Volume 4 #4

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All books reviewed here are recommended. Please, always keep in mind that the only books that appear on this page are ones that I liked enough to write about. For every book reviewed here I have usually read two that I would not want to inflict on anyone.

Crime/Private Investigator/New Mexico
Witchy Woman
Steve Brewer
Intrigue Press 1890768138

On general principle I'm opposed to the massive invasion of the Southwest by outsiders but I guess Bubba Mabry is an ok neighbor. He's a good ole southern boy transplanted to Albuquerque who in classic PI fashion finds himself, beat up, threatened, and shot at. In his third appearance (the first two books in the series are Lone Street and Baby Face) he is teamed up with a deprogrammer to rescue an heiress from what her family considers to be a feminist cult operating outside of Taos. One the rescuee is murdered the unlikely duo try to find the killer. Meanwhile Bubba's reporter girlfriend goes undercover at the women only commune. Clever, witty, and quite likeable.

General Fiction/All Ages/Inspirational
The Heavenly Village: A Novel
Cynthia Rylant
Blue Sky Press 0439040965

A sweet little story it may provide some solace for the bereaved. It has a gentleness that is reminiscent of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and a delightful cast of characters.

Crime/Short Stories
Murder X 13
Sisters in Crime Los Angeles
Intrigue Press 1890768154

As with most anthologies this is a mixed bag but it is a good introduction to some up and coming crime writers who may go far.

Crime/Paranormal
Murder for Beltene
Sandra Brewer
Write Way 1885173679

Brewer's first novel introduces readers who've missed her short stories to Clan Beltene, a family with many immortal members and Druidic roots who live in and run rural Brennan County, Michigan. Rhiannon Beltene, not yet having taken the steps toward immortality is head of the clan and a very successful novelist penning bestselling tales of vampires so it is obvious when she finds a body, apparently killed by a vampire that she is the focus of the murderer.

Clan Beltene is a fascinating family that hopefully will appear in many more mysteries. Kudos to Write Way for publishing this delightful combination of mystery and the paranormal.

Young Adult/Contemporary/Coming of Age
Crusader
Edward Bloor
Harcourt Brace 0152019448

Bloor, the incredibly talented author of Tangerine, has done it again. Crusader has gone to the top of my list of favorite YA novels for 1999. At fifteen Roberta Ritter is more or less a non-entity. With her androgynous look and lack of social life she seems to blend into the background spending all most all her time outside of school working in the family arcade in a decaying Florida mall. She does have a passion for journalism but since the school cannot afford to put out a school paper she has not had a chance to shine. Her best friend is the elderly owner of a card shop in the mall who on Sundays, accompanies her to the cemetery where Roberta visits her dead mother. Hawg and Ironman work at the arcade in exchange for free plays on the virtual reality games that feature extreme racial violence. The arcade is on the verge of bankruptcy as is the mall while Roberta's father spends all his time with his girlfriend the inept mall manager. The one store in the mall that is not totally foundering is run by an Arab-American who becomes the focus of hate crimes which become an issue in the mall owner's bid for political office.

Master storyteller Bloor writes like a combination of Carl Hiaasen, Rob Thomas, and Joan Bauer. His intelligent combination of wild humor, sensitive issues, and complex characters makes this the YA read of the year.

Romance/Historical/Paranormal
Touch of the Wolf
Susan Krinard
Bantam 0553580183

Krinard, long a favorite contemporary paranormal romance writer, proves she has the right stuff with her first foray into historical romance. On the Southwestern American frontier Cassidy Holt, orphaned at age seven, longed to meet her mother's family -- to learn the secret of transforming herself into an exciting, strong, wild-running wolf. In England, Braden Forster, Earl of Greyburn, his life devoted to making the family breed true, hopes to find the whereabouts of the missing members of the family who fled to America. When the two, both with wills of iron, come together, they discover that determination may not be enough to make their desires come true. Lovely characterizations make Cassidy and Braden leap off the page. The American frontier and Victorian England lend an enchanting setting to the tale. Touch of the Wolf is definitely a keeper. A Di's Pick for romance.

Crime/Historical/Native American
The Visitant
Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear
Forge 0312865317

See the review I wrote for Booklist by clicking on the ISBN. It isn't there yet but hopefully will be soon.

Adventure/Biothriller
Science Fiction/Bioengingeering
Darwin's Radio
Greg Bear
Del Rey 034542333X

In a sprawling contemporary tale microbiologist Kaye Lang, virus expert Christopher Dicken, and archaeologist Mitch Rafelson all run across information in vastly different parts of the world that eventually tie together to solve a genetic mystery. Kaye finds the bodies of pregnant women in a mass grave in Eastern Europe. Mitch discovers the frozen bodies of a prehistoric family in a hidden cave in the Alps. As fear of a virus that effects pregnant women grows some of the women seem to become pregnant without sex.

This is a real page turner. Bear's scientific explanations draw the reader as he builds suspense with a fast paced plot.

Science Fiction/Adventure/Coming of Age
Outward Bound
James P. Hogan
Tor 0312862431

In the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein's coming of age adventure novels, Hogan tells the story of juvenile delinquent, Linc Marani who takes the option to go to a special program rather than a labor camp to serve his time. The program turns out to be a boot camp-like experience where he learns he does have inner strengths and is prepared for a destiny in space.

Crime/Historical/Husband and Wife team
The Concubine's Tattoo
Laura Joh Rowland
St. Martin's Press 0312192525

Samurai detective Sano Ichiro, an investigator for the shogun in feudal Japan finds his dreams of wedded bliss in jeopardy when even before the ceremonies and festivities are complete the shogun's favorite concubine is discovered dying. Trying to keep the huge household calm in the face of what could be contagious disease, Sano discovers that Lady Harume was actually murdered, the means used a poison ink that she used when giving herself a tattoo. On the homefront he discovers that his bride in the arranged marriage is not the ladylike, obedient, traditional, shy young woman he expected her to be but rather an intelligent skilled fighter who is samurai to the core and will not sit back and wait while there is a murder to be solved.

The richly depicted setting and the burgeoning relationship between Sano and Reiko contribute to making this a fascinating read.

Young Adult/Contemporary/Adventure/Romance/Coming of Age
Locked Inside
Nancy Werlin
Delacorte 0385327005

Werlin, the incredibly talented author of my favorite YA title last year has penned an even more powerful story. An outcast at her private boarding school, orphaned sixteen-year old Marnie Skyedottir spends much of her time involved in an online adventure game as the Sorceress. When she is challenged by a player called Elf she enjoys his non-traditional way of thinking and starts an e-mail correspondence with him that is abruptly curtailed when she finds herself on the verge of being expelled just before a school break but they do make arrangements to meet online. After going out to lunch with a new teacher who seems to hate her, Marnie is conked on the head and locked in a basement room. As the extremely wealthy daughter of a late superstar, she had been taught about kidnappings but this one doesn't fit the profile. Her captor thinks that they are sisters and doesn't ask for ransom. With the distance she has kept from everyone will anyone know that she has been kidnapped?

Reading this was a stunning knock your socks off experience. Werlin makes an aloof, super-rich girl with no friends likeable and sets her into a situation that requires incredible resourcefulness. The surprise appearance by a character from The Killer's Cousin adds to the perfection.

Some readers of Genreflecting Book Reviews may know that I annually award what I call a Rats Saw God award for the most outstanding YA novel of the year. Locked Inside will not be published until February of 2000 but it is definitely a frontrunner. If it were to be published in 1999 it would surely win.

Adventure/Biothriller
Horror/Medical and Scientific
Skin
Ben Mezrich
HarperCollins 0061050415

Scully and Mulder are two of my favorite characters and the X-Files is one of the few television shows I attempt to watch. I remember reading this tale of skin harvested from the wrong cadaver and transplanted onto a respected professor who becomes the object of a police hunt and enjoying it while reading it. It was kind of like cotton candy, enjoyable while partaking but forgotten soon after.