(A) DESERT PLACES / (B) LOCKED DOORS (Suspense-Cont) – NR/DNF

Crouch, Blake – 1st and 2nd in series

St. Martin's Press, 2004/2005 - Hardcover

(A) Thriller writer Andrew Thomas is set up as a serial killer and has no way of proving he is not. (B) It appears on of the bad guys from book (A) is still alive and again

out to terrorize Andrew.

I group these together as I accidentally started book (B)…

VANISH (Thriller, New York City, Cont) – VG

Gerritsen, Tess – 5th in series

Ballantine Books, 2005 – Hardcover

It's a medical examiner's worst nightmare when Dr. Maura Isles discovers a female body in her morgue is still alive. Det. Jane Rizzoli is one week overdue having her first baby. When she goes to the

hospital for an exam, the last thing she expects is to be taken hostage by a

woman who had pronounced dead.…

THE LAKE OF DEAD LANGUAGES (Suspense-Adirondacks-Cont) – NR/DNF

Goodman, Carol – 1st book

Ballantine Books, 2006- Paperback

Jane Hudson teaches Latin and lives in a cottage at the Heart Lake School for Girls. Jane had also been a student and graduated from Heart Lake.

While there, two of her roommates died by committing suicide; or did

they? Pages from Jane's lost journal

from 20 years ago are now…

FORESTS OF THE NIGHT (Suspense-North Carolina-Cont) – NR

Hall, James W. – Standalone

St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2004 - Paperback

Miami policewoman Charlotte Monroe has an extraordinary ability to read peoples faces; so much so that the FBI want her to join them. She also has a young daughter who is schizophrenic,

and a husband who is a defense attorney who grew up learning Cherokee

history. A boyhood affair with a

Cherokee…

THE BABY GAME (Amateur Sleuth/Lawyer- So. California-Cont) – VG

Hicks, Randall – 1st in series

Wordslinger Press, 2005- Hardcover

Toby Dillon is the adoption attorney for his best friends, movie stars Brogan and Rita. The baby is born in a condo but, when taken to the hospital, is found to have a medical

condition. When the doctor asks about

the twin baby, Toby finds both the twin baby and the mother has

disappeared. The…

SKINNER'S ROUND (Police Proc-Scotland-Cont) – G+

Jardine, Quintin – 4th in series

Headline, 1995- Paperback

A new, very elite golf course has opened in Scotland, and they are about to hold a major, international tournament. However, co-owner and millionaire has been found murdered in his bath at the club.

Skinner and his team hope to keep the death quiet, but an article

appears in the newspaper quoting…

THE DEATH COLLECTORS (Police Procedural-Mobile, AL-Cont) - Ex

Kerley, Jack – 2nd in series

Dutton, 2005 – Hardcover

Detective Carson Ryder and his partner Harry Nautilus are back as the only members of PSIT—the Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team. A woman's body has

been found in a cheap motel room. She's

nude, wearing only cheap rings, covered in flower petals, and surrounded by

candles. But as…

MAN WITH A SQUIRREL (Amateur Sleuth/Art Expert-Boston-Cont) – G

Kilmer, Nicholas – 2nd in series

Poisoned Pen Press, 1996- Tradepaperback

An antiques dealer, Oona, sells art Expert Fred Taylor a painting which, when removed it from it’s frame, looks to be a portion of a painting by Jon Singleton Copley, a well-known 18th century artist. Days later, Fred learns that Oona is dead but

has left another segment of the painting for him.…

CASTLE REINER (Gothic-California-1899) – Poor

Kinman, Gay Toltl – 1st book

Clocktower Books, 2000- Trade Paperback

It's 1899 England, and young Lavinia "Vinney" Cathcart, must make her own way. Her minister father has died and she how has nowhere to live. She accepts the post as

governess to the son of the European Baron whose father built a castle in California. But things are not as they seem; the castle

has a dark history…

F1RST KILL (Private Investigator-Wisconsin-Cont) – VG

Kronenwetter, Michael – 1st book

Thomas Dunne Books, 2005- Hardcover

Hank Berlin is divorced and caring for his young son while his ex-wife is in Paris. His childhood best friend married the girl he loved in high school. Now, the best friend is dead and the wife

wants Hank to investigate his murder.

The case raises difficult feelings for Hank and…

ST. ALBANS FIRE (Police Proc-Vermont/NJ-Cont) – VG

Mayor, Archer – 16th in series

Mysterious Press, 2005- Hardcover

Vermont Bureau of Investigation Agent Joe Gunthur is called out to the scene of a barn fire; an arson that became a murder with the discovery of a young man's body. As the

investigation proceeds, it's discovered that this is only one of a series of

recent arsons. The trail leads to New Jersey and a…

THE MYSTERY OF THINGS (Amateur Sleuth-Milwaukee-Cont) - Ok

Murphy, Debra – 1st book

Idylls Press, 2004 – Hardcover

James Ireton is a bright Shakespearian scholar with a bright future. He is also struggling with his past, faith, a new relationship, the death of his mentor and nightmares of a

knight, a lady and a dragon. Two men have now died by falling head-first from a

height. Was it suicide?…

SILVER LIES (Historical-Colorado-1879) – VG+

Parker, Ann – 1st in series

Poisoned Pen Press, 2003

Inez Stannert lives in Leadville, Colorado at the height of the silver boom. She shoots, plays poker,

owns a salon along with her partner Abe, a free black man, and has a husband

who has been missing for eight months.

When local assay-agent Joe Ross is found dead in the alley next to Inez'

saloon,…

MEMORY IN DEATH (Police Procedural-NYC-2059) – G+

Robb, J.D. (aka Nora Roberts) – 22nd in series

Putnam, 2006- Hardcover

Lt. Eve Dallas has her past come back to visit her in the form of Trudy Lombard who was, for a short time, her foster mother. It is not a happy reunion, particularly when it becomes clear the woman is there to blackmail Eve and Roark. Trudy is murdered and it's Eve's job, and

personality, to "stand for the dead"…

THE HALO EFFECT (Amateur Sleuth/Psychiatrist-New York City-Cont) – Okay

Rose, M.J. – 1st in series

Mira, 2004 – Trade Paperback

Psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Snow is a sex therapist. One of her clients is Cleo Thane, a very high-priced prostitute. When Cleo disappears, Detective Noah Jordain approaches Morgan for information. Someone is ritualistically murdering

prostitutes. Cleo has left with Morgan

the manuscript of a book she's…

LJ's Top and Bottom Reads of 2005

Top Read:

Alexander, Tasha - And Only to Decieve

Block, Lawrence - All the Flowers are Dying

Box, C.J. - Out of Range

Bruen, Ken - The Dramatist

Burton, Milton T. - The Rogue's Game

Coben, Harlan - The Innocent

Coleman, Reed Farel - The James Deans

Connor, John - The Playroom

Crais, Robert - The Forgotten Man

Fowler, Christopher - The Water Room

Koryta, Michael - Tonight I Said…

SLEEPER (Amateur Sleuth-Italy-Cont) – G+

Adam, Paul – 5th book

Time Warner, 2005 – Paperback

Giovanni "Gianni" Castiglioni is a luthier--a violin maker--at whose home his friends--a policeman, Guastafeste, a priest, Father Arrigh, and a fellow luthier, Rainaldi--gather each month as an informal

string quartet. After one of their sessions,

Guastafeste and Gianni find Rainaldi murdered in his studio by.…

DEATH FROM THE WOODS (Suspense-France-Cont) – G

Aubert, Brigitte – 1st book

Berkeley Prime Crime, 2005, Paperback

As the result of a car bomb, Elise Andrioli is a blind, mute quadriplegic. Left by her caregiver, Yvette, in a park to wait, Elise is befriended by Virginie, a 7-year-old who

tells Elise she knows who is killing young boys. When Elise is attached, she is faced with

finding a way to communicate and to stay…

THE GREENWAY (Suspense/Police Procedural-England-Cont) – G+

Adams, Jane – 1st book

Macmillan, 1995- UK Hardcover

Cassie Maltham's cousin disappeared while they were taking a short-cut home through the Greenway, an ancient passageway in Norfolk. Cassie couldn't remember what had happened, but has suffered from

depression and nightmares ever since.

Now, 20 years later, Cassie has returned to Norfolk…

DIE TRYING (Suspense-Montana-Cont) – VG

Child, Lee – 2nd in series

Jove Fiction, 1998- Paperback

Jack Reacher, former MP and expert sharpshooter, just tries to be a nice guy to a woman having trouble holding her dry cleaning. In exchange, they both end up being kidnapped and taken to a paramilitary camp in Montana. The woman isn't just anyone; Holly Johnson is

an FBI agent with a very powerful father and godfather. The militarists…