Murder, Murder, and More Murder
by Larry Cox on Oct. 05, 2009, under UncategorizedFICTION
Evidence: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine Books, $28)
Jonathan Kellerman is addictive. In his latest novel, a watchman, while patrolling a Los Angeles mansion that is under construction, stumbles on the bodies of a young couple, murdered in flagrante. Veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is shocked by the crime scene and he calls in psychologist Alex Delaware to help him solve the case. Even though the female is not immediately identified, the slain man is eco-friendly architect Desmond Backer. Murder, blackmail, conspiracy, and a vendetta are all part of this adrenaline-fueled thriller.
Detective Stories edited by Peter Washington (Everyman’s Classics/Alfred A. Knopf, $15)
This marvelous collection features classic stories by such literary icons as Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, and G.K. Chesterton, in addition to more contemporary writers such as Sara Paretsky, Ruth Rendell, and Ian Rankin. The detectives who stalk these pages range from the brilliant and eccentric to the less likely. In this compilation which will entertain, amaze, and thrill, readers will feast upon sixteen classic tales of crime covering more than two centuries. This is perfect reading for Halloween month.
Blood Game by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s Press, $27.99)
Johansen’s unforgettable heroine, Eve Duncan, is once again in danger as she comes close to solving the murder of her daughter. The killer, who has a special affinity for blood, taunts her with his every move. After a Georgia senator’s daughter to found dead, drained of her blood, Eve begins connecting the dots that lead her to Kevin Jelak, a serial murderer who is at the top of her list of suspects. When a goblet of the victim’s blood is left in her refrigerator, Eve realizes the taunts are over and the games have truly begun. This gut wrenching story grabs readers by the scruff of the neck and doesn’t let go until the very last page.
I am Not a Psychic! By Richard Belzer with Michael Black (Simon & Schuster, $24)
Hot on the heels of “I Am Not a Cop!,” Richard Belzer, the actor and stand-up comedian who brought his dry wit to the role of Detective John Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is asked by Paul Venchus, an old newspaper colleague and friend, Paul Venchus, to look into a rather cold case, the death of Brigid Burgeon. Burgeon, a beautiful Hollywood starlet, was found dead from an apparent overdose twenty-six years ago. When her death is followed by that of her lover, a California congressman, Venchus is convinced there is more to the story and the Belz can’t resist turning over some rocks to see if there is, indeed, a connection. Crackling dialogue, innovative plot twists, and intriguing characters make this entertaining and as satisfying as a big drag off of an unfiltered Lucky Strike.
Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford (St. Martin’s Press, $27.99)
It has been thirty years since Barbara Taylor Bradford’s bestseller “A Woman of Substance,” but she has lost none of her talent for storytelling. In her latest effort, M, a beautiful young woman, is attacked in the English countryside and flees to New York to escape the memories of the brutal encounter. When she embarks on a modeling career, she meets handsome actor Larry Vaughan, and they become an international celebrity couple. M’s life takes a dramatic turn when a menacing figure from her past resurfaces and threatens to destroy her life. It is at that point that she decides to who everything she can to protect herself, even if it means breaking the rules. This story of love, redemption, secrets and survival is set against the exotic backdrops of Paris, Istanbul, and Hong Kong.
Locked In: A Sharon McCone Mystery by Marcia Muller (Grand Central Publishing, $24.99)
In her 27th novel featuring San Francisco private investigator Sharon McCone, the woman is shot by an unknown assailant as she returns to her office late one night. Only when she awakes in the hospital does she realize the damage the attack has done. She is unable to speak or move, except for her eyelids, but her mind is alert and fully conscious. Her husband, Hy Ripinsky, and other operates of the agency fan out to identify the attacker and bring him to justice. Sharon is convinced that since the attack occurred at her office, the assailant must be someone connected with one of the firm’s cases. As she lies in her hospital bed, she mulls over each clue uncovered by her husband and colleagues. Will the attacker return to finish the job he started? Muller is one of this country’s best mystery writers. Her plots continue to sizzle, crackle, and shock.
Capitol Offense by William Bernhardt (Ballantine Books, $26)
Once again, William Bernhardt takes readers into the dank underbelly of the criminal justice system. Attorney Ben Kincaid is contacted by Professor Dennis Thomas who has a bizarre request: Can Kincaid help him beat a murder charge of a killing that is yet to happen? In this sly, witty gem of a tale, the professor’s target is a Tulsa cop who refused to authorize a search for Thomas’ missing wife, later found dead in the twisted wreckage of her car in an isolated ravine. Insane with grief, Thomas wants to kill Detective Christopher Sentz. When Sentz is found later that same day pumped full of bullets, the case is no longer academic. “Capitol Offense” is well crafted and a real page-turner. I dare you to read this book. The last few pages will leave you breathless.
Owl Killers by Karen Maitland (Delcorte Books, $26)
This novel, set in the tiny English village of Ulewic in 1321, is nothing less than a bubbling literary caldron of terror in all its facets – social, religious, and environmental. Monitoring the members of this medieval village is a small group of men, the Owl Masters, who are cloaked in masks and secrecy and rule with violence, intimidation, and mysterious rites. Women from Flanders form a new order and offer a safe harbor from both the Church and the Owl Masters but will the villagers trust the women enough to embrace the gifts they bring? What gives this story its traction is its compelling cast of characters that include a pregnant teenager terrified by an unwanted child, a banished, parish priest, a mystic once on the verge of sainthood but now cast out of the church, and the mute daughter of a witch. This powerful, enthralling story of treachery and magic is multilayered, atmospheric, and complex.
The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault (Delacorte, $25)
In this crisply written debut novel, Massachusetts writer Emily Arsenault serves up am absorbing tale of Billy Webb and Mona Minot, two lexicographers, who discover clues to a long-unsolved crime while searching through the hundred-year-old dictionary files at Samuelson Company. They must determine if the crime is real or the product of a desperate and lonely mind. This novel jumps the literary tracks in that it is smart and refreshingly original. As the couple scramble to assemble the pieces of the intricate puzzle, the chilling story of a young woman and shattering violence begins to emerge.
February 7th, 2010 on 11:57 pm
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