Merrimon

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• Rated 5 stars

“When Steve, Mallory's prince in shining armor turned out to be lying, cheating flim flam man, she lost everything ---- her home, her business, and her heart. Marriage seemed a good solution to keep a roof over her head, especially when Torr offered to pay off her staggering, mind-boggling debt. When Torr inherits a Scottish castle, Mallory wants no part of this ruin, but what choice does she have? Things go from bad to worse when they arrive. If the isolation, lack of the modern conveniences like heat weren't bad enough, there is wildlife, scary storms, no neighbors and bugs! Mallory's marriage seems more and more a mistake and she will do anything to get out of Kincaillie. Can Torr open her heart to see him in a new light before it is too late to save their marriage? Can these newlyweds find new start in a new setting?

In NEWLYWEDS OF CONVENIENCE , Jessica Hart creates a modern fairy tale romance, a unique blend of fairy tale situations imbued with modern psychological depth. Jessica Hart writes a romance that brings love to the darkest corners of the heart, a heart in pain. Depression leaves Mallory unable to do little else but look inwards, turning her hurt and anger against herself. The reader feels her emergence from depression, step by step. Torr has an almost magical effect on her as he frustrates her. Her anger empowers her, turning her feelings outward, giving her energy and an emerging fighting spirit. Overwhelmed by fear and anger, Mallory fights her way back from the devastation of her past.

This romance is a bit different than others I have read by Jessica Hart but every bit as powerful. NEWLYWEDS OF CONVENIENCE is almost exclusively told through Mallory's point of view. The reader questions Torr alongside Mallory, feeling her anger and seeing his actions through her eyes ---- except Jessica Hart's exceptional narrative technique lets the reader know just a bit more than Mallory, providing lots of smiles as the reader knows and loves Torr just a bit more quickly than Mallory. As I followed Mallory and her hanging relationship with Torr, I felt smiles, tears, laughter. Jessica Hart takes an impossible hero/heroine mismatch and an impossible marriage of convenience and turns it into a powerful story of a woman finding love again with a man whose patience is greater than Job's, a man who truly loves her even in her darkest moments.

Jessica Hart is one of my favorite authors, even more so after reading NEWLYWEDS OF CONVENIENCE. No matter what the plot or no matter how zany the initial circumstances, she writes a deeply powerful romance. In the initial stages, Torr (as seen through Mallory's eye) seems an impossible man --- the reader feels Mallory's growing anger at him, sides with her ---- but as the story unfolds, as Mallory emerges from her depression, the reader feels the changes in perspective through her eyes. I applaud this author for writing a romance with this heroine, telling her story through her eyes. NEWLYWEDS OF CONVENIENCE is a beautiful, uplifting romance. Another brilliant and memorable Jessica Hart romance!

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Wednesday, June 11 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Rachel Copeland returns to her home in Marfa, Texas, thinking to find safety and refuge from her past. Serenity is the last thing Rachel finds as danger lurks in every corner: in the landscape, in her family, from the loner Zeke and from someone who means her harm. Unearthly lights, known as the Marfa lights, and ghostly owls haunt the desert landscape with an inexplicable mystery. The Marfa spirit guides have a way of uncovering even the darkest secrets. Rachel Copeland's stalker won't ever let her forget that she killed a man. The courts may have let her go saying it was self-defense but no one can seem to forget, not even Rachel herself. Her defense has wrecked havoc on the life and finances of her father and step-mother. Doubt lingers. Hostilities and resentments tinge personal interactions. While in her step-mother's diner, Rachel meets a loner, a man who also shuns attention, a man no one really knows. As she photographs his woodworking, she captures on film what her heart sees --- Zeke Pike, a man ever so sensuous and talented. Rachel's camera gets her in a load of trouble as her photography peels away the layers, opening up secrets and raw emotions. When Rachel's photographs become part of a committee's program to promote local artists, the beauty of Zeke's body and art stand before her in print and in her heart in a way she can no longer ignore. Just as her heart opens, the public exposure stirs up past and current trouble. Suddenly, danger threatens both love and life --- but who is behind all the threats? A startling, eye-opening, edge-of-the-seat twist draws Zeke and Rachel together like never before.

Colleen Thompson writes a thrilling, intricate tale of suspense that reaches deep into the darkness and secrets of the human heart. Carefully chosen citations at the beginning of each chapter create a mysterious atmosphere with images of the Marfa lights and indeed light itself. Eerie passages on owls, evil and justice give Colleen Thompson's narrative a haunting context from which to view the desert and inner landscapes. From the very first pages, the reader catches glimpses of the villain's heart before an identity is ever known, creating a chilling effect as the reader understands the current impetus driving the villain but not necessarily the motive or subtle connections. TRIPLE EXPOSURE interweaves multi-layered threads of suspense as the past and present merge, not just from one character but many. TRIPLE EXPOSURE will keep readers guessing until the final heart-stopping resolution. Colleen Thompson creates an intriguing infrastructure that leaves the reader feeling that only the drawing together of this unique hero and this unique heroine could ever unveil the secrets.

TRIPLE EXPOSURE creates an exquisite match between hero and heroine, two people bruised deeply by past experiences who respond to each from the very depths. Despite the fears triggered by her stalker, Rachel is a strong and talented heroine. Photographer and sail plane pilot, Rachel may have been a victim once but she is certainly not a passive woman. She has an eye for beauty and a heart for her family. Colleen Thompson paints a beautiful portrait of father and daughter as well as the underlying resentments triggered by change within Rachel's family. Colleen Thompson's descriptions (as seen thorough Rachel's eyes) of photography and flying are sheer beauty. She captures the very essence of the spirit found in the natural and artistic world. Zeke, the stunningly handsome stranger, the man without a family, has a heart that intrigues just as much as his body and art. Protector of horses and abused animals, Zeke nurtures them, but can he bring his own heart back from despair? Zeke is a man who treasures solitude but as Rachel enters his life, Zeke's true self emerges, both the person that he was and the different man he is today. Colleen Thompson's descriptions of solitude and intimacy create a magnificent portrait of romance as a healing force.

TRIPLE EXPOSURE is not only a powerful romance but also a rich story about family dynamics and about the grief and forgiveness. In TRIPLE EXPOSURE, Colleen Thompson writes a tension-filled tale of a multi-layered danger with an eerie connection between landscape and the human mind. Suspense and romance combine, igniting the hero and heroine with a healing love that transforms, rippling outwards to others and through time, bringing past secrets to new light. TRIPLE EXPOSURE is a must read for Colleen Thompson and Romantic Suspense fans!

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Wednesday, June 11 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Four years ago, demons en masse entered London through a Hellgate portal. Set in 2024, this second book in the trilogy opens 4 years after the cataclysmic event of the first book, 4 years after a battle in which the Templars sacrificed themselves in a battle to thwart or at least delay the demons. In GOETIA, Simon Cross, a rogue Templar, is put to the test while Warren Schimmer, bound by a demon, tries to survive. Having once dismissed the Templars' story of demons, Simon now takes up the spirit of his late father's mission even as other surviving Templars and the Cabalists attempt to thwart him at every turn. Templars want to destroy the demons whereas the Cabalists want to study demons and harness their power. Warren's relationship with the demon Merihim becomes more complex as he tries to disentangle himself from the Faustian bargain that bound him to the demon in mind and body. Will his new ally be able to break Warren free from his bondage and to what end? As the battle enters into the fourth year, greed and other much more nefarious objectives permeate previously natural political alliances and rivalries. As Simon and Warren fight to preserve themselves, the once clear but now less tangible line between friend and foe might endanger not only them but any hope for a human inhabited world. Can Simon, a man of honor fighting for good, save the world and humanity? Will Warren free himself of the demon's hold? Can anyone survive the opening of another portal, Goetia?

GOETIA is a book that will appeal to both players and non role playing book-lovers alike. Mel Odom paints an awesome picture of a landscape that changes as the demons transform it in a Burn. In futuristic London, now inhabited by demons, the worst case disaster scenario plays out. Basic survival needs disappear. Power no longer preserve what very little food remained. Community resources and support no longer exist. The last remnant of people in London, now scavengers, turn against one another in a struggle for daily survival when the mere need for sustenance exposes a person to the horrible death, by human or demon. The death count is unmeasurable. Set against this backdrop, ancient organizations battle for supremacy against each other and the demons.

In the second book, Mel Odom takes the characters so finely developed in the first book and allows the reader an even richer insight into their motivations and conflicts. Armed with cutting edge technology and ancient arcane wisdom, Simon Cross must look within himself like never before. In a doomed world, the choices he makes reveal a sense of honor and integrity that goes far beyond the all of duty in this fight of ultimate good and evil. Warren also looks more deeply into himself to harness the strength needed to break free. His growing powers within and an unusual guide in his personal battle create depth and suspense right up until the final earth-shattering revelation!

In GOETIA, Mel Odom increases the level of intrigue several notches as political alliances entangle characters, creating deeper and deeper levels of danger. The battles and the battle strategies intrigue while new twists in alliances create a breathtakingly eerie vision of a futuristic world teetering on destruction as demons and humans enter the ultimate fight between good and evil. GOETIA mixes unforgettable imagery of zombies, demons and Goetia itself with fast, riveting action. Mel Odom enriches this story with Biblical references, medieval history, H.P. Lovecraft and even a look into Aleister Crowley, a historical figure, famed (and infamous as well) for his studies of demonology. Mel Odom creates an awesome work of science fiction as he infuses futuristic with ancient and modern history in this classic archetypal battle of good versus evil, a battle that Mel Odom paints with his own unique insights and originality that both resonates and thrills. GOETIA will appeal to readers wanting a powerful imaginative kind of read that looks at things like honor and hope in the very worst of times. The ending will have readers chafing at the bit to read the third book!

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Wednesday, June 11 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Michelle Maddox's action romance COUNTDOWN pits together an unlikely hero and heroine, an outlaw and an outcast, murderer and thief, in race for their lives. A futuristic setting and technology turns pleasure and entertainment into extreme territory. Fast paced action, a smart top notch competitor heroine and an intriguing unique hero combine to make COUNTDOWN one exciting book!

Anyone with power, money, influence or anything worthwhile has taken a transport to Offworld. Kira Jordan, one of the remnant left behind in this horrible world was out shoplifting a pair of red shoes, when presto, her world gets a whole lot worse! She awakens in a black room, chained to a wall. Terrified of the blackness doesn't even cover it. She feels the presence of a man, a man she cannot see. When the lights turn on, so does the Countdown and she discovers that she has been thrown in with a murderer for a cellmate and they have only seconds, til the end of the countdown, to work together or die. With no escape possible, Kira must decide whether to trust this man in a survival game in which the stakes are life and death. Something about this horrifying ally named Rogan feels different. Can she trust him and for how long? Using her psi ability to feel the truth within him through touch, Kira suspects that there is something that doesn't add up about his bio as a mass murderer but could she be wrong? With the Countdown and game playing through a chip inside her brain, Kira doesn't have time to figure out all the intricacies of his past. She must work with him to beat the Countdown, not just once but 6 levels of the game. Failure to solve the puzzle in time means death!

Wow! This was one exhilarating read! With echoes of Death Row Game Show, Survivor, and Fear Factor, Michelle Maddox takes the game show, survival and romance to the next level and then some. COUNTDOWN creates a dark world where a reality show has turned Xtreme as voyeuristic viewers enjoy the high stakes with a kind of sick fascination fed by the latest technology. This is no made-for-mass consumption Survivor-like reality show with neutral medics and staff waiting beyond the cameras to insure the safety of the contestants! Here, the closed circuit subscribers in this covert game are nastier and meaner than than the most hated Survivor contestant. Michelle Maddox gives readers thrill after thrill as two unlikely allies must come together to survive. It is hard to say a lot about the plot of this book without revealing major spoilers to ruin the fun, but suffice it to say, there are so many delightful twists and turns to this romance that the thrills never end. Just when things stabilize, a new kink in the game surfaces. COUNTDOWN is definitely a romance with a dark suspenseful side that makes non-stop reading a must.

The romance itself intrigues as Michelle Maddox veers from more familiar romance genre paradigms with her cutting edge characters. Michelle Maddox both allies and pits the hero and heroine against each other in a race that unlocks their deepest fears and secrets as they struggle against the overwhelming odds favoring their extermination. Kira is thrown into an unfamiliar setting with a man known to be dangerous --- a mass murderer, but she has no choice but to rely on her own wits and physical prowess and, worst of all, to trust him. Tied together, they cannot escape from each other without risking annihilation. Intelligent and able-bodied, Kira has both fears and special abilities but she has been cast aside for those better and brighter and richer --- those who went Offworld. Without money or special ability, her only hope for a decent life off the streets is to win the game. Rogan is a condemned murderer, a man sentenced to die. His only hope for escape is the game. Injured and desolate, Rogan must depend on Kira's brains and body --- and her cooperation! With each new level of the Countdown, Kira discovers more and more shattering details about Rogan's past and yet, something beneath his rough, disheveled appearance draws her. She must race to distinguish lies from truth in a world where friend can turn foe and foe a friend. Tortured by their pasts, can their work as a team unleash the dark demons within...and will they survive to reap the benefits? In the final game, Kira and Borgan's developing love will be put to the ultimate test that will challenge their trust at the most primal level with consequences far beyond themselves in an electrifying conclusion.

Michelle Maddox's COUNTDOWN is a perfect choice for readers who crave the unusual and daringly innovative in a romance. Countdown adds elements of science fiction and suspense in a taut, tension-filled plot that keeps the reader guessing until the last page.

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Wednesday, June 11 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Heart-warming, witty and hilarious, Jimmy Buffett's tale will appeal to animal lovers and anyone wanting to see a little bit of fun and unabashed innocent joy in their reading. When divorce uproots the McBride family from Vertigo, Tennessee to an upscale hotel in Manhattan with a ban on exotic pets, there is no way this family can leave their pot-bellied pig Rumpy, not their beloved soccer-playing pig! In their new fish tank city home, everyone joins in to hide Rumpy from the hotel staff, especially the chef determined to ferret out the strange happenings surrounding his new pastry chef and her family. One escapade upon another ensues as the family adjusts to their new life in New York City and Barton Academy. Soccer-loving Barley adjusts to his new team while his twin sister Maple sets about her Karen Wu designer dreams with a new fervor. Even Syrup the cat seems to adapt to city life. Rumpy has one mission, to find her twin brother Lukie but when it comes to pig sense, Rumpy has completely different tools, obstacles and sources than a private detective to track down a missing family member! Can Rumpy achieve her goal without exposing herself and her family to a heap of trouble?

Inspired by the true life pig tales from illustrator Helen Bransford, Jimmy Buffett's fictional imagination creates a pig tale that will appeal to all ages. Told through the alternating voices of the son Barley and Rumpy, the reader feels the affection and love between the McBride Family and their pet pig Rumpy. Through Barley, the reader hears the voice of a son who seeks to play a protective role over his family and yet a voice that has not lost its wonder and delight in the world before him. Rumpy's story endears the reader with a humorous voice that transforms the familiar and mundane aspects of life into a pig's eye view. With a voice that is cute, sweet, enthusiastic, eclectic and even wise, Rumpy's narrates her odyssey in a manner that brings a bit of magic to the reader's heart. One riotous escapade after another will have readers laughing at the sheer craziness of these pig adventures, cheering on Rumpy and her entourage. Just as quickly, a word of pig wisdom or a glimpse into emotion will touch a tender place in the heart.

Helen Bransford's photo-illustrations complement this book perfectly! The imagery inspires the imagination, allowing the reader to visualize Rumpy's personality in all its shades: soccer goalie, listlessness, poetic musing, humor and generosity, mischief-maker, adventuress extraordinaire to feminine sow-like beauty. With humorous, playful images, she helps the reader enter the world Jimmy Buffett creates in words. Mixing realistic photographic details with drawings, the reader sees Rumpy and his animal friends and adventures from a viewpoint that never just slavishly mirrors the narrative in a staged scene but rather captures the spirit itself of Jimmy Buffett's narrative.

Jimmy Buffett's SWINE NOT? is a fun, fun book for adults as well as all ages. I read this book aloud to my husband. I just could not resist! The humor and gentle yet insightful vision of this book captivates. Swine Not is a book to be shared, with family, friends and anyone who wants to see the fun and goodness in a world seen through a pig's eye and the boy who loves her. SWINE NOT? just brings cheer to a reader, making this book a perfect gift. If you know anyone in the hospital, forget the flowers and give them this book --- or better yet, read it to them. SWINE NOT? is a book that brings inner smiles, laughter and a quiet joy to readers.

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Thursday, May 29 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Paula Quinn’s Scottish romance A Highlander Never Surrenders takes all the passions and intensity of romance Laird of the Mist and adds even more precise attention to detail. She adds complementary secondary characters that give her new romance a richness and depth. Placing her characters in chaotic yet intriguing time periods, Paula Quinn makes history and romance come alive as passions, both personal and political collide, setting hearts ablaze.

Paula Quinn sets her romance during a tumultuous period of Scottish history when factions of Scotland’s Third Civil War re-emerged. Oliver Cromwell has died and General Monck, a man who had served Cromwell and Parliament throughout the civil wars, now aligns himself with forces seeking the restoration of Charles II. A Highlander Never Surrenders opens with a vignette into this fascinating explosive time with a vision that focuses on two men and a woman caught up in the political drama of the period. Graham Grant, the first in command of the MacGregor clan, sits in a pub with an unlikely friend, Robert Campbell, the Earl of Argyll discussing their order from Monck to find the Royalist rebel Connor Stuart. Two unlikely friends, Royalist and Highlander Graham and Presbyterian, or Roundhead, Robert Campbell join forces seeking to save Scotland from anarchy. Captured by Graham and his forces, Claire Stuart knows she must hide her identity and link to the royal family from the Roundhead men she sees before her. With her brother Connor dead, Claire has one goal and one goal alone --- to save her sister Anne from the treacherous Monck. Graham knows he must stop Claire from her plot against Monck so he proposes a compromise, getting Claire to agree to join forces with him in exchange for his assistance rescuing her sister. Political intrigue infuses this romance as alliances are not so easily discerned and Claire's brother and sister have become pawns in a political clash between Roundheads and Royalists.

The heroine Claire is one feisty woman! Taught by her brother to fight, Claire is a woman who carries a sword not a broom. She would rather fight than sew and when it comes to love, Claire is just as tempestuous and passionate. Commander Grant, the hero, is just as full of fire, tempered with just enough insight and patience to get what he wants. Thoughtful and knowing in battle, women are mere diversions, to be enjoyed and left for more important political aims. Grant certainly meets his match in Claire, a woman as single-minded and devoted to politics and her family. When these two come together, love is combustible! A secondary pair complements these two perfectly -- Robert a man as chivalrous and honorable as Galahad and a man who respects the law and Claire's sister Anne, a true lady in heart as well as lineage.

A Highlander Never Surrenders strikes the reader with its beautiful use of language, dynamic dialogue and amazing detail. In one scene where Paula Quinn describes the eyes of a potential enemy, readers feel the danger in an almost tactile way as if looking into his eyes. Paula Quinn carefully orchestrates intrigue as one small detail, talk of a letter or a certain phrase, emerges later in a more ominous circumstance whose framework has been carefully planned earlier. A Highlander Never Surrenders is a sexy romance, as much for the subtle facial expressions and dialogue between the hero and heroine as the kisses and beyond. Passionate emotions abound as historical politics, honor, betrayals and irresistible love draw unlikely forces together in a dangerous mission. Paula Quinn brings A Highlander Never Surrenders to a conclusion with a beautiful, beautiful ending with a love just as fiery as the first sparks.

Paula Quinn’s A Highlander Never Surrenders is so full of emotion and intrigue that it makes this reader want to read about Scottish history in much more detail. Paula Quinn’s historical romance makes a reader feel history, not just think it. Readers feel the political and personal stakes at risk when love and politics mix during this uncertain interregnum period of Scottish history. A Highlander Never Surrenders inspires late night reading!

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Thursday, May 29 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Jordan Dane's NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is the third of a debut series. This third book complements the second book, NO ONE LEFT TO TELL. Dark and suspenseful, NO ONE LIVES FOREVER takes the reader to the very edge of romantic suspense in terms of danger and the happy ending for which the romance genre is known. Combining chilling genetic crime and psychological depth, this novel will appeal to readers who like their suspense dark and their villains wicked with just a twist of empathy.

A man so cunning that life and business are carefully executed like the moves of a master chessman, Nicolas Charboneau, finally meets his match. Despite his great discipline and control, Nicholas cannot escape his past or payback for his actions. Kidnapped from his Brazilian hotel room, he can only think of his beloved and loyal bodyguard, Jasmine Lee, swearing vengeance, before losing consciousness. When Jasmine recovers from the attack and receives a ransom note, she must turn to the man who owes her, Christian Delacorte. Not only does he have the financial resources, but she once saved his and Raven Mackenzie's life. Even if she has to reveal the secret that Fiona Dunhill never told her son about Nicholas Charboneau, Jasmine will do anything to get her Nicky back.

Christian Delacorte and Raven Mackenzie love one another, but Christian has a dark side, a place where even Raven's love cannot enter. When Jasmine comes to them with a tale about Nicolas Charboneau's abduction, Raven feels Christian slipping away. With the secret revealed, Christian has no other choice but to go with Jasmine into the Brazilian jungle to hunt down the kidnappers and confront his past head on no matter what the physical or personal danger. Christian has primed himself as a hunter, a man able to fight and protect even in the dead of night. As he tries to unravel the clues to the identity of the kidnappers, Christian finds himself in a new and completely unfamiliar territory. Will his skills and savvy be enough this time to do his job and get out safely? Raven knows that their love will never grow unless he faces the dark side he hides from her. Will she be able to let him go? Will this journey bring him back to her or forever rupture their love? Will he even make it back?

In her delightfully dark tale of romantic suspense, Jordan Dane develops the themes and characters introduced in her previous release, NO ONE LEFT TO TELL. In the jungles of Brazil, ancient voodoo rituals and cutting edge genetic research create an ominous and sometime macabre atmosphere of mystery. Every trail might be a misstep. Law officers shadow the hunt, checking Christian's every move. Perhaps part of the corrupt criminal infrastructure and perhaps not, everyone Christian meets must be seen as a threat. One clue conflicts with another. The trail leads in several directions and to make matters worse, the clock ticks down with little time to spare. As the race quickens, Christian must ask himself what role does Nicholas Charboneau play in the shocking crime uncovered? Does his past even make him worth saving?

Jordan Dane takes dark and mysterious to the next level as Christian hunts down the trail of his father, a man known for turning crime into a work of art, a chess game to be played with finesse and minute skill to the final checkmate. Jordan Dane takes the reader into the heart of a man once a victimizer turned victim, allowing the reader to feel this man's agony, the one tender place within him. Jordan Dane peers deep inside the psyche of Jasmine Lee, the mysterious almost super-heroic Asian martial arts bodyguard, allowing the reader to see beyond the ultra-tough girl to the dark attraction that binds her to Nicky. As Jasmine and Christian follow the trail, each is forced to trust one another more than they would like. Each reveals vulnerabilities as the past comes back to strip off the layers of self-protection so carefully built. As the dangers increase and lives are risked with no guarantee of living beyond the moment, Christian and Raven are drawn to each other in ways that will test the very nature of their union, a love that must reach down to the primal depth as love faces the raw uncertainty of death. Crime and psychology combine to create a character portrait that haunts and moves the heart.

In NO ONE LIVES FOREVER, Jordan Dane's vision takes the reader to the most intimate level of crime and suspense as hints of genetic research turn to nefarious ends. Christian himself must look to the nucleus of his family. Having found his mother, he must now look into the dark unknown world of his father. Jordan Dane creates a taut edge-walking level of suspense as the external and internal journey meld. A trek to the remote heart of the Brazilian jungle leads to a hunt to the depths of the human soul, a journey just as perilous as the physical one. Jordan Dane takes the reader to the brink of the macabre, looking into the very hearts of her darkest characters, a villain and an assassin, while allowing the reader to see the strength of the human heart in love and facing death. In an exquisite sequel to NO ONE LEFT TO TELL, Jordan Dane brings all to a perfect conclusion, with just the slightest door open to leave readers with the hope that she will explore the lives of these wonderfully complex characters in future novels. Jordan Dane writes with a kind of aesthetic beauty, taking the readers to the line with a dark moment reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe, while also revealing the brief splinter of light within the fullness of her characters to show their humanity. Dark, rich and complex, NO ONE LIVES FOREVER completes Jordan Dane's suspense debut trilogy with a masterstroke!

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Sunday, May 25 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“In Laura Lippman's ANOTHER THING TO FALL, Private Investigator Tess Monaghan enters the world of Hollywoood as the television series Mann of Steel comes to Baltimore. Filled with humorous and often sarcastic insights into the a culture of celebrity and a behind the scenes of look at the film/television industry, this mystery will have readers laughing aloud as Tess's more literary insights chafe against the world around her.

With rowing season soon at an end, Baltimore P.I. Tess Monaghan takes her scull out for a workout. Headphones in use, she has no idea of the dangers ahead until she crashes., ruining the shoot for a television series. Baltimore has not exactly embraced the presence of Mann of Steel inside its city. The press pans the movie for its disruption of the neighborhood , its indifference to the steel industry, a series of small accidents and the bad behavior of the emerging star, Selena Waites. The series creator, Flip Tumulty, the son of a Hollywood legend, hires Tess to act as a bodyguard to protect the interest of his film and the spoiled actress. After all, a man was found dead, surrounded by photographs of the young star just about the time the set experienced the little incidents of accidents or sabotage. Despite her uneasy introduction to the cast and set, Tess agrees to play babysitter. Tess discovers that her assignment is not as easy as appears when she is forced to spend her time with a group of people who annoy her with their obsession on appearance, their lack of knowledge about Baltimore, literature , history and just about everything else that is not film related. Everyone has an angle. Everyone has an agenda to put themselves first. To make matters worse, Selena gives Tess the slip, proving she is more devious and hard to handle than Tess ever imagined. When a murder occurs, Tess cannot help but investigate even if only unofficially. As she looks more deeply into the cast of characters and the details of the murder, Tess discovers all is not what it appears. Fictive celebrity masks, jealousies and the hunger for fame are only the first layers Tess must unveil to unravel all the threads that led to murder.

Laura Lippman assembles an intriguing and often hilarious cast of characters in her latest Tess Monaghan mystery. Selena Waites stars as the rising Hollywood creation, an actress (or actor as women are now called in the movie culture) with an insatiable appetite who never seems to actually eat. Oblivious to everything and everyone around her, Selena represents the perfect example of a culture and generation oblivious to all else but the present and fulfilling every whim and want. Next to Selena stars Johnny Tampa, the aging and overweight actor looking for a comeback. When Selena's role suddenly grows, overshadowing his role in the series, is he jealous or hungry enough to take matters into his own hands? Did one of the entourage of men surrounding Selena, men captivated by her beauty and celebrity, have a hand in the mysterious happenings? Flip Tumulty, anxious to make a name for himself rather be compared to his father's legendary fame will do anything to insure the success of his new series. How far will he go to protect or publicize himself? Greer took over her position next to Flip in a well-orchestrated coup of greed and manipulation. Did she go one step too far? Whose chain did she rattle just enough to make them resort to murder?

ANOTHER THING TO FALL is a masterpiece of characterization. The reader sees Tess's character mostly as a contrast to the movie culture that has invaded her town. Through Tess, sarcasm, humor and a broader reality provide a stark contrast to the insulated world of Hollywood. Readers will laugh aloud at some of the riotous portraits. This reader has not read such a fun and funny mystery in years! Humor gives way to a finely detailed structure of motivations and personalities as these characters chafe and battle for supremacy in a series which can make or break them. As Tess reminds herself and the reader, she does not have to like the characters she investigates ---the job is to discover the culprit and keep Selena safe. Even the secondary characters are well written and integrated into the plot with just the right timing. Mrs. Blossom, a student from Tess's class adds humor and a mystery twist to ANOTHER THING TO FALL.

As Tess unearths more and more clues, ANOTHER THING TO FALL examines all the motives and seething undercurrents behind the television shoot. First impressions give way to something much richer. Just as Tess's sarcasm reaches its height, the reader suddenly notices that these horrible, humorous cast of insipid actors and support crew have captured one's heart. In a subtlety orchestrated change of tone, the reader moves from laughing at the expense of these Hollywood creations to caring for the personalities beneath. Laura Lippman gives readers a welcome dose of reality with her critique of the movie/television industry, providing a humorous antidote to a culture obsessed with celebrity and Hollywood. At the same time, ANOTHER THING TO FALL goes beyond humor and mystery to provide the reader with a compassionate view of the people behind the façade. ANOTHER THING TO FALL is an intriguing look into character in a mystery with clever plot twists ---- a mystery and so much more. Absolutely brilliant!

©Merrimon Book Reviews”

Merrimon wrote this review Monday, May 12 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“For Charlie and Karen Friedman, one morning starts off like every other morning except for the threat Charlie received, a threat he kept secret from his family. One moment changes everything. When Charles takes his car into the shop, he breaks his normal routine and takes the train into his work. An explosion rips through the train station just as the Metro-North train pulls into Grand Central Station. In the flash of a moment, a nice domestic scene becomes a nightmare for Karen. Not only does she have to have to deal with the uncertainty of her husband’s fate and comfort her children somehow, questions about her husband’s financial dealings intrude upon her grief, adding questions about the man the man she loves and what secrets he has kept from her. Karen never involved herself with her husband’s work and financial dealings before, but now she has no choice as others now pry into his past.

The day of the explosion, a hit and run accident interrupts the tranquil life of Ty Hauck, once head of the Violent Crimes Unit on the Greenwich police force. Having worked the information office when the Trade Towers were hit, Hauck knows all too well what to do and he begins collecting names of those now missing. A call comes in and suddenly he must investigate a possible murder. Hauck’s examination of the body turns up a couple of possible clues, including a Post-It note with the name Charles Friedman in the dead man’s trousers. Hauck’s investigation leads him to Karen. With his past experience of 9/11, Hauck understands Karen’s dilemmas with a sense of empathy that helps her give expression to her grief. When a year later, Karen uncovers a shocking clue about the events of Charlie’s last day, she turns to Hauck for help. Together and separately, Karen and Hauck follow this new clue all the way to its end with investigations into all the hidden details of her husband’s financial world and into the lives of families affected by his past dealings.

A fast-paced thriller, THE DARK TIDE pulls together seemingly unrelated events into a complex suspenseful tale of international fraud. Andrew Gross weaves together disparate threads in just the right measure as he looks into the families and lives of all affected by shadowy figures and seemingly isolated events. One decision here and another there by men often with a noble ideal or purpose turns deadly when a decision threatens to unravel a financial scheme. Relentless in his pursuit of justice, Hauck follows the trail into every nook with a persistence and intuition others cannot match. Only a man as determined as Hauck, only an officer willing to bend and break some of the rules and procedures himself in the pursuit of true justice can track down the ruthlessness of the villains who know no limit to what they will do. Hauck’s resolve motivates him to pursue all the intricate connections to their shocking end.

Andrew Gross’s brilliant characterization gives THE DARK TIDE an emotional depth beyond a thriller with clever plot twists and turns as the mystery unfolds. Hauck’s past history makes him uniquely suited to the case at hand. Hauck feels the pain of the victims and their families in ways that touch them and enrich their lives in the midst of their despair. Hauck’s pursuit of villains is not just a job or a puzzle to be solved. Hauck becomes a force beside Karen as she tries to uncover all the secrets of her husband’s life. By confiding in Hauck, Karen starts to put her life back together again. Hauck stands by her, not pushing her but allowing her to process the event and her loss as he hunts down the clues. Andrew Gross gives just as much attention to the plot details, the histories and the emotional depth of his secondary characters such as the family of AJ Raymond, the hit and run victim. THE DARK TIDE provides an unsettling glimpse into a corner of the financial world where greed insinuates itself into characters, overshadowing all else. Andrew Gross gives a chilling portrait of the denial used to justify financial fraud and the consequences that one moment, one decision, can have for the lives of his characters and the lives surrounding theirs.

© Merrimon Book Reviews”

Merrimon wrote this review Wednesday, May 7 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Natasha Oakley's WANTED: WHITE WEDDING is a powerful and emotional short romance read, likely to touch the heart of any reader who has ever had even the slightest rebellious streak or suffered from malicious gossip in youth. In this single dad hero romance, characterization and plot work together exquisitely, creating a richness that makes this short romance a big read.

Freya Anthony is back in town and she is determined to protect her grandmother from this unscrupulous auctioneer despite the vicious Fellingham network of gossips and jealous women! When she marches into Daniel Ramsey's office, dos she ever have a surprise waiting for her ---- a sexy man and a very disorganized office. When a call comes in about his daughter, she suddenly sees a side of him she never imagined --- a caring man. The only trouble is that she also spotted a wedding ring on his finger. When she spots a teenager caught in the rain, she sees herself in this youth, a rebellious kid in need of help. Can she get through to Mia when no one else seems able to understand, least of all her father? Will Mia bring together this handsome single dad and Fellingham's most notorious rebel? When the Fellingham tongues start wagging, can Freya and Daniel set the record straight? Can Freya come home again and find all her inner dreams, the dreams she had before she lost her innocence? Can a woman find a child's dream of a white wedding when the past just won't let go?

WANTED: WHITE WEDDING draws the reader in from the first pages with a humorous yet touching scene as Freya investigates the character of this auctioneer. Intelligent and not about to let her grandmother be a victim, Freya also notices small details, the kind of details that might just contradict her initial assumptions. Freya is a woman with self-awareness and a heart for others. From the outset, the reader catches a glimpse of the hero, a man overwhelmed by the demands of family and work but a man who still cares for others. As the romance develops, the reader gains an ever-increasing glance into his character, a man overwhelmed by a past tragedy, but a good man and father worthy of love. Natasha Oakley adds depth to her characterization in the initial encounter between Freya and Mia as well as the relationship between these two as it develops throughout the romance. Freya, by looking into her past, the very past that makes her feel uncomfortable in her hometown, reaches out to Mia in a way that transforms them both. To this reader's delight, she describes youthful rebellion and hurt without simplifying or dismissing either in a black and white rules versus leniency manner. By doing the unexpected, Freya reaches Mia on a deeper level and also captures the reader's heart with her spunk, daring and ability to feel compassion.

Natasha Oakley writes the town gossips brilliantly --- cruel, nasty and devious. The author draws the reader emotionally into Freya's past through the present day gossips. Natasha Oakley fits this plot element into the entire romance scene to create a multi-faceted and rich characterization. WANTED: WHITE WEDDING doesn't excuse the meanness as a mere trivial detail of youth. indeed, this plot element builds an image of both Freya and Daniel as good parents and as their romance being not only a hero-heroine romance, but a romance that brings a richness to the happy ending for Mia, the daughter.

Readers with grandparents deceased today or even those alive will be touched by the scenes of Daniel and Freya looking over her grandmother's items. these scenes create a thoughtful, personal nostalgia, inspiring readers to remember their grandparents and ancestors as one sees plates and silverware now unused from another time, the reader's youth as well as the character's youth of a time now passed. The reader feels the changes between generations as a special gift, a legacy, given from those who came before just as Freya's experiences add a richness to Mia's life.

Natasha Oakley's WANTED: WHITE WEDDING is packed with precise action, humor and emotion. Each plot detail adds a richness to the characters and their romance. Throughout WANTED: WHITE WEDDING the romance keeps reaching out to the reader and the characters more and more, in an ever expanding richness. The ending delights with some very nice details and surprises. The author notes and dedication are very heart-moving too. Don't skip them. A powerful romance all the way around!

© Merrimon Book Reviews 2008”

Merrimon wrote this review Friday, May 2 2008. ( reply | permalink )