"Tragic Toppings"

Jessica Beck's 5th book in the Donut Shop Mystery series is "Tragic Toppings" and I think it's one of her best to date.

Although donut shop owner, Suzanne Hart, isn't directly linked to a murder after two of her friends go missing, she is one of the two people who discover the body. Suzanne's determination not to get involved in this investigation wanes when a friend asks her to do some sleuthing as a personal favor. The investigation gets some help from an unexpected source - her state investigator boyfriend, Jake, has been ordered to take some time off so he's in town to visit her and agrees to assist her and her friends George and Grace to see if they can figure out who did it!

pazt

"Killer Mousse"

"Killer Mousse" by Melinda Wells is the first book in the Della Cooks Mystery series and it's a light, fun mystery that left me wanting more. Like many of its type it also includes recipes.

Della Carmichael is a former school teacher who is trying to keep her cooking school afloat so accepts a job as a cable TV chef but on her very first show there's a murder. Della sets out to track down the murderer herself because she's desperate to keep her job.

Unfortunately for Della, some of the fellow co-workers she interviews lead to more deaths and, if it weren't for the homicide cop ex-partner of her deceased husband working with the lead homicide detective, she fears she would be in jail. However, Della herself becomes a target and the need to find the killer intensifies.

Along the way Della finds some distracting romance on two fronts and has to make some tough choices. Wells does a good job of fleshing out Della's life including friends, household pets, and new acquaintances so I finished the book feeling like I knew Della and I want to see how her life and romance evolves.

Check out this quick read for yourself -- pazt

"Darkness, Take My Hand"

Dennis Lehane's second novel in the Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro series is "Darkness, Take My Hand." Kenzie and Gennaro are recovering from physical and emotional wounds when they are asked to help out a psychiatrist whose college age son's life has been threatened. They are recommended to her by a mutual friend who teaches criminology at the university her son attends. What appears to be a straightforward case is anything but. Before the case reaches its surprising conclusion they risk losing those near and dear to them as well as their own lives. Lehane has created another gripping novel that kept me reading late into the night -- again!

I'm off to the library to look for the third book in this series, "Sacred."

pazt

Author, Michael McGarrity

I discovered a new author last week - Michael McGarrity, who writes the Kevin Kerney mystery series. I picked up "Mexcian Hat" on our library's best picks shelf. When I realized it was the second in a series, I decided to read the first one, "Tularosa," first. Another of my favorite authors, Tony Hillerman, highly recommends this mystery series. Other authors who recommend McGarrity's work are Sarah Lovett, Sarah Shankman, Richard Bradford, and Linda Fairstein. I've only read Linda Fairstein before so.....if I ever have enough time to read all the books I want to, here are some more authors for me to check out.

McGarrity is an ex-psychotherapist as well as a former deputy sheriff who lives in Santa Fe, NM, with his family. Both his previous occupations are well put to use in his writing of the Kevin Kerney series. I'm not surprised that he's an Anthony award winning author as well as the recipient of the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts-Literature in 2004. His writing is so believable that I felt I was right there in every scene. Kirkus Reviews says it is "written with a chemistry and a majesty that'll make (it) irrestible to Tony Hillerman fans."

Many of the historical events, people, and places mentioned in his books are based on fact while others are pure fiction or legends he has elaborated on to enhance his fictional work

His protagonist, Kevin Kerney, is an ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives as well as a modern cowboy who saw action in Vietnam. He was wounded so badly in a gunfight in the line of duty that he is now retired. He grew up on a ranch that no longer exists because the government took his family ranch as well as those of several neighbors to be included in the White Sands missile range. His parents were later killed in an auto accident.

In "Tularosa" Kerney is asked by his former partner to find his son, Sammy, who is also Kerney's godson. Sammy's parents are divorced and Sammy is missing and presumed AWOL from the high-security missile range but neither parent nor any of his friends believe he would have gone AWOL.

Kerney contacts some law enforcement friends and gets a temporary assignment that allows him to work with Captain Sara Brannon, a young army officer on the missile range. At first Brannon is somewhat skeptical and antagonistic when it comes to Kerney but, as he discovers clues that no one else has uncovered, she begins to have respect for him and they develop a more cooperative relationship that leads them both into danger and romance. After they successfully solve the case, Sara is promoted and shipped off to a two-year assignment in Korea but not before a fond farewell to Kerney.

The second book, "Mexican Hat," finds Kerney in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness working a seasonal job as a forest ranger as he tries to save money to purchase his dream ranch. However, the summer is not a quiet one as he becomes embroiled in solving the murder of a young Mexican medical student whose grandfather he finds alone, cold, and with a loss of memory. During the murder investigation, Kerney appears to be the target of an assassin - a complex story where everything ties together nicely in the end. He makes some good friends along the way including Karen Cox, the new assistant D.A. who has returned home with her two children to live on her parent's ranch after her divorce. She asks him to stay on to work as his special investigator and there appears to be a romance in the offing.

I've already requested the third book in this series, "Serpent Gate," from the library but I hope it doesn't arrive immediately. I found it hard to put the first two books down so read them both in a matter of 2 or 3 days!

pazt

"Curse of the Spellmans" by Lisa Lutz

Lisa Lutz has done it again in her sequel to "The Spellman Files." Private Investigator Isabel (Izzy) Spellman returns with her wacky family to provide more entertainment. As I try to read these books in bed, I'm shaking the bed with laughter. Fortunately, I have an understanding spouse who attempts (reasonably well it seems) to sleep through my late night reading. Once again Izzy jumps to some erroneous conclusions while trying to solve a mystery but she's lucky to have Police Inspector Henry Stone and her younger sister, Rae, to get her back on track.

Good News! The first book is being adapted as a movie by Paramount Pictures. I can hardly wait to see the Spellmans on the big screen!

In the meantime, I have some other books to read to prepare for the August meeting of my book club. Since I'm leading the discussion, I will have to wait to read "Revenge of the Spellmans!"

pazt

"One Good Turn" by Kate Atkinson

Once again Kate Atkinson has created a novel with well developed characters (personal lives, too) and lots of twists and turns. This murder mystery is the second in the Jackson Brodie series after "Case Histories." It is in this story that Jackson Brodie meets Det. Sgt. Louise Monroe for the first time and they're reunited in the third book, "When Will There Be Good News?" This seems to be a theme with Atkinson because some of the key players in "Case Histories" show up in this second book, too.

Jackson Brodie has a great line in this book, "...And I don't believe in coincidence,.....A Coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen."

As in her other two books, Atkinson takes a cast of characters seemingly unrelated and unfolds a tale that has them all connected in some way by the end of the book -- a fascinating read.

pazt

"Death of a Gossip"

This "whodunit" by M. C. Beaton is set in the wilds of Scotland where a diverse group have gathered to attend a fishing school. When one of the guests is murdered, the local village constable, Hamish MacBeth, is deemed not experienced enough to investigate the case so Detective Chief Inspector Blair along with two assistants arrive to solve the murder. In the meantime, despite being told by Blair to stay out of the case, MacBeth quietly does his own investigation to successfully find the murderer. He has a little help from Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, the daughter of a local landowner who is not at all pleased at the interest the local constable is showing in his daughter.

This is the first in a series of Hamish MacBeth mysteries (Copyright 1985) written by Marion Chesney (an author of historical romances) writing under the pseudonym M. C. Beaton. There appear to be 27 Hamish MacBeth books. I found a paperback copy of this book at my local library and it has a label on the outside which states, "The condition of this book may not be typical of ....Libraries quality. New copies of this out of print title are not available."

Initially, I had difficulty following all the characters and had to paper clip the Cast of Characters list at the start of the book so I could refer back to it often. Otherwise, it was a quick and fun read and I'm looking for the next book in the series.

pazt

Kate Atkinson

Ridley Pearson currently has four books in a series about Sheriff Walt Fleming set in the Sun Valley area -- another series I recommend reading in order. I was introduced to Fleming when I picked up "Killer Weekend" to read this summer and I can't get enough of him. However, when I pick up one of his books and start reading, I don't want to put it down until I finish it! They've all been real page turners!

They are in order:
"Killer Weekend"
"Killer View"
"Killer Summer"
"Killer Silence"

Unfortunately, "Killer Silence" isn't due to be released until August of 2010 so I'll have to exercise some patience to see what happens to Sheriff Fleming, his two daughters, and his soon-to-be ex-wife as well as other members of his family and staff.

If you're looking for excitement and want to be lost in a book for a day, check these out!

pazt

Italian Fever

Stretching beyond my favorite mystery thrillers to look at other genres led me to Valerie Martin's "Italian Fever."

Lucy Stark works for a best selling author of so-so talent. When he dies in Italy while writing his latest book, she's sent to settle his affairs and handle his burial. It leads her from her solitary life to a bit of an adventure with some twists and turns along the way. It's a mix of romance and Gothic suspense. The jury is still out as to how much I liked this book as I continue to digest it. I did like it well enough that I'm open to reading another book by Valerie Martin.

Although I don't remember hearing anything about this author before, I have heard of the 1995 movie, "Mary Reilly" which is based on her book of the same name.

I'd love to hear what you think if you've read any of this author's work.

pazt

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Strawberry Shortcake, and Blueberry Muffins

What do chocolate chip cookies, strawberry shortcake, and blueberry muffins have in common?
If you said "food," in this case you would be wrong. The answer is murder -- They're all in the titles of books by Joanne Fluke and they share a heroine - Hannah Swenson. Hannah is single and owns a bakery that provides Lake Eden, MN, with cookies.

In "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" Hannah discovers her local dairy delivery man murdered behind her bakery with her cookies all around him. She sets out to find his killer against the advice of local law enforcement and her family.

In "Strawberry Shortcake Murder" Hannah is the head judge for the annual dessert bake-off when another judge is murdered and she is off sleuthing again.

In "Blueberry Muffin Murder" Hannah discovers a murder victim in her bakery in the middle of the annual winter carnival and she wants to find out who committed the murder so she can return to her bakery instead of borrowing facilities to bake her cookies.

I picked up the first book in this series at my local library looking for some light summer reading and found myself wanting to learn more about Hannah. I know some of my friends are content to read books "out of order" but in a series such as this that also delves into the heroine's personal life, I like to read them in order. My friend, Mary Ann, told me about a wonderful web site last year that I have found invaluable - http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/. Although this site doesn't list every author, I find most of the ones I like are there. You can look up an author and find a list of all the books they've written as well as authors they recommend and/or like to read. If they have books that are series, the series will also be listed in order.

I love to try to solve murders while I'm reading mysteries but I had no luck with this series until the third book when I began to have an inkling about who might be the murderer. I love a challenge so I'll keep reading about Hannah and have added the next in the series, "Lemon Meringue Pie Murder" to my "to be read" stack.

Fluke's cast of characters in this series include:
Hannah Swenson - our heroine
Hannah's mother who is busy trying to marry Hannah off
Hannah's sister who is married to a law enforcement officer and spends her days worrying about her appearance and selling real estate
Hannah's precocious niece
And a cast of local townspeople that include a couple of possible love interests for Hannah.

Happy reading!

pazt