“THE OTHER SIDE”

     By Multiple Authors:

J. D. Robb…Mary Blayney…Patricia Gaffney…

Ruth Ryan Langan…Mary Kay McComas

 

2011 Book Review #84

        Library Journal Review

Once again J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) heads up a list of top-notch writers in another exemplary anthology of romantic novellas-all with a paranormal slant and all providing intriguing views from the "other side."

No-nonsense Eve Dallas inadvertently takes in the spirit of a gypsy who wants her to find her missing granddaughter in Robb's macabre 

"Possession in Death";…..

.....a bickering pair of aristocrats get a reality check when they are zapped into each other's bodies as a magic coin grants their thoughtless wishes in Mary Blayney's Regency gem,

"The Other Side of the Coin";…..

.....a pragmatic woman who wants to stop the sale of her family home falls for the charlatan spirit investigator she hires to prove the house is haunted in Patricia Gaffney's artful 

"The Dancing Ghost";…..

.....a couple killed in a car crash refuse to head for Heaven until they save their daughter from a disastrous marriage (and find her another man) in Ruth Ryan Langan's satisfying 

"Almost Heaven".....

 .....and a woman estranged from her mother must help the ghosts of her mom and two aunts find what each has lost so they all can move on in Mary Kay McComas's touching 

"Never Too Late To Love."…..

 VERDICT Spine-tingling, funny, whimsical, or poignant, this superb anthology has something for everyone; a winner for paranormal/short story collections. 

My Thoughts:  When I ordered this book from the Library, I didn’t pay attention to what it was about…only that J.D. Robb had written one of the stories.   I love her characters and, although, it was a little different from her usual writings, I enjoyed this one too.  The book’s subject is not of particular interest to me, but for those of you who like light stories about the Paranormal…you’ll like all the stories in this one.

“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.