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Archive for the ‘Mystery’ Category

Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair

The Body in the Piazza, the twenty-first book in the Faith Fairchild series, finds Faith and her husband Tom on an anniversary trip to Italy. Regular readers of the series may recall that the previous book, The Body in the Boudoir, was written in the timeframe of the couple’s flight to Europe of this very trip. Written as Faith reminisced about her engagement, wedding and a couple of other matters, it was a departure from what readers have grown to expect from the series. What it did do though was set the stage for this book.

Our story picks up where the previous book left off with Tom and Faith landing in Rome. They have come to celebrate their anniversary and to attend the first week of their friend Francesca’s cooking school. The art, food and history have Faith so excited that she doesn’t even want to take time out to rest, so while Tom is resting from the flight, Faith goes up to the rooftop terrace of their hotel and meets an interesting gentleman who gives her a few tips of things to see and things to avoid. He ends inviting the couple to dine with him. Over dinner they discover that Freddy, their new found friend, knows their friend Francesca. Was their meeting him fate or coincidence? This is the first of several things that leave Faith and Tom debating that point. Unfortunately their new found friend is also the first of several misfortunes to occur on the trip. The next morning when Tom and Faith are eating breakfast, they watch in horror as Freddy is chased then stabbed to death on the plaza in front of their hotel. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair

Myers is well known as the author of two light mystery series-the Den of Antiquities set in North Carolina and the Dutch Inn series set in Pennsylvania. These are both fine series, but readers are missing something special from this author if they don’t give Myers’ African series a try. Set in the Belgium Congo in the 1950s, this series has a depth that can only happen with first hand knowledge. The author was born and spent her childhood in the Congo. This first hand experience shines through on every page. That she grew up as the daughter of Missionaries shows up in the plots for the books. It is often said that authors should write what they know. Myers clearly knows the setting and subjects of this series-so much so that the books are nearly autobiographical. The Girl Who Married an Eagle is the fourth book in this series.

Julia Newton, a young woman from Ohio, travels to the Belgium Congo on a mission trip. She knew it would be different from anything she had ever experienced and was looking forward to the adventure of teaching in Africa. What she didn’t count on was her assignment placing her in the middle of the Congolese struggle for independence. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Patricia Reid

When Officer Danny Boyle, of the Sea Haven Police Department, receives a 911 call, he rushes to the destination to find that a good friend Christine Lemonopolous is in a knock down drag out fight with Shona Blumenfeld Oppenheimer. Shona is the mother Samuel Oppenheimer who is in a wheel chair. Christine is his nurse but when war broke out between the two women Samuel made a call to the police. Danny and his partner Salvatore Santucci break up the fight. Christine had been staying at the Oppenheimer residence and Ms. Oppenheimer immediately evicts her. Christine agrees to leave and Danny and his partner write up a report on the incident. Christine informs Danny that she also nurses for Dr. Rosen and she feels sure he will allow her to stay at his residence.

Detective John Ceepak, Danny’s former partner, calls Danny in for assistance on occasion. Danny gets a call and finds out that Christine has slept in her vehicle rather than ask Dr. Rosen to stay at his home. Neighbors called the policy and Detective Ceepak suggested that rather than allow Christine to be arrested for vagrancy Danny turn over his apartment to Christine until better accommodations could be found. Ceepak suggested that Danny stay with him until Christine got settled. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair

In Simon’s third book with Animal Behavioralist Pru Marlowe, Pru has her hands full with two very different problems. But as Pru gets more involved, she discovers some startling connections between her two cases.

An elderly woman dies in her nursing home room leaving behind her pet African Grey Parrot. Her children are beside themselves trying to decide what to do with the parrot because he is constantly throwing out zingers that are colorful enough to make a sailor blush. They hire Pru to retrain the bird’s vocabulary. While she is working with the parrot, she realizes the bird may be trying to tell her what he saw the night his owner died. She also realizes there are probably some people who would like to shut the bird up permanently-and not because of the cussing.

Meanwhile, a young raccoon has moved into and been removed from the attic of a condo twice. Pru goes out to the condo complex to try and figure out how the raccoon is getting in. She speaks with the grounds keeper about closing the hole, but is frustrated when he seems more interested in having the raccoon destroyed than working to repair the hole. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Teri Davis

By being a part owner of an advertising business, if a former employee is murdered, you know that your business will be involved in the investigation. So what is the wisest thing to do? For Donna Leigh that answer is to just solve the murder with the help and resources of the business. Is that the smartest thing to do though? Are you endangering yourself and your co- workers? Only after finding the murderer will anyone know if that is smart, if she lives long enough for that conclusion.

When Claire Dockens was found dead, no one was really surprised. The woman had the bad habit of creating enemies. Unfortunately for Donna Leigh, her advertising agency had been one of Claire’s stepping stones on her quest for riches with many wounded co-workers along the path.

A former employee, Clovis, firmly believes that she is the most likely suspect to be the murderer. With her flair for the overly dramatic, flamboyance, and being extremely self-centered, she made the book believable as well as comical. Her intention is for Donna to stay in constant contact with her on every development. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Allen Hott

This one is quite a look into the future or at least a look into the information gathering future by use of computers. Lincoln Rhyme, the paralyzed but quite skilled police detective, with help from Amelia Sachs, his close associate and paramour, is trying to figure out two separate criminal activities. One is across the ocean in England so he only works that one with his computer, phone, and brain. However the other is in his hometown and it actually concerns his cousin who was Lincoln’s closest friend while growing up. For some reasons which Lincoln eventually discusses with Amelia he and Arthur Rhyme are no longer close at all.

But when Arthur is charged with a horrendous crime his wife contacts Lincoln who with some nudging from Amelia decides to look into the charges. Looking into this particular instance opens up quite a can of worms when they discover that the charges and body of the case against Arthur are very similar to several (at least and possibly even more) cases in the area over the last several years. Men have been put into prison based on various types of evidence that was found on the victims and then also in the homes of the particular accused at the time. Each of the men had sworn that they were not at all involved but the evidence was such that they were convicted. In Arthur’s case he has not yet gone to trial but the outlook is bleak as again the evidence is overwhelmingly against him. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Lisa K. Ross

Kate’s life has just been turned upside down. A call from her twin sister, Donna, has changed the world she once knew. Her beloved Gram is dead, found face down in a pot of mashed potatoes at the Blue Plate Café she owned. Kate cannot believe this as she just saw Gram a couple weeks before in her home town of Wheeler, Texas when she visited on a break from her fast paced life working for a large legal firm and living the high life in Dallas.

Kate immediately packs and leaves for Wheeler. She must make the funeral arrangements and reconcile in her mind that her Gram is truly gone. Once at home, she discovers Donna, her twin, is not really all that devastated by their Grandmother’s death but more concerned about when the will is to be read and when she can open her new bed and breakfast with her shady partner, Irv Litman, a high roller from Dallas. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Allen Hott

There is no doubt that Harlan Coben is one of the top suspense writers of our times and Stay Close is another of his really great books. He is able to take ordinary people in ordinary situations and then build a story that is full of intrigue and suspense. His characters are believable, his descriptions are right on, and the dialogue keeps the story moving at a great pace.

In this one a typical housewife with two kids and a husband has never really disclosed to anyone some of the happenings in her past. And as the story progresses the reader understands why and even agrees with Megan as she goes about her normal suburban life. But the problems begin when she begins to fixate on some happening long ago.

At the same time in Atlantic City there is a photographer who is barely eking out a living by shooting fake paparazzi type photos for rich kids to act out their dreams as celebrities. In truth Ray is a truly fine photographer who should be doing what he did in an earlier day. At one time he was a well-known and renowned photographer who traveled the world doing photos for international news organizations. His drinking and lifestyle have not really altered his expertise but he also seems to spend a lot of time reminiscing at least in his mind. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Vickie Dailey

This is the sixth outing for Kate White’s amatuer sleuth Bailey Weggins. When Bailey’s boyfriend has another unexpected trip out of town – Bailey accerpts her friend and Buzz magazine co-worker Jessie’s invite to a weekend house party.

In a seculded old barn the guests assemble – Devon, the model turned singer, her manager & his wife, Scott the host of the party, Devon’s former boyfriend and his new girl all assemble to preview Devon’s new music. Everyone soons finds themselves snowed in. Tensions start to run high with hidden secrets. When Devon is found dead in her room – the power then goes out leaving the suspects in darkness. Read the rest of this entry »

Reviewed by Patricia Reid

A seedy hotel in the Crystal Palace district of London is the scene of the murder of Vincent Arnott, a well-respected barrister. Detective Inspector Gemma Jones is called to the scene, accompanied by newly promoted Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. It appears that the victim arrived at the hotel alone but let someone in through the fire door once he was in the hotel. The victim was found naked and apparently strangled.

The officers visit the Arnott home to inform Mrs. Arnott and find that she is suffering from dementia and, evidently, her husband has been doing his best to care for her at home. It is difficult for Mrs. Arnott to begin to understand what the police officers are attempting to tell her. Mrs. Arnott can’t offer any information that would help the officers in their investigation due to her condition.

Arnott was at a local pub prior to going to the hotel. The guitar player at the pub, Andy Monahan, was involved in an argument that evening. Arnott had supposedly had words with Monahan, as well. It turns out that Duncan, Gemma’s husband, had previously dealt with Monahan in an earlier case. Because of Duncan’s earlier acquaintance with Andy, he helps a bit with the investigation even though he is not authorized to do so. Before Gemma and her assistant can get too far into the investigation another barrister is found murdered and the circumstances are much like the Arnott murder. The only difference being the second victim was found in his home not at a hotel. Read the rest of this entry »