast ships, there are fewer and fewer cyclers, and the outer worlds are getting cut off. There’s a lot more to it, a whole political thing and a rebellion and so on, but that’s all mostly a MacGuffin—the main point of the story is more about the search for (and attempt to understand) other advanced alien civilizations, and whether any civilization can survive without annihilating itself or everyone else. I love books that have an interesting take on aliens (Vernor Vinge is another author who does this especially well) and I really recommend this book even though I suspect the hardcore SF aspect will put a lot of people off. Seriously, get over it and read this - it will make you think. 03/07 Jenne Bergstrom

PERSON OF INTEREST by Theresa Schwegel: Another gritty outing from Schwegel. Chicago PD detective Craig McHugh loses his objectivity in pursuing the source of a deadly batch of heroin. He goes undercover in an attempt to infiltrate the Fuxi Spiders Chinese gang. In the process he loses his partner, and is in jeopardy of losing his wife and daughter, his job and his life. Can he pull it all back together or will he be destined to go down the tubes? Not for the faint of heart with descriptions of the world of drugs and gangs and their effect on the rest of society. Above average. 09/08 Jack Quick 

PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman: Zach Taylor, a young art therapist making a name for himself in his field, has been asked to take on the biggest case seen in the history of Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital. Notorious serial killer Martin Grace is set to go on trial in just a short time, and it’s Zach’s job to determine whether the man is fit for the hearing. Grace has always claimed innocence, but there are two things that make his case stand out amongst the others: Grace suffers from psychosomatic blindness, and he claims that the person responsible for the killings is someone he refers to as “the Dark Man.” Zach soon finds himself confronting memories of his own mother’s death and questioning whether Grace may be linked to a dark and sinister force of a supernatural origin. This unique and innovative thriller takes the form of a patient file with props, or “personal effects,” websites, and even telephone numbers, that allow the reader to follow right along, and even interact, with Zach Taylor’s investigation. A very different delivery, a great concept, and a fun read besides. 06/09 Becky Lejeune 

A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THIRST by John Burdett:  No, this is not a treatise on alcoholism.  The title is derived from the name of one of the key characters – Oliver Thirst, whose life and death shaped the lives of ambitious London lawyer James Knight, a defender turned prosecutor; Oliver Thirst, his former client; and Daisy Smith, a wayward American.  Like Gaul, the book is divided into three parts.  In the first part, Daisy is charged with Oliver's murder.  The second part is a flashback to the late 1970s, which establishes and develops the dark triangle.  The third and most compelling and funny part of the novel returns to the present to cover Daisy’s trial, with all its manipulations and ramifications.  Decidedly different and nicely done.  This is the first of four books by Burdett, this one set in England, and three set in the Far East. 08/08 Jack Quick

Persuader by Lee Child: Newest installment in the Jack Reacher series.  The book opens with ex-military police officer Reacher saving a young man from an apparent kidnapping.  But the kidnapping attempt is a set up to get Reacher into the boy's family home, where his father, Zachary Beck, a rug importer (and who knows what else he's importing,) is under investigation by the FBI.  A female agent is missing, there are steroid overloaded bodyguards hanging around the house, and Reacher finds out that an old enemy, Quinn, long thought dead, is alive and involved.   Reacher wants Quinn, and agrees to help the FBI with their investigation.  Intriguing characters, interesting setting  and twisty story make this the best Reacher book yet.  Don't miss it.

PHANTOM PREY by John Sandford:  Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Lucas Davenport, in his 18^th outing, gets into the local goth scene at the request of his wife.  A wealthy young woman has been kidnapped and presumed murdered.  Her mother is a friend of Weather Davenport, and seeks Lucas’ help through Weather, in trying to gain closure regarding her daughter’s disappearance.  Then there is a second death.  It becomes clear there is a serial killer targeting Goths and anyone else who becomes involved, including Lucas.  Although not the best Davenport, this one will still keep you involved late into the night. 07/08 Jack Quic

PHILIPPINE FEVER by Bruce Cook:  Homeland Security Agent Sam Haine is tracking a cargo container of Chinese AK-47s destined for terrorists in Texas when he finds the American buyer of the weapons dead behind a sex club in the red light district of Manila.  In order to stop the shipment, Sam must first find the killer.  Sam soon finds himself deep into an unsavory stew of CIA covert operations, corrupt politicians, Al Qaeda and the international trafficking of sex slaves.  Fast paced and not for the faint of heart.  07/06 Jack Quick

THE PHILOSOPHER’S APPRENTICE by James Morrow:  This is a tale in three parts, each being equally fascinating and equally mind-boggling. In part one, Mason Ambrose is hired to act as tutor and moral coach to Londa Sabacthani, a young girl living on a private island off of Florida. As it turns out, the girl is actually one of three clones created so that their “mother” can experience every stage of motherhood before she dies. Part two begins ten years after the end of part one. Ambrose and Londa have not spoken in ten years. Londa’s grown, completed her own college education, and has in fact created her own sort-of utopian village using Ambrose’s philosophy teachings to create a better world. Her plan backfires, however, when a group of crazy religious fundamentalists gets wind of some of her varied “works.” In part three, Londa has abandoned her more positive approach to bettering society – she’s also thrown aside Ambrose’s well-meaning warnings in regards to her more extreme plan to exact change on today’s morally ambiguous society. Humorous, tedious, and enlightening are all appropriate ways to describe this book. Morrow is wonderful in his wacky and illustrative prose, but he can also prompt some pretty heavy thoughts despite his mostly light tone. A thought provoking, if somewhat confusing read. 04/08 Becky Lejeune

A PICTURE OF GUILT by Libby Fischer Hellmann: it has been three years since Ellie’s last adventure.  Her thirteen going on twenty-one daughter is still a challenge.  This time it’s the out-takes from one of her videos that puts her squarely between the mob and the FBI during a highly publicized Chicago murder trial.  Johnnie Santoro is found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Mary Jo, in spite of Ellie’s video showing him elsewhere.  Then Mary Jo’s best friend Rhonda tells Ellie she was with Mary Jo the night Mary Jo was killed and Johnny is innocent.  That night Rhonda is killed in a one-car accident with no witnesses.  Ellie decides to tell Johnny’s lawyer anyway, but the lawyer is killed in a botched robbery at his office.  Then Ellie is locked into a video suite and the building set on fire. You’ll have to read the remaining two-thirds yourself.  Recommended. 06/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

PIG ISLAND by Mo Hayder: Journalist Joe Oakes has been recruited by the Psychogenic Healing Ministries to write a story about their community. After years of being labeled devil worshippers, the cult hopes that Oakes can paint a more socially acceptable light on the community. Oakes’s own motivation in agreeing to write the story stems from his past experience with the ministry. One of the many philosophies of the group is the belief that no medical intervention is necessary to heal. When Oakes’s aunt falls victim to Pastor Malachi Dove and his followers, Oakes exposes Dove for the fraud that he is. Now, years later, Oakes’s curiosity has gotten the best of him. Oakes suffers an unfortunate accident while on the island and is rushed to the mainland to recuperate. When he returns, he discovers that every last member of the ministry has been brutally murdered. Anyone who has not read Mo Hayder has been missing out, her shocking and brutal thrillers are maddeningly intense. Pig Island is somewhat reminiscent of Wicker Man but is much more satisfying, even if it is a bit predictable towards the end. 02/07 Becky Lejeune

THE PINES by Robert Dunbar: This cult classic, originally published in a somewhat edited version in 1989, is now back in print, and in full. Pine Barrens, New Jersey is the home of the famous legend of the Jersey Devil. Robert Dunbar, an expert on this American folk tale, weaves an original narrative around this classic New Jersey horror story. Legend has it that in 1735 a woman called Mother Leeds cursed her thirteenth child and swore that his father was the devil. Upon its birth, the child appeared normal but quickly transformed into a terrifying beast. Now, Pine Barrens and the surrounding area are beginning to see an increase in unexplained disappearances and deaths. Athena is not from Pine Barrens. She only moved there after being swept off her feet by Wallace Monroe. After their marriage, he brought her back to the home he grew up in, but died shortly thereafter. Left alone in the dilapidated old farmhouse, Athena does her best to provide for herself and her son. The locals don’t like her and the only help she gets is from her sister-in-law, a woman who could never have kids of her own and now dotes on Athena’s. Athena knows there is something wrong with her son, that he’s not like other children, that the “Piney” blood that runs through him is at least partially responsible. It becomes clear pretty soon, however, that Matthew himself has some strange connection to the recent occurrences in Pine Barrens. A thoroughly satisfying horror read! Dunbar is reported to be working on a sequel to The Pines to be published in 2009. 10/08 Becky Lejeune

PIPSQUEAK by Brian Wiprud: New York taxidermy collector Garth Carson makes his living by restoring stuffed animals and then renting them out for photo shoots and the like. His girl friend Angie is a professional jeweler who does piece work at home for various manufacturers, gem setters and art jewelers, involving cutting tools, torches and exotic metals. Is it any wonder that this seemingly ordinary American couple is threatened by becoming involved in the recovery of one Pipsqueak the Nutty Nut squirrel, star of an old kiddies' cartoon show, which also featured General Buster, Howlie the Wolf, Possum his sidekick, Magic File Drawers and the Milkshake Saloon. If you don’t laugh somewhere during this one, have the relatives call Carson to come pick you up. It’s time to get you stuffed and placed on a shelf along with Howlie, Possum and the infamous Pipsqueak. 06/07 Jack Quick

THE PIRATE’S DAUGHTER by Margaret Cezair-Thompson: It’s 1946 and Errol Flynn has just arrived in Jamaica. Ida Joseph’s father, Levi, is the only taxi driver and justice of the peace in Port Antonio. Both positions lead Flynn directly to him. The two become fast friends and Levi even begins a property search for Flynn after he decides to stay in Jamaica. Thirteen-year-old Ida quickly becomes enamored with the star and finds herself, just three years later, carrying his child. Her infatuation with Flynn never truly dies, and up until his death, she still believed that she could save him from himself. Despite years of hardship that follow the birth of Ida’s daughter, May, fortune finally smiles on them. Baron Karl von Ausberg marries Ida and buys Flynn’s estate on Navy Island. Meanwhile, the political and cultural atmosphere of Jamaica has begun a tumultuous period of change. May leaves the country to attend college, but is drawn back to the island. Neither Ida nor May truly fits into this new Jamaica, the land they still call home, and they are in danger of losing Navy Island as well. Both Ida and May must confront the ultimate questions: who am I and where do I belong? This gorgeous and phenomenal book has been earning well-deserved praise of late. It is a tale of amorous love and belonging, of family drama, political unrest, and cultural discordance as a result of colonialism. The Pirate’s Daughter is an amazing book. 10/07 Becky Lejeune

THE PLAGUE MAIDEN by Kate Ellis: Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson returns in one of Ellis’ mysteries that combine history and present day crime in a riveting story. While archaeologist Neal Watson digs up a burial ground for plague victims from the 14th century, Wesley digs into more recent crimes. It was thought that a thief murdered Rev. John Shipborne in 1991. He was arrested, found guilty and imprisoned, until a woman came up with an alibi twelve years later. Who killed the minister? Was it the same person who killed a young woman who disappeared a week after the minister’s death, the woman whose body was uncovered by the archaeological team? And who has a grudge against a supermarket chain, the chain that is planning to building on the plague burial grounds? Wesley can be grateful for the help of his supervisor and the rest of the police department, since he’s trying to juggle the cases, his wife’s pregnancy and his son’s illness. In all of her novels, Ellis captures the importance of relationships, friendship and family. Relationships are important in Wesley’s successful solutions to the cases, the successful conclusion of the historical cases, and the success of all of Ellis’ stories. 05/07 Lesa Holstine

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult:  Good mystery set in the oh-so-fascinating Amish country of Pennsylvania.  Well researched and well written.  Can't wait to read The Pact.

PLAY DEAD by Ryan Brown: By now everyone knows just how big Texas is on football. Debut author Ryan Brown takes it to a whole new level by adding zombies to the mix. When the Killington Jackrabbits make it to the final game before the playoffs, it looks like the historically losing team finally has a shot at going all the way. Their rivals, the Elmwood Elks are none too pleased. In fact, the Elmwood players are willing to do just about anything to make sure that the Jackrabbits don’t get that far. When threatening and maiming the star quarterback doesn’t work, the Elks decide to play a prank that has devastating results. Little do they know, Black Mona, Killington’s resident “witch” is a huge Jackrabbits fan and she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve. Excellent. Brown’s football playing zombies are definitely a win in my book. Great atmosphere, dark humor, and zombies in Texas, it just doesn’t get any better. 05/10 Becky Lejeune 

PLAY DEAD by David Rosenfelt:  This is the latest in one of my favorite series, and it's fabulous.  All you need to know of the plot is that our hero, Andy Carpenter, millionaire lawyer who picks and chooses his cases based solely on whether or not he cares enough to do the work, takes on a new client who faces execution.  This death row inmate, however, is a golden retriever accused of biting, and the law says biters get put down.  The last minute stay of execution opens another can of worms, as Andy realizes that this golden is also the only witness to a five year old murder.  As implausible a plot as this may sound, due to Rosenfelt's writing skill it works on every level.  You don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy this romp, but I bet you will be one by the time you're done.  Don't miss this laugh out loud funny, twisty mystery.  06/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch  

PLAY DEAD by David Rosenfelt:  Probably every shaggy dog joke ever created will work its way into one or more reviews of this, Rosenfelt’s sixth legal thriller featuring independently wealthy Paterson, N.J., lawyer Andy Carpenter.  In this outing Carpenter takes on a death row case involving a defendant accused of attacking his owner.  Owner?  Yogi, a golden retriever, is freed from the animal shelter and joins longtime pet Tara in the Carpenter home. The real action begins when an ordinary street walk turns into a reunion of sorts when Karen Evans recognizes Yogi, AKA Reggie, presumed dead five years earlier after the conviction of Karen's brother, U.S. Customs Inspector Richard Evans, for the murder of his fiancée, Stacy Harriman.  Carpenter realizes this is a case he can really sink his teeth into (sorry I had to) and sets out to free Richard Evans to reunite him with Reggie, ah Yogi.  Anyway its up to the high standards set by Rosenfelt in previous outings. 06/07 Jack Quick

PLAY DIRTY by Sandra Brown: Griff Burkett is probably the most hated man in Dallas.  They take their football seriously there, and the Cowboys star quarterback got caught throwing a game.  He did time in prison and when he gets out, he finds himself ostracized at every turn, not to mention the target of the cop who busted him.  Rodale is convinced he got away with murder, and is terrorizing Burkett and everyone who is involved with him.  Unable to get any sort of job, he's desperate enough to take the one thing he is offered.  Foster Speakman is the CEO of a Southwest Airlines clone, a paraplegic married to a much younger woman.  Speakman offers Burkett a job, of sorts: he wants Burkett to father a child for him, the "natural way."  Mrs. Speakman is amenable, but then things really heat up.  This is romantic suspense at its best; by turns sexy and scary but always thrilling. 08/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PLAYING FOR PIZZA by John Grisham: Rick Dockery was only a third string quarterback, but he became the most hated man in Cleveland when he threw away a seventeen point lead in a playoff game for the Browns. Eager to get out of town, and escape a paternity case, he accepted a job as the starting quarterback for the Parma Panthers. That’s Parma, Italy, where he’s one of three Americans on the team. The rest of the team consists of Italians playing for the love of the game, and pizza and beer. Unlike Cleveland Brown fans, who view Rick as a goat, the Panthers see him as their savior, the American quarterback who will lead them to victory in their version of a Super Bowl. Grisham’s latest novel is a funny, warm story, filled with a passion for football, and a passion for life. 10/07 Lesa Holstine

PLAYING GOD by Kate Flora: Flora’s new mystery series introduces a fascinating character, Joe Burgess, “Portland’s meanest cop.” He’s also the best detective on the Portland, Maine police force, so his supervisor allows him to investigate the murder of Dr. Stephen Pleasant, although Burgess hated the man. As Burgess and his team interview friends and family, they discover that no one liked the victim. Burgess said, “This case has everything – unhappy wife, angry ex. Hookers. Drugs. Money problems. Maybe blackmail, and a vic nobody liked, including his patients.” The police discover that Pleasant’s entire life had a mucky undercurrent. He may have been a powerful man, but he manipulated and used everyone. Burgess discovers that anyone close to Pleasant could be dragged into the muck, including himself. Playing God is an excellent title on many levels. And, Kate Flora has created a wonderful character. I hope she brings Joe back soon. 11/06 Lesa Holstine

PLEA OF INSANITY by Jillian Hoffman: Julia Vacanti is a prosecutor in Miami who's fairly new to the job.  She has a one night stand with the star prosecutor in the office, and the next thing she knows he's insisting she second chair on a media-hot murder case.  Dr. David Marquette is a successful surgeon who is accused of murdering his wife and three young children who is pleading insanity, claiming that he's schizophrenic.  Is he a psychopath just trying to fool the court-appointed psychiatrists or is he really insane? Julia has a little personal experience with that question; her brother murdered her parents, leading to all sorts of complications with this case.  A very gripping read despite some holes in the story, and probably Hoffman's best book since her debut novel, Retribution. 06/09 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PLUM LOVIN’ by Janet Evanovich: In my grocery store they have something called “two bite brownies”. As Stephanie’s companion Lula would say, “You need a whole case of them little things to know you’ve had any.” Like Christmas 2002’s Visions of Sugar Plums, this is a "between-the-numbers" 2007 Valentine’s Day Stephanie Plum book that is too long to be a short story, but at 164 pages doesn’t offer the satisfaction of say, a dozen fresh Krispy Kremes or a large order of chili cheese fries. Not content with just two men in her life (Morelli and Ranger) Stephanie hooks up with Diesel to pursue an FTA (Failure To Appear). As the name implies, Diesel is kind of the “whitebread” Ranger with maybe a bit more muscularity. It’s the usual cast of characters and enjoyable if you’re already a fan and if you can get it free from the library like I did. If not, Stephanie playing Cupid for a shy butcher, a desperate vet, an overworked single mom, a 30-something virgin and the marriage-phobic fellow who just happens to be Stephanie's pregnant sister's boyfriend is probably not your cup of tea. 03/07 Jack Quick

PLUM LUCKY by Janet Evanovich: I love the Stephanie Plum books, but these "between the numbers" books haven't thrilled me as much, although this is probably the best of the three so far (Visions of Sugar Plums; Plum Lovin'.)  It's rather like eating the crumbs of Stephanie's favorite Tastee Cakes, but us diehard fans will take what we can get until Fearless Fourteen comes out in June.  So far, these books have been centered around holidays: Christmas, Valentine's Day, and now St. Patrick's Day.  Grandma Mazur takes off with a duffel bag that she found on the street.  It's full of money, and she's convinced she's found the leprechaun's pot of gold and it's hers to keep.  But the "leprechaun" wants his money back, and so do the gangsters he stole it from.  Grandma takes off for Atlantic City, so Stephanie, Lula and Connie take off after her.  Diesel shows up too; he's looking for the leprechaun.  The scene with Lula causing a 'distraction' in the casino was priceless, as anyone who's familiar with that character can imagine. At well under 200 pages, it's a very quick, very enjoyable read that will leave fans hungry for more. 01/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PLUM LUCKY by Janet Evanovich:  Evanovich brings back her fans’ favorite, Stephanie Plum, in a “between the numbers” story, set around St. Patrick’s Day. What more would a reader want than Lula in a casino in Las Vegas, and Grandma Mazur as a kidnap victim? Even those short descriptions would bring smiles, knowing those are hints of disasters to come. Stephanie’s mother sends her on a search for her grandmother, after she disappears with a large duffel bag. Why would a man who thinks he’s a leprechaun steal a million dollars from a mobster? Of course, Grandma Mazur stole it from the leprechaun, thinking it was her pot of gold on St. Patrick’s Day. Suddenly, Stephanie, Connie, and Lula are on Grandma Mazur’s trail, accompanied by Diesel. Imagine the kind of diversion they can cause in a casino. Laughs are few and far between in the beginning of the story, but by the end of it, readers may be laughing out loud. It can only be summarized as another plum funny story from Evanovich. 01/08 Lesa Holstine

PLUM LUCKY by Janet Evanovich:  Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s objective in this one is her own Grandma Mazur who has found a duffle full of money on the street and taken off for Atlantic City.  Unfortunately, the money was money was stolen from a notorious Trenton mobster.  Stephanie and friend Lulu hot-foot it to Atlantic City to find Grandma and recover the money before Grandma is caught.  Diesel returns and there is a new whack job - Snuggy, an ex-jockey who originally stole the money and is convinced he's a leprechaun.  Of course, it is all absurd and full of funny lines and hilarious situations, but isn’t that why you read Evanovich anyway. 03/08 Jack Quick  

PLUM SPOOKY by Janet Evanovich: The further adventures of Stephanie Plum, via a "between-the-numbers" book.  At least this one if almost full size, previous "between-the-numbers" books have been quite petite.  Diesel is again the featured hunk, with brief appearances by on-again, off-again fiancé Joe Morelli and the hot, non-committing Ranger.  This time out Stephanie is looking for Munch, a brilliant scientist who has hooked up with Diesel's evil cousin, the other-worldly Wulf.  Meanwhile a previous skip has dumped her pet monkey on Stephanie, with a note to babysit until she gets back from her honeymoon. Several visits to New Jersey's infamous Pine Barrens (if you're a Sopranos fan, you'll know it well,) a free spirit who is hell-bent on saving trees and lab monkeys, and a plot to control the world's weather makes this story even more far-fetched than usual, but with all those monkeys, you can be sure the laughs abound.  Not the best Plum by any means, but enjoyable enough to get me through to June and the next book.  02/09 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PLUM SPOOKY by Janet Evanovich:  By now I think everyone knows the drill.  Improbable bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, the pride of Trenton, New Jersey, muddles around and gets into troubles from which boyfriends Joe Morelli and Ranger have to extricate her.  Throw Diesel in the mix this time, add a generous serving of monkeys, weird FTA’s (Failure to Appear, i.e. fugitives), Morelli’s brother Anthony, and things that go bump in the dark and you have a Plum that is Plum Spooky.  It is lightweight, it has little plot, but it does have some laugh out loud moments and snappy dialogue such as: “Carl (the monkey) is eating Fruit loops, so that leaves leftovers from last night, peanut butter, hamster crunchies, and half a jar of salsa.  Looks like you ate all the chips.”  On the same page, describing her infamous partner Lula – She didn’t have any makeup on, and her hair was somewhere between rat’s nest and exploded canary.  Lula has her own take on things as well, “I got a high skill level. I just shot a rat off a rafter.” “You weren’t aiming for it.” “Yeah, my skill level is so high I do things I don’t even try to do.”  Read it for laughs. 04/09 Jack Quick 

POE’S CHILDREN edited by Peter Straub: Horror readers should definitely not miss this extraordinary collection. Straub has put together some of the best in the genre. The collection features a selection of original and award-winning tales from some of horror’s brightest and most famous, including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, and Straub himself. The collection also features some authors readers may be unfamiliar with, or may even consider outside of the genre, such as sci-fi and fantasy authors Neil Gaiman and M. John Harrison, relative newcomer (and son of Stephen King) Joe Hill, and short fiction author Benjamin Percy. Stories range from the super creepy like Dan Choan’s “The Bees” and the strange, M. John Harrison’s “The Great God Pan,” to the somewhat sweet “20^th Century Ghosts” by Joe Hill (one of my favorites). Just in time for Halloween reading. 10/08 Becky Lejeune  

POISON PEN by Sheila Lowe: One of the advantages of being a reviewer is that you often find books that you would not otherwise have tried. This was one of those books for me, as my interest in handwriting analysis is negligible. Lindsey Alexander, a top Hollywood publicist, has apparently committed suicide. Claudia Rose, a forensic handwriting expert and acquaintance of Alexander’s, is hired by the publicist’s business manager to analyze the alleged suicide note. Soon Rose is in the middle of some sordid business dealings involving, among others, a United States senator and a prominent Beverly Hill plastic surgeon. Rose also has to deal with Detective Joel Jovanic, whose level of skepticism about handwriting analysis is even greater than mine. A well-written fiction debut evocative of Marcia Muller’s early works. The story wandered a bit for my tastes but Lowe does an excellent job of pulling all the disparate threads together for a satisfying ending. Recommended. 03/07 Jack Quick

POISON PEN by Sheila Lowe:  Claudia Rose is one of the foremost experts in the field of graphology, or handwriting analysis. When a college “friend,” PR guru and overall nasty person, Lindsey Alexander, commits suicide, Lindsey’s business partner asks that Claudia analyze the suicide note. Claudia agrees with some reluctance as the man’s reasoning that Lindsey couldn’t have committed suicide hinge directly on the fact that the note was printed and she only wrote in script, and that the ink used was black rather than her signature green. Of course, he also reveals that if the death is ruled a suicide, the insurance won’t pay out and he can’t keep the business afloat without it. In searching for usable comparison handwriting, Claudia comes across one of Lindsey’s darkest secrets about her past. Then, Lindsey’s partner is murdered just moments before Claudia arrives to meet with him and Claudia has to admit that the evidence strongly suggests that Lindsey’s death was something much more sinister than the suspected suicide by overdose. Sheila Lowe herself is an expert in the field of handwriting analysis and the use of this rather interesting field as a background for the series is quite refreshing. Lowe develops her tale with an ease that is quite uncommon in many debuts. Poison Pen is a must-read for forensic mystery fans looking for something a little different.  10/08 Becky Lejeune   

THE POISON THRONE by Celine Kiernan: The Moorehawkes are finally returning home, but the homecoming is bittersweet. In the five years since the king sent his Protector Lord to the north, things have fallen apart in the kingdom. The royal prince is missing and the king’s illegitimate son is being groomed to take the throne. The people of the kingdom are growing weary of events and beginning to make their discontent known with growing severity. As the kingdom splits into two factions—those who support the king and those who support the banished prince—Wynter and her father find themselves in a precarious position. The Royal Protector’s health has suffered greatly in the past five years and Wynter is in the dark about the cause of much of the trouble. Though things have changed greatly, Wynter’s loyalty to her loved ones remains the same and it is this that drives her to find a solution to the troubles that surround her. But can one girl reunite the king’s family and prevent the bloodshed that is sure to come? The Poison Throne is the first in a projected trilogy from Kiernan and is her US debut; an excellent introduction to a fine storyteller and I can’t wait to read more. High fantasy at its very best.  04/10 Becky Lejeune

Poison to Purge Melancholy by Elena Santangelo: It’s been five years since Santangelo’s last Pat Montella mystery, Hang My Head and Cry, but she doesn’t miss a beat. Only eight months have passed since Pat Montella moved to Virginia as Miss Maggie Shelby’s handpicked heir to the antebellum plantation, Bell Run. Now, it’s Christmastime, and she’s off to Williamsburg with her boyfriend’s sullen teenage daughter in tow, to meet her future in-laws. However, Hugh Lee didn’t tell her that his mother, Gladys Lee, lives in one of the houses previously owned by an ancestor, Elizabeth Carson. Pat, who has dealt with ghosts from the past before, finds herself experiencing anxiety and illness in some parts of the house, and feels the presence of ghosts elsewhere. Santangelo intertwines Pat’s experiences and feelings with the story of a Williamsburg Christmastime in 1783, when a music master witnesses illness and the murder of a resident in Elizabeth Carson’s boarding house. Santangelo offers something for most readers, history, mystery, and romance, as she skillfully weaves together two mysteries set two hundred years apart.  09/06 Lesa Holstine

THE POLISH OFFICER by Alan Furst:  Furst is as good as it gets when chronically the late 1930’s and early stages of World War II.  Through his words you feel you are actually part of the fear and uncertainty of the era when death is potentially around every corner. This outing features Polish Army Captain Alexander de Milja who embarks on a harrowing rail journey to smuggle the Polish gold reserves out of the country at the start of the war and ends up as an operative of the Polish underground working against both the Nazis and the Soviets.  From Poland to France to the Ukraine, de Milja takes whatever is dished out and squeals his way through situations of great personal danger.  An excellent read.  10/08 Jack Quick   

PONTOON by Garrison Keillor:  Occasionally you need a change of pace and no one steps outside the bounds of conventional writing nearly so well as Keillor whose stream of consciousness manner of presentation takes you completely away from the real-world and deeply into the trials and travails of his hometown, the fictional Lake Webegone, Minnesota.  Ostensibly the story covers a week in the life of this imaginary town, which begins with Evelyn Peterson, a spry 82 year old dying in her sleep, except she has insomnia so technically that’s probably not correct.  Daughter Barbara, who starts each day with a shot of Kailua in order to face her job at the elementary school lunchroom, discovers her body.  Evelyn wants to be cremated and have her ashes encased in an emerald colored bowling bowl to be dropped into the Lake.  The title comes from the pontoon boat that is to be used by Debbie Detmer, who made her fortune as an animal aroma therapist for the rich and famous, to hold a grand commitment ceremony to celebrate her relationship with a private jet time-share salesman.  There’s obviously lots more, but I am already falling into Keillor’s meandering style so let me leave it with this – highly recommended if you need a good belly laugh.  10/08 Jack Quick    

POP by Aury Wallington:  I don't read tons of Young Adult fiction but probably more than a lot of adults do.  I find it a good way to keep up with teenage trends and since I have one (a 14 year old,) it's important to me.  This book has generated a lot of buzz because it deals with a teenage girl's desire to lose her virginity, and graphically explains various sex acts, but the real cause celebre was Border's decision not to carry the book in any of their stores.  It is available from their chief competitor, Barnes & Noble, and most other bookstores, both bricks and mortar and online.  But more importantly, it's worth reading.

    Marit is a high school senior and feels like the last virgin left on the planet.  After a close encounter with a boyfriend with huge nostrils, her two best friends, Caroline and Jamie, point out that she tends to freak out and dump every boy who even gets close to having sex with her.  Totally depressed about her apparent aversion to sex, she confides in her older sister Hilly, who advises her to find a "friend with benefits".  Hilly suggests Jamie, since he, too, is a virgin and cute and they are already friends.  Marit decides that is the perfect solution so she approaches Jamie, who eventually agrees.  But as everyone knows, sex between friends isn't as simple and carefree as Marit thinks it will be, leaving her to deal with nasty gossip, friendships, a new boyfriend, and the newness and uncertainty of sex - the entire gamut of high school culture.  The characters are believable, the plot moves along briskly, and the angst is balanced with humor.  This book will appeal to a lot of teenage girls who are worrying about sex, and perhaps reassure them that their fears are normal, maybe even more importantly, so are their urges.  11/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

POP TART by Kira Coplin and Julianne Kaye: Like many young adults, Jackie O’Reilly is not really sure what she wants to do with her life. After dropping out of college and dabbling here and there, she decides that she would like to be a makeup artist in her native Los Angeles. She gets her big break when she’s sent out to do a video shoot for up-and-coming pop star Brooke Parker (think Miley and Britney all rolled up in one). The two hit it off, in a way, and Brooke soon becomes dependent on Jackie for friendship and support in her new role as teen pop diva sex symbol. Through their friendship, Jackie gets a glimpse of just how crazy, and wicked, the entertainment industry can be. This biting debut might just do for Hollywood what The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada did for Manhattan society and the fashion magazine world. 07/09 Becky Lejeune 

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross:  Fascinating dive deep into the middle ages.  This is the story of the legend of Pope Joan, a woman who disguised herself as a man to rise through the ranks of the Catholic Church, eventually taking the Papal throne for two years.  Well written, well researched and well worth it.

POSED FOR MURDER by Meredith Cole: Lydia McKenzie is a photographer on her way to the top, hopefully anyway. Her set of prints based on cold cases from an old book that she once read has finally landed her a showing in NYC, but opening night ends in disaster when the police arrive and notify her that one of her models has been murdered. Worse yet, the model was found in the exact position portrayed in one of Lydia’s photos. Lydia fears that the killer may be after more of her models and begins investigating on her own, in hopes of saving her friends. Of course, if the killer has targeted her models, it could be that he’s targeted her as well. Cole’s debut was winner of St. Martin’s Malice Domestic Award for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel in 2007. Though the concept seems a bit reminiscent of John Carpenter’s film, The Eyes of Laura Mars, the story is actually quite different. Posed is a quick read that toes the cozy line. I look forward to seeing what else Cole has up her sleeve after this one. 02/09 Becky Lejeune  

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M.Cain: Number One in an awesome anthology entitled CRIME NOVELS: American Noir of the 1930’s and 40’s. James M. Cain's first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, published in 1934, is considered to be the noir novel that paved the way for all the noir fiction that followed. A drifter named Frank Chambers is dropped off at a rural diner where he meets and is attracted to Cora, the sexy young wife of the owner Nick. Cora sees Chambers as the way to a better life and, after beginning their clandestine affair, plots with him to kill Nick. Written in the spare style now used so effectively by Ken Bruen, there seems to be no socially redeeming values in any of the main characters. In the true spirit of noir, there are no winners, only losers. Violent, ugly, and mesmerizing. According to liner notes, this book “inspired no less than three great movies: Luchino Visconti's classic Obsessions, in 1942; the 1946 remake, starring John Garfield and Lana Turner and directed by the extraordinary Tay Garnett; and Bob Rafelson's underrated 1981 version with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. When you read the magnificent source for these movies, you'll be astonished at how three different incarnations could all, in their own ways, be faithful to the novel.” 07/07 Jack Quick

THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake: A lot of the publicity surrounding this book invite comparisons to The Help by Katherine Stockett, and at first glance I wasn't sure why. The Help is a debut novel set in the 1960's south during a time of civil unrest and explores themes of class and racial division. The Postmistress moves between a small town in Massachusetts and Europe in 1940 at the beginning of World War II and explores themes of war and family. But after reading The Postmistress, I can tell you that both books will hold similar appeal for readers. Both deal with women's lives and their roles in society, both the strong and the oppressed, each in a unique and fascinating way. While the Publishers' Weekly review refers to The Postmistress as a debut, it is not; Blake also wrote Grange House, published in 2001 to fair reviews. It seems her writing has improved since then; Blake has garnered multiple starred reviews for her latest effort, and if I did that sort of thing here, I would star it as well.

The titular postmistress is actually Iris James, the single, 40 year old, new postmaster of the Franklin post office.  Franklin is a small town on Cape Cod where everyone knows everyone else. The other newcomer to town is Emma Fitch, the young doctor's new wife. When Dr. Fitch loses a patient, he decides he can do more good in London and off he goes, leaving his pregnant wife behind to frequent the post office in search of mail. Everyone in town listens to Edward R. Murrow and the first woman reporter in England during the Blitz, Frankie Bard, on the radio. When Frankie's roommate Harriet, a young reporter, is killed, Frankie takes up her investigation into what is happening to the Jews of Europe. Murrow arranges for her to take the train to France, and then to Germany, interviewing refugees along the way and recording their stories. Blake skillfully weaves these stories and characters together into a mesmerizing tale of the tragedies of war and how people deal with it. The Postmistress is intelligent, deeply perceptive and utterly absorbing, and undoubtedly one of the best books of the year. Book groups will devour it. 03/10 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

POUND FOR POUND by F.X. Toole: This is simply the best fight book I have read since Fat City. Mr. Toole gets it exactly right. It is a tough, hard life. But that does not mean that the participants in the life are less than human. Their pain and humanity come shining through in his language.
    The book's central character is a young fighter from Texas named Chicky Garza. He leaves his drunk, addicted grandfather who fought under the name El Lobo, to seek the big time in L.A. L.A. is not a city that is kind to the innocent. Fortunately, in the nick of time, Chicky falls under the tutelage of a gruff Irish trainer Dan Cooley, who has lost everything in life that had any meaning for him. The story of their struggles separately and together makes for a powerful read.
    This novel was published posthumorously after the success of the Clint Eastwood movie, Million Dollar Baby, which was based on Mr. Toole's short story of the same name. 11/06 Geoffrey R. Hamlin

THE POWER OF THE DOG by Don Winslow:  If you have not yet discovered Don Winslow, get thee to the nearest library now.  It’s really simple: 1. Art Keller is a brilliant DEA agent who sometimes breaks the rules to serve justice.  2. Adan Barrera is an urbane drug dealer whose charm masks his brutality. 3. Nora Hayden is a high-class call girl whose heart is in the right place, and 4. Sean Callan is a taciturn mob hit man, a stone-cold killer who just wants out of the life. Winslow follows these four characters as they cross paths over three decades in the international drug trade, from Keller's first encounter with Barrera in 1970s Mexico, through the drug cartels' corruption of government officials in the U.S. and Mexico governments, to a final showdown on the U.S. border in 1999.  Its complex, gritty, detailed, everything you could ask for in a thriller. Winslow's depth of research and unflagging attention to detail bring the story alive.  The only thing I can compare it is the early work of Harold Robbins, i.e. The Carpetbagger. Winslow is a winner. 07/10 Jack Quick

THE POWER OF THREE by Laura Lippman: In this departure from her Tess Monagham series, Lippman tells the story of a school shooting that affects three girls found in a bathroom. One is dead, one critically injured, and one minimally wounded and uncooperative with police. The homicide sergeant investigating the case seems more like a social scientist that an investigator and the narrative quickly becomes “CSI: Baltimore: Acceptable but somewhat disappointing.  09/06 Jack Quick

POWER PLAY by Joseph Finder: Finder, the CEO of the corporate thriller and the winner of the Best Thriller Novel from the International Thriller Writers for Killer Instinct, pens another winner in this tale that takes us out of the workplace and on to a corporate retreat for the top management of an airplane manufacturing company.  One of the head honchos has a conflict, so he sends his assistant, Jake Landry, in his place.  The retreat is at a very swanky lodge in British Columbia, but while the food and wine may be amazing, there are no televisions, computers, or even cell phone towers.  They are virtually in an electronics-free zone, ready to go hunting or fishing and whatever other bonding exercises the new president of the company comes up with - except she's a woman, and these men aren't too sure they like her, or respect her.  On the other hand, she smells a rat or two among her top staff, and is planning on using the weekend to ferret out the traitors.  But all those plans are laid to rest when some men come in and take everyone hostage.  They appear to be local mountain men, but Landry is suspicious because they seem to know quite a bit about these executives and the company they work for.  The tension is almost unbearable as the hostage takers make their demands known and show no qualms about killing people to get what they want.  Don't plan on putting this one down until you turn the last page. 08/07 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PRAY FOR SILENCE by Linda Castillo: A sadistic and brutal crime like nothing Sheriff Kate Burkholder has ever seen rocks the community of Painters Mill in this follow up to last year’s Sworn to Silence. When an Amish family is discovered murdered on their own land, everyone is shocked. Murder in the Amish community is rare and though there are cases of hate crimes against them, those too are uncommon. The nature of the murders themselves is particularly disturbing, but a journal hidden by the family’s youngest daughter reveals secrets that hit very close to home for Kate. Though it seems that there is an abundance of damning evidence, narrowing down the list of suspects will prove to be more complicated than anyone expected. Faced with the toughest case of her career, Kate Burkholder will have to once again confront the demons of her past in order to move forward. Castillo pushed boundaries with her first in this series, but Pray for Silence blows all of those out of the water: her handling of the subject matter is impressive and the book is very well plotted. Again, not for the easily shocked and one that will utterly consume you as you follow Burkholder and her team. This series seriously needs a warning label. 06/10 Becky Lejeune 

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving:  I just re-read this book, having read it when it was originally published (1989) and it remains my favorite of Irving's books.  This is Irving at his best; well defined characters that draw you into their world, a story with twists and turns that somehow keep you incredulous yet believing.  An emotional ride that is not easily forgotten.

PREACHING TO THE CORPSE by Roberta Isleib:  Just in time for Christmas, Isleib’s second mystery featuring advice columnist and psychologist Dr. Rebecca Butterman involves a postcard-perfect Connecticut Christmas, perfect except for the dead matron whose demise may be connected to the search for a new assistant pastor at the Congregational Church.  Dr. Butterman not only has to deal with the twelve days of Christmas, she is also contending with Commandments number six and seven – “Thou shalt not murder” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  Actually the broken Sixth Commandment is the one that is rapidly leading to the issue of Commandment Seven – with a very married detective who is trying to prevent her from being broken Commandment Six, Part II.  Dr. Butterman is one of the more interesting amateur sleuths. 12/07 Jack Quick

PRECINCT PUERTO RICO by Stephen Torres: A police procedural with a twist - Sheriff Luis Gonzalo of Angustias, Puerto Rico, helps recover the bodies of illegal Dominican immigrants washed up on shore near his sister-in-law's village. He can tell that one was murdered, but then the body disappears. It becomes apparent that not all is as it seems and that maybe there is corruption in high places. First of a series, it has promise with its laidback protagonist and somewhat exotic locale. 02/06 Jack Quick

PRECIOUS by Sandra Novack:  It's the summer of 1978, a summer that will prove to be disastrous in many ways. Sissy Kisch will always remember it as the summer that her mother left and the summer that her best friend disappeared. Sissy's sister, Eva, will begin her senior year in August, but that summer she makes a mistake. Eva has been rebelling for quite some time, but her anger over her mother's abandonment and her father's reaction to it leads to an affair with a married teacher. In many ways, the disappearance of Vicki Anderson, or even Natalia (Eva and Sissy's mother) and her abandonment are the catalyst for everything that happens to the Kisch family. Everything changes for Sissy and her family that summer. This is by no means a happy family tale. In fact, if you’re looking for a happy ending, this is not the book for you. The Kisch family’s circumstances and the eventual revelation about the missing child are a bit unsettling. Sandra Novack reveals the secrets that lie behind the closed doors of one typical American family, and makes you wonder what your own neighbors could be hiding. 03/09 Becky Lejeune  

PRECIOUS CARGO by Clyde Ford: PI Charlie Noble is about to set off on his first boating trip with his new girlfriend when a couple approaches him and asks that he take on a new case. The couple had been about to leave on their yearly cruise to Alaska when they brought up a woman’s body with their anchor. Having lost their own daughter with no explanation, they want Charlie to discover the woman’s identity so that her family will not suffer as they have. The police are involved but have already admitted that this case is not top priority in the department, so Charlie agrees and sets his own plans on hold as he begins his investigation. He hires local salvage man and diver Dan “Raven” Ravenheart Washington to help him dive the area where the body was found in hopes of finding some evidence. Instead, the two discover more bodies. Now Charlie is embroiled in a murder investigation with connections to human trafficking and prostitution, and the players involved are not pleased about the attention their affairs are attracting. Ford has a great twist in that the novel has a heavy nautical theme. It’s a great gritty PI novel with an original spin. Precious Cargo is technically the second book to feature Charlie Noble. Red Herring, Noble’s first appearance, does appear to be out of print at this time. Cargo has just been re-released and Ford is rumored to be working on a third Noble story. 10/08 Becky Lejeune    

PRESSURE by Jeff Strand: Darren Rust, budding sociopath - Alex Fletcher, shy and scared – meet first at Branford Academy, a “dumping ground” for problem children whose parents can afford the tuition. Their lives diverge until college, when Darren pops up at Alex’s college campus. Friends, yet enemies, for how can you be friends with a monster?  Now Alex is all grown up with a wife and family, when Darren re-appears. Not for the weak hearted, or as Darren would say, “I’m a strangler, not a decapitator.”  Best read during daylight hours. 09/06 Jack Quick

THE PRESSURE OF DARKNESS by Harry Shannon: Jack Burke earned his stripes as a Special Operations agent near Somalia in 1993, refined his skills in the Las Vegas PD and is now an unlicensed PI in Los Angeles. Nicole Stryker hires him to look into the gruesome death of her father, horror author Peter Stryker. The death has been labeled suicide but Burke picks up indications that it was, in fact, murder. Enter Burke’s former employer, the CIA; drug cartels, religious cult leaders, murder and mutilation of homeless people, a Mexican connection – and it just keeps getting more nerve racking, fast moving and complicated. This is definitely a horror, mystery, PI, military/adventure, techno-thriller with religious overtones, romantic angles and enough guts and gore to satisfy the most blood-thirsty. Amazingly hard to put down even though it runs well over 400 pages. This may be the break out book for Shannon, who has written two previous Mick Callahan novels. 11/06 Jack Quick

PRESSURE POINT by Dick Couch:  Interesting techno-thriller with a twist.  Palestinian terrorists hijack a Puget Sound ferry and then use it to capture and tow away a Navy Trident submarine with its nuclear weapons intact.  It is up to Delta Force and the US Navy SEALs to deal with the threat but it is ferry Captain Ross Peck and First Mate Janey McClure that are instrumental in bringing this episode to an end and saving passengers’ lives.  Nicely done with lots of detail on modern antiterrorist tactics, but hopefully not an accurate picture of lax security at a major nuclear naval base.  Recommended. 11/09 Jack Quick  

PRESUMED INNOCENT by Scott Turow:  Why am I reviewing a book originally published back in the 1980's? Because that's when I read it the first time, and there is a sequel, Innocent, coming out May 4, so I wanted to revisit the first book again. I remembered that I loved it, and that it was probably the first legal thriller I'd ever read and I've been hooked on them ever since. But I'd forgotten how beautifully it is written, how richly developed the characters are, how twisted the story is, and how shocking the ending was. And even more to Turow's credit, it holds up remarkably well today; there are no jolts that scream "1987", and the only thing missing from the courtroom is DNA evidence.

A prosecuting attorney, Rusty Sabich, has an affair with a co-worker who apparently liked to do that sort of thing - a lot. Several months later she is found raped and murdered at home. Sabich's boss is running for re-election and one of the other prosecutors is working for the opposition. The politics of it all becomes part of the trial when Sabich is accused of the murder.  Publisher's Weekly had called it "spellbinding" and that was the perfect word for it, I hated to put the book down and when I did, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Not much higher praise than that. 03/10 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PREY by Rachel Vincent: It’s been nine months since Faythe has last seen Marc. Nine months since her trial for killing and accidentally infecting a human in Pride. Nine months since Marc was exiled. The plan was to meet Marc in the free territory—territory not under Pride control—so that he can help escort them to where Manx will now face the council for her own crimes. While on their way, the team is attacked by a pack of strays. Strange as it is that a group of strays would band together, the team has much worse to worry about when Marc is captured. They fear he may be dead, but Faythe knows differently. Still, time is running out and a war is about to be waged between the Prides as Faythe’s own family comes under siege from enemies within the werecat community. This fourth in the series will leave readers breathless waiting for the next installment. Conflicts that have been building in previous books are finally coming to a head and I’m just dying to see what will happen next. 06/09 Becky Lejeune  

THE PREY by Allison Brennan:  It has to be a crime writer’s worst night mare. Rowan Smith’s books have done very well, so well that two have been made into movies and she is now in a rented Malibu beach house working on the screenplay for her third movie.  Then the press shows up, followed by the police and the FBI.  A woman in Colorado with the same name, looks, and occupation as a character in one of her books is found dead in Denver.  Then another person is killed in a direct rip off from the pages of her books.  Is there a connection with her former career as an FBI agent, or is this a fan expressing his devotion in a most disturbing fashion.  Terrific plot and good characterization.  I definitely will read more by Ms. Brennan. 04/08 Jack Quick  

PREY by Michael Crichton: The Military is always looking for the better weapon. This one is called Nanotechnology. Imagine if you could put an entire Army on the head of a pin, then transport them to the battlefield, and bring them back to full fighting strength. It's every four star's cream dream. Of course the "government" has been pursuing this for years, Thank God it's not been proven successful yet. Crichton tells a classic story of the "unintended consequences" theory to great effect.  The problem here seems to be that the technology, while feasible, has some major problems. Basically the problem is if you give these things the gift of reason, they'll eventually outsmart their creators and conquer them.  A group of really besieged scientists are the last line of defense here, and you'd better hope they win.  03/06 DOC

THE PRICE by Alexandra Sokoloff: Horror fans were in for a treat with Sokoloff’s amazing and original debut, The Harrowing. Her sophomoric effort is no less amazing. How far would you go to save the life of a loved-one? To save yourself? This is the question that Sokoloff poses in The Price. Miracles happen all the time. Hospitals make a business out of them. Brilliant doctors make new discoveries in science everyday. People are cured, seemingly miraculously, and go on to live long and healthy lives. Something different is happening at Briarwood Medical Center, though. Within these hallowed halls someone waits. He listens, intent on hearing those four magic words, “I would do anything.” Will Sullivan is about to discover just how far one will go to experience the hope of a miracle. Extraordinarily creepy. Sokoloff infuses even the most innocent scenes with an undeniable sense of dread. You know something bad is coming but it still sneaks up and scares the pants off of you. 03/08 Becky Lejeune

THE PRICE OF BLOOD by Declan Hughes:  If you are a fan of Ken Bruen and have not yet tried Declan Hughes, you have a treat in store.  Written in the same gritty manner but with a bit more lavish detail, Hughes follows Dublin PI Ed Loy, first in 2006’s The Wrong Kind of Blood, 2007's The Color of Blood and now in The Price of Blood.  When you have both Michael Connelly and John Connolly among your fans you have to be doing something right.  In this outing Father Vincent Tyrrell hires Loy to find Patrick Hutton, a jockey missing for 10 years.  There is not one, but rather two grisly murders with which Loy becomes involved.  Before the final conclusion at a famous Irish horse-racing festival Loy will be beaten up, warned off, and blamed for actions taken and not taken.  Parts are brutal – but it couldn’t be any other way.  So pour yourself a pint and enjoy. 04/08 Jack Quick  

PRIDE by Rachel Vincent: Following right on the heels of the events of Rogue comes the third installment to Vincent’s fabulous Shifters series. It is finally time for Faythe to go up against the council and plead her case. Infecting a human is a capital crime among the Prides and though Faythe has evidence to back up her claim that she accidentally infected her human boyfriend, certain members of the council are still convinced she is lying. Not only that, but they believe that she killed him, not to defend her life as she claims, but to cover up her crime. With part of the council pushing for death, Faythe will be lucky to get out of this one alive. She is granted a brief reprieve, however, when a local Bruin (were bear) appears at the meeting to make a complaint. It seems a group of Strays has been hunting in his territory and he wants them gone. When a human couple goes missing in the area, Faythe’s fellow werecats all agree that they must act fast in order to keep their existence secret. As the series continues, Vincent’s carefully constructed mythology keeps getting more and more intriguing. Just like Rogue, Pride ends with a major cliff-hanger that will have readers waiting anxiously for Prey (book four) to hit shelves later this year. 01/09 Becky Lejeune

THE PRIEST by Ken Bruen:  After the tragedy that ended THE DRAMATIST, Jack Taylor has spent the last five months in a mental hospital.  Now that he has recovered (?) he takes on three new cases involving a beheaded child molesting priest, a stalker, and the missing father of the girl who died while Taylor was babysitting her.  This one is dark even by Bruen standards, but if you are into Bruen, its great.  If not, this one won’t change your mind at all.  Personally, I liked it. 01/08 Jack Quick

PRIME TIME by Hank Phillippi Ryan: Charlotte "Charlie" McNally has won twenty Emmys as an investigative reporter for TV 3 in Boston. But, she's 46, and worried about losing her job because she's aging. She's desperate for a big story for the November sweeps. When an accountant for a pharmaceutical company dies in a car accident ruled a suicide, his widow insists it wasn't suicide. When Charlie and her producer start digging into some odd emails, they trigger a chain of violence, including attacks on both of them. Charlie doesn't know who to trust, including the good-looking English teacher who also received some of the emails. Ryan's first mystery is exciting, with a little romance, and a terrific ending. Watch for the next Charlie McNally mystery, Face Time, due out in October. 08/07 Lesa Holstine

PRIME TIME by Hank Phillippi Ryan:  Charlotte McNally is a seasoned reporter in the cutthroat world of television journalism.  An apparently innocent e-mail may hold the answer to a murder, mayhem and multimillion-dollar fraud ring.  Is she going to pursue the matter?  You bet.  Is her investigation going to lead her to a hunky guy whose appearance makes her want to overlook his apparent inability to tell the truth.  Raging female hormones at 10 PM with the rest of the story.  Somehow, I couldn’t get over the Harlequin imprint on the cover and take this one that seriously….. 11/07 Jack Quick 

PRIME TIME by Hank Phillipi Ryan: Investigative journalist Charlotte (Charlie) McNally is not about to let her career end without a fight. After a string of Emmy awards, she’s always on the lookout for the next great story. And as a forty-something in an industry that’s so focused on youth and beauty, she knows that her talent is second-to-none, but she has to continue to prove it. When she is called to fill in last minute at the news desk, a story of a local man reported missing sparks her curiosity. Later, the man is discovered dead and his case is deemed a suicide. But Charlie is not so sure. Is it a coincidence that the man worked for a local pharmaceutical company that has recently been taken to court for dirty billing practices? And, when she discovers that the dead man tried contacting her very near the time of his death, she becomes more than convinced that something fishy is going on. Prime Time is the first title to feature spunky reporter Charlie McNally and her fellow cast of characters. The plot is great and will leave readers wanting more.  08/09 Becky Lejeune  

PRINCE OF FIRE by Daniel Silva: The fifth novel featuring art restorer/Israeli agent Gabriel Allon continues the series place among the tops in spy fiction. This time Gabriel is pulled from his cover to hunt down terrorists who have bombed the Israeli embassy in Rome. The mastermind behind the bombing is French archeologist Paul Martineau, aka "Khaled, son of Sabri, grandson of Sheikh Asad. Khaled, avenger of past wrongs, sword of Palestine." Khaled is also the adopted son of Yasir Arafat, who has sent him to exact vengeance on the enemies of Palestine and the PLO. Gabriel’s team of agents is able to track down the terrorist, but then there is a stunning twist. Gabriel’s mentor tells him "You're the one who defends Israel against its accusers. You're the angel of judgment - the Prince of Fire." Hopefully there will be future missions. 01/07 Jack Quick

The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Ballantine Books:  I know you think you know The Princess Bride, but I'm writing to tell you you don't know it until you've read the book. I found myself with 3 hours to kill and a copy in front of me, and I'm so glad I picked it up. Bring itto the beach one sunny day and you'll be glad you discovered it. It's funnier than the movie, more interesting than the movie and much more lively than the movie - and I really enjoyed the movie! 

Pure by Rebbecca Ray: When I was (a very wild) 14, I remember reading books about teenagers and thinking these people don't have a clue what it's like.  I always wanted to write a book about the truth and now I don't have to, Ray did it for me when she was 16 years old.  It's a very dark, very fast read.

    The crime that brings the Detective Chief Inspector home from a vacation sketching in Venice is the disappearance of a nine year-old boy from Lafferton, Hill's fictional catheral town. Serrailler sets his flawless team, headed by brash, bright Sergeant Nathan Coates, into action and keeps them motivated through a frustrating investigation. Lafferton is a small place, where the disappearance of a child touches everyone, including Simon's family, and we readers are touched too. The best thing about THE PURE IN HEART is that all the characters are so real, you forget you're reading a book and simply participate in their lives. And so, page by page, you realize that not all mysteries are handled in police stations, and there may be as much satisfaction in illuminating dark corners as there is in solving crimes. This book goes on my short list for best of 2007. 12/07 Dianne Day

PURSUIT by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Rosa: Saturday Night Live once had a skit featuring a Hispanic television game show parody entitled Who is Most Macho? In this fifth Inspector Espinosa installment, the sub-title might be who is most crazy? The tale involves a psychiatrist, his family and a patient, as well as the good Inspector. The point of view is sometimes that of his doctor, of his daughter, of the patient, and occasionally, Espinosa. There is murder and revenge, which may or may not be appropriate, some chilling moments and unusual insights. Nothing in the book will enhance your opinion of the profession of psychiatry, or as the Amish would say – all are crazy, except me and thee, and I sometimes wonder about thee. It’s a love/hate book, which I liked. 01/06 Jack Quick

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECT by Tal Ben-Sharar:  Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., is the New York Times best-selling author of Happier.  He taught the most popular course at Harvard University and currently teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.  He consults and lectures around the world to multinational organizations, the general public, and at-risk populations.  He obtained his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and his B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Harvard.  This new book should sell well as it is a straight forward easy to read self-helper with a simple proposition.  The Perfectionist views life’s journey as a straight line while the Optimalist realizes it is an irregular spiral.  The Perfectionist fears failure while the Optimalist uses failure as feedback.  The Perfectionist is rigid, critical and defensive while the Optimalist is adaptable, forgiving, and open to suggestions.  The Perfectionist focuses on the destination while the Optimalist focuses on the journey as well as the destination. Obviously Optimalists have more fun and play better with others.  The good Doctor shares ways to improve you Optimalist quotient, along with specific examples and simple exercises you can do yourself.  Recommended. 03/09 Jack Quick 

PUSHING UP DAISIES by Rosemary Harris: Harris inaugurates the “Dirt-y Business” mystery series with this strong story. Paula Holliday is a gardener with a small landscaping business in Connecticut. Her struggling business receives some aid when she’s awarded the contract to restore the landscaping of Halcyon, property left to the Springfield Historical Society. She and the business also receive a little attention when she finds a mummified body on the premises. Together with an interesting group of friends, Paula muddles through local scandal and stories to dig out the truth. Gardeners will enjoy this mystery, and those of us who are not gardeners will appreciate the strong cast of characters and an intriguing storyline. It’s a promising start for a newcomer. 02/08 Lesa Holstine

PYRES by Derek Nikita: Lucia Moberg is 15 years old when she convinces her college professor Dad to take her to the mall.  He hangs out in the bookstore while she almost gets caught stealing a CD, so she whisks him out to the car, only to witness him being shot to death in the front seat.  And the chase is on, to find the truth about the Moberg family and the killer.  Motorcycle outlaws and a pregnant dumb blonde with a violent boyfriend lead the cops on a not-so-merry chase, and the reader on a ride they won't soon forget. But this is Lucia's coming-of-age story, and it's told very well.  Nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel with damn good reason.  03/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

PYRES by Derek Nikitas: Luc (Lucia) Moberg will always regret begging her father to take her to the mall on that horrific day. She had planned to steal cds as gifts for her friends’ upcoming birthdays, but barely manages to evade mall security and feigns sickness in order to leave. While hiding in the backseat of the car, Luc is the only witness to her father’s murder - she never saw who pulled the trigger. Now, Luc is forced to come to terms not only with the loss of her father, but her mother’s seeming inability to cope with the tragedy. Her mother attempts suicide and awakens unable to remember the past fifteen years. Unfortunately for Luc, her mother knew something about her husband’s death and the killer isn’t finished. The climactic chain of events that follows Oscar Moberg’s death will claim the lives of many before it is through. An interesting debut with three parallel stories: the Mobergs, the criminal, and the determined cop on the case. It’s a somewhat literary thriller that is both captivating and thought provoking. The pacing is insistent and the book begs to be read in one sitting. Pyres is a haunting tale about the illusion of the perfect family. 10/07 Becky Lejeune

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