Gun Games by Faye Kellerman (Review #2)
Reviewed by Julie Moderson
Faye Kellerman is one of my favorite authors and Gun Games is such an amazing book. It is definitely a must read book. Just a warning, you will stay up all night to finish it.
The story starts with 15-year-old Gabe Whitman sitting in a coffee shop minding his own business when a group of kids come into Starbucks looking for trouble. One of the boys tells Gabe that he is going to sit his seat and he better move now and then he shows Gabe the gun tucked in his waist band. Gabe handles it with such finesse and turns to try to be friendly with the thug. In doing so he disarms him mentally. Gabe is a very talented pianist and is home schooled so he doesn’t know whom these kids are. He is living with his father’s friend detective Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus. Children in the school that these thugs attend are committing suicide and no one can understand why. It takes a while to connect the dots and figure out what is really happening. Read the rest of this post »
January 25, 2012
Tags: book review, faye kellerman, gun games Posted in: Mystery 
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Where Am I Going?: Moving From Religious Tourist to Spiritual Explorer by Michelle Cromer
Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair
How many of us have at one point or another in our lives thought along the line of, “is this it?” or “is this what I’m meant to do?” Author Comer had just those types of moments and decided that no, this “wasn’t it” and no this was not “what she was meant to do.” The problem was, while she was sure that there was something greater for her in the world-or at least something different, she was clueless what that something else was or where to find it. Where Am I Going? is the story of her quest to move from being an observer of life to being actively engaged in life.
Most people would look at the author’s life prior to this book and wonder why she was unhappy. She had a strong marriage, a terrific job and loving family. But for Cromer, something was missing. Raised in a meat eating, God fearing strong Texan family, there were definite expectations for her growing up and as an adult. There was not a lot of wiggle room in those expectations either. When she decided she could no longer eat red meat for instance, her mother told everyone she had developed an allergy to the meat rather than admit her daughter no longer ate the Texas staple. So can you even imagine the fall out when the author decided that she needed to explore other religions and beliefs? We’re not just talking visiting the Lutherans or Catholics here either. Cromer’s journey took her literally around the world as she dabbled in various forms of spiritualism.
The journey began with her picking a place on the other side of the world from her Texas home. The first stop on her quest was Kathmandu, Nepal. In this relatively brief book of about 170 pages, readers will follow her as she visits holy places around the world, has her fortune read, goes for a tarot card reading and becomes friends with a mystic. The book is a bit of a travel log, sort of a how to seek a different life manual and a lot of a comical memoir of the author. Read the rest of this post »
January 21, 2012
Tags: book review, michelle cromer, where am i going Posted in: Memoir No Comments
$10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles by Parnell Hall
Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair
Cora and Sherry are back in $10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles, the thirteenth book in the Puzzle Lady series, though in this installment of the popular series, readers don’t see much of Sherry since she spends most of the book in the hospital giving birth to her first child.
Cora however is called away from the hospital by Sherry and Cora’s attorney friend Becky Baldwin. It seems that one of Becky’s clients needs to have blackmail ransom delivered and it needs to be Cora who does the drop. Because this is Cora (and because it’s a murder mystery) it should come as no surprise to readers that when Cora shows up at the drop site, the only person there is a dead body-with a Sudoku puzzle on him. As faithful readers know, this is good news for Cora because, in spite of her puzzle column in the paper, she can’t solve crosswords but she is a whiz at Sudoku. Unfortunately for Cora, a crossword puzzle shows up shortly in connection with the case. With Sherry, the real crossword guru otherwise occupied in the hospital, Cora finds herself in a tight spot.
Cora has grown over the course of this series. In the early books she was portrayed as a drunk. Fortunately, author Hall has allowed Cora to get her drinking under control and although she still manages to get herself into a number of scrapes, at least she’s aware of her choices, poor as they may be. Sometimes her past still comes back to haunt her. In this book her no good, lowlife ex-husband Melvin appears on the scene. Read the rest of this post »
January 21, 2012
Tags: $10, 000 in small, book review, parnell hall, unmarked puzzles Posted in: Mystery No Comments
Need You Now by James Grippando
Reviewed by Allen Hott
Quite a combination of assorted characters, plots, twists, and other necessaries to building a good novel. The author’s basic idea is certainly one of today’s world as he builds on a monumental Ponzi scheme. Without a doubt there are many investors interested in recovering at least some part of their contribution to the 60 billion dollars that Abe Cushman has stolen from them.
After Cushman took his own life by jumping from his condo tower’s window to the pavement below, Wall Street and the world felt even more anger. Not only was their money gone but also now the investors would not see the culprit stand trial and eventually go to prison.
There were those however who had thought they would get away with at least a part of the treasure. Many believe that much of the money has been hidden away by some of Cushman’s associates. Little do they know what all is involved in some of the billions that were in fact given to Gerry Collins, the closest associate.
Collins realizes that the money that he has hidden in various accounts as far away as Singapore are now definitely on the “hot seat”. Not only are the investors anxious to find their money but the government is also very interested in the monies but for other reasons. Read the rest of this post »
January 21, 2012
Tags: book review, james grippando, need you now Posted in: Thriller No Comments
So Pretty It Hurts: A Bailey Weggins Mystery by Kate White
Reviewed by Elizabeth Sheehan
Bailey Weggins is a true-crime journalist working for Buzz located in New York city. She is invited by a co-worker to a weekend house party about 2 hours from Manhattan and which they find very secluded. Their host is Scott Cohan a music mogul. An interesting array of guests attend; with the main one being Devon Barr a famous model. Along with being extremely flirtatious we find that Devon has an eating disorder. As luck would have it Devon is found dead by Bailey.To make matters worse a wicked snow and ice storm makes it impossible for any of the guests to leave and the police are unable to get there for a while. While in Devon’s room Bailey discovers a bottle of syrup of ipecac which causes vomiting. When the police do arrive they find that the bottle is missing and Bailey then begins to doubt that Devon’s death is accidental.
As she investigates she is shoved down a flight of stairs and when she returns to Buzz she is asked to leave her job. She is persistent and all ends well. Read the rest of this post »
January 21, 2012
Tags: bailey weggins, book review, kate while, so pretty it hurst Posted in: Mystery No Comments
Deep Sky by Patrick Lee
Reviewed by Julie Moderson
I did not read the first two books in this three-book trilogy, and wish I had but it will be hard to go back and read books out of order since I know the ending.
From the first page to the last page this book is so interesting that it is hard to put down. Patrick Lee writes an incredible story. In the first chapter, as the president of the United States is addressing the nation from the Oval Office and a missile crashes into the White House, everyone who is watching this on TV sees the flash of light and then a black TV. In this day of instant news coverage they hear almost instantly that the President is dead. Within hours of the White House attack there is another attack against Boarder Town, a top secret place where scientist Tangent is located, and the only clue as to what happened is at the launch site and is says to see Scalar. Read the rest of this post »
January 21, 2012
Tags: book review, deep sky, patrick lee Posted in: Thriller No Comments
The Right to Belong by Patrick A. Davy
Reviewed by Cy Hilterman
Do you have the option to know your father? Thirty-eight year old Pete Mitchell had never known his father and he wanted to find him if possible and get to know him before it was too late. A short but interesting read as the author tells this story that contains good and bad parts of life and makes the reader question if they have had the privilege of knowing their parents. After all, our parents, in most cases, have gone through child birth, raised a young baby into youth, and hopefully into a successful life, all the while hoping and praying that the son or daughter will remain in heart and soul with those parents.
Pete had a wife and pre-teen sons all living together as a family should be. But Pete wanted to know his father so he started locally with other family members to find out how he could contact his father, finally getting some information from an aunt who told him she might help him locate his father through some other family members. Pete finally made the contact finding out that his father lived in England with Pete’s younger brother and sister. Pete had always been told that his father wanted no parts of him. Finally contact was made with his father, who was not in good health. His sister was also not in good health but her problem was with drugs and pot. His father paid for an airline ticket for Pete to come and see him, as he really wanted to meet his son he had never seen. His brother, Dale, met him at the airport explaining that the sister, Ella, was in the hospital. Read the rest of this post »
January 17, 2012
Tags: book review, patrick a. davy, the right to belong Posted in: Fiction No Comments
Sticks and Stones: A Cat Deluca Mystery by K.J. Larsen
Reviewed by Teri Davis
Pants On Fire Detective Agency is owned by Cat DeLuca. This agency specializes in discovering cheating husbands. Cat learned the basics from growing up in a police family with her father and brothers being part of the Chicago Police and from her own cheating husband.
Cleo Jones definitely has a cheating husband. Unfortunately, Walter cheats on Cleo with her sister. Besides that, he takes her money and her dog. So Cleo feels justified when she shoots her husband full of buckshot so that he will not be sitting for quite a while. Cleo also tends to be overly dramatic and gives her neighbors opportunities to use their video cameras when she threatens Walter.
Cat decides that it is best if she accompany Cleo back to the house to take whatever she needs and the dog. She also is pressing Cleo to stop shooting at Walter. When they enter the house, all is quiet but the dog has been in something messy and sticky which turns out to be Walter’s blood. He’s dead. The two also find a bag full of cash which they take with them as they leave with the dog. Read the rest of this post »
January 17, 2012
Tags: book review, cat deluca, k.j. larsen, sticks and stones Posted in: Mystery No Comments
No Cure for Murder by Lawrence W. Gold
Reviewed by Cy Hilterman
Marvelous story that combines mystery in Brier Hospital, its patients, doctors, nurses, and other workers. There is murder in Brier Hospital, but who is doing the killing? How safe are patients in their room, some in a difficult medical state of health where they are not able to think straight, and some in a very delicate state near the end of their life? Dr. Jacob Weizman and his wife, Lola, were Holocaust survivors well up in years; Jacob was eighty-eight years of age and Lola eighty-five. Jacob was so very highly thought of in the medical world of Brier and beyond for many reasons. He told it like it was but always had compassion for his patients. That, along with his expertise towards almost any health problem, made him so very valuable nd trustworthy in the medical field. Lola was also still active in her practice as a psychotherapist despite her age. She and Jacob would be lost without their professions and each other.
There is usually a person on most any hospital staff who has their problems with others in that hospital and that was the case with Jacob with a few thinking he was too darn old to practice medicine, but these same people had to admit he was the best and wisest in the hospital despite his age. When a friend of Jacobs called him and told him of a young doctor, Zoe Spelling, who was looking for an office in which to practice, Jacob asked that she come and see him. Jacob did hire Dr. Zoe Spelling. He knew he was getting old and could use someone to help him. Dr. Spelling was a bright young woman who seemed very capable and Jacob, despite his complaints about some things she did or didn’t do, thought she was a good fit as his partner. Read the rest of this post »
January 17, 2012
Tags: book review, lawrence w. gold, no cure for murder Posted in: Mystery No Comments
The Deception of Lyme (Or, The Peril of Persuasion) Carrie Bebris
Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb
Mr. Fitzwilliam and Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy are presented with their most intriguing mystery ever in Carrie Bebris’s latest Jane Austen-inspired novel, The Deception at Lyme (Or, The Peril of Persuasion). This seventh novel in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series is based on both two of Austen’s most popular characters, the Darcys, and on her last novel, Persuasion. In Persuasion, the seawall in Lyme known as the Cobb (my last name, coincidently) is where Miss Louisa Musgrove falls in a critical turning point of the novel. But, in Bebris’s novel, the Cobb proves to be lethal. It’s where the very pregnant Mrs. Clay suffers a fall at the base of the Cobb, manages to give birth to her baby, but dies from her injuries.
There are mysteries on top of mysteries in this excellent page-turning novel. Who is the father of the infant Mrs. Clay leaves behind? There are two likely choices, but which one would benefit the most at Mrs. Clay’s death? Was her fall an accident, or was she murdered–and, if she was murdered, why? These are just a few of the questions that the Darcys try to discover the answers to in The Deception at Lyme (Or, The Peril of Persuasion).
They have traveled to Lyme both to rest and vacation, and also to receive the personal effects of Mr. Darcy’s cousin, a naval lieutenant (Gerald Fitzwilliam) who died in action. The Darcys are there with Fitzwilliam’s sister, Georgiana, and their 18-month old daughter, Lily-Anne, who is fascinated with her first encounter of the sea. Fitzwilliam spots a ship at sea which seems to be struggling against the approach of an imminent storm. A lightning bolt crashes down, and sets a mast of the ship ablaze. Hurrying to attempt to rescue any survivors, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth come upon the body of a woman they later find out is Mrs. Clay, who has apparently unsuccessfully tried to descend rough-hewn uneven steps called the Granny’s Teeth. Read the rest of this post »
January 17, 2012
Tags: book review, carrie bebris, the deception of lyme Posted in: Mystery No Comments
