In this second LA-based adventure, bookseller Adrien English arrives at the Pine Shadow Ranch (left to him by a beloved grandmother) to find a corpse in his driveway. But by the time the unfriendly local sheriffs arrive, the body has disappeared. Views: 16
Amazon.com Review Imagine Philip Marlowe sans the cigarettes and in AA. Put him in Louisiana and jump forward 50 years or so and you've got David Robicheaux, a tough-talking detective with the same soft spot as his prototype for troublesome women and for delving into places into which he probably has no business. New Iberia, Louisiana, perfectly rivals Marlowe's L.A. for its grit and corruption and dames who'll turn a good guy bad. James Lee Burke's 11th Robicheaux book, Sunset Limited, is a twisted mystery that at times becomes almost byzantine in its attempt to keep disparate characters and narratives wound in a cohesive story line. But Burke's writing is so stunning that all is forgiven as you become immersed in the tale, which meshes past and present to uncover the secret of a decades-old murder. Forty years ago, a local labor leader was crucified in a crime that remains unsolved. Now, his daughter-Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Megan Flynn-returns to New Iberia. With a seemingly insignificant remark to Robicheaux, she begins a chain of events that lead right back to her father's death. New Iberia, in some sense, is frozen in time as the age-old problems of race and class weave their way into the mystery, complicating Robicheaux's discovery of not only the original crime, but the wealth of murders that spring up along the way. Add in the Chinese mob, corrupt policemen, and a Hollywood film shoot, and the stage is set. Burke's forte is his ability to create characters so evil they're liable to get you up in the night to check in your closet and under your bed. The players-both good and bad-are characterized more by their flaws than their attributes, giving everyone a wicked sheen. The book isn't overly gory (although short descriptions can be rather graphic), but everyone has a dark side, emphasizing the noir-ish tones of the novel. His writing is powerful, mixing tender landscapes ("[W]e dropped through clouds that were pooled with fire in the sunrise and came in over biscuit-colored hills dotted with juniper and pine and pinyon trees…") with dead-on, cutting descriptions ("His face was tentacled with a huge purple-and-strawberry birthmark, so that his eyes looked squeezed inside a mask") and the camp dialogue of Chandler ("Evil doesn't have a zip code"). Oddly, these sundry elements blend seamlessly, allowing you to overlook tenuous connections and occasionally confusing turns. Views: 16
In this long-awaited prequel to his New York Times bestselling series, Jefferson Bass turns the clock back to reveal the Body Farm's creation--and Dr. Bill Brockton's deadly duel with a serial killerIn the summer of 1992, Arkansas governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee senator Al Gore begin their long-shot campaign to win the White House. On a sweltering hillside in Knoxville, Dr. Bill Brockton, the bright, ambitious young head of the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Department, launches an unusual--some would call it macabre--research facility, unlike any other in existence. Brockton is determined to revolutionize the study of forensics to help law enforcement solve homicides. But the scientist's plans are derailed by a chilling murder that leaves him reeling from a sense of déjà vu. Followed by another. And then another: bodies that bear an eerie resemblance to cases from Brockton's past.The police chalk up the first corpse to... Views: 16
Ella Steven’s stubborn independence is the keystone of her identity—unfettered by romantic involvements or family demands—until the day she takes an exciting new job in Heidelberg, Germany. There, she stumbles onto a hidden time portal that takes her to 1620 Heidelberg where all her modern-day techno toys and proud self-reliance can’t protect her from the brutal realities of every day life. Befriended by a convent of seventeenth century nuns who stand on the executioner's block of the bloodiest warlord in all of Europe, Ella struggles to survive in this primitive and brutal time. With the help of a sexy US Marshal, she tries to break out of her closed world of protected autonomy to help her new friends. When she does, she learns the hard way that when it comes to the things that really matter in life—love, trust and friendship—sometimes opening yourself up to others is the only true way home. Views: 16
A former solider must protect his ex-fiancée and his secret son in the next installment of The Specialists: Heroes Next Door Before he could say "I do" on his wedding day eight years ago, former special ops soldier Drew Bryant was hustled away for a top secret mission. Everyone--including the bride he left behind--believes he's long dead. But now his former fiancée is on the run from a vengeful fugitive, and Drew is handpicked to bring her to safety. When he finds Addi Collins deep in the swamplands of Louisiana--with the son he never knew existed--he has to earn her trust to protect her from a vindictive desperado. And prove he won't break her heart a second time. Views: 16
Here in the fourth of the Molly DeWitt Romantic Mystery series, Molly and her handsome partner Michael O’Hara are resolved to find out what has happened to Michael’s favorite uncle when, on the eve of the Cuban revolution, his boat floats into Miami Bay only without the uncle and--more alarmingly--booby-trapped. Here you’ll find an intriguing murder mystery and more as the romance develops between Molly and Michael (where there has always been chemistry). Through intriguing descriptions of the lives of Cuban exiles, readers here also get a glimpse into the problems faced by this community and their heritage. All are woven together to form an engaging tale with all the right ingredients of murder, romance, and intrigue.ABOUT THE AUTHORSherryl Woods is the creator of two mystery book series, the Molly DeWitt Romantic Mystery series and the Amanda Roberts Mysteries. Each of these was optioned for television. Woods first began publishing in 1982 under the names Alexandra Kirk and Suzanne Sherrill. Since 1985 she has published under her name Sherryl Woods and has more than 110 romance and mystery novels to her credit.ABOUT THE SERIESThe Molly DeWitt and Michael O’Hara series of books present an excellent and intriguing series of detective stories that also weave in elements of romance and intrigue for the curious reader. Here you’ll find plots that are relevant to the modern world ranging from the Cuban Revolution to Hollywood stars and rehab to simple murder to Save the Environment affairs where murder occurs and the detective duo must solve the case. The chemistry between DeWitt and O’Hara works for not only are the two complimentary “brains” but also the sexual tension between the two creates a third element that keeps us on our toes and keeps us turning the pages to see how they manage all elements combined. Woods is a skilled writer, deftly managing to weave elements of romance and crime fiction in a single source plot. Views: 16
