“Lying In Wait” By J.A. Jance

Review #156

A  J.P. Beaumont Mystery

Cop J. P. Beaumont  (Beau) is extremely good at what he does…homicide investigations. And in his latest case, he's better than ever.

This time, Beau tackles a case with its origins in the Nazi death camps of World War II. When not one but two grisly torture-murder victims are discovered in the Seattle area, Beau and his new partner, Sue Danielson, are called in to investigate. Much to Beau's surprise, he finds that one of the victims was married to a former high school classmate, Else Didricksen. What Beau doesn't know is that Else has for years been as much an unwitting victim of the past as her now-dead husband. What's more, the murderer is determined to silence everyone connected to that horrible past--at any cost.

Jance has created a suspenseful story that's sure to keep readers involved, and J. P. Beaumont is as attractive, appealing, and endearing as ever.

“Damage Control” By J.A. Jance

Review #155
A Sheriff Joanna Brady Mystery

Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Joanna Brady and her staff face a host of challenges. A woman shoots a home intruder, an elderly couple's car soars over the guardrail at Montezuma Pass Overlook and a mysterious fire kills an older man and leaves three homeless. Were these accidents or something more sinister?


In addition to these problems, Det. Jaime Carbajal's nephew discovers a body in the desert. That investigation leads to a shady organization that operates halfway houses for troubled and disabled persons. Meanwhile, Joanna must deal with her interfering mother, who exhibits a sudden personality change, and the discovery of family secrets about her late father and late first husband.

Police procedure, county budget woes, and the problems inherent in law-enforcement agencies cooperating with one another, frame the fast-paced mystery.


As usual, Jance beautifully evokes the desert and towns of her beloved southwest as well as the strong individuals who live there. A Must Read!

“Queen of the Night” By J.A. Jance

Review #154

Californian Jonathan Southard is so seething with resentment that he kills his wife and children and goes after his remarried mother in Tucson. He ends up killing 7 people and car jacking a woman and her baby from a grocery store parking lot.

Reverberations from Southard's crimes touch many people in California and Arizona including the former sheriff Brandon Walker, his wife, Diana, and their adopted Native American daughter, Lani, exacerbating old wounds at a time when Walker is worried about Diana's mental health.

The people and the story are interesting. Tohono O'odham tales and culture permeate the book (reminiscent of Tony Hillerman). This and the flower of the title, the beautiful and aromatic ‘Queen of the Night’ cereus, which blooms in the desert just one night each year, adds appeal, but I much prefer Jance’s J.P. Beaumont and Sheriff Joann Brady Mysteries.

“Scarlet Nights” By Jude Deveraux

Review #153

Sara Shaw is happily preparing for her marriage to Greg Anders, and though her family and friends don't like him very much, she sees his good nature. That is, until he disappears three weeks before the wedding, and undercover detective extraordinaire, Mike Newland crawls through the trapdoor in the floor of her borrowed apartment.

As it turns out, Mike is the brother of her best friend and the apartment’s honeymooning owner, Tess.  He is also a cop investigating Greg, who is actually the fiendish criminal, Stefan Vandlo, with a deadly plan that Mike doesn't yet fully understand. Mike knows Greg wants to marry Sara in order to get something she has…but…what is it?

Mike figures it will be easy to get Sara to trust him; women have always been attracted to him. But, Sara is the exception. Weary of being seen as weak, she believes hunky Mike has been sent to tempt her away from marrying Greg. The longer Mike stays, however, the more appealing he becomes to Sara, and soon they begin revealing secrets to each other, including Mike's true mission. As Mike and Sara fall in love, they remain at risk until they can figure out what Greg wants from her.

Jude Deveraux returns to Edilean, Va., to tie up some loose ends, return to familiar characters, and introduce a few new ones. I enjoyed this book very much!

“Naked in Death” By. J.D. Robb

Review #152

This is the first in a series of more than 28 “in Death” books by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb. Lt. Eve Dallas is the lead character. (See former reviews of books in this series)

The “in Death” series begins in the future…the 2050s to be precise, when cops carry laser guns, computers respond to voice commands and control everything from the AutoChef to the shower, and yes…cars can fly. In addition, many drugs have been legalized, prostitution has become a licensed profession, and androids help guard buildings and tend bars. Nevertheless, poverty, greed and jealousy remain.

After ten years on the force, Lieutenant Eve Dallas has become one of the most effective homicide investigators in the New York Police Department. Her combination of intelligence and compassion, dedication and passion for justice drive her to treat each case as the most important thing in her life. It is her life!

Right now, that means finding the killer of a high-priced ‘licensed companion’ with a high-profile political family, despite the interference of everyone from the dead woman’s powerful grandfather to the chief of police. She’s running out of time, however, because the killer has promised that this is only the first of six murders, and he’s resourceful, cunning, and all-too-focused on Eve as the primary investigator.

Complicating Eve’s investigation is the mysterious Roarke, a charismatic and fabulously wealthy businessman, who also takes an intense interest in her and her own past, which seems indelibly tangled in the events surrounding her.

I have read most of this series, reviewed many of them this year and love every book. I’m glad I read this one because it gives me the beginning. You’ll enjoy this book and the series if you are a mystery buff who likes futuristic settings and surprise endings!

“Failure to Appear” By J.A. Jance

Review #151
A J.P. Beaumont Mystery

Seattle sleuth J. P. ("Beau") Beaumont has reassembled his life after a painful divorce, the tragic death of his second wife, and a bout with alcoholism. All that's left to do is locate his runaway daughter, Kelly, whom he tracks down at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival in Ashland. But Beau is in for a shock--not only is Kelly a bride to be, she's also quite pregnant.

Then an old acquaintance of Beau's is brutally murdered after turning up at the festival, and there seems to be a definite connection between his death and a kiddie porn videotape featuring the festival's biggest star.

Before the trouble ends, there's another murder, Kelly is seriously injured in a fall, and the house where the festival actors are staying blows up.

Judith Jance has written a well-crafted, entertaining story featuring a nice blend of humor and tragedy and some pithy comments on the ironies of life. But it is hero, J. P. Beaumont, tough, principled, kindhearted, and well acquainted with the vagaries of human nature, who is the star attraction. Loved this book!

“Crossfire” By Dick Francis & Felix Francis

Review #150

After losing a foot from an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan, Capt. Tom Forsyth is told he will no longer be able to serve in active combat. When he leaves the rehab hospital, he realizes he has nowhere to go except home to Lambourn and to his race horse trainer Mom, Josephine Kauri...a home he happily left behind when he turned 17 and where he now gets a less-than-warm welcome.

Eventually, Tom discovers that his mother has been persuaded to spend all of her savings on a hedge fund that went south. In addition to this, her stable has had a series of mishaps and…Kauri has been sabotaging the races of her own horses in response to a blackmailer's threats to reveal her tax evasion to the authorities. With nothing else to occupy him, Forsyth turns detective to identify the extortionist.
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Dick Francis, a former steeplechase jockey and author of more than 40 best sellers before his death in February 2010, teamed up with his son Felix to co-author three mysteries: “Dead Heat”, “Silks” and “Even Money”. This is their fourth and final collaboration.

The publisher hints that Felix Francis may be carrying on his father's legacy.
I hope so. I enjoyed this book very much!

“Skeleton Canyon” By J.A. Jance

Review #149
A Sheriff Joanna Brady Mystery

When high-school valedictorian Bree O'Brien is found dead in the southeastern Arizona mountains, suspicion falls on her boyfriend, Ignacio Ybarra, who refuses to explain his fresh cuts and bruises. But the case isn't that simple, as Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady learns.
Bree and Ignacio had been meeting secretly because her wealthy father hates Hispanics. When Ignacio is cleared, Joanna suspects that another case may be connected with the homicide.

Someone has been smuggling Freon across the border, cashing in on high black-market prices for the refrigerant. Are Bree's parents involved? And would any amount of smuggling money make them kill their own daughter? Why did O'Brien hire an ex-cop with an unsavory past who often leered at Bree? And… why did Bree write in her journal, "My mother is a liar"?

Joanna tackles the cases while still coping with the loneliness of her recent widowhood and a startling personal revelation about her own mother.

J.A. Jance's regional knowledge runs deep, whether she writes about troubled Anglo-Hispanic relations along the border or the surprising power of Arizona thunderstorms. I love her books!

“Hangman” By Faye Kellerman

Review #148
A Lt. Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Mystery

Terry McLaughlin, a doctor and battered wife, asks Decker, who's an old friend, to help mediate a meeting with her abusive husband. When McLaughlin disappears soon after the meeting, her 14-year-old son, Gabe, a gifted piano prodigy, is left on his own. Decker (and his wife, Rina) welcome Gabe into the Decker household while he looks for Terry.

But Peter's search for Terry must share center stage with a gruesome murder. Adrianna Blanc, a neonatal nurse at St. Timothy's Hospital, had signed off her night shift at eight a.m. Six hours later, a foreman supervising the construction of a house in a nearby suburb discovered her body swinging from the rafters, a cable wire around her neck. Her car was found where she had parked it the night before, with no signs of foul play.

Suspicions heat up when Decker and his team find that one of Adrianna's last phone calls was a provocative and disturbing message to her vacationing boyfriend who, himself, has vanished without a trace. Was Adrianna's death something personal or was this unusually cruel and very dramatic murder the first signs of a serial killer? With lives hanging in the balance, Decker and his colleagues, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver, need to find answers and fast.

I love all of Faye Kellerman’s books and this one is no different.

“VISIONS IN DEATH” By J.D. Robb

Review #147
Lt. Eve Dallas Futuristic Suspense Novel.

New York City, 2059 and NYPD Lt. Eve Dallas is on the trail of a serial killer who strangles his young female victims with a red ribbon and removes their eyes postmortem. Dallas and her longtime partner, Detective Peabody, pursue the criminal with wisecracking vigor and old-fashioned police work, assisted as well by Eve's handsome husband, billionaire businessman Roarke, and a beautiful psychic who volunteers to share her chilling visions of the murders.

Naturally, the determined Dallas gets her man, though her toughness is shaken along the way by memories of her own childhood abuse, the murderer's vicious attack on Peabody and a surprising 11th-hour revelation.

Another of the “in Death” series by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb. The usual excellent mystery with a SuprisE Ending!

“The Burnt House” By Faye Kellerman

Review #146
A Lt. Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Mystery

A commuter plane careens into an apartment building and bursts into flames. Forensic teams searching for passenger remains are unable to find evidence of one woman, Rosanne Dresden. Instead, they find what's left of someone else…someone who apparently died several decades before. Rosanne’s husband claims she was aboard the aircraft. Her father says she was not and believes her husband has killed her. L.A. Lieutenant Peter Decker faces not one mystery but two.

Will he ever find out what happened to Roseanne Dresden so that her parents can have a sense of peace? The airline she worked for is not giving out any answers, and while questioning those who knew her, many different versions of events are coming to light. The problem is, there is no evidence to back any of it.

As for the unidentified woman…Just how do you solve a crime that could have happened anytime in the last 30 years? Especially when the remains are so fragile that even the slightest attempt to use normal methods of ID will turn the evidence to dust.

Love Faye Kellerman books. This is no exception!

“The Inn at Angel Island”

First in a Brand New Series of Books
by Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer

Review #145

Welcome to Angel Island, not far from the shores of Cape Light, Maine. Legend says it harbors angels that help guide the lost.

Liza Martin arrives on Angel Island to sell the run down inn she and her brother inherited from their aunt. She has taken two weeks off from her advertising job and plans to hurry back to her busy life in Boston as soon as everything is ready for the realtor to start showing the place. Her brother, Peter, and his 14 year old son arrive several days after she does. The relationship between father and son is not good and the boy was bribed to give up a hiking trip with his friends to be there. Peter needs the money from the sale for his business and just wants to get it done so he can return home…as quickly as possible.

The more time Liza spends on Angel Island, and with every local she meets, the more she finds herself enjoying the tranquility of the place. Her new friends don't want to see her sell the inn to developers who will ruin the island's charm and she comes to know, she doesn’t want the inn torn down either. There is much for her to resolve before her departure and it is going to take a band of angels to mend her broken wings and redirect her soul.

This is the first novel I've read by Thomas Kinkade and this story was a compelling one. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the series.

“Flesh and Blood” By Jonathan Kellerman

Review #144
An Alex Delaware Psychological Suspense Novel


Alex Delaware chalked up his attempt at helping a young, defiant, angry teenager by the name of Lauren Teague, as a failure when she walked out of his office and out of his professional life. Ten years later, Teague and Delaware meet at a stag party where Teague appears as the night's entertainment. However, the reunion is short lived. Four years later, when her body turns up in a dumpster. Delaware, the avenging angel in pursuit of justice, is determined to find the person who committed the crime.

There is no shortage of suspects or motives for Lauren had led a complicated, secretive life. A party girl, straight A college student, generous to children and friends down on their luck, exquisite personal taste coupled with ugly job skills; Lauren has had bad luck, and it is catching.

Kellerman takes a walk through the wild, seedy side of life where pornography is king and call-girls are nothing more than a replaceable commodity.

Jonathan Kellerman is amongst my top 10 favorite writers.

Warning: Strong Language and Sexual Situations