"The Empress File"

"The Empress File" is John Sandford's second book in his Kidd series featuring an artist known only by his last name, Kidd, and a thief named LuEllen.  Kidd and LuEllen met when he observed her burglarizing one of his neighbor's apartments and they have an on-again, off-again working relationship when the need for their unique talents are called for.  They also have an on-again, off-again personal relationship complicated by other relationships or their personal needs for solitude.

Kidd also has a friend, Bobby, who he's never met face-to-face but they know each other through the computer.  In addition to his painting, Kidd has some serious computer skills and Bobby has unique computer abilities that Kidd is willing to pay for when they are needed.

When Kidd is contacted by Bobby requesting help in the town of Longstreet (located along the Mississippi River), Kidd is reluctant but Bobby is persuasive.  A very young black kid with computer talents that Bobby was helping him develop has been murdered by the local police when he is mistaken for someone who snatched an elderly woman's purse.  The corrupt local political machine has covered up the murder.  Bobby doesn't want them to revenge the murder but he asks that they help a local black woman and her team take down the political machine so they can replace it with a more racially balanced administration to rid the city of its corruption.

Kidd knows there are dangers involved but he's also in need of money to pay off the IRS because he unwisely spent a lot of the cash he got in a previous operation without giving them their share.  He contacts LuEllen and convinces her to work with him on this caper.  Unfortunately, there was some killing involved in their first job -- not that they wanted to do it but it became the only way to protect their own lives.  The killing didn't set well with LuEllen but she reluctantly agrees to help him.

Along the way they meet some nice and some not so nice people and figure out a way to make some money for themselves while helping Bobby's friends accomplish their goals.  However, they put themselves at risk again  -- physically when some really mean people go after them -- and personally when it appears Kidd has fallen in love with LuEllen and she's not sure what to do with that.  This is another Sandford book that it's hard to put down once you start it so be prepared!  pazt  

"Before I Fall"

It is hard to believe that "Before I Fall" is Lauren Oliver's first novel -- I hope it is the first of many.  I'm not sure where the idea for this story came from but it is certainly intriguing.

This book focuses on the life of Samantha (Sam) Kingston who is part of the "in-crowd" at her high school and, as a senior, she's living the life and dating a very popular boy and tonight she has plans to lose her virginity.  Those plans are delayed by a party one of her childhood friends is giving while his parents are out of town and she, her friends, and her boyfriend will all be there.  What Sam doesn't expect is that she'll be killed in a car accident leaving the party but even more unexpected will be waking up to her alarm clock going off and reliving that same day over again for seven days -- a version of the movie, "Groundhog Day!"

This time Sam already knows what is going to happen and she has the opportunity to do it all over again or make some changes along the way -- changes that impact other people and other lives.  In the beginning Sam is focused on her life and her popularity but she begins to see how Elody, Ally, and she blindly follow their friend Lindsay without question.  She learns how even one small action on their part can have a huge reaction in someone else's life and how bullying/tormenting a classmate can have consequences beyond what any of them might have predicted.

Sam also learns how much she loves her parents and her eight-year-old sister, Izzy, and she gets a chance to make a lot of things right in those 7 "re-lived" days.  Does she really die or is this all a dream?  You'll have to read the book yourself to discover your own answers to those questions.  pazt

"Rizzoli & Isles" - Season 2

My hubby and I just finished watching the second season of "Rizzoli & Isles" ---- again!  We didn't realize until we started watching it that we'd already seen it but this time we're ready for the season finale cliff hanger because we've already picked up the third season of "Rizzoli & Isles" from our library!  I'm so glad because I couldn't wait months again to see what happens next!

Detective Jane Rizzoli and forensic pathologist Dr. Maura Isles are based on characters from best-selling novelist Tess Gerritsen's series.  Isles and Rizzoli are close friends at home and at work -- although they don't always see eye to eye at work.  Jane is often frustrated by Maura's refusal to hazard a guess about something like cause of death because Maura, after all, is a forensic "detective" who deals in facts not guesses.

Jane is experiencing a lot of change in her personal life as her brother Tommy comes home from prison.  Her cop brother, Frankie, wants to move up to Detective so he keeps showing up to help with her murder cases -- with the encouragement of her fellow detectives.  Jane's parents are experiencing marital difficulties so her mother is living in Maura's guest cottage and working in the precinct deli.  As if that weren't enough, two romantic interests from her past show up almost simultaneously wanting to take up where they left off.

Maura has her own family issues -- an adopted mom, Constance, who rarely has time for her as her wealthy parents are always jetsetting off alone or together around the world.  When she discovers her biological father is Paddy Doyle, a Boston mob boss, she begins to be curious about who her biological mom is and experiences mixed feelings about Paddy himself when he pops up in her life periodically.  What better guy to have in your corner, though, when you need a little protection?

The season finale leaves us wondering if Jane and Maura's friendship can survive working together and the choices they both must make as a result of their jobs and their personal lives.  Love this series!  pazt

"Silent Prey"

In John Sandford's, "Silent Prey," which is the 4th book in the Prey series starring Lucas Davenport, Davenport has left the police force and is still making a lot of money working on his video games but they've taken a new direction -- computer simulations of police tactical problems.  His personal life is not so great since his girlfriend left with their daughter and he's a bit at loose ends.

However, his biggest case -- catching the murderer Dr. Michael Bekker (a psychotic pathologist) -- is coming back to haunt him as Bekker manages to escape jail and start killing people in New York.  Some people think Davenport should have killed Bekker when he was a Lt. with the police department -- instead of capturing him.

Davenport's life is about to get a little more complicated with the arrival of a New York policewoman, Lily, he'd worked a case with before and gotten emotionally/sexually involved with.  Lily's boss wants Davenport to come to New York to provide insight into Bekker and handle the media ostensibly but he has another agenda, too.  Someone is killing bad guys in New York and that might not upset the local police force but, whoever it is, has taken to killing a few cops now, too.  Lily's boss wants Davenport to go undercover to see if he can find out who is behind the killings because he suspects it's someone internally.

The Bekker case has Davenport paired with Barb Fell who is working the case and has street contacts that might prove useful.  Since Lily currently has a love in her life -- a policeman recovering from a heart attack, Barb seems a logical choice for a current romantic entanglement except that has its own complications.

As Davenport works both cases, some clues begin to surface pointing out why Bekker might be so successful in finding victims in New York.  As the hunt for Bekker seems to be coming to a successful conclusion, so does Davenport's theories about the police involvement in the street killings.  As usual, Sandford is a master at weaving a complex tale that holds the reader's interest and makes it difficult to put the book down until its conclusion.  Off to look for the next book in the Davenport Prey series!  pazt

"Ffolkes"

"Ffolkes" is a fast paced edge of your seat thriller starring Roger Moore, James Mason, and Anthony Perkins.   A columnist for the Mukilteo Beacon mentioned he'd watched it again recently and I thought it sounded good -- forgetting that I had actually seen it years ago.  When I brought it home from the library, my husband said, "Why did you get that movie?"  I explained that the local columnist had recommended it so I'd decided to check it out.  My hubby said he'd recently watched it a couple of times on Roku.  When he reminded me of the plot, I realized I'd seen it, too, but we both agreed it was worth watching again.

Roger Moore plays the part of Rufus Excalibur Ffolkes who has a team of underwater experts training at his castle all the time -- preparing for any emergency that might require this team's special skills.  They're very handy at martial arts, too. 

When a team of madmen headed by Lou Kramer (and portrayed by Anthony Perkins) decide to hijack a supply ship and a drilling platform in the North Seas and hold crews and equipment hostage until the British government plays them a ransom, Ffolkes and his team are called in. 

Even having seen this movie before, I was still on the edge of my seat so, if you like thrillers (with a touch of comedy), you'll enjoy this one.  Roger Moore is great as an eccentric team leader and Anthony Perkins does what he was known for doing best -- playing the bad guy!  I wonder what he was really like?!  pazt

"The Burry Man's Day"

"The Burry Man's Day" is Catriona McPherson's second Dandy Gilver murder mystery.  As in her first mystery, I had a difficult time getting into the book but one half to three quarters way into the novel, I began to "get" it as well as some clues about who might be the murderer so then I was hooked.

In this instance Dandy and her friend Daisy have been invited to South Queensferry to visit their school chum, Frederica (or Freddie).  Freddie and her new husband, Cad, have inherited an estate of which they are now Lord and Lady.  This visit coincides with the annual Ferry Fair where one of Cad's employees will act as "The Burry Man." 

The Burry Man spends a day walking around encased in a costume of burdock heads with a couple of guides who help him stop at every bar and drink his way through town but as to why I'm not quite sure.  As it turns out, the Burry Man doesn't want to participate this year and Dandy and her friends are asked to encourage him to maintain the tradition.  However, when he relents then ends up dead at the end of the day, Cad is feeling remorseful and asks Dandy to investigate so she invites her friend, Alec, to assist her.  Although the coroner is sure he died of acute alcohol poisoning, not everything adds up as far as Dandy, Alec and Cad are concerned.  As it turns out, they are right and a killer must be found!  pazt

P.S.  There really is a Ferry Fair annual in South Queensferry complete with a Burry Man.!

"Nickled and Dimed to Death"

Denise Swanson's "Nickled and Dimed to Death" is the second book in her Devereaux Dime Store Mystery series.  Dev is settled in her life back in her home town of Shadow Bend, MO, running the shop she purchased there and watching over her grandmother who has memory problems.  Her new boyfriend, Deputy U. S. Marshal Jake Del Vecchio, has been cleared to return to duty and breaks a date with her at the last minute when he's called back to duty in St. Louis.  This gives her high school sweetheart/ex-beau, Dr. Noah Underwood, a chance to try to win her back.  She accepts his invitation to attend an event with him because he has promised an introduction to a man who can greatly increase her gift basket business. 

The introduction goes well and that part of the evening is a success but, when she gets a frantic call from her good friend, Boone (an attorney), saying he's been arrested for the murder of his client, Elise Whitmore, she calls on her other good friend, Poppy, to pick her up and take her to the police station.  Thus begins the mystery and the need for Dev and Poppy to find out who really killed Elise to clear Boone's name.  Although there is animosity between Noah and Boone, Noah offers to help in the investigation and Boone's attorney friend, Tryg Price, flies in from Chicago and settles in for the duration to represent Boone and lead the investigation.

Despite the seriousness of their task to solve a murder, a romance begins to develop between Tryg and Poppy and Noah makes a move on Dev -- hoping to win her back while Jake is out of town.  Noah does prove to be invaluable in getting information from the locals and the investigation has a few twists on the way to solving the murder.  pazt