Paging the Dead by Brynn Bonner

Mysteries are my favorite genre and local authors have a special place in my heart. Brynn Bonner is an Agatha Award winning North Carolina mystery author whose newest book Paging the Dead is a treat for traditional mystery readers and amateur genealogists. Brynn deftly combines her own passion for both subjects in this first book of the Family History Mystery series.

Sophreena Angelica McClure, in the proper Southern tradition, is named for her two grandmothers.  With business partner Esme Sabatier, Sophie is the owner of a successful genealogy service which specializes in creating archival family scrapbooks.

Esme brings a very special talent to their business. She has the gift or curse, depending on the day, of hearing the dead speak.  As a medium, Esme contributes just the right touch of paranormal influence and a feisty attitude to this story. Pillar of the community, Dorothy Pritchett Porter, hires Esme and Sophie to research her family history. To Dorothy’s delight, the research uncovers a long lost heirloom ruby and diamond ring that will be a highlight of her family scrapbook. These scrapbooks will be the focal point of Morningside’s Founders Day celebration. As Sophie and Esme rush to complete the job, death intervenes.

Paging the Dead is more than just a crafty cozy mystery.  It is about relationships that span generations, transcend familial bonds and draw you into the world of genealogical research.

I hope you will enjoy Paging the Dead as much I did. I am eagerly awaiting the next adventure of Sophie and Esme.  If you enjoy Carolyn Hart’s Bailey Ruth series or Patricia Sprinkle’s Family Tree Mysteries Paging the Dead is for you.

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The Intercept by Dick Wolf

Jeremy Fisk is a detective in the NYPD, on special assignment with the Joint Terrorism Task Force or JTTF. JTTF is a joint operation consisting of most of the government agencies involved in foiling plots against the United States. It has been live since 09/11 and is concentrated in NYC because everyone thinks NYC is Al-Queda’s main target. And this is how we are introduced to Jeremy Fisk in Dick Wolf’s literary debut, The Intercept. Many of you are familiar with Wolf as the creator of all the ‘Law & Order‘ programs on TV.

Initially, Jeremy and the task force stop a plot by one terrorist to set off a bomb in a NY subway. On his team is Krina Gersten, also a NYC police officer with some special skills that Fisk feels will aid his team. It is now several years later and events are breaking fast because of the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Bin Laden has been killed and the various agencies are trying to examine all the data that may have been hidden in his residence. Some of the computer experts discover what may be messages hidden in innocent looking pictures. The science of finding these messages is called Steganography. Now it becomes a race to decipher the hidden messages and perhaps prevent a new and larger attack.

An event aboard a SAS jet bound for NYC sets the team in motion. A single terrorist is foiled in his attempt to bring down the jet. The passengers and stewardess who helped stop the terrorist are being treated as celebrities in NYC, as well they should be. However, something doesn’t sit right with Fisk. The foiled incident was too easy and Fisk is sure that another passenger on the plane has bigger plans for NYC. He convinces the team that they must locate another passenger who has disappeared off the ‘grid.’

This fast paced novel created out of today’s headlines will keep your attention. Please enjoy The Intercept by Dick Wolf.

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Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks

Brad Parks is visiting our libraries today and tomorrow, along with Mystery authors Deborah Coonts and Nancy Martin.

Four people were shot dead execution style in a vacant lot in Newark, NJ and Carter Ross, an investigative reporter with the Newark Eagle-Examiner, wants to know why. The local police say it’s a revenge killing for robbery gone wrong at the bar across the street. Carter’s sources are telling him that the police have got it all wrong, but who will believe a homeless guy or a go-go dancer? There has to be some other connection between the four victims, but what is it?

Wanda was a single mom with four kids who worked as also worked as a go-go dancer to pay the bills. Tyrone Scott, AKA ‘Hundred Year’, had recently been released from prison and may or may not have been in a gang. Shareef Thomas was the alleged robber of the tavern and the “reason” in the minds of the cops for the murders. Devin Whitehead, AKA Dee-Dub, was a young man also believed to be in a gang, but the Brick City Brown gang, who operated on the other side of town from the murder site. What could tie these four individuals together? Carter is determined to discover the truth about these four brutal murders, no matter what the cost.

Faces of the Gone is a fast paced mystery that reads like a thriller. The rapid fire story takes place both in the gritty streets of Newark as well the newsroom of the Newark Eagle-Examiner. It is the first in the Carter Ross mystery series – followed by Eyes of the Innocent – and is a perfect read for a lazy day at the beach or the pool.

Brad Parks will be appearing along with Deborah Coonts and Nancy Martin today: Friday May 31, 2013 at 2 p.m. at the North Regional Library in Raleigh, and Saturday June 1, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. at the West Regional Library in Cary.

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Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts

We’re pleased to re-post this book review of the first in Deborah Coonts’ Locky O’Toole Mysteries; we first ran it last year when Deborah visited our libraries, and we’re running it again because she’ll be here this week!

Meet Lucky. She works as the Head of Customer Relations at the Babylon Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, or as she likes to call herself, the Chief Problem Solver. What are some of the problems she gets to solve? Dealing with a naked man passed out in the stairwell or handling the aftermath when a Japanese hotel guest wrecks a Ferrari. As unpredictable as her job is, Lucky is loyal to her employer, known simply around the Casino as Big Boss.

Her life goes topsy turvy when a friend of hers, Lyda Sue, is pushed or falls out of a helicopter and dies. Was it an accident or was it murder? Lucky has her suspicions. When someone tries to blackmail the Big Boss for Lyda Sue’s death, Lucky goes into problem solver mode, determined to get down to the bottom of Lyda Sue’s death. With the help of her best friend, Teddy a cross-dressing man who has a stage act at the hotel, and a whole cast of characters that can only be found in Las Vegas, Lucky goes after the killer with a vengeance.  Will it be in time to save the Big Boss’ reputation? TheLucky O’Toole series is definitely for those who like plenty of humor in their mysteries.

Deborah Coonts will appear at several Wake County Libraries this week on a mystery author panel hosted by Raven award winner Molly Weston. She will be joined by fellow mystery writers Nancy Martinand Brad Parks.

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How to Murder a Millionaire by Nancy Martin

We’re pleased to re-post this book review of the first in Nancy Martin’s Blackbird Sisters Mysteries; we first ran it last year when Nancy was scheduled to visit our libraries, and we’re running it again because she’ll be here this week!

The Blackbird sisters come from an old, respectable, wealthy Pennsylvania family. At least, they did until their parents fled the country. Now they just come from an old family with a somewhat murky reputation. Their parents left a mixed legacy for the three sisters. Libby got the antique furniture, Emma got the artwork, and Nora was left the old homestead. This sounds great, except Nora also inherited the two million dollar tax bill that goes with the land. Of course, like most sisters, they rarely agree and each thinks the others got the better deal.

Nora, the one with the land, has taken a job as an assistant to the gossip columnist of the local newspaper. She’s trying to make a go of it, despite a boss who hates her, when she finds the body of Rory Pendergast. Rory was a close friend to the Blackbirds who also owned the newspaper and gave Nora her job, so Nora is determined to find out what happened to him. Because of the standing of the Blackbird family, the police agree that Nora might be better placed to find inside information about the elite families of Philadelphia.

How to Murder a Millionaire is a fast and fun beginning to The Blackbird Sisters Mysteries. It has an intriguing mystery and the author’s descriptions of fabulous parties and the stylish clothes worn by the well-to-do give you a glimpse into another lifestyle. The historical notes about Philadelphia were also interesting to me. There is a young police detective and a shady character Nora sells some land to who sometimes help her with her investigations.  Both of them are also potential love interests for Nora. In addition, the rivalry between the sisters is very true to life. You can actually want to protect and kill one of your siblings at the same time (not that I am speaking from experience!). I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Nancy Martin is the author of many mystery, suspense, historical and romance novels. Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery of 2002, How to Murder a Millionaire won the Romantic Times award for Best First Mystery and was a finalist for the Daphne DuMaurier Award. Nancy has also written the Roxy Abruzzo mystery series.

Nancy will appear at several Wake County Libraries in this week on a mystery author panel hosted by Raven award winner Molly Weston She will be joined by fellow mystery writers Deborah Coonts and Brad Parks.

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And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

If there is one thing I love, it is taking a trip in a time machine (or a book) to a historical setting. Tasha Alexander’s novel And Only to Deceive does just that, by plopping readers down in Victorian England. But just because it is in the Victorian Age does not mean that it doesn’t portray exceedingly charming characters dealing with any sort of issues we might deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Such as intrigue, mystery, and suspense. Well, at least that is what Emily has to deal with daily since her husband died. She also has an overbearing mother obsessed with marrying her off, whom Emily had married her husband, Philip, to get away from.

Only months after they were married, her husband left on a hunting trip to Africa where he subsequently died. Emily comes to learn about her husband, whom she never got a chance to get to know while he was alive, through the private journals and letters he left behind. And that is where the intrigue starts.  She begins to question whether she, or Philip’s friends, really knew him at all. What was his involvement with antiquities and his obsessive collecting of all things Greek?

Although it was a slower-moving book, I felt it was light enough for a summer read. There is something in And Only to Deceive for everyone. A little mystery, a dash of romance, a hint of well-researched historical fiction, and a hair of amateur detective work. And a rainy summer day sets the perfect scene for the London weather portrayed in the book.   If you like this book, you will like Crocodile On the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

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In A Dry Season by Peter Robinson

Detective Chief Inspector Banks is currently in trouble for insubordination, not an unusual occurrence.  However, this time was much worse because he actually punched his boss, Jimmy Riddle. Banks was suspended at first, but the powers that be forced Riddle to reinstate him.  Since then Riddle has made sure Banks was limited to the drudgery of desk duty and other mundane tasks.  Now Riddle has a new kind of punishment in mind. He appoints Banks to lead the investigation of a fifty year old murder that he doesn’t think can be solved.

To complicate matters, Riddle assigns Banks to work with the local DS, Annie Cabot, an officer with a reputation as a troublemaker.  Cabot took the position in a small town force where there is little activity because it was made clear to her she would not be in line for promotion any time soon.  She has been branded a loner who doesn’t work well with others on the force.  What Riddle doesn’t expect is that once Banks sinks his teeth in, he will do everything in his power to uncover the truth. Not only that, it turns out he and Cabot work well together, both on and off duty.

While this book is part of the Inspector Banks series, there is more to it than a straightforward detective story. The victim was discovered when a drought caused a reservoir to dry up, exposing a village which had been evacuated and flooded in the early 1950s. The woman was not buried by the flood, though; she was murdered and placed under a stone slab. Banks 1st task is to figure out when the body was buried before he can begin to find out why she was murdered.

Robinson’s novel switches back and forth between World War II, when the village was last occupied, and the present day investigation.  Telling the story this way makes the mystery more suspenseful, and  Robinson is able to make a very cold police case have relevance and urgency for the characters today; and I found the description of life during the war to be fascinating. This is my favorite book in the Inspector Banks series, although I would recommend all of them.  The series has also been recently made into a television series that was shown on WUNCTV in January.  Hopefully, they will repeat it soon!

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Powers Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl? by Brian Michael Bendis

So what happens when you’re the cop who has to solve the murder of a beloved superhero?  How about if you’ve just been assigned a green partner who’s never worked on a case involving powers before?  These are some of the questions answered by Brian Michael Bendis in his Powers series of graphic novels.

Detective Christian Walker does not have the easiest job in the world.  Some might say the exact opposite, since Walker has to find out who killed Retro Girl.  Oh yeah, and the Captain’s saddled him with a green rookie, to boot.  Still, despite the fact that both Walker and his new partner, Deena Pilgrim, are perfectly normal mortals, they end up going out and questioning a slew of heroes and villains throughout the city, searching for leads.  Added to the mess is another case of Walker’s where he ends up having to babysit a 9 year old girl.  Written in a gritty style with realistic dialogue and clear though simple art, Who Killed Retro Girl? is an intriguing and fun look at what cops have to deal with in a world where the most powerful citizens routinely act outside of the law.

I enjoy graphic novels that are gritty, and I have always been a fan of hardboiled detective fiction, so for me, this series is practically a dream come true.  Full of surprises, not just about the case but also the main characters, each volume of Powers is hard to put down before it’s done.  If you’re going to give Vol. 1 a try, I highly recommend that you go ahead and check out at least Vol. 2:  Roleplay.  You just won’t want the story to end.

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The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

You never know what goes on behind closed doors, what family dynamics exist that push people to do what they do. In this small town where everyone knows everyone, two families awake to find their little girls missing, seven-year-old Calli Clark who has not uttered a word since she was a toddler and her best friend Petra. Gone since early morning, the only clues are their small foot prints and what appears to be drag marks. Calli’s mother struggles with the knowledge that it appears she might have been taken into the woods by her father, Griff, a pipeline worker who is gone most of the time and who can be abusive especially when he drinks. Griff is supposedly out fishing with a buddy but when nobody can find him, he becomes the prime suspect.  Neighbors are set against neighbors, bringing divisive issues that were thought to be put to rest, to the forefront. Calli’s mother is forced to deal with her relationship with Griff once again as they search for their daughter.

Put aside some time to read this book because you will want to read it from cover to cover to find out what happens to the girls, who took them and why Calli refuses to speak.  The action cuts back and forth between their odyssey through the woods and the town’s search for them.  Gudenkauf does a good job of keeping secrets right up to the last chapter.    You’ll never guess the ending!

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Insatiable by Meg Cabot

I’m not sure what I expected when I started reading Insatiable by Meg Cabot. Maybe I felt something along the lines of ‘No! Not another vampire novel!’ But perhaps Cabot feels the same way. Meena, the protagonist, is tired of hearing/writing/talking about vampires. Imagine her disbelief when she discovers they are not only real, but her new boyfriend is the prince of darkness himself. Not that Meena is normal herself…

Meena is able to predict the way every person she meets will die. Relieved that this isn’t the case when she meets Lucien, she doesn’t realize this very fact will embroil her in the middle of a load of vampire trouble. Lucien is in town from Romania, visiting his cousin, to solve the mystery of who is draining girls and leaving their bodies all over New York City.  Meena stumbles into a power struggle between Lucien and his brother, Dimitri, and unknowingly gets herself placed in the middle of their battle.

There is something for vampire lovers and haters alike in this novel. Meena spends a great deal of time abusing ‘monster misogyny’ of vampire culture. She even finds the concept of vampires laughable. Add in a fanatical, sword-wielding, vampire hunter named Alaric Wulf, a yappy Pomeranian mix named Jack Bauer who doubles as a vampire dog, Meena’s nosy neighbor Mary Lou (also a vampire), and Meena’s unemployed brother Jon, and amusement abounds.

The humor and major cheese factor kept me laughing the whole time! What a great approach to mix up the normal, overly dramatic, vampire novel!

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