In genre fiction, especially romance, there has long been a blackout of the forties and fifties. Maybe there were a few publishers who tentatively dipped their toes in the waters of those decades, but for the most part, the millions of possible stories of that era remained untold. It's hard to say why, really, but the gatekeeper-publishers just weren't buying/publishing many manuscripts set in that era. Things may be turning around now, with all changes in the book market, or maybe the blacklisted decades have just advanced to the sixties or eighties. Of course, this isn't really what one would call a card-carrying historical romance, so perhaps I am misapplying a rule of genre romance over another genre. It's a new cross-genre world, as far as book publishing is concerned. Initially, I was doubly interested in The Fat Chef by Fredrik Nath, because it combines a couple of my favorite subjects: cooking, history and mystery.

The Fat Chef himself is Raoul, Head Chef of Le Metro in 1940 Paris. As the story begins, Raoul is with some of his staff from the hotel Le Metro, watching the Germans triumphant march as they come in to occupy his beloved Paris. The book is a slow starter because we have to see who the protagonist is in the context of his life "before" war. After we meet Raoul, it takes some time to see the patriotic heart he hides beneath a huge, seemingly benign bulk, but eventually actions eventually speak louder than words--even if no one sees them.

Raoul is a man of his time, and accepts himself and his weight, which in one sense functions as a camouflage to a spine no one (except maybe Natalie) realizes he has. His vocation and avocation is food, his kitchen, and the hotel; and in his position--within the boundaries of his kitchen realm--as head chef, he runs his world with flair, and taste. At first his best intent is not to let the German occupation touch him. But Paris is occupied. The Germans can not be ignored, especially when they take over the hotel.

In many ways, this tale is a French version of the domestic point of view expressed in Remains of the Day, the action of which is set during the forties, and in which, the English butler Mr Stevens responds to the invasion of politics into his English domain by maintaining the appearance of business as usual, even at great personal cost. In The Fat Chef, at first it seems that Raoul is going to cope in the same way, "Business as usual. We will rise above all this politics." But the essential Frenchness of Raoul, his passion and hunger for and appreciation of life, and especially his secret passion for his Jewish sous chef Natalie lead us into a story that follows a very different path. Maybe Raoul's unrequited love during the Nazi occupation is not quite so unrequited.

While this novel is part of Fredrik Nath's World War 2 Adventure series, it should be noted that it stands on its own. In fact, since this is the first of Mr. Nath's books that I have read, I can't say if there is any interaction between the novels in the series. I can say that I found the book intriguing. The slow pace is more akin to a romance than a thriller, and though it hit's the ground at an amble, The Fat Chef, bubbles, toils and troubles through a number of very unexpected plot twists. Raoul has a metamorphosis and sacrifices are made. The author's bio says Fredrik Nath loves a good story, and I believe it, because this is a good story. I think it's the best story I've ever read that was written by a full time neuro-surgeon, so I'm glad that when Nath is not carving up patients in surgery, he turns his intriguing brain to writing fiction. An enjoyable read, refreshing voice, believable character.

Author Tess Gerritsen is a lovely woman, inside and out. She kindly speaks to those not as well known as she, in fact to those not known well at all. I became a fan before I ever met her, and I’m more of an admirer every day. Of course I grab every one of her new novels I can, especially those about Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. The other day I saw Rizzoli & Isles: The Silent Girl on special and, of course, bought it. Some may splurge on chocolates, but I splurge on books by my favorite authors.

Although, millions are familiar with Rizzoli and Isles because of the TV series on TBS, I meet and know them through their creator’s words. Tess has a way of showing us her people from the inside out. They become real, and in The Silent Girl, the same is true. We know the struggle Jane has needing to be a homicide detective and a wife and a mother. We see how the relationship between Maura and “Rat” grows from the previous adventure when he, a teenaged boy, saves her life. We feel the terror Jane experiences when she faces certain death. We understand the frustration of a husband who loves his wife yet fears for her every time she goes out into the danger field of her job.

In this novel, I tried to guess who or what the killer is, the thing that severs heads and hands with one swipe of a sword. I traveled the path from a crime in Boston’s Chinatown nineteen years earlier to the present. Tess weaves clues and hints throughout the story, but the twist at the end makes all clear, and perfect.

Rizzoli & Isles: The Silent Girl kept me reading, wondering, and fighting shivers and chills from the first pages to the end.

I am not normally a lover of gothic literature or horror or dark thrillers, yet I find myself enthralled by AdamMcOmber’s novel The White Forest, a combination of all plus something more sinister and a large dash of fantasy. The setting is Victorian London and nature, an odd combination indeed. The characters are human, or are they? They show love, compassion, and jealousy as we all do. However, something deeper and darker hides inside some of them. I find myself repelled and compelled by the characters, by the plot, by the novel.

Victorian society often searched for and was fascinated by the occult, by spiritualism, and Jane Silverlake contains a “spirit” of that occult. She hears the souls of manmade items, the sounds which frighten her yet call to her. Nature, on the other hand, soothes her, giving her peace. She and friends Madeline Lee and Nathan Ashe explore the heath, and communing as friends can, until “love” tears them apart. Each wants Nathan for herself.

Nathan becomes intrigued by Jane’s “talent” and the occult. He joins Ariston Day’s secretive cult and disappears. Jane must find him, lured into a dangerous world of the darkness.

Over and over, I want to put this novel aside, but the writing pulls me back until I finish the last pages. That’s what good writing does to me, and The White Forest is well written by a master story weaver in Adam McOmber.

Out of all the genres of fiction I’ve had the pleasure of reading (and others not so much); I find that the most prominent form of escapism usually lies in military based fiction. Perhaps because I find it inherently more tangible than say, riding a mythical beast the size of sperm whale around a small town while people cower in fear armed with pitchforks. Perhaps because general forms of entertainment, film, TV, and the news, portray the military through a strange sort of aspirational filter.

I mean, who doesn’t want to be a one-man/woman army trawling through a war zone with an arsenal of weapons that would cause a small terrorist cell to turn green with envy?
Now that I’ve finished sharing, on to Paul Garrison’s take on Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Command, where we’re back with Paul ‘The Machine’ Janson, a protagonist from one of Ludlum’s earlier books, The Janson Directive.

Garrison has been effectively passed the ‘torch’ with the characters of Janson and his protégé Jesse Kincaid, two highly trained operatives skilled in finding effective ways to maim an individual with nothing more than a gnarled twig. After dealing with dead government officials in the previous installment, his private business endeavor is still thriving, setting up what is essentially a half-way house for various military outcasts and pariahs.

After Janson recruits a wheelchair bound former operative, Doug Case, who snags himself a job in a shady company that dabbles in oil exploration, Janson and Kincaid are hired to rescue a doctor who’s been captured by rebels after a ship ambush. Events take a turn for the worse and Janson and company are embroiled with West African freedom fighters, corporations and other private contractors.

From the setup we can see that Garrison’s extension of ‘The Machine’s’ escapades align with one of the tenants in Ludlum’s work, one man and his team battling against powerful forces who have political and governmental assets at their fingertips.

We also have the generally considered evil antagonists who are willing to execute their actions without thought to general populace. Before the book’s over we’re treated to several heated exchanges where various characters wax lyrical about the economy and government with so many acronyms it’s like someone took a shotgun to a can of alphabet soup.

For someone who has a tentative grasp of weapons and technology there’s a torrent of information down to the minutia that would cause your average Luddite to run back to their shack and cower in the corner. Others may find the kind of technological ‘word porn’ off putting but it’s expected in all military fiction and Garrison’s certainly done his homework when it comes to weapons, ship, vehicular and aviation specifications.

We’re treated to a story that takes us to myriad locales from the fictional Isle de Foree near the Gulf of Guinea to Britain and Singapore, no doubt accruing so many air miles in the process he could fly his team first class to the moon.

As this is the second outing for Janson, newcomers to him or Ludlum in general may find the protagonists’ back story and development somewhat lacking but any lengthy flashback or exposition would slow the frantic pace of the book. We also meet a few characters from the previous book who lend him a helping hand, whether it’s acquiring information or rocket propelled grenades. Both Janson and Kincaid get embroiled in a fair few scrapes; combat spanning from tense jungle warfare to frantic intercity brawls.

Garrison’s previous works lie with military/mystery fiction so this certainly isn’t uncharted territory. I’ve found with Ludlum’s work that the protagonists in his books act as more of a conduit to convey the motives, thinking, and reasoning of the antagonists, corporations’, and government, attempting to give insight to the ‘why’ of it all.

The Janson Command stays faithful to Ludlum’s earlier work, not only in the series but in its issues, concepts and literary execution. So, If you like your action fast paced, antagonists you wouldn’t want to baby-sit a loved one, married with shifty corporations then this book should keep you turning the page.

Reviewed by Pete Ingham?© January 2012 Pete Ingham

I became interested in Steven James when I heard he would be the keynote speaker at the OWFI (Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc) conference in May 2012. I researched him and discovered a skillful storyteller. I read his books the local library has and wanted more.

The Bishop came out last year, but I only purchased my own copy recently, a copy I hope to have the author sign in May. I thought I’d read the novel over a period of several days – didn’t happen. Once I began, I couldn’t lay the book down. I spent a sleepless night evolved in a tale of heinous crimes and killings, with touches of humor and love.

Steven James uses elements of chess, coffee, serial killers, and family to craft heart-pounding stories. His main character Patrick Bowers, an FBI agent who is drawn into high profile serial killer cases because of his controversial geospatial investigative techniques, believes “motive” has no place in investigations.

James weaves a string of brutal murders with a dangerous foe from Bowers’ past mixed with the biological father of Bowers’ stepdaughter trying to gain custody of his daughter. All the threads cross and double cross each other, dragging the reader deeper into Bowers’ complicated professional and personal lives.

Chimpanzees kill a Congressman’s daughter, a beastly, brutal murder because of human involvement. Other unusual and nasty killings come to light. Patrick Bowers discovers all are tied together, the work of the same killers. A chess game evolves with the murders always one step ahead.

The characters from The Bishop could step from its pages. Even though James switches from the first person narrative in places to third person from the perspectives of Tessa, Bowers’ stepdaughter, or of the murderers, or of other characters, the novel comes together as a believable, attention-grabbing whole.

I enjoyed the novel, as I’ve enjoyed other novels by Steven James. Next on my “want to read list” is his novel The Queen.

I usually enjoy Catherine Coulter’s novels. I like her characters and plot. I lose myself in her words. I’ve followed her series about Sherlock and Savich, even though I don’t care for the dehumanization of the couple by always using their last names.

Whiplash begins with a woman PI breaking into a pharmaceutical company and stealing files that reveals misfeasance and lives put at risk. Erin Pulaski escapes by the tips of her fingertips holding on the outside of a small bathroom window until she drops into cushioning bushes. She doesn’t realize until the next morning she missed tripping over a mangled body on her way through the federal owned woods behind the company. The irony of the situation appears when the head of the FBI regional office, Bowie Richards, appears on her doorstep to ask her to care for his daughter, one of Erin’s ballet students.

Fearful of being closely involved in the case, yet wanting to know what is happening, Erin agrees. Coulter makes Bowie and Erin live on the pages of her novel. I feel I know them both. I enjoy “watching” them become acquaintances and then friends and then closer. A touch of romance makes a book more realistic.

Sherlock and Savich enter the story when a friend, Senator David Hoffman, wants them to investigate a floating piece of cloth which visits him at night. Thus a second plot becomes part of the novel, as the two also work on the murder and the break-in.

The overlapping of the mysteries and characters adds depth to the novel. I become interested in knowing who, what, and why. Even the problems that encroach on the story can’t stop me from caring.

In chapter 6, Savich becomes more humanized as Sherlock uses his first name. He doesn’t use hers, nor does anyone, therefore degenderizing and dehumanizing her. However, the plot and characters still carry me into the novel. However, as the novel moves forward, dialog becomes information dumps. In places, more than one person speaks in the same paragraph, and unclear pronoun references confuse readers.

The characters and plot intrigue me, but I am disappointed as problems in the writing distract my attention. However, I’ll probably still buy her next novel.

The writing team of Steven Harris and Candice Proctor, writing under the pseudonym of C.S. Graham, have a new fan – me. I opened the cover of The Babylonian Codex and became involved in a difficultly easy to-read-novel.

Yes, difficult and easy are opposites, and this book is an oxymoron in that it is well-written, hard to put down easy-reading; and it is difficult because the suspense and conspiracies are tightly woven until the reader doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t. Thankfully, the authors add an Author’s Notes at the back to help people know what does exist and what is purely fiction, but I’m still not sure about a few things. I will say the concept of the plot scared me because it is believable.

Many conspiracy novels paint either the right or the left, Christians or some other religion as totally black, totally evil. This team didn’t paint all Christians as the villains, but they depict a far, far right fringe element as “a deadly cabal of powerful pea lots with a chilling plot to remake the world and bring on the Second Coming.” Yes, that phrase is quoted from the back cover, but it sums up the madness that minds can use to rule the world and try to recreate it in “their” image.

With a touch of what many call science fiction through the use of a “remote viewer,” the main characters include October Guinnes, who becomes the only witness to a massacre, even though she doesn’t know what happened; a rogue CIA agent Jax Alexander; and a journalist who knows more than he should but doesn’t know enough. People are murdered by a means that has medical examiners declaring the death natural.

The winners of the chase to find The Babylonian Codex will determine the difference between freedom or complete slavery of the nation and eventually the world.

The writers smoothly change from one search to another. A reader should seldom, if ever, be lost in the transitions.

I recommend The Babylonian Codex to anyone who likes a good suspense-filled novel, which keeps the reader on the edge of fright. I’ll be reading more works by C.S. Graham.

Vivian Zabel © 2011

Since J.A. Jance is one of my favorite authors, opening a new novel by her is like opening a gift. I never know for sure what lies inside the cover, but I know I’ll enjoy it.

Queen of the Night continues the Walker family saga with bits and pieces of Native American lore scattered throughout. Two cases intersect and mingle as Dr. Lani Walker and Dan Pardee, part of a border patrol unit called the Shadow Wolves, work to protect a young girl. The child is the only witness to the monster who murdered her mother and three others.

The second case is the investigation by Lani’s adoptive father, retired detective Brandon Walker, of a cold case, the unsolved murder of an Arizona State University coed. In the midst of the two mysteries, Walker’s wife relives visits of a dead man, the man who tortured and nearly killed her, then previously trained another criminal to finish the job of destroying her and her family.

As usual, Jance doesn’t have just one plot, one simple story to tell. She joins the past and present and the lives of different people to weave her spell. Even though in her thrillers she sometimes includes some graphic terror, she keeps me reading more, wanting the novel never to end. Her characters live and breath on the page. I feel I know Lani, her mother Diana Ladd, Brandon, and the newcomers, Dan and the small girl Angie.

One thread I find throughout Queen of the Night, other than Jance’s underlying sense of Native America, is her understanding of families and the special connection of family members who indeed love each other.

I can hardly wait to open J.A. Jance’s next novel.

I have to admit, I am not one for reading thrillers so when Gaylon Greer's The Price of Sanctuary arrived at my doorstep it took me a few days to get up the courage to begin to read it. Once into the first few pages though I was very glad I decided to give it a try.

The story focuses on illegal immigrant Shelby Le Cervoisier who is on the run from both American and Haitian authorities. Her situation wouldn't be nearly as volatile if she hadn't actually killed a few men and her trip back to the States would not be nearly so important if her seven year-old sister wasn't waiting for her in Florida.

Shelby knew better than to think her sister was safe with a fellow agent. She was fairly certain this was a set-up to erase her as the only witness to the murder of a very important man in Haiti.

Unfortunately Shelby was right. The agent who had been watching her sister Carmen was out to get her. Escape was their only option. But what would she do then? She had few friends in the States and little money. Somehow she'd have to find a way to make a living since going back to Haiti was impossible.

Safely away from Florida, Shelby begins to formulate a plan only to discover that there is a contract on her head, perhaps even more than one. Someone out there wants her dead so she can't talk. But more important than her own life was that of her sister. Somehow she must protect Carmen and keep her in the States. To allow her to be deported to Haiti would be to sign her into a life of prostitution – or worse.

Gaylon Greer has crafted a book that will keep you turning page after page, but more than that he has created a series of characters that you will be thinking about long after the book is finished.

I can honestly say this was the first time I'd ever found myself rooting for the success of a hit man instead of wanting the mark to escape. Perhaps you too would feel the same after you read this wonderful story.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Gaylon Greer's The Price of Sanctuary. It is an incredible book. 
 
Reviewed By Sabine Maurier
© August 2009

Take a sexy as all get out female spy who wears sharp heeled shoes, is very deadly with any weapon and her hands, and not a slouch in the brain department either. Then add the guy who is a brilliant former football scientist with integrity, a nosy family that want grandkids, Black Ops, stolen classified high tech plans that could kill people, kidnapping, and enough sex to rival The Joy Of Sex book on ideas, and you have The Spy Who Wants Me .

Elle Gray and Dr. Beau Ruston can barely control lust from when they first lay eyes on one another. Both are telling lies to do their job, and finally give in to lust, lots of lust. Assuring one another, "It's just sex" between two gun shy folks here. Then there is sex between Elle Gray's brother and his paramour from ten years ago.

Now a book with so much going on can work. Unfortunately in this one, I found myself distracted and tired while reading it, keeping track of all the things and divergent paths the story was taking. The characters were in some ways too pat perfect and flat for me to relate to. The best scenes were when Elle Gray was relating to her blusterous nosy family. That brought out the most touchable side of Elle Gray. Dr. Beau Ruston tended to come off as a horny Apollo hunk of a man, and while everyone talked about his brilliance, I did not see any evidence of it – unless his ability in bed was to show that?

The book would have been better if there was more focus on just the erotic, or just the spy thriller. The two together were fighting each other for attention of the reader. Adding a third set of characters and their developing relationship also got in the way. Her brother Max was good to show Elle's humorous human side, and Max's paramour Chantal was the focus for a threat. But delving in detail into Max's and Chantal's developing romance as well was really a distraction and should have a story of its own.

All in all, The Spy Who Wants Me could have been a really good book, but with too much going on and not enough support to handle it all, it kind of fell apart for me.

Reviewed By Nancy Louise
© January 2009

Beneath the sea lies a dark and terrible secret and it is one that could forever change the world. The race is on to find it and some will stop at nothing to get there first. This is the premise of Mark of the Devil, a new thriller by author William Kerr.

Mark of the Devil starts with hero Matt Berkeley deciding to help his friend, Steve Park. They need to spot the exact location of a storm-sunk barge off the coast of Florida. The Coast Guard wants it located and flagged as a shipping hazard. Matt goes diving to ascertain the position of the sunken vessel. He discovers a strange object sticking up out of the sand. Oddly, it looks as if something large lies buried there, beneath the barge itself.

The two men determine they are seeing a snorkel, and that it probably belongs to an old submarine, possibly one belonging to the Nazis of World War II. Together, they decide it is worth investigating further. But others, with secret interests, also now determine the same thing. And these others have power and influence on their side. A lot of it! They aren't afraid to use it. What's more, they'll go to any lengths to steal the secret that lies buried beneath the sea. Matt and Steve now discover they are caught up in something far bigger than they could ever have possibly imagined. What once seemed a simple diving job now is suddenly a quest, one that is a matter of life and death.

In Mark of the Devil, William Kerr starts his thriller off with a virtual bang. Right at the outset, starting with the prologue, Mr. Kerr grabs the reader, shakes them by their literary neck, and whisks them along, catching them up in a deep mystery. Mark of the Devil hooked me immediately.

Unfortunately, the pace of Mark of the Devil suddenly faltered for me, and with the very first chapter, too. Where the prologue was fast and exciting, afterwards, the rate of story development dropped off dramatically. At times, I felt I was just mentally plodding through Mark of the Devil, waiting for things to move once again.

The problem seemed a combination of a sudden wealth of background, an "info dump," as some authors refer to it, which William Kerr gives the reader in the very first part of Mark of the Devil. This, combined with an almost lackadaisical attitude on the part of the hero, acted to slow the story down for me -- too much. I would like to have seen the background parsed out more slowly and throughout the entire book. I feel the reader should receive the information in smaller bites, and between faster action scenes.

However, Mark of the Devil eventually picked up the pace once more. Events started moving much more swiftly. Again, I was hooked. William Kerr, it seems, is quite capable of writing a story that is a true thriller, one with real suspense, fast action, and a tantalizing mystery. I truly recommend Mark of the Devil by William Kerr, as a good, solid thriller. Given a bit of patience, I have no doubt that you will find Mark of the Devil a fine piece of suspense.
 
Reviewed By Rob Shelsky
© May 2009

One of the most spectacular places I’ve ever visited was Yellowstone National Park. As a geology student, I couldn’t get enough of the scenery and unusual opportunities for learning about geothermal activity. A large portion of Julie Korzenko’s scientific thriller Devil’s Gold is set in this unique location.

Cassidy Lowell worked for ZEBRA for a number of years, but this was the first time she let the end of an assignment get to her. Her studies and reports on the Niger Delta’s ecological status following energy development by New World Petroleum were hardly finished, but being carried out under fire over the shoulder of a Black Stripe rescuer gave her the idea that someone really didn’t want her to finish her studies.

Reassigned to research a declining wolf population back home in Yellowstone National Park should have been like a vacation to her. Having grown up in the region, she was both happy and sad to be back. The scenery was as amazing as ever, but with her parents dead, most of her personal ties were gone.

While studying the research on the wolves in the area, Cassidy and her lead biologist Jake Anderson found a lot more than they bargained for. Dead bodies – of both humans and wolves – had begun to stack up and someone was out there following Cassidy in the shadows.

As time passed, Cassidy’s team uncovered a mutation of the Parvo Virus that was attacking both the humans and the wolves. The problem was the virus could not have mutated in such a fashion naturally – it had to have had help.

So who had created this virus and why? And who was following her? And why was she forced out of the Niger Delta? And why did Jake seem so familiar? Cassidy needed to find answers to all of these questions and more.

Julie Korzehko has created a thoroughly researched and sublimely readable thriller with Devil’s Gold. If you have ever been to Yellowstone many of the places described will be familiar to you as they were to me.

The story progresses quickly with a cast of well developed characters and several plot twists to keep you guessing. As a scientific thriller, this book fits the bill quite well. There is also a hint of romance in Devil’s Gold that seems to work under the circumstances.

The one weak point in this book is the ending. After tying up all the loose ends of both the Yellowstone and Niger Delta projects, the author attempts to give closure to the romantic thread in the story. Unfortunately the conclusion was abrupt and did not fit with the personalities of the characters. This clunky ending caused me to grade this otherwise great book one level lower since it appeared the author just gave up. As a reader, it left me disappointed since such care had been taken with detail and plot in the rest of the book.

If you like thrillers with a scientific bent, Devil’s Gold is the book for you. It really is a wonderful read… just skip the last chapter. 
 

Reviewed By Sabine Maurier
© April 2009

When The Women’s Murder Club television series was cancelled I was seriously upset because I loved the characters in this series. The television series was based on James Patterson’s book series of the same name. As a big fan of both his Alex Cross and Women’s Murder Club novels I was glad to see that one of these great series was brought to the television screen. So I jumped on the newest edition of this series to hit paperback.

The 6thTarget opens with a horrifying attack on a local ferryboat that leaves four people dead and Claire Washburn struggling for her life. Lt. Lindsay Boxer is heading the hunt to track down the killer. Lucky for her the whole attack was caught on film. So it’s only a matter of time before they put the madman behind bars but keeping him there is another thing. The killer turns out to be a homeless man who, when he sees Lindsay on TV asking for clues about the shooter, he turns himself in at her house. Assistant DA Yuki Castellano has to take the case to trial after her boss’s heart attack. Unfortunately the killer goes free due to mental defect.

Meanwhile, children are being taken and their nannies are being murdered. No ransom has been demanded and other than the mysterious instructions telling the parents not to contact the police, there is no clue as to the fate of the children. Lindsay and her new partner Rich Conklin track these five-year-old prodigies in music and mathematics unraveling the twisted scheme of child trafficking through a nanny agency. The agency travels from city to city opening and closing as the children are taken, and with "different" owners.

Add to the fact that Lindsay is going through quite a number of personal changes. She is returned to the streets as detective instead of sitting behind a desk. She has to come to some hard decisions about her long-distance relationship with boyfriend Joe. Both Lindsay and Joe have high profile, high stress jobs but is she using Joe’s job with Homeland Security to avoid true commitment, especially with Lindsay’s growing attraction to her new partner? She has a new male partner and there is potential for a relationship there as well.

The short chapters in this book move the reader through scene to scene, allowing the reader to read the book in short order. The crimes depicted in the book are taken from the front pages of today’s news full of serial killers, child abuse and seemingly quiet individuals who suddenly "snap" and destroy people. This is one of those books that will make you sit back and realize that danger lurks around every corner. Days later, this story is still on my mind and I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this series. If you love mysteries, police procedurals and female sleuths The 6thTarget is the book for you.

Reviewed by Theresa
© January 2009

Ever since time began, man has been pitting himself against Mother Nature, from brutal weather, and the ocean to staggering mountain peaks. Often it is a matter of survival, but in more recent times, pitting yourself against the very best the natural world has to offer to prove your own mettle.

Brian Ullmann’s newest novel, Darwin’s Race, captures the spirit of those alpha males and females who scale the mountains, shoot the rapids, and transverse the frozen tundra because they can. A reality television producer ups the ante by challenging teams to climb the unconquerable Kuk Sur, offering a million dollar prize, knowing many could be hurt or even killed in the process. He names the contest Darwin’s Race, knowing only the fittest will survive.

Conner Michaels, world-renowned mountain climber and eco-challenge winner, does not even want to go near the Kuk Sur, which was the last mountain he climbed, and the same mountain that stole his younger brother from him. Scarred by the tragedy, he remains deep in seclusion associating with no one until the exotic Malika appears on his doorstep clutching his brother’s cap and hinting that by climbing Kuk Sur he might find out more of what happened to his brother, or even recover the body. It is a long shot, but one he has to take.

Terrance Carlton, reality TV’s golden boy, is in trouble. No one knows about his situation, or so he thinks. He is betting everything on his new venture, Darwin’s Race, leaking hints to the media to build suspense. NBC is hooked on the project and Discovery Channel, too. All lights are green until burly Preston Child steps into the picture and reveals he knows all.

Preston Child, self-made millionaire and adventurer, wants in on Darwin’s Race and is willing to pay for the privilege. He is willing to double the prize money and bring in a professional team headed by the elusive Connor Michaels. He also wants his chance to challenge nature by reaching Kuk Sur’s peak. He figures he has everything he needs to do well—excellent information on all the participants, money and sheer bravado.

There is another issue with Kuk Sur: the disappearing climbers leave no evidence behind. Not even a body, which leads to tales of something awful alive in the gorge of Mt. Kuk Sur. The problem with Darwin’s Race is they must first go through the gorge before they can reach the mountain. Perhaps the gorge might shed some light on what happened to Connor’s brother.

Darwin’s Race is a tightly constructed, swift moving dynamo of a suspense tale. It is well-researched and educates the reader about mountain climbing while entertaining. It is a recommended read for anyone who loves a good tale.

Reviewed by Morgan
© January 2009

Need a cure for boredom? The Rx is: take six very rich, good looking women, mix in the fact that they are top chick vigilantes: A group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, because in general, the legal authorities are inadequate. In this case, the community is big, like, "earth-sized" big. The whole green earth., mix in Sin City (aka Las Vegas) and some sex, and you have Final Justice by Fern Michaels.

I have never read Fern Michaels until now. I have seen her name for years in supermarket book rows, pharmacy reading racks and the like. I just never really thought about picking up a romantic thriller. I tend to lean towards more bookish fantasy thrillers with aliens. The title, however, caught my eye. I will say first off, I wish I'd read the first eleven books before reading this one. The reason is that there is so much history between the characters that I got lost between some of the interplay that someone with more familiarity with the characters would have been able to follow more easily. As it was I felt very much like I was in a glass cube trying to figure out the who and why of what was going on.

From Chapter Six on, there was more of the current story and the book was able to start standing on its own. Then there were gaps in the story in what went down. Imagine seeing a movie like Ocean's Eleven, (original or remake) and take out some of the key technical scenes, or bypass the planning and keep it all internal, never showing the reader what's really going on. You still have a thrilling movie, but one falling on the flat side of satisfaction. Lots of flash, and smoke, but no real fire.

That is not to say Final Justice is not good. It has good points. Very clear on who is male and who is female by their points of view. (But do men really look that often to see if a woman is wearing panties when they have short skirts?). Women in this were about fashion or at least wanting to be fashionable. Men were about power, fantasies, and about getting laid. None of the characters are of any real depth. So you need not make an emotional commitment to follow their inner pain and death of the ego. Instead, they are interesting enough that you would not mind spending a few hours with them, a great ride of imagination, and boredom banished to the far recesses of your mind: a.k.a. harmless froth and frills.

Reviewed By: Nancy Louise
© December 2008