DEATH MINUS ZERO (Private Invest-England-Cont) – VG

John Baker – 2nd in series

Indigo, 1996 – UK paperback

Sam Turner, private investigator, now has an office and his first client who has asked him to find Snow White. However Sam knows the signs of an ex-con and decides to be careful with this client.

But even Sam doesn’t realize just how dangerous this new client is.

This…

DEAD GUILTY (Forensic Investigation-Georgia-Cont) – Ok

Beverly Connor – 7th in series

Onyx Fiction, 2004 – Paperback

Forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon is called to the site of a murder scene where thee people have been hanged. But it becomes personal when she starts received threatening emails and phone calls.

While I always learn new things in reading Ms. Connor’s books, I also find myself wishing…

UNDEAD AND UNWED (Paranormal Romance-Minneapolis-Cont) – G+

Mary Janice Davidson – 1st in series

Berkeley Sensation, 2004 - Paperback

Betsy Taylor is fired from her job and killed in a car accident. But that’s not the worst of it; she discovers she’s now un-dead, her stepmother has stolen her designer

shoes and, oh yes, she is expected to become Queen of the Vampires.

Although a bit heavy on the…

SOMETHING ROTTEN (Literary Fantasy-England-Future) – VG+

Jasper Fforde – 4th in series

Hodder & Stoughton, 2004 – UK Hardcover

Tuesday Next is back from BookWorld with her son, two dodos and Hamlet determined to un-eradicate her husband. But, among other things, she must also prevent Yorrick Kane, a fictional character, from becoming dictator, avoid being

killed by an assassin, and prevent Armageddon by ensuring that the…

BODY DOUBLE (Suspense-Boston/Maine-Cont)- G+

Tess Gerritsen – 8th book

Ballantine Books, 2004 – Hardcover

Dr. Maura Isles returns from a conference in Paris to find a crime scene in front of our house, friends and co-workers looking shocked to see her and a car containing a murder victim who looks nearly identical to her.

Tracking back the victim and their relationship leads to an unknown murderer of

pregnant…

THE PENDRAGON BANNER (Historical-England-1100s) – VG

Sylvian Hamilton – 2nd in series

Orion, 2001 – U.K. Hardcover

Former crusader Richard Straccan is now a merchant of holy relics, and has been ordered by King John to find and bring him the banner carried by King Arthur containing a piece of cloth which bears the blood of

Christ. On his search he becomes

responsible for a man accused of theft and murder but has lost his…

SKULL SESSION (Neurological Thriller-NY-Cont) – VG

Daniel Hecht – 1st book

Viking, 1998 - Hardcover

Paul Skoglund, unable to keep a job due to having Tourette’s, agrees to clean up and start repairs on the vandalized house owned by his estranged aunt. But when he sees

the extent of destruction and learns from a local policeman that a number of

young people have gone missing or died in that area, it’s clear there is…

THE VILLA OF MYSTERIES (Police Procedural-Rome-Cont) – G

David Hewson – 2nd in series

Macmillan, 2004 – U.K. Hardcover

Detective Nic Costa is investigating the apparent kidnapping of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to a body found in a peat bog. Because of the dress and items

found with the body, the pathologist first thinks the corpse is 2000 years old,

but Nic proves the murder to have been much more current…

FIRST, DO NO HARM (Mystery-New Jersey-1943/Cont) - Ex

Larry Karp – Standalone

Poisoned Pen Press, 2004 – Hardcover

When Martin Firestone tells his father, Leo, he’s going to be a doctor, he is stunned by the negative reaction he receives. But when Leo insists on meeting Martin and proceeds to tell him of Martin’s grandfather, who was a doctor, Martin knows

there are still answers to be uncovered.…

THE SURROGATE THIEF (Police Procedural- Vermont/Massachusetts)- VG

Archer Mayor – 15th in series

Mysterious Press, 2004 – Hardcover

As a young detective, Joe Gunther investigated the murder of a local shop owner while dealing his wife’s losing battle with cancer. Now, 30 years later, the gun used in that murder has resurfaced giving Joe the opportunity of solving the case, and

looking at his relationship with his long-term…

DEAD I WELL MAY BE (Suspense-NY/Mexico-Cont) – G+

Adrian McKinty – 2nd book

Pocket Books, 2004 – Paperback

Michael Forsythe, a 19-year old illegal immigrant from Dublin, is an enforcer for a New York Crime boss. After being betrayed by his employer, which lands him in a Mexican prison, he returns to New York determined for

revenge.

This is a tough book for me to evaluate. It saddened me as the…

MELANCHOLY BABY (Private Investigator-Boston/NY-Cont) – VG

Robert B. Parker – 4th in series

Putnam, 2004 – Hardcover

Private Investigator Sunny Randall is hired by troubled college student Sarah Markham to prove that she’s adopted in spite of her parents saying she’s not. At the same

time, Sunny is trying to figure out why she is unable to live with anyone.

I love Parker. He creates strong, ethical…

NORTHERN LIGHTS (Romance Suspense-Alaska-Cont) – G+

Nora Roberts – Standalone

Putnam, 2004 – Hardcover

Nate Burke, escaping his guilt and depression after his divorce and death of his partner, has become the Chief of Police in the tiny town of Lunacy, Alaska.

There he finds and collection of interesting and quirky characters, an

independent and sexy bush pilot named Meg, and the 16-year-old murder of…

ABSENT FRIENDS (Novel-NY-Cont) – G+

S.J. Rozen – Standalone

Delacorte Press, 2004 – Hardcover

James McCaffery, a NYFD captain, is one of the fallen heroes of 9/11. But reporter Harry Randell seems to believe James may not have always been so heroic and was involved with

a known mobster. When Harry dies of an

apparent suicide, a fellow reporter picks up Harry’s leads.

Not as much a mystery as a…