The Bone Chamber

Multiple award winning Robin Burcell's The Bone Chamber is a first class bone chilling romantic/suspense/thriller, which will keep you glue to each page.

Sydney Fitzpatrick is a forensic artist who is pulled from her last session at the FBI Academy and asked to take on a new assignment on the eve of a well deserved vacation with her family in San Francisco. Sydney doesn't want to job or the aggravation, but a friend invites her to dinner and persuades her to take the assignment.

It isn't until Sydney is finishing what seems to be a routine facial identification of a young women does Sydney learn her friend is dead. Dr. Natasha Gilbert was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. She is furious with Special Agent Zachary Griffin who kept the information from her. Who is Agent Griffin who can enter the portals of Quantico with impunity and change lives at his command?

Sydney is not without resources and investigates Agent Griffin, whose identity and employment circumstances become stranger and stranger. Fueled by her anger with him and her grief for Tasha, Sydney follows him to Rome and a case that is definitely not a vacation.

The sparks fly between Sydney and Zack, but neither has the time or inclination to indulge in personal affairs while they are fighting to stay alive. The twists and turns of plot and relationships will propell the reader the tombs of ancient slaves to the final page.

The Bone Chamber is title I acquired through Amazon's Vine Review program, which I consider worthy of a broader review. It is available in bookstores and online everywhere. Comments are welcome at Harper@harpercollins.com.

This review is in compliance with FTC rules of September, 09.

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

The Crossing Places

I came across British author Elly Griffiths's The Crossing Places through the Amazon Vine program where I also write reviews for new books.

Seldom do I read a book from cover to cover at one sitting, but this cozy/suspense is a page turner from the first word.

Ruth Galloway is an archaeologists with a deep love for the lonely salt-marsh country where she did her early internship working on the resurrection of a henge. The mudflats, when the tide recedes reveal evidence of human activity back to the Iron Age.

A chance discovery of the bones of a child prompts Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson to ask for Ruth's help as to their identity. He is hoping they are the remains of a child who has been missing for ten years, but Ruth identifies the bones as those of a Bronze Age child who was allowed to die in a ritual sacrifice.

Since the kidnapping Detective Nelson has been taunted by letters as to the location of Lucy Downey's remain, but when another child goes missing the hunto is on by all parties to locate a killer before he can strike again.

With a masterful pen Ms. Griffiths creates word pictures to draw the reader into the bleakness of the English coast and the lives of her characters who populate the windswept Norfolk marshes. Each has a spark of life that shines through to enthrall the reader.

The Crossing Places is not Ms. Griffiths first novel, but it is the first in a new mystery series that will have this reader coming back for more. The book will be available on Amazon.com some time in the new year. Visit Elly Griffiths and Ruth at http://ruthgalloway.com/.

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

Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar

Pamela Morsi's Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar is a May/December love story along the line's of Kirk Douglas's The Gift, but there the similarity ends.

Red Cullens has always done what she had to do to provide for herself and her illegitimate daughter, but this request could be more than she can handle.

Staff Sergeant Bridge Lujan is calling from Kabul. Her mother-in-law has had a major stroke, her ex-husband is in Korea, and there is no one else to care for her two children.

The last thing Red wants is to become an overnight grandmother to a ten and six-year-old. Red's home is not suitable for children. She lives in a small apartment above her bar where the jamming vibrates long into the night. She is a night person who sleeps during the day with her current "boy toy" lover who plays in the band. Besides, Cam isn't aware that the "hot mama" with flaming red hair down her back and skin tight jeans has family responsibilities.

Red admits Bridge raised herself while she was doing what she could to provide a roof over their heads and put food in their mouths. Bridge has been careful with her children and the advent of Red in their lives upsets their ordered existence. Daniel refuses to speak English, his sister tries to assume the burden of their care until their mother comes home, but Red will not shirk her duty.

Where does the role of room-mother, cookies & cupcakes fit into the life of a tavern owner who is watching the urban renewal progress of San Antonio consume her livelihood? The upper crust will never be the same when Red steps up to the plate.

Maybe getting what you never wanted is the best thing that ever happens to you, but it will take major adjustments on all sides before the matter reaches its conclusion.

Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar is the perfect romance to renew an interest in a genre filled to overflowing capacity with boy-meets-girl-happy-ever-after-tales. Its a great read with finely drawn flawed characters who will steal your heart.

Visit with Pamela Morsi at http://www.pamulamorsi.com and visit bookstores everywhere for Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar.

Nash Black, author of Sins of the Fathers and Qualifying Laps.

Merry, Merry Ghost

Carolyn Hart brings back the most delightful ghost in mystery land, Bailey Ruth Raeburn in Merry, Merry Ghost to decorate the season with fun and fantasy.

Bailey Ruth has a new assignment from the Department of Good Intentions: "to protect a little boy" from his greedy faux relatives.

A return trip from Heaven to Adelaide, OK during the holiday season is just the ticket Bailey Ruth has been anticipating. A short side trip to check on her children and she's off to do her duty to little Keith Flynn who has lost both his mother and father.

Keith is left on the doorstep of his grandmother's home; she was not aware of his existence, yet his papers prove he is the son of her estranged son, Michael.

His arrival is not greeted with joy from all the members of his grandmother's extended family and someone is willing to kill to prevent her from signing a new will in Keith's favor. It is up to Bailey Ruth to enlighten the authorities there has been a murder, bring the culprit to justice, and protect Keith's inheritance.

Merry, Merry Ghost is just the book to enjoy for yourself after all your holiday chores are finished and give to friends that deserve a bit of cheer on cold winter days.

Merry, Merry Ghost is available on line and at bookstores everywhere. Visit with numerous award winning author Carolyn Hart at http://www.carolynhart.com/.

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

http://twitter.com/Pennhand

Serpent in the Thorns

Jeri Westerson has given her growing list of fans a new adventure for Crispin Guest in Serpent in the Thorns. Ms. Westerson's first medieval noir mystery for Crispin was Veil of Lies, where she introduced the disgraced knight who when stripped of his heritage by Richard II must eek a precarious living by finding lost items.

Crispin's "lost items" are not mundane and this time he is besieged from all sides for the return of the sacred Crown of Thorns, which he picked up while investigating a murder French courier in the room of a simple minded girl who claims she killed the man. How could she have killed the man with a special arrow known only to the English court? His duty is to protect his new client whose sister has given him a small fee.

A novel set during the period of the rule of the House of Lancaster is backed up with the extensive research and knowledge Jeri Westerson brings to the printed page. The minute details of life for both commoner and aristocracy of the era ring with authenticity and pull the reader deep into the story for a fascinating adventure where rogues and honorable men are known. But are they when the unstable rule of a vain seventeen year-old governs their lives?

Crispin wants to use the Crown to regain his status. Follow him as he risks his life and the lives of those who have befriended him during his hours of darkness to pursue his ambition.

Serpent in the Thorns, as Veil of Lies, apply demonstrats the work of a master for plot, character development, and setting. You will enjoy every tight word of this exciting medieval noir mystery. Both books are available on Amazon.com and bookstores. Veil of Lies in the new paperback edition has a new cover.

Join Jeri at http://jeriwesterson.com/ or Crispin who keeps a journal on his own Web site at http://www.crispinguest.com where you will learn more about him and the times in which he lived.

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

Death and Honesty

Death and Honesty by Cynthia Riggs continues the sleuthing skills of Victoria Trumbull for the delight of the author's many fans. Victoria is ninety-two-years-old and her nosiness when it comes to murder has earned her the position of a deputy on the local police force, which is a responsibility Victoria strives to fulfill.

Cynthia Riggs parlays a varied background and a position as a thirteenth-generation Islander on Martha's Vineyard into an outstanding series that gains more fans as each addition is published.

Victoria discovers the body of a neighbor who happens to be one of the community's tax-assessors. No one really cares for a person who fulfills this position, but murder is taking distaste too far.

Another name for honesty is money plant and though its bright bluish/purple bloom is lovely in a late-spring garden; it is invasive and roots out frailer plants.

This soon happens as Victoria discovers the tax-assessors have been raising the assessment values on properties owned by the seasonal residents, the extra income is not evident in the towns coffers.

Delilah Sampson is one such owner who is facing financial crisis of her own. The heat begins to build for Delilah when the body of the private pilot for a disreputable minister is found in her pond. A former helpful friend of Victoria's is acting as Delilah's chauffeur under another name, which leads Victoria to wonder if he, too, is no longer to be trusted.

Join Victoria in a cozy mystery that is well plotted, filled with humor and substance that will take you to the beach. A well-written cozy is a welcome break for the deluge of heavy chiller-thrillers.

Death and Honesty is available where mysteries are sold and online. Visit with Cynthia Riggs at http:www.cynthiariggs.com to discover what she has in store for Victoria's next adventure.

Nash Black

Writing as a Small Business and Haints, Indie Award Finalists

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