Amateur Sleuths I to Z

I TO Z

July 5, 2008

Jordan, Richard Tyler. FINAL CURTAIN. Kensington Books. February '08. $22.00. Second in the series. "Polly Pepper, the legendary superstar of television's golden age, is finally back in the entertainment headlines. She's landed the title role in a new production of the musical Mame, and though it's off-off-off-off Broadway (Glendale, California, actually), Polly's bank account - and her ego -need the job. And if all goes well, the show just might go to New York! There's one minor detour, though: on the second day of rehearsals, wunderkind director Karen Richards turns up dead. Of course Polly's nose for news needs to know, and though Karen was well liked, it seems some last-minute casting changes from artistic director/megalomaniac Gerold Goss did her in. Sadly, Polly's Suspect #1 is her new friend and co-star Sharon Fletcher, who also plays a deliciously sultry bad girl on the popular daytime soap "It's Never Fair Weather." Sharon was the last person seen with the deceased director...and her Emmy matches the dent in Karen's head. But as Gerold takes over the director's chair, Polly finds her cast-member-suspect-list reaching epic proportions. Could it be Charlotte Bunch, who Karen politely corrected until she got her Irish brogue right? Everyone knows actresses can be very touchy. Or Gerold's sweetly innocent girlfriend Mag Ryan, who drunkenly reveals that she wouldn't let anything stand in the way of her landing a part in the possibly Broadway-bound musical? Or maybe even Karen's young assistant Jamie, who Polly discovers was promised a role in the play...after Karen's untimely demise? The more Polly sniffs, the surer she is that Sharon didn't haul off and bash Karen with her Emmy. But the evidence is mounting, and it'll take all of Polly's wits - and some help back at Pepper Plantation from her ever-dependable son Tim, and their perpetually wisecracking maid Placenta - to save the jailed soap star from a murder rap...and a starring role in a real-life drama tentatively entitled Framed!"

Kaplan, Janice. LOOKS TO DIE FOR. Touchstone. February '08. $14.00. "As the wife of a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, a dedicated mother of three, and an absolutely fabulous decorator to the stars, Lacy Fields is stunned to the tips of her Chanel-manicured toenails the night the police barge into her house and haul her husband off in handcuffs. With her handsome Dan accused of murdering a young wannabe actress named Tasha Barlow, Lacy turns her talent from tracking down priceless antique furniture to chasing a clever killer. Lacy is sure her husband has been wrongly accused - but how to explain his mysterious behavior? Known as the Saint of Hollywood for his skill with a scalpel, Dan seems to be keeping a secret or two. Still Lacy won't lose her faith or her determination to find the real murderer. With her best friend Molly Archer, a hot L.A. casting agent, at her side, Lacy tracks suspects ranging from a sleazy network TV star to an advertising exec who shoots Super Bowl commercials set on the moon. Is Tasha's loyal hometown friend really an enemy? Did an ex-con from her past return to destroy Tasha's new life? Lacy Fields will stop at nothing to protect her family - whether it's searching for the person who framed her husband or keeping the black hair dye away from her fourteen-year-old daughter."

Langley-Hawthorne, Clare. CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. Penguin Books. February '08. $14.00. First in a new Edwardian mystery series. "Ursula Marlow is not your average Edwardian heiress. An Oxford graduate active in the battle for women's suffrage, she is holding out against her widower father, a self-made magnate, in his plans to see her married to one of her many suitors. Her once charmed life takes a frightening turn when a fellow suffragette and friend is accused of murder. Despite the overwhelming evidence pointing toward the friend's guilt, Ursula feels compelled to come to her aid. With the help of the enigmatic Lord Wrotham, her father's lawyer, Ursula slowly uncovers details that reveal troubling questions about her own father's connection to the murder victim and to a mysterious expedition to Venezuela some twenty years earlier. As Ursula digs deeper, a series of further deaths thrusts her into a life-changing quest to uncover the truth, clear her friend's tarnished name, and find the killers before they close in on her."

Massey, Sujata. GIRL IN A BOX. HarperPaperbacks. November '07. $13.95. "Chronically underemployed Rei Shimura takes on a freelance gig with a Washington, D.C., alphabet agency that might have ties to the CIA. Her mission is to go undercover as a clerk in a big Tokyo department store. it's a tricky and risky assignment, but it also gives Rei the opportunity to check out all the latest fashions and use her store discount to indulge her shopping impulses. Meanwhile, she's listening in on conversations not meant for her and fending off the advances of a couple of store executives who seem to be fascinated by her navel ring. When her cover is blown, Rei's in big trouble, and it will take all her resourcefulness and unorthodox methods to unmask a killer."

Meier, Leslie. ST. PATRICK'S DAY MURDER. Kensington Books. February '08. $22.00. Fourteenth in the Lucy Stone series. "Not many people in Tinker's Cove, Maine, knew Old Dan Malone. The grizzled barkeep's social circle was limited to the rough-hewn lobstermen and other assorted toughs that frequented his bar, a derelict main street dive called, appropriately, the Bilge. But when his body is found bobbing in the town's icy harbor, Lucy Stone, ace reporter for the Pennysaver newspaper, makes getting to know more about Old Dan a priority. And apparently, there's lots to learn. Like the fact that local musician Dave Reilly insists Old Dan conned a winning lottery ticket worth five grand from him. And that handyman Brian Donohue claims that Old Dan stiffed him for repair work he'd done at the bar. There are even whispers about some connection to the Irish Republican Army. The confusion surrounding the death is only compounded by the arrival of actor Dylan Malone, Old Dan's brother and a prominent, if fading, attraction of the Dublin stage. Dylan has come to direct the production of 'Finian's Rainbow,' the featured event at Our Lady of Hope's annual St. Patrick's Day extravaganza. He's also come to help his brother renovate the Bilge, turning the dingy tavern into an authentic - if decidedly upscale - Irish pub. Was Old Dan killed by someone he'd cheated, someone he'd loved, or someone who just couldn't stand the idea of losing their favorite watering hole? While Lucy can't be sure, one thing is abundantly clear - the stage is set for a murder mystery with a killer ending!"

Mofina, Rick. A PERFECT GRAVE. Pinnacle Books. September '07. $6.99. Third in the series. "THE SINS OF THE PAST... The face in the mirror belongs to a man Sister Anne McGrath knew years ago. The cold blade against her throat guarantees his bone-chilling threat: 'Scream and you'll die. You know why I'm here.' Silence is the only answer to her prayers. SHALL NOT BE FORGIVEN... The shocking murder of a much-loved community saint draws the attention of Seattle Mirror reporter Jason Wade. But it's his father's demons that tell Jason more than the police investigation - even if Detective Grace Garner wants to reveal everything.... ONLY BURIED... Meanwhile a child is kidnapped by a vengeful killer bent on recovering what he feels is rightly his. But he may have murdered the one person who knew where the stolen money had been hidden. Question is: Was she a saint or a sinner?"

Morgan, Kaye. MURDER BY NUMBERS. Berkley Prime Crime. February '08. $6.99. Second in the series. "Maiden's Bay is a small scenic town on the Oregon coast where citizens get their number fix thanks to Liza Kelly - sudoku maven with the Oregon Daily. Her challenging puzzles sharpen the mind, and her deductive skills unravel even the most enigmatic clues....Liza settled down in Maiden's Bay to escape the Hollywood career that brought stress into her life - and her marriage. Unfortunately, the producers of Counterfeit have selected the town as the perfect location for their new film starring up-and-coming starlet Jenny Robbins - and they've brought in Liza's ex-husband, Michael, to work on the script. Taking on the role of Jenny's publicist puts Liza in the center of the action, where inflated egos and artistic temperaments clash both on the set and off. But when one of the film's major players is found buried up to the neck in sand on the Oregon shore, drowned by the incoming tide, Liza finds herself investigating the cast and crew to determine who wrote this death scene.... Includes Sudoku puzzles!"

Page, Katherine Hall. THE BODY IN THE GALLERY. William Morrow. May '08. $23.95. "Faith's catering business has been slow with the downturn of the economy, so when her friend Patsy Avery proposes that she take over the cafe at Aleford's Ganley Art Museum, it seems like a not-to-be-missed opportunity. And Patsy has an ulterior motive - she discovers that the Romare Bearden piece she lent the museum has been switched with a fake and wants Faith to snoop around to find the culprit. Life at the museum doesn't stay calm for long and Faith is soon enmeshed in the Ganley's murky past and present as she struggles to make connections among apparently disparate items: the fake Bearden, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, and a Jane Doe corpse that turns up as an unintended part of an art installation. At home, son Ben, now in the hell known as middle school, becomes involved in a cyberbullying escapade and husband Tom wants his wife to morph into June Cleaver. Her investigation takes Faith into Boston's art scene and historic Beacon Hill, as well as into the lives behind the facade of the Ganley's very proper board of trustees. She is at her wit's - and almost dead - end, as the killer strikes again, and again."

Page, Katherine Hall. THE BODY IN THE IVY. Avon Books. November '07. $7.99. "In 1970, a popular, wealthy student, Helene Prince, fell to her death just before her graduation from Pelham College. The police ruled it a suicide, but Prin's twin sister never believed the official account of the events. Thirty years later, now an internationally known bestselling suspense writer, she's still yearning for an answer. Enter Faith Fairchild, a caterer, sometime sleuth, and, most significant in this case, the sister of a Pelham grad. Through the Pelham old-girl network, Faith has been hired for a weeklong reunion of eight classmates on the novelist's very private island. The dream job - the house is a mini-resort with spectacular ocean views - turns into a nightmare when Faith discovers she's trapped not with a group of longtime friends, but a group of suspects. None of the women knew the others were invited - and definitely hadn't stayed in touch. With no phone lines, cell reception, or boat, Faith is caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse as one by one the alumnae fall prey to a madwoman. A disturbed sister's revenge? Faith must quickly unlock a series of past secrets if she's going to leave the island alive!"

Rowland, Laura Joh. SECRET ADVENTURES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE. Overlook Press. April '08. $24.95. "Upon learning that she has been falsely accused of breaching her publishing contract, the normally mild-mannered Charlotte Bronte sets off for London to clear her name. But when she unintentionally witnesses a murder, Charlotte finds herself embroiled in a dangerous chain of events. With the aid of her sisters, Emily and Anne, and of the suspiciously well-informed but irresistibly attractive brother of the victim, Charlotte works to unravel a deadly web of intrigue that threatens not only her own safety but the very fabric of the British Empire. Charlotte is plunged into a thrilling adventure and a passionate romance that leads her from the peaceful Yorkshire moors to the crime-infested streets of London, across the sea to the Continent to the ports of Cornwall, the wilds of Scotland, and the palaces of Queen Victoria herself. Will Charlotte be able to stop a devious invisible villain whose schemes threaten her life, her family, and her country?"

Segura, Jonathan. OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS. Simon & Schuster. July '08. $14.00. "Bernard Cockburn is a beat reporter for the Omaha Weekly News-Telegraph. His boss has him chasing dead-end stories on real estate and county funding irregularities when he'd rather be working on that handful of neglected exposes in his bottom desk drawer - or self-medicating in the apartment he shares with an on-again, off-again girlfriend. Then Cockburn finds himself at a bloody crime scene in downtown Omaha and uncovers a lead in what soon becomes the only story worth pursuing, one that just might pull him down and keep him there for good. From street level to small-town bureaucracy, and even the staff at the paper, a vigilante league is intent on cleaning up the ghetto for profit, even if it means killing a few people to get it done - an elaborate conspiracy too unbelievable for newsprint. Like the detectives of all great noir, Cockburn's got a past that threatens to invade his present at any moment. Work has become a diversion from his personal life; but almost no one knew about his connection to the death of his best friend's little sister, and now he's begun receiving disconcerting blackmail threats. Debut novelist Jonathan Segura has all the right instincts when it comes to plotting a relentless and tightly packed story. Darkly funny at times, and even wryly emotional, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS is a sharply observant, suspenseful read from a new and worthy writing talent."

Shelton, Connie. OBSESSIONS CAN BE MURDER. Worldwide Library. December '07. $7.99. "Charlie is on vacation. A cozy cabin, a diner that serves delicious guilty - pleasures, and Drake - all Charlie needs to relax and enjoy herself. But the town of Watson's Lake has a little unsolved mystery. Four years ago, a showplace home - beautiful and serene and tucked away on the mountain - blew sky high, due to an apparent gas leak. A young woman died. The owner disappeared. His gold-digging wife wants the insurance money, and his daughter wants to know what happened to her father. Charlie can't resist this kind of investigation.... As she sifts through the clues, Charlie finds that the residents of this small lakeside town in northern New Mexico seem to know more than they're willing to say - including the sheriff. The more Charlie learns, the more mysterious the missing David Simmons becomes. Could David have intentionally double-crossed his family, or is there a more sinister reason for his disappearance?"

Soos, Troy. STREETS OF FIRE. Kensington pbo. May '08. $6.99. "Anarchy brings a snow-clad city to its knees - and hides a ruthless killer. It is 1895, and the worst winter in years grips the streets of Brooklyn. As the city prepares to be united with New York City across the river, a strike by trolley workers ignites one of the most contentious labor conflicts in the nation's history. In the face of overwhelming opposition, the mayor - a shareholder in one of the largest transportation companies - vows to keep the trolleys running, and calls in the National Guard. It's a disaster waiting to happen - and the waiting ends pretty quickly when a cop drops dead in a crowd of protesters with two bullet holes in his back. Marshall Webb, reporting on the strike for Harper's Weekly, suspects that the incident somehow stands at the center of the tremors that are tearing Brooklyn apart on the eve of losing its independence. To bring peace to an erupting city, he joins forces with Buck Morehouse, a detective with his own methods of establishing law and order, and Vivian O'Connell, a social reformer with contacts in both extremes of New York society. As the heat continues to rise in the frozen streets, only the truth they seek will expose a tangle of corruption thick enough to strangle a city - and murder again...."

Stuckart, Diane A.S. THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT. Berkley Books. January '08. $23.95. First in a new series featuring Leonardo da Vinci. "Milan, province of Lombardye...1483. As court engineer to the Duke of Milan, Leonardo da Vinci turns his superior mind to a variety of pursuits - from advances in paiting to th invention of war machines. Now, with his determined apprentice Dino to aid him, he is about to pursue a murder... On a royal whim, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, orders a living chess game to be enacted by members of his own court. Court Engineer Leonardo da Vinci conjures the spectacle in a single night, but his latest success turns bitter when one of the 'pieces' - the Duke's ambassador to France - is murdered. Given the brutal climate of court politics, even the Duke's closest advisors are suspect. As an outsider, Leonardo is the only man Sforza can trust to conduct the investigation. With his scrupulous eye for detail, and young apprentice Dino gathering information unnoticed, Leonardo uncovers a vile nest of secrets - while danger, like an ill humor, rises to the surface. But the most surprising secret of all may be the true identity of his most talented, most trusted apprentice...." Available in paperback. January '09. $7.99.

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