The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
By Katherine Howe
Hyperion
ISBN 978-1-4013-4090-2

Witchcraft, then and…now?

Connie Goodwin is a Harvard graduate student, majoring in Colonial Studies. Her summer is supposed to be spent doing research for her doctoral dissertation, but her mother thinks closing up the abandoned family home is more important. Connie dutifully travels to Salem to clean and sell the old house.

An ancient key hidden in a seventeenth century bible puts Connie on a quest. Who is this Deliverance Dane? What happened to her? And where is her “Physick” book of spells? (Readers, bookmark when the key is found [page 49 in the hardback]. Toward the end you will need to come back and reread a specific sentence.)

Howe flips back and forth between the past and the present without faltering. 1690 or 1990, the characters leap off the page and come alive. You will care about these women and hold your breath in fear for them.

Many of the events are telegraphed in advance, but that doesn’t detract from the story. You will have suspicions along with Connie and watch over her shoulder, muttering “Oh no, surely not!”, as she digs for answers.

There is a lot of history in this book, but nothing dull or boring. Howe brings the past alive with vivid descriptions and characters you want to call friends. Intrigue more than thriller, this is a can’t-put-it-down book. Read it!

Review: Pane of Death by Sarah Atwell

Pane of Death
by Sarah Atwell
Berkley Publishing Group
Cozy Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-425-22501-1

On the cover of Pane of Death it says, ‘A Glassblowing Mystery”. That’s because this is one of those light mysteries in which the setting and main character are connected with glass blowing. A lot of these cozy style mysteries are this way, featuring knitting, cooking, scrapbooking, etc. It makes for a different kind of setting than the hard-boiled stories. As with the others of its kind, Pane of Death gives you some history into glassblowing both throughout the story and in a short essay at the back. Ms. Atwell also includes two recipes.

The story takes place in Tucson Arizona. Emmaline is a glass artisan who get a rare chance to team up with her local rival to work on a nearly priceless stained glass collection. It’s a dream job until the patron turns up dead and Em is blamed for it. With the collection also missing, everyone in town teams up to figure out who actually killed the man and took the art. The clock is ticking because if the missing pieces aren’t found soon, they’ll disappear forever.

Of course I won’t spoil the end for you. It is slow in a couple of places and I’m still not quite sure how the dogs fit in to the story. The first person narrative does showcase the quirky personality of Emmaline as she snoops her way in and out of trouble. If you like your mysteries with down to Earth characters and not much bloodshed, this is the book for you.

Review - Matters of Faith by Kristy Kiernan

Matters of Faith
Written by: Kristy Kiernan
Fiction
Rated: Excellent (*****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Chloe is mom to 18-year-old Marshall and 12-year-old Meghan, and wife to Calvin. Her life is like any other with its daily challenges, but even she doesn’t know what she’ll do when her family’s cohesiveness is put to an extreme test.

The novel opens with Chloe reflecting on how having a sixth sense would be helpful in noting the small things in life that become the catalyst to a major turning point. Hindsight is always educational, isn’t it?

Marshall is coming home during college break and is bringing a girl, the first girl to meet the family. First impressions are not always the best and Chloe and Cal have different reasons for not readily accepting Ada. But Meghan and Ada become instant friends, so there’s hope.

The writing in Matters of Faith works with two distinct points of view that engage the reader in just the right way. Kiernan doesn’t waste any words. She balances narrative with dialogue so the reader feels more like a fly on the wall of a real family instead of someone flipping pages. Kiernan’s characters are unique individuals dealing with the typical daily life routine. And because of their ‘realness’, the author is able to connect with a large audience. Like having a conversation with friends, Kiernan’s writing challenges the reader to figure out what he or she would do given the same circumstances. Where many writers create characters that are black or white in their response, Kiernan’s characters are unpredictable.

Kristy was born in Tennessee and raised on the beaches of southwest Florida, where she still resides with her husband, Richard, and their dog. Her first novel, Catching Genius, was published in March of 2007 and has become a book club favorite. Matters of Faith is her second novel.

From the opening lines in Matters of Faith until the final word, the reader becomes a witness during a small portion of time in one family’s life. This novel doesn’t jump out and grab you by the throat, instead it softly winds its way into your heart so you can’t walk away. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in a great story.

Matters of Faith is available through: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores. Visit http://www.kristykiernan.com/ for more information.

Title: Matters of Faith
Author: Kristy Kiernan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 978-0-425-22179-2
Pages: 322
Price: $14.00

Review of Ramblin' Man by Michael Murphy

Ramblin’ Man
By Michael Murphy
eWings Press, Inc.
ISBN: 1-59705-782-7
2008

The back blurb says this: A young drifter comes to the aid of a runaway heiress fleeing a controlling father. With nothing in common, the ramblin’ man and the heiress find themselves falling in love as her father’s desperate security team manipulates the media into reporting the heiress has been kidnapped.

The blurb is a bit dry compared to the story itself. Think Paris Hilton meets up with a good ol’ Stetson-wearing fella and you’ve got Samantha and Bart, complete with an adorable purse dog named Tinker. She’s run away from her father’s expectations and straight into Bart’s path. He rescues her from some ruffians and whisks her off in his truck, not realizing the turn of events this sets into motion.
Suddenly he finds himself running from hired security thugs and blamed for kidnapping Samantha.

Samantha is opinionated and independent in her own way but she does learn a few things about life beyond prep school and away from decadence. Eventually she moves out of being his problem and into the role of friend and companion. The sparks do fly between them as they hide out in a small town, avoiding Bart’s old nemesis, the authorities and her father’s private security. Until someone recognizes her.

I won’t say more and spoil the ending but I do want to point out that the blurb is wrong in that these two characters do have a lot in common. Discovering that is part of the journey this story makes. At first this drifter and heiress seem almost stereotypical and then you find out there’s more to each of them than meets the eye. You’ll love Bart’s sense of humor and find yourself rooting for everything to turn out all right.

You can visit Michael’s website at: http://www.mjmurphy.com/default.htm

Review - Scent of Danger by Doranna Durgin

Scent of Danger
Written by: Doranna Durgin
Fiction / Cozy Mystery
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Dale Kinsall has the sinking feeling that someone is in danger. Worse, that someone may be him.

While Dale deals with ongoing construction at his clinic, he starts discovering mysterious notes in the most unexpected places. The riddles seem to forewarn danger, but could be a prank. With regular worries of managing a staff and maintaining a full schedule of furry clientele, Dale wonders if his life will ever settle down again.

Dale’s best canine friend, Sully, is great at sniffing out varmints, treats, and danger, but with no particular priority to any it’s hard to know when he’s on a serious scent. While the two find time to train together for upcoming dog shows and obedience competitions, they find themselves entwined in a new mystery that has them each stretched to the limit.

Author Doranna Durgin’s newest Dale Kinsall Mystery is an entertaining and fun novel that delves further into Sully the Beagle’s life, which includes training for shows and investigating any danger his nose can sniff out. The dialogue, human and canine, adds humor and a different perspective for the reader. The author weaves veterinarian and performance sports details into this cozy mystery with such seeming ease as to educate the reader while offering the well-disguised details needed to solve the puzzle.

Doranna Durgin’s novel writing career has spanned genres and form to include over twenty novels in mystery, SF/F, action-romance, and franchise (such as “Ghost Whisperer”). She has also published numerous essays and short stories. With several new novels in the pipeline, Doranna also enjoys hanging around outside her Arizona home riding dressage on her Lipizzan and training for performance sports with her dogs.

Creative play with a dog’s point of view combined with humor and lots of heart combine to make Scent of Danger an enjoyable read for the whole family. I highly recommend this book to any cozy mystery lover interested in cuddling up with a fun, light-hearted story full of suspicious coincidences.

Scent of Danger will be available at: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores in December ‘08.

Title: Scent of Danger
Author: Doranna Durgin
Publisher: Five Star
ISBN: 978-1-59414-675-6
Pages: 279
Price: $25.95

Review - Spun Tales by Felicia Donovan

Spun Tales
Written by: Felicia Donovan
Fiction / Mystery
Rated: Excellent (*****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Linda Jordan just needs a little more time to put the finishing touches on her newest medical thriller before submitting it to her publisher by the deadline, but life isn’t that easy.

The Black Widow Agency accepts a case involving a well-known and easily recognizable author. While trying to keep Linda Jordan secluded from fans and protected from foes while she finishes her latest novel, the Black Widows need to figure out how to deal with a required upcoming speech the author needs to give in a highly public location.

Also challenging the Black Widows is a co-worker who is continually absent and unavailable without explanation. The women balance worry with work as they struggle without their computer geek and hunt down the mysterious person or persons who don’t want the controversial medical novel manuscript to ever see print.

Author Felicia Donovan uses her computer forensics experience to create an intelligent and fun story line with women of varying skill sets (from finance to cyber geek), and ages (from twenty-something to sixty-something) righting the wrongs done to their clients. Her writing balances crime-solving with insight into the lives of the four main characters. She portrays strong women with soft sides and weaknesses.

Felicia Donovan began writing stories early on and completed her first novel before graduating high school. She became a teacher, but always felt compelled to return to the joy of writing fiction. Felicia left teaching to join a New England-based police department where she discovered the fascinating world of computer forensics. She resides in the bucolic countryside of NH with her two children and three dogs. She has a deep affection for her family, her friends, fine chocolates and well-spun tales.

Spun Tales is a wonderful continuation of the Black Widow agency series. Like the first novel, this is an engaging read. It is entertaining, suspenseful, fun, and fast paced. The four main characters are further developed and overcome new challenges. I highly recommend this novel to any mystery lover, especially those interested female leads.

Spun Tales is available through: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores. Keep an eye out for the third in this series, Fragile Webs.

Title: Spun Tales
Author: Felicia Donovan
Publisher: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1310-6
Pages: 234
Price: $13.95

Review - The Black Widow Agency by Felicia Donovan

The Black Widow Agency
Written by: Felicia Donovan
Fiction / Mystery
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Amber Gordon’s life is on a downward spiral. She says she was fired from her automotive engineering job and lost custody of her daughter after being framed for possession of a controlled substance.

Amber turns to the Black Widow Agency where the all-female staff is ready to help her get her life back. Each woman at the agency brings her own expertise and each is willing to jump in to this case without reservation.

The Black Widow Agency doesn’t accept any client that comes to them with a tale of woe. The client has to tell them the truth from the start and must be willing to accept methods that may seem a bit questionable. Katie, the owner, relies on a computer hacker, office manager, and financial whiz to help her develop and execute plans that will give sweet justice to their clientele.

Author Felicia Donovan uses her computer forensics experience to create an intelligent and fun story line with women of varying skill sets (from finance to cyber geek), and ages (from twenty-something to sixty-something) righting the wrongs done to their clients. Her writing balances crime-solving with insight into the lives of the four main characters. She portrays strong women with soft sides and weaknesses.

Felicia (pronounced Fa-lish-a) began writing stories early on and completed her first novel before graduating high school. She became a teacher, but always felt compelled to return to the joy of writing fiction. Felicia left teaching to join a New England-based police department where she discovered the fascinating world of computer forensics. She resides in the bucolic countryside of NH with her two children and three dogs. She has a deep affection for her family, her friends, fine chocolates and well-spun tales.

The Black Widow Agency is an engaging read. It is entertaining, suspenseful, fun, and fast paced. The diversity of the four main characters makes their interactions down-to-earth. I highly recommend this novel to any fiction or mystery lover, especially for those interested in strong female leads.

The Black Widow Agency is available through: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores.

Title: The Black Widow Agency
Author: Felicia Donovan
Publisher: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1082-2
Pages: 234
Price: $12.95