Silent Run by Barbara Freethy

Silent Run by Barbara Freethy is the first book in a two-book romantic suspense series. Publisher: Onyx, March 2008

RUNNING SCARED … A woman wakes in a hospital bed with no idea of who she is. Her memory is gone. Her baby is missing. All she has is the gripping certainty that she is in mortal danger. Then an angry, handsome stranger makes a terrible accusation. He was her lover — and her child’s father — until she disappeared seven months ago.

RUNNING BLIND … Jake Sanders swore he’d never forgive Sarah Tucker, but he isn’t about to let her get away again — especially not with his daughter still missing. If he has any chance of recovering his baby, he must help the woman who betrayed him retrieve the pieces of her shattered past — without letting his feelings get in the way.

RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES … Haunted by troubling flashes of memory, Sarah begins to realize she has lived a life of lies. Now a relentless killer is after her, determined to make her pay for her sins. Sarah and Jake have no choice but to trust each other to defeat an enemy who is hot on their heels and closing in fast.

Sarah Tucker wakes up in a hospital suffering with amnesia from a car accident.  Her only clue to her identity is Jake Sanders demanding to know where their daughter is and why she has lied about her past and ran away seven months ago. Slowly as her memory is coming back, someone is out to kill her, seeking people from a past she has forgotten and causing harm.  It’s up to Sarah and Jake to unlock her memory so they can find their missing daughter and stop the person after her.  Along the way they learn to trust and love each other again with a new beginning. 

* new-to-me author

Shot Girl by Karen E. Olson

Shot Girl by Karen E. Olson is the fourth and final book in the “Annie Seymour” mystery series. Publisher: Signet, November 2008

New Haven police reporter Annie Seymour has a talent for running into trouble. So it should come as no surprise when her co-worker’s bachelorette party at a local club quickly turns into a crime scene. What is surprising is that the dead club manager in the parking lot happens to be Annie’s ex-husband—and the bullet shells around his body match the gun she has in her car…

Once again, murder find Annie and this time it is her ex-husband, Ralph, who she hasn’t seen in 15 years. Because she is a crime beat newspaper journalist, she immediately wants to pursue this story but her boss has other ideas, so Annie starts investigating on her own. Annie soon learns that her ex was stalking and talking photos of her and connects the hang-ups to him and that her mother is involved in this as well. Now Annie is in danger because someone thinks that Annie knows something despite not knowing. The gang is all here and Annie, Vinny and Tom will gather the clues to find her ex’s killer. This was a good finale to a great series.

The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver

The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver Publisher: Simon & Schuster, November 2008

When a night-time call to 911 from a secluded Wisconsin vacation house is cut short, off-duty deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves her husband and son at the dinner table and drives up to Lake Mondac to investigate. Was it a mis-dial or an aborted crime report?

Brynn stumbles onto a scene of true horror and narrowly escapes from two professional criminals. She and a terrified visitor to the weekend house, Michelle, flee into the woods in a race for their lives. As different as night and day, and stripped of modern-day resources, Brynn, a tough deputy with a difficult past, and Michelle, a pampered city girl, must overcome their natural reluctance to trust each other and learn to use their wits and courage to survive the relentless pursuit. The deputy’s disappearance spurs both her troubled son and her new husband into action, while the incident sets in motion Brynn’s loyal fellow deputies and elements from Milwaukee’s underside. These various forces race along inexorably toward the novel’s gritty and stunning conclusion.

The Bodies Left Behind is an epic cat-and-mouse chase, told nearly in real-time, and is filled with Deaver’s patented twists and turns, where nothing is what it seems, and death lingers just around the next curve on a deserted path deep in the midnight forest.

This is the story of Brynn McKenzie, deputy in a small town police department.  She is called to an incident and happens upon the murder of two people.  Two killers are after her and after finding a friend of the murdered couple, she tries to outwit them with survivor’s skills.  This story had lots of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.  This was another book that I couldn’t put down until that last sentence.

Frankly My Dear, I’m Dead by Livia J. Washburn

Frankly My Dear, I’m Dead by Livia J. Washburn is the first book in the new “Literary Tour” mystery series.  Publisher: Kensington, November 2008

No one is surprised when feisty Delilah Dickinson opens her literary travel agency in Atlanta after her divorce. But during her first group’s tour of an old plantation modelled after Tara from Gone with the Wind, she finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when the actor playing Clark Gable playing Rhet Butler is found dead. Almost immediately, the police have the place under lockdown.

Delilah finds herself taking over the investigation when their No 1 suspect is her son-in-law Luke-the not-so-bright husband of her daughter, Melissa. But life starts imitating art when the actors begin taking their roles a little too seriously-believing they actually are Ashley Wilkes, Scarlett O’Hara, and Melanie.With all the drama of Margaret Mitchell’s epic story suddenly coming to alarming life, Delilah’s only chance to head off a not-so-Civil War is to track down and confront the deranged murderer. But she must move quickly and very quietly – or risk becoming the next victim of a killer who frankly doesn’t give a damn.

Delilah Dickinson, a recently divorced travel agent, opens up her own literary travel agency and with the first tour her company runs is immediately plunged into thievery and murder.  Being naturally a snoop and a suspect, Delilah seeks out clues and captures the killer.  This was a good read. I look forward to reading more in this series.

*new-to-me author

Bad Penny by Sharon Sala

Bad Penny by Sharon Sala is the third and final book in the “Cat Dupree” trilogy romantic suspense series. Publisher: Mira (Harlequin), November 2008

Cat Dupree would love nothing more than to settle down and build a life with fellow bounty hunter Wilson McKay. But Soloman Tutuola—the man who murdered her father and slashed her throat when she was thirteen—haunts her even from the grave.

An investigator from Mexico is tracking down the person who is responsible for Tutuola’s death—and the trail leads directly to Cat. To add to her bad luck, a junkie with a vendetta is stalking Wilson and is willing to kill anyone who gets in the way of his revenge.

Desperate to start their future together, Cat and Wilson turn the manhunt around—vowing to do whatever it takes to find freedom from the past and the scars that have damaged them both.

Now that Cat and Wilson are a couple with hopes of marriage, children and a new home, life seems to get in their way.  The man who shot Wilson is on his way to Austin to finish the job and a Mexican cop is looking for Cat because she killed the man that killed her father and left her for dead.  I could not put this story down. The pages kept turning as fast as I could read because I needed to get to the end of the story.  I will miss this series, but look forward to reading other stories by the author.

Elvis and the Dearly Departed by Peggy Webb

Elvis and the Dearly Departed by Peggy Webb is the first book in the new “Southern Cousins” mystery series featuring Carolina (Callie) Valentine, beauty parlor owner, and her basset hound who thinks he’s Elvis.  Publisher: Kensington, October 2008

They say you can’t get to Heaven without passing through the Eternal Rest Funeral Home. And no one gets into Eternal Rest without passing muster with Elvis-the basset hound who’s convinced he’s the reincarnation of the King of Rock `n’ Roll. Brewing up a big ol’ pitcher of Mississippi mystery, Peggy Webb’s delightful new series is as intoxicating as the Delta breeze.

Normally, Callie Valentine Jones spends her days fixing up the hairdos of the dead, but when the corpse of local, prominent physician Dr. Leonard Laton goes missing, it’s bad for business. So Callie and her oversexed cousin Lovie (Eternal Rest’s resident wake caterer) have no choice but to go in hot pursuit of the recently embalmed, last seen bound for Vegas by way of downtown Tupelo.

Now Elvis may be nothin’ but a hound dog, but he knows a mystery when he smells one. But keeping his human mom from wandering off the trail isn’t easy when she’s back in the arms of her on-again, off-again ex, Jack. Not to mention the angry mourners squabbling over the estate of the late doctor inside the not-so-restful halls of Eternal Rest. Or the French poodle sniffing around for a hunk of Elvis’ burning love.

In Vegas, Callie and Lovie hit the jackpot when they find the dearly departed inside a freezer owned by his showgirl mistress, Bubble Malone. But they’re luck runs out when Bubble decides to join her man in the afterlife. With the poisonous Laton family tree providing plenty of rotten suspects, Callie’s determined to crack this case-with a little help from that irresistible piece of man she used to call her husband-and have a killer singing “Jailhouse Rock” in time for her next haircutting appointment.

Callie, her cousin Lovie who is the caterer, her mother who own the monument store and her Uncle Charlie who owns and runs the family business, Eternal Rest Funeral Home.  The body of their client has been stolen and Callie and Lovie head to Las Vegas to retrieve their dead client only to find a different body in its place.  It’s a dog and human chase to find the killer.  This is an entertaining story with lots of laughs and points of view from Callie and Elvis.  I’m looking forward to read the second book in this series.

*new-to-me author

Thread of Fear by Laura Griffin

Thread of Fear by Laura Griffin is the first book in the “Glass Sisters” mystery series. Publisher: Pocket Star, September 2008

Forensic artist Fiona Glass is the best in the business — which is precisely why she’s quitting. Her skill at mining victims’ memories to re-create the faces of sadistic criminals has left her haunted and wary, and only Jack Bowman’s dogged persistence convinces her to help him. The rugged police chief is hunting a serial killer who’s targeting teenage girls. But what seems like a simple assignment is fraught with complications, including a searing attraction to Jack that’s tempting Fiona to let her guard down in potentially dangerous ways.

Jack never intended for Fiona to become so deeply involved in the case — or in his life. But every instinct tells him she’s his best hope for finding a psychopath who’s lurking in plain sight, growing more ruthless with each passing day. And now that Fiona is right in the killer’s crosshairs, the only way to keep her safe is to unravel a small town’s darkest secrets, one terrifying thread at a time….

Fiona Glass is a forensic artist who helps sketch the perpetrators from traumatized victims.  She’s trying to keep her vow of quitting when she is constantly called in for a case.  After helping a victim of a crime that happened 11 years ago sketch the man who tortured her, they see the resemblance in the recent crime spree and they now know there is a serial killer on the loose.  Fiona teams up with police chief, Jack Bowman and together they will bring this killer in.  This was a page-turner that I couldn’t put down.

*new-to-me author

Death in Daytime by Eileen Davidson

Death in Daytime by Eileen Davidson is the first book in the new “Soap Opera” mystery series featuring Alexis Peterson, a daytime drama actress.  Publisher: Signet, October 2008

First in a fun new soap opera MYSTERY series—written by an emmy®-nominated soap star…

She’s bold. She’s beautiful. And she’s about to go to jail for murder…

Soap opera actress Alexis Peterson has starred in the nation’s top soap opera for almost 20 years. But her career takes a nose-dive when Marcy Blanchard is hired as the head writer. Little did Alexis realize that Marcy’s been holding a grudge all these years—and is ready to take her revenge.

So when Marcy turns up dead, bludgeoned to death with her Emmy®, no one is surprised that Alexis is the prime suspect. No one except Alexis, that is, who knows she has to take matters into her own hands if she wants to avoid being arrested for a crime she didn’t commit—and becoming the real killer’s next victim…

After dealing with an ex-husband who stole all her money and left her in debt, Alexis soldiers on with the help of her mother and her 4-year old daughter.  Her nemesis on the show where she works, the head writer, holds a twenty-five-year old grudge against Alexis.  After a very verbal encounter where Alexis loses her cool, the head writer is found murdered and Alexis becomes the prime suspect. Because of her interest in forensic and the feeling that the cops will not pursue other suspects, Alexis is on the case. I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to the second one in the series. 

*new-to-me author

A Killer Workout by Kathryn Lilley

A Killer Workout by Kathryn Lilley is the second book in the “Fat City” mystery series. Publisher: Signet, October 2008

Plus-sized reporter Kate Gallagher decides to report for duty at Body Blast, a boot camp-style fitness program. But then her roomie is discovered with a broken neck at the foot of the climbing wall. It’s not the first suspicious accident at the camp—another woman recently fell to her death during a Wilderness Challenge.

Kate knows that losing weight is hard, but now it looks like it’s turning into mortal combat.

Due to her station’s mandate that they keep their BMI fit, Kate Gallagher, a TV investigative reporter is off to a diet boot camp.  While there, Kate’s roommate is found mysteriously dead outside the obstacle course and being an investigating reporter, Kate discovers that this was not the first incident at this particular boot camp. Kate is on the trail to find out who is behind the threat on her life and the various capers.  This was an entertaining story.

*new-to-me author

Murder Packs A Suitcase by Cynthia Baxter

Murder Packs A Suitcase by Cynthia Baxter is the first book in a new series “Murder Packs A Suitcase” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Bantam, October 2008

Mallory Marlowe is ready to turn a corner—one lined with palm trees, plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments, and snack bars shaped like giant ice cream cones. Thanks to her new job as travel writer for the New York magazine The Good Life, recently widowed Mallory is zipping around Orlando, assigned to rediscover the glory days of “old Florida.” It’s the first of what she hopes will be many exciting adventures . . . but she’s about to discover that the Sunshine State has a dark side.

Settled in among the faux volcanoes and tiki torches of the Polynesian Princess Hotel, Mallory is on the lookout for quirky attractions like alligator farms and pirate-themed diners hidden amid the glitzy theme parks. But she’s not prepared to find a cranky journalist speared to death in the Bali Ballroom—or to find herself a suspect in his murder. With her trip coming to a close, Mallory has no choice but to figure out if one of her fellow travel writers is a killer. Because if she doesn’t get out of Florida soon, her career—and her life—are about to come to a dead end.

Includes Mallory’s article for The Good Life, with tips and reviews of real Florida attractions!

Her two children are in college and Mallory gets a job as a travel writer and her first assignment is in Florida.  While discovering what her new job is about, Mallory becomes embroiled in a murder, becomes a suspect and decides that only she will find the real murderer.  This was an entertaining story and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.