The Ten-Mile Trials by Elizabeth Gunn

The Ten-Mile Trials by Elizabeth Gunn is the 9th book in the “Jake Hines” mystery series. Publisher: Severn House, February 2010

When a dead man is discovered in a suburban house that is being used as a drugs lab, and Captain Jake Hines pulls in all his detectives to investigate. The victim carried no identification but the discovery of a small Mass card written in the Cyrillic alphabet hidden in his jacket gives Jake an important lead—could this be connected to a ruthless Eastern European gang that has started operating in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, a rash of burglaries are hitting the city and the way they are staged indicates that the perpetrators are new in town. Jake must work fast if he is going to track down the gang responsible, however, economic cutbacks are hitting the squad hard and the detectives have their work cut out for them.

This was a good mystery and I love the tone and the characterization of this story. I also liked seeing Jake handle the responsibilities of his job while dealing with the pressure of being a first-time father. My rating: 3 stars

Broken Places by Sandra Parshall

Broken Places by Sandra Parshall is the third book in the “Rachel Goddard” mystery series. Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, March 2010

Summer is deadly in the mountain community of Mason County, Virginia. Deputy Sheriff Tom Bridger and veterinarian Rachel Goddard are caught in a maelstrom of lies that stretch far into the past and suspicions that threaten the future.

Cam and Meredith Taylor, who run Mason County’s failing newspaper, are murdered within hours of one another. Rachel heard—but didn’t see—Cam’s murder. The Taylors came to Mason County as volunteers in the 1960s War on Poverty and stayed on, making loyal friends and bitter enemies. By rescuing the newspaper, they gained the wary respect of the local establishment. But when it started going under, Cam proved he would go to any lengths—including blackmail—to save it.

The victims’ daughter is Tom’s former girlfriend, Lindsay. To make matters worse, the prime suspect is cartoonist Ben Hern, the son of another 1960′s activist with dubious ties to the victims and a childhood friend of Rachel’s. Discovery of a disturbing secret leaves Rachel wondering what else her old friend is hiding.

This was the best book yet in this series. I enjoyed the mystery with all the subplots of an ex-girlfriend arriving to put a wedge between Rachel and Tom’s blossoming relationship. My rating: 4.5 stars

Motherhood is Murder by Diana Orgain

Motherhood is Murder by Diana Orgain is the second book in the “Maternal Instincts” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, March 2010

Nights out are hard to come by for new parents. So when Kate’s new- mommy club, Roo & You, holds a dinner cruise, she and her husband, Jim, leave baby Laurie with Kate’s mom and join the grown-ups for some fine dining on the San Francisco Bay.

But when one of the cofounders of Roo & You takes a fatal spill down a staircase, the police department crashes the party. Suddenly every guest is a suspect and it seems like every mom and her man has a motive. Kate’s on deck to solve the mystery—but a killer’s determined to make her rue the day she joined the first-time-mom’s club…

I enjoyed this book much better than the first one. This time Kate is on a dinner cruise with Jim and one of the moms is found at the bottom of the stairs. While Kate doesn’t have a license to be a PI, with help from her husband, her best friend Paula, her mom and her PI mentor, Kate discovers little dark secrets that someone wants to keep it quiet and is willing to kill again. My rating: 4 stars

A Night Too Dark by Dana Stabenow

A Night Too Dark by Dana Stabenow is the 17th book in the “Kate Shugak” mystery series. Publisher: Minotaur Books, February 2010

In Alaska, people disappear every day. In Aleut detective Kate Shugak’s Park, they’ve been disappearing a lot lately. Hikers head into the wilderness unprepared and get lost. Miners quit without notice at the busy Suulutaq Mine. Suicides leave farewell notes and vanish.

Not only are Park rats disappearing at an alarming rate, but so is life in the Park as Kate knows it. Alaska state trooper Jim Chopin’s workload has increased to where he doesn’t make it home three nights out of four, the controversial mine has seduced Johnny and his classmates with summer jobs and divided the Niniltna Native Association—the aunties are to a woman selling out—and a hostile environmental activist organization has embraced the Suulutaq Mine as their reason for being.

It’s almost a relief when Kate finds a body. This she can handle.

Until the identity of the body vanishes, too.

In this latest Kate Shugak novel, the smart, sexy PI, her wolf/husky hybrid Mutt, and Chopper Jim are only just beginning to realize the fallout from the discovery of the world’s second-largest gold mine in their backyard. “Mine change everything,” Auntie Vi said in Whisper to the Blood (the previous book in the series and the first to hit the New York Times bestseller list).

And it’s only just beginning.

This was a good read that kept me up until the last page was read. My rating: 3.5 stars

212 by Alafair Burke

212 by Alafair Burke is the third book in the “Ellie Hatcher” thriller series. Publisher: HarperCollins, March 2010

When New York University sophomore Megan Gunther finds personal threats posted to a Web site specializing in campus gossip, she’s taken aback by their menacing tone. Someone knows her daily routine down to the minute and is watching her—but thanks to the anonymity provided by the Internet, the police tell her there’s nothing they can do. Her friends are sure it’s someone’s idea of a joke, but when Megan is murdered in a vicious attack, NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is convinced that the online threats are more than just empty words.

With smooth, straight-talking partner J. J. Rogan at her side, Ellie tries to identify Megan’s enemies, but she begins to wonder if the coed’s murder was more than just the culmination of a cyber obsession. Phone records reveal a link between Megan and a murdered real estate agent who was living a dangerous double life. The detectives also learn that the dead real estate agent shared a secret connection to a celebrity mogul whose bodyguard was mysteriously killed a few months earlier. And when Megan’s roommate suddenly disappears, they know they have to find her before another young woman dies.

Exposing the darkness that lurks beneath the glamorous surface of New York City, 212 delivers yet another “knuckle-biting journey that’ll keep you turning pages until the very end” (Faye Kellerman).

What a thrilling ride to take that kept the pages turning to see who was the killer. Three people murdered who seemingly have no connection until Ellie and Rogan worked the puzzle and the pieces fell into place. When the dust was settled, many lives were destroyed in the name of love. I’m so sorry to see this story end because I have to wait another year to for Ellie’s return. My rating: 5 stars

Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay

Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay is the first book in the new “Cupcake Bakery” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, March 2010

Cupcakes to Die For

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are finally living out their dream as the proud owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Their first big order is a sweet deal, too—five hundred cupcakes for a fashion designer’s wedding. The only sour note is the demanding bridezilla who insists on original recipes for the cupcakes.

When Mel stumbles upon the bride-to-be dead-by-cupcake, she immediately becomes the prime suspect. The police believe that a secret ingredient in the cupcakes caused her death. To save Mel and their business, the ladies need to find the real murderer—before the cupcake killer ices someone else…

This was a great read. Mel and Angie own a cupcake bakery and when the third partner’s fiance is murdered, Mel and Tate are suspects. When it looks like the police are not looking for the killer, Mel along with assistance from Angie sift through the clues to bring the killer to justice. This cozy mystery kept me turning the pages and laughing at the same time. I love when a murder mystery and humor are combined. My rating: 5 stars

*new-to-me author, although I read her other book under the name Lucy Lawrence

Worst Case by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Worst Case by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge is the third book in the “Michael Bennett” thriller series. Publisher: Little, Brown And Company, February 2010

Best case: survival
The son of one of New York’s wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. His parents can’t save him, because this kidnapper isn’t demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. In this exam, wrong answers are fatal.

Worst case: death
Detective Michael Bennett leads the investigation. With ten kids of his own, he can’t begin to understand what could lead someone to target anyone’s children. As another student disappears, one powerful family after another uses their leverage and connections to turn the heat up on the mayor, the press–anyone who will listen–to stop this killer. Their reach extends all the way to the FBI, who send their top Abduction Specialist, Agent Emily Parker. Bennett’s life—and love life—suddenly get even more complicated.

This case: Detective Michael Bennett is on it
Before Bennett has a chance to protest the FBI’s intrusion on his case, the mastermind changes his routine. His plan leads up to the most devastating demonstration yet—one that could bring cataclysmic devastation to every inch of New York. From the shocking first page to the last exhilarating scene, Worst Case is a non-stop thriller from “America’s #1 storyteller”

This was an enjoyable and thrilling ride taken through the streets of New York. Someone is showing their displeasure at affluent residents by kidnapping their children and their survival depends on how they answer the quiz. Bennett and the FBI agent race through the city to capture this serial killer before more harm is done. My rating: 4 stars

Drive Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Drive Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan is the fourth book in the ”Charlotte McNally” mystery series. Publisher: Mira, February 2010

When everyone has a secret, the real mystery is knowing when to tell.

Investigative reporter Charlotte McNally is an expert at keeping things confidential, but suddenly everyone has a secret—and it turns out it is possible to know too much.

Her latest scoop—an expose of a dangerous car scam, complete with stakeouts, high-speed chases and hidden-camera footage—is ratings gold. But soon that leads her to a brand-new and diabolical scheme. Charlie’s personal and professional lives are put on a collision course, too. Her fiancé is privy to information about threats at an elite private school that has turns deadly.

Charlie has never counted on happy ending. But now, just as she’s finally starting to believe in second chances, she realizes revenge, extortion and murder may leave her alone again—or even dead.

This is the best book in the series and I kept turning the pages to see what happens next. While Charlie struggles with her personal life, newly engaged, a soon-be step-mom and a out-of-state job offer, she’s also dealing with two investigations, one being too close to her personal life. Are both cases connected? Will Charlie make the right decisions for herself? My rating: 4 stars

Dead on Arrival by Jackie Griffey

Dead on Arrival by Jackie Griffey is the first book in the new “Joe and Maggie” cozy mystery series. Publisher: Five Star Publishing, January 2010

Maggie’s husband Horace’s motorcycle accident leaves her a widow at twenty-four. Broke, lonesome, and unemployed. Her Aunt Myrtle talks their cousin into giving Maggie a job at his newspaper until his columnist Mr. Wartz (better known as Wartzy) comes back, sobers up or gets out of jail. It turns into full time when Maggie finds Wartzy’s mutilated body behind the office’s dumpster.

When detective Alan Hill and Joe Driver, a good-looking patrolmen, come to investigate, Maggie asks for Joe’s help in finding out what really happened to her husband and an attraction develops between them—monitored by Horace’s ghost . Both cases heat up along with Maggie and Joe’s relationship and with the dubious aid of Evil Elvira, a former slave who claims to be over a hundred years old; a co-worker named Fatima AKA Queen Ester Johnson; and Maggie’s Aunt Myrtle, who keeps a sharp eye on Maggie’s social life. It’s a merry southern romp with love, laughs, and danger as the Memphis PD, friends and the FBI all try to find out “who-all-done what.”

This was a very enjoyable read with mystery, romance, humor and light paranormal. When Maggie husband suddenly dies, she is left with no job but with the help of her aunt and cousin, Maggie soon lands on her feet with confidence and seeks clues as to who killed her husband and why. My rating: 3.5 stars

*new-to-me author

Down River by Karen Harper

Down River by Karen Harper. Publisher: Mira, February 2010

In the churning water, she felt her future slipping away…

Attending a corporate retreat at a remote resort in Alaska, Lisa Vaughn is plunged into the frigid rapids of the Wild River. Swept away, battered and alone, she has been left for dead.

Lodge owner Mitch Braxton knows something is terribly wrong when Lisa fails to turn up for a private meeting to clear the air and close the book on their broken engagement. Embarking on a heroic search that takes him miles downriver, he saves Lisa from the deadly water, but not before they’ve been swept deep into the wilderness.

Far from civilization, the former lovers must put aside their hurt feelings and find the will to survive against nature. There’s a killer on the loose and, for now, they must measure their future together in days rather than years.

This was a good read. My rating: 3.5 stars