Book Review: Mortal Friends: A Novel

Mortal Friends: A Novel by Jane Stanton Hitchcock is a Washington D.C. mystery-thriller with a good plot, well developed characters, and very smooth prose.

A serial killer is on the loose and DC high society is on edge because of talk that the Beltway Basher, as he is called, could be a well known, even a high profile individual.

This doesn't bother the friendship of interior decorator Reven Lynch or her best friend, the well connected Violet Bolton, who have known each other since high school. When Reven decides to help Detective Gunner snoop for clues among high society of the Washington Beltway, however, things begin to get dicey for Reven. Her new love interest Bob Poll, for instance, is on Detective Gunner's list as a suspect.

And events begin to strain her friendship with Violet. She feels badly for hiding Violet's husband's affair with a wealthy philanthropist. What does this have to do with solving the murders?

The plot is not predictable. There are some surprises at the end! I never would have guessed the reason for the most recent murder or the culprit.

An entertaining read for all mystery/thriller fans.

Jane Stanton Hitchcock, a New York Times bestselling author, has also written The Witches' Hammer, Trick of the Eye, Social Crimes, and One Dangerous Lady. She lives in New York City and Washington D.C.

Advance readers copy provided by the publisher for my objective review.


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Dollar Finds

Am I lucky or what? Here's what I got for $1 each:



How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich, writer of the Stephanie Plum mystery series.

Hell Hath No Curry by Tamar Myers, A Pennsylania Dutch Mystery with recipes, featuring innkeeper Magdalena Yoder, the 15th in the mystery series.

The Pegasus Secret by Gregg Loomis, a thriller set in Paris, with a plot reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code.

Unburnable: A Novel by Marie-Elena John. A woman returns to her island home of Dominica after twenty years, determined to face the secrets of her past.

Dollar Finds seemed a good name for a Meme when I found the brand new books for $1 each at a local discount store! I'll bet others have found books also, for $1 or so! What did you get?

Let us know in your Dollar Finds whenever you get bargains like these!

Book Review: Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton

Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton

A romance slowly develops between Mina, a single mother who works at an insurance company call center in Cambridge, England, and Peter, a Cambridge professor and a widower with two children. They meet by phone when Peter calls in to the insurance center to report an accident he has been in. The two continue to communicate by phone. In between their finally getting together and meeting each other's families in person, we have detailed accounts of their separate lives.

From the publisher's description:

" This is a story about the small joys and tribulations of parenthood, about one-ness and two-ness, about symmetry and coincidence, about the things that separate us and the things that bring us together."

For those who don't live in the U.K., the best thing about the book is following Mina and Peter's separate family lives and getting a close view of a section of daily living in Britain.

For the romance, however, I would have preferred a more stream lined approach, as the novel has material for at least two separate books, I thought. The extensive detail of family life detracts somewhat from the very clever romantic plot.

Nevertheless, I heartily recommend Crossed Wires for a nice romance and especially for a good look at two families in Cambridge and the ups and downs of parenting!

Book received from the author for review.

Book Review: Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein

Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein
is a fictional love story told by a young archaeologist in Israel who discovers the bones of the prophet Jeremiah surprisingly entwined with those of an historically unknown woman, Anatiya. The archaeologist Page Brookstone, a New Yorker, finds the bones and the scrolls of Anatiya in a cistern hidden under the house of an Arab couple who had begged her to excavate under the house. There were ghosts there - lovers, they claimed.

Page fights to bring Anatiya's scrolls to light, to be available to all scholars and not to just a few as happened with the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, and fights to have the remains of Jeremiah and Anatiya kept together.

The book, spiritual and Biblical, also focuses on the nature of love. From the publisher's description:

"Caught in a forbidden romance of her own, and under constant siege from religious zealots and ruthless critics, Page risks her life and professional reputation to deliver Anatiya's passionate message to the world."

Archaeologists, Biblical scholars, and lovers of historical fiction will enjoy this novel. Those who have never traveled to Israel will get a feel for the land and the people. Author Zoe Klein is a senior rabbi in the Los Angeles area and a writer of poetry and other works. More information about the book is available at www.zoeklein.com

Book received from the author/publisher for review.

Review: The Black Monastery by Stav Sherez

The Black Monastery: Paradise Can Be Murder by Stav Sherez


Forget Zorba the Greek, blue skies and white sandy beaches, dolphins cavorting off shore, bazouki music, locals playing backgammon and drinking ouzo, and dancing in the streets. The Black Monastery is a noir tale of a Greek island, the fictitious Palassos, where the murders of two boys in what seems like a cult sacrifice took place back in 1974, and where the same ritual murders are once again happening.

And why were the murders all near the Black Monastery, a structure in the interior of the island that has been closed for years and turned into a tourist venue?

The book brings police chief Nikos back to his hometown after years on the police force in Athens. He is haunted by the 1974 murders and cult suicides and wants to resolve the new cases that seem so similar to the ones in the past. Two other people are interested and delve into the mystery even at their own risk - two writers who meet on the island and become involved, Kitty and Jason.

Don't try this book unless you are really into noir. It seems very spooky throughout, but the ending and the mystery solved is very real and done by people with real motives.

You will like Nikos, the police chief, a sympathetic and well drawn character with angst about his home, his people, the visitors and tourists on a changed island, and an old crime. Compelling, gripping, and a little horrifying, Sherez has written a very different take on paradise in his novel, The Black Monastery: Paradise Can Be Murder.

Book provided by the author/publisher for my objective review.

Bought Books

Halleluja and pass the butter! Two new books from the bookstore!

I normally buy books from library book sales as I support my local library wholeheartedly, but I had to buy these new books!

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, for the Lost in Translation Challenge 2009, and Orange County: A Personal History by Gustavo Arellano, award winning author of the Los Angeles Press Club.

I wanted to read Barbery's book for its unique characters, and Arellano's memoir for its personal and "cultural history" of Orange County, California.

Looking forward to being challenged and informed!

Book Review: Deceptive Clarity by Betty Gordon

Deceptive Clarity by Betty Gordon


Houston private investigator Lisa Martin takes on a local missing person case, only to find the trail leading far afield - to Rome, London, and Cairo.

She also begins to investigate the man who hired her, a businessman named Don Sekoli. With her sidekick Guy and her significant other Tony, the three follow the trail of the missing import-export dealer, Ryan Lucas, and find information through a contact in Cairo.

Feature in some statues of King Tut and other Egyptian antiquities, add the elusive Ryan Lucas and the virtually unknown Don Sekoli, some threatening notes to Lisa, plus add a touch of romance into the mystery, and you have an enjoyable and entertaining mystery!

Tony grappled with how much he wanted to say. Then, he bit the bullet. "What does your feminine intuition tell you about Sekoli or are you too fascinated with the man?"

"I told you before not to go there..."

"Hold on. I'm only talking about business." (p. 141)

Though the novel is described by the publisher as a thriller/suspense novel, don't expect a lot of violence. The book is driven by the plot, the unfolding of the mystery behind the characters, and the personality of P.I. Lisa. I recommend it as an enjoyable summer read!

Book received from the author for review.

Deceptive Clarity, published by L&L Dreamspell, December 2008. Betty Gordon's first novel was Murder in the Third Person.