I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson: This science fiction/horror story is a classic, originally published in 1954. Since Will Smith will be starring in a movie release of it sometime this summer, it’s a good time to pick it up. Set from 1976 to 1979, it’s the story of Robert Neville. As far as he knows, he’s the last person alive in a world that suffered through war, insects, plague, dust storms, and, finally, vampires. The vampires are out there, and they attack his home nightly. He’s barricaded in the house, with a generator to keep the electricity running. He lost his daughter and wife. Matheson’s story is a powerful one of one man’s attempt to survive and defeat the enemy. He’s lost everything, but he still struggles to live. Matheson’s story has been made into movies before, including The Omega Man. The ending of this classic is one of the most powerful ones in a short book. 06/07 Lesa Holstine

ICE TRAP by Kitty Sewell:  Years ago, after a horrible surgical accident, Dr. Dafydd Woodruff escaped to the tiny, secluded town of Moose Creek, Alaska. Woodruff served nine months as a temporary doctor in the town and then returned to his home in Whales. Today, Dr. Woodruff is a much respected surgeon who has managed to put his past behind him. Woodruff and his wife have everything going for them, but have been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby. Then one day, Dafydd receives a letter from a thirteen-year-old girl back in Moose Creek. She claims that she and her twin brother are Dafydd’s children. The problem is Dafydd swears he never had any sort of physical relationship with the children’s mother. DNA results don’t lie, however, and Dafydd returns to Moose Creek to find out just what is going on. What he discovers there will change his life forever. This gripping debut is infectiously readable. From page one, Sewell snatches hold of readers and never lets up. Surprisingly enough, Ice Trap is inspired by – but not based on – an actual event in the author’s life. With her debut title already the subject of much buzz and nominated for multiple awards, Kitty Sewell is one author who will definitely be a great. 02/08 Becky Lejeune

THE ICON by Neil Olson: For the foreseeable future all novels of this type will be compared fairly or unfairly to The Da Vinci Code. The Holy Mother of Katarini is a Greek Orthodox religious icon that becomes the focus of international intrigue, deception and death because of its role in certain World War II events in Greece. The book is well written and fast paced as NY Metropolitan Museum employee Matthew Spear tries to stay alive and come to grips with the power of the icon. Spear’s Greek grandfather was involved with the disappearance of the icon in World War II but it shows up some 55 years later in the custody of the granddaughter of a German officer who was also present at the “disappearance” of the icon. Olson does a good job of filling in details for those of us not familiar with the inner workings of the Greek Orthodox Church without over doing it. There are at least four factions involved as the story evolves and the surprise ending reveals even more truths about the events that set the chain into motion. All in all, a fascinating tale, well written and thought provoking. How does it compare to The Da Vinci Code? Read both and judge for yourself. 05/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

IDENTITY CRISIS by Debbi Mack: Lawyers generally start out at a disadvantage as protagonists because not everyone holds their profession in high regard. Female lawyers like Samantha “Sam” McRae are placed at a further disadvantage when, early on, they hop into bed with a married man as an antidote for months of abstinence.  Her personal characteristics notwithstanding, Sam has a problem – a missing female client who may or may not be involved with a complex case of murder and identity theft that involves strips clubs, the Mob, and the FBI.  Set in and around Baltimore, the well written story deserves a heroine who can get the job done out of bed rather than cluttering up the script with her personal needs. False identities can hide dark secrets, and those secrets can destroy lives. So can thoughtless actions. 12/09 Jack Quick 

IDENTITY THEORY by Peter Temple: This is the sixth novel for Australian Temple and his American debut. You almost wish that it were science fiction rather than mystery. John Anselm is a former journalist working in Hamburg, Germany with a former intelligence officer, some stolen software and computer hackers who provide information on demand for the highest bidder. The only way you can evade their attention is if you have no job, no bank, no driver’s license, no utilities, nothing that is ever entered into a computer and you also never pass underneath the eye of a security camera. Otherwise, you are a possible target. This time they get into something much deeper than the run of the mill malfeasance they normally deal with – an entire government is at stake. Anselm’s past rudely intrudes on the present as forces far more powerful than their little intelligence company struggle over their work. Recommended.  04/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW by Cecelia Ahern: Ivan is an invisible friend - he only appears to those who need him and only stays until they no longer need him.  When he meets Luke, he's pleased to have found a friend so soon after helping his last one.  What surprises Ivan is when Luke's aunt, Elizabeth Egan, sees him as well.  Strange as it may seem, Elizabeth needs Ivan's help the most.  See, it's rare that Ivan appears to adults even though he appears to be an adult himself.  Elizabeth may have a great career as an interior designer, but she's not happy.  She's always been the dependable, responsible sister and, as a result, is raising her nephew Luke.  Elizabeth has no room in her life for magic or love or even fun but Ivan is about to open her up to all three.  Cecelia Ahern's books are such a treat.  Each one is sweet and funny and truly heartwarming; an all around feel good read. 10/06 Becky LeJeune

IGGY by Dalton Stephenson: Stephenson is a retired Alabama school teacher and former corporate executive. Like his previous efforts, this short work is a morality tale. Igor Goren “Iggy” Yasananovich is the disfigured son of an immigrant Russian coal miner. Added to his misfortune was the family’s location in the rural South of the early twentieth century, where the vast majority of people were of either British or African ancestry. John Luke Smart befriends Iggy and helps him through his troubles. Short, simple, and morally correct. 12/08 Jack Quick 

Ilium by Dan Simmons:  This is a big book, sprawling across our solar system from Earth to Mars and beyond. The title derives from a replication of the Trojan War taking on Mars for the entertainment of godlike creatures residing imperiously on Olympus Mons. To observe the extent of their power and compare their recreation with the original, they have brought back to life period scholars from twenty-first century Earth. The first party narrator of this part of the story is one of those "scholics," Thomas Hockenberry. His observations of the progress of the conflict and discussions of specific characters will delight readers with a familiarity with Homer's classics. His eventual interaction with the "gods" and principals of the story, including a dalliance with Helen herself, will delight science fiction fans. This would have been sufficient for a good book, but was not enough for this "big book" which contains two more story lines from other planets as well.
    Earth for the most part has been abandoned and is left only to an effete pleasure seeking race whose every need is catered to throughout their measured 100 year lives. Their pleasures include watching the events occurring on Mars like an MTV video through the medium of a device called a "Turin-cloth." However, this life is not enough for a small band of curious adventurers who, despite their race's loss of the ability to read, are determined to find out the how and why of their existence.
    The final, and most fun, story line involves biomachines, like something from a cable TV channel, sent from Jupiter to probe and perhaps destroy the mysterious emanations from Olympus Mons. These space-hardened machines are the real intellectuals of the book, specializing in Shakespeare and Proust, and having perhaps the most authentic emotions of any of its characters. This background is helpful when they encounter Prospero, Ariel and Caliban.
    As I said, this is a big book. And apparently, one big book was not enough, because a following volume, Olympus, promises to bring all of this conflict and confusion to some sort of resolution. I have to believe that the reason the book is so big is because Simmons had so much fun writing it and just couldn't bring himself to stop. I enjoyed it and I think readers of science fiction and epics will enjoy it. But I emerged from it feeling more that I had been sitting under a Turin cloth than getting a real intellectual workout.  ~This review contributed by Geoffrey R. Hamlin.

I LOVE MY SMITH & WESSON by David Bowker: Robert B. Parker is the master of sparse prose but Ken Bruen and now David Bowker are showing some of the same talent. Rawhead, the former chief executioner of the Manchester mob, gets back into the business, after learning that a $50,000 bounty has been placed on his head. Gritty and dark, like the streets of Manchester, the cobbles of which are dyed by the generations of blood spilled on them. Graphic violence, etc. and a twist which sets up future adventures. A good one.  06/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

ILL WIND by Rachel Caine: The first of Rachel Caine’s Weather Warden books proves to be an excellent start to a refreshingly original urban fantasy series. Joanna Baldwin has the ability to control the air and water. She is a Weather Warden of great power, but some debated whether she was trainable—in other words, controllable. When an incident with her boss leaves Joanna on the run from the Wardens and carrying a Demon Mark, she knows that there is only one person who can possibly help her. Lewis, a fellow Warden who has the power to control all of the elements—a rare combination amongst the Wardens—has been on the run himself. Before he left, though, he managed to steal three of the Warden’s coveted Djinn. Rumor has it that a Demon Mark can successfully be transferred to a Djinn. But Joannna must find Lewis in time to save her own soul. Elemental based magic and genies. Ill Wind is just the first of a series that is so far comprised of eight additional titles (the latest due out this summer). With a killer plot and an excellent ending, Ill Wind is a must read for any urban fantasy fan. 04/10 Becky Lejeune  

ILLEGAL by Paul Levine:  Jimmy "Royal" Payne is a shady Los Angeles lawyer.  He lost his son, and then his wife, and is not too popular with the local police.  He manages to screw up a sting operation and goes on the run when he crosses paths with a 12-year-old Mexican boy.  Tino is looking for his mother because they were separated in their illegal border crossing.  Payne's ex, a local cop, gives Payne an ultimatum: help the boy or go to jail.  So Payne and Tino go off looking for the boy's mother, and find themselves mixed up with the immigration problems in California's farming community, not to mention forced prostitution.  Payne is likeable in a very similar way to Levine's previous Lassiter & Solomon characters, but this is a much edgier, darker book.  Taking on the hot political potato of immigration gives a new twist to a tautly written thriller.  I couldn't put it down.  04/09 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

ILLEGAL ACTION by Stella Rimington:  Ambitious MI-5 officer Liz Carlyle has been transferred from counter-terrorism to counter-espionage after the discovery of a mole in the previous outing.  Although the counter-espionage section has been scaled back as the result of the end of the Cold War, there is no shortage of potential action, as there are more spies operating in London in the twenty-first century than there were during the height of East-West hostilities.  While the Russians maintain a large presence much of their current activity is Russian versus Russian as the old regime splinters.  Liz quickly uncovers a plot to silence one of these Russians: Nikita Brunovsky, an increasingly vocal opponent of Vladimir Putin.  The Foreign Office is adamant about forestalling a crime that could become a full-blown international incident, but there’s not a single clue as to how the assassination will be carried out.  It is up to Liz to make the save.  Another well written book by the first woman Director General of MI-5.  You got to wander where fact ends and fiction starts.  07/08 Jack Quick 

I’M WATCHING YOU by Mary Burton: Two days before her seventeenth birthday, Lindsay Hines returned home from her summer job to find her mother dead in her backyard. After suffering years of abuse at the hands of Lindsay's father, it had finally gone too far. It’s been twelve years since that horrific night and Lindsay Hines is now Lindsay O’Neil, a strong and independent woman who has worked to recover emotionally from the traumas of her childhood. Lindsay now provides help and support to other women like her mother. On the anniversary of her mother’s death, Lindsay will discover that someone else has been watching her, someone who is targeting the very men Lindsay is trying to protect her clients from. I’m Watching You is a great one-sitting read with just the right combination of suspense and romance. Characters will return next Fall in Burton’s upcoming thriller, Dead Ringer.  08/08 Becky Lejeune

AN IMAGE OF DEATH by Libby Fischer Hellmann: Videographer and producer Ellie Foreman is really a nice person, she just keeps coming into contact with dead bodies, and killers.  This time it’s a mysterious videotape delivered to her door that shows a young woman being murdered.  Ellie gets the gruesome feeling this is no act, but rather the real thing.  This time Ellie’s adversary is the Russian Mafia, but with the help of village police officer Georgia Davis she manages to survive once again.  There are some problems, however, as she and her lover, David, come very close to breaking up.  With each book, Hellman just gets better.  For example “Park Ridge has always been a schizophrenic suburb, unsure whether it wants to be home to the Little House on the Prairie or the Mall of America.  But what can you expect from a town that originally went by the name of Pennyville?”  Another treat. 06/05 ~This review contributed by Jack Quick.

IMMORAL by Brian Freeman:  A terrific new thriller from a terrific new writer.  A teenage girl goes missing one night, a year after another teenage girl disappeared.  Neither case seems related, yet both are haunting Detective Jonathan Stride.  Set in Duluth, Minnesota, wonderfully drawn characters that come to life populate this twisty tale deceit, betrayal and murder.  Freeman is being compared to Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly & Dennis Lehane, some pretty heavy hitters and I can see why.  This book was un-put-downable. 09/05

IMMORTAL LAWS by Jim Hansen:  Blues singer Heather Vaughn has the same bloodlines as a young woman who is found with a wooden stake driven through her heart – both are descended from men who were reputed to be vampires.  In this, his sixth outing, coffee drinking serial womanizing Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is under suspicion because of the disappearance of childhood friend Jena Vernon, now a local television news reporter, last seen with Coventry.  Heather is trying to stay alive while helping to find a group of slayers that appear to be roaming the world to eradicate vampire descendents.  Coventry doesn’t believe in ghosts, or vampires, or werewolves, or any of that stuff, but he does believe in himself “Just because I don’t know what I’m doing doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”  Another solid police procedural with only a touch of “woo-woo”, that doesn’t interfere at all with the action in this modern-day thriller rooted in ancient and deadly rites.  All in all, another very satisfying read.  09/08 Jack Quick    

IMMUNITY by Lori Andrews:  Dr. Alexandra Blake may have stumbled across a virulent new outbreak in this third installment of the AFIP (Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) based forensic series. When DEA agent Ted Silliman’s body is sent to Walter Reed Hospital for autopsy, Blake is the one who ends up bringing the results back to his fellow officers. His superiors are ready to chalk the man’s death up to an overdose and sweep the whole thing under the rug, but his partner, Castro Baxter, is insistent that the man wasn’t using. Alex decides to dig a little deeper, but then the body goes missing. She discovers evidence of a second similar case in Taos, New Mexico – the same place Silliman and Baxter had been working when the DEA agent died. When more cases begin to pop up, Alex is convinced that they’re facing a deadly new infection that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Her concerns are ignored by the powers that be, however, and she and the AFIP team decide to take matters into their own hands before chaos ensues. Immunity is an effective and intense combination of forensic mystery and medical thriller. Throw in some political turmoil and you’ve got yet another exciting installment to a stand-out and original new series.  09/08 Becky Lejeune 

In Fidelity by M. J. Rose: This is fast and furious reading, completely entertaining and enthralling.

IN FOR THE KILL by John Lutz:  Retired NYPD homicide detective Frank Quinn and his team of Pearl Kasner and “Feds” Federman, who were featured in Darker Than Night are called back into action to help stop a woman-killing madman in New York City.  The serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher, kills his victims, all brunette women, in a particularly bizarre fashion.  He drowns them in the bathtub, drains their bodies of blood, then dismembers them, leaving the body parts stacked in ritualistic fashion in the bathtub.  After the first three victims are discovered it becomes apparent that the killer is targeting Quinn as the first letters of the last names of the victims are Q-U-I.  Sure enough, the next two have last names beginning with N.  The return of Quinn’s daughter from California to live with him rachets up the suspense yet another notch. Extremely well done page turner. 11/08 Jack Quick 

IN HARM’S WAY by Irene Hannon:   This is the third and final book of Hannon’s The Heroes of Quantico series.  As with last year’s An Eye for An Eye, I found it to be too much romance and too little suspense.  FBI agent Nick Bradley is dealing with a sensitive and artistic piano instructor, Rachel Sutton, who has had a psychic experience from a Raggedy Ann doll buried in the snow of a parking lot.  Nick is unable to shake a persistent feeling that Rachel is for real and soon the report of a missing baby is linked with the doll.  Predictably Nick and Rachel become emotionally involved and Rachel becomes imperiled.  Ho hum. 03/10 Jack Quick 

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner:  A lovely, funny look at sisters.  Rose is a successful attorney, slightly overweight and living alone until her beautiful, flighty sister Maggie gets evicted and moves in.  Maggie has sticky fingers, helping herself to Rose's money, makeup, shoes, and eventually, well, something no sister should ever take from another.  There is the requisite happy ending though, making this a fun, feel good read.  Note to author:  Poetry is not found in the fiction stacks, but in the 811 stacks in any public library, including Broward County's.

IN PLAIN VIEW by J. Wachowski: Having spent over four decades in the media, I generally avoid media based mysteries, but this one was pretty good. The first person protagonist, Maddy O’Hara, is a former freelance Chicago reporter forced by economics to sign on with a suburban Chicago television station.  Part of her assignment is shepherding and training the nephew of the station’s program director.  On their first outing, they come across a man in Amish clothing hanging from a tree - dead.  O’Hara didn’t even know there were Amish in the area.  Soon she learns there is much more to this story that people do not want to come out, especially Sheriff Jack Curzon.  What starts out as a simple assignment soon turns into a gauntlet as O’Hara tried to solve the mystery and save herself and her family. Not bad. (Kindle only) 06/10 Jack Quick  

IN THE DARK by Brian Freeman: The latest in Freeman’s Jonathan Stride series finds Stride faced with reopening a case that made him the man he is today. At 17, Jonathan Stride knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Cindy Starr. That summer, Cindy’s older sister Laura was found beaten to death. Years later, after losing Cindy to cancer, Stride still sees her ghost. So when Tish Verdure, a self-proclaimed friend of Cindy’s, shows up with the intention of writing a book about Laura’s murder, Stride is reluctant, but agrees to help. Stride himself was never happy with the story that a wandering vagrant was behind the brutal murder, but with evidence gone missing and no new leads, it was unlikely the case would ever be solved, until now. Tish knew that Laura was being stalked and is able to produce a letter from all those years ago that may still have useable DNA evidence. And strangely, for a case that seemed so open and shut ages ago, new leads and witnesses seem to be showing up all over the place. In the Dark is as intense and fast-paced as you would expect it to be, and I love the flashbacks and the insight into Stride’s past. This would also be a great place for new readers to jump into the series. In the Dark was published as The Watcher in the UK. 04/09 Becky Lejeune  

IN THE LIGHT OF YOU by Nathan Singer:  This one grabs you by the throat from the opening line, “It’s hard to know how to feel when your best friend blows out a man’s stomach with a shotgun,” spoken by fourteen year old Mikal Fanon.  Fanon’s first name is Mikal, because his parents didn’t understand that the letters “chae” were, in fact, a preferred alternative to “ka” in that particular name.  In this coming of age story, Fanon ends up with a violently right wing group – the Fifth Reich, led by the charismatic Richard Lovecraft.  Two women cause him to have second thoughts.  One is a beautiful black activist, Niani Shange.  The other is Richard’s girlfriend, Sherry Nicolas, who seems to regard Mikal as competition for Richard’s affections.  Called brutal by both J. D. Rhoades and Marcus Sakey, this one kind of makes you glad you are no longer a teenager. 08/08 Jack Quick 

IN THE NAME OF HONOR by Richard North Patterson:  Patterson returns to what he does best; creating a taut legal thriller based on a strong political point of view. This time the subject is post traumatic stress disorder and the war in Iraq. Paul Terry is a brilliant defense lawyer in the Judge Advocate General's office who is assigned to a case involving two Iraqi vets. Lieutenant Brian McCarran comes from a long line of soldiers, and his famous father is the Army Chief of Staff. The lieutenant has killed his superior officer, Captain Joe D'Abruzzo and claims it was self defense. The first problem is that McCarran claims he has no memory after he fired the first shot. Things are complicated even further because the McCarran family and D'Abruzzo family are intertwined. But the real crux of the matter is that neither McCarran or D'Abruzzo will talk about what happened in Iraq, and both of them came home changed men, suffering with nightmares and significant personality changes. The only problem I had with with this book is that Terry becomes involved with his client's sister, an attorney who is sitting in as second chair on the case. Something about their relationship just felt forced to me and didn't ring true. That aside, Patterson writes legal thrillers better than just about anyone else, and this is a terrific read.  07/10 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

IN THE NAME OF HONOR by Richard North Patterson: If you liked the book/movie A Few Good Men, then you should love this one. Lieutenant Brian McCarran shoots and kills his superior officer, Captain Joe D'Abruzzo, at Fort Bolton in northern Virginia soon after they return from a tour in Iraq. McCarran is a fourth generation soldier and son of legendary Gen. Anthony McCarran, the current army chief of staff, soon to become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Complicating matters is that Joe was married to Kate Gallagher, the general's goddaughter, son of his best friend who was killed in Vietnam, and lifelong friend of Brian and the McCarran family. Chosen to defend McCarran is 31-year-old Captain Paul Terry, of the army's JAG Corps, who is serving out his last few months in the Army prior to going into civilian practice, along with Brian's gorgeous older attorney sister, Meg, who insists on working with Paul. You can’t fault Patterson for facing things head on – in this case PTSD and the war in Iraq. This may be his best ever. 07/10 Jack Quick

IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM by Stefanie Pintoff: Dobson is a small and quiet town just north of New York City. Detective Simon Ziele transferred here after losing his wife in the tragic General Slocum disaster of 1904. Ziele had hoped for a break from the big city, time to recover from his loss and move on. He’s been relatively successful at that until now. Sarah Wingate, a brilliant college student, is horribly tortured and murdered. Enter Alistair Sinclair, a man devoted to the relatively new study of criminology. His offer of assistance in the case surprises Ziele, especially when Sinclair claims to know the identity of the killer. As the two men work together to track down the suspected murderer, their case becomes more complex and twisted than either of them ever suspected. Pintoff’s debut was recently awarded the Edgar for Best First Novel. Her use of real events in New York’s history makes this a rich and satisfying read with a great plot. 05/10 Becky Lejeune 

IN THEIR BLOOD by Sharon Potts: Jeremy Stroeb has spent the past year traveling around Europe and trying to figure out what to do with his life. He never thought that he’d end up the sole guardian of his teenage sister. He never imagined that his last moments with his parents would be spent arguing with them. He could never have foreseen their shocking murder. Jeremy vows that things will change, that he will be there for his sister, Elise, and that he will find out what happened to his parents. As Jeremy gains access to each of his parents’ private worlds, he learns that both of them were hiding secrets, and both of them were surrounded by people with motives for murder. Jeremy will have to uncover the truth hidden underneath his parents’ seemingly perfect lives in order to discover the identity of their killer. Potts’s debut is an impressive and smartly plotted mystery that is sure to keep readers guessing from start to finish—the pacing is quick and the story has just the right amount of action and suspense. 09/09 Becky Lejeune 

AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE by Jacqueline Winspear: Winspear latest is a traditional mystery for Maisie Dobbs, set in rural Kent in 1931. It’s a story of prejudice and bigotry and fear, that sounds very familiar in our political climate. Maisie is asked to investigate the community around a brickworks, because fires have broken out, and the villagers have been strangely quiet. Since 1916, when a zeppelin bombed the village, the town turned inward. However, each September, families from East London, and gypsies, converge on Heronedene to pick hops. Each year, the fires occur. Someone is covering up more than fires, and Maisie digs into the past to find the secret.
This intriguing story foreshadows the dark years coming in Europe, and reminds the reader of our current problems. The new Maisie Dobbs mystery is a must-read for lovers of history or traditional mysteries. 03/08 Lesa Holstine

Incriminating Evidence by Sheldon Siegel: Special Circumstances (his first novel) was the best new legal thriller to come out in a long time. It was with much anticipation (couldn't wait for another Mike Daley story!) tempered by slight trepidation (could he do it again?) that I started reading Incriminating Evidence.  I am happy to report that my fears were completely unfounded.

Sheldon Siegel is a master of his craft.

I ripped through this book in a few hours, oblivious to all around me. Murder, betrayal, and kinky sex combined with intelligent humor kept the pages turning. Great characters and believable dialogue take the reader deeper and deeper into ex-priest-turned-lawyer Mike Daley's world, twisting and turning along the way. There is enough intrigue and courtroom drama to please any fan of the genre. Siegel creates a story that is totally engrossing and enthralling every step of the way! It will hold you spellbound. 

The Inexquisite Eye by D.B. Smith:  I know this sounds bitchy but if this book had a different title and a different jacket it could have much more mass appeal and that would be a good thing. It would appeal to young women caught in the first job trap, or girls in college about to be caught. As it is, it stands to get lost. And that's too bad because Elissa Laughlin is a character worth meeting. She will frustrate and confound you but ultimately she achieves something that few of us have the courage to even attempt - -and that is to live an examined life. This story of a young woman lawyer who goes off to make her own way has enough suspense to keep you guessing - -(will she? won't she? and why?). The characters are likeable (we see how her family, friends and lover give meaning to her life even if she can't) and so is the New Haven, CT setting. There is a great 'you go girl' scene. You may never agree or understand Elissa (even our narrator steps in and seems to give up at the end) but her story is worth hearing.

THE INTERVIEW ROOM by Roderick Anscombe: Dr. Paul Lucas, a forensic psychiatrist, is asked to examine Craig Cavanaugh, a very wealthy, charming young man accused of stalking a teaching assistant in one of his classes at Harvard.  Is he competent to stand trial?  Dr. Lucas meets with him and realize that Craig is evil, but not insane and Craig is released back into society with the proviso that he continue therapy, with Dr. Lucas.  But the two of them end up trying to psyche each other out with devastating results in this beautifully written and gripping tale. 05/05

IN SECRET SERVICE by Mitch Silver:  Yale history professor Amy Greenberg is newly engaged to boyfriend Scott Brown and loves her work.  Then she receives notice that she needs to come to Dublin to claim the contents of a safe deposit box leased by her deceased grandfather, a World War II veteran who served with the famous Ian Fleming (“Bond, James Bond”) during the War.  Inside the box is an unpublished, nonfiction manuscript written in 1964 that Fleming had intended would not see the light of day until fifty years after his death.  Instead the pending closure of the bank has placed the material in Amy’s hands in 2005.  The Fleming manuscript details a previously unknown conspiracy between former King Edward and Adolf Hitler.  The conspiracy apparently continues to this day as Amy and Scott find themselves in danger from villains looking to steal the manuscript.  An interesting premise, but unfortunately this first time novelist doesn’t quite pull it off, as the coincidences and connections are occasionally strained and the non-historical characters sometimes come off as caricatures, i.e. a New York City homicide detective accepting that a person allergic to peanuts would voluntarily consume them.  I think (and hope) Silver’s next effort will be much better. 01/08 Jack Quick

IN SECRET SERVICE by Mitch Silver: Ansbacher bank in Ireland is having trouble with taxing authorities and will most likely be closing its doors.  All persons holding safe deposit boxes at the bank have received letters requesting that they empty out the boxes or the contents will be auctioned off.  Amy Greenberg is the recipient of one such letter on behalf of her grandfather, Raymond “Chief” Greenberg.  The Chief has now been dead for ten years and Amy had no knowledge of any safe deposit box.  A trip to Ireland to recover the contents leads Amy to an extraordinary discovery.  Contained in the box is what appears to be an unpublished manuscript by none other than 007 creator Ian Fleming.  “Provenance” is not an unknown Bond novel, however.  It appears to be Fleming’s own account of a traitor within the monarchy during WWII.  The secret that Fleming wants Amy to help him reveal - for the manuscript was addressed directly to Amy all along - is one that has been contained since the war.  Silver’s debut is, in many places, in danger of being overwhelmed by characters and names and “interesting facts.”  Amy herself, fortyish and about to earn her doctorate, also comes across as a bit immature in my view.  The book is saved, however, by the intriguing plot and amazingly fast pacing.  Silver enhances this tale with copies of documents that are supposed to be included with the manuscript in order to prove the revelations in the fictional Fleming’s manuscript.  Over all, In Secret Service is entertaining and gripping.  Not being a history buff, I couldn’t tell you if any of it is true, though.  05/07 Becky Lejeune 

In the Clear by Steve Lopez:  What is it about New Jersey that invites comic relief into the murder and mayhem?  Whatever it is, Lopez is no comic tour de force, but he definitely has a good time.  An Atlantic City casino mover and shaker is determined to build a resort oasis, replete with gambling and a Sea World type theme park, in the small island town of Harbor Lights, New Jersey, no matter how many homes and businesses he has to raze to do it.  He hires the only cop in town, Sheriff Albert LaRosa, as head of security, but bombs keep going off, and the only suspects are Albert's father, his girlfriend and/or her son and a town eccentric.  Corruption is uncovered and the F.B.I. moves in.  Lines like, "Albert felt so good he almost wanted to pay his taxes," kept me entertained, but the ending was a bit too tidy for my liking.

IN THE COMPANY OF LIARS by David Ellis:  Edgar Award winning author David Ellis (Line of Vision, Jury of One) has come up with a new twist in thrillers; he’s written this one in reverse chronological order. The story unpeels like an onion, layer by layer, as it moves backward day by day by week by month until it reaches the beginning of the story, which is the end of the book. Read backwards and forwards, it feels somewhat gimmicky but skilled writing and a tricky storyline make it work, although it is slow-going. Allison Pagone, a best selling crime novelist, has killed herself – or was it murder? As the story backtracks, Sam Dillon, Allison’s paramour and a Washington lobbyist, has been murdered and Allison is charged with the crime. It seems she may be protecting her ex-husband and/or her daughter, and several government agencies want to know who is involved in possible bribes of key senators, a cover-up in the pharmaceutical industry and with mysterious Middle Eastern terrorists. All these threads are neatly woven into this intricate plot, but nothing is as it seems as the roller coaster ride keeps coiling backwards, finally hurtling back to the starting point.  04/05 Copyright © 2005 Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.  Reprinted with permission. 

IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT by John Saul: Every summer, the Newells and the Sparks rent cabins on Phantom Lake. This summer, the Brewsters will be there too. More a mansion than a cabin, the Brewsters are able to get a great deal on Pinecrest, a house once owned by Dr. Hector Darby. The house has stood empty since Dr. Darby mysteriously disappeared years ago. No one in Phantom Lake knows about Dr. Darby’s strange hobby. No one knows about the secret room in the carriage house where he kept his strange collection. When Eric Brewster, Tad Sparks and Kent Newell discover the room, they can’t imagine the evil that they have awakened. I have been a John Saul fan for years and I must admit that Dark is not one of his better works. The predictable plot and simplistic characters were very disappointing. 09/06 Becky LeJeune

In the Forest of Harm by Sallie Bissell:  Taut, fast paced thriller set in the Nantahala National Forest.  Mary Crow is a winning D.A. in Atlanta who has just put away "Handsome Cal" for murder, despite his wealthy family's connections, although in doing so, she humiliated his brother on the witness stand.  To celebrate her victory, she invites her two best friends to go home with her, back to her Cherokee roots - hiking in the mountains of North Carolina.  Mary hasn't been home in twelve years, since her mother was raped and murdered, and her grandmother took her away to live in Atlanta, and she feels it is time to face the demons she left behind.  But things go awry when one of her friends is raped, and the other abducted.  Mary is determined to find her missing friend, and all her childhood tracking skills come back to her in her pursuit.  Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mary, she is also being pursued.  Bissell creates tension that just keeps building page after page, but somehow also manages to create unforgettable characters and uses breathtaking imagery in her descriptions of the forest.  I ripped through this in one sitting - an excellent read, although not for the squeamish - lots of graphic, albeit not gratuitous violence.

IN THE MIDST OF DEATH by Lawrence Block: Detective Jerry Broadfield knew he was inviting trouble when he volunteered to squeal to an ambitious district attorney. about police corruption. When a prostitute accused him of extortion he decided he had Scudder trouble. When the prostitute’s dead body was discovered in his apartment he knew it was Scudder trouble. Can unlicensed private eye Matthew Scudder save Broadfield? And is he as innocent as he claims. Another excellent Lawrence Block. 06/06 Jack Quick

INFECTED by Scott Sigler:  CIA operative Dew Phillips has never had an assignment quite like this one.  Across the country ordinary people are going berserk and killing strangers, family, anyone in their path.  Phillips’ mission is to capture one of these maniacs alive.  At the same time CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya is working with the killers’ corpses to learn if there is a common source for these outbreaks.  She finds all the killers are victims of a bioengineered parasite far more complex than current science could create.  At the heart of the battle for the human race is Perry Dawsey, former football player and now cubicle-bound desk jockey who wakes up one morning to find several mysterious welts growing on his body.  Then he begins hearing voices, acting strangely and thinking mysterious thoughts.  Where will it end?  Amazingly fast read for such a technical thriller and definitely recommended. 04/08 Jack Quick   

INNOCENT TRAITOR: A NOVEL OF JANE GREY by Alison Weir: In the time of religious upheaval following the death of King Henry VIII, advisors convinced King Edward VI to repeal the line of succession set forth in his father’s last will and testament that would have placed Mary on the throne following Edward’s death. Instead, Edward’s second cousin, Lady Jane Grey, a devout follower of the Protestant faith was crowned Queen of England. Her tragic reign lasted a mere nine days until Mary and her supporters rescinded Edward’s decision thereby revoking Jane’s claim to the throne. Jane Grey was eventually labeled a traitor to the monarchy and beheaded. She was sixteen years old. Alison Weir is the author of ten previous historical biographies. Although she has touched on the life of Jane Grey in past works, her fiction debut is a captivating and in-depth look at the short life of this unfortunate figure in British history. Weir’s use of historical evidence combined with her own clever narrative work together to create a plausible depiction of the life of Lady Jane Grey. 02/07 Becky Lejeune

INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES by Jennifer Lee Carrell:  A lost Shakespeare play is the focal point of this first novel with action from the Globe theatre in London to Utah, Arizona, and Washington, DC in a wild ride reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code.  Katharine Stanley manages to stay alive while bodies pile up around her.  Peppered with Shakespearean clues, the plot involves Jesuit spies, Miguel de Cervantes, ciphered Biblical texts, Arizona copper mines, and a string of clues hidden in the works of Shakespeare that may unlock literary history’s greatest secret.  Exactly who was the author of Hamlet, Macbeth, et al?  A bit ponderous, but I suspect all the Shakespearean minutiae would delight an English literature major. 11/07 Jack Quick    

Invisible Life by E. Lynn Harris:   Fast paced fabulous novel about love...it's sexy, romantic, heartbreaking and wonderful!  This is the first of several books with overlapping characters, and they just get better and better. 

INVISIBLE PREY by John Sandford:  Thus far Lucas Davenport has pursued Prey with Rules, Minds and Eyes that are Silent, Secret, Sudden, Certain, Easy, Chosen, Mortal, Naked, Hidden and Broken, in Shadow, Winter and Night.  Now the prey are invisible as Davenport works on a politically sensitive case involving state Senator Burt Kline who is under suspicion of having sex with a minor and maybe her mother as well as a double murder of wealthy widow Constance Bucher and her maid.  Bucher lived in a mansion stuffed with antiques, though initially it's unclear if robbery was the motive for the murders.  Aided by an imaginative intern, Davenport uncovers a series of similar crimes across the Midwest in which the victims were all old, wealthy art collectors.  Eventually, the Bucher and Kline cases come together in an unexpected way.  Another excellent Sandford effort. 06/07 Jack Quick

THE INSIDE RING by Michael Lawson: First novel about a Presidential assassination attempt and a close up look at the Secret Service, Homeland Security and Congress and how they all have the ability to abuse their power.  The story isn't as simple as it first appears and there are lots of interesting twists before reaching the very satisfying conclusion.  Crisp writing and fast pacing make this political thriller debut a winner. 08/05

THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER by Jed Rubenfeld: It is August 1909 as Sigmund Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington, accompanied by Carl Jung, his rival and protégé. One young lady is dead -- whipped, mutilated, and strangled and rebellious heiress Nora Acton barely escapes the same fate. Afterwards Nora can recall nothing of her attack. So Dr. Stratham Younger, America’s most committed Freudian analyst, calls in his idol, the Master himself, to guide him through the challenges of analyzing this high-spirited young woman whose family past has been as complicated as his own. A most different and unusual approach to a mystery. 09/06 Jack Quick

INTERPRETATION OF MURDER by Jed Rubenfeld: In 1909,Sigmund Freud visited the U.S. and never returned again. Interpretation of Murder stems from the question regarding what happened during that visit. A beautiful heiress is strangled in her New York apartment. Then, a second heiress is attacked in her Gramercy Park home; she survives but remembers nothing. Dr. Stratham Younger, an up and coming psychoanalyst is determined to find out what happened to this young girl. Freud and Carl Jung play pivotal roles in the underlying subplot concerning the newly emerging practice of psychoanalysis. Rubenfeld, a professor of law at Yale, wrote his thesis on Freud. He has taken pains to ensure that everything is as historically accurate as possible and the story is peppered with actual dialogues that occurred between Freud and his protégé. More a psychological thriller than a mystery, Rubenfeld delves deep into Freudian psychology to produce what is sure to be a favorite this fall. I think Rubenfeld is an incredible new talent in the mystery genre! 09/06 Becky LeJeune

INVISIBLE SHIELD by Scarlett Dean: Homicide Detective Lindsay Frost is faced with the biggest murder investigation of her career, and she has to ask her sister, Kate, a police officer and rival, for assistance. Lindsay Frost woke up in her bathtub, only to realize she had been murdered.
    Before she can convince anyone to help her find the killer, she has to prove to Kate that she was murdered, and wasn’t a suicide. She’s lucky that Kate was always the one in the family who believed in the paranormal. As the two sisters team up, Kate faces family threats in one world, while Lindsay deals with an enemy in the afterlife. Rules are a little different after death, and Lindsay has to learn those rules from a few friends who are waiting to move on to the next level. Dean has written an absorbing mystery with a difficult question for any detective. How do you work your own crime scene and investigate the murder? 04/07 Lesa Holstine

IRON LAKE by William Kent Krueger: In this first of a series, Chicago cop Cork O'Connor and his lawyer-wife Jo have moved back to his northern Minnesota hometown of Aurora to improve their quality of life. It didn’t work. They split and Jo is working for Indian tribal rights while Cork is running a diner and gift shop, sleeping with the hired help, and wanting to get back with his wife and daughters. A former judge apparently commits suicide, an Indian newsboy disappears, and Cork is drawn into the mystery – in conflict with the newly elected sheriff, wife Jo and her lover (the judge’s son), as well as local tribal leaders. There’s plenty of plot and this appears to be a solid basis for the series. 03/06 Jack Quick

IRON ORCHID by Stuart Woods:  Former Orchid Beach, Fla., police chief Holly Barker has opted for a CIA career in Woods’ by-the-numbers thriller.  Barely through basic training at a highly regimented CIA "training farm," Barker's class is suddenly enlisted to track down calculating killer (and opera buff) Teddy Fay.  An ex-CIA agent himself, Fay uses insider information to continue assassinating international political figures who also happen to be enemies of the U.S.  After an initial slow start the pace accelerates as Barker just misses Teddy in disguise in several encounters.  While most of Woods’ characters are somewhat superficial, Barker in particular leaves a bit to be desired.  Of course there is always Barker's dog, Daisy the Doberman, to make up for any shortcomings. 07/06 Jack Quick

IRON TIES by Ann Parker: The second book in Parker’s Silver Rush mystery series is just as intriguing as the award-winning debut, Silver Lies. Inez Stannert, owner of the Silver Queen Saloon in Leadville, CO, is uneasy during the summer of 1880. The city is already in turmoil following a miners’ strike. Now, the railroad is coming to town, causing further disruptions. Lot jumpers, eager to make a profit on land, are even threatening the local hospital. When Inez’ friend, Susan, a photographer, witnesses an act of sabotage against the railroad, she’s knocked unconscious by an avalanche, and doesn’t remember exactly what she overheard. To make things worse, General Ulysses S. Grant is planning to arrive on the first train to Leadville. Only fifteen years after the Civil War, feelings are still stirred up in the community. Murder and intrigue are all wrapped up in the historical events of the time period, and Inez soon finds herself at the heart of it. Historical mystery fans will definitely learn about the 1870s and 1880s in this appealing series.  08/06 Lesa Holstine

ISABELLA MOON by Laura Benedict: Carystown, Kentucky seems like a nice, small town - the kind of place where neighbors wave and grocers know your name. There is a dark secret at this heart of this town, though, one that refuses to stay buried. Two years ago, nine-year-old Isabella Moon went missing. The case has weighed on Sheriff Bill Delaney, but with no evidence and no witnesses coming forward, there’s not much he can do. Kate Russell appeared in Carystown right around the same time that Isabella disappeared. She was hoping that the town would offer her a fresh start where she could forget the demons of her past. Then, she begins to dream about Isabella Moon. In her dreams, the little girl leads her to where she is buried. Kate feels compelled to help Isabella and opens up to Delaney about the source of her information. Unsure whether the woman is crazy or possibly involved, Delaney investigates and, sure enough, finds the body of the young girl buried just where Kate said it would be. The discovery of Isabella’s body is just the beginning. Carystown is revealed to be not quite such an idyllic town after all, and the web of lies and deceptions plaguing its townspeople ranges from drugs and infidelity to murder. I loved Isabella Moon. There is an underlying creepiness that permeates the entire tale - a sense that the town may not survive the trouble that has been unearthed. But, the reader wants Carystown and its people – the good ones anyway – to prevail. Benedict’s debut is a compelling read that brings to mind a strange combination of Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio and Stephen King’s Needful Things. Laura Benedict is definitely one to watch. 09/07 Becky Lejeune

ISIS by Douglas Clegg: Iris Catherine Villiers was by all accounts a normal child. She led a blessed life until her father was sent off to war. Her family relocates to England, to the manor house run by her creepy grandfather, a man so crazy he’s eventually set off in his own wing so the rest of the family can live in peace. The grounds surrounding the home are filled with tales that fascinate Iris and her days are spent following her beloved brother, Harvey. Then a terrible accident changes everything, unleashing a power hidden deep inside Iris. This is how Iris became Isis, a character prevalent in Clegg’s fantastic and haunting Harrow House tales. Isis is a chilling fable for adults and a great atmospheric read all by itself. Readers familiar with the Harrow House books will love to finally see Isis’s story and new readers will no doubt want to see where she goes from here. This edition features beautiful and macabre illustrations from Glenn Chadbourne. 09/09 Becky Lejeune 

ISLAND INTRIGUE by Wendy Howell Mills: Mills leaves her previous Outer Banks setting for Comico Island in a new mystery featuring Sabrina Dunsweeney. Sabrina is a school teacher on sabbatical. Her mother recently died, and she herself had health problems so she has escaped to an island where the people are eccentric and two families are still at war centuries after a feud started. Mills' characters tend to be exaggerated. Sabrina has always been a Casper Milquetoast, and suddenly she's wearing bright colors, chatting people up, and solving mysteries. The town storyteller and the town drunk are stock characters. The secrets of the past are too easy to guess. I'd recommend Mills' earlier mysteries over this latest one. 01/06 Lesa Holstine

ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS by Jennifer McMahon: Rhonda lives in a small town. The kind of town where everyone knows your name and everyone knows your business. She makes a last minute stop at the town’s only gas station one afternoon and ends up being the only witness to quite a strange occurrence – a rabbit gets out of a gold VW beetle and walks over to a neighboring car where a girl sits waiting for her mother. The girl gets out, takes the rabbit’s hand, and gets into the beetle. They drive away before a shocked Rhonda can even think to do anything about it. Appalled by her own lack of action, Rhonda becomes determined to help find the missing girl. The case will force Rhonda to finally face memories of her own past that have been dormant up until now, memories of a summer long ago when everything she knew as a child began to change. Island deals with many of the same issues that were found in McMahon’s phenomenal debut, Promise Not to Tell. Both books tackle issues of child abuse, childhood secrets, and the nature of small towns. McMahon has a real talent for expressing the conflicting range of emotions felt by her heroines. She’s also great at creating these quiet mysteries that really involve the reader. It’s easy to sympathize with her characters, and she manages to keep the outcome a surprise even while she’s given you every clue you need to figure it out.  05/08 Becky Lejeune 

THE ISLANDS OF DIVINE MUSIC by John Addiego:  In this literary debut, Addiego chronicles the lives of five generations of one family. From matriarch Rosari and her father Lazaro, Italian immigrants who enter the United States in the early nineteen hundreds, through Rosari’s great-grandchildren, Addiego tells of their wonderful and fabulous adventures and everyday lives of this quirky family. Each chapter features a different family member, though not all of the family gets a chapter, and reads a bit like short stories with a common thread. Addiego also blends aspects of magical realism and spiritualism into the tale. At times funny and at others quite sad, Addiego succeeds in giving readers a thoughtful and amusing look at one hundred years of “history” through the eyes of the Verbicaro family. Islands of Divine Music will appeal to readers who enjoy the likes of Laura Esquivel and Sandra Cisneros. 10/08 Becky Lejeune

It's My F---ing Birthday by Merrill Markoe:  Each chapter in this poignantly funny book (a la Bridget Jones) is another birthday for our  narrator.  Starting at age 36, we struggle through relationships with men and with family along with our protagonist, who I am happy to say, doesn't feel compelled to end things all tied up with a pretty bow.  Markoe spent years as the Emmy-award winning head writer for The David Letterman Show.  This is her first novel.

Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls by Rae Lawrence: I read this the other night, and quite frankly wasn't expecting much. This is the sequel to the mega-bestseller Valley of the Dolls, which I read repeatedly throughout high school (okay, so my age is showing!)  I had fears of a repeat of the shudderingly awful sequel  to Gone With the Wind, Scarlett, but I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  It was probably helpful that I hadn't reread Valley of the Dolls, or I probably would have been pissed off by the whole thing.  Jacqueline Susann died many years ago, leaving behind at least an outline of what was to follow.  Rae Lawrence picked it up and ran with it, moving the story forward a couple of decades and retaining the flavor of the book.  It is as good as this sort of thing ever gets; entertaining, engrossing and effervescent, as light and fleeting as cotton candy on the tongue.

JADE LADY BURNING by Martin Limon: Army investigators Ernie Bascom and George Sueno are investigating a murder in Vietnam-era Seoul, South Korea in this debut mystery. While the pace is sluggish, Limon captures the dark and dreary nature of the time and place exceptionally well. As a serving member in the US Army along the DMZ in Korea in 1972, my memories are still vivid. What Limon couldn’t capture was the overall smell of the land as well as the generally fatalistic attitude of both Americans and Koreans at that time. On the one hand, the GI’s were happy to not be in Vietnam, but the feeling of being overlooked and forgotten was always there, i.e., “the good stuff” went to Vietnam, the leftovers and rejects to Korea. They got out of country R&R, we got a 3 day weekend in Seoul, etc. In a country where it was not unheard of to obtain a job by hiring thugs to beat up the other job seekers, the lack of a moral compass led to many interesting situations. I look forward to his next work to see if the editing is better. 02/06 Jack Quick

Jake & Mimi by Frank Baldwin:  All I can say about this book is that it is HOT HOT HOT!  Some romance, lots of kinky sex and a very dramatic ending...I loved it.  

JAMAICA ME DEAD by Bob Morris: Fast fun romp through Jamaica, featuring the inimitable protagonist from Bahamarama, former Miami runningback Zack Chasteen.  An old friend of Zack's, Monk DeVane, asks for his help with security issues at the Libido Resort (I swear, I'm not making this up!) in Jamaica.  Zack has to take him seriously when Monk's boss is the victim of a bomb scare, right in the skybox at the Gators' home game.  Off Zack goes, more bombs go off, Homeland Security, the DEA and all sorts of island politicos get involved and Zack has to sort it all out while fighting off near-naked nymphs.  Jamaica Me Dead is highly entertaining and highly recommended. 10/05

Jane Austen in Boca by Paula Marantz Cohen:  A cross between Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones for the senior set.  May Newman, a lovely Jewish widow residing in a country club community in Boca Raton, is beset upon by her well-meaning but meddling daughter-in-law Carol, who is convinced that May needs a husband to be happy.  She sets her up with Norman, and the story takes off from there.  May's best friend Flo, a retired librarian with a sharp tongue and a mind to match, takes an instant dislike to Norman's best friend Stan, a part-time English professor.  The view of Boca Raton is close-up and on target (I had a couple of very minor quibbles) and there are plenty of laughs en route to the predictable ending.  Cohen is a professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, but her in-laws live in Boca, and she has obviously made several visits to the community. Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

JANE BITES BACK by Michael Thomas Ford:  Michael Thomas Ford joins the multitude of authors playing with famous literary characters these days with his take on Jane Austen as a centuries-old vampire. The first of three proposed titles finds the authoress living in modern times and running her own bookstore. She’s also trying to get published under her now assumed name, Jane Fairfax. As she watches droves of others make money off her famous works, Jane struggles just to get one new book released. Imagine, 116 rejections while the Jane Austen Workout Guide becomes a hit in your own store. Meanwhile, her maker has reappeared and is threatening the new life Jane has made for herself. And, the creator of Mr. Darcy is finally delving into the dating world once again, and at something of a loss as to how to proceed, or even recognize a potential Darcy in her midst. What’s a vampire to do? Such a fun read. I especially love to imagine Austen duking it out with fellow literary blood-suckers, both literal and figurative. 01/10 Becky Lejeune

JANEOLOGY by Karen Harrington: A year after his wife is convicted of killing their son, Tom find himself under fire in the courtroom. One day, Jane snapped and drowned her two children; her daughter managed to survive. Public outcry demanded that there be some repercussions for Tom’s failure to prevent the crime, that, as her husband, he should have known she was on the edge of collapse and that he should have protected his children better. Tom’s lawyer hopes to exonerate Tom of all charges on the basis that Jane’s family history and genetic makeup made her predisposed to the crime. By tracing Jane’s family lines they uncover one example after another to support their theory, but will the jury buy it? Can you predict a person’s behaviors based on those of their forebears? What affects a person’s personality more, their DNA or the examples the witnessed in others? The question of nature versus nurture is a hot topic at the moment, one that Harrington handles with ease. Janeology is a thought-provoking and thoroughly engaging read. 05/08 Becky Lejeune 

The Jasmine Trade by Denise Hamilton:  A car jacking gone awry turns into something much more complex when L. A. Times journalist Eve Diamond gets interested.  She stumbles onto a Los Angeles subculture of gangs, the sex slave trade and parachute kids, wealthy Asian teenagers whose parents live on the other side of the Pacific, leaving them in the care of lawyers and housekeepers and trouble.  Eve meets teen counselor Mark Furukawa and learns more about these kids and herself as their relationship intensifies.  Intriguing characters and inspired writing move this story along at breakneck speed, culminating in a more realistic ending than most novels of the genre.  It's easy to see why it was nominated for the Edgar, Agatha, and Macavity awards.  Don't miss it.

Jemima J by Jane Green: Another British import a la Bridget Jones.  Romance, dieting, the internet, and a dash of Los Angeles thrown in makes for a fun, fast read.

JESUS OUT TO SEA: STORIES by James Lee Burke: Eleven previously published short stories, none of which include Dave Robicheaux or Billy Bob Holland.  One is about the Vietnam War, two deal with the aftermath of Katrina.  Others feature academics coping with the encroachments of society and several coming of age tales.  All in all a very satisfying sampler, which shows the depth and breadth of Burke’s considerable talents.  07/07 Jack Quick

JESUS' SON by Denis Johnson: Mr. Johnson currently has a very hot title in Tree of Smoke, so I picked up his book of short stories to see what he had done in that milieu. It is simply the most powerful writing that I have encountered in the last couple years. In these stories, Mr. Johnson writes from the disconnected perspective of the addict/alcoholic in full cry. I was particularly affected by the story, Emergency Room, in which two badly whacked out orderlies, a sort of nurse Rachett and a doctor who is in over his head attempt to treat a man who has been stabbed near his one good eye by his wife. One thinks of De Quincy, Poe, Burroughs, et al and concludes this guy can play ball in their league. His description of local bars in various cities, especially including one he calls The Vine are dead on as is his description of the anesthetized inhabitants. These stories will haunt you. 10/07 Geoffrey R. Hamlin

A JOB TO KILL FOR by Janice Kaplan:  Of all the luck, L.A. interior designer Lacy Fields has her latest client drop dead while inspecting a posh penthouse she and her hubby are talking about buying.  There goes a commission, and even worse the fingerprints of her pal Molly Archer are on the refrigerator where the arsenic laced bottle of Japanese tea that was the cause of Cassie Crawford’s untimely demise was stored.  It turns out Cassie has a biker friend who is murdered soon after, and attention shifts to Lacy as suspect number one.  Filled with great fashion moments like “I slowly peeled off my wet shirt and lace La Mystere cleavage-enhancing bra.  The padded push-up cups had absorbed the ocean water like sponges, thrusting my chest up to my chin,” and “the necklace clinked against her wedding band, so heavy with sapphires and diamonds that Cassie risked carpal tunnel syndrome every time she lifted a well-manicured finger.  Of course, now that she’d married Roger Crawford, she never needed to lift a finger again.” This is the second outing for Fields (after 2007's Looks to Die For), from the Editor In Chief of Parade Magazine, the popular weekly newspaper supplement. 09/08 Jack Quick 

JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL by Susanna Clarke: Two magicians battle for supremacy in this amazing literary fantasy debut. In early nineteenth century England, no one practices magic anymore. No one but Mr. Norrell, that is. While Mr. Norrell is dedicated to the study of practical magic, Jonathan Strange is quite the opposite. Strange is a young and stubborn magician with a thirst for knowledge and a growing curiosity about all things magic, especially the fabled Raven King. Norrell agrees to take on the young Strange as his pupil despite his knowledge of an ancient prophecy foretelling the rise of two great magicians destined to be enemies. Can the two friends defeat fate or are they destined to be pawns in an elaborate game set in motion by the Raven King decades ago? With a vivid cast and truly imaginative story peppered with her own original fairy tales, Clarke’s debut is nothing short of genius. Deemed the “adult Harry Potter,” this is an absolute must read for all book lovers. For readers who may be intimidated by the size of this tome, have no fear, there is a three volume trade collectors’ edition available. This makes it a bit more manageable, but be warned, with such an elaborate story you won’t want to wait long between volumes. 05/07 Becky Lejeune 

JUAREZ JUSTICE by Jack Trolley: Tommy Donahoo is probably not what the boosters of NAFTA had in mind. When a beautiful Mexican lawyer says, "It's not over until the fat lady is buried," Donahoo "didn't correct her. It was, he suspected, the Mexican version.” Donahoo is supposed to be in Tijuana assisting Mexican Police Captain Torres on a case involving the murder of a rich socialite who was prominent in helping the poor. The contrast between rich and poor is so great it causes Donahoo’s young SDPD translator to become involved in a reckless plot to assassinate Tijuana’s leading criminal. Donahoo begins to wonder if he is there to solve a crime or commit one, a distinction not always apparent to his Mexican counterparts. The Mexican and American cultures meet with the grace of two bull moose rutting in the forest. Trolley knows how to pack a punch into what otherwise might be an ordinary police procedural. 08/06 Jack Quick

JUDAS HORSE by April Smith:  Sometimes it takes a horse to save a horse.  FBI Agent Ana Grey is back after a shooting incident when she learns that a fellow agent has been murdered by a group of hard-core anarchists operating behind the façade of FAN (Free Animals Now).  The fellow agent not only went through basic with Ana, but at one time the two considered marriage.  After successfully completing the FBI’s infamous undercover school, she must now play the part of a down-on-her-luck animal lover.  In the process her “Judas Horse” becomes infatuated with the real mustangs the animal lovers are purporting to be trying to save.  That infatuation doesn’t extend to Julius Emerson Phelps and his “family” who are determined to do damage to the Bureau.  Ana is walking a tightrope that may or may not give out under her in this excellent thriller.  Hopefully, we’ll continue to see more of her in future cases. 03/08 Jack Quick  

JUDAS KISS by JT Ellison:  Lt. Taylor Jackson returns from her much needed vacation to face what could be the toughest challenge of her career. When classy housewife Corrine Wolff is discovered bludgeoned to death in her home, the suspicion naturally falls upon her husband. Then Jackson and her team make some disturbing discoveries regarding the Wolff family and their extra-curricular activities and a whole new avenue of suspects opens up. Meanwhile, a run-in with a stranger leads Taylor to a startling discovery of her own, one that threatens her professional life. Plus, a crazy hit man is gunning for Baldwin, and has recently gone missing, and the Pretender still evades capture. It will take all of Taylor’s strength to make it through this one and still keep her cool. With each new installment to this series, JT Ellison continues to prove that she is one of the best and the brightest in the genre - she should be on everyone’s must read lists. 01/09 Becky Lejeune 

JUDAS KISS by J.T. Ellison:  Beautiful, pregnant Corrine Wolff is dead, apparently brutally beaten in front of her young daughter.  It’s a dangerous case for Nashville Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson which really explodes when it is learned that Wolff and her husband were making and distributing homemade pornography.  In the course of the investigation her people turn up old X-rated footage of Taylor that could destroy her career and her engagement to FBI agent John Baldwin.  Meanwhile, one of Baldwin’s old enemies is intent of exacting revenge on John.  High stakes emotionally and professionally for both as they try to get to the bottom of all this without blowing up their own somewhat fragile relationship.  Interesting. 12/09 Jack Quick 

Judgment Calls by Alafair Burke: I am a long-time fan of James Lee Burke and his Louisiana cop hero, Dave Robiocheaux, who has a young daughter named Alafair. I was not surprised, therefore, to learn that Mr. Burke also had a daughter named Alafair. I was surprised to learn that she is grown up, had been working as an assistant district attorney in Portland and has written a legal thriller of her own. It is an excellent story about a woman D.A.'s attempt to try a would-be murderer-rapist for a vicious attack on a 13 year old girl. Ms. Burke holds no brief for the accused or the criminals of the world, bluntly characterizing them as mean and stupid. Her writing is as tough as her father's. My favorite passage was "I suppressed the impulse to mow her down with the Jetta. I would've opened a six-pack of Fahrfeghugen on her ass over the c-word, but under the circumstances I could handle the b-word." Her descriptions of trial preparation and activity, as well as intramural skirmishing in the D.A.'s office, are dead on. This is one of the most accurate "lawyer books" I have ever read and will be a contender for best first mystery of the year.  ~This review contributed by Geoffrey R. Hamlin.

JUDGMENT DAY by Sheldon Siegel: It's been a few years since the last Mike Daly & Rosie Fernandez legal mystery, but it was so worth the wait.  I love this San Francisco series featuring ex-priest Daly and his ex-wife Fernandez.  This time out they are working on a particularly intricate case; an attorney, imprisoned for murdering a couple of drug dealers and another attorney, is just days away from being executed.  Last minute appeals rarely go well, and this case is complicated further by the fact that Mike Daly's father was one of the cops involved in the arrest and prosecution.  Great dialogue is one of the hallmarks of this series and really helps move the story along, while at the same time investing these characters with strong emotional appeal.  I admit that I love the Perry Mason moments along the way that contribute towards making Siegel one of the best legal fiction writers out there.  06/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

Julie & Romeo by Jeanne Ray: This charming, contemporary romance is set in Boston with a middle aged Jewish/Italian Romeo & Juliet.  Don't miss it!  Now available in paperback.

JULIE AND ROMEO GET LUCKY by Jeanne Ray: Julie and Romeo is one of my favorite books ever, so I was really looking forward to this sequel and I'm happy to say it did not disappoint.  It also did not live up to the original, but sadly, sequels rarely do.  Julie & Romeo are still dating, they haven't figured out how to move past that Julie's daughter Sandy, her husband (Romeo's son) and their kids are living with her, and Romeo has the same problem at his place with the addition of his elderly mother who still harbors the family feud against Julie.  Not as confusing as I'm making it sound but a problem for the happy couple.  Until Romeo decides to carry Julie up the stairs a la Rhett Butler in the Gone With the Wind on a rare night that they have the house to themselves; unfortunately, Romeo isn't as young or strong as Rhett was and he gets hurt - too hurt to move and he ends up living in Julie's bedroom for a while.  Meanwhile, Julie's older daughter, the career woman who swore she never wanted kids hears her biological clock ticking and gets pregnant and ends up living with mom too, at least temporarily.  With Romeo's family visiting at all hours, chaos ensues.  These are great characters that I enjoy spending time with, and combined with Ray's trademark gentle humor and pathos bring the story home.  The easiest description of this book for readers of her previous books is to say this reminded me of a cross between the first book and the last, Eat Cake.  And it was equally delicious. 07/05

JUNE BUG by Jess Lourey: Mira James never imagined life after college would be a doublewide trailer outside Battle Lake, Minnesota. Nor did she imagine her life would be endangered by a local legend. Nearly a century ago a diamond necklace was allegedly lost in Whiskey Lake. Mira’s diving expedition to try to find the necklace uncovers bodies, treasure maps, and much more than she bargained for. Nicely written cozy, heavy on local atmosphere and a good follow-on to May Day, Loury’s first Mira James adventure. Everybody has to have a gimmick. Mira’s is frozen Maple Nut Goodies. Hey, it could be worse. 03/07 Jack Quick

Jury of One by David Ellis: This third time out Ellis pens yet another winner. The first chapter draws the reader in immediately, but this isn't just another page turner. Shelly Trotter is an attorney for the Child Advocacy Project. She represents kids who get into trouble, and barely makes a living. Actually, Ellis borrowed a trick that is popular with romance authors - he created a novel around a character that was barely mentioned in his previous book; in fact, I'm not sure she even was mentioned. Life Sentence revolved around some of her family members, but this is no sequel.
    Shelly is approached by a young man she helped previously on a minor issue, only this time out 17-year-old Alex Baniewicz is in considerably more trouble - he's accused of murdering a cop. Things become even more entangled when Alex informs Shelly that he is the son she gave up for adoption.  There are enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning, but it's the second storyline, Shelly's personal story, that makes this story so memorable - plus the shocker of an ending.  There are a lot of former & practicing lawyers writing books these days, some with considerable recognition - but Ellis is one of the best.

THE JURY MASTER by Robert Dugoni:  David Sloane is a high powered attorney in San Francisco - with a conscience.  After he wins a wrongful death suit for his obnoxious client, instead of celebrating, he suffers a migraine and a recurring nightmare that keeps haunting him.  Meanwhile, the special assistant to the U.S. President, Joe Branick, commits suicide in a small West Virginia town - or does he?  The local police detective is suspicious when the Justice department takes over the investigation with plenty of attitude.  Then Sloane's secretary tells him that Joe Branick left him a message the night before he died, and a mysterious package shows up in the mail.  An ex-CIA agent has a visitor who delivers a thirty-year old file, bringing all sorts of trouble along with it.  Innocent people (and animals) are being killed and somehow Mexico is going to solve our oil crisis.  Dugoni manages to bring it all together at lighting fast speed in this superb, action-packed debut thriller.  03/06 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE JURY MASTER by Robert Dugoni: Dugoni opens this debut novel with wrongful death attorney David Sloane about to make his closing remarks. Sloane, who has won 14 cases in a row, hates his arrogant corporate client and must face an obviously hostile jury. Rather than focusing on the case, Dugoni quickly moves into new matters: a recurring childhood nightmare Sloane shares with former CIA agent Charles Jenkins, apparently a complete stranger. Meanwhile, West Virginia police detective Tom Molia investigates the suicide of a top adviser to the president. What he finds draws Sloane and Jenkins closer to the truth behind their shared terror: an international conspiracy 30 years in the making. An ambitious first effort, but it worked for me. Recommended. 07/06 Jack Quick

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE by A. E. Maxwell:  California Private investigator Fiddler and ex-wife Fiora love each other too much to live together.  In bed everything is fine, out of bed it is a good chance one will kill the other.  But when Fiora’s twin brother is the object of a U.S. Customs Department investigation, she knows she needs Fiddler’s help in the daytime.  It seems like in addition to dabbling in electronic chips, Danny has been dabbling into other areas, which have brought official and unwanted attention.  With Fiora's soft spot for her twin offset by Fiddler's hard head and matching muscles, the pair swing into action, knowing they don't have much time to save Danny from the feds, from his enemies and, most of all, from himself.  Published in1985, this is first of what appears to be a fairly neat, yet now dated, series.  03/09 Jack Quick   

JUST ENOUGH LIGHT TO KILL by A. E. Maxwell:  California Private eye Fiddler is the nephew of an old time border smuggler so he is not totally at a disadvantage when he decides to head south to find what led to the execution of Special Agent Aaron Sharp, a man who once saved Fiddler’s life.  A close encounter of the nearly deadly kind with a sniper quickly convinces Fiddler that there are those who do like his presence or his questions.  Fourth in the 1980’s series featuring beautiful women, muscular men, and a cast of international villains. 03/09 Jack Quick   

JUST MURDERED by Elaine Viets:  This is the fourth entry into the always entertaining Dead End Job Series and it was as much fun as the books that preceded it.  This time out Helen Hawthorne is working in a fancy bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale - former jobs included bookseller, salesgirl in a fancy dress salon, and telemarketer.  Things seem to be looking up though - the money still sucks, but at least the boss is nice.  But not all is swell in bridal-land. The beautifully sculpted Kiki Shenrad sashays into the salon with her drab daughter, the bride-to-be, and announces she needs a wedding gown, pronto.  And some dresses for herself, the kind that will make her the center of attention instead of the bride.  Many thousands of dollars later, Kiki is dead and Helen's fingerprints are all over the place.  Nothing to do but prove herself innocent, which Helen does - but it ain't easy.  Lots of laughs and lots to love about this book and this series. 10/05

Justice Deferred by Len Williams:  First novel inspired by the real life events experienced by the author.  Williams is the former CEO of Coca-Cola New Zealand, among other companies, and his son was kidnapped.  A prison inmate, in for life on the three strike rule for theft, claimed he had killed the boy and offered to show Williams the grave.  It turned out to be a bogus claim being used as an escape attempt, and Williams was horrified by the implications of the three strike law putting a man in prison for life for a nonviolent crime like robbery.  He turned that story into this fascinating prison epic/legal thriller.  Billy Ray Billings is a cracker from Mobile, Alabama and for the first half of the book we follow his life, starting with reform school and ending with life in prison for stealing small appliances.  But the life sentence never should have been given - it was forced by the way the local cops were handling their cases to make their conviction rate look good.  Enter Harry Brown, lawyer and free lance crime reporter for the local newspaper, who's interest in this case is quite personal.  The rest of the book deals with the legal maneuverings to get those life sentences overturned and have justice prevail.  Williams draws the reader in from the first page and doesn't let go - even after the last page, these characters will stay with you.  

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