June 2005

Welcome back to Mystery Morgue! June is busting out all... well, you know, but down here, we're just aching for a good homicide, so you'll find 13 mystery book reviews this month, including titles from Julia Spencer-Fleming and Roberta Islieb. Wade in and check out a few!

Also, we have a wonderful interview with the wonderful Harley Jane Kozak, recent Agatha winner and author of the latest Wollie Shelley mystery, Dating Is Murder. Kozak, an accomplished actress, talks about the difference between telling a story on the screen and on the page, and confesses to wishing she could write a little bit more like Stephen King.

"Murder By Committee," our tag-team mystery novel, goes all Mission: Impossible this month as David Skibbins, author of Eight of Swords, clears up a few questions and completely confuses just as many more. It's Spring into Summer at the Morgue! Check out the features, and cool off for a while!

In this month's issue:

Harley Jane Kozak—The Mystery Morgue Interview

Reviews:
In Like Flynn by Rhys Bowen
Wiped Out by Barbara Colley
The James Deans by Reed Farrel Coleman
The Black Angel by John Connolly
Perfect Sax by Jerrilyn Farmer
Hard, Hard City by Jim Fusilli
Hunter's Dance by Kathleen Hills
Still River... by Harry Hunsicker
Fairway To Heaven by Roberta Isleib
Sit, Stay, Slay by Linda O. Johnston
At Risk by Stella Rimington
A Landlord's Tale by Gammy Singer
To Darkness And To Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Ongoing Story:
"Murder by Committee," Chapter 14, by David Skibbins

Link to Archives

 

Harley Jane Kozak—The Mystery Morgue Interview

If you have ever rented the films Parenthood, The Favor or Arachnophobia, then Harley Jane Kozak has been in your home. Well, sort of. A successful film and television actress, Kozak began a series of mystery novels in 2004 with Dating Dead Men, which won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. This year, the sequel (in true Hollywood fashion), Dating Is Murder, follows the heroine Wollstonecraft "Wollie" Shelley into a new adventure, a new venture (working on a reality television show called "Biological Clock") and a new dating relationship, with a man who might be on either side of the law. In this interview, she discusses the similarities between acting and writing, how personal experience doesn't always become fiction and why she'd rather scare the pants off you...

You were well-known as an actor before you were published. Have you been writing for a long time?

Harley Jane Kozak: All my life, but it never occurred to me that this is what I really truly wanted to do until I was in my late 30's. I'm a little slow.

What got you started on a mystery?

HJK: It was a piece of literary fiction that morphed into a mystery when one of the subplots took over and a corpse turned up in the road.

Did you conceive of Dating Dead Men as the first in a series?

HJK: No, I was pretty clear that it was a stand-alone. It was my editor who conceived it differently, when she asked for a sequel. Which took a little bit of doing (or undoing) on my part, but which I did happily.

How did Wollie Shelley evolve? Where in your mind did she come from?

HJK: She was initially inspired by my best friend from 4th grade in Lincoln, Nebraska, Sharon Samek. I lost track of Sharon by high school, but decades later she wrote to tell me she'd achieved her lifelong dream: opening a Sharon's Hallmark Shop. I was in Hollywood, surrounded by people pursuing their silver screen dreams, and I was really struck by the specificity and singularity of Sharon's dream, and thought, what if Sharon lived in LA instead of Lincoln, transplanted here in all her sweetness and innocence, living in a seedy section of Hollywood, running that card shop? And it went on from there... and I threw in my own life, which consisted of blind-dating everyone and his dog, and then that corpse turned up in the road...

Do you see similarities between her personality and your own? Where are the differences?

HJK: Wollie is more of a Goody Two Shoes than I am (but not by much) and a more indoor person. I'm more athletic. We are both romantics. I've lived a more adventurous life, but Wollie is now making up for lost time, while I'm settling into carpools and Costco. She's seen more dead bodies and had her life threatened more, but I'm the one doing the martial arts and shooting the guns. And my mother was much more... motherly. Wollie has absolutely no aspirations to be an actress, which makes her a rare bird in Hollywood, a woman who has no 8x10 headshot. I, of course, have headshots. We both have the same driving instincts, which is to say, we'd rather be walking.

In Dating Is Murder, Wollie is involved in a reality TV show, and your experience on film shoots is evident. Do you feel that's a strength you can exploit, given the series is set in the L.A. area?

HJK: Yes. LA is really an industry town and I've spent much of my adult life in that industry. I will probably exploit that more, as it's an area I not only know, but really love and have given a lot of thought to. I have zero experience in law enforcement and crime-fighting, so most of my research is spent on getting that right.

Do you intend to write novels outside the series, as well?

HJK: Yes, but they're all in the germination stage.

Wollie's love life is, let's say, complex. Do you think she'll have a new boyfriend in every book, or do you intend to bring characters from the series back again?

HJK: She can't possibly keep dating like this forever. It's too exhausting. And she's throws her whole heart into it. She's not a female James Bond, capable of casual affairs. She's just going to have to live happily ever after eventually.

How important is a sense of humor to writing your books? Can murder be funny?

HJK: I don't think writers necessarily set out to write funny books; I think it's just part of their voice, inseparable from their philosophical outlook. Making people laugh has often been a side-effect of my writing, but not everyone finds me funny, and I'd like to think that for those who don't, my books have other attributes, something else that makes them worthwhile. But who knows? What I'd really like to do is scare people the way that Stephen King, for instance, can scare me. But could I do that without scaring myself? Because I'm not particularly brave. Anyhow, I'm not sure scary can be learned, but I'd like to find out. I'd also like to move people to tears, and change their lives, but for the moment, I'll settle for provoking a few laughs. As for murder, it's not funny at all, but the circumstances surrounding it can be. Well, unless you're the victim.

The reaction to your first two novels has been very enthusiastic--in fact, you won an Agatha award for Best First Novel for Dating Dead Men. When you're writing, are you thinking about the reaction the story is likely to get?

HJK: Yes and no. Obviously, you're dying to write a good book and one way you know it's good is if people other than you and your dog respond positively to it. On the other hand, when I'm writing, I'm the person I have please, and a lot of the time I'm just not a pleasant person to work for. It's not so much wondering what "they" will think of it, as praying that it's not god-awful.

How many people think Wollie was named after the author of Frankenstein?

HJK: Anyone who knows who Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is, I expect!

How does your family react to your depiction of Wollie's? Are they still talking to you?

HJK: Oh, yes. My family was once described (by a first cousin) as possessed of "powerful eccentricities"—I think it would take more than my characters to shock or offend any of us. Plus, there are hundreds of us. Dozens of them could stop talking to me, and it would take me years to realize it.

You're married, with children, and Wollie is a single woman. Do you worry about having enough experience to draw from in future books?

HJK: God, no. I didn't meet my husband until I was 38. I have a long and checkered past to draw on, and when my memories fade, my imagination will just have to kick in.

Actors and authors tell stories. How do you feel that your background as an actor has helped you become the writer you are today?

HJK: What you just said: it's the storytelling compulsion. I've always lived in my head, with a running narration. A cousin described me as always being mentally across the street and down the block. Even when I was waiting tables or working retail, there was always someone inside taking notes, storing away material, and I suspect all actors and writers do this.

Have you taken any writing courses or seminars?

HJK: Dozens. I'm the eternal student. I'm always registering for classes. It's almost a disease. I read course catalogues for pleasure. Always on the lookout of that "how to write scary" class...

Any desire to write a screenplay based on your novels?

HJK: Not yet. Too many books in my head at the moment. Maybe someday, but maybe not.

In your mind, who plays Wollie in the movie?

HJK: Whatever actress can get the movie made. That's the flippant answer. The other answer is, I really respect actors and what they bring to the party, and I love to be surprised. Wollie doesn't have to be six feet tall, or blonde, or mid-30's. That's all hair, makeup and wardrobe, as far as I'm concerned. Wollie's a quality, and that's what matters, and the best actress for the part could easily be someone I've never met.

 

Reviews

In Like Flynn: A Molly Murphy Mystery
by Rhys Bowen
St. Martin's Minotaur
Hardcover, 320 pages, $23.95
ISBN: 031232815X
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

The year is 1902, and Molly Murphy has been in the United States for a year, having escaped Ireland after what she believed was the murder of an attempted rapist. She is making her fourth appearance in this charming series, living on the lower East Side of New York and trying to establish herself as a private investigator after the demise of her mentor. The teeming immigrant section of the city is overrun with a typhoid epidemic and Molly gets herself into a real fix with a dangerous mob when she confronts one of its members stealing a lady's pocketbook while shopping in a neighborhood grocery.

Her sometime beau (although presently engaged to someone else), police Captain Daniel Sullivan, gives Molly an undercover assignment in the Hudson Valley at the home of a U.S. Senator, seeking to protect her from both the typhoid epidemic and retribution by the mob. He asks her to uncover what he believes to be a fraud by two sisters claiming to be psychics. The Senator's wife has asked the sisters to conduct a séance so she can contact her son who was kidnapped five years previously.

Of course, nothing is simple when it comes to Molly Murphy. She investigates the purported fraud, becomes involved in looking into the kidnapping, witnesses two murders in the couple of weeks she's the Senator's guest and encounters her would-be rapist visiting at a neighboring estate. That's as far as we can go with plot without spoilers, so we'll just say that the book is thoroughly enjoyable, with lots of nice touches. It is fast-paced and well worth the read.

 

Wiped Out
by Barbara Colley
Kensington
Hardcover, 272 pages, $22
ISBN: 075820762X
Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle

Charlotte LaRue owns Maid for a Day in New Orleans. She also works as a maid for a few clients. Her son is always trying to get her to retire. She's just not ready. She prefers to work to keep busy and support herself. She's taken on a new client, Mimi Adams, and Charlotte has no idea what she's gotten herself into.

She soon learns that not only is Mimi getting even with her neighbor Sally for her noisy pool parties and poisoning Mimi's trees, but also, a friend has accused Mimi of having an affair with her husband, so to retaliate, she runs for president of the local horticulture group against Mimi. Mimi wins by secret ballot, but Charlotte knows that the vote was rigged by Mimi's best friend June. When Mimi dies of poisoning, there is an abundance of suspects.

Charlotte continues to clean for Mimi's family, but soon wonders if that arrangement can continue. She begins to search for proof of the killer's identity. But can she do so without being caught and without getting killed herself?

I always love books in this series. I would really like to have Charlotte come clean for me. She is a hoot. I like the New Orleans setting as well. This is a place I've always wanted to visit. When I finish reading a book in this series, I feel as if I've visited it. This is a great Southern cozy. It's a fast, enjoyable read. I hated for it to end. I highly recommend this book.

 

The James Deans
by Reed Farrell Coleman
Plume
Hardcover, 288 pages, $12
ISBN: 0452286506
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Even if the barbs back and forth are not politically correct, they are amusing and accurate, giving Moe Prager and his milieu an authentic ethnic flavor. Moe, an ex-New York cop who aspired to be a detective before injury caused him to retire from the force, now is a partner with his brother as a successful wine merchant and occasional private investigator.

Moe is approached to solve the two-year-old disappearance of a politician's intern, the daughter of a cop. Her disappearance is hanging over the head of a state senator, hindering his advancement. Moe, after solving the mystery, becomes dissatisfied with his finding. It would be a bit much to reveal the twists and turns of the plot, but to say the least, they are inventive.

Written smoothly, with a deft touch, Moe is a delightful character. The background—Brooklyn, Manhattan and Miami—are authentic. And, on the whole, the novel—third in the series—is rewarding.

Recommended.

 

The Black Angel
by John Connolly
Atria Books
Hardcover, 320 pages, $25
ISBN: 0743487869
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Charlie Parker's sense of "duty and responsibility," a concept which echoes throughout John Connolly's newest entry in the series, to his long-time friend and associate, Louis, causes Charlie to accompany Louis to New York to try to track down a cousin to whom Louis, in turn, feels indebted. Louis has tried to help his cousin Alice over the years because of and despite her slide into prostitution and drug addiction, now she has disappeared. Charlie, Louis and Angel, Louis' life partner, go to New York City's Hunts Point area in the Bronx, fearing the worst.

Charlie does this despite the potential cost to him, as his lover fears what his search will bring down upon them. And rightfully so, as her life and that of their infant daughter are endangered in the course of his search. Readers of this series will remember that Charlie's wife and child were murdered in a particularly gruesome manner in an earlier book. The ones who have caused him so much torment and pain in the past, or their progeny, have found him again.

Those who have taken Alice are searching for a piece of a puzzle, a fragment of a vellum map that is supposed to contain clues to the location of the statue of the Black Angel. The latter, reputed to have been created in 1421, is believed to be the original fallen angel who, with 200 of his followers, was forced to leave heaven. Some descended and founded hell, but others remained on earth. There are those who believe that many of these angels have now taken up residence in the bodies of men. They are called, appropriately enough, the Believers, and they will do whatever is necessary to find the one they seek.

This prodigiously researched novel is very dark indeed, albeit leavened regularly with unexpected touches of humor. The author goes back to the 15th century, as well as a period just at the end of WWII, to give us the background of the Black Angel and those who follow him.

I must admit to never caring much for books with a heavy woo-woo quotient, although John Connolly was always an exception to that admitted prejudice. The Black Angel came very close to testing that, I must admit, but the writing is so lyrical and the story so intriguing that I came away feeling as I always have after finishing a book by this wonderful author: marveling at his ability to enthrall the reader.

Recommended.

 

Perfect Sax
by Jerrilyn Farmer
William Morrow
Hardcover, 289 pages, $22.95
ISBN: 0380978903
Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle

Madeline Bean owns and runs Mad Bean Catering. They are catering an event to raise funds for the Woodburn School of Music. A rare saxophone is auctioned off for $100,000. Unfortunately when the couple prepares to leave with their new saxophone, it is discovered the case is empty.

Before coming to the Ball, Madeline found trash strewn around her yard. It turns out to be the papers belong to a nearby neighbor. When she sees this neighbor at the Ball, she tries to set up a time to return the papers to him. He misunderstands and thinks she's trying to blackmail them.

Can this night get any stranger? Oh, yes.

When Madeline finally gets home, she finds a woman has been murdered in her bed. The police thought the corpse was Madeline herself. When her friends hear the report, they think it's her.

Then there is another murder and Madeline decides she'd better look into things before she becomes the next victim.

This is a fabulous series. I always enjoy reading about Madeline Bean's adventures. It is always a fast-paced, easy cozy to read. I can't wait for the next one!

The characters are wonderful. I always enjoy mysteries with food in them. And the writing is superb. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

 

Hard, Hard City
by Jim Fusilli
Putnam
Hardcover, 288 pages, $24.95
ISBN: 0399152172
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

If you enjoy noir novels, you will like this book. I should state that this genre generally does not appeal to me. So, with that caveat...

The Hard, Hard City is, of course, New York, the setting of the author's previous novels. He captures the sights and sounds of Gotham, running through the streets and sounds with authenticity. Terry Orr is a sometime PI, tough (he lands in the hospital twice in 24 hours, has a dislocated finger and gets 17 stitches and still goes running miles along the West Side), dogged and revengeful.

The plot is somewhat simple and straightforward: Terry is asked by his daughter's friend to find a missing teenage boy, and along the way we have violence, shootings, beatings and also learn how mixed up Terry is despite how loving his daughter and girlfriend are toward him.

In trying to find the boy, Terry uncovers other complications, some of which are resolved, others perhaps not. Well-written, the novel is still somewhat confusing. But, as noted, if you enjoy noir novels, you will enjoy this one.

 

Hunter's Dance
by Kathleen Hills
Poisoned Pen Press
Hardcover, 301 pages, $24.95
ISBN: 159058094X
Reviewed by Janet Koch

After taking military retirement in 1949, John McIntire returns to his boyhood home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A year later he finds himself elected as town constable, a precarious position indeed when the scion of a wealthy summer family is killed.

Mia Thorsen, housewife and professional woodworker, is burdened with a hard-drinking husband and memories of youthful love for John McIntire. When a young man is murdered, Mia makes the uncomfortable discovery that the effects reach out tentacle-like into not only the houses of her neighbors, but also her own.

With his life cut short at eighteen, Bambi Morlen wasn't given time to grow out of his arrogance. But no matter how much a jerk the kid was, nobody, McIntire figures, deserves his fate—bound, gagged, and scalped.

As McIntire follows the trail of a murder, the tales of both McIntire and Mia are told, bit by bit, just as you would gradually learn about a new friend. Woven between the lines of their lives are the reasons for Bambi's death—reasons rooted deep in human despair.

The U.P., even now, is a wild place sparsely populated by people accustomed to doing for themselves. With revealing details, Kathleen Hills illuminates not just the time, the land, and the people, but also the story of one man's search for truth. Pay close attention to Hunter's Dance's intricate plot, for it's a book worth savoring.

 

Still River: A Lee Henry Oswald Mystery
by Harry Hunsicker
Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover, 277 pages, $23.95 U.S.
ISBN: 0312337876
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

With a name like Lee Henry Oswald, where else could this PI ply his trade but Dallas? Known as Hank, he is a hard-boiled character in the tradition of this type of mystery novel, roughly dishing it out and taking it (he's shot at least twice in two days, taken to the hospital each time only to depart without being discharged, going without sleep, etc., etc.).

There is plenty of murder and mayhem—and, surprisingly, virtually no sex—in this book, which begins with a high school classmate asking Oswald to find her missing brother. When the brother turns up dead, an apparent suicide, both the sister and Oswald believe it was a case of murder. And thus begins the tale.

In seeking to uncover the murderer, Oswald finds himself in the middle of shady real estate dealings, drug operations and other assorted nefarious activities. The descriptive material reads like a guided tour of Dallas, with every neighborhood, highway, bar and joint mentioned along the way.

For a first effort, Still River is well-constructed, with the writing well in keeping with the type of participants and story line. As the sub-title suggests, a follow-up can be expected. If you read this one, it will encourage you to get the next as well.

 

Fairway to Heaven
By Roberta Isleib
Berkley Prime Crime
Paperback, 258 pages, $6.50
ISBN: 0425201554
Reviewed by Angela McQuay

Golf lovers and mystery readers alike will delight in Roberta Isleib's mystery series featuring Cassie Burdette. Cassie, a rookie player on the LPGA tour, is also an amateur sleuth and always seems to get involved in sticky situations. In Fairway to Heaven, Cassie is in Pinehurst, North Carolina to act as maid of honor in her friend Jeanine's wedding and to also play in a tournament with her estranged father and boyfriend Mike. Cassie is already stressed out because her relationships with her father and with Mike are strained and playing as a team does not seem to be helping their situation. Things get worse, though, when someone is murdered at the bride-to-be's home and the woman's father disappears, all in the same evening.

Jeanine asks Cassie to look into her father's disappearance, even though the official story is that he's "away on business." As Cassie questions the myriad of characters involved in the wedding, she finds her relationships with both her father and Mike downsliding even further. Can Cassie find Jeanine's father before his daughter's wedding day? And will the relationships most important to her survive the tournament?

Cassie Burdette is the perfect character for a mystery series. She's spunky, funny and easy to relate to. Both men and women readers will find it entertaining to follow her adventures in this latest novel. Those who enjoy golf will find another level of enjoyment to this book, but it's not a prerequisite. Even those not interested in the sport will find it makes a good backdrop for the mystery. With plenty of red herrings and plot twists, Fairway to Heaven is an interesting and entertaining book that adds to Ms. Isleib's reputation as a fine mystery novelist.

 

Sit, Stay, Slay
by Linda O. Johnston
Berkley
Paperback, 295 pages, $5.99
ISBN: 0425200000
Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle

This is the first book in a new series. Kendra Ballantyne cannot practice law: She was accused of providing a strategy memo to opposing counsel's client. The client then killed the CEO of the corporation she was suing. Kendra insists that she in innocent, but she has been forced to resign from her law firm and her law license was suspended for three months. She has had to file for bankruptcy.

Her friend Darryl Nestler who runs Doggy Indulgence Day Resort talks her into dog sitting for Jeff Hubbard's Akita. She accepts because she is allowed to live in his house while he's gone. That way she won't have to see her mansion being lived in by others. Slowly she accepts additional pet sitting jobs, not always of dogs. She is able to juggle the many schedules and still have time with her dogs as well. Doesn't hurt that Jeff is sexy and easy on the eyes when he is in town. All is going well until she finds one of her clients murdered in his home when she arrives to take care of his dog.

Unfortunately the detective on the case believes Kendra is guilty of the murder. Before she can prove that she didn't do that, she walks in on another dead client, also murdered. Jeff, a private detective and security expert, gives her advice on proving her innocence. When he is in town, he tries to help her. Kendra is determined to find the killer, but will she survive?

This is a fun, quick cozy to read. Kendra is a great character. She takes on pet sitting with gusto and yet some fear. She is open to new experiences. Once she starts investigating, she finds she has a knack for it, along with a little help from Jeff.

I can't wait for the next book. I highly recommend this book.

 

At Risk
by Stella Rimington
Alfred A. Knopf
Hardcover, 366 pages, $24.95
IBSN: 1400043700
Reviewed by Terri M. Tumlin

Liz Carlye is a member of MI5, working as, among other things, an agent runner who controls counter terrorist undercover agents in Britain. She is also part of the Joint Counter Terrorist group, composed of MI5, MI6, various police departments and, as needed, the Home Office and Foreign Office.

Liz's life away from the job is complicated enough with a mother who has bought a house and wants her daughter to come home and live with her, and Liz's married lover, Mark, who wants to confess all to his wife, get a divorce and make is relationship with Liz public. Now there is word that an Islamic terrorist is headed for Britain to do unspecified mayhem and damage. Not only is he coming, but it looks like he might be an invisible, an agent that can pass as a British citizen and travel freely without arousing suspicion. Liz must discover who the terrorist is and prevent him from completing his mission.

No sooner does the investigation into the possibilities begin than there is a murder of a fisherman and sometime smuggler. The shell casing found at the scene is that of an armor piercing bullet, certainly not the kind of thing small time criminals would carry.

The chase is on to unmask the killer, who is probably the terrorist, before he can mount whatever attack he is planning against the people of Britain. The actual chase is far more mental than physical. A number of people are brought into play, various types of information examined and Liz's strong skills and intuition work to bring the various pieces together before it is too late.

Rimington's extensive background with MI5 in counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism constantly comes through in the tightly drawn sense of reality throughout the book. She also presents, without forcing the issue, the problems experienced by a smart and attractive woman in a field that is still essentially a male preserve.

At Risk is a thriller because of the subject matter, the impending catastrophe, and the plans of the terrorists. But it is a thriller on the British model without the high speed car chases and constant gun battles found in so many American novels of this nature. It is nonetheless a fascinating story that makes the reader feel she is looking behind the scenes of the terrorist-antiterrorist world in the way that the best of the Cold War spy novels presented that era.

At Risk is definitely a recommended read.

 

A Landlord's Tale
By Gammy L. Singer
Kensington
Paperback, 232 pages, $15
ISBN: 0758208936
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Washington, D.C. has its George Pelecanos, and apparently Gammy L. Singer has aspired to be the laureate of Harlem. This novel is awash with the sights and sounds of 128th Street during the nation's bicentennial. [The only fault found with its authenticity were two references to 6th Avenue in Harlem. Unfortunately, this major thoroughfare, renamed Avenue of the Americas, ends at Central Park South, some two-and-a-half miles south of the southern boundary of Harlem.] Be that as it may, the tale is swift and engrossing, the characters real and the writing fluid.

Just as he has retired from running a numbers book, a major activity in Harlem but since taken over by the State in the form of the lottery, Amos Brown inherits two brownstones on 128th Street. The houses were owned by his just-deceased father, and are occupied by an assortment of characters. Down on his luck, with a gambling fever that has left him in debt to a Harlem gangster, Amos is hard-pressed to keep up with repairs, especially since his tenants have not been paying rent.

Drugs are the scourge of Harlem, and the gangster to whom Amos owes money is the kingpin. Amos recognizes how drugs are destroying the fabric of Harlem society and attempts to make his block drug-free. At the same time, he tries to uncover his past: who his father was, and who murdered his mother, whose skeleton is found cemented up in the basement of one of his brownstones.

It will be interesting to see whether the author follows up with another Harlem-based novel. Based on this reading, we would hope so.

Recommended.

 

To Darkness and to Death
by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press
Hardcover, 320 pages, $23.95
ISBN: 0312334850
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

The saga of Millers Kill, a small upstate New York town, Clare Ferguson, the Episcopalian minister, and Russ Van Alstyne, the chief of police, continues in this fourth novel in the series. For a small hamlet, said to be the only dry burg in the Empire State, an awful lot of excitement occurs. In this installment, there is murder, near-fatal assault, kidnapping, deadly fires—and the continued unconsummated love between the two protagonists.

A very large tract of wooded land is to be sold to a Malaysian company, the result of which is to cut off any logging, putting one company and its employees out of business. Also, the pulp and paper mill will lose a cheap source of wood, forcing its owner to sell out. From these beginnings arises the plot, which we don't think should be detailed. The story twists and turns to a fiery climax.

This novel is equal to or even better than its enjoyable predecessors, which won multiple awards. This one will undoubtedly garner kudos as well.

Recommended.

 

Murder By Committee

Read past installments and find out more about Murder By Committee

David Skibbins is the author of Eight of Swords, the winning novel in St. Martin's 2004 Best Traditional Mystery contest. The sequel, High Priestess, will be available January of 2006. David admits, "Sure I read Agatha and Dorothy, and John. But I watched a lot of TV, too. And Mission: Impossible was, hands down, my favorite show. I couldn't resist!"

CHAPTER 14
By David Skibbins

An attractive woman smiled at us, winter blond hair severely pulled back from her face. She was wearing a simple but perfectly cut navy suit with a red accent scarf around her neck.

"Good evening, Agent McCrea, Agent Brukowski. My name is Jo Edwards. Agent McCrea, if you will be so kind as to take the chip you took from Arnold's collar, and insert it into the slot on the right side of the monitor, we will be able to converse more naturally."

This was right out of my childhood. Soon she would be saying, "The Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." As a kid, I always wondered, "What Secretary?" I removed the chip from my bra and inserted it into the slot on the side of the TV. Suddenly beams of light from each corner of the room converged in the center, and a life-sized hologram of Jo appeared in the middle of the room.

"There, that's better. Now we can talk. How are the two of you?"

Bruiser/Brukowski and I looked at each other. I shrugged. He said, "Still alive. Oh, and nice pumps. Are those Rene Caovillas?"

Damn, he was gay. Bummer.

Jo gave that enigmatic smile. "Right now let's talk about keeping the two of you alive. We don't have time to chat."

She had out attention!

"Welcome to OTIS. Let's see how good that Columbia education really was. Odium Theologicum Imperium Satis. Harper, can you translate for Jake?"

Jake, eh? Now I knew both his names.

"Um, let's see. Satis means something like 'Enough already!' So it's something like 'Hatred that is based in theology which occurs at the top levels of power must be stopped.' How's that?"

"Excellent job."

God, this was just like Morningside Heights. My Latin professor was approving my declension. What the blazes did this have to do with saving our lives?

Jo went on, "OTIS is a group of ex-intelligence operatives, retired FBI agents, and non-active CIA analysts. We uncovered a strategy being developed by a tiny cadre of men to change this country from a democracy to a theocracy. They are working very much behind-the-scenes and are not affiliated with either political party."

Jake interrupted, "Great. I like thrillers, too. Now can you get us out of here?"

Her smile vanished. She stared at Jake for a charged, silent moment. Then she pushed a button on a desk that we could barely make out. The TV screen lit up. On it were two official looking memos. Jake and I could read them clearly. They were orders for our prejudicial dismissal. This was usually accomplished with a hollow point .22 slug. They were signed by Franklin Guthrie.

"Both Franklin Guthrie, and Betty Foster are members of the cadre I mentioned. In five minutes the building you are in will explode. These orders will have been carried out. You will cease to exist, and both the FBI and the CIA will assume that you perished in the line of duty. You have a choice to make. You can either join our organization, or we will give you papers to establish a false identity and you can just disappear. Which is it? I'll save you anyway, but I need to know where each of you stands."

I knew where I stood. I'll "prejudicially dismiss" them! "I'm in."

"Me, too."

"Good. We need you to recover that other microchip. They do not yet have it, but they are close to uncovering its whereabouts. The microchip that you have in your possession is our communication encryption and deciphering chip. The other chip has complete information about our organization. We need it returned or we are all in jeopardy. Harper, Anselmo is the key to finding that chip. Now quickly, get into the shielded compartment behind the palomino. We will dig you out after the explosion. And welcome to OTIS!"

The lights faded. A tray containing the microchip slid out from the TV. I tucked the chip close to my heart. Two doors behind the dusty horse started sliding apart. Then they jammed.