Grey Expectations- Clea Simon

Grey Expectations


Clea Simon

Severn House, Apr 1 2012, $27.95

ISBN: 9780727881342



After the traumatic events of last year (see Grey Zone), Harvard graduate student Dulcie Schwartz feels her life has calmed down as she works on her dissertation on the anonymous British author of an unfinished 1790 gothic novel The Ravages of Umbria. Her tranquility is shattered when her friend Trista calls her; crying while saying she is a person of interest in the death of student Roland Galveston.



Soon after Trista’s hysterically call, she vanishes and her boyfriend is frantic. Dulcie goes to Trista’s place in the Cambridge Campus where her friend liked to go when she wanted to be left alone. Trista is not there, but Dulcie notices a ticket admitting her to the Mildon special documents. Stunned as Dulcie knows she never went there on that day; she thinks she is being framed by someone for stealing the medieval manuscript the Dunster Codex. She finds her life in jeopardy from a person masquerading as a cop; however, she has her beloved late Mr. Grey, Esme and Chris watching her back.



Once again, Clea Simon writes a wonderful Dulcie Schwartz cozy in which the heroine is an intellectual star of the Perils of Pauline. Her heroes are Mr. Grey who she still communicates with her, Esme the playful kitten and Chris; though the protagonist wonders how fickle felines alive and dead are though they have her back and keep her spirits up. The mystery is clever with red herrings and unexpected twists and readers will appreciate this engaging amateur sleuth.



Harriet Klausner

Stuck With You-Trish Jensen

Stuck With You


Trish Jensen

Bell Bridge, Jan 2 2012, $13.95

ISBN: 9781611940862



Paige Hart practices law in Macon, Georgia. She is always there for her crazy large family though that leaves her more often than not in some sort of trouble.



Ross Bennett practices law too. He does not have the large family that Paige does, but he devotes plenty of time to charity and avoids slimy clients.



Paige and Ross respectively represent a divorcing couple, Jasmine and Carmon Carbone arguing over ownership of Doodles the poodle. However their snake shrew labels explode when a bomb ignites inside the courthouse. They are rushed to a hospital in an ambulance contaminated by the Tibetan Concupiscence Virus which leads to intense sexual desire. CDC quarantines the pair who turns to one another for relief and perhaps much more.



Mindful of Monkey Business starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, Stuck With You is a zany lighthearted courtroom-hospital romance starring two likable combatants. The support cast from the medical to the court to the You Can’t Take it With You (by Hart and Kauffman) Sycamore family adds humorous lunacy to the mix. Fans will relish a wild gender war between a snake and a shrew in viral lust and maybe love.



Harriet Klausner

The Expats-Chris Pavone

The Expats


Chris Pavone

Crown, Mar 6 2012, $26.00

ISBN: 9780307956354



Washington, D.C. based financial systems security expert Dexter Moore accepts a terrific job in Luxembourg. As he, his wife Kate and their kids prepare to cross the Atlantic, Dexter is unaware that his spouse was a CIA operative for fifteen years, who resigned to accompany her husband and their two children to Europe. Her plan is to be a caring wife and nurturing mother.



In Luxembourg, Kate struggles to adjust to a passive lifestyle. However she awakens from the housewife blues when a stunned Kate learns the FBI and Interpol investigate her nerdy husband for allegedly stealing fifty-million euros in an illegal online banking deal. Needing to know the truth about her spouse, while wondering whether she erred in giving up her espionage career to be a housewife, Kate investigates Dexter’s allegedly felonious activities.



This is a great espionage investigative thriller filled with red herrings, and super twists that keep the audience wondering what next. Fast-paced, fans will appreciate Kate’s inquiry with fervor as she ponders the ennui and lack of satisfaction in being a housewife. Although the relationship between Kate and Dexter never quite gels, The Expats is a terrific thriller.



Harriet Klausner

Cats Can’t Shoot-Clea Simon

Cats Can’t Shoot


Clea Simon

Poisoned Pen, Apr 3 2012 $24.95

ISBN 9781590583256



In Beauville in the Berkshires, Police Officer Jim Creighton explains to pet behaviorist (and psychic) Pru Marlowe that the Persian is a “killer kitty”. Apparently she accidentally fired the gun that killed Donal Franklin. The feline’s prints are on the weapon as are feline fur. Pru looks the Persian in the eyes and asks if she did it; however, instead of “hearing” what the cat was thinking, the feline’s brain is silent as she hisses at the behaviorist before being removed.



Pru accompanied by Wallis her cat, turns to the other animal residents of Beauville for information as she is increasingly convinced the Persian is traumatized by what she saw and is not guilty of homicide. Creighton and his support team disagree so Pru knows she will need hard evidence, but Wallis becomes frustrated with her failure to truly listen; while her ex NYPD cop Tom Reynolds is in town allegedly working a case.



The second Pru Marlowe Pet Noir is an enjoyable whodunit that is similar in plot to its predecessor (see Dogs Don’t Lie) in that a traumatized pet is accused of a homicide and the heroine investigates by chatting with the animals. However this time the heroine is not the prime human suspect and Wallis refreshes the mystery with his mounting frustrations with Pru. .Fast-paced from the moment Pru drops her ire when she learns a kitty shooting literally meant a kitty shooting an owner rather than visa-versa, readers will relish this fun caper.



Harriet Klausner

Death Comes Silently-Carolyn Hart

Death Comes Silently


Carolyn Hart

Berkley, Apr 3 2012, $24.95

ISBN: 9780425245705



In Broward’s Rock, South Carolina, Death on Demand bookstore owner has a scheduling conflict between an author signing and her volunteer work at Better Tomorrow charity shop. With business slow due to the wintry weather, she needs to be at her store so she enlists Gretchen Burkholt to take her place at Better Tomorrow.



Anxious Gretchen calls Annie several times claiming the charity’s handyman Jeremiah Young is dangerous and that she found an enigmatic note inside the coat of deceased Everett Hathaway. Although concerned over Gretchen’s anxiety, Annie assumes she is safe so she completes the signing before racing over to Better Tomorrow. However she feels guilty when she finds Gretchen dead from Jeremiah’s ax. Police Chief Billy Cameron believes Jeremiah killed the woman as he is an ex con; the murder weapon belonged to him; and he fled the crime scene. Annie and her best customer Henny Brawley thinks otherwise.



The latest Death on Demand cozy (see Laughed 'Til He Died and Dead by Midnight) is a superb entry that keeps the series fresh by introducing new players and new books into the engaging January South Carolina barrier island setting. The whodunit is deftly handled as the amateur sleuth mystery aficionados think Gretchen’s homicide ties back to Hathaway’s drowning; while Cameron has no doubt who the killer is. Carolyn Hart has written another strong whodunit.



Harriet Klausner

Imperial Scandal-Teresa Grant

Imperial Scandal


Teresa Grant

Kensington, Mar 27 2012, $15.00

ISBN: 9780758254245



In 1815, the excitement of Vienna pales when the news that Napoleon escaped sends chills amongst his enemies. Wellington prepares for the battle near Brussels that will shape the future of Europe. British attaché Malcolm Rannoch and his wife Suzanne had enjoyed the galas, but he must return to work as a spy for the crown since the Emperor returns.



Malcolm meets with French agent La Fleur who is selling information when Colonel Harry Davenport, aide de camp to Wellington, arrives to warn them. Shots are fired killing La Fleur. In the garden, Malcolm finds the murdered corpse of Harry’s sister-in-law highly regarded Lady Julia Ashton who should not have been there unless she was spying. As the city is gripped by the nearby hostilities, Malcolm and Suzanne, trusting no one as they fear an insider betrayal, investigate who murdered Julia and why.



The latest Rannoch Napoleonic Era amateur sleuth (see Vienna Waltz) is an entertaining whodunit that uses the real suspense of the pending battle at Waterloo to serve as a powerful backdrop to the investigation. The murder mystery is cleverly devised as super red herrings and terrific twists make for a fabulous early nineteenth century thriller.



Harriet Klausner

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary-Susan Elia MacNeal

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary


Susan Elia MacNeal

Bantam, Apr 3 2012, $15.00

ISBN 9780553593617



In 1940 London, someone murders Diana Snyder, a typist in Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s office. American raised British citizen Maggie Hope remains bitter over not being offered a more prestigious position in the Intel community as a code breaker as fitting a mathematician; she knows sexism kept her from obtaining the job. Still she agrees to replace the late Diana.



The Snyder stabbing case is solved rather quickly while Diana adapts to her work and living in Nazi and IRA bombed London as opposed to MIT. However, Maggie begins to uncover a plot to cripple the leadership with assassination at a critical moment when the Battle for Britain is being fought in the skies. The intrepid Maggie seeks the identity of those involved, which places her at risk.



The first Maggie Hope WWII mystery is an engaging tale that vividly brings to life a grim London in May 1940 at a time when everyone anticipates the blitzkrieg to cross the Channel. The amateur sleuthing is fun to follow as the heroine is an intelligent person, but also contains too many happenstances to bail her out of dire straits. Still readers will enjoy Maggie’s marvelous mystery tour as she escorts armchair time travelers around besieged London.



Harriet Klausner