Keeper of the Keys:a novel by Perri o'Shaugnessy

A Radical Departure from the Nina Reilly series***

Fans of Perri O'Shaugnessy picking up this novel looking for another encounter with Nina Reilly are bound to be a little disappointed. This is a totally different novel. Frankly the last Nina Reilly novels were a bit on the weak side so the sisters were wise to try their hand(s) at something new.

The keys of the title belong to Ray, an architect who had a troubled childhood and was moved from house to house by his mother, never staying long anywhere. Ray kept a key from each house and in his spare-time constructs models of each house he lived in.

Leah, Ray's wife, is bored with her marriage and having an affair with Ray's partner. Early in the novel Ray and Leah have a heated argument and Leah subsequently disappears. Suspicion qickly emerges that Ray has killed his wife. Leah's father and her old friend Kat come calling but Ray pleads ignorance of her whereabouts.

Eventually Leah is located. The real plot comes to a crunch when Ray discovers why his mother moved houses so often and what is hidden in her basement.

Step on a Crack: a novel by James patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Better than his usual pablum***

Another of James Patterson's ghostwritten books. This one continues the brand. But it has a little more sizzle and interest than some of his other recent "novels". The plot revolves around an audacious mass kidnapping as celebrities gather in St . Patrick's Cathedral in New York for the funeral of the First Lady who died at a restaurant there, suppposedly of an allergic reaction. Truth is, she was murdered to set the scene for the gathering of the wealthy and the mighty at St. Patick's. Thrust into the role of negotiator is Michael Bennett, a senior NYPD homicide detective. Michael has a wife dying of cancer and 10 adopted children (yes 10). Mike tries to reason with the lead kidnapper known as Jack but a couple of deaths later the cops know that Jack is not kidding around. Ultimately the ransom money is wired to an overseas account. But how will the kidnappers escape? The police find and block a tunnel the kidnappers had been planning to use. But Jack has a Plan B. It would spoil the story to reveal how they escape, but escape they do in a very imaginative fashion. But the best part comes when Mike pursues a lead and traps the kidnappers in their lair.

Wild Fire: a novel by Nelson De Mille

Good entertainment***

I have long been a fan of Nelson De Mille's novels. This one is entertaining but not one of his best. This novel is in some respects a sequel to Nightfall which ended on September 11, 2001, as Detective John Corey was approaching the World Trade Center for a morning meeting to discuss the mysterious downing of an airliner off Long Island some time previously. We never get to know whether Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, are correct in their suspicions that the plane had been brought down by a terrorist act. This is dwarfed by the events of September 11.

Wild Fire takes place over a weekend in October 2002, a year after 9/11. As Corey is leaving for the weekend he meets a fellow member of the Anti-Terrorism Task Force, Henry Muller, who has been dispatched to spend the weekend to conduct surveillance of the Custer Club lodge in upstate New York wher some very highly-connected folks are meeting to discuss a plot that would trigger Project Wild Fire. Wild Fire is a mandatory nuclear response to terroist nuclear action in the USA. Under Wild Fire major cities thoughout the Muslim world would be destroyed.

Muller is captured and observes the discussions of the plot by Bain Maddox and his cohorts. So we learn the plan up front. The rest of the novel deals with the actions of Corey and Kate who are sent to check out the disappearance of Muller and report back. Corey goes "off reservation" determined to get to the bottom of their colleague's disappearance and subsequent "accidental death".

Corey is reckless and tenacious and pursues matters to a hair-raising conclusion, saving two US cities from nuclear destruction in the process.

The novel is filled with Corey's wise-cracking and sarcastic comments about various operations and agencies of the good ole' USA. All-in-all, a good read but not on a par with some of De Mille's best work. My favourite remains Up Country, a novel about an investigator's return to modern Viet Nam which is great literature.

Hannibal Rising: a novel by Thomas Harris

Disappointing*** March 7,2007

Hannibal Lecter has become though books and movies one of the best-known villains of modern times. Hannibal Rising is a prequel, purporting to reveal the underpinnings of the monster who emerged in the earlier books.

The novel focuses on Hannibal's experiences as a young lad during the Second World War. He is traumatized by the brutal death of his sister Mischa and extracts vengeance from those who wreaked havoc on his family. He has a dalliance with his dead uncle's Japanese wife while he is methodically planning the revenge killings.

In terms of its short chapters and sentence structure this novel reminded me somewhat of James Patterson's recent offerings.

The Suspect: a novel by John Lescroart

A solid murder mystery**** March 7,2007

Lescroart is back, but this time sans Dismas Hardy except for a brief appearance. The suspect is outdoor writer Stuart Gorman who returns home from a solo weekend fishing to find his doctor wife dead in the hot tub. Given that they were quarreling before he left, she had asked for a divorce and she has a huge insurance policy, Stuart is immediately suspect. Gina Roake, a partner in the Dismas Hardy law firm is hired to defend him. She and her investigator are kept busy trying to find out who would want Stuart's wife dead and why. I have to say that in this instance I locked onto the culprit about halfway through the story.

This is another entertaining Lescroart novel, not his best but still well-crafted.

As an aside, an outdoor friend of Lescroart's,Tom Stienstra, has written an interesting piece about fishing with Lescroart. Fans of Lescroart might wish to check it out.

Exile:a novel by Richard North Patterson

Understanding the Middle East****** March 7,2007

David Wolfe, Harvard-trained Jewish lawyer, is beginning to mount a campaign for the US Senate when Israeli PM Amos Ben-Aron is assassinated in front of him in San Francisco. Wolfe is approached by Palestinian Hana Arif, a former lover of his at law school, for legal assistance when she becomes the chief suspect in the assassination investigation.

The value of this book lies in Wolfe's attempts to understand the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he tries to unmask the true forces behind the assassination. There are no back and white answers in this novel but after reading it you will feel that you have a fuller understanding of the complexities behind today's headlines.

Recommended.

The Machiavelli Covenant by Allan Folsom

Outlandish plot*** March 5, 2007

Put together a former LAPD exile, a beautiful French journalist and the US President, stir wildly and this is what you get. Nicholas Marten comes back from hiding in Europe at the request of Caroline Parsons who claims to have been infected by a mysterious virus and believes her Congressman husband and child were killed in a planned plane crash. Nicholas pledges to investigate these sinister forces. Meanwhile the US President is presented by his top advisors with a request to assassinate the leaders of France and Germany and then unleash biological weapons upon an unsuspecting Muslim world. The President realizes that if he doesn't carry out the desires of his erstwhile friends he will be killed and the plan will proceed so he escapes from his handlers. He teams up with Martens and together they unravel the plans of a secret cult of the powerful.

This book is much too long. The dialogue often seems contrived. an ok read but nothing great.