Rituals by Mary Anna Evans
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (275 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

Faye Longchamp doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she’s an archaeologist—dead people are her life. Yet while working in Rosebower, a rural New York town founded by Spiritualists, Faye is surrounded by people who talk to the dead on a regular basis. When influential Spiritualist Tilda Armistead invites Faye and her daughter to commune with the dead, Faye can’t say no. She’s just too curious.

Then an hour after her crystal ball shows Faye things no rational mind can explain, Tilda is dead. The evidence says that someone trapped Tilda in a small room, nailing its one door shut before setting her house afire. There is no possible way for her to have escaped the blaze, let alone drive for miles before finding Faye and dying in her arms. Yet Tilda did. How? And why?

It seems Rosebower is full of people who had reason to kill Tilda. Tilda’s estranged daughter is the heir to the Armistead fortune. That daughter’s husband is a stage magician with a long history of making things vanish.
One should uproot the taboo of Impotence from purchase levitra this link our Indian society, tackle with this condition without worry and embarrassment. commander levitra Visit Your URL Through several scientific studies the plant has been shown to encourage a certain amount of hair growth as well. While he has been given the honor of being among the Communion of Saints, his mother has to be right there next to him, sharing the glory buy viagra usa (The Cause for the Canonization of Margaret Bosco has been opened. It is actually considered by many professionals to be relatively widespread. cheap viagra prices Against Tilda’s wishes, a rich developer would like to turn Rosebower into a Disneyland with real ghosts. And then there is the famed root doctor whose mysterious herbal potions are anywhere else, these people would be dismissed as crazy. In Rosebower, “normal“ is relative. As Faye watches the psychics and charlatans jockey for power, Tilda’s sister, Myrna, is slowly dying. Will Rosebower reveal its secrets before more goes up in flames?

Faye Longchamp and her daughter Amande have landed an archeologist job in Rosebower, a rural New York town founded by Spiritualists. When town matron Tilde Armistead invites Faye and Amande to a séance and turns up dead, Faye thinks there might be more at work in this sleepy little town than first meets the eye.

The town is a quaint little place, and as Faye and Amande wade in further, more hidden clues come to light. Here, normal is relative. Who is this boy, Ennis who takes care of root doctor Sister Mama? Are his tinctures safe? Tilde’s estranged daughter Dara and her shifty eyed husband Willow run their own Spiritualist show just outside the town limits. What do they have to gain from her untimely death? A wealthy developer has his sights set on the land Tilde’s sister Myrna has inherited and now her health is strangely declining. Is he involved? What of Toni the Astonisher who has landed in Rosebower set on writing an expose on the secrets of this soon to be upended little hamlet. One thing is for sure. Rosebower won’t be the same.

The story enveloped me at the onset. Never having read a Faye Longchamp series mystery before, it took me a moment to sync with the characters, but not long. Faye and Amande are likeable, practical people and I loved following the story as they explored old junk at the town museum and with the occasional successful conquest. The story really got going as Faye and Amande joined Tilde for a séance and she ends up dead, a victim from complications from arson. As the town reals from the horrific event, other things are set in motion that will soon collide, changing the innocence of Rosebower forever.

Rosebower reminded me very much of Lily Dale, another Spiritualist community where if you look down the street, you will see a shingle on nearly every house depicting what specific talent the psychic holds. The politics, bickering and all the things you would see in any small town can be found within the pages of Rituals, with the added flavor of the Spiritualist movement. Normal here would be crazy anywhere else, but in a town where hoodoo curses and crystal ball reading are as common as four o’clock tea, Faye and Amande have their work cut out for them. The museum owner is convinced that within his dusty walls hides the secret to alien civilizations. Faye enlists the assistance of her husband Joe, who is imbibed with a Creek heritage and special observational skills of his own. His arrival is timely as the destructive forces walking the streets of this small town converge with murder on the agenda.

The plot in this story is woven together like a tapestry. The interjection of Toni the Astonisher’s notes between the events was a useful tool and helped me as a reader get behind some of the illusion that marks the trade. This book was an enjoyable read and I want to find out more about the island life that Faye shares with Joe and how Amande came to be adopted by them. Great voice and a compelling mystery! I wouldn’t hesitate to read anything else by this talented author.

If you want a series where you will learn something new as you read, then this one is for you!

Capacity for Murder by Bernadette Pajer
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Contemporary
Length: Full (250 pgs)
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

The Sanatarium offers no cure for murder…

At the dawn of the 20th century, Healing Sands Sanitarium, southwest of Seattle, Washington, sits on the sandy doorstep of the Pacific Ocean. Famed for its restorative rest cures, fermented diets, and Dr. Hornsby’s electrotherapeutics, no one has ever died at Healing Sands. Until now.
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When Professor Bradshaw is summoned to investigate, he knows this was no accident, but his only clue to foul play is as insubstantial as smoke—to anyone other than an electrical engineer. Suspects in this isolated location are limited to a handful whose lives—and lies—must be exhumed and examined.

A sinister tale emerges as deep undercurrents turn personal, provoking Bradshaw to make a decision about the woman he loves. And then an everyday object provides the key, alerting Bradshaw that one among them is a walking dead man, and another possesses the capacity for murder.

This is the first book of this series I’ve read, but it definitely will not be my last. Even though it’s not the first book of the series, there are enough clues to the back story that I didn’t have any trouble following the characters and what was going on in their lives. However, the clues did intrigue me enough to want to know the full story! So… I’ll will be getting the first two books in the series very shortly.

The series is set at the turn of the century and features Benjamin Bradshaw, Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington. I have to admit to being a little in love with Professor Bradshaw by the end of this book–even if he doesn’t have a clue when it comes to the women in his life.

The cast of characters is a neat blend– and the mystery to be solved kept me guessing. It reminds me in tone a little of the Murdoch mystery series by Maureen Jennings—they are both set around the same time and both use techniques that are fairly common now, but were new at the time.

If you are a fan of mysteries or historical (i.e., turn of the century) works— give this one a try.

Now You See It by Jane Tesh
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (230 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

Who is audacious enough to steal an antique box once owned by Harry Houdini? This collector’s treasure, skillfully hidden in the local Magic Club— a nightclub where magicians perform—is not merely an old theatrical prop. It is the prize in a contest that promises to jump start a magician’s career. At least that’s what Taft and Lucas Finch hoped before their prized possession was stolen. Private investigator David Randall is already busy searching for socialite Sandy Olaf’s missing diamond bracelet when he begins the search for Houdini’s box. But instead of finding the valuable box, Randall finds Taft murdered, his body locked in a backstage trunk. The magical world is brimming with jealous suspects, less successful magical competitors, romantic rivals, business conflicts, and festering hurts from long ago. Randall’s friend Camden is concerned with losing his voice, his girlfriend Kary insists on being a magician’s assistant, and Cam’s girlfriend Ellin has to deal with the overbearing Sheila Kirk, wife of a potential sponsor, who insists on hosting the Psychic Service Network’s programs.

Warned away from interfering in a police homicide investigation, Randall focuses on finding the box, searching for a missing diamond bracelet, and handling the crises embroiling his unique housemates in their rambling home on Grace Street. It will take a stroke of magic to connect the interlocking circles of these crimes.

Diamond bracelets and secret boxes take center stage in this quirky mystery. Get ready to meet some characters that will warm your heart and capture the imagination.

Usually the side effect it has is not much wholesale cialis worse and does not last for a longer period of time than other medications. Because of the desire to have it larger in size and a source of concern for many men a lot many methods are now available to get rid of impotence or so called erectile dysfunction. cialis pharmacy prices Most of time, the sex pdxcommercial.com levitra wholesale can also be interrupted by pain. so men commonly have high press on sex and refuse and lose confidence in sex. However, if you have a heart condition, you are not pdxcommercial.com cialis price satisfied with the results. David Randall is a private investigator still dealing with the death of his daughter. Living in a house full of interesting characters, he takes on the case of the missing Houdini box. Filled with elements of magic and sleight of hand, murder and mayhem are rife, as are the references to magic and character stereotypes.

Now You See It was an enjoyable cozy style yarn. Coming into the series midway, I was not familiar with the characters, but quickly warmed to them as the story developed. David Randall takes a case involving a missing magician’s box that may have belonged to Houdini himself. When the owner turns up dead at the Magic Club, the plot thickens and suspects are around every corner. At the same time, David also accepts a case of a missing diamond bracelet from a socialite with an exceptionally busy social calendar and a scary knack for color coordination.

As the story develops, an entire cast of characters emerges that is heart-warming and full of spice and humor. Throughout the book, David proposes to his girlfriend and she repeatedly tells him no. Camden begins to lose his voice and Ellin, his girlfriend is plagued by a horrific force taking over her television station job. Namely the hideous Sheila and her son Dirk. An aspiring faith healer and psychic, Sheila wreaks havoc on the station much as her son does at the Magic Club. Suspicions arise about just what happened at the Saturday audition when one of the Finch brothers ended up dead and stuffed into the trunk used for his act.

Throughout the story, the reader is introduced to many stereotypical characters that become almost comical in their portrayal, but all of it works as the story is woven together. Camden uses his innate talent as a mind reader to ferret out the hidden nuances of the case and help to prevent catastrophes resulting in false predictions given by Sheila that could have caused major health and legal ramifications. David and Camden work together well as a team, balancing out the outside clues and inner workings of the soul. They also find the time to hang out at some pretty fun magic shops and hamburger joints.

Filled with mentions of songs with a magic theme, the reader learns a good deal about the life of stage magicians and the petty infighting that can go on behind the seasons. David Randall navigates the murky waters of interpersonal relationships while dealing with a staggering grief and that comes through in the story very well. The houseful of people that David and Camden live with are endearing and as love begins to find many of the characters toward the end of the book, it wraps up nicely with a satisfactory ending and a nice twist on the murder mystery and the missing bracelet. I enjoyed this read and won’t hesitate to pick up more books in this series.

If you want a feel good mystery that will hook you into a word of characters you won’t want to put down, pick up this book and give it a read.

Jail Coach by Hillary Bell Locke
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (250 pgs)
Rated 4 Stars
Review by Snapdragon

Jay Davidovich is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan because he joined the National Guard in the late ‘nineties so that the taxpayers could put him through college. Nine-eleven took him by surprise – “sort of like Bush,” as Jay puts it. His job at Trans/Oxana is to prevent losses that Trans/Oxana has insured against – especially losses that unpleasant people want to happen. After Hollywood pretty boy Kent Trowbridge plays late-night bumper-car in his Ferrari, which bought an eight-figure Trans/Oxana policy insuring performance of Trowbridge’s Major Performing Artist Contract. Jay quickly realizes that Trowbrigde is going to do some county time. Because there won’t be any director yelling “CUT!” when things get dicey on the inside, Jay figures that Trowbridge won’t be in shape to perform anything once he gets out unless Jay finds him a Jail Coach.

Enter Katrina Thompson whose past includes jail, the Marines, a daughter, and a hustler named Stan Chaladian. The first will help Jay, the second will impress him, the third will charm him, and the fourth with almost kill him – that’s life in the Loss Prevention business.

This is the term that can be identified since they will refer the pain. purchase cialis from india These are usually people with generalized anxiety cialis prescription disorder who are constantly suffering with vision problems. Enhanced semen volume is necessary to enjoy enhanced on line levitra sexual pleasure with your beautiful lady. Because of this, most of the men experienced sexual dysfunction that can affect their levels when it comes why not find out more order viagra to revealing the disorder to physicians and doctors. Jail Coach by Hillary Bell Locke is a complex and unpredictable tale that takes us to the bright lights of the celebrity world and then persists in poking into dark corners.

Told in the first person, our main character is (irritatingly) not well identified immediately. However, we eventually figure out that we have dropped into the life of Jay, an ‘asset loss prevention specialist;’ aka, what seems to be a really large, well-coordinated babysitter-slash-guard. He’s also got Robert Parker-style character ego (and commentary) but without the amusing self-knowledge of a Nero Wolf character.

Jay is taxed with getting a celebrity bad-boy through jail (and more or less, through life) and to fulfilling his movie contracts. He’s assisted in this by ex-jailbird and single mom, Katrina Thompson–and both of them, outrageous characters themselves, have less-than-savory life entanglements. “Unsavory” is my sense of the whole thing: Jail Coach is loaded with cleverly done celebrity quips and sneers; it seems that nasty and humor must go hand in hand. Celebrity dirt (both invented and historical) is salted throughout, helping identify the Hollywood set as sleazy. Lawyers, mostly sleazy, represent celebrities: Ditto. The cover makes you think ‘crime novel,’ but it isn’t really.

Jail Coach is so nicely written, it drags the reader forward, frequently unwilling. Characters are powerful, conversations snappy and amusing, and the storyline is incredibly unpredictable. Locke went somehow wrong on the spicing of this one –like a gourmet treat that somehow leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste; but it’s still well-written and original. I’m not going to say you absolutely must read, but if you start reading it, you’ll absolutely want to finish.