Final Approach by Rachel Brady

Final Approach by Rachel Brady is the first book in the new “Emily Locke” mystery series. Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, October 2009

Four years ago Emily Locke’s life was shattered when her infant daughter and husband were lost in an inexplicable accident. She has nearly rebuilt her fragile mental health when Richard Cole, a disgraced former police detective now working as a PI, resurfaces. He wants help he says only she can provide—reconnaissance at a Texas skydiving establishment over a thousand miles away. Emily knows better than to work with him again, but can’t refuse when she learns it’s about a missing boy. She identifies too greatly with the new missing child case.

At Gulf Coast Skydiving, similarities between this new case and Emily’s troubled past make it increasingly difficult for her to stay objective. Soon she’s convinced that she is somehow connected to whoever took little Casey Lyons. Someone at the quiet, rural airstrip knows what happened to the boy . . . and to Emily’s own daughter.

To find Casey before it’s too late, Emily will have to make sense of the menacing parallels between his case and her daughter’s.

In this debut book, Emily continues to deal with her loss and when asked to assist in a kidnapping she agrees and flies to Houston. Snippets of her past is given to the reader and we become involved in sifting through the clues. Once I opened the pages of this book, I couldn’t put it down. And the ending…bought tears to my eyes that she got her one wish. This was a great read and I hope there are more adventures with Emily and especially her BFF Jeannie. My rating: 4.5 stars

*new-to-me author

Murder Had A Little Lamb by Cynthia Baxter

Murder Had A Little Lamb by Cynthia Baxter is the 8th book in the “Reigning Cats and Dogs” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Bantam, October 2009

WHO BETTER THAN A PET DETECTIVE TO EXPOSE A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING?

Things get wild and woolly when Jessica Popper’s wedding to longtime fiancé Nick Burby is interrupted by the sound of bloody murder. The sacrificial lamb is the black sheep of the Burby flock, a long-lost relative Nick has never even met. In fact, no one thought Cousin Nathaniel would return to the fold for the event—except his killer. Now, instead of enjoying her honeymoon, Jessie finds herself playing Bo Peep to a growing list of suspects, none with a past as white as snow. All the clues lead to an exclusive private school in Long Island’s high-toned Bromptons, where snobby socialites and a smattering of locals on scholarship take classes in African drumming and field trips to Europe. But shearing away the thick fleece of politics, tension, and rivalries reveals a very different animal under the school’s progressive appearance. And just when Jess thinks she’s about to herd in the killer, she realizes she’s being led like a lamb to slaughter.

Commitment phobia Jessica is about to say those three little words when a scream is heard and both she and her soon-to-be husband go running to check it out. It appears that Cousin Nathaniel has been murdered on their wedding day and when her mother-in-law asks her to solve this murder, there’s only one thing Jess could do…solve this murder. Along the way, she still has those commitment phobia until she face with a life or death situation and realizes that Nick is her life. My rating: 4 stars

Dirty Sexy Knitting by Christie Ridgway

Dirty Sexy Knitting by Christie Ridgway is the third and final book in the “Knitters” romantic trilogy series. Publisher: Berkley, June 2009

The beachside knitting shop Malibu & Ewe is SoCal’s newest hot-spot—where strangers become friends and friends become family over good yarn and better gossip…

Malibu & Ewe’s owner, Cassandra Riley, is about to turn thirty and wants to celebrate with her knitting club and newfound half sisters, Nikki and Juliet, in a big birthday extravaganza. But with Juliet on her honeymoon and Nikki with a fiancé of hew own, it seems everyone’s paired up—except Cassandra.

But a series of near-death accidents cause Cassandra to run straight into the arms of the man she’s tried hard to avoid. Gabe Kincaid, her landlord and neighbor, is a loose cannon with too many strings attached to commit to her fully—or can he? When a mud slide entraps the couple and puts their lives at risk, Gabe is forced to make a decision that will change his life–and the status of their relationship—forever…

This was an enjoyable romance story that concluded the “Knitters” trilogy. My rating: 3.5 stars

True Blue by David Baldacci

True Blue by David Baldacci is the first book in a new series. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, October 2009

A mysterious high-profile homicide in the nation’s capital collides with the dark side of national security in David Baldacci’s new, heart-stopping thriller, True Blue.

Mason “Mace” Perry was a firebrand cop on the D.C. police force until she was kidnapped and framed for a crime. She lost everything—her badge, her career, her freedom—and spent two years in prison. Now she’s back on the outside and is focused on one mission: to be a cop once more.

Her only shot to be a true blue again is to solve a major case on her own, and prove she has the right to wear the uniform. But even with her police chief sister on her side, she has to work in the shadows: a vindictive U.S. attorney is looking for any reason to send her back behind bars.

Then Roy Kingman enters her life.

Roy Kingman is a young lawyer who aided the poor until he took a high-paying job at a law firm in Washington. Mace and Roy meet after he discovers the dead body of a female partner at the firm.

Their investigation into the lawyer’s death reveals surprising secrets from both the private and public world of the nation’s capital, and what began as a fairly routine homicide investigation takes a terrifying and unexpected turn into something complex, diabolical, and possibly lethal.

The only way Mace knows to get her cop job back is to solve a major case. The downside is that someone is putting up roadblocks in her quest to clear her name and get her job back. With assistance from lawyer friend Roy and her police-chief sister Mace sets out to clear her name. This was a great story and once the action started, I couldn’t put this book down. My rating: 4 stars

The Fashion Hound Murders by Elaine Viets

The Fashion Hound Murders by Elaine Viets is the 5th book in the “Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Obsidian (Penguin), November 2009

Mystery shopper and mom Josie Marcus knows how to keep a low profile—in style. On her latest assignment she finds that some people in the adorable world of canine couture are really bad to the bone.

Josie has no idea that the business of fashion-forward puppies could get so ugly—until she’s hired to check out a big pet store’s involvement with puppy mills. After she gets a tip from a disgruntled pet shop employee named Edna, Josie discovers that behind the cashmere sweaters and bejeweled collars, cruel means of breeding designer dogs are being used.

While working the case, she’s led to a puppy mill and sees the horrible conditions firsthand. Something has to be done, and she has the footage from her hidden camera to prove it. But when Edna is found dead, Josie realizes that sinking her teeth into this cause just might land her in the doghouse.

Josie’s next mystery shopper assignment has to do with pets and soon she gets in way over her head.   This was an enjoyable mystery.  My rating: 4 stars

Crush by Alan Jacobson

Crush by Alan Jacobson is the second book in the “Karen Vail” thriller series. Publisher: Vanguard Press, September 2009

Fresh off the most challenging case of her career, The 7th Victim heroine and renowned FBI profiler Karen Vail returns in an explosive thriller set against the backdrop of California’s wine country.

Hoping to find solace from the demons that haunt her, Vail makes her first trip to the Napa Valley. But shortly after arriving, a victim is found in the deepest reaches of an exclusive wine cave, the work of an extraordinarily unpredictable serial killer. From the outset, Vail is frustrated by her inability to profile the offender—until she realizes why: the Behavioral Analysis Unit has not previously encountered a killer like him.

As Vail and the task force work around the clock to identify and locate him, they’re caught in a web knotted with secretive organizations, a decades-long feud between prominent wine families, and widespread corruption that leads Vail to wonder whom, if anyone, she can trust. Meanwhile, as the victim count rises, Vail can’t shake the gnawing sense that something isn’t right.

With the killer’s actions threatening the Napa Valley’s multi-billion dollar industry, the stakes have never been greater, and the race to find the killer never more urgent.

And through it all, a surprise lurks…one that Karen Vail never sees coming.

Meticulously researched during years of work with the FBI profiling unit and extensive interviews with wine industry professionals, bestselling author Alan Jacobson delivers a high-velocity thriller featuring the kind of edge-of-your-seat ending that inspired Nelson DeMille to call him “a hell of a writer.”

While vacationing in Napa with her boyfriend, Karen stumbles onto a murder scene and soon begins working the case leaving Robby to seeing the sights and touring on his own. Soon the serial killer is out to get the members of the task force and Karen fears for the safety of her son and the disappearing Robby. This book started out slow and then picks up as we get to the end. The author did something interesting..he left us in the lurch with not knowing what happened. Overall it was a good story. My rating: 4 stars

Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly is the 15th book in the “Harry Bosch” mystery series. Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, October 2009

<blockquote>LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Detective Bosch has known for years. Bosch still carries in his pocket a matchbook he picked up there on a case years ago.  It’s motto — “Happy is the man who find refuge in himself” — has been a guiding light through some of his darkest days.  The murder of John Li, the store’s owner, hits Harry hard, and he promises Li’s family that he’ll find the killer.

The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation — not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Mr. Li’s life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the United States.

And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch’s life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him, and Harry travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he’s lost.  In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city’s Hungry Ghosts festival turns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate attempt to outmatch the triad’s ferocity.

Delivered at a fever pitch far surpassing even his own extraordinary standards, Nine Dragons is Michael Connelly, “the best mystery writer in the world” (GQ), at his blistering peak. </blockquote>

Harry Bosch is back and on the case when a local store owner is murdered.  As he is getting closer to the clues to solve this case, his family is indirectly involved when his daughter is kidnapped with a threat of loss of life if he doesn’t get off this murder case.  We see Harry flying to Hong Kong; working with his ex-wife to find their daughter and then bringing his daughter back to L.A.  A surprise was seeing Mickey Haller.  This story was engrossing until the last punctuation mark.  My rating: 4 stars

Three Deuces Down by Keith Donnelly

Three Deuces Down by Keith Donnelly is the first book in the “Donald Youngblood” mystery series. Publisher: Court Street Press, January 2008

Bored Wall Street whiz kid Donald Youngblood returns to his East Tennessee hometown and on a whim gets a Private Investigator license. Joined by his best friend Billy Two Feathers, a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, they open Cherokee Investigations and for a few years work small cases and just hang out.

Then Don is summoned by the rich and powerful Joseph Fleet to find his missing daughter and son-in-law. As Don and Billy go through the motions of investigating the disappearance, a sinister plot unfolds complicated by a restless girlfriend, a beautiful blond police officer, a New York mob boss, and a killer on the loose with Don in his sights.

From the backwoods of Tennessee to the coast of Florida to the streets of New York and halfway around the world, Donald Youngblood, with the help of some well-connected friends and a nose for trouble, chases an elusive and deadly foe to extract the ultimate revenge and realizes the chase will change his life forever.

This was a great mystery that when I read the first sentence, I keep reading because I just had to know what happens next.  I really like the tone and voice of the characters.  If you like a good mystery, some laughs and just plain fun in your reading, this is a book you’ll want to read.  My rating: 4.5 stars

Missing in Death by J.D. Robb

Missing in Death by J.D. Robb is part of “The Lost” anthology, the 6th in the series*. Publisher: Jove Romance, November 2009

While investigating a woman’s disappearance on a New York City ferry, Detective Eve Dallas wonders…if she didn’t jump, and she’s not on board, then where in the world is she?

Can someone be murdered on a boat carrying thousands of people and none see the killer with the body get off the boat? It’s up to Eve and the gang to solve this murder mystery which they do with surprising twists. My rating: 4 stars

*36 in the entire “In Death” series

Three Days Dead by Keith Donnelly

Three Days Dead by Keith Donnelly is the second book in the “Donald Youngblood” mystery series. Publisher: Hummingbird Books, August 2009

When Tennessee private investigator Donald Youngblood solved the Fairchild case in Three Deuces Down, he vowed never again to go hunting for a missing person. With live-in-love and Mountain Center cop, Mary Sanders, and his faithful black Standard Poodle, Don’s life has settled back into its old routine.

All of that is about to change. An attractive, precocious teenage girl shows up in his office one morning needing help finding her missing mother.

Now, Don must track down a mother gone wrong while trying to find her abandoned daughter a proper home before child welfare gets the scent. To complicate matters, an old flame is being harassed by a former boyfriend, who is not what he appears to be, and she is begging Don to do something about it.

Tracking down the missing mother with the help of his best friend and partner and Don’s ever-dangerous new friend, the trail of clues leads to a Las Vegas confrontation where Don comes face to face with henchmen of a Vegas bad boy, and nearly pays the ultimate price.

I love this book. A young teenager seeks help in finding her troubled mother and when the trail leads to Las Vegas, Don and his associates go in search of her. Meanwhile Lacy is happily settled in the Youngblood home and her mother is found and disappears again only to succumb to the dark side. I love the plot of this story and the voice of the characters. I plan to read the first book in the series and any books after. My rating: 5 stars

*new-to-me author