Homicide in Hardcover

Kate Carlisle has introduced a new sleuth to the cozy mystery scene with Brooklyn Wainright in Homicide in Hardcover. Brooklyn has an intriguing occupation, she repairs and restores antique books, this painstaking work gives her a deep insight into teeny details the ordinary person would never see.

As I read I kept wondering if Brooklyn my precious copy of the first American edition of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. It is bound in green patterned silk, but the spine has parted ways with the body. This is how well Kate Carlisle (a debut author) develops her characters. They become real to the reader.

Brooklyn was named for the place she was conceived by her "flower children" parents who have managed to make their avocation a success in a commercial world. She discovers her mother leaving a basement studio of her mentor just minutes before she discovers his body in the disaster strewn workshop. Why was her mother in the museum where a major collection of prize books is being shown? What is her mother hiding and did she have anything to do with the crime?

The plot and its numerous threads are woven together like the very fabric of a fine book covering. The suspense builds as evidence accumulates that points to several candidates for the killer in this fine who-done-it.

I've been looking for a new sleuth to follow and purchased this title through Amazon's Those Who Bought This Book Also Bought section, otherwise I may never have discovered this jewel of a cozy.

Kate Carlise has also received another review from a fan, see http://mmgornell.wordpress.com/ for a second opinion and welcome Kate to the world of cozy mystery fiction.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

http://twitter.com/Pennhand

HARDBALL

Sara Paretsky's private detective V.I. Warshawski returns with a new addition to the outstanding series. Hardball will be in bookstores everywhere in September.

Paretsky's character of V.I. "Vic" Warshawski was one of the first of the strong female PIs who are as hard-boiled as the guys and the this character has never disappointed the reader.

Hardball allows fans to a slight peak inside Vic as this story involves her current family and memories of her beloved parents.

Against her better judgement V.I. assumes an investigation of the disappearance of a young Black man who has been missing for forty years. Lamont Gadsden has not been seen in Chicago since the night prior to the big snow that paralyzed the city for days. His aunt wants him found before she dies and Vic cannot refuse the request.

Johnnie Merton is in prison for crimes that will keep him there for the remainder of his life. He was an old client of Vic's when she worked for the Public Defender's Office, even then his power over the Black community was enormous and he scared Vic though she refused to give him the power over her by allowing him to see her fear. Merton is Vic's opening link to Lamont, but he refuses to aid her search.

Vic cousin Petra, a recent college graduate comes to Chicago to work on the political campaign of a rising politician. She swiftly makes her presence know both to Vic and her employers.

The hunt for the missing civil rights worker and Petra's employment create a tornado of power as Chicago politics: past, present & future collided in a thrilling page turner. The violence is stark and graphic of the world of the 1966 race riots and the political consequences of that era as Vic remembers bits of her childhood with connections to the present.

With the veteran Partetsky welding the pen there are sifts and convergences in plot lines that make for a rapid pace tied in the shrunken fabric of social history.

Nash Black, author of Writing as a Small Business and Sins of the Fathers

http://pennhand.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/Pennhand

DEAD ON

DEAD ON by Robert W. Walker is a chiller thriller of the first magnitude. Rob takes the reader's capacity for the imagination of horror to stomach turning depths, and then gives it more twists than a Georgia backroad that paves an Indian trail. This new addition to his broad range of titles will keep you awake long after the last page is closed.

I've reviewed several titles on this blog that were heralded as thrillers, but none of them had the spine tingling power of DEAD ON.

From the first page when former Atlanta police detective turned PI, Marcus Rydell is contemplating ending his life through his gun point first date with Dr. Kat Holley the tension and suspense builds as they bind together to catch a psychotic killer who has destroyed their lives and halted their careers.

The reader is compelled to keep turning the pages. Rob does little pseudo psychological musing as to what has turned ex-marine, professional hunter Iden Cantu into a monster killer. He illustrates by the deviants' blood curdling actions how a man slips over the line into insanity.

Cantu thrives on torture, both physical and mental for his victims. Cantu picks Rydell as his adversary when Rydell experiences a blackout as his partner and two other policemen are executed over his prone body. It is a duel manhunt of Cantu's choosing unless he can destroy Rydell from inside his own brain before Rydell finds him.

Nothing is predictable in this fast paced horror/thriller and the descriptions are sparse as each character controls their own destiny, which are fought against an unpredictable opponent.

This reviewer will be back for the sequel DEAD END, because there are many questions left unanswered.

You can find DEAD ON in your favorite library or online at Amazon.com. Visit with the award winning author at http://robertwalkerbooks.com.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

http://twitter.com/Pennhand

A Trace of Smoke

Rebecca Cantrell's A Trace of Smoke takes the reader deep into the noir world of Berlin in 1931. A world in upheaval with the rise of the Nazi party just before Hitler comes to power. The power of this debut mystery is enthralling, spurred by the in depth research of the author.

The minute details makes the novel come alive in the reader's mind because the word pictures she paints are both stark and vivid. Rebecca recreates a world that becomes a major character. A Trace of Smoke could not exist, except for the setting.

Hannah Vogel is a crime reporter for Berliner Tageblatt under the pen name of Peter Weill. On her way to the Criminal Investigations Department she discovers her gay brother's picture on the wall of the Hall of the Unnamed Dead. He had been stabbed and his body was dumped in the river, where it was discovered by a passing tourist boat. Hannah is shocked and frightened, but she vows to unearth his killer.

Hannah inherits a five year old boy who calls her Mother. Anton carries a birth certificate which names her as his mother and the brother as the father. Who is "Little Eagle?" Did her beloved bother father this child at the age of fourteen?

Follow Hannah as she searches for the truth through the dangerous streets of Berlin, the El Dorado (gay bar) where her brother was a performer, Tegel Prison, and the abandoned homes of her friends who've fled the coming Holocaust. This is one you will not put down until the last page.

Hannah's story will continue in 2010 with A Night of the Long Knives. Visit Rebecca Cantrell at http://rebeccacantrell.com/.

PS, this copy is from the Russell County, KY public library. Thanks you all, you have good taste.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

The Last Bridge

The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne is a symphony of pain.

Alexandra "Cat" Rucker has buried her memories in an alcoholic haze for all of her adult life, but the suicide of her brutalized mother brings her home to avoid or face the future.

The complex threads of her life are woven around the cryptic note left by her mother.

"Cat, He isn't who you think he is." Who is the "he?"

Is it her father? Her teenage lover? Her bother? The son she gave birth to and abandoned?

Abuse both sexual and physical leaves many scars and grows twines like a deadly snake around the lives of everyone it touches. What saves this title from being a travesty of malignancy is the powerful writing style of debut author Teri Coyne.

The story itself reminds me of Michaela Jefferies's, Grasping for Love, which is a non-fiction title by a victim of sexual abuse. I have met Michaela and watched her struggle against a past she can never forget.

Cat doesn't forget her past either, and it takes many months to find her way to a tentative understanding of who "he" is or was. With fiction there is a grain of hope buried in the final pages for Cat's recovery. A graphic read that is not comfortable, but it is enlightening. Teri Coyne has a profound voice and a superb story for a debut novel.

You can learn more about Teri at http://www.tericoyne.com/. The Last Bridge will be on sale July 28, 2009.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

Self-Publishing News

Self-Publishing News

Shared via AddThis

Missing Mark

Missing Mark by Julie Kramer has all the zip and fascination of her award winning Stalking Susan.

Riley Spartz, investigative reporter for Channel 3 in Minneapolis has found a rental in the exclusive White Bear Lake community, which has a history of peaceful living until Riley arrives. Her forte is mystery, finding the truth, while murder clouds her view.

The frenzied pace of her day doesn't keep Riley awake as her next door neighbor operates his perennial yard sale through the night. K-9 officer Flying-Cloud is shot and Riley covers the story. She ends up dog sitting when Shep recognizes her and destroys the scene report. Shep's nose for meth is legendary and he discovers a wealth of fragrance in the neighbor's inventory.

May is ratings month at the station and Riley is pushed to follow the breaking news of a missing trophy bass, while her interest is sparked by an ad that parodies Hemingway's bet winning short story.

Why did the impoverished groom miss his wedding to a wealthy heiress and leave the bride to be humiliated before their families and friends? No word has been heard from him in the months before Riley enters the case to dig in the dirt and stir the waters of White Bear Lake.

I watched the video trailer (http://juliekramerbooks.com/), which is as slick as the story. You will want to reserve your copy of Missing Mark. Julie Kramer has proven her Riley Spartz mysteries are events to anticipate.

You can visit with Julie at kramerjuliem@aol.com, but visit your favorite brick&mortar bookstore or order this excellent summer mystery online.

Nash Black, Writing as a Small Business and Sins of the Fathers.