Mystery Crime Books

This is a classic, step-by-step police procedural which holds the reader's interest throughout. Martin Beck is a well-developed character, as are the other police and the fascinating characters who flit in and out of this novel. The authors don't waste words, nor do they lead one on wild goose chases. They often paint the police as Keystone Kops and they can't resist getting their little socialist digs in wherever possible. I found this off-putting, but only mildly so. All in all, a good piece of work.

'The Locked Room' is a rather curious book which seems to be more of a statement about the human condition in Sweden during the late 1960s rather than crime story. The authors are clearly a bit left wing and *extremely* critical of their country. Strange, and all this anger about the Swedish social condition does get tiresome, but is works.

As for the story, two rather unusual crimes (a locked room murder first viewed as a suicide) and a bank robbery/murder baffle the Stockholm police force. But as the story unfolds we understand these two incidents are related. The conclusion is surprising and *very* cynical.

My only complaint with the book is that it has a dated feel to it, and the prose (or translation?) is a bit flat. For example during the bank robbery the robber says "hands up!" and the teller says "you'll never get away with it!". Not very original, eh?

Bottom line: a curious but forgotten mystery novel. Not worth seeking out but certainly an interesting diversion.

you can grasp hold of it and show off what you can do." Mickey Friedman


There is no mystery formula more traditional than the locked door mystery. It is almost as old as the genre itself. So, when an author(s) writes a book in which the central plot device is a murder committed in a locked room it can best be judged not for originality but for the panache (or lack thereof) with which it is carried off. Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall get high marks for performance in "The Locked Room".

"The Locked Room", published in Sweden in 1972 and in the U.S. in 1973 was the eighth in a series of ten Martin Beck mysteries written by the Swedish, husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. The plot and structure of the four Beck mysteries I've read to date do not deviate from the standard format found in any well-written police procedural. In fact, and as noted, this plot seems to pay homage to police or detective procedurals generally. What sets the Beck mysteries apart is their location and character development. Naturally enough, each book is a small window into Swedish life and culture in the 1960s and 1970s when the books were written. Further, as the series develops the character of Beck and his colleagues evolve and the reader slowly obtains a real feel for Beck and his fellow police officers. At the same time the characters, especially Beck, remain far from predictable. However, they are already fully formed in the authors' minds and for that reason I suggest reading these books in order. (Unfortunately, although Vintage Crime/Black Lizard has republished some in this series a few of the books are currently out of print.)

In "The Locked Room" Inspector Martin Beck has just returned from an extended leave while he recovered from gunshot wounds. (The shooting takes place in The Abominable Man) and is tasked with investigating the death of a man found dead in a locked room. At the same time, the rest of his squad are investigating a bank robbery in which a masked, robber has managed to shoot and kill one of the bank's customers. The investigations are, or appear to be, unrelated and the rest of the book is devoted to the parallel investigations.

One of the pleasures of reading these Martin Beck stories is the way in which the reader sees the process of the investigation. There are no Sherlock Holmes-like flashes of genius. Rather, we see how Beck and his colleagues struggle (sometimes comically, sometimes incompetently) to put together the jigsaw puzzle of a crime. At the same time we catch glimpses of Beck's personal life and the lives of his fellow detectives.

Like a good gymnast "The Locked Room" succeeds is showcasing how well Sjowall and Wahloo can work within a tried and true formula. The ending, which I found a bit surprising and thought-provoking, was more than satisfying if more than a bit ironic. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

Detective Martin Beck is back at work after a near-fatal event at work. A team of colleagues is attempting to solve a series of bank robberies that they are convinced are related. Beck is in the process of solving another case. His work and conclusions are more intriguing than that of the others and finally solved but not prosecuted. All crimes eventually can be all tied together even though they are not officially solved. The crimes are set in the Stockholm of the 70ies and integrated in Sweden's social problems of that era.

While I was expecting a masterpiece along the lines of Henning Mankell's criminal investigator Wallander this book did certainly not live up to my expectations. The stories are very fragmented, the sudden shifts from one story to the other are deliberate but destructive to the reader. I did not get hooked onto the book at all - because of its fragmentation it totally lacks suspense. It is hard to relate nowadays to the social problems of the time and they seem to overshadow the story lines in many instances. I concluded for myself that I could not get interested because of too many contemporary references, which will not make this mystery a classic of its genre. While Martin Beck fills the role of an interesting inspector he is pushed to far into the background even though he is supposed to be the novel's hero.

The seventh Martin Beck novel. Recovering from his misadventures in "The Abominable Man", Beck takes up a seemingly unsolvable case: a friendless, elderly miser, shot one time in the head in a one-bedroom apartment, with locked doors and locked windows, and no gun in sight. Meanwhile, his colleagues are investigating the high-profile shooting of a security guard during a daring bank robbery conducted, apparently, by a beautiful blonde woman.

Although the authors begin to get a little too heavy-handed in their social commentary, this is still one of the better Beck novels (in fact it is regarded by many as the best, though I think its predecessor is better.) The dual plot structure and the improbable connection between the crimes make for a great thriller. The characters are engaging, and the ending is wonderful. Read it.

I home school my son, he's a struggling reader. The Young Cam Jansen series has proven to be wonderful for the transition to books with smaller type face and more words per page. He's feeling successful and loves to help solve the mystery as he reads them.
The series has good pictures that relate well to the written text. And the text is well done in short sentences. There are some challenging words here and there, but my son is so engrossed is the story he tries his darndest to sound the word out. As they say nothing suceeds like success.

You have to love Cam Jansen. When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure. But everyone tells you magic can't exist. Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl. That's what makes her special and what makes you want to red more and more. Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever! The Ice-Skate Mystery is one of the best in the Young Cam series.

While my daughter, age 3 1/2, is younger than the targeted readers of this series, she has loved Cam Jansen since she was 2. These stories are wonderfully written and illustrated and they encourage children to think. My daughter has red hair and brown eyes just like Cam, and now she wants to have long hair like Cam. I highly recommend all of the Cam Jansen books.

This is a great book for your first grader to step up to the next level with. This book is perfect for catching your young scolars intrest in reading.

...We have most of the Young Cam Jansen paperbacks and recommend them unreservedly for other read-along parents, especially parents of young girls. Less-than-ideal personalities, personal conflicts and misunderstandings are all presented, WITH good resolutions, character modeling, and handling of sticky situations.

The main character is a self-confident, intelligent thinker and investigator, with a boy as her best friend. Not exactly typical, and not for ultraconservative parents who think that only boys should use their minds and have adventures.

One particularly nice aspect is that most of the stories take place outside of a public-school setting, recognizing that most discovery and meaningful social interactions take place outside of that institution -- a point not lost on homeschooling-minded parents. The one public-school setting (see the "Lost Tooth" mystery) is in the Art class, where creativity and fun are the dominant theme.

Get and read the Young Cam Jansen series!....

The Hard Case Crime series from Dorchester is outstanding. John Farris, in Baby Moll, returns after 50 years in an average book not quite up the same standards as some of the entries.

Old murder can be more dangerous than 'new' crime. That's what Peter Mallory discovers as he is dragged back into a life of crime. Temptations surround him as he is forced to watch his steps even more dilligently than before. Mob life can be so interesting.

Gotta love the the Robert McGinnis cover too! No-one could paint scantily clad women quite so well.

Peter Mallory is on the verge of obtaining everything he has ever wanted. He owns a business, he is a respected resident of the community, and he is set to marry a beautiful and intelligent woman. He is in a good place, but when an old associate appears at his bait shop Mallory's past threatens everything he has built.

Mallory was a lieutenant in the Florida Mob when he walked away six years earlier and now the boss wants him back. He doesn't want to go, but he wants his past to stay where it is and when the boss threatens to share a few details with his fiancée he unwillingly agrees.

When he arrives he finds the Don a shadow of his former self. He has aged and lost control of his own turf. He no longer protects territory from rival gangs and even worse old associates are being murdered one by one. After each murder a news clipping is delivered that tells the story of a murder he and the others committed years earlier. It's getting to the Don and he needs Mallory to look into it and figure who it is and stop it.

BABY MOLL is the best reprint Hard Case Crime has released. It was originally published in 1958 as by Steve Brakeen and while it is very much a product of its era it has lost little of its impact. The story is told with a sparse and economical style that reminded me very much of Michael Crichton's early John Lange novels, but the mystery and plotting are one step beyond what Crichton was doing in the 1960s.

The characters are perfect--the aging mobster is drawn with a brilliantly nuanced mixture of menace, sorrow, bluster and loss. The supporting cast is an oddball group that Mr. Farris effectively uses to clutter the mystery and build tension. Mallory never quite gets a handle on their motivations or even who a few of them truly are.

The mystery is structured perfectly; it is a balance of hardboiled American mixed with a flavoring of an intricate whodunit with a dash of suspense novel thrown in for good measure. The whodunit is the mystery itself--the diverse cast and their conflicting motives interlaced with the careful release of clues and even a few red herrings to keep both Mallory and the reader off-balance. But it is presented and stylized as a down and dirty hardboiled novel that will appeal to anyone who enjoys an old style suspense novel.

-Gravetapping

Hard Case Crime's latest pulp offering comes from 1958, and from a writer who'd published the book under the pseudonym, Steve Brackeen. Today, however, John Farris is known more for his novels of unrelenting suspense and horror offerings. The book is dressed up in lethally sexy new cover by Robert McGinnis, the absolute master of paperback covers in the 1960s and 1970s (in my opinion). The cover caught my eye first and I knew it was a Hard Case Crime novel.

Most of those reprints are incredibly short by today's novel standards, and this one is no different. The book begins fairly quickly, showing our hero - Peter Mallory - in his present life with no indication of his violent past. Except for the back cover copy on the book, of course. He's quickly approached and strong-armed into working for his old boss/mentor, Macy Barr (and yep, the names sound like they come straight from old PERRY MASON reruns).

Farris's tale is simple and straight-forward, though he does throw in the odd curveball or two, like having Macy taking care of an adoptive daughter. But the first-person narrative drives from Point A to Point B without pause or distraction.

Macy's group was involved with a heist that went sour and ended up killing a family. They died in the fire that resulted in the aftermath. And now the butcher's bill has come due. Someone is methodically tracking down the men responsible for that heist, and they're saving Macy Barr for dessert. Macy's got a houseful of people, none of whom he particularly trusts, and the few he does trust aren't smart enough to figure out how to stop the unknown killer.

Mallory hits the bricks like a traditional gumshoe and tries to figure out who is behind the murders. He applies pressure indirectly and directly, never trusting anyone - including Macy - more than he needs to.

I really like the tough guy first person narrative. Farris does a really good job with it. Likewise, his pacing is first-rate. He uncovers the plot and the backgrounds of the characters at a controlled rate, giving the readers snippets of information that don't distract from the headlong plunge through the story.

But a lot of the rest of the story just feels too familiar. This is all old ground and any dedicated reader of pulp and noir is going to figure this one out long before he gets to the end. Still, at a little over 200 pages, BABY MOLL is a fun romp through the 1950s crime scene. There's even a bit about Elvis Presley on the radio, even though the singer isn't mentioned by name.

Fans of the hardboiled pulp era are going to enjoy this one more from nostalgia than from anything new offered. And readers that haven't sampled the wares from Hard Case Crime are encouraged to pick this one up. This is the popular culture I was raised on, and I love the chance to go back and relive parts of it.

Hard Case Crime has made a habit of consistently bringing back into print books that came out decades ago along with a few brand new titles. Such is the case with this novel originally published in 1958 by Fawcett Books. While it is a pleasant enough diversion, it certainly doesn't meet the usual standards set by Hard Case Crime.

Peter Malloy had been a part of the Florida mob. He managed to get out, taking his secrets and knowledge with him and managing to leave on his own terms. He eventually opened up a fishing supplies place called "The Angler's Shop." He got himself a girl friend, Elaine, who means the world to him. But, he always knew that the price of the illusion of freedom was expensive and someday the tab would come due.

That someday is now as his old boss wants his help. Rudy Mask has been sent to bring Pete back. Macy has sent for Pete because somebody is trying to kill him. Somebody is taking out the old gang one by one and Macy is feeling fear and his age. Macy has let control slip through his fingers and now the old crime boss needs Peter to stop whoever is trying to kill him. If he won't cooperate, Macy has information that could ruin forever his relationship with Elaine and according to Rudy, will definitely use it.

Of course, Peter Mallory isn't going to let that happen. Elaine means everything to him and she doesn't know about his dark past and it is very questionable whether their relationship could survive the knowledge. So, he will go to Macy's estate, see the old man and do what needs to be done to get free once and forever. While the players have for the most part changed, his skills haven't dimmed nor has his assumption that everyone is against him.

This is simply a book by the numbers. Almost all the male characters are violent knuckle dragging thugs except for Pete. Pete is the only one who can see the big picture and he is the only one with a certain style and class. The women are stunningly beautiful and either evilly cunning using their bodies as bait or mind boggling stupid and using their bodies as bait. Violence is just a few pages away throughout the book and seems to be used in most cases as a way of avoiding any depth to the story or characters. Instead, the violence is usually unnecessary and serves only as a vehicle to move the story forward in some way. Virtually all of the characters are stereotypically bad actors in one way or another.

While the story does have two minor surprises, most of the book is one that any reader of mysteries is going to easily figure out. The writing is distant and the characters never really come alive for the reader. There is a flatness to the book from start to finish as Pete tells readers how much he is tormented by various things, but that fact and many others never really come alive for the reader.

The August 2008 selection of the Hard Case Crime Book Club doesn't meet the normal standards of the published books. From a flat uninspired cover to a stereotypical story, this isn't one of the really good ones readers have come to expect. Therefore, it can only be of real interest to devoted readers determined to read every single title published by this company.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2008

By republishing old, out-of-print crime novels, Hard Case Crime has given new exposure to some early works by really great writers. In this year alone, they've released books by, among others, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake and Robert Bloch, not to mention a pseudonymous Michael Crichton. Baby Moll, by the less well-known John Farris, is another such reissue and is decent enough in its own right.

The narrator of Baby Moll is Peter Mallory, who years earlier had quit his associations with Florida mobster Macy Barr. Barr is an old-time mobster with both a vicious and paternalistic streak. It's this latter quality that allowed Peter to leave without being killed, but you can never leave the past fully behind. Macy needs Peter to track down a killer who is offing some of Macy's best workers.

These killings all seem to be tied to a family murdered decades earlier (prior to Peter's days with Macy) after the father resisted an extortion attempt. One child did survive, however, and Peter will spend much of the book trying to track this child down. He will also have to contend with a paid assassin, a rival mobster and various squabbles within the Barr household. It's not something Peter wants to do: he'd rather live his quiet, legitimate life with his soon-to-be wife, but Macy can coerce Peter through blackmail.

As stated before, this is a decent enough novel, though not on the same quality level as some other Hard Case Crime novels. It has the same lean prose style that you see in many of these pulpier mid-century mysteries, but it isn't quite as compelling as others in the set, making it clear why Farris isn't quite the name that a Block, Bloch or Westlake is. But it's good and a quick read, so if you're a fan of these books, you won't be disappointed.

What a gripping story! Right from the prologue I was hooked. I was a little scared of getting into the book as it had to do with missing children. Being a mother of three children it was frightening to me. I went to the first chapter and I was hooked!

The chapters move quickly. Vincent Cobb is a mastermind at writing. If you enjoy fiction-thrillers this book is for you. I have not read a thriller in years. Even if you are not into thrillers this book is for you!

This truly is a very interesting story that keeps you wanting more. You feel like you know who the characters are. You hope for them. You want the mystery to be solved. You want the nightmares to end for Connie, the psychic young character.

Do not miss this first book in the Angela Crossley series. I am still in awe of the story I just finished reading unfold before my very eyes. I cannot wait for the next book to be published!

I have only read 2 doctor who books from the tenth Doctor and this was rather slow and not many plot twists. the characters were flat. I think it was only my want for a new who story that kept me reading it. I hope the other who stories are better then this one....Yeah not buying the Doctor in a Toga either.

Having been completely sucked into the new Doctor Who (both 9th and 10th Doctors) I now find myself devouring everything I can get my hands on. The novel tie-ins all seem to be written for an all-ages audience; not terribly sophisticated writing, but entertaining.

I thought this one was a decent example; a fine start with a good handle on the characters and nice dialogue. The middle section of the book requires much suspension of disbelief as the Doctor gets himself thrown to the lions in the colliseum and enacts a spectacular escape, but the final third of the book is where the story really takes off. With the Doctor in peril Rose rises to the occasion and deals with some genuinely thought-provoking issues - I'm trying to not spell out the plot points, but she faces some interesting conundrums and I enjoyed the way in which things played out.

One of the many reasons I love this novel is I happen to love Roman history. I also happen to love Doctor Who, science fiction, and the tenth Doctor. I also like Rose and found their visit to ancient Rome a delight. It seems that they have found a statue of Rose in a modern museum, a 2000 year old statue, and they realize that the TARDIS will soon be making a stop there, so why not go now? So off they go. But, of course, they find themselves in a trap of their own design. For the Doctor tumbles across a hideous truth, a truth that could screw up history and maybe, just maybe, get Rose killed.

I really wasn't expecting much in terms of quality when I bought this book; fan fictions can often be quite painful to get through in terms of plot, characterization, and style.

In many ways, I wasn't disappointed. I found that the characters were mere cardboard cut-outs of how they are portrayed in the shows, the plot was a bit see-through, and the quality of the prose was very, very bad. When I got to a description of Trajan's column, and the author used the term "a sort of temple thing at the bottom," I really wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Unless you've a spare hour or two to waste on mindless... very mindless... "entertainment", I'd not recommend this one at all.

This Doctor Who novel starts out with so much potential. It opens with a delightfully clever attention-grabbing puzzle: a 2000-year-old statue of the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler, in the British Museum. This of course leads to a promising trip to the old Roman Empire to solve the puzzle. Science fiction with a clever historical setting--quintessential Doctor Who, say no more. Once in Rome, more mysteries greet the Doctor and Rose (abruptly disappearing sons, inexplicably clairvoyant slave girls) amidst a finely layered and convincingly detailed evocation of everyday life in this specific time and place on Earth.

As the Fates would have it, though, things start going awry. The mystery of the disappearing son and the villain behind it and this situation's connection to the Rose statue swiftly becomes painfully dreadfully obvious and openly apparent to any but the most clueless reader, to the point that the Doctor (especially, and even Rose eventually) looks positively thick for not catching on. This is a serious lapse in writing; the Doctor may be bumbling and eccentric, but never oblivious and slow on the uptake. As the tale grinds on, the Roman setting starts losing its anchoring sense of reality (perhaps the novel's primary saving grace while it lasts) and the plot devolves from inspired quirkiness to cutesy silliness and then devolves again into something just short of muddled chaos.

The characters of the Doctor and Rose as they were at some indeterminate point early in the second series/season (Doctor Who - The Complete Second Series) are skillfully and accurately portrayed for the most part. The plebian goodness of Rose is spot-on, and the casually frenetic manner of the Tenth Doctor is distinctly drawn most of the time, though some cringe-inducing moments have him dropping out of character and behaving like the hero in a romantic drama. And this is just a personal nitpick, perhaps, but the Doctor HAS been to Rome before (Doctor Who - The Rescue/The Romans) and a brief passing reference to this fact would have been a pleasing wink n' nod to old time fans like myself without unduly confusing newcomers, I think. Otherwise a host of reasonably defined but rather uncomplicated supporting characters also populate the tale, of course, as well as plausible though slightly caricatured portrayals of Rose's family and friends from the show.

To make a long epic short, if "The Stone Rose" were fan fiction posted online by a teenage girl with a huge crush on David Tennant for the free edification of her peers, it would be an impressively talented example of its genre. As a professionally written work of science fiction, though, it is a somewhat entertaining but inexcusably flawed work saved from total mediocrity only by the author's acknowledged long and abiding interest in Roman history and perhaps the favor of blind fortune.

In A Cold Sweat picks up with the grass growing in on Cassandra's grave, and Black still tryin to come to terms with why his wife's life ended and her captors still flyin in the wind. In this installment we see Black maturing in his new role as a single parent,widower,and the illustrious gangsta. Roy Glenn depicts a sharp witty,and cunning tale that will take yur breathe away we he unveils treachery & murder among Black's squad. this is a definite must read.... If you're a true Mike Black fan

This is the first book I read in this saga but, it made me go back and read everything I could find by this author. Try it you won't be disappointed!

OH MY GOD!!!

I love Mike Black and the crew. This book picks up where Outlaw left off and definitely holds its own. Mike is still out to avenge his wife Cassandra's death which ss hunting him. On top of that, they have to deal with a snake in the grass...there own grass. What to do, what to do???
One thing's for sure, Mike Black has a plan and you will be shocked at the end of the book. I must say that my heart broke a little. I can't wait to read the next one. I was excited, thrilled and sat on the edge of my seat all the way to the end. Get ready for sex, murder and mayhem and a couple shocks. THe person you least expect will be killed and Mike BLack will attain an unbelieveable ally. You will not be disappointed ...this is definitely a page turner. I recommend everyone buy it. :)

This is a must read if you are following the Mike Black saga. Great job Mr. Glenn and I look forward to reading the next installment.

From the moment you start this book you won't want to put it down except to eat, sleep, and shower! This should be read by every set of adult twins. It is an amazing story of telepathic sisters who have been separated and I can say without a doubt it is one of the best books I have ever read. I first became interested in Lynda La Plante after seeing "Prime Suspect" on public television. At that time I often traveled to London and I bought more of her novels over there. i have read 22 of her novels and each of them I have found to be excellent. If you're wondering whether or not to read her books? Start right now!

I only recommend this one to completists like myself who compulsively insist on reading an author's full body of work. Final Appeal is my least favorite by Scottoline, but it's only her sophomore effort and from here it keeps on improving.

I have ready many of Ms. Scottoline's novels and have found all of them to be worth my time. This one was faced pace and had a couple turns I did not see coming. Highly recomend.

Grace Rossi is a single mother who is a parttime lawyer for a federal appeals court. Much to her dismay, she is assigned a murder case but things improve when Grace's researching the case leads to romance. After a romantic evening, Grace is horrified to discover that her lover has died of an apparent suicide. She discovers that he had had an active love life and she immediately suspects his wife of murdering him. This is the fourth Lisa Scottoline book I have read and is probably the weakest one so far. Most of the action and suspense are contained in the first few chapters, and the book begins to meander and lose focus after that.

I found this book entertaining to read, although the beginning was a little confusing. I just went back to read the first paragraph and it still doesn't really make sense to me - but after I got through the first chapter I was hooked. I didn't rate it a 4 because the author skipped ahead of herself, leaving what I felt was important details behind. Perhaps that was her intention and in a way it was refreshing because you couldn't get bogged down by details. The characters weren't terribly believable, yet they were likeable.
This is an easy read, so if you want something to just take your mind of the mundane of life, I would recommend you give this book a try.
I liked it enough to give another one of her books a try.

After reading and enjoying "Everywhere That Mary Went," Lisa Scottoline's first mystery novel, I was disappointed in this effort. Although the main character is sufficiently developed and the story will be of interest to those familiar with Philadelphia, the plot itself -- the cornerstone of any mystery novel -- is fair at best. The various clues seem contrived. There are fewer of the clever observations which permeated "Mary". Worst of all, the novel lacks the suspense which mystery readers crave: "whodunit" is reasonably predictable, and for obvious reasons.

I am surprised that this novel won an Edgar. It held my interest, but is nowhere near the novels of, say, Michael Connelly. It is a nice, quick beach read, but you can find many better novels in this genre.

In my opinion this series and specifically this book has turned into a lame excuse to generate revenue for the writer! Too bad I can not get a refund for this trash! I have written the author but no reply. Like I really expected a reply. The first three books in the series were good. The first book was great. The second two books had a strange fascination with homosexual tendencies but beyond that the story, back ground and setting were a good read. Now the series has evolved into a low level, my first book, get-the-money-while-I-can drivel. I am embarrassed that I am admitting that I was sucked into buying this boring, uninteresting, waste of time attempt at a novel. I was thinking that maybe the author had gotten back to the roots of the character, the roots that I found so enjoyable to begin with. I had the same thought and hope with the previous book. Well, I have been burned twice. Your books suck. Never again. Bye-bye.

I was worried after the last novel that Sano Ichiro was done for. This novel, with its varied perspectives on the murder make it a true who-done-it.

If you like the Sano Ichiro series, as I do, you will like this book. It keeps to the storyline of her previous books. Holds your interest. Written in the same style I have become accustomed to. Not her greatest work but a good read.

I like a good mystery. The cover information for this book made it seem like this would be an author I might want to follow. Unfortunately I will not be reading another one of Ichiro's novels. The characterization was superficial. No one engaged me. Lady Mori was particularly unbelievable. It seemed at first that she might be a strong female character who could hold some real reader interest. However, Ichiro has Lady Mori waffling back and forth and back and forth about what she knows about her own actions and this ultimately spoiled any positive feeling I had about her. In addition, her ventures into mysticism, as a woman, give her no resolution, while Hirata's, as a man (after almost as much waffling) is a turning point in the novel. Very irritating. I was very disappointed in this book and sorry not to find a new author to read.

Reader, be prepared to be jerked around by the writer. This is the first (and will be the last) book in the series I've read. I like thrillers with exotic (for me) settings, but this one was way over the top. There were unfortunate lapses into contemporary English vernacular (like "Hey!" coming from one of Sano's subordinates). Stage machinery was way too evident, and the "acting" by the principles, by Lady Mori and her servant, was overwrought and operatic. Perhaps, as other reviewers have noted, the writer was forced into getting the book to the publisher before it was ready. (I'm surprised she even found a publisher.)

As always Nora Roberts(J.D.Robb) delivers a great, fast moving mystery. You struggle right along with Eve through the whole book. It's always interesting to see the interaction between Eve and Roake. If the future's anything like this, it should be interesting!

I love this series... you must read it to understand. It's all about a homicide detective named Lt. Eve Dallas and how she goes about solving a case which always seems imposibble to solve at first.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is after a killer who has a flare for romance and murder. He sets the scene with care....pink rose petals, champagne, caviar and sexually enhancing drugs, to make women plyant and willing. The only problem is that he is killing them, and it would appear that he is tallying up bodies quickly. Dealing with her past and all of the nightmares/memories it produces, Eve must battle evil (once again) while juggling her cases and her sexy husband, Roarke. This time, her opponent is both diabolical and creative, and apparently has computer skills (to rival Roarke) and money (apparently the drug, [...], is extremely expensive and hard to obtain) to keep her at bay, but not for long.

We also get another opportunity to see the whole gang, and smile at the all too familiar Peabody and McNab. Fans also learn in this installment, how Louise and the sexy LC Charles got together. I think this is one of my favorites in the series, and loved seeing Summerset, Trina, Mavis, Leonardo, Feeney, Galahad and Whitney again. It was definately a must read

The thing about this and the other in death books is the authors wonderful characters and her ability to bring Laughter into the strangest situations. One wouldn't imagine that murder, mystery and homicide are all that funny but in this book the ugly is tempered with a smile or giggle.

Nora Roberts (writing as J.D. Robb) is a brilliant writer. She's able to weave a tale that entertains, enraptures and imprisons the senses. You are left spellbound by her grasp of storytelling and her expert use of language...

BUT...

This story falls short of many of her previous stories. (And many that came after.) The plot is generic and rehashed. The only originality is the fact that the Casanova tale takes place in the future.

She puts an interesting spin on it, which is why she gets 3 stars instead of 1 or 2, but this is one of the weaker stories in the series if you ask me.