Death of a Neighborhood Witch

 

Death of a Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine

Reviewed by Gerti

“Death of a Neighborhood Witch” is another funny mystery from the author of the Jaine Austen mysteries, Laura Levine. However, unlike so many other authors who have gleaned inspiration from the famed British novelist Jane Austen, Laura Levine’s only connection with the original author, her plot, and characters, is that the heroine’s name. It is not even a running joke in this book, as it was in Levine’s first novel, “This Pen for Hire.” Perhaps author Levine has realized that not that many people who read mysteries know who Jane Austen is, or perhaps she feels the joke has run its course. Either way, I don’t mind.

Levine uses the Austen name to reel in new fans, because once they read one of her hysterical books, they will be hooked, as I am. Laura Levine’s comedy background is impressive - Levine wrote for such classic TV shows as “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Laverne and Shirley” and her skills are one display here, as heroine Jaine solves yet another murder, after being the chief suspect first. Her comic antics are laugh-out-loudable, but also plausible, which is what makes them so fun! These comic turns are what I really love about the book, and the series.

However, I dislike that she has changed the personality of her nosey neighbor Lance to make him flaming in this book, and I liked him better when he could just hear through her paper-thin walls. He is positively nasty in this book, and his double-crossing her after they pick out Halloween costumes (he changes her flapper outfit to a gorilla suit at the last minute) is the reason she becomes a murder suspect at all. No one needs friends like that!

I also dislike the frequent references to Jaine’s cat, Prozac, but I understand that is part of Levine’s schtick, just as Joanne Fluke‘s cat is an important character in all her Hannah Swensen food-related mysteries. It is Prozac running into the yard of the neighborhood witch Cryptessa Muldoon (and inadvertently killing her bird!) that sets the wheels of the mystery in motion. Cryptessa is an irascible old lady who in her youth used to star in a short-lived TV series called I Married a Zombie. Think of her as analogous to Morticia Adams or Lily Munster.

Cryptessa is hated by her neighbors for being cranky and nosey, as she takes pictures of her neighbors, who are engaged in some pretty wild stuff for middle-class middle-aged people. So when she is found dead with a “Do Not Tresspass” sign staked through her body, everyone is a suspect, and Jaine has to figure out who done it. In the end, it doesn’t really matter who did it, because the mystery is just an excuse for Jaine to butt into everyone’s lives and find out their dirty little secrets. Lucky for us, Levine’s comic writing talents and easy writing style make it a pleasure to go along for the ride. This book is a hoot!

The Poet

 

The Poet by Michael Connelly

Reviewed by Gerti

Even before I started reading “The Poet”, Stephen King’s gushing forward let me know that it was something special. He praises Michael Connelly for the enticingly clever first line, “Death is my beat”, which comes from the mind of journalist, Jack McEvoy, who is struggling with his emotions after the death of his homicide detective brother, Sean. King praises the book as a marvelous piece of storytelling, and it is, including “a series of surprises that go off like well-placed dynamite charges”. I’ve found those unexpected twists in plot to be typical of Connelly’s writing. Although his comments were written in 2003, King calls this book “the best work Michael Connelly, a prolific writer, has done up to this point, and marks(s) him as an important voice in the genre at the turn of the century.” With high praise like that, what can I say, but that Connelly has written another great book filled with memorable characters and a sizzling storyline?

Connelly’s writing never fails to impress me. Since I was once a journalist, I really like his realistic characterization of newspaper reporter Jack McEvoy, and the problems Jack faces within and without his newsroom. He believes that his twin brother’s death was not a suicide, but has difficulty convincing others that it’s more than wishful thinking. He breaks the big story, however, when his research reveals a pattern to the supposed suicide deaths of several homicide detectives across the country, and the FBI is called in to investigate. Soon, Jack finds himself on the trail of a serial killer called The Poet, with a taste for Edgar Allan Poe (who else?) There is the obligatory romance with a tougher-than-nails female agent, until Jack begins to suspect that she may be behind some of the deaths. But the true killer’s identity is that dynamite blast Stephen King was referring to… so I won’t spoil it for you!

Suffice it to say that I agree with Stephen King that this is a great book, complicated but satisfying. I love the way McEvoy follows the clues wherever they lead, even if they sometimes lead him astray for a while. I even like his relationship with FBI agent Rachel Walling, as it seems more natural here than her “romance” in another book (“The Narrows”) with another of Connelly’s favorite protagonists, sometime LAPD detective Harry Bosch. This book is irresistible, and I finished it in a day, despite it being over 500 pages long. If the writing weren’t so good, I might even have to complain about how much Connelly writes!

I strongly recommend “The Poet” to anyone who likes a crime story where the good guys win, almost. But just like students in college take psychology classes to figure out what is wrong with them, this book shows that the FBI (and journalism – LOL) is riddled with broken people, some of whom can’t be fixed.

The Lost Years

 

The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark

Reviewed by Gerti

I am an enormous fan of Mary Higgins Clark, but had seen the book “The Lost Years” before and chosen not to read it because I didn’t like the plot, which seemed to me to be derivative of the currently popular Dan Brown novels. However, now that I am running out of new MHC books, I finally forced myself to read this book, and I’m glad I did. The derivative part involves a recently discovered letter written by Jesus Christ, a priceless artifact which has scholars and archeologists scrambling. But the human aspect of the tale is about Jonathan Lyons, a very human bible scholar who is having an affair with a much younger woman instead of staying home to care for his Alzheimer’s afflicted wife.

Mariah Lyons is their daughter, and she has her own successful career in New York as a financial planner, which is where she met the sleuthing team of Alvirah and Willy Meehan. Clark has had great success with this pair, whose popularity seemingly rivals that of Nick and Nora Charles. I find them amusing, especially since Alvirah has a pin that controls a secret recording device, which seems in a few cases to also be able to record conversations that happened before it gets turned on! However, they are good for a laugh and a welcome diversion, although they don’t really solve the murder mystery here, and seem as confused as the cops.

The main plot, however, is that when Jonathan Lyons is killed, shot to death in his den, there are many suspects, including his lover Lillian and his memory-addled wife. While the police cruelly assume Kathleen Lyons did it and that her strange behavior and memory lapses are all an act, Mariah fights hard to keep her mother out of jail. Four other suspects are the boys who frequently joined the family for meals, including 2 with a crush on Mariah. Greg Pearson and Richard Callahan are those two, with Greg’s crush being long-standing but not reciprocated. Mariah is warming up to Richard, but is he just being charming now to get the Jesus letter, or does he already have it?

I liked the premise and the story Clark weaves, although the ending wasn’t entirely satisfactory for me. I liked protagonist Mariah, whose character seems pretty consistent, but don’t like how her mother’s personality seems to change by the end of the book. She seemed a harmless Alzheimer’s sufferer to start, but when she is later found to have violent episodes, I almost suspected there was someone goading her at the hospital where she was being observed. I also didn’t like Lillian, the mistress, because her personality seemed inconsistent. She is generally a conniving B-word and then we’re asked to be sympathetic to her plight? I don’t think so. “The Lost Years” isn’t a perfect novel, nor is it my favorite by MHC, but it is quite entertaining if you like that sort of stolen treasure genre.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Reviewed by Gerti

This is the second book I have read by Joanne Fluke, but it is the first offering in her series of recipe murder mysteries. I was underwhelmed by the last book of hers I read (“The Carrot Cake Murder”), and wondered if the series started out good but weakened over time. The answer to that question is yes!

“Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder” is the first of the Fluke’s Hannah Swensen books, and Hannah is the absolutely likeable owner of a bake shop in Lake Eden, Minnesota called “The Cookie Jar.” In this book, her usual delivery of milk from the Cozy Cow Dairy every morning becomes unusual when she goes into the alley to check on her deliveryman, and finds him shot to death in his truck. Sadly, a bag of her cookies is on the seat next to him!

To save her reputation, and that of her food, Hannah goes the extra mile to find out whodunit, and in the process uncovers a number of other mysteries, including the fact that the football coach beats his wife and that one of the richest men in town was in hock to the man who owns the dairy, where murder victim Ron LaSalle worked. Pretty soon, his boss Max is missing, too, and Hannah works with her policeman brother-in-law to tie up the chocolate chip murder mystery before more bodies show up!

I like this book better than “The Carrot Cake Murder” because Fluke presents more background information here than she does in that book. I gave her writing another try because I suspected showing up late in a series might be like trying to jump into a conversation between two high school friends, because “The Carrot Cake Murder” didn’t present enough info on the characters or town, as though the author felt I should have already known those things. Well here, Fluke tells the whole story of the delicious protagonist Hannah, giving a background on who’s dating whom, what the relationship is between Hannah and her sisters (sorry, Woody Allen), as well as some frightening details on what life is like during a Minnesota winter.

The mystery here in “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder” is also more substantive than in “Carrot Cake”, with a few more twists and turns, and the whole effort feels more thought out. While the other novel was meringue, this book is as hearty and filling as a loaf of zucchini bread. Once you start reading Fluke’s mysteries (with recipes included!) you’ll want another helping, too.

This Pen for Hire

This Pen for Hire, a Jaine Austen mystery by Laura Levine

Reviewed by Gerti

When I say this book was recommended to me by author Joanne Fluke, I mean that in the introduction to her latest book, Fluke thanked author Laura Levine “(who writes the Jaine Austen series)” for helping her with the “Double Fudge Brownie Mystery”. I was so moved by that statement that I had to track down one of Levine’s books immediately. I did so because I love the famous British author Jane Austen, and wondered who would possibly be cheeky enough to borrow the famous lady’s name to write a mystery series, and then misspell it (yikes!)

Unlike so many other authors who have gleaned inspiration from Jane Austen and her hundred-year-old romance novels, Laura Levine’s only connection with the original author, her plot, and characters, is that the heroine of “This Pen for Hire” was named Jaine Austen (misspelling intentional) by her novel-loving mother. That’s it. So her name is a running joke in this book.

That said, you would think I would hate this novel and that it was crap. But that’s not correct. Laura Levine is a comedy writer from way back who has uncovered herself a hell of a hook for her mystery series. It may have little to do with my favorite author, but that doesn’t mean “This Pen for Hire” isn’t a hysterical little book. Levine, who wrote for such classic TV shows as “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Laverne and Shirley”, trots out her comedic skills here, and it’s a hoot.

I love heroine Jaine Austen, even though she’s a thoroughly modern woman with thoroughly modern problems. Yes, she is a freelance writer as the title implies. But she’s also caught up in a mystery here, when a love letter she penned for a hapless schlub named Howard Murdoch gets him arrested for a murder he didn’t commit. To save the poor bugger, Jaine starts investigating the crime, and runs into a comic cast of characters, each seemingly more bungling than the last. She is helped by the victim’s neighbor, a delicious-looking man named Cameron who owns an antique shop. Is he gay? Is he straight? Can he possibly be interested in Jaine?

Yes, I knew who the killer was early on, and understood his motives, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t love the ride Levine took me on. Her language is a treat to read, her characters a delight to meet, and oh the world inside Austen’s head! I love her sense of humor, and her intense need to bathe to take away her stress. She’s be a girl after my own heart, except for her cat (a trait this author shares with Fluke’s own Hannah Swensen). Nothing at all in this book for a Jane Austen fan, but I definitely want to spend more time in the world of Jaine Austen. She’s like having a hysterical girlfriend, who is smart enough to catch crooks, and that’s a big wow. Loved it!

Double Fudge Brownie Murder

Double Fudge Brownie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

Reviewed by Gerti

This is the third book I have read by Joanne Fluke, and I liked it, but I find her writing to be uneven. I was underwhelmed by the first book of hers I read, “The Carrot Cake Murder”, but liked the “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder”, which is the first book in her multi-book series of Hannah Swensen mysteries. Lake Eden, Minnesota-based baker/crime fighter Hannah Swensen also does something I love, which is include her recipes into the book. And no, I haven’t tried to bake any yet, but they do sound delicious!

In this book, Hannah is supposed to go to jail for unintentionally killing someone with her cookie delivery truck. She goes to the courthouse with her lawyer, and sits in the judge’s anteroom while her lawyer is out of the room on the phone. Hannah hears a thump, and wonders if the elderly judge has met with an accident. She enters the room to find that the judge is dead, but it was no accident. It was murder! Hannah is a suspect at first, but gradually proves to the town’s detective, her boyfriend Mike, that she just has “slaydar” – which is what they call her ability to find dead bodies!

As in all of these mystery books, Hannah interviews and investigates her own list of suspects. So much so, that she is hardly ever at “The Cookie Jar,” her shop. But luckily, she has some helpers there, as well as in her crime-solving endeavors. Her younger sister Michelle accompanies her when Hannah meets the suspects, including the dead judge’s ex-wife, ex-mistress, and his kids.

What this book has that the other Fluke’s I’ve read are missing, is real romance. Hannah is a curly-headed carrot top, and while she has a few men interested in her, she has not felt a spark with them. In this book, Hannah accompanies her two sisters to Las Vegas for her mother’s wedding, and in the process meets up with her old college boyfriend, Ross. That’s when the fireworks go off! Hannah does things that readers familiar with her Midwestern lifestyle would not imagine a sweet young thing from Minnesota even thinking about, let alone doing! I found that a little off-putting, and out of character for this well-known cookie lady.

I was also tired of Hannah’s constant discussions with her cat, Moishe. Here, he practically speaks to her. Hannah seems to find trying to interpret his various “Rrrowws” charming. I did not, perhaps because I’m more of a dog person. I wish this cat would just take a nap! In more than one scene, Fluke describes how Moishe and his companion (Cuddles) race around the dinner table, making the diners lift their legs. Irritating. It just gets old to hear about the cat all the time!

I also felt cheated when the judge’s murderer was practically a new character in the story. But I did love the sound of Hannah’s new recipes, and that’s why I’ve finally purchased one of these books. Hope the recipes are better than the plot!

Pretend You Don't See Her

 

Pretend You Don’t See Her by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

By now, I’ve gotten used to Mary Higgins Clark writing books based on old songs, but this is one song I’ve yet to look up on YouTube. It seems an odd title, though, for the story of realtor Lacey Farrell who goes into witness protection after seeing a murder at a client’s condo in New York City.

There is more wrong with this novel than just the title, however. One of the things that stands out early is that the killer, who uses a false name to get Lacey to show him a NYC apartment, allegedly steals the key to the place from the front hallway table there in order to come back and kill the owner. But after the murder, when Lacey shuts him out by locking the door, he somehow can’t open it to get back in, even though he has the key. Big continuity flaw.

I also dislike how stupid Lacey is in the novel. Through the witness protection program, the authorities move her from NYC to Minneapolis after she sees the killer’s face and they figure out from his prints that he’s a wanted mobster they thought was dead. But Lacey can’t help telling her ditzy mom where she has been moved to, even though she knows it threatens her own safety. She also can’t keep away from the things she did in New York – working in real estate and going to health clubs. It seems that would be Witness Protection 101, try to do different things in your new location, so you’re not so easy to track down. But Lacey follows old patterns, and with her loose lips, it’s no wonder the murderous mobster finds his way to Minnesota to finish the job by killing her.

I also disliked how she felt unable to make new relationships in her new town, afraid that she was putting them in danger. It seems odd that she is unwilling to put strangers in danger, when she seems to go out of her way to put herself in harm’s way. The only sensible thing she does is choose a fake name – Alice Carroll – this is similar to her real name, so she can remember and respond to it.

The back story in this novel – that actress Heather Landi’s mother never believed she died in a car accident, but that she was murdered, and that elderly lady confides in Lacey and gives her Heather’s journal – is interesting. But all of it seems far-fetched and strains credibility. I always like Clark’s writing, but this seems like one of her early writing efforts which could have used a few more read-throughs by a conscientious editor. Now the only mystery is the song…

The Burning Room

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Review by Gerti

 

Former reporter turned crime writer Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors, and I could hardly wait to get my hands on “The Burning Room.” The only disappointment I felt when it was over, was that it was over, and I had no more Connelly to read! Don’t worry about me, though. I’m already halfway into one of his old books!

In this book, LAPD cold case detective Harry Bosch (hurrah!) is on the case of a man who died 10 years after being shot. He was Orlando Merced, a musician performing in Mariachi plaza in LA a decade before with his band, looking for work, when a bullet pierced his spine. The crime was always considered a gang drive-by gone bad, and Merced was paraded around by a political candidate to show how out-of-control LA crime had become. But Bosch and his new partner, Lucia Soto, soon realize that another band member was actually the intended victim, and that the murder weapon was a hunting rifle, which puts an entirely different spin on the investigation.

As always, Bosch is hampered in his efforts to find the truth by the political workings both inside and outside the police department, but now he has to even question the commitment of his partner, a young Hispanic woman who appears to be lying to him about where she is spending her time, and which case she’s really working on. When confronted, Lucy reveals that she was the victim of a neighborhood building fire as a child, and is hoping to find out who set the Bonnie Brae fire, which killed several of her childhood friends. Bosch agrees to help her, and soon realizes that that case is related to that of the Mariachi musician, as well as to a bank robbery down the street.

In typical style, Connelly weaves a brilliantly complicated story, filled with interconnected plotlines which make it real thrill when everything comes together at the end. For long-time Bosch fans, an FBI agent and former love interest of Bosch’s even puts in a guest appearance, and we get to see Bosch’s daughter working toward her own career in law enforcement. Can you say “passing the torch?” Connelly has thankfully even gotten over his young writer’s habit of making Bosch sleep with someone in every novel. Here Bosch resists getting back into a relationship with the coroner, and starts seeing a female crime reporter. It will be a sad day for Connelly readers when Harry Bosch decide to retire from the force! At this point, as long as Connelly keeps writing, I’ll be there, excited to read the next installment!

No Place Like Home

No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

One of the better Mary Higgins Clark books, even though one of the "surprises" was pretty evident from the beginning. It involves a woman names Celia whose husband buys her a house for her birthday, a house in which she killed her mother when she was a child and bore a different name. I accept the fact that a child who becomes famous for a crime would want to change her name in order to reclaim her anonymity, but I don't see a husband EVER buying a house for wife that she hadn't seen and approved. And a house with such a terrible history for her? Too great a coincidence to believe, and that makes him an immediate suspect in my book!

Celia, however, has no such suspicions, even though creepy things start happening almost immediately. Those include someone vandalizing the lawn in front of the house and their heavy wooden front door, works which prove to be more than the actions of teenage ne'er-do-wells. Then the realtor who sold the house to her husband is found dead near some spilled paint that was used to write "Little Lizzie's Place. Beware!" on the lawn. Liza Barclay was Celia's childhood name, and the press dubbed her "Little Lizzie" after infamous parent killer Lizzie Borden. But in Liza's case, she accidentally shot her mother, Audrey, while trying to protect her from Ted Cartwright, her sexy but violent stepfather.

Celia hasn't told her new husband, Alex Nolan, about her past, but any fan of old movies know this plot - where the creepy husband tries to make his rich new wife feel like she's losing her mind, possibly even get her convicted of some crime. And that's where it's headed in this book, as the bodies begin to pile up, and Celia seems to be strangely close to each location! After the realtor, the lawn boy is found shot to death, then a riding instructor of Celia's who is also linked to her father and stepfather. One local detective in on the verge of matching Celia's fingerprints to those of Little Lizzie, but luckily, the Morris County prosecutor thinks the finger-pointing has gone too far and that Celia may in fact be more victim than crazed criminal.

All through the plot twists, Celia tries desperately to remember what her mother shouted while fighting with her stepfather, and when it finally comes back to her, she is able to put the pieces together herself. A bullet pulled from a tree decades ago and a yellowing press clipping also help knit the story together, and soon all the non-deceased baddies are behind bars, including Celia's current spouse, who just wanted her for her money.

A fun book to read, like most of Clark's efforts. "No Place Like Home" would make great reading around Halloween, when all the spooky vandalism would fit right into the season of ghosts and goblins. I'm glad I bought this book at a local book sale.

You Belong to Me

 
You Belong to Me by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

There is a great and plausible plot in Mary Higgins Clark’s offering “You Belong to Me” up until a sour note sounds when the killer is revealed at the end. The novels tells the story of a man who targets lonely women on vacation. The whack-job (and I think I can call him that!) uses the old song as the basis of his killing spree. If you don’t know the tune, it goes – “See the pyramids along the Nile. Watch the sunset on a tropic isle. Just remember darling all the while, you belong to me.” There are other verses, but you get the point. He takes women away from their tour groups and to the places named in the song, and then they disappear. Oh, and being freaky, he gives them all identical rings, which is what makes him easier to catch.

Dr. Susan Chandler is a radio psychologist like Dr. Fraser Crane. Hoping to warn women against being victims, she has a guest on her show who wrote a new book about women who disappear and have become victims of crimes due to their loneliness. That on-air discussion puts Dr. Chandler in the swirling heart of danger. She is contacted by the mother of one such victim, Regina Clausen, a wealthy successful woman who found romance on a cruise and then was never heard from again. Other women begin to call the show with clues about a ring that reads “You Belong to Me”, but when Chandler tries to track it down, she finds both that girl caller and the New York maker of those custom rings are dead. Is the killer someone Susan knows? Has he been listening to her show? Or is it the author of the book himself?

Like most Clark stories, there are red herrings thrown into the plot before the true killer is revealed. There are also other evil characters, male and female, who give spice to the action, including Susan’s man-hungry sister, Dee. In the end, however, I find that Clark’s killer choice seemed wrong. He was the least likely suspect, and even at the dramatic conclusion of the story, seems like a square peg shoved into a round hole for the sake of Clark’s being unpredictable. The rest of the writing was in Clark’s usual easy-going style, which made “You Belong to Me” a pleasure to read, although I did get tired of hearing about the lyrics to the title song! Not her best, but still fun.

The Cinderella Murder

“The Cinderella Murder” by Mary Higgins Clark

sequel to “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”

Review by Gerti

Mary Higgins Clark newest novel is novel in a number of ways. First, for this book, she uses a collaborator named Alafair Burke (which makes me question how old Clark is), although she has co-written books before with her daughter. And second, this book continues the story of Laurie Moran, a TV reality series producer with bad luck in her real life, but great luck in her career. She’s just produced a ratings-busting TV pilot called Under Suspicion, which tries to take long-cold murder cases and uncover the killer. Now her boss wants more of those shows. She’s chosen “The Cinderella Murder” for her second show, even though her boss was pushing for her to work on the Jon Benet Ramsey case.

In the first book, Laurie’s high profile crime series comes to the attention of the man who killed her husband years before, and he tries to put his own high-caliber spin on the ending by killing her. Fortunately for Laurie, her dad used to be a powerful NY cop, and he foils the killer’s plans. In this sequel, her father once again senses a killer is trailing the TV crew when a neighbor to Cinderella’s mother, Rosemary Dempsey, is found bludgeoned to death in her backyard (which is actually good, since she’s an obnoxious character!) Laurie thinks there is no connection, but her dad does not believe in coincidence. So he and Laurie’s son, Timmy, head to California with the production crew to keep an eye on things, and hopefully catch the killer before he can get to Laurie.

The original murder goes like this – Susan Dempsey, Rosemary’s daughter, was a beautiful and talented student at UCLA. She is found dead (minus one shoe) near the home of the movie producer she was supposedly auditioning for, but his alibi is another beautiful blonde acting student (Susan’s roommate Madison) from UCLA whom he supposedly called to his home after Susan didn’t show up. Another roommate named Nicole was never originally under suspicion, but Laurie thinks she’s being far too secretive about the murder, as is Susan’s former boyfriend. But don’t forget to put the boy who was crushing on Susan (currently a quirky computer billionaire) and their hunky college professor on the list of suspects. Add a crazy religious cult and you’ve got your mystery.

Clark’s characters are always well-drawn, distinct, and likable, so I found myself caught up in the story, however convoluted. The only thing I don’t like about this book is the romance between Laurie and the lawyer who interviews the graduates, named Alex Buckley. Fortunately, there is just a touch of romance, (and a smattering of gramps and son) so that I would recommend this quick and satisfying read to anyone. I’m glad to hear that they are starting a series of these books, and look forward to reading the next one.

I've Got You Under My Skin

“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

I’m as irritated as the next guy by the fact that Mary Higgins Clark always uses old songs titles for her book titles, but this book is much better than the title might indicate. It tells the story of Laurie Moran, a TV series producer who has had a bad stretch of luck. Her last two shows bombed, and her husband was killed. On top of that, the killer told her young son that he was coming after him and his mother, too. Fortunately for Laurie, her dad used to be a powerful NY cop, and he retired to watch over his grandson Timmy. The only clue to the killer is that he has blue Eyes, but we don’t find out till the end that they are only contact lenses.

Because of her affinity for crime victims, Laurie pitches a story idea to her boss for a series of shows on unsolved murders. She chooses to start with a doozy – the case of wealthy socialite Betsy Powell, found smothered in her bed the night after a Graduation Gala for her daughter and 3 of her friends. Turns out, each of the girls hated the lady, and each had a good motive to kill her. Betsy was such a witch, though, that other people wanted her dead as well, and hundreds of people were invited to the house party. So whodunit? Old Mr. Powell wants to find the answer before he dies, and so he’s willing to pay each of the girls (now women) $250K to reenact the night of the party at his house – and be questioned by a lawyer.

Laurie’s new show is so high profile, however, that the man who killed her husband hears about it, and he’s ready to put his own high-caliber spin on the ending by killing her. His name is Bruno Hoffa, but of course that’s an alias. He’s pursuing revenge on Laurie because her father, when he was still a cop, put him away for 30 years.

Sounds like a pretty hackneyed plot, but Clark is such a good writer, that this novel really works. Her characters are well-drawn, distinct, and likable, so I found myself caught up in the story. It’s a delight finding out how evil Betsy Powell is, and how she ruined the lives of the 4 girl murder suspects. The only thing I don’t like about this book (besides the title, which doesn’t appear anywhere in the book), is the romance between Laurie and the lawyer who interviews the graduates, named Alex. It is irritating that Clark has to have her protagonists find love in many of the books she writes, but perhaps that’s part of their appeal to many of her readers. Romance novels with mysteries attached, or Mystery novels with a touch of romance? To me, the book would have been stronger if she had left that out. There are so many other juicy relationships going on, the budding romance between Laurie and Alex is the least interesting in the book.

In summary, Clark’s style is easy breezy, and I would recommend this quick and satisfying read to anyone. The characters are great and the plot moves fast

On the Street Where You Live

“On the Street Where You Live” by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

Mary Higgins Clark novel “On The Street Where You Live” is a lively tale of murder in the present, and in the past. Protagonist Emily Graham moves back to her ancestral home in the seaside town of Spring Lake, New Jersey, after a nasty divorce. Her family sold the home at the turn of the century after one of her ancestor’s was murdered.

Emily is just settling in when the crew out back digging a pool make a grisly discovery – there are two bodies in her back yard. One body is recent, the other is of her ancestor, who has been there since 1892! The odd thing is, the recent murder victim, although wrapped in plastic, has her ancestor’s signet ring clenched in her cold, dead hand. This means that the modern killer knew about the earlier body. How is that possible? Since she’s just taken the house, Emily is beyond suspicion for the crime, but there are a number of characters in town with motive and opportunity to commit the crime.

Emily’s divorce was not the only thing that drove her away from her job as an attorney. She was also being stalked by the son of murdered woman who went mad after Emily got the alleged killer acquitted. When Emily starts getting ominous photos and post cards again, she checks to make sure this whack-job is still locked up – he is – but then has to think about who else hates her. Her ex-husband is one of the suspects, but she doesn’t even think of her high-tech millionaire buddy. He gave her a bunch of stock for defending him in a case, and she cashed it all in to buy the big house on the shore. What she doesn’t know, is that her sale led to a sell-off of other stock in the man’s company, and now he’s got revenge on his mind as well.

There are so many secrets in this small town that it would be re-writing the novel to list them all. Suffice it to say that Clark’s characters are well-differentiated and interesting, with the heroine very likable, and the baddies very disagreeable. The only aspect I didn’t like was the subplot where the modern killer perhaps was the reincarnation of the killer from the 1890’s. But if you can get past all that nonsense, “On the Street Where You Live” is a quick and satisfying read with just a touch of history and romance thrown in for good measure. Well worth picking up.

While My Pretty One Sleeps

While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark
Review by Gerti

"While My Pretty One Sleeps" is another winner by Mary Higgins Clark. The protagonist is Neeve Kearny, the only daughter of a former Police Commissioner of NYC. You would think that connection would keep her safe in the city. Instead, it means that Neeve has been exposed to lots of famous people, and some of them are even dangerous! After her mother Renata is murdered, a mobster is put into prison for 17 years, but now he's set to be released, and Neeve's dad is worried that she will be his next victim.

Besides being a potential victim, however, Neeve has a full life. Although she still lives with dad, she runs a very successful clothing store, which caters to the rich lives of New York who have no fashion sense of their own. One of her clients is a hard-to-love, hard-as-nails writer named Ethel Lambston. When the lady goes missing on the eve of a large delivery of clothes, Neeve makes it her business to fin out what happened to the old bird. In the process, she runs into Ethel's mooching nephew, Donald, who has moved into the lady's apartment just as she has done her disappearing act. Also on the suspect list is Lambston's ex-husband, Seamus, whom she's been bleeding dry financially for over 20 years. That man and his second wife, Ruth, are at wit's end and the pressure is on to stop paying alimony, with their 2 kids in college and his liquor business no longer as profitable as it was. He admits they had a big fight. But did he kill her?

Unlike so many mystery books, Clark keeps the reader guessing until the end, and even when the killer is revealed, it is a hug surprise, as there is another suspect who I haven't bothered to name here who is just as likely to have iced the old girl, as he's involved in running seat shops and guilty of tax evasion. He's so openly evil that Neeve has refused to carry his clothes in her shop anymore, so he could have put a hit out on her as well. This book is a thrilling whodunit with only a few sour notes, including the romance of Neeve's father with the widow who found Lambston's body. The book was well written, and the ending very satisfying, as it tied up several loose ends. I would recommend "While My Pretty One Sleeps" to anyone older than their teens.

The Weight of Water

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
Reviewed by Gerti

Anita Shreve's "The Weight of Water" takes place in New England, but what makes this book special is that the narrative is split between two time periods, present day and the 18th century. The modern storyline involves a Boston Glove photographer named Jean, who is married to a famous poets, Thomas Janes. They have a young daughter named Billie, and are taking a trip to the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on a sailboat owned by Thomas' brother, Rich. Also along for the ride is Rich's Irish girlfriend Adaline.

Jean is on an assigment to photograph Smuttynose Island, scene of two terrible murders back in March of 1873, and that event and the principals in that case make up the second story line. Norwegian immigrants Anethe and Karen Chistensen were brutally killed, but a third woman, Karen's married sister, Maren Hontvedt, survived the attack by hiding out in a sea cave with her little dog, Ringe. A man named Lew Wagner was convicted of the crime by a Maine court and hanged, but the story in Shreve's novel names another killer with far different motives than the simple theft supposedly behind Wagner's dastardly deed.

Jean goes to the Portsmouth Athenaeum, a historical library in the center of town, and finds a translated letter there, a hidden confession from Maren that no one seems to have discovered among the disorganized records of the crime. She spontaneously steals it after uncovering an affair between her husband and Adaline. The scenes between all four adults are rich with sexual tension. Thomas is obviously attracted to Adaline, who revels in his attention, but Jean is also attracted to her husband's manlier brother, Rich, and he to her.

When a storm comes up, it mirrors the building tempest of the group dynamic. Adaline is swept overboard, and Thomas goes to her rescue. It is only later that the group discovers Billie (who Adaline was supposed to be watching) has been swept out to sea, and lost. Her death breaks up Jean and Thomas' already fragile marriage, and of course, Rich and Adaline don't stay together either. Jean later meets with Adaline to confront her about leaving Billie alone. But where does the truth lie?

Living outside of Portsmouth for a decade, I had often heard of the Smuttynose murders, and while there is still a controversy over whether Wagner was the real killer, I never heard a theory as outrageous as the one Shreve presents here. Her books also seem steeped in sexuality, but it bothers me less here that it does in her novel "Fortune's Rocks." In this book, Jean is a very likeable protagonist, and her belief that her husband has strayed seems likely, given the evidence that she, as the narrator, shows the reader. I'm sure that Shreve sees a deeper connection between the tow stories - one of negligent death, the other of murder, but I can't see it. Still, "The Weight of Water" is a great read, and makes me likely to pick up another Shreve novel.

A Darkness More Than Night

Review of Michael Connelly’s 

“A Darkness More Than Night”

Review by Gerti

I have read more Michael Connelly books than I can count, but this one is special, because he brings both of my favorite characters into it. The first book I ever read of his had as its protagonist former FBI detective Terrell “Terry” McCaleb, who got a heart transplant from a woman killed in a convenience store robbery. Her sister, Graciela Rivers, eventually marries McCaleb after he solves that murder for her, and the pair now have a child of their own, a little girl, and live on Catalina Island. McCaleb is now supposedly retired, but a former colleague asks him to help with a murder investigation, and against his wife’s wishes, he does.

McCaleb of course finds clues other investigators have missed, and hits upon the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch as the motif for the New Year’s Eve killing of a low-life named Eddie Gunn. Ironically, there is a famous homicide detective who also has the name Bosch, who is very familiar to Connelly fans, and is a friend of McCaleb, Instead of thinking that his buddy is being set up, as I did reading the book, McCaleb begins to suspect Bosch of the horrific crime. Bosch is in the middle of testifying for the prosecution in the trial of a powerful Hollywood producer, but once again, McCaleb fails to see that makes Bosch a prime target for a set-up.

The book twists and turns around these two powerful male characters, McCaleb and Bosch, both brilliant but not infallible investigators. It is a delight to see them work, and delightful to see how Connelly differentiates between two of his more popular protagonists. Eventually, McCaleb sees the connection between the two cases, and puts himself in danger, as the real killer of Eddie Gunn comes a-calling. Bosch saves his life, and in turn is able to guarantee that the puppet master behind the murder of Gunn also goes to prison for life.

Kirkus Reviews says of this book, “Bosch fan or McCaleb fan, you can’t lose with the chilling tour-de-force,” and I wholeheartedly agree. It was wonderful to see those two heroes working together, even though they are sometimes at odds. If only Mickey Haller had been the defense attorney for the producer, all three of Connelly’s greatest characters could have appeared together, but I guess Connelly didn’t want him to lose the case. This book is very good, but probably a lot more fun to read for those who have read enough Connelly to know both of these leading men.

The Drop

Michael Connelly’s “The Drop”

Review by Gerti

In this novel, Michael Connelly again puts the spotlight on his LA homicide detective and favorite protagonist, Harry Bosch. Bosch retired from the police force, but then returned under a program that only gives him a limited time to catch cold-case killers. That program is called “DROP”, and at the beginning of the story, Bosch was given 3 years to continue with the LAPD. But the two cases he is called upon to solve in this book test him to the point where he wants to retire immediately.

His partner in this book is David Chu, and the two do not work as well together as some of Bosch’s previous partners, including Kiz Rider, who is now working for the Chief of Police’s office. As a result, she is able to keep Bosch informed when another former cop and current city councilman’s son dies. Despite the fact that Councilman Irving and Bosch hate each other, Irving has asked for him to find out whether his son killed himself or was murdered at the Chateau Marmont. He knows that Bosch will try his best to solve the case, no matter his feelings about the boy’s father. And Bosch does pursue it, even though it’s a case filled with political implications. Irving has been squeezing police funding as a member of the city council, and there is pressure on Bosch from all sides to solve the case quickly and in a way that pleases Irving, so that the money rolls back in.

Bosch’s heart, however, is in another case he’s working on - the cold case of a 19-year-old girl, killed in the late ‘80s. The new Regional Crime Lab has matched DNA from her to a convicted rapist who is seeking treatment in a local program. Seems like the perfect suspect, but he was only 8 years old when the crime happened, so Bosch needs to see if the lab (or other homicide cops) have made a mistake, and that could have legal implications on a ton of other cases. He’s supposed to be putting all his energy into the Irving case, but he sneaks in a pretty thorough investigation of this one, and realizes that the rapist’s blood was on the victim because HE had been assaulted by the girl’s true killer.

By the end, Bosch has solved both cases, and justice is served, despite a last ditch effort from another victim to kill the killer before he goes to trial. Bosch does not put the wrong person in jail, despite evidence that a former cop was the last person to see Irving’s son alive. And he finds a serial killer who’s been actively killing for decades. On top of that, he finds a new girlfriend - the only part of the story I feel uncomfortable with, as Bosch frequently leave his teenaged daughter alone while those two drink and chat. It’s bad enough for him to abandon his kid while investigating murders, but to date? It almost tarnishes his hero status.

I love Connelly as a writer, and I love reading about Harry Bosch, his best protagonist. But “The Drop” is not my favorite Bosch novel, as Harry let’s a lot of people down in this book, including Irving, the new girlfriend, and his daughter. Unlike other books in which Bosch dominates, here he’s all action and little heart.

The Black Box

Michael Connelly’s “The Black Box”

Reviewed by Gerti

This is a crime novel that will make you cry. Author Michael Connelly is a former LA crime reporter who is a compelling storyteller with a consistently good, clear style of writing, but in this novel, he seems to rise above even his unusually high skill level. This story involves his frequent protagonist Harry Bosch, an LA homicide detective who, like Connelly himself, rises above his colleagues because of the level of emotion and sacrifice he invests in each case he solves.

In this book, Bosch is trying to solve a murder that took place during the LA riots following the Rodney King verdict in 1992. The victim was an international reporter named Anneke Jespersen, who freelanced for a Danish newspaper, and who had covered other conflicts around the world, including Operation Desert Storm. There were so many crimes committed during those days of violence in 1992, the case remained unsolved by the Riot Crimes Task Force, and has now gone to the Open-Unsolved Unit. But with the anniversary approaching, Bosch’s boss wants him to shelve this case, because the reporter was white.

But Bosch can’t let it go because he was one of the cops at the original crime scene, and something about it always bothered him. Under his blotter at his desk, he has a collection of pictures from cases which have gotten under his skin, and Anneke’s is one of those. Using his own memories from the night her body was discovered, as well as the evidence collected from the original crime scene, he methodically works the case, coming up with clue after clue that had been missed at the time, including the gun that killed her.

He ends up uncovering a conspiracy that involving several California National Guardsmen who helped keep order during the riots, but who were also involved in Desert Storm. Turns out they had drugged and raped Anneke on an R & R ship back in the day. Now one is a wealthy business owner, another is a county sheriff running for Congress, so they will do anything to hide the truth, including kidnapping Bosch and executing several former war buddies. Lucky for Bosch, he is being investigated, and the detective tailing him ends up saving his life.

That’s the story. But what makes this book special among Connelly novels for me is that he does more than simply tell a good tale. He goes under Bosch’s skin and reveals his emotions, which are what makes Bosch a better cop than his partner or his boss, who are primarily worried about solving cases to make quotas. Bosch cares when he’s talking to Anneke’s family, and the scene in which he tells her brother that he’s finally caught her murderer is heartbreaking in its emotional intensity. The brother’s anger over what happened to his sister all those years ago is mirrored by Bosch’s own, and that makes Harry Bosch my hero, and a champion for all those who’ve been waiting years for justice to be served. This book elevates Connelly from a good crime writer to a great one.

Monster

Gerti’s Review of Jonathon Kellerman’s “Monster”

The Detroit Free Press review says on the jacket, that John Kellerman owns the genre of psychological thrillers. While that may be true, it was certainly not based on his writing in “Monster”, the only book of his I have ever read. While I like protagonist Dr. Alex Delaware, who is apparently featured in a number of Kellerman books, I found this book long (396 pages) and unnecessarily confusing. Delaware is partnered here with Detective Milo Sturgis, and together the two are trying to a series of odd murders in the LA area.

Perhaps I have been spoiled by reading the police thrillers written by Michael Connelly, but that man can spin a yarn that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last few pages. On the other hand, Kellerman proved predictable, and it was obvious by about the halfway point that the character called “The Monster” was physically and psychologically incapable of killing anyone, let alone a family, and that he had been set up by someone else to take the fall for the murders.

Like so many murder mysteries, it was just a question of finding out who had the most to gain from the deaths of a young family, and the Detective and Doctor seemed to spend a lot of time finding clues, but not much time putting them together. While the book enabled me to see step by step how a police investigation into murder might actually work, I much prefer Connelly’s detectives, who figure things out with a little more speed and brain power.

Yes, I was charmed by Dr. Delaware and his relationship with his wife, but I have the feeling that has more to do with Jonathon Kellerman’s relationship with his own wife than with any fictional character he has created. “The Monster,” Ardis Peake, may have been abused and mistreated as a youngster, but I as the reader feel more sympathy for him than for either of the two victims that Kellerman cooks up early in the book. Peake allegedly “predicted” their deaths, and it’s pretty obvious that the mostly mute Peake is being set up as some kind of oracle by someone involved in the crimes. It’s just a question of by whom.

Yes, it is nice when some of the bad guys are finally brought to justice and the magnitude of their crimes revealed. It’s also satisfying when the boss of the mental hospital gets fired. But ultimately there is no justice for Peake, as he never committed the crimes of which he was accused, yet with no one else out in the real world to care for him, the powers that be decide he is best left in the mental institution for the criminally insane where he has spent most of his adult life. And that to me is another kind of crime. I as the reader wanted a distant relative to come and take this blameless “Monster” to a happier life, too. I feel stuck in solitary with him, and am too empathetic to think that that kind of “what else can you do?” resolution is satisfactory. It’s like reading “Beauty and the Beast”, but with Kellerman, the Beast never turns into a prince. “Monster” is a sad fairytale which leaves me less likely to read Kellerman again.

Blood Work by Michael Connelly

Reading Level: Adult Fiction

Submitted by Gertie

This is the first novel I have ever read by Michael Connelly, and I have to say that I am impressed. I usually don’t read crime or detective stories, but this one caught my eye in the library bookroom, and I’m glad it did. Apparently, Connelly is a former LA crime reporter who not only has a good, clear style of writing, but is also quite a storyteller. One of the only critiques I have of “Blood Work” is that I had already seen one aspect of the plot in a Robin Cook book before, as his novel “Blindsight” deals with mobsters killing their way down a list of people on an organ donation list to make sure their boss survives. But Connelly doesn’t stop there – he adds a twist to that plotline that makes this story his own again.

Here the protagonist is former FBI detective Terrell “Terry” McCaleb, who recently got a heart transplant from a woman killed in a convenience store robbery. Her sister, Graciela Rivers, comes to him to help solve the crime, since the LA detectives working it seem to have hit a dead (no pun intended) end. He helps her out of a sense of obligation – her sister died so he might live. He has no idea until the end of the book how very right this assessment of the crime is. He does fall for her, and of course they end up sleeping together, which I expected, but found mildly irritating. (Can’t men and women just work together on a project without having sex?) However, Connelly doesn’t make it a big deal, and the sexual details are minor and relatively inoffensive to those with sensitive tastes.

Aided by Graciela and Buddy, his hippyish houseboat neighbor, Terry goes through the old case file of the crime, visiting locations, and re-interviewing witnesses. He finds a connection with another murder, this one at an ATM, and follows up on that one as well. When a third murder is connected to the same weapon, Terry sees the big picture at last, but the killer has a few surprises up his sleeve for him, too, including planting evidence on his houseboat that makes the FBI think Terry committed the crimes to get a new heart, and an escape to Mexico where a final showdown takes place.

Half Sherlock Holmes, half Columbo, Terry works his way through the evidence with logic and gut instinct, thrilling readers like me with his inside knowledge of cops and how crime solving actually works. Since I’m unfamiliar with the genre, the language and politics were fascinating to me, and the writing was good enough that I’ve already requested other Connelly novels to read during the Christmas vacation. I strongly recommend “Blood Work” if you like a crime story where the good guys win out, but which also contains lots of plot twists and odd moments of humor.