patti, Author at Nightstand Book Reviews

“Speaking of Murder” by Tace Baker

A college professor has an affair with her student, keeps it a secret to protect both of them, and finds that student dead on campus one evening after class. His killing has protected someone’s secret, and Lauren Rousseau is afraid that the murder investigation will uncover her own indiscretion. But, she’s not the only one with a secret, as the lives of those around her are revealed, layer by troubling layer.

Rousseau is an interestingly flawed character, with fits and starts of conscience as it applies to her love life. And, her love life is further complicated by her relationship with a man to whom she cannot commit. He wants more, she doesn’t, as evidenced by the affair. Their off and on relationship rings true as Rousseau sorts out her feelings and he can’t understand what’s wrong. He’s a good man and Rousseau is screwing it up. She almost recognizes that fact and the reader sees the changes in the independent Rousseau as she deals with her fluctuating heart.

A mentally unsteady friend mysteriously goes missing from rehab. Basically dismissed by the police, Rousseau is unwilling to leave the case alone. She hopes someone will care enough to rescue her if she ever gets into trouble and wonders if her friend’s disappearance is somehow related to the murder.

The murder and the disappearance are set against the crucial backdrop of college interdepartmental politics, with a masterful inside look at the life of a college professor – the power plays inherent in the tenure track and staying published in order to appease department heads. Having visited a few college profs’ offices over the years, I chuckled at the plot point that a missing thesis might be the key to everything. Trust me, those offices are stacked with hundreds of papers near exam time and it’s nearly impossible to find anything unless you know the professor’s filing system. Perfect!

I was struck by the rich texture of the heroine’s life, the fascinating people she meets and the intelligent way she approaches her investigations. The chats about other parts of the world, foreign language phrases sprinkled appropriately during conversations with other travelers, as well as the cooking references, make this a literate mystery, as it should be when a cultured linguistics professor is involved at the core. We discover that Rousseau is a Quaker and while it is an interesting aspect of her persona, the book is not a religious one.

Side characters play against each other satisfactorily and the family holiday dinners reminded me of cringe-worthy relatives I have known. There are some wicked bad guys, a surprise twist or two, and even arson tossed into the mix. I would never have guessed where the story would end up when I began and was extremely satisfied at the way Rousseau uncovered the awful truths that got her student killed.

I would bet that there are lots of mysteries to be solved on a college campus and many more food insights to be shared by Lauren Rousseau, in future books penned by Tace Baker.

A winning debut mystery.

Tace Baker is a pseudonym for Edith Maxwell, an author who will soon publish “A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die,” under her own name.

For more information about Maxwell/Baker and her upcoming projects, please visit www.edithmaxwell.com

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“The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Legal, Thriller

I discovered this book (and author) while at Thrillerfest, a thriller/mystery/suspense writers’ workshop held annually in NYC during July. During breaks between sessions, Barnes and Noble opens a store for the guests, both writers and speakers. I rubbed elbows with bestselling author, Steve Martini, who was checking out the competition and buying books like the rest of us mere mortals. He picked up “Brass Verdict” and I followed his lead.

“Brass Verdict” is a gritty legal thriller featuring a lawyer (Mickey Haller) and a police detective (Harry Bosch) who bring scum to justice.

Each character has been featured in a Connelly series of his own, but in “Brass Verdict,” the two work on the same case, not always together. Bosch is the investigating detective dealing with the murder of a lawyer and Haller inherits the dead man’s practice. That inheritance places Haller in danger and also gives him a chance to try his biggest case yet. Bosch will stop at nothing to catch the lawyer’s killer and Haller just might be his prime suspect.

Bosch and Haller are both flawed in their own grumpy, wrinkled way, each has interesting baggage and the pairing of the two characters is terrific!

In the big reveal near the end of the book, we find out why they have been brought together in “Brass Verdict.” The novel is so well crafted that I became a big Connelly fan and have read several other titles since, most notably "The Lincoln Lawyer" and "The Black Echo."

Connelly famously sat in on poker games (playing himself) in “Castle,” the TV show, and when he once ribbed the fictional author about only writing one book a year, I wondered how many Connelly himself, had written. The man is prolific, having published twenty-five novels in twenty years. Fifty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and have been translated into thirty-nine languages. He has won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, and Macavity Award, among several others.

For more information about Connelly, his various series as well as movies based on his books, visit www.michaelconnelly.com

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“T is for Trespass” by Sue Grafton

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Mystery

Kinsey Millhone, the prickly star of Sue Grafton’s California based alphabet series, is no slouch detective. She follows the details, writes notes on 3×5 cards as she gathers information, and is great at ferreting out the facts. In “T is for Trespass,” she still eats way too much fast food, cuts her own hair, takes morning runs near the beach when she’s in the mood, but now drives a ’70 Mustang instead of the beat up ‘74 VW that was totaled in the last book.

Along with other legal detail work, Kinsey is a process server to take care of the bills in between the big cases, and is conscientious about everything she does in her professional life. So, when Kinsey does a cursory background check on a home health aide as a favor, and unwittingly places an elderly neighbor in harm’s way, she feels obligated to undo the damage. The problem is that no one, especially not the neighbor’s reluctant niece who hired Kinsey, wants to be bothered with the inconvenient truth.

The villain in “T is for Trespass,” an evil psychopath, is one of the best that Grafton has written. Grafton has placed us inside the mind of the twisted caregiver and created a chilling character study. I was alarmed, gripping the pages and worried that Kinsey might not survive this one – and we were only up to “T.”

The search for a missing witness to a car accident (with surprising results) unexpectedly overlaps the search for the primary villain. Grafton has set the scenes in the two stories in such a way as to make the overlap seamless and absolutely believable.

Grafton has taken on two issues that affect enormous segments of the 2013 American population – identity theft and health care for senior citizens. She handles the senior care concerns with ripped-from-the-headlines accuracy as she reveals the stark reality of what can happen when our parents/relatives become the victims of elder abuse. Sobering – and it reads like fact, not fiction.

Not too much changes in Kinsey’s personal behavior through the series – the twenty books take place over a five year span in the ‘80s, before cellphones. This way, Kinsey gets shot at, arrested, threatened and harassed, all without backup coming anytime soon.

What a life just to avoid a 9 to 5 schedule. What a ride!

Grafton received the Ross Macdonald Literary Award in 2004 and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 2009.

For more about Sue Grafton and her most recent work, please visit www.suegrafton.com

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“The Red Queen” by Philippa Gregory

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Historical

Internationally bestselling author of “The Other Boleyn Girl,” Gregory has been renowned for the quality of her historical fiction, with richly drawn female characters determined to reach beyond their expected roles in life in order to direct the course of the English monarchy.

In the NYTimes bestseller, “The Red Queen,” Gregory travels back to the War between the Roses and views the conflict from the vision of the would-be queens behind the thrones of the family of Plantagenets. The first in the series, “The White Queen,” told the story of Elizabeth Woodville. “The Red Queen” reveals the life-long ambition of Margaret Beaufort, the heir to the House of Lancaster and her son, Henry, who was second in line to the throne of England.

In the 1400’s, even women from important families were merely chattel; their hands in marriage (and therefore lands and wealth) given as a reward for loyalty to the king in battle. Beaufort was unable to identify with the life planned for her and after hearing about the exploits of Joan of Arc, wanted to devote her days to prayer. Her mother ridiculed her faith and engineered a politically and economically advantageous marriage instead.

Married, pregnant and widowed by the age of fourteen, then widowed again and bequeathed a great fortune, Beaufort was married a third time to Lord Stanley, a man even more calculating than she. She had no say in the management or distribution of her wealth, but her maniacal single-mindedness to place her son on the throne drove her life, and her fanaticism kept her focused for over twenty years. Stanley’s ambition mirrored her own and their scheming defined their loveless marriage.

Gregory deftly illustrated the changes in Beaufort’s life by describing the worktable: “…once covered with books of devotion, it (was) now covered with maps and codes for secret messages.” Beaufort herself recognized her sins of ambition and greed, but placed blame for all her problems on the mother of two boys who had an equal claim to the throne. Boys who mysteriously died a treacherous death in the Tower of London, clearing the way for Henry to return from exile and fight against the usurper, Richard III, to claim his birthright.

Murder, intrigue, bribery, war – actions committed for the right to wear the crown. More bloodthirsty and politically savvy than most of the hardened warriors she sent off to champion her cause, Beaufort fervently engineered it all.

Visit www.philippagregory.com for more information about her books, the new ‘Order of Darkness’ series, and TV shows based on her work.

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“Twilight” series by Stephenie Meyer

Bestselling Author, Young Adult/Teen

First off, let me admit that before “Twilight” hit the stores, I was not a big vampire fan – not in any format. Movies, books, television shows, nada. Maybe it’s the blood and gore, or the way the crazed Bela Lugosi-like ghouls were often depicted with blood dripping off their jaws. I like beach reads, thrillers, sci-fi and whodunits, and never found that vampires fit into those areas of escapism.

When Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt starred in that vampire movie, I said, “I’ll go see it, just ‘cause the cute guys are in it.” I walked out after fifteen minutes. Vampires just weren’t my thang.

So, when some friends told me that the “Twilight” saga was really good and that I should read the books on the long flights I took, I smiled and said, “Nooo…, I’m really not a vampire fan.” Other friends had also read the series, salivated in anticipation of the publication of the next book and even waited in line for tickets to the first movie. Grown women? What could possibly be the attraction? I mean, bloodsuckers? Ewwwww!!!!!

A few weeks later, we were all having lunch and I mentioned that a well-known bestselling author had denounced the writing. They responded, “No, it’s very well written. He’s wrong.” When I reiterated my aversion to the whole bloodsucking, chin dripping vampire persona, they said, “It’s really not so much about the vampires as it is a love story.” Love story? Now that, I could get my mind around.

And, that’s how I got hooked. One of the gals gave me the first two books (“Twilight” and “New Moon”) and I quickly realized the appeal. Meyer had struck a chord with every teenaged girl and every woman who remembered being one. She had tapped into that feeling of being out-of-place and clumsy in a new high school. She had combined the teenaged misfit concept with being attracted to the tall, dark and handsome bad boy that momma always told you was no good, along with sneaking around clueless parents when the bad boy expressed interest. Yup, Meyer got it all in the first book. Plus, she kept me hooked and asking, “When is Bella going to get bitten?”

I read the first two in a week, then the third (“Eclipse”) in two days. I was away from home and couldn’t wait five days to read the fourth (“Breaking Dawn”), so I drove 45 miles to the nearest Barnes & Noble and bought it. I like to read, but when a writer does her job so well that I can’t wait to find out what happens next? Kudos! It was fun, Ms. Meyer, and I hope you listen to your legions of fans and continue the saga.

Please Note: A bit mature for pre-teens, so I would suggest that mothers preview them first before handing them over. There are lots of topics that require a certain level of knowledge about coming of age as well as a few topics considered inappropriate for any young readers. Written for the 13-16 crowd, but fun for women of all ages.

For information about Ms. Meyers and her latest book, “The Host” as well as the movie with the same name, please visit www.stepheniemeyer.com

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“Innocent” By Scott Turow

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Legal, Mystery

When a bestselling author returns to a book he wrote twenty years ago (“Presumed Innocent”) and writes a sequel to it (“Innocent”), we wonder whether he might just have run out of new ideas. In Scott Turow’s case, that wondering would be dead wrong. What Turow has done is lift the art of the sequel to new heights.

Rusty Sabich, now a sitting appellate court chief judge, has been accused of murdering a second woman in his life and Tommy Molto, prosecuting attorney, is out to get him again, this time with a bigger grudge and bigger stakes.

Both men are at the top of their careers and neither wants to lose the case, because the loser’s life achievements would be forgotten in the media bloodbath that follows. But, Molto knows in his heart that Sabich was guilty the first time and got away with it. Sabich has secrets to hide and Sandy Stern is back as Rusty’s lawyer, trying to keep his client from tossing away everything.

Nat, Rusty’s son, plays a pivotal role in this courtroom drama – no plot spoiler here, but it’s a good one! Can a family ever recover from the fallout of a criminal case? Do the rifts caused by affairs ever heal? Do the children caught in the middle ever forget? Are people doomed to hold onto their flaws throughout life?

As I lay awake through the night reading “Innocent,” I was gripped with the questions: Did Sabich do it this time or didn’t he? And…my mind began to doubt whether he really did do it in “Presumed Innocent” after all.

Enough information is given about the case in “Presumed Innocent” to inform the reader, so "Innocent" can be a stand alone, but don’t let it be. The first book was a genre breaker and a great read as well. If you can’t find “Presumed Innocent” on the shelves anywhere, pick up a DVD of the Harrison Ford movie of the same name to catch the dynamics that drove the old rivalry between the major players.

For more information about Scott Turow and his body of work, visit www.scottturow.com

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“The Alibi Man” by Tami Hoag

Bestselling Author, Mystery, Romance, Suspense

Bestselling suspense author, Tami Hoag, began her professional writing career in the romance genre, but stretched that framework to include everything from comedy to suspense. Her strong female characters were savvy, contemporary types and readers connected.

As Hoag’s work shifted into the thriller/suspense realm, it reflected the rising audience interest in forensics and began to include more of the graphic details of the crime scenes and the violence visited upon the victims. Today, her bad guys are darker, more depraved, and her heroines more likely to engage in the kind of retribution that would raise the eyebrows of the faint-hearted.

“The Alibi Man” returns former undercover cop, Elena Estes, to the hard, fast world of Palm Beach society and the nasty secrets lying beneath the surface. When a fellow horse groom and marginal friend is found murdered, Elena is drawn back into the life she’d like to forget and must deal with buried emotions she thought she had hidden from the world. Elena is grippingly portrayed as a deeply tortured soul, and we feel her pain as her personal life is laid before us chapter, by aching chapter.

The action in “The Alibi Man” is fast-paced, filling the pages with cold-blooded crime figures snipping off body parts, drug/sex parties, handsome polo stars, and a cop boyfriend.

The plot weaving the colorful characters together is less successful, only because I don’t quite buy that the rich and powerful would be dumb enough to get themselves into such stupid personal messes. One at a time, yes, but collectively? However, the name of the book may tell it all. Supreme arrogance probably dictates the need for an Alibi Man. Great read for Hoag fans, with graphic language and adult situations.

Written in 2007, “The Alibi Man” was followed by “Deeper than the Dead,” “Secrets of the Grave,” and “Down the Darkest Road.” “The 9^th Girl” will be published in June, 2013. Hoag has written over thirty books, with fifteen consecutive titles hitting the NYT bestseller lists. “Night Sins” was made into a memorably chilling TV movie in the late 90s and is still shown in re-runs.

For more information about Tami Hoag and her books, visit www.tamihoag.com

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