Cloaked In Malice-Annette Blair

Cloaked In Malice


Annette Blair

Berkley Prime Crime, Jul 3 2012, $7.99

ISBN: 9780425251430



Owner of A Vintage Magic clothing store, Madeira “Maddie” Cutler is also a psychic who has the uncanny ability to touch attire and learn much about the person who wore that item. Her gift comes in handy when Paisley Skye enters the shop wearing vintage clothing at a time when Maddie’s friend hundred and four years old Dolly Sweet was in the shop too. Dante the ghost is stunned when he sees by Paisley, but Dolly is also shocked as the woman resembles her; she abruptly leaves town.



Paisley asks Maddie to help her find out who she is; all her life she resided inside a compound fortified by an electric fence on a deserted island. Paisley further explains for years all she ever saw was her Mam and Pap who she believes are not her parents and she never left the compound until they both died. Maddie touches an item and sees a very young Paisley while nearby the child’s parents are killed. Maddie, her lover Nick the FBI agent and Paisley return to the island while someone diligently watches them.



Annette Blair always provides a delightful paranormal mystery as affirmed by her newest A Vintage Magic Mystery (see Skirting The Grave). The twisting storyline casts a spell on readers; as like Paisley we want to know who she is and why she lived like a hermit on a reinforced isolated island filled with stunning secrets. Fans will enjoy Cloaked in Malice.



Harriet Klausner

Beauty To Die For-Kim Alexis & Mindy Starns Clark

Beauty To Die For


Kim Alexis & Mindy Starns Clark

B&H Books, August 1 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9781433672934



Twenty-five years ago, Marcus Stone was waiting for the plane for a meeting with his boss over a faux pas he made about a building that might have a problem with the roof. At the same time Juliette Taylor, a supermodel is also waiting for a plane. That encounter impressed both of them as they said good-bye he promised to change careers as that would make him happy and she would find a job that would make her happy.



Juliette now co-owns a beauty supply company that sells products to salons and spas. Marcus co-owns a disaster prevention company. He is on a FBI consulting job when Juliet’s name turns up on a list of a terrorist dealing in counterfeits. Fearing that Juliette is in danger, Marcus heads to the Palm Grotto Resort and Spa where she hosts a conference. Former supermodel from Juliette’s era Raven is at the spa and seemingly threatens her. On the first day of the conference someone kills Raven. Marcus and Juliette hook up and both realize they still feel that strong attraction they felt a quarter of a century ago. He watches her to keep her safe as an unknown adversary is watching.



The first A Spa Mystery is an enthralling chick lit whodunit starring two engaging protagonists with a second chance at love if they clarify the air as then and now misunderstandings seem to prevent their relationship from bonding though murder is a strong matchmaker. The storyline also provides the audience a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes at a luxurious spa, but this enjoyable mystery belongs to the lead couple as he relishes playing the hero role while she insists on being his trusty sidekick.



Harriet Klausner

Potboiler-Jesse Kellerman

Potboiler


Jesse Kellerman

Putnam, Jul 5 2012, $25.95

ISBN: 9780399159039



Decades ago, Arthur Pfefferkorn and William de Vallèe were close friends. Arthur wrote a novel that got tepid critical acclaim and no sales; Bill became a best-selling author. Whereas Arthur never wrote another novel; Bill wrote several top seller thrillers with each one sent to his friend. Besides jealousy over the writing success as the books are not good, he has never forgotten that Bill married Arthur’s first love Carlotta.



After a hundred plus days search by the Coast Guard, Bill is declared lost at sea. At Bill’s funeral, Arthur reconnects with Carlotta. Meanwhile he also possesses Bill’s last manuscript, which he publishes under his name and becomes a best-seller. However, as he succeeds in his personal and professional lives, Arthur soon will learn the price when he becomes embroiled in world threatening double and triple crosses right out of the pages of a thriller.



Mindful of the movie A Murder Of Crows, this tale starts off as a jocular satire of the publishing industry especially the hyperbolic over the top of Olympus Mons thriller plots. In the middle of the storyline, the book slowly converts into a twisting intrigue occurring in Zlabia. Although the humor wears thin by then, overall Potboiler is a fun novel.



Harriet Klausner

There's a Head on the Beach-Colin Cotterill

There's a Head on the Beach



Minotaur, Jun 19 2012, $24.99

ISBN: 9780312564544



Thirtyish Jimm Juree remains reeling from her mother’s decision to sell the family home and business without warning. The matriarch moved the extended family from the north to the south to Chumphon Province off of the Gulf of Siam leaving Jimm heartbroken as she was on the verge of having the Chiang Mai Daily Mail naming her as the second female senior crime reporter in Thailand (see (see Killed at the Whim of a Hat).



In her new rural home, Jimm finds a head on the beach. The Southern Rescue Mission Foundation sends two thugs to insure Jimm understands she saw nothing. Though she lost her journalism position, Jimm like any good reporter does not accept threats; instead of running away from the crime, she investigates the head on the beach.



The second Jimm Juree Thai mystery is a wonderful jocular whodunit in which mangled phonetic lyrics from pop songs and eccentric family dynamics are merged effortlessly with an insightful look at a major rights issue. The storyline is fast-paced from the onset as readers will enjoy watching the “Dancing Queen” (ABBA) do her investigative gig.



Harriet Klausner

Hideout-Kathleen George

Hideout


Kathleen George

Minotaur, Jun 19 2012, $15.99

ISBN: 9781250007490



In Pittsburgh, stoned Ryan Rutter decides to scare a female pedestrian walking in a park. He steers his truck towards her planning to just miss her; but he miscalculates and hits her. He and his passenger his younger brother Jack flee the crime scene. They head to a remote Sugar Lake cabin that their family rented when they were kids from Tom Jensen who tossed them out of it due to the vandalism.



Pittsburgh night duty police detective Colleen Greer leads the hit and run homicide investigation. The victim is Allegany General cafeteria staff Joanna Navarro. Colleen’s boss Commander Richard Christie joins her as she makes inquiries; also on the case are PPD Artie Dolan and John Potocki.



While Jack obtains handyman work from elderly neighbor Addie Ward, Ryan plots a robbery. When Tom arrives at his cabin, Ryan takes away his rifle and threatens to kill him and likewise Addie too. As law enforcement from the greater Pittsburgh area compete to capture the siblings, Ryan plans to blow away the two witnesses who can identify them.



This is a strong Pittsburgh police procedural (see The odds); as Jack steals the show from the cops and his psychopathic older brother with his obsessed need to protect Ryan, reversing their childhood. Fast-paced from the moment readers meet the brothers when Ryan’s friend is rushed to the hospital to save his life from an overdose, fans will relish this psychological thriller as Jack knows right from wrong but defending Jack supersedes his moral barometer, which is constantly tested.



Harriet Klausner

The Celtic Conspiracy-Thore D. Hansen

The Celtic Conspiracy


Thore D. Hansen

AmazonCrossing, May 29 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9781612183473



In May 1945 near Klagenfurt, Austria, a recruit falls into a cave during combat. British Army Major Sean MacLary and two soldiers rescue the injured man. However, they find a room in the cave that Sean an archeology professor, believes is ancient Druid though that is wrong as their culture was handed down orally. He selects a few fourth century documents to send home that claim the Catholic Church massacred the druids and buries the cave with an explosion hidden by the noise of war to protect the rest of the cache.



In the present Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald MacLary thinks back to his late father who died a few years after the war from combat related injuries. Before he died Sean pleaded with his then six year old son to follow up on his trove in Dublin. Ronald finds the ancient documentation that insists the Druids did not vanish gently into the night but were victims of genocide. He finds allies as he tries to excavate his father’s find while others try to prevent him.



Combining the generalization that to the victors goes the history books inside a Brownian thriller, The Celtic Conspiracy is an exciting thriller that makes a plea for the Golden Rule of world peace. Although holding culpability for atrocities done centuries ago is a complicated but healing slippery slope, fans will enjoy this fabulous over the top of Corrán Tuathail tale.



Harriet Klausner

Extended Family-Patrick Kendrick

Extended Family


Patrick Kendrick

Thomas & Mercer, Jun 5 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9781612183107



The charming handsome man enters the Future-Gen clinic to donate sperm. Afterward, he asks the receptionist to join him for dinner at exclusive Eduardo’s. She accepts his invitation while cheekily asking him if he will be able to get it up later.



One generation later, FBI Special Agent Rose Cleary and Fire Marshal Greymon Gift discuss recent homicide arson cases. Someone is torturing including dismembering victims before setting fire to the murder scene; the dead further share in common they all were serial killers. Rose and Grey team up on the investigation, but find horrifying evidence that the recovered DNA is a close match to that of allegedly dead serial killer Dr. Harmon Gettys. This means it is either him or chips off the old block offspring.



Extended Family is an odd but entertaining thriller as the protagonists hunt for the serial killer of serial killers. Overall the storyline is fast-paced and at times very gory as journal entries can be first person explicit. Although the romantic segue feels forced and unnecessary except as a sub-genre requirement when a man and woman work a case, fans will enjoy this engaging tale more complex than the DNA double helix.



Harriet Klausner