Immortal in Death by J. D. Robb

Immortal in Death
by J.D. Robb
$7.99
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 1, 1996)
ISBN-10: 0425153789
ISBN-13: 978-0425153789

Annotation/Flashtalk: Will fashion or murder keep Eve from finally marrying Rourke?

Summary:
The book opens with the murder of one of Eve's snitches.  He turns up dead with this face bashed in.  An inspection of his apartment turns up a formula and some unidentifiable blue powder.

Eve Dallas' best friend Mavis knows just the man to help Eve find the perfect wedding dress, Leonardo.  It just so happens that Leonardo is also dating Mavis and he used to date the famous supermodel, Pandora. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  Pandora is not done with Leonardo and promises to ruin him if he doesn't leave Mavis immediately.  Pandora is soon found murdered, her face also bashed in, at Leonardo's studio and Leonardo and Mavis are the prime suspects.

Nothing links the two murders except the face bashing, but Eve is determined to prove that Mavis is not Pandora's killer. The mystery must revolve around the blue powder. With the help of Rourke's resources, Eve identifies the powder and is able to link it to the beautiful women and the fashion industry. She now just needs to link the youth-promising drug to its producer to find the killer.

Genre/Subgenre: Mystery/Romance/Suspense

Evaluation: 3-stars

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

Glory in Death
by J.D. Robb $7.99
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley (September 7, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0425150984
ISBN-13: 978-0425150986

Annotation/Flashtalk: Strong, famous, and public women are being found murdered with their throats cut.  Can Eve Dallas figure out who the killer is before she's the next victim?
Summary:
Detective Eve Dallas is back on the job when she gets a call about a prominent female prosecutor found dead in seedy neighborhood; her throat has been slit and her umbrella is missing.  The suspects include her ex-husband, her son, and her son-in-law.  The next victim is a famous and beautiful television actress; her throat is slit too and she's missing a shoe.  What or who can these two women possibly have in common? Rourke, Eve's boyfriend, of course! But he has no reason to want them dead.  Realizing that the common thread is that they are both high-profile individuals, Eve uses her connections with the media to put herself out as bait.  When her plan backfires and a TV station employee ends up dead, Eve is racked with guilt. She must find the killer now. 

Genre/Subgenre: Mystery/Romance/Suspense

Evaluation: 3-stars

Blameless by Gail Carriger (The Parasol Protectorate #3)

Blameless (The Parasol Protectorate #3)
by Gail Carriger $7.99
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Orbit; Original edition (September 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316074152
ISBN-13: 978-0316074155
Annotation/Flashtalk: A preternatural pregnant by a werewolf? Unheard of! Alexia unfaithful to the gorgeous Lord Maccon? No way! But why won't anyone believe her?

Summary:
At the onset of book three of the Parasol Protectorate, we find our heroine Alexia  pregnant, ousted from Woolesy Manner, a social pariah, removed from her post on the Shadow Council,and thoroughly in need of some tea.  She takes off on a journey with Floote and Madame Lefoux to Italy to find the Templars, the only people who might be able to explain her "infant inconvenience." Throughout their journey they are being stalked and attacked by vampires, only to be saved by an oddly-familiar dog, and on another occasion a hooded man.

Back in London, Professor Lyall is doing his best to maintain BURR business, and keep the Woolsey Pack together in the face of his inebriated Alpha, Lord Maccon, who has been drinking the formaldehyde, one of the few elixirs that can actually intoxicate a werewolf, out of Professor Lyall's specimens.  Lord Akeldama has left town, and his drones are also suspiciously missing.  Buffy, his best drone, has been taken captive and is being held underwater.  Once sober, Lord Maccon and Professor Lyall devise a plan to rescue Buffy, and in the post-rescue scuffle Buffy is shot.  The only way to save him is to turn him into a werewolf -- poaching a drone is going to cause some trouble, even if it was the only way to save his life. 

Coming to his senses and armed with new information, Lord Maccon reunites with Alexia as they wonder about the future of their offspring.

Genre/Subgenre: Fantasy/Romance/Humor/Steampunk

Evaluation: 4-stars

Changeless by Gail Carriger (The Parasol Protectorate #2)

Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate #2)
by Gail Carriger $7.99
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Orbit; Original edition (April 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316074144
ISBN-13: 978-0316074148

Annotation/Flashtalk:Word around London is that there is a localized plague that is neutralizing supernatural beings. Now married, Alexia wakes to find her werewolf husband, Lord Maccon, on his way to Scotland. Is he running from the plague, or toward its source?

Summary:
A localized plague has struck a small area of London; werewolves and vampires are human and aging again.  The plague arrived with the return of supernatural soilders from overseas and then resolved as quickly as it came.  Lord Maccon, head of BUR in London, takes off on a mysterous trip to Scotland.  After hearing that the plague is headed north to Scotland, Alexia, Lady Maccon, is worried about her husband and takes a contingent of family and associates on a blimp ride to Scotland. When they arrive they find out that the plague has indeed hit Scotland and Lord Maccon and his old pack, have been affected. 

There is a spy among the pack and London-contingent in Scotland.  Alexia works to find out the culprit and discover the mysterous source of the plague along with the help of Floote, Professor Lyall and Lord Akeldama.
Genre/Subgenre: Fantasy/Romance/Humor/Steampunk

Evaluation: 4-stars

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

Naked in Death  
by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
$7.99

Paperback: 600 pages

Publisher: Vintage Crime / Black Lizard (June 23, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0307454541

ISBN-13: 978-0307454546

Annotation/Flashtalk:
When a prostitute, or licensed companion as they are called in 2058, who happens to be the granddaughter of a US Senator winds up brutally murdered, can Detective Eve Dallas get to the bottom of it before leaks to the press threaten her career, not to mention her ability to close the case?

Summary:

Set in 2058, Detective Eve Dallas is the lead investigator in the murder of a prostitute, who turns out to be the granddaughter of a US Senator.  The case is quickly shaping up to look like the work of a serial killer. Working the case brings to the surface many of Eve's childhood traumas. The grizzly murders have been comitted with handguns, antiquated novelties now only kept by rich collectors who are licensed to do so. It seems that the killer has fixated on Eve, and begins to send her videos of the murders just to unnerve her. One of the lead suspects in the case is Rourke, a well-off business entrepreneur who has taken a liking to Eve. In an undavised moment of weakness, Eve allows herself to be swept off her feet by Rourke. Their little tryst puts her investigation and her reputation in jeopary. Eve must work twice as hard to clear Rourke, because her gut tells her he didn't do it, and to find the real killer.

Genre/Subgenre: Mystery/Romance/Futuristic

Evaluation: 4-stars.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen
$14.95

Paperback: 350 pages

Publisher: Algonquin Books (April 9, 2007)

ISBN-10: 1565125606

ISBN-13: 978-1565125605

Annotation/Flashtalk:

“I DON’T TALK MUCH about those days. Never did. I don’t know why—I worked on circuses for nearly seven years, and if that isn’t fodder for conversation, I don’t know what is.

Actually I do know why: I never trusted myself. I was afraid I’d let it slip. I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did—for the rest of her life, and then beyond.
In seventy years, I’ve never told a blessed soul.”

Summary:

The novel opens almost immediately with the murder of August, the animal trainer for the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  Gruen proceeds to tell the story, from the perspective of a 90+ year old Jacob Jankowski and his current life in a nursing home and a much younger Jacob as he is working on the Depression-era circus so many years ago, including how he came to witness August’s murder.

After the sudden death of Jacob’s parents, he finds himself just 0ne exam sort of his veterinary license, but without a penny to his name.  The shock of the events sends Jacob adrift, where he winds up as part of the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets Camel, part of the circus’ menagerie crew; Walter and Queenie, the show’s resident dwarf clown and his dog; August and Marlena, the animal trainer and his wife the show-horse rider; Uncle Al, the owner and ringmaster; and a host of other circus workers and performers (kinkers, but not to their faces).

Gruen’s level of research is apparent in the details she brings to the story, the language of the circus, the workings of the circus, the politics of the circus, and the subtle nuances of the time, including a real Depression-era affliction called “Jake leg.”

It is only at the end of the novel that the murder is solved, and the murder identified. Gruen leaves several breadcrumbs so that the astute reader may figure out the shocking truth.

Genre/Subgenre: Historical Fiction/Romance/Mystery

Evaluation: 4-stars.

His Wanted Woman by Linda Turner

His Wanted Woman
by Linda Turner
$4.99

Mass Market Paperback: 216 pages

Publisher: Harlequin (November 1, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0373276559

ISBN-13: 978-0373276554

Annotation/Flashtalk:

 Mackenzie Sloan is a suspect in the theft and sale of documents from the National Archives, when Special Agent Patrick O’Riley is put on the case, can he keep from letting his feelings for Makenzie from clouding his judgment?

Summary:

Mackenzie Sloan inherited an antiquarian book shop from her father when he died.  Her father was a well-respected seller of antique books and maps; however, his reputation may be in jeopardy and it may be taking Mackenzie down with it. It seems that documents known to be stolen from the National Archives turn up in connection sales her father has made.  Knowing this can’t be true, Mackenzie works to clear her father’s name and her own.  

Special Agent Patrick O’Riley is put on the case.  In an effort to size up the situation, Patrick tries to sell Mackenzie a document he has borrowed from the Archives. Mackenzie is insulted and thinks Patrick is a thief and a fraud.  He wonders if it’s not just a ploy to throw him off the track, but he alwo wonders how this feisty, beautiful and intelligent woman could really be mixed up in all of this.

After a break-in at the shop it becomes clear that someone is setting Mackenzie up. Mackenzie and Patrick must work together to find the real thief.  In the mean time, a recently-divorced Patrick must keep his broken heart from falling into hands of Mackenzie Sloan, or it may compromise the investigation and endanger her further.

Genre/Subgenre: Romance/Suspense

Evaluation: 2-stars.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate)
by Gail Carriger $7.99
Paperback: 310 pages
Publisher: Orbit; Original edition (October 1, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0316056634
ISBN-13: 978-0316056632
Part of a Series

Annotation/Flashtalk:
Armed with her intelligence, her silver-tipped parasol, and her special ability to neutralize the supernatural, can Alexis Tarabotti get to the bottom of the missing vampires and werewolves of London?

Summary:
Meet Alexia Tarabotti, a soulless one, or what the supernatural crowd living in this alternate version of 18th century London would call a preternatural. While her family doesn’t think her to be totally normal (Alexia is a bluestocking, forthright, and her curiosity often gets this unmarried spinster into some tight situations), they know nothing of her special abilities. Her special powers are only known to those of the supernatural set.

After her accidental killing of a rove vampire, Alexia finds herself in the middle of a curious mystery; the lone vampires and werewolves of London and the surrounds seem to be disappearing. Alexia receives an interesting invitation to meet with the hive queen of London’s most prestigious vampire family; upon leaving the hive house, Alexia is attacked. Enter Lord Maccon (handsome, ravenous, and did I mention Alpha werewolf of the most prestigious werewolf families in London?) to the rescue.

Despite Lord Macoon’s stated dislike for Alexia, and hers for him, they are somewhat forced to work together to solve the mystery of the disappearing werewolves and vampires, as we soon discover Alexia is on the kidnapper’s list as well.

Genre/Subgenre: Fantasy/Romance/Humor/Steampunk

Evaluation: 4-stars

The Last Good Man by Kathleen Eagle

The Last Good Man
by Kathleen Eagle
$15.00
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Avon; Other Printing edition (May 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 038081014X
ISBN-13: 978-0380810147

Annotation/Flashtalk:
Savannah Stephens was prettiest girl in all of Sunbonnet, Wyoming, and Clay Keogh loved her since they were kids. Savannah left Sunbonnet and made a life for herself as a model, and Clay he stayed behind to tend to his family’s ranch. One day Savannah returns to Sunbonnet, with a child who is the spitting image of Clay’s older brother Kole, and sequesters herself in a room above her aunt’s store. Something is obviously wrong, but will she open up to Clay?

Summary:
Savannah Stephens escaped Sunbonnet, Wyoming, and Clay Keogh did not. Savannah got herself a modeling job, and almost everyone in Sunbonnet kept her catalogs. Clay, on the other hand, collects horses. He’s a sucker for horses and he can’t stand to see them neglected or forsaken. He takes them in on his family’s ranch, even if it means times will be tighter on the ranch with the extra horses to feed.

One day, without warning, Savannah returns to Sunbonnet with a child who is the spitting image of Clay’s older brother Kole, and sequesters herself in a room above her aunt’s store. True to his nature of caring for wounded animals, and his long-held love for Savannah, Clay feels that he must help her overcome whatever the problem is. Embarrassed and depressed, Savannah refuses everyone, including Clay’s, help. It is during his quest that Clay spends time with Savannah’s daughter, the witty and wise-for-her-years, six-year-old Claudia. Together with Aunt Billie, Clay and Claudia, work to get Savannah out of her seclusion, and try to convince her that Clay is truly the last good man.

Genre/Subgenre: Romance/Western

Evaluation: 2-stars.