Witch in Time
Madelyn Alt
Berkley, Apr 2010, $23.95
ISBN: 9780425232613
Over the last nine months in Stony Mill, Indiana, the sensitives feel a chaotic energy surge sweeping the town and leading to murder and mayhem. The witches and the sensitives are friends so arrange a coalition led by Liss the witch who has deliberately developed her powers and encourages her co-worker Maggie O'Neill to do so too as she is a strong empath.
Maggie gets involved in the chaotic energy when she goes to the hospital with her boyfriend Marcus Quinn to see her sister Mel giving birth. The spirits follow Maggie into an elevator where she overhears a conversation that implies someone’s death. A few days earlier student Jordan Everett died from an enlarged heart caused by steroid use. Not understanding what the spirits are telling her, Maggie remains with Mel overnight. She overhears an argument between a woman who just gave birth and a man who is not her husband. Her sister’s husband vanishes while Maggie believes Jordan’s death is linked to another death a few days after her sister gave birth to twins. Now she has to prove her assertion with evidence beyond witchery and intuition.
Madelyn Alt’s paranormal amateur sleuth mysteries are always fantastic fun. With a good deal of sensual feelings exchanged between the heroine and her significant other, A Witch In Time has cross genre appeal to romance readers too. Maggie works the case with the spirits trying to tell her the solution, but they are too cryptic, which both frustrates and motivates her. Readers will enjoy this refreshing tale in an original series as learning who the culprit is from those beyond will not hold up in court.
Harriet Klausner
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Bad Kitty Lounge-Michael Wiley
The Bad Kitty Lounge
Michael Wiley
Minotaur, Mar 2 2010, $24.99
ISBN: 9780312593001
In Chicago Greg Samuelson goes ballistic when he learns his wife Amy is having an affair with Eric Stone. Fuming, he burns Stone’s car. Soon afterward, at the Holy Trinity Church someone shoots Greg in the face and kills his boss, Sister Judy Terrano, the Virginity Nun; under her tattoo of a cat was written with a marker “Bad Kitty”.
Greg, who previously hired private investigator Joe Kozmarski to catch his wife in the act, rehires the sleuth to make inquiries into who shot him. As Joe digs and finds more corpses, long time civil rights activist William DuBuclet demands he drops the case or else. Stone tries to hire Joe to conduct surveillance on DuBuclet as the case ties back to the 1960s Bad Kitty Lounge where teens met to hear music, smoke weed and use dope, and have sex.
This a superb Chicago Noir (see The Last Striptease) as Joe deals with a client he dropped after the BMW arson incident at a time he considers leaving the Windy City with his two dependents, his mom and his young cousin. Joe tells the tale from the opening inferno over egg fu young until the final wrap up though at times his escapades seem over the top of the Sears Tower. The audience will enjoy this fabulous investigative thriller as the spins and twists keep Joe and the reader off kilter throughout.
Harriet Klausner
Michael Wiley
Minotaur, Mar 2 2010, $24.99
ISBN: 9780312593001
In Chicago Greg Samuelson goes ballistic when he learns his wife Amy is having an affair with Eric Stone. Fuming, he burns Stone’s car. Soon afterward, at the Holy Trinity Church someone shoots Greg in the face and kills his boss, Sister Judy Terrano, the Virginity Nun; under her tattoo of a cat was written with a marker “Bad Kitty”.
Greg, who previously hired private investigator Joe Kozmarski to catch his wife in the act, rehires the sleuth to make inquiries into who shot him. As Joe digs and finds more corpses, long time civil rights activist William DuBuclet demands he drops the case or else. Stone tries to hire Joe to conduct surveillance on DuBuclet as the case ties back to the 1960s Bad Kitty Lounge where teens met to hear music, smoke weed and use dope, and have sex.
This a superb Chicago Noir (see The Last Striptease) as Joe deals with a client he dropped after the BMW arson incident at a time he considers leaving the Windy City with his two dependents, his mom and his young cousin. Joe tells the tale from the opening inferno over egg fu young until the final wrap up though at times his escapades seem over the top of the Sears Tower. The audience will enjoy this fabulous investigative thriller as the spins and twists keep Joe and the reader off kilter throughout.
Harriet Klausner
The Third Rail-Michael Harvey
The Third Rail
Michael Harvey
Knopf, Apr 20 2010, $24.95
ISBN 9780307272508
In Chicago, at the Southport L Station, Robles sees the woman alone by the stairs and fires a shot into her temple. Soon afterward he slices the throat of building manager Halter who welcomed him as a new tenant as Robles prepared for his next shoot. From the room’s window he fires at a passing train exploding a passenger's head. Soon following that spree, the sniper kills three commuters on Lake Shore Drive, but failed to assassinate former cop turned private investigator Michael Kelly's girlfriend Judge Rachel Swenson.
CPD and FBI work the case, but Chicago mayor John J. Wilson hires Kelly off the books as the sleuth is actively involved as the killer taunts him via cell phone. Soon the sleuth believes there are two culprits working in harmonious synchronization while also wondering if somehow the murder spree is not quite as random as assumed; perhaps even going back three decades to when as a tweener Kelly survived an elevated train tragedy.
The third Kelly Windy City Noir (see The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor) is a superb thriller that grips the audience with the first shot fired and never slows down until the final confrontation. The story line effortlessly switches from Kelly’s first person viewpoint starting with a gun butt to his head and a profound third person look into the heads of deadly duet. The Third Rail is a fabulous Chicago cat and mouse investigative tale that never wastes a twitter of a moment even with a great twist that turns Kelly into a city hero though he never fires the key shot.
Harriet Klausner
Michael Harvey
Knopf, Apr 20 2010, $24.95
ISBN 9780307272508
In Chicago, at the Southport L Station, Robles sees the woman alone by the stairs and fires a shot into her temple. Soon afterward he slices the throat of building manager Halter who welcomed him as a new tenant as Robles prepared for his next shoot. From the room’s window he fires at a passing train exploding a passenger's head. Soon following that spree, the sniper kills three commuters on Lake Shore Drive, but failed to assassinate former cop turned private investigator Michael Kelly's girlfriend Judge Rachel Swenson.
CPD and FBI work the case, but Chicago mayor John J. Wilson hires Kelly off the books as the sleuth is actively involved as the killer taunts him via cell phone. Soon the sleuth believes there are two culprits working in harmonious synchronization while also wondering if somehow the murder spree is not quite as random as assumed; perhaps even going back three decades to when as a tweener Kelly survived an elevated train tragedy.
The third Kelly Windy City Noir (see The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor) is a superb thriller that grips the audience with the first shot fired and never slows down until the final confrontation. The story line effortlessly switches from Kelly’s first person viewpoint starting with a gun butt to his head and a profound third person look into the heads of deadly duet. The Third Rail is a fabulous Chicago cat and mouse investigative tale that never wastes a twitter of a moment even with a great twist that turns Kelly into a city hero though he never fires the key shot.
Harriet Klausner
Murder of a Wedding Belle-Denise Swanson
Murder of a Wedding Belle
Denise Swanson
Obsidian, Apr 2010, $6.99
ISBN: 9780451229618
Scrumble River school psychologist Skye Denison also serves as a consultant to the police department run by her boyfriend Wally Boyd. Six months ago, the Chief of Police asked Skye to marry him, but though she loves Wally she keeps putting him off with excuses as she fears placing her heart on the line again.
Trouble starts for Skye when her California cousin Riley decides to marry her powerful millionaire fiancé in Scrumble River. She reluctantly agrees to serve as maid of honor but when elitist snob wedding planner Belle Canfield informs Skye that her Cuz named her as her wedding assistant on this event, Skye becomes extremely upset. Although she tries, she cannot get out of working for the stern taskmistress who antagonizes everyone she meets until Belle pushes someone over the edge and murders her. Skye assists Wally on the homicide investigation while also putting together the marriage ceremony as the paid wedding planner.
As always with a Scrumble River police procedural (see Murder of a Royale Pain) Denise Swanson combines humor and romance within an intriguing homicide investigation while the support cast feels like friends. There are plenty of suspects just on the wedding list and Skye using her psychological skills find many with strong motives, but must ferret out who would act on the desire. Readers who have put together a social event like a wedding will commiserate with the heroine, as she finds relief in working the Murder of a Wedding Belle.
Harriet Klausner
Denise Swanson
Obsidian, Apr 2010, $6.99
ISBN: 9780451229618
Scrumble River school psychologist Skye Denison also serves as a consultant to the police department run by her boyfriend Wally Boyd. Six months ago, the Chief of Police asked Skye to marry him, but though she loves Wally she keeps putting him off with excuses as she fears placing her heart on the line again.
Trouble starts for Skye when her California cousin Riley decides to marry her powerful millionaire fiancé in Scrumble River. She reluctantly agrees to serve as maid of honor but when elitist snob wedding planner Belle Canfield informs Skye that her Cuz named her as her wedding assistant on this event, Skye becomes extremely upset. Although she tries, she cannot get out of working for the stern taskmistress who antagonizes everyone she meets until Belle pushes someone over the edge and murders her. Skye assists Wally on the homicide investigation while also putting together the marriage ceremony as the paid wedding planner.
As always with a Scrumble River police procedural (see Murder of a Royale Pain) Denise Swanson combines humor and romance within an intriguing homicide investigation while the support cast feels like friends. There are plenty of suspects just on the wedding list and Skye using her psychological skills find many with strong motives, but must ferret out who would act on the desire. Readers who have put together a social event like a wedding will commiserate with the heroine, as she finds relief in working the Murder of a Wedding Belle.
Harriet Klausner
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Khan Dilemma-Ron Goodreau
The Khan Dilemma
Ron Goodreau
iUniverse, 2009, $18.95
ISBN: 9781440151231
At night in Las Cruces, California, Bernard Harris is out walking his dog near a house when a body flies through a window onto the street. A man rushes out the door waving a gun as he charges towards Bernard. Stunned but calm, Bernard takes out a sap from his pocket and conks the attacker on the head; knocking him out.
Police Detective Dale Cox arrives at the crime scene in twenty minutes, but to his amazement two FBI agents from the San Diego office are already there. Adding to his amazement is the apparent culprit Muslim Raheem Khan went after the passerby instead of shooting the outsider like he did two people; the one tossed through the window and one inside. Nothing adds up as the Clay County DA Rich Danko dumps the difficult prosecution on his most likely rival in the upcoming election Max Siegel as this high profile case is political suicide. Well aware what his boss is doing, Max is not prepared for attempts on his life, interference on his case from DC and much worse.
The Khan Dilemma is an exhilarating police procedural legal thriller that grips the audience from the opening scene until the final confrontation that will remind fans of a serious version of the Coen Brothers Burn After Reading. The story line is fast-paced but driven by the idealistic persistency of Max who refuses to give up as he peels away one concentric circle after another seeking the truth. Ron Goodreau provides an entertaining thriller with a strong cast as Cox immediately sets the tone with his logical observations at the crime scene in which 1 and 1 is not 2 and this is the binary system.
Harriet Klausner
Ron Goodreau
iUniverse, 2009, $18.95
ISBN: 9781440151231
At night in Las Cruces, California, Bernard Harris is out walking his dog near a house when a body flies through a window onto the street. A man rushes out the door waving a gun as he charges towards Bernard. Stunned but calm, Bernard takes out a sap from his pocket and conks the attacker on the head; knocking him out.
Police Detective Dale Cox arrives at the crime scene in twenty minutes, but to his amazement two FBI agents from the San Diego office are already there. Adding to his amazement is the apparent culprit Muslim Raheem Khan went after the passerby instead of shooting the outsider like he did two people; the one tossed through the window and one inside. Nothing adds up as the Clay County DA Rich Danko dumps the difficult prosecution on his most likely rival in the upcoming election Max Siegel as this high profile case is political suicide. Well aware what his boss is doing, Max is not prepared for attempts on his life, interference on his case from DC and much worse.
The Khan Dilemma is an exhilarating police procedural legal thriller that grips the audience from the opening scene until the final confrontation that will remind fans of a serious version of the Coen Brothers Burn After Reading. The story line is fast-paced but driven by the idealistic persistency of Max who refuses to give up as he peels away one concentric circle after another seeking the truth. Ron Goodreau provides an entertaining thriller with a strong cast as Cox immediately sets the tone with his logical observations at the crime scene in which 1 and 1 is not 2 and this is the binary system.
Harriet Klausner
The Room and the Chair-Lorraine Adams
The Room and the Chair
Lorraine Adams
Knopf, Feb 9 2010, $25.95
ISBN: 9780307272416
USAF Captain Mary Goodwin flies her F-16 over the Washington DC area protecting the friendly skies. However, her jet suddenly has engine trouble and she is forced to eject from the cockpit. Although she cannot prove it, she feels something odd happened to her plane. Mary is almost immediately deployed to Afghanistan, which she finds odd with the rapidity the military sent her to theatre.
Washington Spectator night editor Stanley Belson finds the incident over the Potomac also strange especially with how fast the Air Force got Mary out of DC. He has his top gun Vera Hastings investigate the incident. Unbeknownst to either woman, top secret intel chief Will Holmes knows what happened but insures damage control is spun taut as he allowed an anti-suicide test using an unwitting subject too soon.
The key cast members are somewhat stereotyped to enhance the suspense, especially in the Middle East, and to strafe bomb the political-media complex in which the truth is irrelevant as only ratings (for the media and for the politicians) are out there. Ironically the State-side chapters pale next to the Middle East sections as the incidents overseas are harrowing and breathtaking with a wide range of reactions while inside the United States decadence and lying rule. Although too many threads are left dangling, fans will appreciate this deep look at a perilous complicated world in which medicated Americans are served tea.
Harriet Klausner
Lorraine Adams
Knopf, Feb 9 2010, $25.95
ISBN: 9780307272416
USAF Captain Mary Goodwin flies her F-16 over the Washington DC area protecting the friendly skies. However, her jet suddenly has engine trouble and she is forced to eject from the cockpit. Although she cannot prove it, she feels something odd happened to her plane. Mary is almost immediately deployed to Afghanistan, which she finds odd with the rapidity the military sent her to theatre.
Washington Spectator night editor Stanley Belson finds the incident over the Potomac also strange especially with how fast the Air Force got Mary out of DC. He has his top gun Vera Hastings investigate the incident. Unbeknownst to either woman, top secret intel chief Will Holmes knows what happened but insures damage control is spun taut as he allowed an anti-suicide test using an unwitting subject too soon.
The key cast members are somewhat stereotyped to enhance the suspense, especially in the Middle East, and to strafe bomb the political-media complex in which the truth is irrelevant as only ratings (for the media and for the politicians) are out there. Ironically the State-side chapters pale next to the Middle East sections as the incidents overseas are harrowing and breathtaking with a wide range of reactions while inside the United States decadence and lying rule. Although too many threads are left dangling, fans will appreciate this deep look at a perilous complicated world in which medicated Americans are served tea.
Harriet Klausner
Beautiful Assassin-Michael White
Beautiful Assassin
Michael White
Morrow, Mar 30 2010, $24.99
ISBN: 9780061691218
In 1996, reporter Elizabeth Meade muses over her obsession started a decade ago as the Soviet evil empire imploded when she first heard of the Russian sniper Tat’yana Levchencko. Elizabeth searched for clues about the Communist with Hollywood looks and a friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during WWII. Now in Eastern Colorado she will confront an elderly widow begging to learn the true story of Tat'yana Levchenko.
At first hesitant as she does not want to be another Trotsky, the old woman tells how a poetess, mother, and wife became an empty nest widow avenging sniper Soviet-American heroine before being labeled a Communist spy. In 1942 the Germans without regard to civilians bombed and fired from the air at villagers in the Ukraine. A pilot saw her beloved three year old Masha and killed her. The sniper was born on that day as she joined the army. She became the top sniper and soon was invited to the White House by Eleanor Roosevelt. They became friends as they toured the country together. While Stalin demanded she spy on the Americans, Tat’yana realized these were not soft fat cats as described by Soviet propaganda. The American media began a blitzkrieg accusing her of being Stalin’s pawn. She disappeared until now when a persistent reporter interviews an elderly widow.
This is a superb 1940s drama seen through the eyes of a woman five decades later after she vanished. Her story is one of sadness as she loathed the murdering Nazis killing them, but also detested the Cold War participants who “killed” Tat’yana in their abusive disregard for her which was worse in many ways than the Germans who overtly tried to kill her. Yet she also brings rays of hope that the human spirit can overcome almost anything as she did with her late second husband Walter and someone else even while telling her heartbreaking tale. This is a winner that condemns nations for their expendable deployment of individuals.
Harriet Klausner
Michael White
Morrow, Mar 30 2010, $24.99
ISBN: 9780061691218
In 1996, reporter Elizabeth Meade muses over her obsession started a decade ago as the Soviet evil empire imploded when she first heard of the Russian sniper Tat’yana Levchencko. Elizabeth searched for clues about the Communist with Hollywood looks and a friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during WWII. Now in Eastern Colorado she will confront an elderly widow begging to learn the true story of Tat'yana Levchenko.
At first hesitant as she does not want to be another Trotsky, the old woman tells how a poetess, mother, and wife became an empty nest widow avenging sniper Soviet-American heroine before being labeled a Communist spy. In 1942 the Germans without regard to civilians bombed and fired from the air at villagers in the Ukraine. A pilot saw her beloved three year old Masha and killed her. The sniper was born on that day as she joined the army. She became the top sniper and soon was invited to the White House by Eleanor Roosevelt. They became friends as they toured the country together. While Stalin demanded she spy on the Americans, Tat’yana realized these were not soft fat cats as described by Soviet propaganda. The American media began a blitzkrieg accusing her of being Stalin’s pawn. She disappeared until now when a persistent reporter interviews an elderly widow.
This is a superb 1940s drama seen through the eyes of a woman five decades later after she vanished. Her story is one of sadness as she loathed the murdering Nazis killing them, but also detested the Cold War participants who “killed” Tat’yana in their abusive disregard for her which was worse in many ways than the Germans who overtly tried to kill her. Yet she also brings rays of hope that the human spirit can overcome almost anything as she did with her late second husband Walter and someone else even while telling her heartbreaking tale. This is a winner that condemns nations for their expendable deployment of individuals.
Harriet Klausner
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