MBR: The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Midwest Book Review
Bleeder
John Desjarlais
Imagio
c/o Sophia Institute Press
PO Box 5284, Manchester, NH 03108
9781933184562, $14.95, www.sophiainstitute.com
The divine can be the perfect scapegoat. "Bleeder: A Miracle? Or
Bloody Murder?" is the story of the death of a stigmatic priest. But
it isn't the will of god that seems to be the problem, and a professor
named Reed Stubblefield finds himself the prime suspect in a murder
investigation. Faced with a killer clever enough to work apparent
miracles, "Bleeder" is a truly entertaining mystery, highly
recommended.
Twenty Five Years Ago Today
Stacy Juba
Mainly Murder Press
PO Box 290586, Wethersfield, CT 06109-0586
9780615290119, $14.95, www.stacyjuba.com
Some secrets are best left covered. "Twenty Five Years Ago Today"
follows Kris Langley as she tries to advance her career by looking
deeper into a long forgotten case. But she soon finds that maybe it
was unsolved for a reason, as beneath the surface the case is not what
it seems. Even submerged for decades, those behind the case show why
it has remained unsolved. "Twenty Five Years Ago Today" is an
intriguing mystery that should not be overlooked.
Tragic Magic
Laura Childs
Berkeley Prime Crime
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780425229897, $24.95 www.penguin.com
TRAGIC MAGIC is a scrapbooking mystery set in New Orleans and
revolving around Carmella, owner of Memory Mine scrapbooking store,
and her best friend Ava, owner of Juju Voodoo. Their joint project
converting an old mansion into a haunted house backfires when the
haunted house becomes too authentic and death walks among them in this
vivid mystery perfect for any serious mystery collection.
The Chocolate Cupid Killings
JoAnna Carl
Obsidian
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780451227973, $21.95 www.penguin.com
The Chocolate Cupid Killings is a chocolate mystery permeated with
chocolate trivia and fun as it tells of Lee Woodyard, who finds her
own liquer bottle was used as a murder weapon. Add in a romance for
Lee and a P.I. determined to help her sand you have a fine story of
intrigue and humor perfect for culinary mystery holdings.
Trick or Treat
Kerry Greenwood
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. 1st Ave #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
9781590585320, $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com
TRICK OR TREAT provides a fine Corinna Chapman mystery, centering
around the baker's face-off with a competing cut-price franchise
bakery down the street. Add romance problems and her love's absences
when an 'old friend' moves into his house and an outbreak of madness
and you have a complex, satisfying mystery perfect for general mystery
libraries.
Arctic Blue Death
R. J. Harlick
Rendezvous Crime
c/o Napoleon & Company
235-1173 Dundas Street, East, Toronto, ON M4M 3P1
9781894917872, $16.95, www.napoleoncompany.com
Where there are people, there is crime. "Arctic Blue Death" is a story
of murder in the arctic, as Meg Harris's father vanishes off the face
of the planet. Suspecting the worst, she travels first in search of
the truth, but finds that the truth may be more foul than she would
have ever suspected. A story of mystery in the Arctic Circle and the
people who call it home, "Arctic Blue Death" is a fine and intriguing
mystery that is highly recommended. Also recommended from Napoleon &
Company is "Betrayed: The Legend of Oak Island", (9781894917919,
$10.95), an entertaining fantasy from Christopher Dinsdale.
Blackwork
Monica Ferris
Berkeley Prime Crime
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780425229903, $24.95 www.penguin.com
BLACKWORK: A NEEDLECRAFT MYSTERY is a powerful survey continuing
Monica Ferris' best-selling Needlecraft Mystery series. Here it's
Halloween and Betsy Devonshire, owner of a needlework shop and a part-
time sleuth, finds murder mixes too easily with black magic. When a
Wiccan practitioner ends up dead without a mark on his body, Betsy is
on the case in a pick perfect for year-round enjoyment.
Murder, She Wrote: A Fatal Feast
Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
Obsidian
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780451227966, $22.95 www.penguin.com
Murder, She Wrote: A Fatal Feast provides the newest novel in the
series and comes from a mystery author who is facing more than holiday
blues. Jessica's struggle with writer's block and a new novel's
deadline leads to conflict with a major culinary effort for
Thanksgiving: the result is a powerful and revealing murder mystery
perfect for mystery lending libraries.
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. 1st Ave #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
www.poisonedpenpress.com
Peter May's CHINESE WHISPERS (9781590586082, $24.95) represents the
sixth of the China thrillers and centers around the Beijing Ripper and
one Li Yan, head of the city's serious crime squad who is determined
to stop the Ripper. With the aid of American pathologist Margaret
Campbell, Li becomes involved to the extent of receiving personal
letters from the killer. Any mystery library will appreciate the
focus. Libraries will also relish J.M. Hayes' SERVER DOWN; A MAD DOG
AND ENGLISHMAN MYSTERY (9781590586273, $24.95) tells of wanna-be
shaman Mad Dog who is accused of being a witch and finds himself under
suspicion when a policeman is murdered at the Yaqui tribe's Easter
ceremonies. He and his wolf Hailey are targets of a city-wide manhunt
- and it's up to his niece to try to clear her uncle by finding the
killer even as Mad Dog's world is invaded by violence.
A Taste for Honey
H. F. Heard
Blue Dolphin Publishing
PO Box 8, Nevada City, CA 95959-0008
9781577332152 $16.95 www.bluedolphinpublishing.com 1-800-643-0765
It's obvious there's evil in the world, but why? There is the
question. "A Taste for Honey" is the story of killer bees and the man
who has trained them, and the unknowing man who has stumbled into it
and is left wondering why. Combing zoology, mystery, and psychology
for a highly unique story, "A Taste for Honey" is a solid and very
recommended read that should not be ignored.
Tattoo
Manuel Vazquez Montalban
Serpent's Tail
255 West 108th Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10025
9781846686672, $14.95, www.serpentstail.com
An unsavory tattoo can lead to an unsavory underworld. "Tattoo" is a
Pepe Carvalho mystery, following the lead character as he's charged
with identifying a dead man whose faced was destroyed. Going on only
an unusual tattoo, Pepe finds that in order to find the truth and
close the case, he'll have to go deep into Amsterdam's criminal
underworld. "Tattoo" is an exciting and very highly recommended read.
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