The Celtic Conspiracy-Thore D. Hansen

The Celtic Conspiracy


Thore D. Hansen

AmazonCrossing, May 29 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9781612183473



In May 1945 near Klagenfurt, Austria, a recruit falls into a cave during combat. British Army Major Sean MacLary and two soldiers rescue the injured man. However, they find a room in the cave that Sean an archeology professor, believes is ancient Druid though that is wrong as their culture was handed down orally. He selects a few fourth century documents to send home that claim the Catholic Church massacred the druids and buries the cave with an explosion hidden by the noise of war to protect the rest of the cache.



In the present Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald MacLary thinks back to his late father who died a few years after the war from combat related injuries. Before he died Sean pleaded with his then six year old son to follow up on his trove in Dublin. Ronald finds the ancient documentation that insists the Druids did not vanish gently into the night but were victims of genocide. He finds allies as he tries to excavate his father’s find while others try to prevent him.



Combining the generalization that to the victors goes the history books inside a Brownian thriller, The Celtic Conspiracy is an exciting thriller that makes a plea for the Golden Rule of world peace. Although holding culpability for atrocities done centuries ago is a complicated but healing slippery slope, fans will enjoy this fabulous over the top of Corrán Tuathail tale.



Harriet Klausner

Extended Family-Patrick Kendrick

Extended Family


Patrick Kendrick

Thomas & Mercer, Jun 5 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9781612183107



The charming handsome man enters the Future-Gen clinic to donate sperm. Afterward, he asks the receptionist to join him for dinner at exclusive Eduardo’s. She accepts his invitation while cheekily asking him if he will be able to get it up later.



One generation later, FBI Special Agent Rose Cleary and Fire Marshal Greymon Gift discuss recent homicide arson cases. Someone is torturing including dismembering victims before setting fire to the murder scene; the dead further share in common they all were serial killers. Rose and Grey team up on the investigation, but find horrifying evidence that the recovered DNA is a close match to that of allegedly dead serial killer Dr. Harmon Gettys. This means it is either him or chips off the old block offspring.



Extended Family is an odd but entertaining thriller as the protagonists hunt for the serial killer of serial killers. Overall the storyline is fast-paced and at times very gory as journal entries can be first person explicit. Although the romantic segue feels forced and unnecessary except as a sub-genre requirement when a man and woman work a case, fans will enjoy this engaging tale more complex than the DNA double helix.



Harriet Klausner

Crosscut-Jude Hardin

Crosscut


Jude Hardin

Thomas & Mercer, Jun 5 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9781612183114



In Florida, true crime writer Donna Prescott asks her former boyfriend private investigator Nicholas Colt to find her missing brother Derek Wahl. Missing for over a year, Derek is a Black Creek, Tennessee cop. He vanished while handling a domestic dispute. At the house where the call came from were two female corpses while two males disappeared. Derek informs Donna he is no longer a P.I. as instead he is part of a band. Donna also says the bodies were mutilated with crucifixes carved into them. Stunned Derek takes the case because he knows what the symbol means as the Harvest Angels violent wing of the Neo-Nazi Chain of Life cult killed his first wife, their daughter and their band in a plane crash.



Derek arranges with his Tennessee private investigator friend Pete Strong to meet him. However his inquiry spins out of control with his family threatened back home and longtime enemy Brother John kidnapping him before brainwashing Derek and turning him into a heroin addict who cheats on his wife. However, this is all part of a wider lethal terrorism plot in Los Angeles.



This is an exhilarating thriller with a great first half and a fabulous coda spin. Action-packed from start to finish, the hard boiled storyline loses plausibility from the moment the hero escapes as he performs exciting daring deeds.



Harriet Klausner

The Key-Simon Toyne

The Key


Simon Toyne

HarperCollins, Apr 1 2012, $25.99

ISBN: 9780007391592



In the ancient city of Ruin in mountainous Turkey is the Citadel where the first bible was allegedly scribed. TV cameras catch a monk Brother Samuel climb to the top of the mountain, make the sign of the tau, and leap (see Sanctus). Soon after the violent death, explosions rip into the Citadel. Ten monks and three civilians, all injured, exit through a previously secret tunnel. The media proclaims the “Church on Road to Ruin”. Rumors spread that these survivors will reveal the true meaning of the Sacrament.



At the Vatican, Cardinal Secretary of State Clementi is stunned to learn that trillions of dollars have vanished. His prayer to save the Church from what could be a death scandal lies in Ruin. In a hospital, Samuel’s sister American journalist Liv Adamsen suffers from amnesia though she recalls entering the Citadel at Ruin but not much else. She is frightened because she keeps hearing a mantra claiming she is the Key. Others accept her as the Key with plans to use her. The mercenary Ghost hopes she can unlock dark powerful secrets; the Citadel monks pray she returns to end the plague that is destroying them; the Catholic Church hierarchy needs her dead before she kills the religion. Liv’s savior is charity worker Gabriel Mann.



The second Sancti trilogy continues the exciting Brownian thriller with a fast-paced entry. The key (no pun intended) cast is not as developed as in Sanctus especially the Vatican who come across as an overly used conspiracy crowd (then again this is a Brownian thriller). Still sub-genre fans will want to know the Key to the Sacrament.



Harriet Klausner

Trash Course-Penny Drake

Trash Course


Penny Drake

Carina, Oct 18 2010, $7.99

ISBN: 9780373062560; ASIN: B004322F4U



Belinda Harris arrives at Hawk Enterprise in Ann Arbor explaining to private investigator Terry Faye that she came from Missouri to insure her two elderly uncles are okay. She went from the airport to their home, but could not enter as the door is blocked on the inside by something. Furthermore Belinda says they are hoarders who have lived in this house for five decades.



Terry and Ms. Hawk enter the house where trash and roaches are everywhere while Belinda remains in the car. They soon learn the hard way that Uncle Lawrence has set up a series of “landmines” ready to hammer the unwary. Their friend Professor Slava Cherenko joins them inside the house. They find the corpses of Uncle Howard and Uncle Lawrence as well as catching photographer Zack Archer taking pictures. Belinda asks them to find the missing will while one of the bodies is too young to be one of the uncles.



Trash Course is a superb mystery starring a strong ensemble cast and a hoard of a lifetime, which will surprise readers with the clever full set-up. The rookie sleuth is learning the ropes from her superstar boss while attracted to the photographer she does not trust; their romance is kept to a limit as the case of the hoarding uncles and where it stunningly leads is the focus. Her BFF Slava is a wonderful support character who claims her Chernobyl KGB experience would make her a perfect field operator though she is way too tall and garish to simply blend in. Fast-paced and filled with action, fans will relish this enjoyable serio-comedic detective thriller.



Harriet Klausner

The Song of Achilles-Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles


Madeline Miller

Ecco, Mar 6 2012, $25.99

ISBN: 9780062060617



Prince Patroclus’ father King Menoitius is unhappy with his simple wife and disappointed with his only offspring. The lad cannot compete in anything even against younger children. When he is nine years old his father takes him to court Helen the daughter of King Tyndarus of Sparta. Other royals also arrive while King Odysseus of Ithaca suggests Helens elect her mate so war can be averted. Helen selects Menelaus. Back home Clysonymus tries to bully Patroclus who pushes back killing the lad. Menoitius exiles Patrochlus to King Peleus of Phthia where he meets Prince Achilles.



They become best buddies, which angers Achilles’ mother Thetis the sea nymph. When Agamemnon calls for supporters to recapture Helen from Troy, Patroclus and Achilles join the siege. However, Achilles knows his destiny will soon begin to become the greatest warrior ever; as predicted by his mother and affirmed in a warning by his instructor Master Chiron the centaur. Patroclus plans to accompany Achilles when they begin the latter’s Odyssey.



This is not a direct rewrite of Homer's Iliad at least not until the second half of the plot. Instead the engaging storyline fills in the blanks with the focus predominantly on Achilles and Patroclus (which is not a shocker since the latter tells the tale) though all of Homer’s players are involved. In many ways Troy takes a backseat to the loving relationship of the two BFFs while clever Odysseus steals the show. He sums up love and war in ancient mythological Greece with his saying he has a wife that he has not seen in a decade and whom may be dead but if nothing else he prays he spends eternity with her in the Underworld.



Harriet Klausner

Shadow's Edge-J.T. Geissinger

Shadow's Edge


J.T. Geissinger

Montlake Romance, Jun 12 2012, $12.95

ISBN: 9781612183312



Jenna Moore spent her childhood on the run with her parents who always seemed to look back over their shoulders. She never knew why they hid only her mom became an alcoholic of sorts and her dad seemed always frightened by the shadows. Now she has neither of them as her mom died and her dad vanished and she presumes he is dead too. Never alone before, the scared young woman also is confused by her recent paranormal abilities.



In the forests of England, the Ikati shapeshifters survive in secrecy by deploying a strict code of behavior; those who betray the law die. They recently learned that an offspring of traitors lives in California. Their chieftain Leander McLoughlin heads to the American Pacific West Coast to either kill the “innocent” as most of the tribe prefer or bring her to her people to test whether she can be educated in their customs. When they meet, they are attracted to each other, but she is a chip off the paranoid block of her parents and trusts no one; while he considers invoking the death penalty. Meanwhile in the shadows hides a stalker waiting to pounce on Leander and Jenna.



The first A Night Prowler romantic urban fantasy is an engaging romantic urban fantasy filled with suspense as readers will wonder whether Leander can execute his beloved. The affected dialect of the Ikati anchors the Geissinger mythos with a freshness that needs some adjustment to accept from the audience. The conflict boils down to assimilation as Jenna’s DNA may be Ikati but her nurturing is American while a third party waits to pounce. Fans will enjoy this exciting paranormal romantic suspense.



Harriet Klausner