July 2007

We patriots at Mystery Morgue welcome in July with an Independence Day Special: read all you want, for nothing!

Okay, so that's what we do all the time, but still, celebrate: light a few fireworks, put on your powdered wig and hunker down for a few mystery reviews and features:

This month, you'll find no fewer than 20 book reviews, including titles from Chris Grabenstein, Martin Cruz Smith, Alex Sokoloff and many more.  And if that's not enough (then, frankly, you're a little demanding—it's summer!), we'll give you a "How I Write" essay by Ellen Byerrum, author of the Crime of Fashion series, and an interesting interview with Ken Ramirez, who writes a YA fantasy series because his daughter suggested there weren't "enough books about gnomes." How can you argue with that?

Enjoy your July!  We'll be back in August with more, um, hot stuff!

In this month's issue:

How I Write: Ellen Byerrum
The Mystery Morgue Interview: Ken Ramirez

Reviews:
The Secret Of The Lonely Grave by Albert A. Bell Jr.
Priest by Ken Bruen
Love Kills by Edna Buchanan
Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett
Flames In The Jungle by John Cunyus
The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver
Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues by Robert Fate
The Sudoku Murder by Shelley Freydont
Straits of Fortune by Anthony Gagliano
Whack-A-Mole by Chris Grabenstein
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
Trial & Error by Paul Levine
Gates of Hades by Gregg Loomis
Mood Swing: The Bipolar Murders by Julie Lomoe
Hog Wild by Cathy Pickens
Hooked by Matt Richtel
Shell Game by Sarah R. Shaber
Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith
The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff
Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

Link to Archives

 

How I Write
by Ellen Byerrum

Ellen Byerrum is the author of the Lacey Smithsonian Crime of Fashion mysteries. By day, she is a mild-mannered reporter in the Nation's Capital. By night, she plots murder and mayhem, conducts the never-ending war on beige, and attempts to address the endless fashion disasters in Washington, D.C.  She is married and lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

How I write. Eventually.

Asking writers how they write is a little bit like asking them how they breathe. Hard to explain. We just do it.

Although it's debatable how interesting my own writing process is, I am fascinated by how other people manage to put words on paper. Why? Maybe for inspiration, or maybe just to share the peculiar anguish of writing.

Writing is a combination of inspiration, ritual, butt glue, and grit. I haven't worked out the percentages, but I'm sure they change daily, if not hourly.

Just last week, I heard a thriller writer/newspaper columnist talk about how he gets so inspired with his writing that he loses time. He can look up and it's four hours later. Just high on inspiration. I've never mastered that particular trick of making time collapse. I'm more aware of the minutes ticking slowly past, minutes in which I sit there without a thought in my head, or at least any thoughts related to my current project. But eventually, with a liberal layer of butt glue and grit, I manage. Somehow.

Writing rituals are perhaps the most fun to consider, because of their superstitious, almost magical aspects. My all-time favorite whacked-out alleged writing ritual is that of a famous and successful literary fiction writer. You've heard his name. Apparently he finds writing so difficult and painful that he has to write in a dark closet, blindfolded and wearing earplugs and earmuffs to block out all distracting stimuli from the outside world. His only sensory input: the tiny nubs on the home keys of his keyboard.

Would this make a great opening scene of a play? Okay, maybe a short play, a ten-minute play, for a very limited audience. And there would have to be a few changes. The WRITER couldn't really be in the closet with the door shut, because, well, you know, we have to be able to see him.

At Curtain: WRITER sits on a chair in front of a computer in a cramped nook surrounded by tall bookshelves. He is a little out of shape because most of his physical activity takes place in his mind. He is a literary genius, though. We know this by his black turtleneck sweater and the posters of James Joyce and Samuel Beckett on the wall. The writer cannot see the computer because he is wearing a blindfold and large industrial hearing protectors, known as "earmuffs." He weeps loudly. He beats his chest. He slams his head down on the computer repeatedly. The MUSE is not visiting him today. If she did visit, he wouldn't see or hear her, because he is blind and deaf under his blindfold and earmuffs.                      

A door slams. The writer's WIFE rushes into the room. She comments rudely on the fact that he is weeping and not writing. He doesn't hear her. She makes a rude gesture toward him and motions gleefully to her new BOYFRIEND to enter the room. Her husband, you see, is BLIND and DEAF...

Obviously some people need a dark closet in which to write. I can't help wondering: What kind of closet is it? Is it a clothes closet, a walk-in closet, the front hall closet? Is it an empty closet or do shirts hang around his shoulders? Do mops fall on his head? Is there enough oxygen? Or is oxygen too distracting? Does he faint from toxic fumes from bottles of bleach and floor polish? What if someone breaks into the house and he can't see or hear it? What happens when the burglar finds the guy blindfolded in the closet? Does the burglar assume someone else has already robbed the place and stashed the poor schmuck in the closet? I don't know, but I love the image, because I don't have an extra closet. I need this guy's closet! My closet is small and stingy. Not even Stuart Little could write in my closet. I have a fist fight with my closet every time I try to extract a sweater, or stuff a shoe back in. But I digress...

I have to write with my eyes and ears wide open.

I'm a reporter during the day, a mystery novelist by night. I have to be able to write in rooms that are noisy, interesting, exhausting and stimulating, and finish on deadline. I have to overhear conversations I might use. I wouldn't say that I'm an excitement junkie, but the dark, silent closet routine sounds abusive to me. 

I have my own rituals.  For instance: "Writing is hard" is a statement that I say to my husband on the order of several thousand times during the course of writing each book. I say it after a wrestling match between the keyboard and my thoughts. I say it like it's a brand-new thought, like maybe I never knew before that writing is hard, like I'm simple-minded.

Other writers have told me they have to write with their desks facing the wall and without any distracting music. More abuse. My desk faces a window overlooking the Potomac River. I like to peek around my monitor to see what's going on outside, the boats on the river, the planes and bald eagles flying overhead, what the weather is like. Music is usually on. I've been listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Edith Piaf. Grave Apparel, my latest book in the Lacey Smithsonian Crime of Fashion series, is set at Christmas. I listened to all sorts of Christmas music, a lot of traditional and medieval carols that do not play nonstop on the radio during the season. Sometimes the television is on, not so much to watch it as to avoid feeling like I'm being punished by being cut off from the world.

My Writing Quirks

• Some writers say they write in their pajamas. Not me. I get dressed in comfortable clothes, not too shabby. Never fuzzy bunny slippers. Don't own a pair.
• I always wear some makeup, unless I am sick.  I believe that if I look good, I write better. If I look bad, my mojo is drained and lifeless, and I can't concentrate. So sue me. And remember, I write fashion mysteries.
• Because I am so often tired and occasionally not in the mood to write, I have to trick myself into writing. Yes, even mystery writers can be tricked.
• After work, the idea of a nap or falling onto the sofa and watching television is way too tempting. Instead, I try to write, at the library, a coffee shop, or a bookstore/cafe.
• While I compose news stories on the computer, I like to write mysteries with a pen and pad of paper. Then I rewrite as I type it into the computer. I find the hand-brain-paper connection feels different from typing somehow. Ideas flow in a different way.
• If I really don't want to write, I'll make a bargain with myself: Write one paragraph and I'll let myself of the hook. Usually writing that one paragraph leads to another and I actually accomplish something. Yes, I can be tricked.

If all else fails and I can't find the words or pick up the plot threads, I'll take a shower. Or if that doesn't work, I'll leave the room, the apartment, the building, take a long walk down the river. Maybe I'll think about the book. Maybe not. Maybe I'll clear my mind. Maybe I'll think about that magic ritual that other writers have. Eventually something will click into place because I believe in the magic. I believe in the story. And sometimes, the story believes in me.

 

The Mystery Morgue Interview: Ken Ramirez

Ken Ramirez is a California science teacher who holds bachelor degrees in Maricultural Science and Biology, a minor in art, and a secondary teaching credential from Humboldt State University in northern California.  He presently teaches in a telecommunications academy, coaches the Alpine Ski team at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, and works as an education consultant for the California State Department of Education.

Several years ago Ken's daughter asked him to write her a story about gnomes. That night Ken began writing the Naida's Quest Trilogy, a fast-paced, humorous adventure that gained the attention of his children's friends and his science students.. His latest novel, Valley of the Raven, is a unique tale that expertly weaves the mysticism of the Lakota totems, the actual history of the Buffalo Soldiers, the gold rush era, and a modern day group of. It is being published by Twilight Times Books.

Did the area where you grew up influence your present outlook or interests?

I grew up in Santa Clara, California, in the sixties and seventies—long before the now famous "Silicon Valley" infiltration of computer technology manufacturing. It was a  slower paced, simpler life where the suburban sprawls were just  beginning to push back the rich agriculture land, and having  four to six kids running amok was the in thing. We had over fifty kids between the ages of zero and twenty on our "block" alone! With so much prepubescent energy centered in one location we lived from one mischievous adventure to the next.  Our community was also an ethnic melting pot—Mexican,  Portuguese, Japanese, German, Pilipino, African-American, Iranian, Armenian... it was a regular smorgasbord of children, which made it all the more fun.  Everybody brought their own  flavor to the excitement of the day. I would say that my interests and outlooks are absolutely  influenced by this. It was a time in life where people got along and enjoyed each other, regardless of history, religion,  skin color, or economic standing. With kids back then, in our  community, you were either fun to be around or not. I guess I  have spent my years as an educator trying to get the youth I come in contact with today, to respect and appreciate all  members of our society; to look into the heart. And until a person establishes the fact that they are detrimental to society we need to be supportive of one another.  You'll find this theme throughout my writing.

Have you taken any formal writing courses, participated in any writers' conferences or workshops?

When I was in college I had to take an analytical writing class so that I could spew out scientific reports. We avoided punctuation and no one ever mentioned anything about "noun phrases." When I became a teacher I felt that the kids needed to explain what they had learned, using the concepts and vernacular of the subject being taught, in order to show me that they really absorbed the information; so my exams are largely essays. I would try to reinforce proper writing technique and as a result I would often run to the English teaching staff to give me pointers. I guess I should have just replied "NO" to this question! I never anticipated writing anything like a novel, and I have never been formally trained—which an English teacher reading my answers to these questions can probably attest to the fact.

How/when did you become interested in history as a subject?

From the womb! I have excellent recall. At least I believe I have excellent recall. I can remember listening to my parents and friends recount personal history that I witnessed, and they got it all wrong. At a very young age I believed that history was basically fiction and that the take on it was so influenced by the observer's perspective—who knew what you could actually believe? It fascinated me. I was particularly interested in religion and started heavily studying it as a twelve year old. In the sixth grade, while other kids were reading about The Hardy Boys, I was reading the biography of the Israeli General Moshe Dayan. I launched myself into books about war and other world altering events, paying more attention to the mindset of the leaders and the populace than names, dates, and places. I wanted to know what chain of events led up to the greatest historical moments of our world. I was a strange kid.

How has teaching young people affected your writing?

It has given me a purpose to write. After 26 years of being involved with education I have come to the conclusion that if we don't do something drastic in our society we are going to destroy an entire generation by not placing value in anything less than a college degree. Our kids have been catapulted into the adult world—the media they have exposure to, the ability to socialize with adults at an adult level, the mobility that they have to just get up and go... etc. They are moving at adult paces without the mental development, cause and affect reasoning, and personal experiences to make good decisions, and then they continually hear the chanting of the "If you want to be successful you have to go to college!" mantra that by the sixth grade roughly 70% aren't in the track to go because they can't master all of the subjects, and they are being taught in heterogeneous classrooms where the teachers are working on overload to "differentiate instruction" to meet the copious needs in their learning community. We don't track kids in California and we don't have a wide variety of options for the non-college bound. When we compare ourselves to other countries we compare our masses to their educational elite. We then get all competitive and respond by piling on more content at a faster pace... and the poor kids suffer, they feel powerless. Frustration leads to escape. Escape options are often self destructive. I want to reach out and let the child know that the greatest power is the power of choice and that there are a plethora of avenues to where one can wield that power; that success is a roof over your head, food in your belly, and being surrounded by people to love and who love in return. We need to maximize on a child's strength while we work at developing their weaknesses. I try to incorporate these types of messages in my stories.

Teaching has also provided me with a wide cast of characters. I don't have to create a fictional personality I just have to pull out a kid from my mental file and I have someone that can make you laugh or cry. The variety of life styles and dramas that I have come in contact with are also plentiful; my "young adult" novels have become a means for me to time capsule the personalities of my children, their friends, and my students.

Tell us about the Nadia's Quest Trilogy.

When my oldest daughter was about nine, just after reading her the Lord of the Rings trilogy, she asked me to write her a story. When I asked her about what, she replied, "About gnomes, daddy, write me a story about gnomes because there are no good stories about gnomes." Being an insomniac I woke at about three in the morning and started researching about gnomes. I love the computer. The next day I started writing. I had absolutely no idea where I was going and I never did sketch out a plot. I put myself into the story and filled my senses with the scent, the feel, the taste, and the sounds of my yarn. I am one of those people who always have a dozen things racing through his mind at any given moment; through writing I found that I could escape that dizzying whirl. It was zen!

Naida's mother was quickly becoming one of the strongest healers of the Ancient Grove, her father the most apt at bringing in the injured woodland creatures of the Forgotten Basin. A queen from a distant land of humans sought their aid in stopping a deadly plague in the Golden Empire. They left—never to return, leaving their daughter, Naida, to be raised by her village of gnomes. Gnomes are usually born as twins, but Naida was born an only child... possessing twice the healing powers. The elders of the village want Naida to take her place among the women, but Naida has other ideas—she wants to Quest, a practice reserved for the men of the Ancient Grove. In the light of an autumn moon she sets off with her good friend, Randin, and her pet lynx, Mikki, on an exciting adventure into the world of trolls, sprites, and wood elves.Throughout the story I wanted Naida to be a strong female character, a role model for my own daughter, one who is confronted with tough choices and large hurdles that we so often find in our own lives. The trilogy has been celebrated by the World Wide Gnome Association (WWGA) which has made me an honorary member for writing the first trilogy centered on gnomes.  We have sold over 1000 copies in just my immediate community and I have sold more copies at signings at the Galleria, Rocklin, California, Barnes and Noble than any single author—without any publicity or real promotion. The first book, Gift of the Ancient Grove, clearly demonstrates my lack of writing mechanics, but each book gets better. The second, Beyond the Red Mountains, won an Allbooks Reviews Editor's Choice Award; the third, The Hidden Forest, was professionally edited and has just been released. PublishAmerica put the books into print without a single dime from me. They charge a higher price, get my books on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com, and print on demand; they live up to their contract. The rest is left up to me. I love the reaction from the kids, of all ages, who have read the stories. The most common response is that, "it is like watching a movie in your head!" That's cool! I have done free author events for any interested school in my community, and we have sold books through the school and turned over the profit to their school programs.

Through the Naida's Quest experience I have learned a tremendous amount of information about writing and the wonderful worldwide writing community. It has been a joy!

What did you learn writing Valley of the Raven?

I learned more history, about the Lakota Nation and the Buffalo Soldiers. I also realized that since history is fiction anyway I could use a fiction/fantasy book to, at the very least, promote historical awareness. Adults who have read the story make a point of telling me that I have brought up sensitive subjects in such a way that the reader doesn't realize it until they set the book down and start mulling over the story line. I guess you can say that I found a vehicle for an opinionated man like myself to make a point; to push a bit, to get people to stop and reflect upon themselves. The story has recently been awarded The LiFE Award, a recognition for literary works that showcase environmental issues and awareness.

How long did it take to write?

It took me about two years. I do a lot of mental writing and like I mentioned, I often plop down at the keyboard and let the story carry me. I'm not depending on my writing to make any money; it was never the intention to publish anything, so I do it for fun and whenever I can't sleep.

Does your having lived in California play any part in your writing?

I live on five acres of forested land and I went to Humboldt State University, a campus surrounded by redwood forest. As a kid I worked in the orchards, backpacked and skied the Sierras, and spear-fished the coastline. I use to drive to secluded areas with my buddies, sling on a day pack, and just wander. When my kids were little we would walk into the forest and just sit and watch the world around us. I marvel at life. People are always looking for miracles—dang, just open your eyes! California offers so much in natural beauty, changes in terrain, and the wildlife diversity is incredible. And then there is the cultural diversity, socioeconomic diversity, and political diversity that California is; how could this state not influence a writer?

Where did you get the idea for Valley of the Raven?

My daughter would come home and recreate, with voices and mannerisms, the events of the day and then provide an overview of the "BORING" subjects being taught. I couldn't help but create a story about her stories, with her teachers and classmates as character models—but remember! All characters are purely fictional!

When you create a character, how much of that character comes from your personal experience?

Completely fictional—of course—any similarities are completely coincidental! Is this a "trap" question? If there are any names in my stories that even look familiar, they are just that—"familiar." Not exactly the same. I can't create a character, really, there are so many to choose from that in the process of trying to create one, one walks into the room just screaming, "PUT ME INTO YOUR STORY!"

 

Reviews

The Secret Of The Lonely Grave
by Albert A. Bell Jr.
Ingalls Publishing Group
ISBN: 1932158790
Paperback, 159 pages, $8.95
Reviewed by Kevin R. Tipple

The story opens in a small town in Western Kentucky where Steve and Kendra can hardly wait for school to be out for the summer in another week. Every day as they walk up and down a hill on the way to the school bus, they pass an old cemetery. Kendra often stops at the grave marker for her sister Moniqa. They also stop and look at a grave for a child that is set far away from all the others. The two middle school aged children have nicknamed it "the lonely grave." A grave that someone has suddenly started placing fresh flowers on with no explanation.

As the school year ends, the kids realize that someone is placing the flowers on the grave in a regular cycle. They hatch a plan to find out who is doing it and why. Catching the person who is placing the flowers is relatively easy. The real question then becomes: why is the grave so far away from the others?

What follows is an entertaining story written primarily for young teens that deals tactfully with divorce and bullying as well as slavery, racism and the legacy of this nation's history. Steve, who is white, and Kendra, who is African-American, are forced to confront what their ancestors may have done long before they were born as well as their relationship with each other in today's America. Both are also forced to deal with bullying and why some children bully. The result is an entertaining read that delves deep into the past while teaching compassion and caring.

Priest
by Ken Bruen
St. Martin's Minotaur
ISBN: 0312341404
Hardcover, 290 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

This is a very Irish novel, and its protagonist is a very Irish character.  The theme, of course, is typical: Irish guilt. Jack Taylor, disgraced Guard, is in a mental hospital as a result of trauma after he neglected to carefully watch a three-year-old as she climbed out of a window to her death, not to mention alcoholism, which caused his dismissal from the Guards.  The other major theme is sexual abuse of boys by the Catholic clergy.

Jack's talents are put to use in several ways, against the backdrop of the changing economic, political and social conditions taking place in Ireland.  The first challenge is the identification and elimination as a threat of a stalker of his "friend" Ridge, a gay Guard.  Then there is a matter of finding a murderer who has beheaded a priest.

The tightly written novel deeply explores Jack's psyche in as few words as possible, while delving into the questions of personal relationships and social change.  A fascinating read.

Love Kills
by Edna Buchanan
Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743294768
Hardcover, 308 pages, $25
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Britt Montero, the Miami News police reporter protagonist in this popular series, is recovering from personal tragedies on a remote island, far enough away from her native Miami to perhaps allow her to recover from the sudden death (three books ago, in The Ice Maiden) of the homicide cop who was her fiancé. 

She is called back by the Miami P.D.'s Cold Case Squad after the discovery of a body unearthed by a bulldozer in the Florida Everglades, when the deceased turns out to be that of Spencer York, a professional kidnapper who was a hired gun for divorced fathers, dubbed the Custody Crusader.  Britt was the last one known to have seen him alive, nine years prior when she interviewed him after he was released on bail and then disappeared. 

A second thread evolves after Britt and her best friend, photographer Lottie Dane, find a camera on the beach which contains photos of a honeymoon couple, who have been reported lost at sea. The handsome and seemingly grief-stricken husband is rescued a few days later, his wife presumed dead.  But all is not as it would seem, as it appears that this is not the first time the man has been widowed immediately following marriage.  In fact, it is the sixth.  Is the serial bridegroom also a serial murderer?

Britt's conversational style at times comes across more like journalistic writing, and less than natural.  Nonetheless, Love Kills is an interesting and entertaining novel.  The juxtaposition of the two cases keeps the reader involved in both.

Bangkok Haunts
by John Burdett
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 307263186
Hardcover, 290 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Bangkok Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep returns in this eerie tale, the third volume in John Burdett's series, replete with the culture and superstitions of Thai society. It could even be viewed as a ghost story with a mystery setting.  It begins when he receives a CD of a snuff film. The victim is a former lover, with whom the irrepressible detective is still in love.

Haunted by what he viewed on the video, Sonchai pursues the case, defying his corrupt superior and the powerful men behind the pornography trade.  In his quest, we are witness to the inner workings of the Thai sex and drug trades, the lives and poverty of the people, Buddhism and spirituality, and the lawless border between Thailand and Cambodia. Ghosts, if you believe in them, play an important role in the book, as they do in the local culture. 

The intriguing story functions on multiple levels, and is a more than worthy successor to its two predecessors.  Highly recommended.

 

Flames In The Jungle
by John Cunyus
iUniverse
Paperback, 131 pages, $12.95
ISBN: 0595408001
Reviewed by Kevin R. Tipple

Misdirection has long been a theme of thrillers where cross and double cross are the rule and not the exception.  That is certainly true here in a novel that shows just how easy it is to cause economic havoc and military action.

Miguel Escalante, who has a family history of hating the guerrilla movement in Colombia, has become a dedicated intense soldier in the Colombian Army.  He sees his future with one goal in mind—"to utterly destroy Colombia's insurgent enemies." Ana Restrepo, the beautiful reporter for a weekly Colombian news magazine, has the same feelings.  With Miguel being lauded as a hero, she is assigned to interview him.  Soon, mutual attraction blossoms into romance at the same time forces are unleashed that will rock their world.

Far to the north, a plan is hatched to attack Love Field Airport located in Dallas. Hostages will be taken before the captain is forced to fly the 737 from the airport. With a flight plan to Colombia and a load of false clues for the government the hostages soon become a focal group for numerous groups seeking worldwide attention.

While the basic premise of the book is intriguing, the execution of the work is not as close to the grandeur of the idea as might be hoped.  At 131 pages, the book falls short of the space needed to tell a tale so grand in scope. 

Clearly the author has a grasp of the cultural climate in the area and has attempted to convey that to the readers. On that level he did succeed. His book depicts how too easy it is in the wake of a terrorist attack for this nation to go off in a search and destroy mission that could lead away from the proper targets. While the novel attempts to do things on a grander scale than it is able to do, it still provides an interesting read that keeps the reader's attention.

The Sleeping Doll
by Jeffery Deaver
Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743260947
Hardcover, 448 pages, $29.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Kathryn Dance was originally introduced by Jeffery Deaver in a secondary role as an interviewer and kinesic (body language) expert talent, which play a large role in this novel.  However, now she is the primary player, leading a manhunt for a Charles Manson-like character.  Following her interview with Daniel Pell, he escapes from prison and she is assigned the lead in the attempt to recapture him.

Having no experience in such an investigation doesn't stop Dance from plowing full speed ahead, making decisions, issuing orders, directing the effort.  Pell embarks on a series of murders, seeking to eliminate clues to his past and plans for the future.  Dance seeks information of his past from a variety of people and sources, including members of Pell's former "family," as well as the only survivor of a family he murdered 14 years before, then a three-year-old—now 17—who supposedly was asleep at the time of the crime.  Each person or source consulted contributes a clue, if only Dance can understand it, either intuitively or consciously.

This is a fascinating novel, full of surprises, especially as it approaches a conclusion.  The novel is up to the standard of a Jeffery Deaver effort and is rewarding reading. 

Highly recommended.

 

Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues
by Robert Fate
Capital Crime Press
ISBN: 00977627624
Paperback, 280 pages, $14.95
Reviewed by Kevin R. Tipple

In the eagerly awaited sequel to Baby Shark, Kristin "Baby Shark" Van Dijk returns to wage war against the bad guys.  After all, the pearly gates are open day and night and as readers know from the first book, Baby Shark is certainly highly motivated to kill men who abuse women. Them and anyone else that needs killing and a lot of folks need killing.

It is 1956, a couple of years after the last book concluded, and Baby Shark has her Private Investigator's license.  She has also teamed up with Otis Millet and is now a partner is his detective agency.  Their current case is to rescue—again—a certain young lady who is going to be incredibly wealthy once she turns eighteen.  Baby Shark does rescue Sherry in a violent shootout that, unfortunately for Baby Shark and Otis, leaves clues to their identities and a trail for a Beaumont mobster mad for his money.  It doesn't help that quite possibly Sherry is more trouble than she is worth.

Like the first in the series, this novel is another high powered ride.  It follows the same basic formula of a violent opening, a romance for Baby Shark beginning around the middle of the book, and another violent showdown at the end.  In between little character development happens as these characters were pretty much formed in the first novel but there are plenty of skirmishes with bad guys and bullets. With the barest of mentions of the proceeding novel, it could easily be read as a stand alone. However, those that have read the first book will get more out of it.

A couple of years have passed which just means that everyone is pretty much set in his or her ways regarding how life is and how things should be dealt with when they come up. If it's bad, moving or not, shoot and kill it. The result is an intense action novel that takes the reader on a heck of a thrill ride.

The Sudoku Murder
by Shelley Freydont
Carroll and Graf
ISBN: 0786719778
Hardcover, 352 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Katie McDonald, Ph.D., self-described geek and member of a highly classified government think tank, returns to her hometown of Granville, NH, at the request of her childhood mentor, whose puzzle museum, it would seem, is about to be auctioned to make way for an outlet mall. 

Nearly 20 years earlier, as a gawky 10-year-old child genius who had just lost her mother, Katie was taken under the wing of Prof. P.T. Avondale, and discovered that her love of puzzles was outdone only by his own.  His chief concern now, at the prospect of being forced out of his lifelong home, when the bank's foreclosure is imminent, is "What's going to happen to the puzzles?" Katie is determined not to let anyone take from her dearest friend the thing he loved most in the world. 

Days later, the professor is found murdered at his desk, and Katie is appointed the acting curator of the museum. In addition to the murder mystery is the problem of Harry Perkins, a 14-year-old runaway who was the most recent to be taken under the professor's wing, now missing, and both he and Kate seem at first to the prime suspects.  Katie's most challenging puzzle becomes the hunt for the murderer, the starting point for which she feels sure is a clue left in the unfinished Sudoku he had in front of him when he died.

This is an enjoyable read, although the middle section of the book could be seen as slow going.  The pace picks up as the end gets closer, and the world of puzzles—jigsaws, Rubik's Cubes, etc., and of course Sudoku, provides an interesting glimpse at the puzzle-obsessed. 

Shelley Freydont is the author of, among other things, several novels in the Lindy Haggerty Mystery series, and this newest work is the first in a new series to feature Katie McDonald.  Katie, master puzzle-solver, and Harry, "brilliant at ciphers and codes and cryptograms," make a good team.

 

Straits of Fortune
by Anthony Gagliano
William Morrow
ISBN: 0060878092
Hardcover, 240 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

This debut novel is an unusual story about Jack Vaughn, an ex-New York City Cop who quit after shooting and killing another officer, and has been running from the memory ever since.  He lands in Miami and becomes a personal trainer, to the rich and famous, among others.  One of his clients telephones him to come to his home where he is offered an unusual task.

At first, Vaughn turns down the job, to sink a boat with a dead man on it.  The victim, the client tells him, was shot by his daughter, Jack's former lover.   The client offers $100,000.  Against his better judgment, Jack later agrees. When he gets to the yacht, Jack finds a second body and starts thinking his former girlfriend didn't do the shooting, but perhaps the client's aide did.

After sinking the boat, Jack finds himself trapped by a speedboat, with someone firing shots at him as he paddles his kayak away.  It turns out the aide is doing the shooting, and the question is why the client now apparently wants Jack dead.  The rest of the tale is a series of adventures with Jack trying to stay alive and find out the truth.  It is well-told and a fine effort.

Whack-A-Mole
by Chris Grabenstein
Carroll & Graf
ISBN: 0786718184
Hardcover, 320 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

The good news is that rookie cop Danny Boyle and his mentor, role model and partner on the Sea Haven (N.J.) Police Dept., John Ceepak, the 6 foot 2 inch "Eagle-Scout-slash-Jarhead" Iraq War vet, are back in their third adventure in this charming series by Chris Grabenstein (the titles of all of which refer to boardwalk games or rides). There is no bad news.

Ceepak, if you haven't read the earlier entries in the series (and you should!), lives by a very strict, very rigid moral code:  He will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do.

An innocent enough discovery, a 1983 high school ring found in the sand of the Jersey shore beach, leads the duo in a wildly unexpected direction.  Their attempt to return the ring to its owner soon becomes an investigation into the disappearance of two young women well over 20 years ago.  When body parts start surfacing, there are indications that a serial killer long quiet has stirred back to life in Sea Haven.

In their personal lives, Danny is at loose ends—his girlfriend, Katie, has left for grad school in California.  Ceepak, on the other hand, has become romantically involved with Rita, who was introduced in the prior book.

The book presents a satisfying mystery leavened with the delightful characterizations of these protagonists.  As usual, Danny makes the perfect foil for Ceepak, or maybe it's the other way around, with Ceepak being Danny's straight man.  Either way, they are a perfect team, and the earnestness of the one played against the wisecracking irreverence of the other make for a delightful summer read, for obvious reasons perfect in all ways for the beach.

The Good Guy
by Dean Koontz
Bantam
ISBN: 055380481293
Hardcover, 386 pages, $27
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

While sitting in the comfort zone of his friend's bar in his usual inconspicuous spot after work one day (he is a bricklayer), Tim Carrier finds himself mistaken for someone else by the nervous man who sits next to him: mistaken for a man who has agreed to kill someone for hire, a woman whose photo and address the man leaves with him along with an envelope containing what he says is a "$10,000 down payment." 

Before Tim has a chance to disabuse him of his incorrect conclusion as to his identity, the man says "Ten Thousand now.  The rest when she's gone" and leaves the bar.  The strangeness of this encounter is outdone only by the appearance a few minutes later of the man who would appear to be the actual hired killer for whom Tim was mistaken, the latter thinking that Tim is the one who is bringing him the money.  Realizing that he must do something quickly, Tim tells him he's had a change of heart and will pay him $10,000 not to kill the woman.  This only gets weirder when, after following the hired killer out of the tavern, he discovers that the guy is a cop. 

Tim, never an introspective man, indeed a man who "had retreated to a life of repetitive work, innocent pleasures, and as little reflection as he could manage," realizes that he must put himself in the middle of these people's lives if he is to prevent the death of a presumably innocent woman.  The extent to which he will endanger himself and the inner resources he is able to call upon surprise even him.  And he finds himself playing an unexpected role, as suggested by the book's title.

The prolific author of numerous bestsellers, Dean Koontz has produced another rattling good yarn, full of suspense, humor, and memorable characterizations, and makes this unlikely scenario seem perfectly plausible.  I should add that the writing took a bit of getting used to, e.g., "Direct, intense, her green gaze seemed to fillet his serried thoughts and to fold them aside like layers of dissected tissue, yet somehow it was an inviting rather than a cold stare" and "As iridescent as a snake's skin, thin ravels of silvery clouds peeled off the face of a molting moon."  But the author won me over.  The creation of the hired killer, a thoroughly unpleasant man albeit strangely fastidious, one who locks the doors of  his car because "this was not an honest age," is a bit over the top as drawn by Mr. Koontz, as is his protagonist as well for that matter.  But that's part of the fun, and the author's many fans will be pleased, among which company, I think, I now count myself.  Recommended.

Trial & Error
by Paul Levine
Bantam
ISBN: 0440242765
Paperback, $6.99, 288 pages
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Trial and Error marks the return of Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, domestic partners as well as law partners at this point in their lives.  Steve's much-loved 12-year-old nephew Bobby is communing with his friends, two dolphins who reside at a local water park one balmy night in South Florida when ecoterrorists apparently decide to free the creatures. 

Steve is called to the scene and arrives in time to nab one of the men, while a second is shot by the park's owner.  In the aftermath, Victoria gets pressed into service to prosecute the case against the man Steve brought down, while unknown to her Steve at the same time is hired to represent the defendant, charged with felony murder since his illegal act resulted in a man's death.  The details of that death don't quite add up in Steve's eyes—the man had a shotgun trained on him and the police were on their way when he allegedly went for his gun.  The owner of the marine park then shot him, twice, at point-blank range.  The ensuing trial wreaks havoc on Steve and Victoria's lives.

As always with this series, the courtroom scenes are a delight to read, and to visualize.  The trial features a judge who has court papers delivered to him not by a clerk but by a model railroad car.  And the classic Steve-the-Shark Solomon antics are, of course, ever present.  Bobby, a boy who "seesawed between semi-autistic behavior and savant-like abilities of memory and language feats," plays a pivotal role.  The author's reliable humor is also present, making this fast-paced and well-plotted book another excellent entry in this series.

 

Gates of Hades
by Gregg Loomis
Dorchester Publishing
ISBN: 0843959842
Paperback, 368 pages, $7.99
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

The "good" guy is a Russian eco-fanatic who leads a gang of thugs against the forces that "harm' the earth.  The "bad" guy is a mercenary employed by a company used by the CIA to perform extralegal acts for which the government can claim deniability.  The only problem is that the eco-friendly group resorts to all kinds of evil to achieve their aims.  Jason Peters' assignment is to stop them from assassinating the President of the United States, while performing all sorts of murder and mayhem.

It seems that a cave in Italy, known as the Gate to Hell, contains a plant that produces an odorless hallucinatory gas that puts people to sleep enabling the assassins to slice the throats of their victims using a naturally produced product to justify their actions.  They call it the "Breath of the Earth."  Jason chases after the source, pursued by the police for his own violence, as well as by the Russian and his cohorts, without success until he discovers an early Roman diary describing someone's effort to visit Hades.  After checking a series of caves, Jason finds the right one.

Any further plot details would constitute a spoiler: Will the protagonist save the world from the eco-fanatics?  Will he find a "replacement" for his deceased wife, who died in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon?  Will he be able to avenge his wife's death (the motivation for his violent career)? Gates of Hades is a suspense-filled novel which, of course, resolves all these issues.

 

Mood Swing: The Bipolar Murders
by Julie Lomoe
Virtualbookworm.com Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1589398856
Paperback, 318 pages, $14.95
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Erika Norgren, the protagonist of this first novel by Julie Lomoe, herself a mental health professional, is a former social worker now Director of the WellSpring Club, a social club which is a safe haven for the mentally ill on Manhattan's lower east side.

She has a special empathy for the club's "members" since she has been diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder.  When she discovers the dead body of one of the club's members, a young man similarly afflicted, on the ground in the courtyard below her fourth floor window, she feels compelled to determine whether or not he committed suicide, a common-enough risk for those for whom mood swings are the predominant symptoms.  And if murder and not suicide, could the assailant have been a fellow club member?  The question becomes more urgent when another club member dies, of a drug overdose.

Julie Lomoe conjures up this world in a way that allows the reader to share her concern for the effect these events will have on those who, like Erika, can find their fragile mental state threatened.  Their world and its denizens are evoked in a very poignant manner, and the quality of the writing only adds to the enjoyment of this well-plotted novel.  It opens a window into the lives of those with mental illness in such a way that the reader sees, at least to some extent, their demons and understand the difficulty of their lives, at the same time presenting a very satisfying mystery.

 

Hog Wild
by Cathy Pickens
St. Martin's Minotaur
ISBN: 0312354401
Hardcover, 272 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Kerry Hammond

Avery Andrews was once a high-powered, big city attorney, until circumstances bring her back to her small home town of Dacus, South Carolina.  Comforted by the return to her roots, and the thought of being close to her sometimes eccentric extended family once again, she decides to stay and start her own law firm.  Just as she is moving into her new office space, she lands a client, Maggie Avinger.  Maggie's husband has recently died and his executor has informed her that her husband commissioned a stone statue before his death.  The statue is to mark his grave and it bears an inscription telling all who will read that Maggie poisoned him.  Unable to turn away an obviously troubled woman, and unable to turn down a paying client, Avery takes the case.

While pondering Maggie's predicament, Avery agrees to help out on a plant rescue mission in Dacus.  She joins some of the townspeople who are trying to uproot precious plants before a developer destroys the land where they reside.  Everything is going well until someone finds a dead body in a hole not far from the plant rescue sight.  As if this isn't enough excitement, some of the townspeople, including Avery, start receiving anonymous letters chastising them for their immoral behavior.  Avery finds herself in the thick of things; trying to help Maggie figure a way out of her trouble and attempting to help the police figure out who is writing the poisoned pen letters.

Hog Wild is Pickens' third Avery Andrews mystery and it does not disappoint.  It is well written, engaging and entertaining.  Avery is a wonderful, well-rounded character and it's fun to see the events unfold through her eyes.  Pickens is even able to portray Dacus, South Carolina as a quirky character in itself.  The book was just as enjoyable as the first two and I would highly recommend it.  It's a page-turner with some twists and turns to keep you going to the end.

Hooked
by Matt Richtel
12 Books
ISBN: 0446580083
Hardcover, 289 pages, $24.99
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

This novel is written with an intensity and plotting that is unexpected in a debut.  It is the story of Nathanial Idle, a graduate of medical school, with an MD degree, who decides to forgo residency to become a medical journalist.  It begins with a bang—literally.  Matt is sitting reading in an internet café when he is handed a note warning him to leave immediately because there is danger.

Matt only catches a glimpse of the blonde who handed him the note, but he thinks she looks like a girlfriend who drowned some years before.  He runs out of the café and narrowly escapes death when there is an explosion.  From that point there are flashes of the past love affair with his girlfriend, a venture capitalist in the technology sector, and strange goings-on, including more explosions, fires and deaths.

The mixture of medical and technological factors heightens the mystery.  The writing is fluid, the story intriguing.  A very good read.

 

Shell Game
by Sarah R. Shaber
St. Martin's Minotaur
ISBN: 0312356021
Hardcover, 210 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Kerry Hammond

Simon Shaw, professor and forensic historian, has helped the police solve cases on numerous occasions.  What he never expected was to have to help them solve the murder of his best friend and colleague, David Morgan.  Morgan was found dead in his own home, hit over the head with a blunt instrument.  The police find Morgan's two dogs drugged in the backyard and initially believe the killing related to a robbery, but Simon doesn't agree.  When the police turn their attentions to Morgan's sister, and only heir to his life insurance policy, Simon feels that he needs to step in to help solve the murder.

Simon's investigations lead him to a recent find at an archeological dig.  Human remains were discovered and radiocarbon dating puts their age near the year 12,000 BC.  There is a battle going on between the Lumbee Indian Nation, who claim the bones belong to a native American and should be reburied, and archeologists, who feel the bones need to be studied further.  Simon digs deep into the fued to find the motive behind his friend's murder and soon his own life is in danger.

Shell Game is the newest in the Professor Simon Shaw series.  The story is a fast read with a few twists and turns along the way.  It reads as a very light cozy, with likeable characters and a little academia thrown in for good measure.

Stalin's Ghost
by Martin Cruz Smith
Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743276726
Hardcover, 332 pages, $26.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Arkady Renko, senior Moscow investigator, who first made an appearance in Gorky Park, is confronted by a multitude of sub-plots in this novel.  First, there is a flash of Stalin's supposed ghost in a Moscow subway station that served as his war room during World War II.  Then, Renko observes two detectives, reputed war heroes while they served in Chechnya, who he suspects of murders.  Moreover, Renko discovers evidence belying their Chechnya heroism.  Renko's girlfriend leaves him for one of the detectives, who is campaigning for a Senate seat from a town a couple of hundred miles from Moscow.  And finally, there is the problem of his sometime ward, a young chess prodigy, who comes and goes like the enigma he is.

Complicated? After all, this is a Russian novel. It is full of present-day corruption, mafia-run casinos—and snow.  And, of course, the past, especially Arkady's father, the WWII general, one of Stalin's favorites.  It all comes to an overwhelming conclusion at Tver, the site of a last-ditch stand by the Russians against the invading Nazis. 

An exciting read, and recommended.

 

The Harrowing
by Alexandra Sokoloff
St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312357486
Hardcover, 239 pages, $21.95
Reviewed by Kerry Hammond

It's Thanksgiving break and five students at Baird College have nowhere to go for the holiday, at least nowhere they want to go.  Since their home situations aren't the best, they decide to stay at school over the break. The power goes out and they decide to have some fun with an Ouija board they find in the student lounge.  What starts out as a joke turns into a nightmare for each of them—when they summon a force that they don't understand and cannot control.

Although from very different backgrounds, the characters form a bond between them as they investigate the strange occurrences. Sokoloff is able to create a wonderful set of characters.  She gives them each secrets and backgrounds that come out as the story progresses, building the suspense level.  The haunting background of Baird college and its century old dormitory create a chilling atmosphere. The suspense builds slowly so that you can't put the book down.

This was a great ghost story, a page turner that begs to be read in one sitting. Highly recommended!

 

Beautiful Lies
by Lisa Unger
Three Rivers Press
ISBN: 0307336824
Paperback, 372 pages, $13.95
Reviewed by Terri M. Tumlin

Beautiful Lies is a beautiful read.  The story begins after a prologue and intriguing preview of later action, with Ridley Jones in the ordinary actions of an ordinary day for a free lance article writer in New York.  Small actions, such as telling a small lie to break a dentist appointment and stopping to speak to a neighbor, bring her out into the street just in time to save the life of a toddler in traffic and become the heroine of the moment in the Big Apple.  As in most such instances, Ridley's fame is fleeting.  A week later the media has forgotten her, but that moment was enough to set in motion a roller coaster ride that changes her entire life. 

A man sends her a letter claiming to be her father.  Her parents wonder why she even paid enough attention to such an obvious hoax to bring it to their attention.  So why can't she let it go?  And so begins a tale where truth and lies are so intertwined that sorting it out leads the reader on a fascinating chase.

The supporting cast of the novel including Ridley's family, her ex-fiancé, Zack, Uncle Max, and her upstairs neighbor, whose name might be Jake, are all well delineated characters with a variety of characteristics and desires that make them stand out from one another. The author's familiarity with and love for New York City make the locale almost another character in the tale.

Beautiful Lies is written in the first person, interspersed occasionally with direct second person comments by Ridley to the reader.  The technique works well to bring the reader directly into the action in a way unusual in mystery fiction. Also enjoyable is the use of language in the book.  It never intrudes on the story, but every once in a while there is a turn of phrase that pleases for its own sake. 

An interesting epilog to the book is an interview of the protagonist by the author, getting Ridley's take on the action of the novel.  It is an unusual but pleasing addition to the plot.  This is definitely a book worth reading.