Review of Casino to Die For: The Hunt for Tears of the Sun (Paperback)

Reviewing; Casino to Die For
I especially like the sometimes quirky, often warm and always real qualities you gave your characters.Your dialogues were purposeful and clear.I enjoyed Jim and Jennies' monologues. They brought out strengths and weakness we're all heir to.The story, moved at a fast pace while it simultaneously entertained and educated.
As I entered into the last 20 pages, I felt sad letting go of the people and characters with which I'd become involved.
Then an idea struck "When's the sequel coming?"

Product Description
Casino To Die For is a murder mystery, written in the format of a legal thriller. The year is 2002. The protagonist, Jim Ryan, is a defense lawyer, who has a new secretary, Jennie Bond, and a new Internet videophone. A glitch occurs that thrusts both of them onto the grid of mysteries and murders that span a thousand years in Arizona.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Casino to Die For: The Hunt for Tears of the Sun (Paperback)

Review of Semiautomatic: A Novel (Hardcover)

I picked up this short crime novel 'cause I was in a rush and it had a nice blurb on the cover from George Pelecanos (one of my favorite writers). Well, haste definitely made waste for me, and I'm sad to report that Pelecanos gave me a bum steer. This story about a murder trial in Brooklyn is an utterly tepid and uninteresting piece of work. Part of the problem is that a lot of the backstory to the protagonist Giobberti, a 40-year-old homicide prosecutor for the District Attorney's office, resides in Reuland's debut, Hollowpoint. Apparently in that book Giobberti screwed up so badly that he was exiled in disgrace to the backwater of the Appeals Bureau. He also either then or subsequently lost his daughter in a traffic accident and his wife walked out on him. Now, some 18 months later, he is unexpectedly told to take over a routine case involving a teenager who killed a bodega owner in a stickup.

Already on the case is inexperienced junior prosecutor Laurel Ashfield, who's never tried a homicide. Most of the book revolves around Giobberti and her getting a feel for each other and the case. Almost immediately, Giobberti (and the reader) realizes there's something not quite right about the case, and it takes an awfully long time for the specifics to be revealed. Once revealed, the specifics end up being woefully uninteresting, revolving around the completely unshocking reality of cops and DAs playing fast and loose with the truth in order to put away bad guys in order to score political points. The theme of corrupt a corrupt legal system and bent cops has been exhaustively explored in film and fiction for over a century, and Reuland brings nothing new to the table here.

The author was himself a lawyer for the Brooklyn DA's Homicide Bureau, so the book does benefit from a certain authenticity of detail. Reuland is particularly strong in describing places and creating vivid mental images of the courtroom, apartments, bathrooms, offices, and so on. Unfortunately, the people moving through these spaces don't talk or think the way real people do. The dialogue tends to be so clipped and elliptical that one wonders if the author is trying to parody of pulp films. At one point Giobberti actually addresses Ashfield as "sister" and another character laughably tells Giobberti to "take your meathooks off me!" Worst of all, there's no suspense and no dramatic tension to be found anywhere in this entirely skippable book.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Semiautomatic: A Novel (Hardcover)

Review of Crater County: A Legal Thriller of New Mexico (Paperback)

This is a very interesting, clever, impressive thriller, a murder mystery that takes place in New Mexico. The heroine, Luna Cruz, is a lady attorney, which makes it all the more delicious. Miller is a very amusing writer with a somewhat cynical take, with a taste of hardboiled Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler thrown in. It is not your usual mystery fare but unusually gripping. Miller is a star that grows brighter with this, his second novel.I'm now addicted to his stuff.

Product Description
Mix the genres of mystery, thriller, and suspense set in a modern-day New Mexico outback, and you have the essence of Crater County. Prosecutor Luna Cruz hates being a lawyer. She's stuck back home in the slightly supernatural realm of Crater County, where senior proms are held at the local truckstop and nothing is what it seems. She falls hard for the only eligible man in town, mysterious defense attorney Sam Marlow. Unfortunately, he's the opposing counsel in a triple murder case. As more people around her start dying, Luna fears that Marlow might be imitating his client and that she might become the final victim.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Crater County: A Legal Thriller of New Mexico (Paperback)

Review of Forcing Amaryllis (Hardcover)

The last time I was so excited about a first-time mystery writer, I was reading Jonathon King's The Blue Edge of Midnight, which went on to win the Edgar Award for best first novel.Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure is a powerful novel, with a fascinating protagonist.

Calla Gentry is a trail consultant in Tucson, a woman who only served as a consultant on civil cases because she was afraid to deal with criminal cases.Seven years earlier, Gentry had been a strong woman who worked in advertising.But, that was before her sister's brutal rape at knife point.Calla lost her sister, Amaryllis, when her failed suicide attempt put her in a coma.Calla also lost her own confidence and sense of security.Amaryllis' rape incapacitated Calla so much that their aunt told Calla she needed to take her life back.She told her, "Just like Amy.It's a life of suspended animation."

When Calla's boss forces her to take on a rape/murder case, she is struck by the similarities between that case and her own sister's.Together with two friends and a private investigator, Calla attempts to link other rapes with Amaryllis'.The descriptions of the rapes, although not graphic, are not easy to read.The jury selection process in the book, and the trial itself are fascinating.But, it is the change in Calla's character, as she forces herself to move out of her safe surroundings, that is the most fascinating.

Give Calla a chance.In my opinion, Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure deserves to be nominated for this year's Edgar for best first mystery.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Forcing Amaryllis (Hardcover)

Review of Diary of a Serial Killer (Mass Market Paperback)

Twenty years ago Alan Lombardo, accountant to the mob boss George Heinrich, was convicted of killing nine people.He swore he was innocent, but nobody believed him.Now after two decades in jail, he hires law partners Zack Wilson and Terry Tallach to find a loophole that will get him a new trial.They reluctantly take the case.They think they have found an opening when they learn who originally defended the convicted CPA; as Zach's father was on two payrolls with Alan and Heinrich both paying him.His father, now a respected judge, could get disbarred if his conflict of interest goes public.

Complicating their ethics dilemma is that the attorneys begin to believe their client is innocent even before a serial killer begins a series of murdering using the same MO as the Springfield Shooter did.The pinky of each victim is cut off and the phrase "Welcome to my World" is left with each victim.That information was never made public.Back then the police barely looked at author Malcolm Ayers as their serial killer because Lombardo fit so perfectly; however evidence points towards him being the "Eternally Yours" killer except lead detective Vera Demopoulos has doubts as everything is to simply perfect making her wonder about a frame, but proving it without dying is quite a task.

DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER is appropriate titled because it was Lombardo's journal that ultimately convicted him.Readers will feel sorry for the mild-mannered obsessive-compulsive convict who does not come across as a psychopath.The cat and mouse game between the cop and the killer will fascinate the audience who will obsess over deciphering clues from the present.Ed Gaffney has a hit series with this fine thriller as an indication.

Harriet Klausner



Click Here to see more reviews about: Diary of a Serial Killer (Mass Market Paperback)

Review of Lisa Scottoline: The First Two Novels: Everywhere That Mary Went and Final Appeal (Hardcover)

This gal will make you laugh out loud whether you're listening to one of her books or reading it.She's got a great banter with the characters and the Italian influence (if you are Italian or know Italians) is so great and so right on!Every book of Lisa's that I've read (and that's nearly all of them) has been just a terrific enjoyable ride.She's superb and on the level of Susan Isaacs whom I consider another great author.Take the time to research the books in order and read them that way.The female characters are just simply dynOmite!You'll love every one of them and the books take twists you'd never expect.Excellent mysteries and the all girl law firm is wonderful.

Barbara Rosenblat reads all of Lisa's books and she is such a skilled narrator...you've just got to listen to at least one on tape.I don't know how Lisa chose her, but she's a total delight and makes the books even more enjoyable!

Product Description

Now, for the first time in hardcover, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline's first two novels, Everywhere That Mary Went and Final Appeal, are available in one volume. A sure treat for Scottoline's legions of fans, Lisa Scottoline: The First Two Novels is the ultimate collectible.

Everywhere That Mary Went introduces one of Lisa Scottoline's most beloved characters, fledglinglawyer Mary DiNunzio, who uses her wit -- and her heart -- to catch a killer. Mary's been trying to make partner in her cutthroat Philadelphia law firm, so she's too busy to worry about crank phone calls she's been getting, until they fall into a sinister pattern. Soon she can't shake the sensation that someone is watching her, following her every move. The shadow-boxing turns deadly when her worst fears are realized, and Mary has to fight for something a lot more important than partnership -- her life.

Final Appeal, winner of the Edgar Award, features law clerk and single mother Grace Rossi. Starting over after a divorce, Grace takes on a part-time job with a federal appeals court judge, but she doesn't count on being assigned to an explosive death-penalty appeal. Nor does she expect ardor in the court, in the form of an affair with her boss, Chief Judge Armen Gregorian. Then the truly unimaginable happens, and Grace finds herself investigating a murder. She searches for the truth, unearthing a six-figure bank account kept by a judge with an alias and following a trail of bribery and corruption. In no time at all, Grace under fire takes on a whole new meaning.

About the Author

Lisa Scottoline is a New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels. She writes a weekly column called "Chick Wit" for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and has won many awards, including the Fun Fearless Fiction Award by Cosmopolitan magazine and the Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. She teaches Justice and Fiction at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and appears in Court TV's crime series, Murder by the Book. Her books are published in more than twenty languages, and she is a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Lisa Scottoline: The First Two Novels: Everywhere That Mary Went and Final Appeal (Hardcover)