Deadly Appraisal
by Jane Cleland

Deadly Appraisal is the second in the series by Jane K. Cleland that features the amateur sleuth Josie Prescott.

Josie runs an antique consignment shopl, and is quickly becoming known in the community. This offers up an opportunity to exploit her expertise when Maisy Gaylor of the Portsmouth Women’s Guild asks Josie to sponsor a charity dinner and antique auction. While anxiously awaiting for Maisy Gaylor to name the winner she ends up dead, someone has poisoned her wine. Who would want to kill Maisy? Or was the poisoned wine even intended for Maisy or someone else? Perhaps it was intended for Josie, and if so, Why?

Deadly Appraisal is a murder mystery that will have you guessing who the killer is until the end. The author has a gift for her genre and is to be applauded. Her characters are well defined and believable. This is a series that everyone will enjoy and is great entertainment.

 

Bad Blood
by Pat Whitaker

Bad Blood is the first by Pat Whitaker. Usually with the first publication of a new writer you wonder if it is worth picking up and reading, well this one is well worth picking up. The author has penned a murder mystery like no other, it is written in present tense and contains a wealth of twist and turns. The author has the ability to draw you into the story and leaves you yearning for more.

The setting is England, and the author himself was born in England. He has the gift of vivid detail and the senses he arouses in you as you read is remarkable.

Upon finishing this one I was in awe and cannot wait to read future works from this author.

The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye
by:  Bruce Hennigan
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 9780595403967

Looking for a page turner that you will not be able to put down, here it is.  Once you begin this one make sure you have time to finish or be prepared to be late to school, work, or where ever you may need to be.  This is a gripping page turner page after page from beginning to end.

The story begins as a man comes crawling up the beach and finds his way to a woman’s home needing help.  He has been severely beaten and left to die by the ocean.  The man slips into a coma to awaken without any memory later in the hospital.  Upon being discharged from the hospital he has no recollection or any memory of who he is and has no where to go, he accepts a job as a caretaker for a physician and falls for his daughter April.

On the eve of their engagement, Jonathan returns to the condo to find the doctor almost dead at the hands of a madman and no sign of his fiancée.  Finding her alive and unharmed, Jonathan attempts to escape the madman who had done such violence, only to have them both caught and April killed before Jonathan is able to kill the man, who is actually a demon.  As April lay dying in his arms, she told Jonathan that the demon had said that he had to kill Jonathan before he destroyed all of his kind.  With her last breath, she begs Jonathan to fight the evil. 

And so the quest begins, but where does one look to find the demons and to prevent evil?

An excellent entertaining read that demands to be finished once the first page has been read.  An astounding 5 stars!

Creation In Death
by:  J.D. Robb

Another great hit in the”In Death” series which is a futuristic setting taking place in 2060.

 I am a great fan of Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb and she never disappoints, I highly recommend this entire series.  J.D. Robb is a master of her genre and all her stories are entertaining and must reads.

Five Stars to the “In Death” series.

The Society of S
Susan Hubbard

 A wonderful coming of age tale of a girl’s struggles with the end of the innocence while dealing with adolescence and being a mixed breed offspring (of vampire and of mortal).  Her father is a vampire and her mother a mortal, now Ari must decide her fate, does she wish to follow her father and become a vampire or does she wish to be mortal?  Ari sets out to find her mother and to make her decision, the majority of the tale is Ari’s search for her mother.  If you enjoy vampire tales you will enjoy The Society of S, others may find this an enjoyable read while others will put this one away after a few chapters. 

The Woods
by: Harlan Coben
ISBN: 0525950125

Story of four teens who attend summer camp take off into the woods one evening to never return.  Two are discovered dead, two have vanished and presumed dead.  Were all four of the teens victims of the serial killer?  As the story plays out, the two discovered dead teens are placed to rest and funeral services held, but what of the other two missing teens, where are their bodies?  Are they really dead or hiding for their lives?

Harlan Coben has  penned a whopper of an action packed thriller which is evident by the strong story line.  There are many twists and the story tends to delve into other avenues that may at times take you away from the main theme, so pay close attention for the astounding end to this one.  Not to be missed, an overall excellent read.

Ricochet
by Sandra Brown

Homicide detective Duncan Hatcher is a gung-ho, and sometimes sort of a rogue cop who pushes all the issues to the fullest envelope content. When he sees outlandish criminal Robert Savich released by Judge Cato Laird when Hatcher knew there was enough evidence on this man to put him away for a long time, he becomes obsessed at finding more evidence to keep Savich off the streets. DeeDee Bowen is Hatcher’s partner. She is very gung-ho but not to the extent of Hatcher. She has to attempt to calm Hatcher down when he allows his anger to get into his official police work. The situation intensifies when several connected with Savich’s past and present life turn up missing or dead. Everyone knows that Savich is a bad criminal capable of anything, but since Judge Laird had released him the police had to dig deeper to find solid evidence on Savich. Savich was extremely careful not to leave a trail of evidence that would lead to him for any of the crimes he is suspected of committing. When the police delve into these older disappearances Judge Laird seems to be involved somehow in most of them. One night Judge Laird’s house was broken into and his lovely wife, Elise, shot and killed the man in the judge’s study. A strange trail of evidence was found in the house. Elise had gone downstairs from their bedroom to get some milk, as she did many nights due to “sleeplessness!” She claims she heard a noise as she moved around the downstairs area. She grabbed a hidden gun and claimed that the burglar shot at her, missed her, and she shot and killed him. Hatcher was one of the many law authorities that arrived but Hatcher was having a hard time taking his eyes and mind off of the so gorgeous Elise Laird, making his concentration on the actual case very hard. But between he, DeeDee, and all the other law enforcement agency people that were to work on this high profile case, things return to a huge workload for all involved. Hatcher was fine until he thought or saw Elise Laird. He was caught on her. The authorities were finding too many pieces of evidence, some possibly just coincidence, linking Judge Laird to Savich. This made Hatcher and Bowen delve into old mysterious murder cases that seemed to connect to the judge. Duncan and DeeDee made a great team seemingly to know what is on the others mind while investigating. DeeDee only had qualms regarding Hatcher’s actions some times. When Elise goes missing Hatcher goes even more radical than before. He has to find this woman for who he has so many feelings. At this point I don’t want to ruin any of the many plots and twists and turns in Ricochet. Sandra Brown has come through with another top story. The surprises go to the very end. The reader can follow the story easily the way the author has written it. I have always enjoyed her books especially the crime stories. Her characters are real and their actions place you in the midst of every crime scene and interrogation.  Sandra Brown has developed an ingeneous plot that delivers with constant surprises throughout the story.  This is a must read.

Body Surfing
by Anita Shreve

Body Surfing opens with the description of a beach house and a woman swimming, body surfing on the ocean’s waves. Anita Shreve’s latest novel picks up on previous themes she has explored which include-love, loss, marriage, and the ocean. This is a story of Sydney, a young woman who is lost, and finds herself the tutor to a teenage daughter at her family’s summer beach house. Sydney has had a traumatic past which involves two marriages one of which ended in a divorce and the other which left her as a widow. This story is unique and is an enjoyable read with delightful characters which are presented as strong individuals that you can relate to and are believable.

I would recommend this one for your book club there is also a reading group guide which can be located at the following web address:

http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/92/0316067334/reading_guide25865.html

Enjoy!

And Another Thing! Maxine on Life, Love and Losers
by John Wagner

I love Maxine and am totally amused by her cranky commentaries on life. In this book Maxine is back at it and her cranky attitude towards life, love and losers shines through.

Maxine will always bring a smile to your face, Maxine was born in 1986 through the hand of J Wagner for Hallmark Shoebox card line and from there she has grown into ornaments, cards, books, coffee cups, paintings just to name a few. Need a bit of humor pick up one of the great Maxine books and she will turn stressful situations into a good chuckle!

Enjoy

Cut To The Bone
By Shane Gericke
http://www.shanegericke.com
Pinnacle Books
ISBN 978-0786018147, 384 pgs.
Reviewed by Terry South, Quality Book Reviews

Cut to the Bone is a non-stop thriller, one that the reader will not be able to put down.

Governor Covington has built his “Justice Center” in Naperville, a place where they execute death row prisoners in the electric chair. The world is watching Naperville prior to the upcoming execution of Corey Trent. Also, the Executioner is particularly paying attention, he is the man who starts by killing a receptionist at a spa where Emily and Martin Benedetti are members. The police department and Sheriff’s office put together a joint task force following the murder of a police officer. As suspicions begin to build about a serial killer, the Naperville forces are on the hunt for the killer before Friday which is the Governor’s target date for Cory Trent’s execution.

The serial killer known as “The Executioner” is a twisted psychopath, he attacks his victims and the his victims bear precision cuts by a man with no conscious that remains calm, collected and completely in control. If you are looking for a fast paced thriller with edge of your seat impact then look no further, this was a thrilling and engaging read. The author has done an excellent job and has done his research, once you start you will not be able to put this one down. An excellent read from the first page to the last.

Shane Gericke became a professional writer while in high school, since he has polished his writing as both an editor and reporter for newspapers and national magazines. He currently resides in Naperville, Illinois with his wife.

Visit the authors website at http://www.shanegericke.com