"An intricately plotted story with red herrings galore. The corking-good plot will keep you turning the pages until the very end. An outstanding addition to a wonderful series." --BooklistBlowing SmokeGetting involved with the rich and their problems is never a good idea, as far as amateur P.I. Robin Light is concerned. But when the mercury is rising to a steamy level, the bills are unpaid, and the investigation promises real money, the only answer is yes.Robin figures the case to be a no-brainer: the three adult children of an eccentric heiress, Rose Taylor, are convinced their mother is the victim of a scam operated by a psychic named Pat Humphrey, who has just earned a large place in Rose's will. Assuming the woman is a fraud, Robin pays her a visit and is startled to discover that Pat could be the real thing--and that she knows far more about the Taylor family than she admits. . .enough to get her killed.As the air grows thick with the promise of rain, the case takes one shocking turn after another, plunging Robin into the dark secrets and twisted loyalties of a troubled family, where money may not buy happiness, but it can be a powerful motive for murder. Now, Robin's own premonition about the rich is coming true, because a cold-blooded killer is about to turn the dog days of summer into the most dangerous season of Robin's life."Interlocking mysteries and layered family secrets nudge Block's seventh toward Ross MacDonald territory." --Kirkus Reviews"This female PI ranks right up there with the tough-guy detectives in taking her lumps and dishing them out as well." --Library JournalFrom Publishers WeeklyEstablished fans should welcome this seventh mystery (after 1999's Endangered Species) featuring Robin Light, the hard-drinking, sloppily dressed, heavy-smoking amateur sleuth and exotic pet-store owner from Syracuse, N.Y., but the uninitiated may find the plot tortuous and the plethora of characters too hard to keep track of. Robin faces a double challenge: locating a teenage runaway in nearby Cazenovia; and investigating an animal psychic, Pat Humphrey, whom three siblings suspect of defrauding their elderly heiress mother, Rose Taylor. Humphrey has won a place in Rose's heart (and will) by locating Rose's "kidnapped" cat; now Rose's much-younger husband and her lawyer hover over the old lady protectively. In the process of discovering that just about all the principals harbor secrets (one of Rose's children is a heroin addict, another a thief and transvestite), Robin is punched into unconsciousness, shot at several times with a rifle and held at knife-point. She also travels between New York and Wolfe Island, Ont., with no mention of Canadian or U.S. immigration or customs. On one page an automatic pistol turns into a revolver, while elsewhere a string of pearls, later described as knotted and hand-strung, breaks and cascades to the floor. Such careless slips won't bother most readers, but they do suggest why Block has yet to join the first rank of authors writing about contemporary female detectives. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalIn her seventh installment, exotic pet store owner and part-time sleuth Robin Light (Vanishing Act) meets a real challenge when the three children of an aging wealthy woman ask for help. They fear that their mother is being duped by a psychic and/or her much-younger husband, but then the psychic goes missing, and a body is found in the pool. A pleasing page-turner. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 26
Max has always had a
problem keeping a roommate. Not only is he hot tempered, but he is also a
self-proclaimed sex addict and he can never resist the young guys with
the tight bodies. Within three months of being hit on constantly, they
leave in disgust. Max promises himself that this time will be different.
When a big ox of a man with tattooed muscled arms shows up at his door,
Max knows he can keep his hands off of him. He is not Max’s type. When
the new roommate has his two buddies over one night, they give Max
something he has never experienced before, and he desperately wants to
join them in their nightly game. Views: 25
When twelve-year-old Jake Forrest's mother gets a job in a new city, everything changes. He has to move away from the Iroquois reservation he's lived on his entire life—away from his aunt and uncle, and away from the friends he plays lacrosse with. The lacrosse coach and players at his new school in Washington, D.C., believe that winning is everything, and they don't know anything about the ways of his people. As Jake struggles to find a place where he truly belongs, tragedy strikes and he must find out who he really is. Can he find courage to face the warrior within—the warrior who values peace and leads other to more noble pursuits than outscoring the opposition? Views: 25
The first book in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series. Tells of the rise in the 1780s of Nathanial Drinkwater to the rank of Lieutenant in the Navy. Prior to promotion he saves a young seaman from the brutal attentions of a depraved midshipman and in the process, wins the love of a parson's daughter. Views: 25
A MIRACLE IN THE MAKING...Jilted bride Hannah Kirkland had come to the small Wisconsin town to help her parents settle in--and to find herself. Instead, she discovered that God had a larger plan for her. Because the carpenter who was building her parents' dream home, Guthrie Thomas, needed to learn the power of forgiveness. So with hammer and nails in hand, Hannah set to work beside Guthrie. And though she sought only to become his friend, being with Guthrie made Hannah feel safe and protected. Suddenly Hannah knew she'd come home. But could the Lord help Guthrie let go of the past so he could embrace their love? Views: 25
ORN BETWEEN SUSPICION -- AND SEDUCTION... Maggie Kovacs was the most enchanting woman Detective Max Strachan had ever met. She was also the most eccentric. Or was she? Max soon realized that the nighttime visions Maggie claimed she saw supplied him with details that only the police -- and a cunning serial killer -- could possibly know.... A no-nonsense lawman like Max was the last person Maggie would have imagined turning to for support, let alone romance. Incredibly, the skeptical sergeant might just be the man of her dreams. But could he possibly save her from what she saw in them? Views: 25
THE AGE OF WAR!Zachary Bramwell, better known as the comics artist Zak Zap, is pushing forty and wondering why his life isn't as exciting as the lives of the superheroes he draws. Then he's shanghaied by black-suited goons and flown to Mount Meru, a vast complex built atop an island in the Maldives. There, Zak meets a trio of billionaire businessmen who put him to work designing costumes for a team of godlike super-powered beings based on the ten avatars of Vishnu from Hindu mythology.The Ten Avatars battle demons and aliens and seem to be the saviours of a world teetering on collapse. But their presence is itself a harbinger of apocalypse. The Vedic "fourth age" of civilisation, Kali Yuga, is coming to an end, and Zak has a ringside seat for the final, all-out war that threatens the destruction of Earth. Views: 25
At the request of London police, psychologist Kit Quinn agrees to evaluate Michael Doll, a sexual predator who slashes her face. As she recovers, Kit has horrible dreams of a red room. Months later, Doll is arrested for murder. As Doll's obsession with Kit escalates, Kit is gripped with a paralyzing fear that the killer isn't Doll--but someone close to her heart. Views: 25
Just as "The Babysitter's Club" series successfully captured a generation of young girls, Cyndy Salzmann's Friday Afternoon Club series lays claim to moms who cherish long-standing friendship . . . and a bit of mystery. While juggling the responsibilities of carpool, laundry, and ballet lessons, this group of close friends find time to act as sleuths, unraveling mysteries and gaining spiritual truths along the way. Readers will readily identify with these richly drawn characters caught in the chaos of raising a family, maintaining friendships, and sorting out the items of intrigue that draw them in. Views: 25
The summer of 1777 proves to be a difficult and discouraging time for General George Washington and his poorly equipped and undisciplined Continental Army. Campaigning along the eastern seaboard, they are pitted against General William Howe and his superbly trained and better provisioned British forces. The inspired Americans make a good showing at the battles of Brandywine Creek and Germantown, but in the end they absorb two disappointing defeats. The atrocities suffered by the Americans in the "Paoli Massacre" and the political machinations of the ambitious American officers Horatio Gates and Thomas Conway set the stage for the darkest hour of the entire Revolution—the heartbreaking story of Valley Forge. Suffering from disease, hunkered down in crude huts and struggling to survive the bitter winter weather, the downtrodden American soldiers lack everything needed to sustain life, especially food. In a letter addressed to Congress, General Washington decries the... Views: 25
