BW9: March Mystification

Courtesy of Teaching with a Mountain View

Welcome to March Mystification and our author flavors of the month are Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and Josephine Tey.   All month long we'll be highlighting mysteries, both puzzling and perplexing, riddles to solve and mind boggling queries. Where dime novels, cozy mysteries, whodunits and police procedurals compete with hard boiled private eyes and super sleuths.  Pull out your magnifying glasses and binoculars and get ready to snoop. 

Agatha Christie created Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence as well as Ariadne Oliver, Harley Quin and Parkey Pyne.   I am more familiar with Poirot and Marple, than the other four, but will eventually make their acquaintance.  I haven't read anything yet by our other two authors.  Dorothy Sayers introduced readers to Lord Peter Wimsey and Josephine Tey brought us Inspector Alan Grant in her best known story The Daughter of Time as well as several others. 

Our fascination for mysteries started way back in the ancient Greece with Sophocles and Euripides who entertained folks with mystery and dramatic plays. Since then, we've fallen in like with classics mystery writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, G.K. Chesterton and Ellory Queen, among others. But least we forget, there are numerous authors presently who make us fall in love with mysteries such as some of my favorites:   Nora Roberts, James Rollins, Sandra Brown, Lisa Scottoline, Cleo Coyle, Dan Brown, Jeffrey Deavers, Lee Child and John Sandford to name a few.  

Don't know where to start - check out Mystery Authors, Mystery Writers of America, and Cozy Mystery.  You'll be following rabbit trails for days.  *grin* 

Join me in reading all things mystery for the month of March.

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History of the Medieval World - Chapter 11 (Pp 77 - 84)

The Sack of Rome (396 - 410 AD)

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BW 37:Harper Collins launches new Imprint - Bourbon Street Books

Harper Collins has launched a new imprint called Bourbon Street Books. The imprint will be featuring originals, reprints and reissued classic mysteries, crime novels and thrillers with authors such as Lynda La Plante, Oliver Harris and and oldie but a goodie, Dorothy Sayers.    Yes, they will be releasing reprints of  Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey with Harriet Vane series--Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Busman's Honeymoon, and Gaudy Night.   The first two new books in the line to be released and available October 23rd are two British crime fiction novels: 

The Hollow Man

 Synopsis:  Waking up on Hampstead Heath not far from a crashed squad car, Detective Nick Belsey wants out—out of London and out of the endless complications of his life. When Alexei Devereux, a wealthy hermit, vanishes, leaving behind a suicide note and his Porsche, Belsey discovers an opportunity—a new identity and a fortune—waiting for the taking.Unfortunately, there are others who share the detective's interest in Devereux, including Scotland Yard. A dead rich man with suspicious financial holdings is bound to have some dangerous ties and a few ruthless enemies. Now, Belsey and his clever plan are about to be overshadowed by far more ambitious players with their own brilliant—and deadly—scheme.  Combining dark humor, dazzling twists, and a sharp narrative style, The Hollow Man is a tour de force of suspense—and the debut of an extraordinary new writer.

Blood Line

La Plante's latest Anna Travis novel:  Under the watchful eye of DCS James Langton, DCI Anna Travis takes charge of an investigation for the first time. But is it purely a missing person's case - or a full blown murder enquiry? An ominous pool of blood and no victim lead Anna on a desperate hunt for a man who has disappeared without trace. As Anna becomes obsessed with seemingly irrelevant details, Langton fears that she is losing control. They still have no body and Anna is under increasing pressure to make an arrest...

Follow their new facebook page for more information.

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 Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url. If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW 13: Imprint - Mulholland Books

I just started reading Marcia Clark's (yes, the one of OJ fame) debut crime fiction novel "Guilty by Association."  

Synopsis: Brilliant and tenacious, DA Rachel Knight lives and breathes her work and disdains office politics—a combustible combination that often gets her into trouble. She is a stalwart member of the elite Special Trials Unit, a small group of handpicked prosecutors that handles the toughest, most sensitive, and most celebrated cases in the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

At the end of a typical ten-hour day, Rachel has her sights set on an ice-cold martini at the Biltmore Hotel, where she lives. But on her way she’s sidetracked by the wail of sirens and the commotion of a crime scene. Cops swarm around a seedy motel, where Rachel is surprised to discover that Jake, a dear friend and fellow prosecutor, has been murdered.

The suspicious and potentially explosive circumstances of Jake’s death are never far from Rachel’s thoughts as she takes on her fallen colleague’s most politically charged case: the mysterious assault on a young woman from an influential L.A. family. Rachel enlists the help of her best friends and partners in crime-fighting—Toni, a fellow Special Trials prosecutor, and Bailey, a tough-as-nails LAPD detective—to covertly undertake her own investigation into Jake’s murder. Rachel’s drive to clear Jake’s name exposes a world of power and violence that will have her risking her reputation—and her life—to find the truth.

A couple years back I went to Bouchercon world mystery convention and one of the panels I attended was the introduction of MULHOLLAND BOOKS, a  new imprint of Little, Brown and Company which is a division of Hachette Book Group. The imprint focuses on suspense novels: crime novels, thrillers, police procedurals, spy stories, even supernatural suspense. The authors included Marcia Clark (what a surprise)  as well as Mark Billingham, Duane Swierczynski, and Sebastian Rotella to name a few. New to me authors that definitely piqued my interest.  Since the imprint began, they've grown a great deal. Their authors now include

• Anthony Horowitz
• Austin Grossman
• Charlie Huston
• Doug Dorst
• Duane Swierczynski
• Greg Rucka
• J.J. Abrams (Creator)
• Joe R. Lansdale
• Lawrence Block
• Marcia Clark
• Mark Billingham
• Matthew F. Jones
• Michael Marshall Smith
• Michael Robotham
• Nick Santora
• Stephen Romano
• Thomas Mullen
• Vachss.com
• Warren Ellis

The links lead to each author's website.  Mullholland's website is great and also includes original fiction to read including Mark Billingham's original short story, THE WALLS which is available to read or listen to in audio book form. Interested in reading some popcorn fiction - check out the short pulpy fiction stories by various authors.  It'll keep you occupied a while. 

Clark has a new novel, a follow up to her first book, Guilt by Degrees which  will be coming out May 8, 2012.  Be sure to check out the site. 

This week I'll be attending another mystery convention in my hometown  Left Coast Crime. No doubt I'll discover many new to me authors and will be introducing you to them in the near future.

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW42 - Old New York

Chrysler Building courtesy of joiseyshowaa's

We did a bit of futuristic armchair traveling with J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts who introduced us to a futuristic new york in her In Death series.  Let's do a bit of historical fiction traveling in old New York.  I found a series of mystery books and authors that  haven't read yet thanks to Bookmarks Magazine.

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

B&N Synopsis:  "The story opens in 1906 in New Rochelle, New York, at the home of an affluent American family. One lazy Sunday afternoon, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside their house. And almost magically, the line between fantasy and historical fact, between real and imaginary characters, disappears. Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J. P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud, and Emiliano Zapata slip in and out of the tale, crossing paths with Doctorow's imagined family and other fictional characters, including an immigrant peddler and a ragtime musician from Harlem whose insistence on a point of justice drives him to revolutionary violence."

Time and Again by Jack Finney

B&N Synopsis:  "Sleep. And when you awake everything you know of the twentieth century will be gone from your mind. Tonight is January 21, 1882. There are no such things as automobiles, no planes, computers, television. 'Nuclear' appears in no dictionary. You have never heard the name Richard Nixon." 

Did illustrator Si Morley really step out of his twentieth-century apartment one night -- right into the winter of 1882? The U.S. Government believed it, especially when Si returned with a portfolio of brand-new sketches and tintype photos of a world that no longer existed -- or did it"

Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen

Book one in the Molly Murphy Series set in the early 1900's.    Author Synopsis:  Molly Murphy has to flee from Ireland and finds herself in deep trouble on Ellis Island in Murphy's Law.

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

Victoria Thompson's Gaslight series starting with Murder on Astor Place set in the late 1800's.   

B&N Synopsis:  "After a routine delivery, midwife Sarah Brandt visits her patient in a rooming house-and discovers that another boarder, a young girl, has been killed. At the request of Sergeant Frank Malloy, she searches the girl's room, and discovers that the victim is from one of the most prominent families in New York- and the sister of an old friend. The powerful family, fearful of scandal, refuses to permit an investigation. But with Malloy's help, Sarah begins a dangerous quest to bring the killer to justice-before death claims another victim."

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ink to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW 2: A is for Authors Who Blog

The blogosphere is a wonderful place, full of information and fascinating facts and ideas.  I've discovered it is also a great place to find out about books, the authors who write the books, books, the publishers who distribute the books, books and the online stores who sell the books, books and..... Well, you get it, books!  And if you have a passion for books like me, well then it a huge playground to romp around in. 

I follow a lot of authors. Some after I started reading their books.  Then, there are those who I heard about through book bloggers, checked out their blogs and loved the fact I could read excerpts of their books on their sites.  And if I loved their writing style, would buy one of their books.  Writing style is important to me.  It is what sells me on a story.  Does it grab me from the start or make me go 'meh.'   

Also, what sells me is the author themselves.  Are they friendly and warm and positive.  Or are they negative and whiny and self possessed.   I've come across some books I would have liked to read, but the author turned me off.   I know you are supposed to keep the author separate from their works.  The story is just a story and it is fiction after all but sometimes it is difficult to separate one from the other.  

Last year, since I read so books by authors who blog, joined in on a Blogging Author Reading Project.  I decided to keep the project going this year.  Go check it out and then come on back.   Over the past couple years, I've made friends with writers whose books debuted last year.  Of course, I had to read their books, no question about it.  They are in my stacks to read this year.   

Some great blogs I think you should check out this year are: 

Murderati  - a group blog of 14 mystery writers including Pari Noskin Taichert, Alafair Burke, Allison Brennan, Brett Battles, Cornelia Read, J.D. Rhoades, J.T. Ellison, Louise Ure, Robert Gregory Brown, Zoe Sharp, Toni McGee Causey, Stephen Jay Schwartz,  Alex Sokoloff and Tess Gerritsen.

The Deadline Dames - a group blog of paranormal romance authors including Devon Monk, Jackie Kessler, Jenna Black, Karen Mahoney, Keri Arthur, Lilith Saintcrow, Rachel Vincent, Rinda Elliot and Toni Andrews.

The Kill Zone - a group blog of mystery and thriller writers including Clare Langley, Hawthorne, Kathryn Lilley, Joe Moore, Nancy Cohen, Michelle Gagnon, Jordan Dane, John Gilstrap, Joe Hartlaub, John Ramsey Miller and James Scott Bell.   

These are just a few group blogs I've discovered and have been slowly making my way through reading their books.  Not a stinky one in the bunch.  Well worth following and checking out their books. 

What authors have you discovered online that made you decide to pick up and read on of their books?  

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Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link.  In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis.  In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url. 

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section.

 

Book Week 46 - S is for short story

Book Week 46

What do you do when you have a long list of things to do?  Do you rush through it or take your time, giving each individual thing your full attention, before moving on to the next.  Some days I have a tendency to race, other day's I plod.  I'm plodding through my long list today.

I'm currently taking a Short Story Class for my Bachelor's degree.  Short stories include myths, biblical stories,  lais, Fabliaux and fables, folktales and Fairy tales.  Just read a very interesting short story called "The Lottery" by Barbara Jackson.  A quick read, but one that makes you stop, think, go back and read it again, think some more.   It was written back in 1948 for the magazine, The New Yorker.  The response to the story was very negative.  Many people from around the world, couldn't believe the magazine would even publish such a story.  However, many people wanted to know if the story was true, and where these lotteries were being held.  The author was astounded.  She had quickly written the story and it needed little editing.  Just something that came to her mind. 

If you haven't read it before, take a look.  Tell me what you think about the story and your reaction to it? 

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Book Week 38 - J is for Jackson, Lisa Jackson

Book Week 38

I'm currently reading Wicked Games by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush. I discovered Lisa Jackson a couple years ago and love her romantic suspense stories.  I'm a series person. I love series that follow a group of characters and tells each character's story. I started with her New Orleans series and fell in like with her writing, the characters, the setting.  The stories are intense and sometimes dark with spooky, creepy villains who chill you to the bone.   Creepy good stories that will keep you up reading way past your bedtime.    She not only writes romantic suspense stories, but historical romantic suspense, medievals and contemporary stories as well.  Check out her booklist and discover for yourself.

What is your most spookiest, chilling, goose bumpiest read?

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Book Week 36: Random Book Title - J is for Justice

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~ Anonymous ~

I have a mini challenge for you today:  This week's letter is J so going to do a random book title pick.   Use Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders or your favorite independent book store site and see what books come up.  I happen to like ordering hard bound books from Amazon and buy all my e-books from Barnes and Noble, and browsing and buying from the brick and mortar Borders or my local indie bookstore next to my business, Book Lovers Cafe.  However for this exercise, will use Amazon.com.

Justice is the word that has been floating through my head this week and since I like mysteries and thrillers, did a search on Amazon.  Several of my favorite authors came up which is a plus, and some authors I haven't read. 

 Sullivan's Justice by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

Divine Justice by David Baldacci

Final Justice by Fern Michael

House Justice by Mike Lawson

Justice Hall by Laurie R. King

Your task is to decide which book you think I should read.  Let me know either in the comments here or on the WTM 52 books week 36 thread and I will read the book with the most votes and review it for you. 


Play along if you like. Choose a word starting with the letter J, see what book titles come up and list them on your blog or in the WTM 52 books a week thread. We'll choose which one we think you should read.

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Link to your reviews:

Book Week 30 - Crime Fiction

Book Week 30

What is it about crime fiction that captures our attention?  Whodunit, legal thrillers, courtroom drama, detective fiction, spy novels and psychological thrillers.   They entertain and enlighten, amuse and thrill, make us think and makes us blink, say 'hmm!' or 'I didn't see that coming!"   They are bold and cunning, timid and mysterious.  They hide the crime and make us work for it.  Or put it out there for all to see and we watch as the detective tries to put it together.

There is a difference of opinion between the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America on which books rank in the top 100 as of 1995. I think it's time for an updated list.  Who do they agree upon? 

Dashiell Hammett: The Maltese Falcon (1930)

Edgar Allan Poe: Tales of Mystery & Imagination (1852)

Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time (1951)

Scott Turow: Presumed Innocent (1987)

John le Carré: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1963)

Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (1868)

Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep (1939)

Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca (1938)

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (1939)

Robert Traver: Anatomy of a Murder (1958)2

Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)

Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (1953)

James M. Cain: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)

Eric Ambler: A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night (1935)

Frederick Forsyth: The Day of the Jackal (1971)

Raymond Chandler: Farewell My Lovely (1940)

John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose (1980)

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Nine Tailors (1934)

John Le Carré: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)

Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man (1934)

Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White (1860)

E. C. Bentley: Trent's Last Case (1913)

Martin Cruz Smith: Gorky Park (1981)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Strong Poison (1930)

Dashiell Hammett: Red Harvest (1929)

Len Deighton: The IPCRESS File (1962)

Graham Greene: The Third Man (1950)

Tony Hillerman: A Thief of Time (1989)

Geoffrey Household: Rogue Male (1939)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Murder Must Advertise (1933)

Raymond Chandler: The Lady in the Lake (1943)

Peter Lovesey: Wobble to Death (1970)

Graham Greene: Brighton Rock (1938)

Patricia Highsmith: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)

Edmund Crispin: The Moving Toyshop (1946)

Hillary Waugh: Last Seen Wearing ... (1952)

Ian Fleming: From Russia, with Love (1957)

Margaret Millar: Beast in View (1955)

Michael Gilbert: Smallbone Deceased (1950)

Josephine Tey: The Franchise Affair (1948)

Dashiell Hammett: The Glass Key (1931)

Ruth Rendell: Judgement in Stone (1977)

John Dickson Carr: The Three Coffins (1935)

Ellis Peters: A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)

Check out the links to find out more about the books and you may just find discover a new to you author or two.  

And for tv mystery fans of Castle

I've pre-ordered my copy from amazon!

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Link to your reviews:

Paris City of Night - David Downie

Paris City of Night


By


David Downie

Back Cover: "June 18, 1850: The blurry image of escaping Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann wells up in a CIA darkroom in pre-dawn Paris.

December 26, 2007: Madeleine Adelaide de Lafayette, celebrated resistance and free french hero, former CIA deputy chief of station in Paris, is found dead in her mansion fronting the Eiffel tower. Few know she was a key player in the misguided Allied effort to fight Communism by smuggling Nazis to freedom. So was William Grant, Madeleine's favorite operative, also recently deceased.

December 28, 2007: As the countdown to New Year's Eve flashes from the top of the Eiffel Tower, vintage photographer and Daguerreotype expert Jay Grant, "son of a spook," races to piece together a deadly picture puzzle. Why were Madeleine and his father William murdered--and whose side is the CIA really on? Someone is trying to kill Jay before he can crack a code embedded on a set of Daguerreotype plates and flush out terrorists plotting to attack Paris. Pursuing Jay through the menacingly dark City of Light are a shadowy recycled Cold Warrior, a sexy Homeland Security officer, and his father William's age, fanatic former colleague, a man whose mission is no longer beating the Commies but battling radical Islam, even if it means destroying parts of the city he loves..

Do you know what a Daguerreotype plate is? Daguerreotype is an old photographic process named after Louis Daguerre, invented in the 1830's. A picture is made on a light sensitive silver coated metallic plate. The plates can't be exposed to light prior to processing or all will be lost. Jay's father made several plates with a secret code on them, hide them away for Jay to find and it's up to Jay to develop these plates and figure out the code. The CIA and Homeland security are trying to figure out the clues and stop a terrorist attack. However, Jay doesn't know whether to trust them or not. He is kept on the run, sleep deprived and his life at risk from all sides as he tries to figure out what is going on. The story is fascinating and takes you through the darker, seedier parts of Paris.

When David Downie emailed me asking if I would like to recieve a copy of his book, I was intrigued.

He wrote: "The title tells much: Paris isn't the sparkling City of Light, but rather the City of Night, with its own sinister allure. Diane Johnson has called the novel, "a wild ride through the dark side of Paris." It's a shadowy place full of fraudsters, forgers, murderers, Homeland Security operatives and aging Cold Warriors. My anti-hero is Jay Anthony Grant, aka JAG, a tough but sensitive type in midlife crisis. He's color-blind in one eye but in no other way resembles me (he rides a BMW motorcycle, wears fancy suits, and appears to be upwardly mobile). OK, you're right, the midlife crisis stuff we share.


So, close your eyes, flip open the cover, and imagine the son of a nasty old dead spook, a guy with serious issues about his father's past, on his way to his beloved fiancée and a vacation in Paris. The past draws JAG into what a slick publicist might call a tangled Parisian web of intrigue: an orange alert is on, New Year's looms in the form of a twinkling Eiffel Tower, and a bunch of fanatics on both sides of the terror/fundy divide are out to make JAG's life unpleasant. I'll say no more."

I'm glad I accepted his offer. Thank you to David for the opportunity to read and review Paris City of Night. It's fast paced, suspenseful, action packed and the characters will capture your attention. I highly recommend it. Check out David's website of more information about him.


Pages: 213
Publisher: Schoenhof's Foreign Books
Released: June 15, 2009
Genre: Suspense Thriller


Other thoughts about Paris City of Night:

Bev of Merry Weather:

"You know it's a good book when you finally come up for air and have that 'lost' feeling - like at the end of a really engrossing movie and the lights come back on- it's such a disappointment-you wish it could go on just a little longer-that's the way I felt about this book."

Gavin of Gavin's Book Log:
"David Downie, paints a vivid picture that sits well in your imagination. The tale itself is full of excitement - as a reader, you want to know what happens next, as the mysteries and intrigues keep building and building. "

Mini Reviews by My Two Blessings

Miller's Suspense Thriller "Side by Side" is full of twists and turns. A federal judge's daughter and grandson are kidnapped in order to force him to release a decorated military soldier who is also a violent criminal. Different government agencies get involved and an old girl friend/colleague from the FBI pulls Winter Massey out of retirement to help. Only he isn't aware she is playing both sides. Very good!!!

Watcher in the Woods, a young adult supernatural thriller by Robert Liparulo picks up where House of Dark Shadows ends. David and Xander want to get their mother back at all costs. However, the father as the new principle of the local school insists they start school as if everything is ordinary. The boys injuries caused by trips into the other worlds create concern among the community. A stranger wants their house and tries to get them kicked out of the house. Lots of action, suspense, mystery, supernatural occurrences to keep you entertained. Cliffhanger ended and story is to be continued in book 3 of the Dreamhouse Kings series - Gatekeeper.



Book 8 in the A.D. Chronicles series by Bodie and Brock Thoene, Eighth Shepherd follows the lives of Zachai, the tax collector whom everyone hates; Shimona, one of the many lepers who lived in the Valley of Makob that Yeshua healed; And Salmon, former nubian prince who is one of Zachai slaves. The stories of their lives and how they revolve around Yeshua and his followers. Excellent as always, bringing the characters of the bible to life.



Book 1 of 13 in the Ella Clah Mystery series "Blackening Song" by Aimee and David Thurlo is well written. Ella Clah is an Navajo FBI agent and her brother, a tribal medicine man. He is the prime suspect in a murder of their father. Between Ella's modern FBI investigative techniques and her brother's ancient tribal supernatural methods, they work together to prove his innocence, find the real murderer. The story totally immerses you in the lives and ways of the dineh'. Very well done and will be working my way slowly through the series.



After reading Angel's Game, had to read Carlos Ruiz Zafon's bestseller "The Shadow of the Wind." Very well done, rich in detail and interesting characters, but it is a dark story. Daniel, the young son of an antiquarian book dealer discovers a book called Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Julian's life is a mystery and someone has been systematically destroying all published copies of his books. Daniel tries to discover what happened to the man and the story is full of twist and turns and leads down a dark path.

I Can See You by Karen Rose

I Can See You

by

Karen Rose

Front Flap: "Eve Wilson's face was once scarred by a vicious assault. Terrified and ashamed, she escaped to the online realm, where she could choose the face she allowed people to see. Years later, her outer scars faded and inner scars buried, Eve has fought her way back to the real world and is determined to help others do the same. Now a graduate student moonlighting as a bartender, Eve researches the addictive powers of online communities. When her test subjects begin turning up dead as a result of apparent suicides, she doesn't know where to turn. Homicide detective Noah Webster is one of the few people who believe the victims are connected murders. Eve becomes Noah's online guide and realizes that the handsome detective may have secret scars as painful as her own. As Eve and Noah chase a killer who is always one step ahead of them, together they try to overcome the tragedies of their pasts and learn to trust again, but they soon discover that danger is much closer than they think."

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Karen Rose is one of my favorite authors and I have to say that once again she has hit the ball out of the ballpark with this one. Once I started reading "I Can See You" I couldn't put it down. The story is very well done and just when I thought I had figured out who the killer was, the story sent me in another direction. Someone is constantly watching Eve and following Noah and his partner. Then there are watchers watching the watchers and you really don't know who to trust. Convoluted enough for you. The killer's viewpoint is chilling, creepy and he uses his victims worst fears against them. He's a truly diabolical character. Eve and Noah are truly dynamic characters, very complex and 3 dimensional and will have you routing for them throughout the story, hoping they will trust not only themselves, but each other enough to get together.

"I Can See You" is truly a romantic suspense thriller which I highly recommend. Thank you to Miriam from Hachette books for providing me with a review copy. And guess what! The book is available as of TODAY! So run out and get your copy or order it from Amazon. Just don't start reading it before you go to bed.


Pages: 496
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: August 5, 2009
Genre: Romantic Suspense


Other thoughts:

Gaby of Starting Fresh:
"Karen Rose builds the tension steadily so that as you get anxious, you can't bear to put the book down. I found that the computer and internet angle helped the book. The action/thriller side helped the romance while the romance helped build the tension. This is my first Karen Rose novel, and I'm off to look for her earlier books!"

Antonia of You Gotta Read Reviews
"What do you say about a book that has everything you want in a romantic suspense? First, it keeps you entertained from beginning to end. The pace of the book keeps you turning the pages and trying to figure out who the killer is to the last chapter."

Ave of The Review Broads:
"This novel is complex, with many fascinating twists and turns, and I couldn’t put it down."

Retribution

WEEK 25 - BOOK 26


"Retribution" by Jilliane Hoffman
from the back cover)

When an elite prosecutor faces the most lethal predator she's ever encountered, it all comes down to a choice between justice....and retribution. C. J. Townsend is a brilliant state prosecutor in Miami known for keeping her cool while trying even the most horrific cases. The latest suspect is as base as they come: a vicious killer who savors cruelty and considers murder an art. Amid a maelstrom of media attention, C. J. has just begun to build her case when she is struck with a shattering personal blow connected to her past. Now everything will ride on her ability to hold herself together long enough to put the accused away forever.

This book is suspenseful! I was sitting on the edge of my seat until the very end. Wondering if C. J. was going to win this case. Imagine you've been brutally raped, it has been 12 years since this happened, the person who done this got off scott free. You are about to go to court to start proceedings for a serial killer, who brutally murders women. From the past the memory of a voice and a scar stares you in the face. This is the man who raped you 12 years ago. This starts the whole process for C. J. Townsend. As she gets more into the trial and finds out more about this man, she has to make some morally and ethical decisions. What would you do if you had to chance to prosecute the man who changed your life forever? Let him walk or hide incriminating evidence? The ending to this book was a complete shock to me! Totally not seen this one coming!!

WORLD WITHOUT END

I am behind because of this book. But hopefully will catch up in the next couple of weeks!

"World Without End" by Ken Follett



(INSIDE FLAP)

On the day after Halloween, in the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. They are a thief, a bully, a boy genius and a girl who wants to be a doctor. In the forest they see two men killed.
As adults, their lives will be braided together by ambition, love, greed and revenge. They will see prosperity and famine, plague and war. One boy will travel the world but come home in the end; the other will be a powerful, corrupt nobleman. One girl will defy the might of the medieval church; the other will pursue an impossible love. And always they will live under the long shadow of the unexplained killing they witnessed on that fateful childhood day.

This is a remarkable book Mr. Follett has written. Why, because it is so detailed in history and he lets your imagination roam and visualize the whole book while you are reading. All four of the children, Gwenda, Ralph, Merthin, and Caris are all connected by blood, marriage, or friendship.
As they all grow into adulthood and go on with their lives, they are all still together. Caris and Merthin are in love but can't be together because of trouble with the church. Gwenda loves someone she can't have but does eventually get the guy. And Ralph gains his highest ambition of becoming the Earl of Shiring.
The one thing that binds them all together is the fact that they all witnessed the murder in the forest. As war and breaks out between England and France, Ralph goes to war with the king. Merthin leaves to travel the world. And then the plague comes home to Kingsbridge, wiping out almost the whole town. As the town begins to rebuild and grow, Gwenda, Ralph, Merthin, and Caris all come together for a final time and all coming back to the murders they saw in the forest.

Split Second by David Baldacci

Split Second

By

David Baldacci

Front Flap: "Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight for the briefest moment, and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air. Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. Eight years earlier, the hard charging Secret Service agent allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the candidate he was protecting was gunned down before his eyes. Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge. Drawn into a maze of lies, secrets and deadly coincidences, the two discredited agents uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making--and area long way from over."

Split second is an excellent story with many twists and turns and keeps you reading long into the night. The more information Michelle and Sean uncover, the more complex the situation becomes. Add to the mix, the dead bodies piling up behind Sean and Michelle as the bad guys try to cover up and confuse them; the attempts on their lives; bad guys who are really good guys and good guys who are really bad guys and you have one exciting story. This is the first time I've read anything by David Baldacci and will be going back for more.

Book 2 - Transfer of Power

Vince Flynn's Transfer of Power is an action packed political thriller.

A group of terrorists has taken the White House. The terrorists did not capture the president, but did wire the historic building with trip bombs. With over 100 hostages and the president locked in his bunker politicians try to negotiate with the terrorists. Unknown to the Vice President and other politicians, the president's bunker is in the process of being breached.

With the help of World War II vet and White House historian Milt Adams, Mitch Rapp finds a way into the White House. Mitch determines that the president is not safe.

The vice president is hoping he is only one heat beat away from the presidency. Politicians want to find a peaceful solution to an impossible situation. The military wants to retake the White House by force.

With all this arguing going on, Mitch save the president, the hostages and the White House from destruction.

Next in this series is The Third Option.

Term Limits

Term Limits by Vince Flynn is the book I read this week. It was a rather enjoyable action/adventure story that takes place in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area.

From the back cover:
In one bloody night, three of Washington's most powerful politicians are executed with surgical precision. Their assassins then deliver a shocking ultimatum to the American government: set aside partisan politics and restore power to the people. No one, they warn, is out of their reach - not even the president. A joint FBI-CIA task force reveals the killers are elite military commandos, but no one knows exactly who they are or when they will strike next. Only Michael O'Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and freshman congressman, holds a clue to the violence: a haunting incident in his own past with explosive inplications for his country's future.

I decided to re-read the series because my husband got the most recent book for Christmas. When I read it I realized I had forgotten a lot of the little details over the past few years. Reading Term Limits was like reading a book I'd never read before with just a couple familiar characters.

With a weak President, a currupt Chief of Staff and National Security Advisor, the story twists and turns. By the end you'll be cheering for the bad guys. Or where they the good guys to begin with?

Term Limits if the first in a series. Next week, I'll report on the next book Transfer of Power which introduces the main character for the series, Mitch Rapp.

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane

I worried, in the beginning, that I had made a mistake. That my first book of the year was turning out to be something my husband might enjoy, but I would just barely make it through.
Baseball, blackmail, Spanish Influenza, political conflict, the Boston police strike of 1919. None of these are topics I would normally choose to spend my time with.

Then, about 250 pages in, I noticed I'd become attached to Lehane's characters, their compassion for others and their hope for a better world, and I mostly enjoyed the remainder of the book. Bolsheviks and all.

While I am still a bit baffled by the occasional appearance of Babe Ruth, and the use of a few cliches that I attribute more to the modern day than to the actual setting, overall The Given Day was a well written, fascinating look at the people and events of Boston in the early 1900's.

"'An intelligent child born to less than advantageous surroundings, Luther, learns to charm.' He reached across the desk; his fingers twirled trough the smoke. 'He learns to hide behind that charm so that no one ever sees what he's really thinking. Or feeling.'
He went to a decanter behind his desk and poured two helpings of amber liquid in to crystal scotch glasses. He brought the drinks around the desk and handed one to Luther, the first time Luther'd ever been handed a glass by a white man."

......

"Thomas couldn't help but feel a great swell of pride as he watched his son on that podium. Danny, as Thomas had always know he would, had found his place in the world as a leader of men. It just wasn't the battleground Thomas would've chosen for him.
'They don't want to pay us,' Danny said. 'They don't want to feed our families. They don't want us to be able to provide reasonable shelter or education for our children. and when we complain? do they treat us like men? No. they start a whisper campaign to paint us as communists and subversives. they scare the public into thinking we'll strike so that if it ever does come to that, they can say, 'We told you so.' They ask us to bleed for them, gentlemen, and when we do so, they give us penny bandages and dock our pay a nickel.'"

More:
Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane Takes a Detour (USA Today)

Divine Justice by David Baldacci

I just finished this book. It is the fourth book in the Camel Club series. I liked the book but I felt it was not as good as some of his other books. I feel like this one was did not show some of the "quirkiness" of the Camel club members that previous books did. But it was still worth reading for just the joy. This book falls in the fluff category but sometimes that is what you want.