Rattlesnake Crossing, J.A. Jance-Book Review

"Rattlesnake Crossing" by J.A. Jance is a superb mystery full of suspense and eloquently written with good down to earth motherhood and love. Joanna Brady is the sheriff of Cochise county, Az. and a single mom of Jenny, 11 years old. The hardships of being a mom and the sheriff are what Joanna faces every day. The high power sniper activity that downed 2 cattle and destroyed a well pump at a local ranch, took Joanna to a gun dealer in Pomerene to gather info about 50 caliber sniper guns. She finds the dealer dead and all his guns gone. This was the beginning of a mystery of a serial killer that brutally kills and mutilates by scalping the dead. One of the victims from a dude ranch that caters to wannabe Apache Indians, puts the focus on the visitors of Rattlesnake Crossing because of the scalping. Joanna is faced with the crime of the century and the chores of a single mom. Her relationship deepens with Butch Dixon and the sad tale of her friend Maculyea's adopted daughter becoming very ill. Joanna has a full plate but overcomes these problems with faith and perseverance. Only J.A. Jance can write a story of this quality and keep the reader going to the end.

The Last Coyote, Michael Connelly

"The Last Coyote" by Michael Connelly is a very involved detective mystery that Harry Bosch decides to solve. Bosch receives involuntary stress leave (ISL) after pushing his commanding officer through a window. With time on his side, Bosch takes on a voluntary cold case of the murder of his mom that was 31 years ago. Having to see a shrink, the true Bosch comes to light, a very angry man. The psychologist brings to surface much dirty laundry that Bosch must face. He must contend with internal investigation, political power and ruthless killers that want everything kept quite. Also Bosch lost his lover and his house is condemned from earthquake damage. He has a heavy load and might be the last coyote on the LAPD. In the search for the answer Bosch travels to Florida and meets a lady that left a spark in his heart. Connelly writes an in depth story of a detective who overcomes these problems by moving forward in life. Very good story that keeps the reader going to the end.

Beach Road, James Patterson

"Beach Road" by Patterson and De Jonge is a real suspenseful thriller that is easy to read and very interesting to try and figure out the plot, who dun it. The story starts in East Hampton where the wealthy have muti- million dollar estates. At one estate the owner built an official basketball court and the locals had games there often. Tom Dunleavy was a pro player, but injury kept him from his dreams. He ended up a lawyer in East Hampton and kept busy enough to pay the bills. Tom still played and went to the court to stay in shape. After a fight at one of the games, three team mates were murdered and Dante Halleyville is falsely accused. Dante is a friend of Tom's so Tom decides to defend him in court. Tom seeks the help of Kate Costello, a successful super lawyer and Tom's old lover. Together they produce a good defense for the trial of the century. Patterson has written the book from the viewpoints of the different characters involved. It is some what different from his normal prose, but the end product is very good. The ending is very surprising, but that is what Patterson does with the grace of a great author.

The Lonely Silver Rain, John D. MacDonald - Book Review

A Travis McGee novel by John MacDonald, "The Lonely Silver Rain" is a good mystery and thriller in Florida that speaks for itself. Travis is contacted by an old million air friend, Billy Ingraham, to find his stolen 54 foot cruiser. Travis excepts and begins the search. From the air, the cruiser looks like a smiling face, so Trav had a pilot take pictures from the air and they finally hit their mark. Trav went to where the cruiser was anchored and found three dead bodies inside. One of the bodies was a female, the daughter of a Peruvian diplomat, her throat was cut and she had been raped. The diplomat was in a rage and wanted revenge. Travis' life was in danger. Assumption had it that Trav killed the occupants upon discovery of the vessel. Several attempts on Travis' life caused him to find the root of the problem and pursue information about the real killers. The trek takes him to Mexico and back which gave him the truth of the matter. They say if you shake a tree, the ripe fruit will fall. With the name of the killer exposed, a big turf war erupted between the new drug lords and the old ones. A lot of people were killed in Miami. The action was hot but Travis was going to save faith and expose the truth.

MacDonald has done a fine job with this book and to keep a character like McGee active in so many books, the reader always wins. The ending is very touching, showing that Travis is a real man.

Short Straw, Stuart Woods - Book Review

"Short Straw" by Woods is a good mystery with all the twist and turns of a mountain road. Ed Eagle an attorney in Santa Fe, NM wakes up late on the day that a reception for his new office was going to start around noon. There was much to be done and he wondered why his wife did not get him up. Come to find out she cleaned out the bank accounts and left Ed for parts unknown. After learning the truth, Ed hires two PI, one a retired detective from LAPD, Cupie, the other an Apache from Santa Fe, Vittorio. Barbara, Ed's Wife, left for Mexico, but Ed was able to retain most of the assets. The two PIs meet in Mexico, find Barbara and present her with divorce papers. She is very slippery and gets away. The PIs are relentless and follow her in her travels. A sub plot, where Ed draws the short straw and has to defend a man for triple murder, Joe Big Bear, plays an important role in the story.

Stuart Woods holds the reader in suspense as Barbara and the PIs travel in Mexico to La Jolla and LA. Eagle flies to LA to meet with the PIs and hopefully Barbara, to settle the dilimma. Things get hot but Woods does a good job bringing it all together. It is a quick and enjoyable read but one must look out for the one you trust.

Plum Lovin', Janet Evanovich

This is a short story to hold readers through until the 13th Stephanie Plum book comes out this summer. The main character is the lovable Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter from Trenton, NJ. She is trying to apprehend Annie Hart, a relationship expert, who was falsely accused of a robbery and shooting. Steph was in her kitchen when approached by Diesel, also a bounty hunter. Steph was startled by his presence and said "Why don't you knock?" he only smiled. Diesel told Steph that if she would help him with his task, he would deliver Annie for the bounty she was after. His task was to unite several lonely hearts for a fine Valentine day, she agrees.

Evanovich is at her best with the humor and antics. The laugh is the traditional encore in her books and a good mystery to keep everything in focus. The reading is quick, funny and enjoyable.

Stephanie travels through out Trenton to mend broken marriages, start new relationships and help out with a 30+ year old virgin. Lulu and Steph's grandma add to the humor and contribute to a fine conclusion.

The Shaman's Game, James Doss - Book Review

Jame Doss has written a very mystical story with "the Shaman's Game". The story begins in southern Colorado with the Ute Native American Indians and Charlie Moon, born and bread Ute and USPD policeman. The Shaman is Charlie's aunt Daisy Perika, a traditional Ute with mysticism and Indian beliefs being her way of life. Charlie is more modern in his approach to life, but still holds to the thinking of an Indian. Every year there is a ceremony of the Sun Dance, a dance of several days without water, that gives power to the one who finishes. The dance brings tragedy to the Utes when the finisher dies. His death was credited to a witch. Daisy is sure of this and starts proceedings to battle the witch. There is evil in the her midst.

Charlie Moon is a big man, handsome and in shape. He is sought after by most eligible women. Myra is the one who is lucky to be with Moon until he is approached by an old high school girlfriend, Delly. Charlie is just trying to do his job with the USPD and with the possible murder of the dancer, he could not understand the women and the feud that pursues. Charlie was caught in the middle. Delly got a job at the local paper and said she would work on the witch scandal and tell who the witch is after another Sun Dance ceremony. The Sun Dance begins and Doss holds the readers interest with the mystery of the witch and mysticism of the Indians. The dreams and omens that Daisy had only brings truth to the finale and Charlie is faced with some unanswered mystical questions.

Angels Flight, Michael Connelly - Book Review

Connelly has done a top notch job on this detective mystery in LA with Harry Bosch as the main character. The story starts with Harry getting a call at mid-night by his chief to investigate the murder of Howard Elias. Elias was a black civil rights lawyer that made a name for himself out of suing the LAPD. Elias was found shot in the rail car of the Angels Flight along with a lady. Tension was high after the post riot days of '92 and the death of this lawyer might start another riot. The people of LA thought the LAPD was behind this tragedy, so the chief assigned the case to Harry and his team, who are black, hoping this might help. Elias was going to trial to expose the innocence of M. Harris, who was suspected of killing a young girl, Stacey Kincaid, the daughter of the well known car czar of LA. Bosch decides to start from the beginning with the murder of Stacey thinking that was the same one who killed Elias. Things heat up and Bosch uncovers a pedophile ring on the Internet that leads to Sam Kincaid, the stepfather of Stacey. Through much reading of files, Bosch is able to piece things together. The riots begin , and Connelly holds our interest with an ending that is unexpected. A very good mystery.

Cinnamon Skin, John D. MacDonald

"Cinnamon Skin" is an older mystery by J. MacDonald. Macdonald is dead(1986) but his novels live on with great value and suspense for the reader of today. This is a Travis McGee story that is copyright 1982 but holds it own as a good story to this day. Starts in Florida when a boat leaving the harbor is blown up. Travis was on top of the tragedy because the boat belonged to his close friend Meyer who was supposed to be on the boat. Further investigation proved this wrong, Meyer was in Canada giving a lecture on economics, his niece and her new husband were on board. A photograph was viewed by Travis and the new husband, Evan, was not on the boat. This leads Travis and Meyer looking into the past of this man. They gathered much info on him that took them to Texas and Cancún, Mexico and back to Florida. In Cancún Travis meets a lovely Mayan princess, the color of her skin is like cinnamon. She travels back to Florida with Travis and a new relationship is born.

MacDonald writes with much fact about the location of the travels and the mystery is superb. MacDonald's stories are worth reading and easy to understand, so if you have some free time, read his Travis McGee novels. You won't be sorry.

Blood Shot, Sara Paretsky

Blood Shot is an older novel that is copyright in 1988. Paretsky has a main character of V.I Warshawski, a lawyer and P.I in Chicago. Victoria meets up with an old friend from her childhood days, Caroline, to help find her birth father. The mother and her maternal grandparents don't want to disclose the truth. Caroline's mom is on her death bed at age 42 due to her work at a chemical company. The doctor was falsifying records so the company could continue to run. The search for the father turns into a battle that leaves one dead and many un-answered questions. Warshawski is an independent lady who stands her ground and almost died from this search. Paretsky takes the reader on a ride of insurance fraud to big business and mobster connections that keeps the reader on full alert. The mystery and suspense is very full filling with an ending that is very exciting.

Lee Child talks on video

Lee Child talks about the time knowledge of his character, Reacher and how it relates to him...

The Hard Way, Lee Child

Lee Child has out done himself with the new suspenseful thriller "The Hard Way". Reacher is drinking an espresso late one evening on a sidewalk cafe in New York when he sees a man get into a car and drives off. This is the beginning of a journey that leads Reacher into the hands of a mercenary, Edward Lane, who's wife was kidnapped along with her daughter. Five years earlier Lane's first wife was kidnapped and killed, so no cops on this case. With the mercenary market quite lucrative, Reacher is offered a million bucks to solve this. By piecing the puzzle together, Reacher uses more witt than mite, like Sherlock Holmes. By learning the chilling secrets of the past of his employer, Reacher is to deep in this to let it go, so he does it the hard way. The story leads the reader to England where a chilling stand off with mercenaries and Reacher have a show down.

Child has Reacher using his investigating skills more than his strength to out do Lane, but the ending is full of the hands on killing that Reacher is known for. The mystery is a great challenge for Reacher, but Child puts it all together in a good story. One of the best.

Palindrome, Stuart Woods

"Palindrome" by Stuart Woods is a great thriller full of suspense, a page turner. A palindrome is a literary device-a word, or sentence that reads the same forward and backwards. Exactly the same. Twins are palindromic.

Liz Barwick was nearly beaten to death by her husband, who was a pro-football player for the Georgia "Bobcats". He was out of control with steroids and drugs. Liz finds seclusion on Cumberland Island, south part of the coast of Georgia, for recuperating and taking photos for a book she is writing. On the island she becomes good friends with the Drummonds, who own the island, especially one of the twins. Things are peaceful until Liz hears that her lawyer and publisher died. Liz suspects that her "x" did this and is after her. Liz confides in Keir, the twin she is attracted to, and is reassured that it will be alright. The drama is very ongoing with death, love and sentimentality. Stuart Woods wrote a good novel, even though it is 15 years old, I found the second reading as though it was the first.

Therapy, Jonathan Kellerman

"Therapy" by Kellerman is an Alex Delaware novel. Kellerman is very descriptive in his details of what a character wares and the setting of a location. It is this detail that makes the story flow and keeps the reader interested to the finish.

Alex is asked by Milo to investigate a murder of a young man and his date that were found shot in the head as they were parked making out. They were left in a sexual position. Another murder of a well known psychologist, who was treating the first murdered victim, Gavin Quick, brings the story closer to the truth. There are sexual overtones in this killing. They are connected. As the story proceeds there are many theories that tie this novel together.

Alex assumes and Milo puts the assumptions together with his gift of good detection. The two of them amass much evidence that leads them on the right path. The ending is quite exciting but leaves many questions unanswered.

Kellerrman has done a good job with this book, taking one on a journey of suspense, discovery and insight. I found the book worth reading.

The 5th Horseman, James Patterson

"The 5th Horseman" by Patterson is the 5th book about Lindsey Boxer and the Murder Club. Lindsey is a Lt. of the SFPD in homicide and gets invited to lunch with Yuki, the latest member of the club, and her mom, Keiko. The mom collapsed and was sent to the SF Municipal Hospital where she got good treatment and was in full recovery when she was given the wrong medicine and died. This was not the first death that the hospital experienced, there were many unexplained deaths. Someone was playing God and the hospital was being scrutinized for this. They end up in court for mal-practice case. Along with this, Lindsey is looking at several murders of young women. They were found dressed in expensive clothes and propped up in a nice car to look like a mannequin. With budget cuts and a shortage of help, Lindsey seeks help from her friends in the Murder Club. Also Lindsey is able to get enough evidence against the hospital to survey the problem.

Patterson has provided the reader with enough suspense to keep the interest going to the last page. Lindsey is the only character exploited and to get to know some of the other characters in the club would be nice. There is a surprising twist at the end that is unexpected. All in all the book is a good, fast read and well worth the time.

Cross, James Patterson - Review and Video

"Cross" by Patterson is an Alex Cross novel. Patterson has done a wonderful job with this book setting the pace with a psychopath killer and mutilator known as the " Butcher" Michael Sullivan. Patterson starts the story with Alex and Maria living in love and harmony with two children, Damon and Jannie. Alex picked up Maria from work when she was fatally shot in his arms. Thirteen years later these memories are still vivid in his mind for this case was never closed.

Alex has given up hunting criminals and started a practice of psychology therapy, a wish of his grandmother and children. He enjoyed this life of leisure, playing the piano and showing his love and help for all. Alex was approached by his friend John Sampson, a detective for the DC police, to seek out a ruthless rapist and killer. He could not say no for there was a tie to the death of Maria. The Butcher continued to kill and Sampson and Alex were hot on his case.

Patterson is very graphic in the killings, but that helps make the story non-stop. The book is a fast read and the intense is felt on every page. Patterson is a great author and his short chapters make the reading fly.

Step On A Crack, James Patterson

Patterson has developed a new character in "Step on a Crack", Michael Bennet. I was apprehensive about some one new but the character holds his own as a compassionate, loving man and a dedicated person with his position as a detective on the NYPD. It is going to be a very hard Christmas for Mike because his wife Maeve is terminally ill with cancer and he has 10 adopted kids of different origin to look after.

A funeral was being held at St. Patricks Cathedral in Manhattan for a past presidents wife. The mourners were hijacked and held hostage by a dozen men who were well armed and well planned for this event. Mike is the negotiator and his calm talk got many freed. The ones left were famous and rich. The hijackers demands were several million dollars for each celebrity. The story bounces between the visits to Maeve in the hospital, care taking of the children at home and the hostage taking at St. Pats. Things turn ugly at the cathedral when a priest was murdered and thrown out front. Mike kept his cool but knew they were dealing with ruthless killers. The pace thickens and the hostage drama is played out in full detail.

Patterson has developed a good story with the tension of the hostage ordeal, the loving moments Mike spent with Maeve and the home life with his children. The book is easy to read, very gripping and impossible to put down. I am sure there will be more stories with Mike Bennet, NYPD.

The Hades Factor, Robert Ludlum

"The Hades Factor" by Ludlum is a thriller all the way. Dr. Jon Smith, Lt. Col. of the USA, works for USAMRIID(United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease) along with Dr. Sophia Russel, his fiancee. Jon is away in Europe and Sophia takes on the task of identifying a killer virus that has killed three people so far. Upon certain data from this virus, she consults Victor Tremont, Blanchard Pharmaceutical, who she met in Peru on a field trip thirteen years ago about the Monkey Blood virus that was discovered. Tremont played ignorant for he had great plans with the virus and Sophia could destroy all his work. He had to eliminate her so he could reap the world with his devious plan. Jon returns and finds Sophia dead, he is heart broken. Being warned not to pursue this matter, Jon sets out to do just that. Contacting his old high school computer genius, Marty, they find much and go for it. They are being sought after by Tremont and his Arab henchman, Al Hassad. Keeping one step ahead of these ruthless killers, they find out the depth of Tremont's plan and try to bring him down.

Ludlum and Lynds have produced a good thriller with action on every page. Money is the root of all evil, and sacrificing millions of people for greed is what this story is about. It is amazing what the thought of billions will do to certain people, but ones conscience seems to over power with good.

The Murder Book, Jonathan Kellerman

"The Murder Book" by Kellerman is a top rate mystery. Milo, Alex's sidekick from the LAPD is regarded in the first person which broadens the scope of this man, brings him into focus along with Alex (who is a danger junky). The two make a good investigating duo, with psychology and good detective work together.

Alex receives a package in the mail of a murder book full of detailed, gruesome photos
of unsolved homicides. He shared the book with Milo and to their discovery one homicide case was one of the first cases of Milo when he was a rookie on the force. Milo was teamed up with Schwinn at the time and he did not confide in Milo. Schwinn was forced into early retirement and Milo was transferred off the case. The case was still active after twenty years and the murder book brought it back. The mystery begins! Alex and Milo gather much evidence and found that the wealthy and politics(the chief of police) had a big role in the case. Kellerman does a fine job in keeping the reader alert and focused on the story. It is a page turner that Kellerman does well, letting the reader know that he is a master author when it comes to mystery. There is no need to start from the beginning of the series, this book stands alone. Very much recommended!

The Innocent Man, John Grisham

"The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is his first non-fiction book that takes on the writing style of Grisham in his fiction works. The story is about an Oklahoma resident who was wrongly accused of a murder and sentenced to die. The unscrupulous DA, police and the lawyer were responsible for the lies and false evidence that turned out the verdict. Ron Williamson was framed but held on to his innocence through the whole ordeal. Not until DNA evidence was refined did the court accept the appeal. Barry Sheck, from the OJ trial, headed the Innocent Project, a law firm that seeks out the innocent, and found much wrong doing in this trial. What scares me is how the justice system is able to do as they please, but with new efforts by people like Sheck, we have some latitude in the law. The book is very interesting, telling of the ordeal Ron had to deal with and a glorious outcome at the end. Good non-fiction story, the truth.......