“Pandora’s Daughter”  By Iris Johansen

2011 Book Review #61

Booklist Review

"Dr. Megan Blair has been living a lie. She heard voices up until her mother died in an accident. Raised by her mother's half-brother, Megan managed to live a normal life, became a doctor, and now works in an Atlanta hospital. But, once her car is run off the road and Neal Grady enters the picture, nothing is the same.

Neal helps her realize that her mother's death was no accident. In fact, she was murdered because of her psychic ability, the very talent Megan inherited. Molino, an underworld kingpin, wants to see Megan, and everyone else he calls freaks, dead because he blames her mother for his son's death. Supposedly Megan's mother's mere touch caused Molino's son to kill himself. She may have possessed the rare gift, just like the mythological Pandora, that magnifies a person's psychic ability, power that can either open someone's mind or cause madness.

The hunt for Molino takes Megan and Neal through Europe in search of a ledger that traces a family of powerful psychics from the time of the inquisition to the present, keeping one step ahead of their enemy while trying to destroy him.

Johansen delivers an exhilarating thriller, filled with her trademark paranormal elements, truly heinous villains, and intriguing, multidimensional heroes. This is romantic suspense that will keep the author's fans on the edge of their seats."

My Thoughts:  This is very different from the Iris Johansen books I normally read.  (The Eve Duncan Mysteries)  I don't usually read science fiction,  but, I found this book well written, very interesting and entertaining to read. 

“Gone Tomorrow”  By  Lee Child

A Jack Reacher Mystery

 

2011 Book Review #60

Publishers Weekly Review

All good thriller writers know how to build suspense and keep the pages turning, but only better ones deliver tight plots as well, and only the best allow the reader to match wits with both the hero and the author. Bestseller Child does all of that in spades in his 13th Jack Reacher adventure.

Early one morning on a nearly empty Manhattan subway car, the former army MP notices a woman passenger he suspects is a suicide bomber. The deadly result of his confronting her puts him on a trail leading back to the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s and forward to the war on terrorism.

Reacher finds a bit of help among the authorities demanding answers from him, like the NYPD and the FBI, as well as threats and intimidation. And then there are the real bad guys that the old pro must track down and eliminate. Child sets things up subtly and ingeniously, then lets Reacher use both strength and guile to find his way to the exciting climax.

My Thoughts:  There is no better suspense writer than Lee Child.  I love the Jack Reacher character and though this book has a complicated plot, I loved it!

“Milk and Honey”   

    by Faye Kellerman

A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Mystery

2011 Book Review #59

Booklist Review

L.A. cop Peter Decker gets a lot of ribbing. He's tough yet laconic, over six feet tall, and well over two hundred pounds. He carries a gun and an attitude, but he also wears a yarmulke because the woman he loves is an orthodox Jew and he's willing to do anything to win her.

The problem is that the lovely Rina is having doubts of her own--perhaps because her pious brother-in-law tried to stick his tongue down her throat. Decker and Rina are a lively and unusual detecting duo, and Kellerman, wife of best-selling author, Jonathan, is a gutsy, forceful writer.

 Her cop talk in the station house fairly crackles, and her plotting style is agreeably perverse. The latter is well in evidence here: witness the 2 year old girl found abandoned with blood smeared all over her PJs and bee stings on her arm. The blood belongs to an entire family, murdered in what appears to be an industrial dispute run well amok.

Add several local bikers, throw in the bees themselves, and things get decidedly sticky. With Decker alternately cracking skulls and praying over a plate of kosher food, it's all a delight.

My Thoughts:  I couldn’t put the book down.  Love these characters!

“CURSED”  by Carol Higgins Clark

A  Private Eye Regan Reilly Mystery

 

2011 Bood Review #58

Summary…

PI Regan Reilly moved from Los Angeles to New York City when she married Jack "no relation" Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. To help a friend, Regan takes on a case that takes her back to her old stomping grounds.

On a snowy day in New York City, PI Regan Reilly gets an urgent call from her former neighbor, Abigail Feeney. A Hollywood hairdresser, Abigail believes her life has been cursed since the day she was born…Friday the 13th. Always unlucky in love, Abigail now needs Regan's help in tracking down an ex-boyfriend who was just spotted in downtown Los Angeles…a "no good bum" who borrowed $100,000 from her three months ago, then promptly disappeared.

Abigail desperately needs to get that money back, money given to her by her grandmother who is heading to L.A. Grandma Feeney, no shrinking violet, has plans to buy an old friend's condo for Abigail and will need that hard-earned money to make the deal.

With hubby Jack away, the weather in New York miserable, and the guilt provoking memory that Abigail had brought her chicken soup when she was sick, Regan agrees to hop a plane. Before long, the hunt for Abigail's ex takes some dangerous turns. . . . But when Abigail becomes a suspect in a murder investigation, Regan begins to wonder if the curse is real--and possibly contagious!

My Thoughts:  Clark’s books are always fun Mysteries!  This is no exception!

“Quicksand”  by Iris Johansen

     An Eve Duncan Forensic Mystery

 

2011 Book Review #57 

           Booklist Review

Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is consumed with the prolonged search for the body of her daughter, Bonnie. The man in her life, Atlanta detective and former navy SEAL Joe Quinn, questions whether or not he can continue his relationship with Eve as the specter of Bonnie continues to haunt them.

At one of their most trying times, Joe pursues a lead that may either solve the mystery or destroy their relationship. Add the pressure of child killer Henry Kistle focusing on Eve and drug lord Montalvo, whose desire to help is fueled by his desire for Eve, and things get complicated.

Kistle taunts Eve with phone calls and written statements as he uses his military training to lead Joe, Montalvo, and the FBI on a chase from remote Bloomberg, Illinois, to alligator-infested swamps. Eve needs more help, so Johansen reaches back to Pandora's Daughter (2007) and brings in psychic Megan Blair. 

Keeping the tension high and the pace relentless, prolific and compelling Johansen adds depth to her popular characters as she continues this suspenseful series.

My Thoughts:  Eve Duncan is one of my favorite characters.  Good Book!

"HITCHED"  by Carol Higgins Clark
A PI Regan Reilly Mystery

2011 Book Review #56

                           

 Publishers Weekly Review

Nervous brides may want to wait until after the wedding to read this one!

With her wedding to Jack "no relation" Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, only a week away, Regan thinks she has everything under control.  But when she arrives to pick up her wedding dress at Alfred and Charisse's Coutures in Little Italy, she finds the young husband-and-wife designers bound and gagged, a wedding dress shredded on the floor and four others missing, including her own.

In spite of all she must do before the wedding, Regan agrees to investigate. Jack, hoping to solve a big bank robbery case before their nuptials, is more than supportive. To Regan's surprise, not all the brides-to-be who've lost their gowns are that distraught.

Regan's and Jack's cases convincingly intertwine as the sleuthing trail leads them from the streets of New York to Las Vegas. With her usual cast of quirky characters, Clark's lighthearted romp will keep readers guessing who will and who won't make it to the altar. 

My thoughts:  It’s a mystery and fun to read!

“The Scarpetta Factor”  

by Patricia Cornwell

2011 Book Review #55

 Library Journal Review

 The 17th entry in the popular Scarpetta series finds the Massachusetts medical examiner investigating the death of jogger Toni Darien in Central Park and finding suspicious similarities to a case of a missing financier.

She also, must contend with a suspicious package delivered to her apartment, the possible theft of her BlackBerry, menacing communications from a former psychiatric patient of husband Benton, and the reemergence of notorious characters from past cases.

Never-before-seen glimpses into the innermost thoughts of key characters Pete Marino, Benton and niece Lucy Farinelli, intensify the plot.

Verdict… A finely crafted, pulse-racing thriller that readers won't want to put down. Scarpetta fans will notice more pages devoted to character development and less to the autopsy room. 

My Thoughts:  I think the complexities of the plot were confusing.  I prefer the original Scarpetta books when Scarpetta was in the autopsy room solving mysteries with  forensics.

“The Midnight Club”   

by James Patterson

 

2011 Book Review #54

 Booklist Review

Organized crime gets a new, more sinister face as a psychotic killer seizes control of a drug ring called the Midnight Club. The killer is Germain, wealthy and powerful, fond of kinky sex, and never happier than when he is wiping people out (``wet work'').

Stefanovitch is the detective Germaine leaves crippled and widowed, Parker is the Harlem cop left brotherless, and Sarah McGinniss is the journalist whose son was kidnapped by the club and who falls in love with Stefanovitch.

All three are intent on revenge. Although the novel is uneven, it boasts a compellingly kinetic narrative that combines nonstop violence with glittery sexual goings-on. The characterization isn't always particularly realistic, but Stefanovitch is extremely likable.

Unfortunately, when the author allows him to walk again in the final few pages, much credibility is needlessly lost. A flawed yet spirited thriller. 

My Thoughts:  Good book but, not the easiest story line to keep straight.  Not James Patterson’s best, in my opinion

"ZAPPED"  By Carol Higgins Clark
    A P.I. Regan Reilly Mystery

2011 Book Review #53
Publishers Weekly Review

Soon after Regan and her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, return home to Manhattan from a weekend on the Cape, the lights go out across the city. In the darkness, Regan is dismayed to discover an intruder has left behind a stun gun in their apartment, which is undergoing renovations. 

Hours later, Jack looks into the theft of some unusual glass sculptures from a SoHo art gallery. In addition, the pair become involved in the frantic search for Georgina Mathieson, a psychotic with a track record for branding blond men, before she can claim her next victim. 

The number of coincidences, including one that allows the heroes to save the day in the nick of time, may be on the high side, but fans of lighter crime fare will be satisfied


My Thoughts:  Jack and Regan Reilly mysteries are always fun to read! 

“EVE”  by Iris Johansen

The first of a new Trilogy about Lt. Eve Duncan

2011 Book Review #52

Library Journal Review

Shedding light on forensic sculptor Eve Duncan's past, Johansen's latest thriller brings to the forefront the father of Eve's missing daughter.

When Eve tries to find out if John Gallo had anything to do with Bonnie's disappearance, she ends up as bait in a perilous game between Gallo and dangerous ex-military men. Helped by her boyfriend, Joe Quinn, and CIA agent friend, Catherine Ling, Eve escapes with her life, but the answers she seeks are elusive.

Whereas earlier works danced around the details of Eve's personal history, much is revealed in this satisfying first entry in a forthcoming trilogy. If Quinn ( due out Jul. 2011) and Bonnie (due out in Oct. 2011) provide as much background and pieces of the puzzle as this one does, fans are sure to be pleased.

The suspense and action will entertain all, even those new to the series.

My Thoughts:  I love the Eve Duncan books but, I was unaware this new one was part of a trilogy which left me with a “cliff-hanger” ending.  I can’t wait until “Quinn” and “Bonnie” come out!

“Straight Into Darkness”  By Faye Kellerman

2011 Book Review #51

Book List Review

Kellerman, perhaps best known for her Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels, takes a hiatus from things contemporary in this ambitious historical mystery, in which politics, prejudice, and revenge form the backdrop for murder.

The time is 1929, the place is Munich, and Hitler and his thugs and sycophants are gathering momentum for the horrors to come. Kommunisten, Social Democrats, gays, and, especially, Jews are the targets of Brown Shirts, who are increasing in number and viciousness.

 Even Munich's Homicide Unit has its Nazi sympathizers. Inspektor Axel Berg, however, isn't one of them. He hopes to steer clear of politics, especially on the job. But when the murders of three women and a young child spawn rumors of a serial killer, the pressure to find a scapegoat (the Jewish husband of one of the victims will do as a start) intensifies, and Berg finds himself fighting not only for fairness for the accused but also for his own career.

This is a complicated novel, and its mystery occasionally flounders under the weighty political backdrop. But suspense gradually mounts, and the ironic ending is worth the wait. As for Berg, he is one of Kellerman's richest creations--an intriguing protagonist, flawed yet compassionate and heroic, forced to confront enormous odds in brutal times. --Stephanie Zvirin

My Thoughts:  If you like mysteries and you like history, this book is for you.  This is very different from what Kellerman usually writes.  It is frightening because the horrible history is real even if the story is fiction and Kellerman takes you directly into that history.  The surprise ending is extraordinary.  It is a well written story and I’m glad I read it.  BUT…I prefer Kellerman’s  Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels.  History can be very cruel and hard to read about!

" Hostage"  by Robert Crais

2011 Book Review # 50


Jeff Talley is a burned-out former LAPD SWAT team hostage negotiator trying unsuccessfully to hide from his demons in the tiny community of Bristo Camino. When three toughs rob a convenience store, kill the owner, and take refuge in the home of an accountant, Talley quickly finds himself in the middle of a double hostage situation. 

The toughs are threatening to kill Smith and his children, but what they don't know is that the accountant works for the Mob and happens to have in his possession what amounts to an annual report on Mob activity. 

The Mob bosses kidnap Talley's wife and daughter and make it clear to him that they will kill his loved ones if he doesn't get his hands on the damning computer discs before the cops do. Talley finds himself in the unenviable position of helping to free Smith while executing a clandestine plan to save his own family. 

My Thoughts:  I found this book to be complicated but, interesting!  Crais is becoming a favorite author.