Protector-C.J. Cherryh

Protector


C.J. Cherryh

Daw, April 2 2013, $24.95

ISBN: 9780756407988



The heir to the Atevi leader of the Western Association Tabiniaiji, eight years old Cajerji celebrates his birthday with his people and select human friends he made. Meanwhile the Assassins' Guild, responsible for security, is divided with many opposed to Tabini's rule, preferring traditionalists like Ilisidi and others.



Not knowing who to trust, Tabini asks his friend human diplomat Bren Cameron to work with his aiji-dowager grandmother Ilisidi to protect his child and other guests. Tabini and Bren believe the enemies of the Atevi leader will use the gala to make a deadly statement with both of them, the heir and specific guests as the targets.



The latest Foreigner Universe thriller (see Intruder, Betrayer and Deceiver) is an entertaining tale with somewhat limited action, as once again C.J. Cherryh deeply develops political and ethnic themes with young Cajerji as the focus of opposing forces with diverse motives. Few besides his father and Ben care about his well-being as most see the lad as a pawn to further personal agendas. Fans will enjoy Cajerji’s happy birthday bash with unwanted fireworks part of the gala.



Harriet Klausner

The Black Stiletto: Stars and Stripes-Raymond Benson

The Black Stiletto: Stars and Stripes


Raymond Benson

Oceanview, Apr 2 2013, $25.95

ISBN 9781608090723



Martin Talbot has read two of his mother Judy Cooper’s over five decades old diaries (see The Black Stiletto: Black and White), but struggles with who she insists she was. He cannot question her because Judy suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s, but as he begins her third journal, the depth of the entries affirms his mom was the vigilante superhero the Black Stiletto. Talbot wonders whether he should tell his new girlfriend at the same time his daughter Gina proves more a chip off Judy’s block than him as she lands in trouble.



In 1960 New York’s Chinatown, local ruthless Tong hoods kill the father of Judy’s friend teenager teen Billy Shen Lee. Idealist Judy volunteers as a “Kennedy Girl” to help the elect JFK presidential campaign. As the Black Stiletto dodges NYPD, she takes on the Tong and a Cuban-Soviet spy ring planning to assassinate JFK.



The third super Black Stiletto thriller is a great tale as 1960 (through the diary) comes across as if Judy wrote her entries at the end of the Eisenhower Administration. The present segues add depth as Martin struggles with his life (as his ex remarries) while admiring his mom’s daring deeds. However, this is clearly the Black Stiletto’s story with her journal providing an insightful look at racism in 1960 Manhattan and the effect of the Cold War in NYC and on the presidential race.



Harriet Klausner

Island 731-Jeremy Robinson

Island 731


Jeremy Robinson

Dunne, Mar 26 2013, $25.99

ISBN 9780312617875



The Magellan research ship is studying the Pacific’s Garbage Patch when oceanographer Avril Joliet finds a dead previously unknown humongous turtle. The forensic evidence points towards a human experiment in which the loggerhead’s stomach was twice the size of normal.



Soon afterward, a storm destroys the Magellan. Two die, but the rest of the crew makes it to a nearby uncharted island though none know how they came here and one member remains missing. They conduct a search of the island only to meet the inhabitants, who attack the newcomers with rage. Joliet and crew member Mark Hawkins, a former park ranger who knows how to live in the wild, take charge of survival and finding answers to these hybrid abominations with proof that this remote tropical paradise was once Japanese Unit 731 in WWII.



Island 731 is an exhilarating thriller that grips the audience from the moment the heroine meets the gigantic dead turtle and never slows down. With a nod to H.G. Wells’ The Island Of Dr. Moreau, readers will relish this terrific thriller as the crew learns the true meaning of survival of the fittest.



Harriet Klausner

That Old Flame of Mine-J.J. Cook

That Old Flame of Mine


J.J. Cook

Berkley Prime Crime, Apr 2 2013, $7.99

ISBN: 9780425252048



Stella Griffin left the Chicago Fire Department after catching her now ex-boyfriend cheating to become the fire chief of the Sweet Pepper, Tennessee volunteer fire department. Before she reaches town, Deputy Chum pulls her over for speeding on her motorcycle. When she removes her helmet, he looks like he is having a seizure as he calls her Abigail and flees the scene.



Tory Lambert welcomes Stella to town by giving her a file on her husband’s alleged accidental death by fire that she and others believe that pepper plant owner Ben Carson arranged so that people will not fear a killing arsonist amongst them while the annual Sweet Pepper Festival occurs. The next day the firefighters put out a blaze in Tory’s house. Stella and police officer John Trump later find Tory’s dead body inside with the fire chief believing the arson covered a homicide. When she is injured in a biking incident, she meets the grandfather she never knew existed before, Ben. As she investigates Tory’s death, Stella receives help from her predecessor Eric Gamlyn, who died in the line of duty before she came to town.



The first Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade mystery is a Great Smokey Mountains whodunit starring a tough dedicated woman and a town where everybody knows everyone personally, yet many of the locals (including her kin) keeps dark secrets. Fast-paced from the moment Chum sees Stella, fans will enjoy this entertaining paranormal investigative thriller as the protagonist with her ghostly advisor works the case that involves her family.



Harriet Klausner

Outrageous October-Barbara Levenson

Outrageous October


Barbara Levenson

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Feb 11 2013, $11.99

www.createspace.com

ISBN: 9781480093669



Residents of High Pines, Vermont are shocked with the news that local socialite widow Carolyn Broussard was found dead in her home. The police are investigating the death as there are some anomalies with the victim’s son Tom as the prime suspect.



One year later, Mary Katz is a criminal defense attorney after being fired by her fiancé Franklin Fieldstone when he caught her and developer Carlos having sex in the office. After successfully handling a case involving her lover’s cousin, Mary and her BFF Lucy go out to eat only to find Carlos dining with his ex-wife Margarita. After Mary ends her engagement to Carlos, Lucy insists she get away; she suggests the lawyer and Sam her dog use her summer home in High Pines. In Vermont, Mary realizes she entered the wrong home when she sees a ton of mail addressed to Brousseau. She investigates the unsolved murder of Carolyn, which leads Mary meeting village attorney Dash Mellman, who persuades her to help his client in a tree dispute that turns deadly. At the same time Mary finds out that Dartmouth student Sherry, the daughter of Florida client Lillian Yarmouth, has been kidnapped and held for ransom.



The latest Mary Magruder Katz legal thriller (see Fatal February and Justice In June) is an engaging tale as the protagonist proves that The Green Mountain State is as crazy as the Sunshine State. Filled with action, fans will enjoy Mary’s New England adventure as a cold case murder, a warm case homicide and a potential killing case converge on the lawyer who can’t get away from her criminal defense attorney vocation or for that matter romance.



Harriet Klausner

A Study In Revenge-Kieran Shields

A Study In Revenge


Kieran Shields

Crown, Jan 8 2013, $25.00

ISBN: 9780307985767



In 1893 in Portland, Maine Police Deputy Marshal Archie Lean follows the ashen footprints into the house until he finds the burned corpse of Frankie “The Foot” Cosgrove sitting in a chair. On the outside door written with ash and blood is a face with words “Hell Awaits” above it. Lean saw the victim buried a couple days earlier without any burns. At the gravesite, the empty coffin looks like it was busted from inside.



Lean asks hybrid Abenaki-Caucasian criminalist Perceval Grey to assist him in solving the strange homicide. Grey agrees to help although he already promised dying wealthy tycoon Horace Webster to locate his missing granddaughter Maddy. The rest of the Webster family has no interest in locating a missing heir except for her sister Phebe; instead the Webster clan prefers Grey focus on finding a missing heirloom. The deeper the two men dig into the cases, increasingly they believe them connected.



The second Lean-Grey collaboration (see Truth of All Things) is a great historical police procedural that once again enables armchair readers to believe they are in late nineteenth century Portland and to a lesser degree Boston anchored by real persona like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Action-packed, the taut storyline is an enjoyable fast-paced read as the two detectives will remind readers of a different Holmes partnership as they work to find the missing link.



Harriet Klausner

The Forever Knight-John Marco

The Forever Knight


John Marco

Daw, April 2 2013, $25.95

ISBN: 9780756407513



Lukien once was the beloved Bronze Knight until he betrayed his king. Despondent he lost his love Cassandra and several friends, he sought death as the way out of his lonely existence after bringing peace; no one needs a hero after the victory. However, he learns that is not quite true as he became the immortal champion of the magical using Inhuman desert dwellers who live in impoverished isolation deep in the desert at Grimhold.



Lukien remains the defender of Grimhold, but no longer possesses both Eyes of Gods amulet. Instead he now yields the Sword of Angels that possesses the Akari spirit of an earlier age hero Malator. Needing a purpose, Lukien leaves Grimhold with encouragement from Malator. On the road from apathy he meets youthful Cricket a seeker of her lost memories.



The profound premise in this first follow-up to the Bronze Knight fantasy trilogy (see Sword of Angels) focuses on what happens to a hero after the mission is accomplished and accolades received, As MacArthur said: "old soldiers never die; they just fade away"; but fails to mention what to do with the rest of their (immortal in this case) life. There is plenty of action as expected in a John Marco thriller, but it is the psychologically scarred Lukien and his counterpoint Malator who make the story fascinating. Cricket adds depth but her young and innocent immaturity seems out of place in a realm where teens mature fast or die. The Forever Knight is a deep opening gamut as the larger than life hero needs a purpose.



Harriet Klausner