Dark Tribute/Iris Johansen/373 pages

                                                 Dark Tribute is the newest edition in a very long list of novels

                                             about Even Duncan, forensic sculptor, and her family which includes

                                             husband, Joe Quinn, son Michael and adopted daughters Cara and

                                             Jane.  This mystery begins when Cara is kidnapped by a madman

                                             because of her ability to play the violin.  No sooner is she snatched

                                             than Joe and Cara's long time friend, Jock, are on the case.  Soon

                                             it becomes apparent that they are going in the wrong direction and

                                             they have to switch gears and make some quick decisions in a life

                                             and death search which zig zags the country.

                                                  Dark Tribute is an excellent book.  The best part about it is that

                                             you already know all the characters from page one.  The only part that

                                             I did not like was the role that Michael played in solving the case.  The

way he acts, the things he says and does just don't ring true for a ten year old boy and it kind of

ruined it for me.  Hopefully that is just me and everyone else will be able to read the book and enjoy it from cover to cover.

                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                  

                                            

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Dead In A Week/Andrea Kane/317 Pages (Mystery)

                                                        Dead in a Week is a nail biter of a mystery!  Lauren Pennington is

                                                   on school break in Germany when she is kidnapped and moved to a

                                                   remote farmhouse where she is held captive while her father--who
                                                   is the head of a technology company about to roll out industry
                                                   changing software--is told he has one week to turn over the
                                                   technology or Lauren dies.
                                                        Almost before Lauren's family realizes anything is wrong, Aidan

                                                   Deveraux is working the case.  Along with his select group of highly

                                                   trained individuals, Aidan plans Lauren's rescue, digging in to

                                                   uncover the entire where/when/why of the plot and executing split

                                                   second timing to help bring the bad guys to justice.

                                                        I loved this book!  The plot has a lot of twists and the story has a lengthy list of characters.  Sometimes it got confusing and I had to backtrack to keep things straight but it was totally worth it.  Fans of Andrea Kane will not be disappointed.

                                                                                                                                      

Too Far Gone/Brennan, Allison/490 pages

     Too Far Gone is actually two stories presented side by side, connected but different.  Security expert Sean Rogan has recently discovered he has a 13 year old son, Jesse.  They are enjoying a 6 week together time when Jesse becomes a target for kidnapping.  Finding out who is behind it and stopping harm from coming to his new family is Sean's top priority.  Meanwhile, Sean's wife, Lucy Kincaid, is knee deep into an investigation concerning one of the head researchers at a lab who becomes unbalanced, takes hostages and must be taken out by police.  Figuring out who is behind the kidnapping and what really happened becomes a tangled story that grabs the reader from page one.

     Great story telling, masterful plot execution, wonderful characters--something for everyone in this new suspense thriller!

Sting/Sandra Brown/408 pgs.

Shaw Kinnard has been hired to kill Jordie Bennet. Jordie's brother, Josh, was to turn testimony against his gangster boss, Billy Panella. Josh escapes from FBI protection, so Panella wants to kill Jordie in order to send Josh a message. Also, there is the 3 million dollars that Panella is missing--and believes Josh is going after. There are red herrings, romance, etc., which is pretty typical of Sandra Brown's books. However, I found this one of her better suspense mysteries. Highly recommended!

Bloodlines/Sharon Sala/372 pgs.

At the age of two, Olivia Sealy was kidnapped, and her parents were murdered--an unsolved case. Her protective grandfather raised her, giving her a life of luxury. Fast forward decades later, and the bones of a baby are found in a suitcase hidden in a wall. Olivia's old boyfriend, Detective Trey Bonney, is called in to investigate. Old feelings between Trey and Olivia come to the surface--especially when it becomes obvious that Olivia's life is in danger. The original copyright on this book is 2005--it shows. It's a fast, entertaining, light read.