BEAT THE REAPER

Dr. Pete Brown is a resident in one of the lousiest hospitals in New York City. It doesn't take the reader long to find out that Dr. Brown is a smart doctor but definitely a man with a past. One of the new patients in the hospital has stomach cancer but he also is a member of the mob and he recognizes Dr. Brown as Bear Claw, a ruthless killer for the mob. Dr. Brown has to do whatever he can to keep the patient from talking and ruining his position in the witness protection program. Dr. Brown isn't just any normal doctor, though, and he takes the readers on a wild and crazy chase as he tries to save his own life.

I believe the author of this book was Josh Bazill. I have to say that the book was much darker and grittier than I usually choose to read. Still, it was very suspenseful and kept the reader intrigued. From the killing to revenge the deaths of his grandparents, to finding out their true identities, to his tragic love affair with a girl named Magdelena to the very bloody and gritty ending of the book, it was a book the reader couldn't let go of. I didn't always like Peter Brown but in the end, I certainly wanted for him to live. I'm not sure if I'd try another of this author's books, but I think in 6 months or so I could!

Rating - 4 stars

SAND SHARKS

Deborah Knott is headed to a judge's conference at the beach. She has to go without Dwight and Cal but she is kind of feeling like it's time for a few days just to herself. Deborah is certainly not expecting to find herself in the midst of a murder investigation. Deborah finds Judge Pete Jeffreys strangled with a dog leash. No one thinks much of Judge Jeffreys - it doesn't take long for Deborah to realize that he was a pretty lousy judge, just looking out for his own best interests. Still, it is frightening to think that one of her colleagues could be a murderer. Things get even uglier when her friend Judge Fitzhume is run down on his way to a restaurant. Deborah is determined to do what she can to bring the killer to justice.

Margaret Maron is one of my favorite writers because she makes Deborah Knott so real and so likeable. I love her huge family and her relationship with Dwight is always a bright spot. We didn't get much of either of these but Deborah was at her best. Maron has a way of making her characters come to life for the reader. Southern living is at it's best here. It was also nice to have a break from Maron's protests against urban sprawl which have been a big piece of the last two or three books.

Rating - 5 stars

FIRE AND ICE

Joanna Brady is called to the scene of a murder of a man who manages a recreational area for ATV riders. At the same time, far away in Seattle, J.P.Beaumont and his wife, Mel, are investigating a series of deaths of young women who had been working as prostitutes. All of the previous victims had their teeth pulled before they died, so they couldn't be identified. Eventually, the latest victim is identified and she has ties to Bisbee, AZ. Working from both ends, Joanna and Beaumont work to find out who is murdering these women.

I always love J.A. Jance. Joanna Brady is my favorite character, but I have come to enjoy J.P. Beaumont, too. This book alternated from one to the other. It wasn't confusing but sometimes a little jarring to leave one place for the other. In ways, it didn't seem that the murder in Arizona really got solved to any satisfying degree. Still, it was a fun book, rich with details of both characters lives that makes Jance's books so enjoyable.

Rating - 4.5

THE SCARECROW

Jack McEvoy isn't having a good week. He is the latest person to be fired from his job at an L.A. newspaper. He will be replaced by a young woman who is barely out of college. As he begins to contemplate his new life, he gets a call from a distressed woman who insists that the paper has printed lies about her grandson, 16-year-old drug dealer in the projects who is accused of murder. Jack checks the story out a little further and realizes that the woman may be right. He also realizes that this is the kind of story that wins Pulitzer prizes. He decides that his last big story is going to be a great one that will make his bosses wonder if they fired the wrong man.

This Michael Connelly book started out a little slow for me. I was reading it in print and then I switched to audio. I think I liked audio a little better. As Jack and his friend and former lover from the FBI, Rachel, worked to untangle the mystery, the story continued to get better. This was a good read but maybe not my favorite of Connelly's. Still, there were plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

Rating - 4 stars