by Finzzzz
Welcome to March. Here are a few selections
I think you will enjoy.
 Resurrection
Day
by Brendan DuBois
It’s 1972, 10 years after the Cuban War. Washington,
D.C., New York City, Miami, San Diego, and Omaha are
Restricted Zones, sights of nuclear disasters. Russia is
wiped from the map. France and Germany are now world
powers. John F. Kennedy is the most hated president in
history. The country is trying to recover from these
devastating blows. Military veteran reporter Carl Landry
from the Boston Globe is assigned to investigate the
death of a Cuban War veteran and what he is about to
learn will make him a hunted man. If you enjoy what-if
thrillers, pick this one up. DuBois (writer of the Lewis
Cole mysteries) delivers an action packed, highly
plausible thriller that will keep you riveted to your
seat. If you enjoyed Robert Harris’ thriller
Fatherland you’ll sure to love this.
 Precipice
by Tom Savage
A great book to read during the winter, Tom Savage (one
of my favorite authors) puts forth a mystery thriller set
on the Virgin Island of St. Thomas. A happy, well-to-do
family enjoys its life of privilege in their Caribbean
paradise home named Cliffhanger before the arrival of the
beautiful and deadly Diana, a hired governess who turns
their ideal life into a hellish existence. Every
character has a secret and a hidden agenda.. Who will out
con who? The plot moves at high speed to an exciting
conclusion, and as you probably guessed it takes place on
a precipice overlooking the Caribbean Ocean. Great fun!
 Flight
by Jan Burke
(Book Description) Hot off the publication of Bones, the
winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, Jan Burke
explodes onto the suspense scene with Flight, featuring
the hard-edged Detective Frank Harriman, husband of Jan's
beloved series heroine Irene Kelly. A family is found
murdered. In a cruel twist, one of the Las Piernas Police
Department's own, Philip Lefebvre, is suspected of
killing the only witness. When that detective disappears,
a crime boss goes free. And the LPPD is forever changed.
Called in to investigate the wreckage of the missing
detective's plane, Frank Harriman is given a set of cold
cases that have suddenly become white hot. Detective
Harriman's conviction that the LPPD tagged the wrong
murder suspect is wildly unpopular. Alone, his instincts
and integrity questioned at every turn, Harriman must
stop the killer before hundreds of lives, including
Harriman's own, are lost. Flight is a heart-pounding
marriage of Jan Burke's "intricate plotting"
(Washington Times), "chilling suspense" (Clive
Cussler), and trademark "crisp, crackling
prose" (Library Journal) that will thrill newcomers
and veteran Burke fans, cover to cover.
 Bones
by Jan Burke
WINNER OF
THE 2000 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL!
For Four Long Years, No One Has Known What Became of
Julia Sayre (Book Description) On the morning after this
mother of two disappeared, her family sought the help of
reporter Irene Kelly. But despite Irene's best efforts,
until now only one person has known where to find Sayre:
her killer. Nick Parrish, brilliant and sadistic, already
faces the death penalty in a torture-murder case. Now he
wants to cop a plea -- life imprisonment in exchange for
directing police to the isolated mountain grave where he
buried Julia Sayre. The D.A. agrees to the controversial
deal, and form a specialized team of law enforcement and
forensic experts to accompany Parrish on his grisly
journey. When the Sayres and the newspaper pressure the
D.A. to include Irene on the expedition, their wishes are
honored over the protests of the team. From the start,
Parrish makes Irene the object of his unnerving
attention. His knowing smile and relentless stares make
her wonder if heavy chains, armed guards, and a
protective search dog will be enough to keep him at bay.
But Nick Parrish's deadly plan to regain his freedom is
already in motion, and Irene will need all her courage
and ingenuity to remain the reporter -- not the victim --
in tomorrow's headlines.
Both Flight and Bones are exciting and thrilling
masterpieces by an author whose time has come. If you
haven’t read Jan Burke yet, these two novels are a
wonderful introduction. Burke impresses me with her
strong characters, wonderful pacing, and crisp dialogue.
Forget Dr. Lechter, Nick Parrish in Bones is more creepy
and diabolical.
March
Book of The Month
 The Fig
Eater
by Jody Shields
(Book Description) "It is hot, unusually hot for the end
of August. Someone has murdered a young woman.--They find
no objects, no obvious clues around her. --They'll search
the area again tomorrow during the day, when there is
better light." Vienna, 1910 --Freud's Vienna, a city of
horse-drawn carriages and masked balls, gaslit cafis and
Biedermeier furniture -- hovers on the threshold between
darkness and light, superstition and science. The murder
of Dora, the haunted daughter of a respectable bourgeois
family, is being investigated by the Inspector, newly
schooled in rationalist criminology. Almost every aspect
of the case remains hidden, untouchable. He recognizes
uncertainty as part of solving the crime and knows
that--what is unspoken remains most powerful. He is
trying to find the "error in the
situation"--that small link that will lead him to
the truth. His wife, Ersezbet, a Hungarian steeped in
intuition and the lore of Gypsy mysticism, becomes
obsessed with the murder and launches her own parallel,
secret investigation. She is sure that the figs found in
Dora’s stomach are the clue to the identity of the
murderer--for there are no fresh figs in Vienna at this
time of the year. With the help of a young British
governess, she unmasks an entirely other face of the
crime, and of the society that would prefer it to be
repressed forever. In her brooding, atmospheric, and
meticulously researched debut thriller, Jody Shields
resurrects turn-of-the-century Vienna with luscious
details about food, botany, and fashion, descriptions of
perverse medical practices, and hints at sexual secrets.
The Fig Eater is a great suspense puzzle in which each
piece gathered hallenges our perceptions and leads us to
the novel's shocking climax."
We celebrate March as Women’s History Month with
this wonderful piece of writing. The Fig Eater is an
exciting, well-written piece of historical fiction with a
strong, central female character who you won’t soon
forget. Erszebet’s character just explodes off the
page as she struggles with asserting herself in a male
dominated era. The descriptions of early 1900’s
Vienna are vivid and captivating. I could actually see,
smell, and hear the sounds of Vienna as I was reading
this novel. A great read that will please many a mystery
buff.
Let me
know what you think of these and any other books. You can
e-mail me at Finzzzz@aol.com . Happy reading!
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