Trust Me
Jeff Abbott
Dutton, Jul 23 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780525951216
Although he is a low life in his stepfather's think-tank in Austin, Texas, Luke Dantry brags that he is a big shot in the global war against terrorism. His actual task is to monitor by joining the night time chatter of apparently angry web users. He calls his nocturnal Internet friends the Black Road.
Luke quickly recognizes who he is communicating with as these are lonely braggarts like he is. Few if any have the will let alone the way to carry out terrorism acts. However, Luke soon revises his opinion of at least some of the Black Road Internet users when he is kidnapped and left dead at a remote cabin. He now knows his web comrades are much more organized and prepared for what he thought was inane chatter. They rehearse for the big event Code name hellfire by causing plane and train crashes and chemical plant explosions. Dantry escapes with Black Code and those pursuing the terrorists chasing after him; as he begins a desperate quest to prevent a plan to make 9/11 look like a minor incident.
This fast-paced thriller filled with several spins and twist is a fun lighthearted tale that requires a major ignoring of plausibility as no one will accept the nerd turning into a superhero almost overnight. Still the audience will enjoy Dantry’s efforts as we root for him to overcome the odds; reminiscent of Patrick Dempsey’s enjoyable but improbable 1991 movie Run.
Harriet Klausner
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Charmed and Dangerous-Toni McGee Causey
Charmed and Dangerous
Toni McGee Causey
St. Martin’s Jun 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780312358495
In Lake Charles, Louisiana, twenty-eight years old Bobbie Faye Sumrall expects a relatively calm day while looking forward to wearing her family heirloom a tiara at the Contraband Days festival. However, her hope for being laid back is drenched very early when her defective washing machine sends a tidal wave throughout the trailer she shares with her five-year-old niece Stacey. The youngster sums up the opening disaster by thanking her aunt for placing a swimming pool inside their home
That proves to be the most positive moment of the day as flooding is easy to deal with than her scoundrel brother Roy of catfish and BS slinging fame. He has been abducted and the kidnappers demand as ransom the tiara her late mom left her. Bobby Faye works on rescuing her sibling while not giving away her only valuable asset; her brother is not of equal value. However, at the bank thugs rob the tiara from Bobby Faye, who forces Trevor the trucker to pursue them at the same time her former boyfriend, police officer Cameron has another mental cardiac arrest knowing Bobbie Faye's chasing some armed and dangerous hoods; he fears what she will do to them when she tackles them.
This zany jocular regional thriller is fast-paced from the opening trailer turned swimming pool scene to the confrontation over the tiara and to a lesser degree her scoundrel sibling; the action is top rate even with tons of amusing situations. Fans will laugh loudly at the antics of the heroine as she once again proves she is CHARMED AND DANGEROUS while robbing the bank, hijacking a truck, and chasing thieves. In Sumrall, just another wacko Bobbie Faye day (see GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE GUNS) as .she affirms Murphy is a foolish California optimist
Harriet Klausner
Toni McGee Causey
St. Martin’s Jun 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780312358495
In Lake Charles, Louisiana, twenty-eight years old Bobbie Faye Sumrall expects a relatively calm day while looking forward to wearing her family heirloom a tiara at the Contraband Days festival. However, her hope for being laid back is drenched very early when her defective washing machine sends a tidal wave throughout the trailer she shares with her five-year-old niece Stacey. The youngster sums up the opening disaster by thanking her aunt for placing a swimming pool inside their home
That proves to be the most positive moment of the day as flooding is easy to deal with than her scoundrel brother Roy of catfish and BS slinging fame. He has been abducted and the kidnappers demand as ransom the tiara her late mom left her. Bobby Faye works on rescuing her sibling while not giving away her only valuable asset; her brother is not of equal value. However, at the bank thugs rob the tiara from Bobby Faye, who forces Trevor the trucker to pursue them at the same time her former boyfriend, police officer Cameron has another mental cardiac arrest knowing Bobbie Faye's chasing some armed and dangerous hoods; he fears what she will do to them when she tackles them.
This zany jocular regional thriller is fast-paced from the opening trailer turned swimming pool scene to the confrontation over the tiara and to a lesser degree her scoundrel sibling; the action is top rate even with tons of amusing situations. Fans will laugh loudly at the antics of the heroine as she once again proves she is CHARMED AND DANGEROUS while robbing the bank, hijacking a truck, and chasing thieves. In Sumrall, just another wacko Bobbie Faye day (see GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE GUNS) as .she affirms Murphy is a foolish California optimist
Harriet Klausner
Eye of the Whale-Douglas Carlton Abrams
Eye of the Whale
Douglas Carlton Abrams
Atria, Aug 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 1416532544
Scientist Elizabeth McKay’s basic hypothesis is that if we can understand the complicated songs of the humpback whales, we will geometrically improve our comprehension of the animal kingdom. Her Research turns into an obsession that devastates her marriage and costs her friends who believe she breathes solely to prove her theory.
However, she finds her on site work disturbed by whaling interests. Business and fishing interests push to hunt whales and begin a marketing campaign to turn the watery mammal’s whale meat into an acceptable delicacy. When a humpback becomes endangered by swimming up the Sacramento River, McKay notices the song changed making her wonder what’s going on; dramatically she concludes the whales are mourning the loss of clean oceans as human pollution has led to birth defects.
This action-packed eco-thriller contains an intriguing premise in which the whales warn humans through their songs that the oceans needed for life to thrive are dying. However, the cautionary warning at times is like a tsunami overwhelming its own message. Still overall this is a fun tale that pays homage to the movie Star trek IV although only Elizabeth and the whale in the Sacramento River are fully developed. Fans will enjoy Douglas Carlton Abrams’ entertaining EYE OF THE WHALE as the humpbacks alert the human scientist that the end of days is upon us as they sing their version of Marvin Gaye’s still fresh and even more relevant Mercy, Mercy Me The Ecology Song.
Harriet Klausner
Douglas Carlton Abrams
Atria, Aug 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 1416532544
Scientist Elizabeth McKay’s basic hypothesis is that if we can understand the complicated songs of the humpback whales, we will geometrically improve our comprehension of the animal kingdom. Her Research turns into an obsession that devastates her marriage and costs her friends who believe she breathes solely to prove her theory.
However, she finds her on site work disturbed by whaling interests. Business and fishing interests push to hunt whales and begin a marketing campaign to turn the watery mammal’s whale meat into an acceptable delicacy. When a humpback becomes endangered by swimming up the Sacramento River, McKay notices the song changed making her wonder what’s going on; dramatically she concludes the whales are mourning the loss of clean oceans as human pollution has led to birth defects.
This action-packed eco-thriller contains an intriguing premise in which the whales warn humans through their songs that the oceans needed for life to thrive are dying. However, the cautionary warning at times is like a tsunami overwhelming its own message. Still overall this is a fun tale that pays homage to the movie Star trek IV although only Elizabeth and the whale in the Sacramento River are fully developed. Fans will enjoy Douglas Carlton Abrams’ entertaining EYE OF THE WHALE as the humpbacks alert the human scientist that the end of days is upon us as they sing their version of Marvin Gaye’s still fresh and even more relevant Mercy, Mercy Me The Ecology Song.
Harriet Klausner
Self's Murder-Bernhard Schlink
Self's Murder
Bernhard Schlink
Vintage, Aug 11 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9780375709098
After his last major case (see SELF'S DECEPTION), German private investigator Gerhard Self is thinking he is too old for this type of work. As he drives home to Manheim with his girlfriend Brigette during a nasty snow storm, Self notices a car in the ditch and stops to assist a stranded driver, banker Bertram Welker.
Upon learning that Self is a sleuth, Welker hires the investigator to uncover the identity of a silent bank partner as he is writing the history of the establishment that he co-owns. Self accepts the easy assignment, which pays extraordinarily well. However the detective has self doubts about his client when the bank’s archivist mysteriously dies in a car crash just after giving the sleuth an attaché case loaded with money. He digs a bit into his client’s past to learn he became a widower last year when his wife died a hiking accident. Two deadly accidents are two to many so Self investigates Welker.
This is a super German private investigator mystery with several super twists that will leave readers and the weary hero guessing as nothing is quite like it first seems including a stranger claiming to be the son of Self. The story line is fast-paced but totally owned by the sleuth as his inquiry into the silent partner leads him to inquire about his client. Fans will enjoy the translation of Bernhard Shlink’s entertaining German mystery and seek the previous two thrillers (see SELF’S PUNISHMENT).
Harriet Klausner
Bernhard Schlink
Vintage, Aug 11 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9780375709098
After his last major case (see SELF'S DECEPTION), German private investigator Gerhard Self is thinking he is too old for this type of work. As he drives home to Manheim with his girlfriend Brigette during a nasty snow storm, Self notices a car in the ditch and stops to assist a stranded driver, banker Bertram Welker.
Upon learning that Self is a sleuth, Welker hires the investigator to uncover the identity of a silent bank partner as he is writing the history of the establishment that he co-owns. Self accepts the easy assignment, which pays extraordinarily well. However the detective has self doubts about his client when the bank’s archivist mysteriously dies in a car crash just after giving the sleuth an attaché case loaded with money. He digs a bit into his client’s past to learn he became a widower last year when his wife died a hiking accident. Two deadly accidents are two to many so Self investigates Welker.
This is a super German private investigator mystery with several super twists that will leave readers and the weary hero guessing as nothing is quite like it first seems including a stranger claiming to be the son of Self. The story line is fast-paced but totally owned by the sleuth as his inquiry into the silent partner leads him to inquire about his client. Fans will enjoy the translation of Bernhard Shlink’s entertaining German mystery and seek the previous two thrillers (see SELF’S PUNISHMENT).
Harriet Klausner
TSI: The Eyam Factor-Paul McCusker & Walt Larimore, M.D.
TSI: The Eyam Factor
Paul McCusker & Walt Larimore, M.D.
Howard, Aug 2009, $13.99
ISBN: 9781416569718
Under the ice and snow of Greenland lies a top secret research laboratory filled with all the deadly diseases known to man. Something happens in one of the labs allowing the genetically engineered super strain of the Ebola virus escaping into the entire facility forcing the government to blow it up. In the African country Gabon, a cult led by David Mosley is infected with this lethal strain; all of them commit suicide to end the horror except the leader’s son Aaron.
Aaron is a carrier spreading the disease wherever he goes and leaving behind horrific agonizing deaths. A task force mobilizes seeking the carrier while in England they seek a vaccine, but need someone with the disease. Their efforts lead them to the village of Eyam where the Black Death decimated the place in the seventeenth century that isolated itself while the legendary Blue Monk administered to the ill and dying. The scientists feel there are some similarities with today’s outbreak and the cases in 1666 so they seek the grave of the Blue Monk who’s DNA may provide a cure for the modern day epidemic. Time is running out as the pandemic virus threatens to make humanity virtually extinct.
The action never stops in this fast-paced thriller that sends a cautionary message without preaching. Mindful of Hoffman’s Outbreak, the plot cleverly uses the real tragic history of the Ebola virus that killed several people in Gabon in 2001 and the seventeenth century Black Plague assault on the villagers of Eyam. , Although the lead characters are not fully developed, they bring heart and soul to their desperate search to find the Blue Monk’s remains. The TSI team makes the science of disease epidemics especially viruses easy to understand but never dumbed down; that is the core of a super thriller that is timely with the Swine Flu outbreak.
Harriet Klausner
Paul McCusker & Walt Larimore, M.D.
Howard, Aug 2009, $13.99
ISBN: 9781416569718
Under the ice and snow of Greenland lies a top secret research laboratory filled with all the deadly diseases known to man. Something happens in one of the labs allowing the genetically engineered super strain of the Ebola virus escaping into the entire facility forcing the government to blow it up. In the African country Gabon, a cult led by David Mosley is infected with this lethal strain; all of them commit suicide to end the horror except the leader’s son Aaron.
Aaron is a carrier spreading the disease wherever he goes and leaving behind horrific agonizing deaths. A task force mobilizes seeking the carrier while in England they seek a vaccine, but need someone with the disease. Their efforts lead them to the village of Eyam where the Black Death decimated the place in the seventeenth century that isolated itself while the legendary Blue Monk administered to the ill and dying. The scientists feel there are some similarities with today’s outbreak and the cases in 1666 so they seek the grave of the Blue Monk who’s DNA may provide a cure for the modern day epidemic. Time is running out as the pandemic virus threatens to make humanity virtually extinct.
The action never stops in this fast-paced thriller that sends a cautionary message without preaching. Mindful of Hoffman’s Outbreak, the plot cleverly uses the real tragic history of the Ebola virus that killed several people in Gabon in 2001 and the seventeenth century Black Plague assault on the villagers of Eyam. , Although the lead characters are not fully developed, they bring heart and soul to their desperate search to find the Blue Monk’s remains. The TSI team makes the science of disease epidemics especially viruses easy to understand but never dumbed down; that is the core of a super thriller that is timely with the Swine Flu outbreak.
Harriet Klausner
Hidden Currents-Christine Feehan
Hidden Currents
Christine Feehan
Jove, Jun 30 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780515146479
Psychic though many will say psycho businessman Stavros Gratsos kidnaps Elle Drake who had just returned to her family home Sea Haven. Although Elle and her six older sisters are also psychics, Stavros has somehow been able to electronically disable their telepathic abilities. Her siblings are distraught, but plan to do whatever it takes to rescue the youngest of this generation Drake brood.
Sea Haven Deputy Sheriff Jackson Deveau has loved Elle from afar forever and vows to save his beloved. Elle has reciprocated his feelings so that a telepathic link built on love connects them in spite of Stavros’ gizmo. He along with the Drake clan extract Elle from the psychopath, but not before Stavros tortured and raped her. Jackson is there for his emotionally shattered beloved and she begins to mentally heal due to his nurturing. However, Stavros wants her back and threatens all her loved ones leading to the extended Drake family (stars of the previous six entries) taking on a maniac and his horde of mercenaries.
The seventh and final Drake sister romantic fantasy is a strong finish to a powerful series. The lead couple is a likable pairing as both have issues; especially timely and poignant is the consequences on an individual who was tortures. The villain is a clever and brilliant but insane psychic whose demented vile mind enhances the plot as he forces the return of all the Drake sisters and their mates to unite to counter fight this lunatic.
Harriet Klausner
Christine Feehan
Jove, Jun 30 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780515146479
Psychic though many will say psycho businessman Stavros Gratsos kidnaps Elle Drake who had just returned to her family home Sea Haven. Although Elle and her six older sisters are also psychics, Stavros has somehow been able to electronically disable their telepathic abilities. Her siblings are distraught, but plan to do whatever it takes to rescue the youngest of this generation Drake brood.
Sea Haven Deputy Sheriff Jackson Deveau has loved Elle from afar forever and vows to save his beloved. Elle has reciprocated his feelings so that a telepathic link built on love connects them in spite of Stavros’ gizmo. He along with the Drake clan extract Elle from the psychopath, but not before Stavros tortured and raped her. Jackson is there for his emotionally shattered beloved and she begins to mentally heal due to his nurturing. However, Stavros wants her back and threatens all her loved ones leading to the extended Drake family (stars of the previous six entries) taking on a maniac and his horde of mercenaries.
The seventh and final Drake sister romantic fantasy is a strong finish to a powerful series. The lead couple is a likable pairing as both have issues; especially timely and poignant is the consequences on an individual who was tortures. The villain is a clever and brilliant but insane psychic whose demented vile mind enhances the plot as he forces the return of all the Drake sisters and their mates to unite to counter fight this lunatic.
Harriet Klausner
Dark Time-Dakota Banks
Dark Time
Dakota Banks
Avon Jul 28 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061687303
In 1692 Susannah Layhem is accused of being a witch and jailed; her baby is born and dies while she is incarcerated. She no longer cares that she is innocent and the facts would bear out her contention; but that did not matter to her accusers including her husband and his brother and wife. After she dies in the holy bonfire, Rabishu the demon recruits her to become his top gun assassinating people. For three centuries she did his bidding, but abruptly says no when the demon assigns her to murder a baby as she never stopped grieving for her dead infant Constanza .
The demon is as stunned as Susannah is when she realizes she somewhat is freed of her Faustian contract although she will still have to kill mortals. Now residing on earth as Maliha Crane, she hopes to regain her soul so she can stop her killing after three centuries of doing the demon’s bidding. She writes mystery novels and tries to save humans in an effort to balance her karma and is involved in the investigation of the homicides of two hackers.
Although the plot is extremely thin especially when it converts from historical to modern day urban fantasy, fans will enjoy meeting Susannah-Maliha and the worlds of Dakota Banks (including eerie dark Midworld). The first paranormal Mortal Path thriller is light fun as Rabishu is outraged at Malilha saying no for the first time as she hopes to obtain some redemption for her dark soul.
Harriet Klausner
Dakota Banks
Avon Jul 28 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061687303
In 1692 Susannah Layhem is accused of being a witch and jailed; her baby is born and dies while she is incarcerated. She no longer cares that she is innocent and the facts would bear out her contention; but that did not matter to her accusers including her husband and his brother and wife. After she dies in the holy bonfire, Rabishu the demon recruits her to become his top gun assassinating people. For three centuries she did his bidding, but abruptly says no when the demon assigns her to murder a baby as she never stopped grieving for her dead infant Constanza .
The demon is as stunned as Susannah is when she realizes she somewhat is freed of her Faustian contract although she will still have to kill mortals. Now residing on earth as Maliha Crane, she hopes to regain her soul so she can stop her killing after three centuries of doing the demon’s bidding. She writes mystery novels and tries to save humans in an effort to balance her karma and is involved in the investigation of the homicides of two hackers.
Although the plot is extremely thin especially when it converts from historical to modern day urban fantasy, fans will enjoy meeting Susannah-Maliha and the worlds of Dakota Banks (including eerie dark Midworld). The first paranormal Mortal Path thriller is light fun as Rabishu is outraged at Malilha saying no for the first time as she hopes to obtain some redemption for her dark soul.
Harriet Klausner
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