The Marco Effect – A Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Penguin Group - Dutton

I chose to read this book for a number of reasons.  First, it is set in Denmark and I thought that would make a change from the US, British, and French mysteries I have been reading.  Secondly, I have read good things about the Department Q series and I enjoy a crime series where you get to know the characters and watch them develop. Also, Adler-Olsen is a best-selling author who has won a number of crime-writing awards.  The summary of the book piqued my interest as well as the fact that the story is based, loosely, on real events.

Cover summary:

“All fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson wants is to become a Danish citizen and go to school like a normal teenager. But his uncle Zola rules his former gypsy clan with an iron fist. Revered as a god and feared as a devil, Zola forces the children of the clan to beg and steal for his personal gain. When Marco discovers a dead body—proving the true extent of Zola’s criminal activities—he goes on the run. But his family members aren’t the only ones who’ll go to any lengths to keep Marco silent . . . forever.”

Meanwhile, the last thing Detective Carl Mørck needs is for his assistants, Assad and Rose, to pick up a missing persons case on a whim: Carl’s nemesis is his new boss, and he’s saddled Department Q with an unwelcome addition. But when they learn that a mysterious teen named Marco may have as much insight into the case as he has fear of the police, Carl is determined to solve the mystery and save the boy. Carl’s actions propel the trio into a case that extends from Denmark to Africa, from embezzlers to child soldiers, from seemingly petty crime rings to the very darkest of cover-ups.”

Well, it seems I should have picked a different book as an introduction to the series. The story goes from Denmark to Africa and back.  This is a lot of area to cover and I found it resulted in too many characters and minor storylines that detracted from the main event.  Normally, the thought processes and rationalizations of the villain is a part of a story that I look forward to, but the sheer meanness that was Zola just didn't hold my interest.

 

The story stands alone and I had no trouble following the recurring characters in the series and understanding their relationships.  I looked forward to the pages that were about Marco, or Mørck and his assistants. The rapport between Mørck and his assistants was to my mind the best part of the book.  Their humor, understanding, and respect for each other, make for a pleasant and entertaining read.  There were, however, one too many camel analogies from Assad for my personal liking.

 

The core of the story that revolves around Marco is interesting, believable and well-developed and everything is neatly wrapped up at the end.  I just think that this is an instance where less would have been more but that won't deter me from reading another book in the series.

 

Article about the BBC documentary on gypsy child thieves

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/gypsy-child-thieves/

 

Interview with Jussi-Adler Olsen

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rubinstein/the-marco-effect-a-talk-w_b_5854086.html

Night Drop by Michael Sherer

Cutler Press

Imagine talking on the phone with someone you care about when suddenly that person's doorbell rings.  You remain on the phone while the person answers the door and then the next thing you hear are loud voices, then screaming, then dead silence. Frantic with fear you drive like a maniac across town only to find the house empty and blood on the living room floor.  You call the police.  Because you are the ex spouse of the person who has vanished, you become a prime suspect in the eyes of the police. What do you do?

If you are Blake Sanders, you immediately go on the offensive.  Your ex-wife Molly has rich parents and is a lawyer in a successful law firm.  It is not unreasonable to assume there will be a ransom demand so the FBI are in charge of the case.  Blake makes sure he is there when the ransom call comes in and he insists on implicating himself in the plans to rescue Molly.  He will bring her back alive or die trying.

It slowly comes to light that one of Molly's clients, Trip Macready, has also disappeared. He is an ex-Navy SEAL dolphin trainer turned animal rights activist.  The Navy connection brings Blake's sometime girlfriend, Reyna Chase, a Naval Intelligence Officer into the search and back by Blake's side. 

The story has three main threads.  Blake's attempt to find and rescue Molly; Macready's attempt to foil a terrorist plot and also rescue Molly; Yousef preparing his team to pull off an act of terror and elude Blake and the FBI. There was a point early on when it felt like I was reading three books and I wondered how everything was going to come together to make sense.  Trust me, it does. 

There is a lot happening in the story and quite a bit to remember and process. By maintaining three distinct threads, Sherer introduces the secondary characters in distinct, well-defined and separate settings, allowing you to get to know each of them well. Otherwise, you would easily lose track of whose who and what is going on. 

I happen to really like Blake Sanders as a character.  I find him to be sympathetic, understandable and believable.  He has his problems and he has his strengths; he's not perfect and he would make a reliable neighbor or solid friend.  Macready is also a character that I came to like and I hope he makes a return in a sequel. A team comprised of Blake, Reyna and Macready has the potential for one hell of an adventure.  

 

Night Drop kept me glued to my Kindle following the unexpected twists and turns and holding my breath waiting for what was going to happen next.  Looking forward to reading Night Strike, next in the series.

Russian Hill by Ty Hutchinson

The couple that slays together stays together.  At least that's the way it is for Jerry and Vicki Carlson,  a psychopath and a sociopath respectively.  The tie that binds them is simple - the thrill of the kill.

The Carlsons are involved in a game that requires travel to major cities to complete challenges.  Their current game is called "Chasing Chinatown" and it consists of five Attractions. When the story starts they have just completed Attraction number three and are eager to embark on number four.  The game is being played out in San Francisco and this particular variation of the Amazing Race always ends in murder.

FBI Agent Abby Kane has been enjoying her work on white collar crime cases, a break from serial killers and organized crime, her specialities.  When a hiker is found with an axe sticking out of her chest Abby somewhat reluctantly accepts the case.  Then when the local  precinct thinks they have a serial killer on their hands, they consult with Abby and she realizes there is a link to her murdered hiker and their cases.  She teams up with SFPD Detective Kyle Kang and the adventure begins.

The first part of the story seesaws back and forth between the viewpoint of the Carlsons and Abby. It is fascinating to read the thoughts of Jerry and Vicki as they methodically plan their moves as a team, play their creepy game and live a lavish and somewhat perverted lifestyle. 

 

At the other end of the seesaw is Abby, working diligently to track them down. She is a creative thinker who gives her grey cells a work out before acting. But that entails methodically going over her notes late into the night and sacrificing some of the wholesome family time and outings she so cherishes.

Together Kane and Kyle systematically follow-up on every possibility in their pursuit of the killers.  Just as the case appears to be wrapped up, the story smoothly steers us into the criminal underground world of San Fran's Chinatown. Kane and Kyle are both trained in martial arts and this helps to ratchet up the action scenes with the Chinese villains.  Abby relies mostly on her wits, but when she has to defend herself physically, her petite size is deceptive and she kicks butt with the best of them.

The plot has a number of twists with just enough evil and danger lurking around corners to create a nice tension. Some scenes are a bit graphic, but Hutchinson lightens the mood  by providing off duty moments for some of the characters and witty banter between Abby and Ken to achieve a nice balance.

An engaging, entertaining, and quick read that I read in one sitting on a rainy afternoon.  Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book.  Oh, and I love the cover art.

http://tyhutchinson.com/

Runner by Patrick Lee

St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

You need to be in shape to read this book.  Your eyes will devour the pages at a frantic pace and your mind will try to keep up with the action. Your futile attempts to unravel the plot will leave you red-eyed from lack of sleep.   There is an end.  You will get there.  You will arrive relieved and exhausted, ready to get on with your life - just like Sam.

Sam Dryden has been having trouble sleeping and has gotten into the habit of running along the boardwalk in the middle of the night.  There aren't usually many people out and about at that time of night, except for a few sitting at bon fires on the beach.  This night is different.  This night a young girl, barefoot and terrified, runs right into him.  She is being chased by a group of armed men who are intent on killing her. He helps her escape and in so doing he becomes entangled in Rachel's race to remember who she is and why someone wants her dead.

Keeping Rachel and himself alive is no easy task.  The people they are up against are devious and ruthless, highly trained professionals.  They reach deep into the highest level of government and have endless resources at their means to track the pair down.  Sam's skills as a former Ranger, Delta and member of an elite black ops team are a little rusty and his technical knowledge is out of date - but he knows how to survive.  The pair form a special bond as they try to figure out what is going on and how to outsmart their pursuers.  Over the course of events, their special bond will be sorely tested.

The main thread in the plot is about mind control, not the sodium pentothal type, but something much more devious.  Patrick Lee conveys his ideas in such a convincing manner, you may have to remind yourself that you are reading fiction.   The possibility that this type of mind control could be real is very, very, scary.  Here's hoping the bad guys don't read Patrick Lee books.

The other thread in the plot is about learning to trust and love again. The necessity to let go of old memories, good and bad, so that you can move forward with your life.  Sam and Rachel both need to run along this path, for different reasons and in different ways, together and apart, so each can have a future.

I found reading this book was like being pulled into a vortex of intense action and suspense. This is a thriller in every sense of the word and it definitely won't disappoint.

Night Tide by Michael W. Sherer

When I read the synopsis of this book on NetGalley what first caught my interest was the mention of one character, Perry Langford, who is being released from jail after spending the last 20 years of his life in prison for a crime he insists he never committed. My thoughts immediately went to Donald Marshall, David Milgaard and Steven Truscott, some (certainly not all) famous miscarriages of justice in the Canadian legal system.  The price these individuals paid and the toll on their family and friends is difficult to imagine. Perhaps easier to understand is the need for retribution. 

 

Langford is out of prison and he wants to even the score with the people that put him there.  He has had twenty years to think about what happened that night, the night the lab was blown up at the university he and his friend Blake Sanders attended.  The night that an innocent young woman died and he was blamed for her murder.  That young woman's sister, Kealey, ends up at Blake's home, begging him to help her find Langdon.  She believes in his innocence and she wants to find the real murderer. 

 

Sanders isn't keen on the idea of helping Kealey.  His life is simple.  He delivers papers and has a second job washing dishes in a restaurant.  A comedown from where he once was, but as long as he has enough money to pay for his meds to keep his ADHD under control and stay out of trouble, life is okay, maybe.  However, while at a BBQ at the home of the parents of his police friend Charlie, commandos show-up and start shooting.  The end result is Charlie is injured, his parents have disappeared and Blake becomes inextricably entangled in an intricate puzzle that he wanted nothing to do with.  He soon realizes that Langdon, the lab explosion and the disappearance of Charlie's parents are all somehow connected.  He finds himself in need of figuring out what, how and why, if he wants to stay alive.

In order to find all the pieces to the puzzle, the past must be re-visited, re-examined and re-imagined to decipher and illuminate current events.  The people and events are not now and were not then, what they first appeared to be.  Sanders has his work cut out for him and needs all the help he can get. 

Underlying and complementing the action, is an examination of friendship.  Can the friendship between Sanders and Langford be resurrected after all that has happened over the past twenty years?  Does deep friendship ever really die?  Can the friendship between Blake and Charlie survive the accusations being made by Blake against Charlie's parents?  Can Blake and his ex-wife Molly ever be 'just friends'?

This is a thriller and a page turner with commandos, disgruntled FBI agents, unhappy exes, some American history from the 60's and a very sought after revolutionary design worth killing for.  The plot is credible and well constructed with a myriad of twists and turns that will keep you up at nights wondering what's next.    A great engrossing read.
 

http://www.michaelwsherer.com/

When I first downloaded this book from NetGalley, for some strange reason, it wasn't readable.  The author emailed me a link to a new copy and I thank him.

Little Elvises by Timothy Hallinan

Soho Crime

Well it has taken me six months to get around to reading the second Junior Bender novel, but I am glad I waited.  Boxing Day is my day to wear pajamas and do nothing but read and it was the perfect day to sit, almost uninterrupted, and enjoy Little Elvises.

This time around career criminal Junior is coerced into helping out Detective DiGaudio prove that his uncle, Vincent DiGaudio, an aging music producer, is innocent of the murder of a reporter.  In order to find out what the reporter had uncovered, Junior begins investigating Vinnie's background, with the help of his computer savvy daughter Rina. Through the wonder of the internet and You Tube, Junior visits the 1950's and '60's world of rock and roll that came out of Philadelphia. The world that brought us American Bandstand (called American Dance Hall in the story), with a new band every week and dancers we couldn't take our eyes off of. A time when producers made the money, not the stars. Stars that were often one week, one hit wonders, never to be heard from again.

During this investigation, Junior's motel of the month is run by a vodka drinking landlady whose adult daughter has disappeared.  His sympathetic soul makes him feel sad and sorry for Marge, the landlady, and he agrees to search for her daughter. Working the two investigations at the same time keeps Junior busy and nearly gets him killed, more than once.  

In this book we learn more about Junior's personal life and there is a lot more interaction with his daughter Rina.  Things get a little complicated when Junior's ex, his daughter and Junior himself, all find new love interests at pretty much the same time. Things do not run smoothly.

Hallinan writes sassy, smart dialogue that is both funny and informative.  The plot moves at a fast pace and you just don't want to stop reading.  Despite the fact that there are quite a few characters, each one is so well described, like the Tootsie Roll chewing Detective DiGaudio with his pork chop hands, that you have such a clear mental image of each one you feel like you know them, for better or for worse.

This book will keep your interest throughout, make you laugh out loud once in a while, and leave you wishing it had more pages than War and Peace.  I'm  torn.  Do I read "The Fame Thief", the third Junior Bender novel now or do I keep it so that I have something to look forward to?  Hopefully, Mr. Hallinan will hear Junior's voice telling him more stories in the very near future and make my decision easier.

The Bleiberg Project by David Khara

Translated by Simon John

Le French Book

I’m not a big fan of books that relate to World War II, the Holocaust, and famous Nazis etc.;  but I do like a good thriller.  I also very much like the books I have read from Le French Book and that is why I decided to read The Bleiberg Project. 

 

The story centers on Jay Novacek, real name Jeremy Corbin, a trader who has made himself a small fortune on Wall Street, enough money to last him the rest of his life if he chooses.  Money however, can’t buy him happiness or the peace of mind he so desperately seeks. 

The news of his estranged father’s death is the first domino in the series to fall.  When he tells his mother the news, she gives him the locket she has always worn and asks him to leave her alone. Before he has the chance to ask his mother about the locket’s contents she is assassinated and he turns to the one person he knows he can trust, his boss, only to discover that he too has been keeping secrets.

Suddenly, men in black cars with Argentinian plates are after Jeremy and they mean business.  The first attack on his life ends with him being inexplicably saved by a giant of a man, Eytan Morg, a very dangerous Mossad agent.  At this point the CIA enters the picture and Jeremy finds himself on a plane to Zurich with Jackie, a very petite and attractive CIA agent.  Jeremy soon realizes he needs to discover what his father had been involved in if he stands any chance of staying alive long enough to enjoy the fortune he has amassed.

The story ricochets between past events and the present to gradually make sense of what is happening in the present. The WWII backdrop provides real monsters to interact with the fictional ones to reveal a consortium at work to gain the ultimate power to rule the world. This may sound a little like Austin Powers, especially when a scientific formula is included in the plot, but it is much, much better than that.

Khara has written a fast-paced race against time thriller with sympathetic characters.  Everyone has a secret it seems and it is this vulnerability of each of the main characters that serves as a stark contrast to the power seekers for whom life is cheap.  The pace is a bit slow at the very beginning but once it picks up it doesn’t let up. My one criticism is that the epilogue could have been fleshed out a bit more but that is really a small detail.

This is a thriller that fans of John Grisham, Robert Ludlum or Ian Fleming will enjoy.


http://www.lefrenchbook.com/

Clean Burn by Karen Sandler

Angry Robot Ltd./Exhibit A

Janelle Watkins isn’t your typical heroine.  Gimpy leg, arms full of burn marks – many self-imposed and others not – a woman who spends restless nights haunted by dark dreams, that’s Janelle.  At times, the dreams terrify and torment her to the point that she awakens screaming and shaking.  To keep her demons at bay, she creates an insular world to protect her vulnerabilities and to hide her madness from others. 

 

A former San Francisco PD  she once helped parents with the nightmare of missing kids; she has a photo gallery of happy children reunited with their parents adorning one office wall, a testament to her success.  After leaving the police department, she became a PI and set about tracking down wayward spouses.  However, when she is presented with two cases of missing children she allows herself to be pressured into investigating the disappearances.  The investigations take her back to her home town, Greenville, the place where her nightmares began.

 

Greenville is also where her former San Francisco PD partner and ex-lover, Ken Heinz, now resides. He is the Sheriff and when Janelle arrives in town he is working on some local arson cases.  There is still an attraction between them and things start to heat up when they eventually agree to help each other with their respective cases. 

 

The quick pace of Clean Burn gets you hooked.  But it is the unraveling of the plot and the flawed characters with their twisted minds that will reel you in.  I enjoy stories that allow you inside the mind of a psycho.  And believe me, Mama, the very first character you meet, is definitely a psycho.

 

Karen Sandler has written an essentially dark story about missing children, child abuse, arson, and broken families.  There are many characters that you can’t like and aren’t meant to like.  But she also illustrates the strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities of humans, and how we develop coping mechanisms, good or bad, in order to survive. Sandler also has a keen sense of humour that she allows to gently seep in here and there to lighten the mood. 

 

Do yourself a favor and read this book even if you have to read it by candlelight.  Just be careful you don’t get burned.

Here is a link to an article on the story behind Clean Burn.
http://upcoming4.me/news/book-news/story-behind-clean-burn-by-karen-sandler

 

 

A Dangerous Fiction by Barbara Rogan

PENGUIN GROUP Viking

The description for A Dangerous Fiction states that this book “will delight fans of Janet Evanovich, Lisa Lutz, Alan Bradley, and ABC's Castle”.  Well I’m a big fan of both Evanovich and ABC's Castle and I wasn’t delighted.

The story centers on Jo Donovan who owns an influential literary agency in New York.  She worked her way up in the world from a meager childhood in Appalachia to marrying one of the world’s most successful authors.  For Jo, theirs was a fairy tale romance and she is devastated by his sudden death. 

 

After his death, she focuses on her life as the owner of one of the top literary agencies in New York and Jo is living a life she loves, surrounded by friends, co-workers and clients that adore her.  But one rejection slip too many is issued by her agency and a stalker enters her life.  The stalker’s threats don’t scare her until her clients and friends become entangled in the web and everything she has worked so hard for is suddenly at risk.  The police are called in and this is when Tommy Cullen, NYPD detective and an old flame, enters stage left.  At the same time as this threat to her is happening, a biographer is intent on writing a book about her former husband, and he starts to uncover parts of the past that Jo has been denying, especially to herself.

 

Most of the story takes place inside the agency or her apartment.  However, you do get a feel for the hustle and bustle of New York City.  A trip in rural New York State, the scenes in Santa Fe and the scenes in Central Park are all well depicted and a nice contrast to the pace of the city, you get a real sense of the surroundings.  However, for me the book just fell flat. 

 

Other reviewers have stressed how much they enjoyed learning about how a literary agency works, I didn’t.  There was just too much of this for my liking.  I also didn’t enjoy the name dropping and references to high fashion.  Yes I get it; this was all done to paint a picture of the type of individuals Jo mingled with and her lifestyle, but a little bit of this goes a long way with me. I would have preferred to have been reading deeper descriptions of some of the secondary characters.

 

This wasn’t a page turner for me.  I figured out “whodunnit” and why, less than half way through, so there wasn’t much mystery or thrill for me.  But if you enjoy a soft mystery and want to find out about literary agencies and how books get published then read on.

 

 

 

Multiple Exposure - by Ellen Crosby

Book Review

Published by Scribner

Even though the basic story line isn’t particularly original – wife left to prove her husband isn’t guilty of the crimes for which he is accused and she has to fight off the bad guys – it does work.  The addition of a little art history and some history about Russia is smoothly incorporated into the story.  It works because the writing is fluid and the plot is well thought out.  Yes, you can figure out who the real perpetrator is and even predict some of the story line.  However, the main character, Sophie Medina a photojournalist, is what holds the story together. 

Sophie is a strong, independent, likeable woman who is also a believable character. She has no super powers, no eccentricities and no comic sidekicks.  Just the firm belief that her husband is innocent and they will reunite. 

She returns to Washington, D.C. to be near family and friends and to start her life over.  But since her husband’s enemies are convinced that she knows where he is they watch her every move. She is soon running from them in an effort to save her life.

Multiple Exposure is the first in a new series by author Ellen Crosby and I am looking forward to reading the next installment.

The Mayor of Hollywood by MB Brophy

Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Members' Titles

Lucy Cassidy was a teenage Hollywood star, famous for her work on Malibu Cove, think 90210 and Orange County. Despite the fact that she and her manager mother had a contentious relationship, her money was well managed leaving Lucy financially comfortable and able to pursue other interests when she was of independent age.

 

Studying history becomes Lucy's passion and she earns a doctorate degree in history and continues to do some occasional movie work.  When the body of a Hollywood agent, who has a link to a dark secret in Lucy's past, is found murdered beside the body of a reporter on the same site as a famous old Hollywood murder case, Lucy’s life takes a turn for the worse.  She now has a stalker to deal with, who not only attempts to terrorize her, but also puts both of her careers in jeopardy. She and her boyfriend, detective Mark Adamson, must find the connection between the two murders and the identity of the stalker before it is too late.

 

By linking a 1930 murder to a current day murder, the author explores some of the problems and dangers in the Hollywood of wannabees and successful stars.  The hazards related to the “director’s couch”, prescription and non-prescription drugs, eating disorders, power and greed, and the power of the press, are part of the stories past and present. 

 

If you aren’t a big Hollywood junkie, you should find some of the historical tidbits about Hollywood in the 30’s and how one can become the Mayor of Hollywood, an honorary position, interesting.  My guess is there is nothing new here for hard core junkies, but I found I learned a few things about Hollywood that were interesting and sometimes amusing.

 

All in all MB Brophy has created a solid and enjoyable read with likeable characters and enough twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader interested and surprised. 

Fast Friends by Susan Dunlap

Open Road Media

 

Book Review

The story begins with Liza Sylvestri’s plans for a romantic weekend with her husband Jay.  They have been living the high life in California, Malibu home and all.  She waits for him at their loft, located in a deserted area of L.A., and she hides so she can see the look on his face when he enters the room and sees the surprise she has painstakingly planned for him. 

Shortly after he enters the loft, venture capitalist Jay is shot in the back and dies in Liza’s arms.  She is now on the run to save herself from the assailants, a crooked cop and some insane political extremists.  They all have one goal – get Liza and find the container of arms that was Jay’s last venture. From this point forward the story goes at full throttle, through city, back roads and small towns.  You find yourself trying to catch your breath between incidents and it is almost impossible.

Liza’s college friend Ellen finds herself caught up in the madness, innocently at first, less so later.  How their friendship deepens, how their roles somewhat reverse, and how in order to survive each woman summons up courage and strength that she didn’t know she had, makes this a story also about women on a journey of self-discovery and friendship.

This journey of friendship and self-discovery is very neatly woven through the plot and in no way does it detract from this book being a thriller or the breakneck speed of the telling.

I read this book in two nights; I simply could not read it fast enough.  Fast Friends is a great, fun and satisfying read.  Don’t miss out.

Waiting for the Storm to Pass by Bill Johnstone

Amazon/Createspace

Book Review

This story starts with Mike McCabe sorting through his belongings on his barge/houseboat as he is preparing to leave London for Washington, to become US editor-at-large for the London Daily Herald. He is going back to Washington to dig further into a story that he had previously worked on. He manages to retrieve the files of the private detective, McKendrick, who had also been working on the case and was shot dead during the investigation. In the detective's files he comes across information about one of McKendrick's first cases. The unsolved murder of two young girls who had left home for the bright lights of New York and he decides to pursue this investigation.

Just prior to McCabe's arrival, a murder occurs on a tour boat and a body is found in the river.  This brings Detective Kovarik onto the scene to investigate.  McCabe and Kovarik have a history from a previous novel. It’s not necessary to have read that book first; Waiting for the Storm to Pass stands alone.

At this point we have two investigations and two story lines developing in parallel. However, unless you have never read a mystery you know that there exists a vanishing point and the two stories are destined to intersect. 

The intersection occurs in the seventeenth chapter and from this reader’s point of view that was too far into the book. That the characters in the story only begin to see the connection between the two investigations at this point is fine and logical, because there is no obvious interaction between them.  I think it should be more blatantly evident to the reader what the connection is before this. I found it annoying to alternate back and forth between stories when it was for just a few paragraphs. I  preferred reading full chapters of one story line and then switching. This parallel style may have been chosen in an attempt to draw out the story lines in order to add suspense and tension. I hope not, because I found the effect to be diluting to any build-up of tension and suspense. A few times I found myself thinking, “Get on with it.”

That was too bad because I liked the characters of McCabe and Kovarik. They are interesting, well developed and it’s pretty hard not to like them.  Strangely, the story is written in a "soft tone", a bit unusual for a story about murder, money and power.

Waiting for the Storm to Pass is an easy and enjoyable read. If you are looking for a nail-biting, page turner that you can't put down you might want to leave this book for another day. However, don't ignore it completely, it's a good read.


 

Anonymous Sources by Mary Louise Kelly

Book Review

A fast paced thriller that takes you from Harvard University, to Cambridge University, London and to Washington D.C.  Alexandra James is a young Boston reporter for the New England Chronicle, who is assigned to cover the death of the son of a prominent, powerful man from Washington.  Her instincts tell her that the pursuit of this story might result in her byline on a front page scoop.

She chases leads that bring her to Cambridge, England.  Alex soon begins to realize that the death of Thom Carlyle, her original story, is just the tip of the iceberg. Through persistent investigative reporting, she unwittingly discovers a nuclear terrorist network and begins to realize that the murder of Thom Carlyle might actually have been a cover-up for a Washington conspiracy.  Spies, assassins and terrorists are soon on her trail and they are as intent on finding Alex as she is at finding answers. 

The author has created a great character in Alexandra James.  Alex is presented to us initially as    the fearless nothing left to lose type.  Through great storytelling we are witness to Alex’s vulnerabilities and how they have shaped her.  The cross that she has to bear is in the end what gives her the strength to survive.

I am looking forward to more books by Mary Louise Keller.  I hope they will include Alexandra James as a character because there is more to her story and I want to hear it.

Crashed – by Timothy Hallinan

Book Review
 

This is the first book I have read by Timothy Hallinan and it definitely won’t be the last.  His writing is very clever and amusing at the same time.

Junior Bender is the main character, a crook, obviously living on the wrong side of the law.  Bender however, is a crook with ethics and a sense of justice who is more on the right side of the law than the law enforcement officials that we meet in the story. He is in fact, in this story at least, a modern day Robin Hood rescuing a damsel in distress and righting some wrongs along the way.

The plot line is well written and will keep most mystery fans enthralled until the end.   Throw in a little blackmail, a dash of mafia, a child tv star whose star is not only faded but fallen from the sky, an ex-wife and a teenage daughter,  and murder – well it all adds up to Junior having a lot on his mind.  Mostly, what he has on his mind is staying alive and getting himself and the has been tv star out from under the thumb of one very scary mob boss.  

Personally, I couldn’t put the book down and had no trouble envisioning a tv series based on this character.

The 7th Woman by Frédérique Molay - Book Review

One of the best books I have read in a long time. This book should come with a warning – Highly Addictive!

From the moment we meet Nico Sirsky we are instantly drawn into his world.  As Chief of Police, Nico leads a highly stressed life, further complicated by an ex-wife, adolescent son, interfering though well-meaning sister and a demanding mother.  

As the story begins, Nico is undergoing a medical exam to help determine, not surprisingly, if he has an ulcer.  There is to be no immediate relief for his stress level as a serial killer becomes his new case.  A serial killer with an agenda to kill a woman per day, for one week, is leading Nico’s team down a frustrating trail with few clues and many twists and turns.  The killer is an expert manipulator and a master at creating distractions for the police.  As the days go by and Nico is drawn further and further into the case, it becomes increasingly clear that the killer also has a personal interest in Nico and those close to him. 

I'm sure many readers will figure out the identify of the serial killer.  However, for me, this didn't reduce the tension, in fact if may have actually increased it as I so wanted to warn Nico.

This book is a real nail biter and even the last sentence will leave you breathless and craving more.  Highly, highly, addictive.http://www.lefrenchbook.com/our-authors/frederique-molay/