No more likely than late Faulkner novels to win new fans for the author, but bestselling author Connolly’s fans, who already...
Beneath the generic title—when is it not a time of torment for seen-it-all detective Charlie Parker?—lurks a supernatural nightmare within a criminal nightmare.
Now that he’s been released from a Maine prison after serving five years for possession of child pornography, Jerome Burnel offers Charlie $50,000 to clear his name and find out who planted the evidence that convicted him. Although he ordinarily reserves his time for grander, darker schemes (A Song of Shadows, 2015, etc.), Charlie is tempted by his suspicion that Burnel may well have been framed in revenge for his daring interruption of a violent confrontation between blackmailing sexpot Corrie Wyatt and Henry Forde, a target who turned out to be a lot more dangerous than she was. While Charlie’s pondering whether to take the case of the disgraced hero, Burnel vanishes, and Charlie, who doesn’t think for a minute that he had the gumption to break parole on his own, vows to track him down. The trail leads to Plassey County, West Virginia, where a mountain cleft called the Cut is home to a murderous nest of backwoods criminals, a sheriff determined to root them out, and the Dead King, the fearsome presence that gives the Cut uncanny powers. Connolly adorns his portentous clash-of-titans mythology with extravagant inventiveness: every character has a florid back story and a resume of yearslong conflicts with all the others. No matter how many lawmen and members of the Cut the furiously boiling plot claims, others arise like zombies to take their places as the tale lurches toward an apocalyptic confrontation and an epilogue in which the Dead King is bested by a most unlikely warrior.
No more likely than late Faulkner novels to win new fans for the author, but bestselling author Connolly’s fans, who already know what they like, won’t care a bit.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1832-6
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Emily Bestler/Atria
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Despite its caloric restrictions, Fluke’s 11th cozy is a tasty treat.
A new fitness regimen allows Hannah Swensen (Carrot Cake Murder, 2008, etc.) to exercise her ingenuity along with her abs when she finds a dead body in the local health club’s Jacuzzi.
Hannah isn’t used to having her suitor, Detective Mike Kingston, give her amateur investigations his blessings. But then, she’s not used to having to eat skinless chicken breasts night after night instead of feasting on the treats she and Lisa Beeseman serve up daily at The Cookie Jar. So even though her diet and exercise plan—undertaken in a last-ditch attempt to fit into the Regency dress she ordered for her mother’s book launch—is a drag, her newfound freedom to probe the death of fitness instructor Ronni Ward is a treat, not in the least because Ronni’s demise puts paid to her shameless flirting with every man in sight. Not only Mike, but Hannah’s sister Andrea’s county-cop husband Bill and Lisa’s local-cop husband Herb are barred from the official investigation because they were just too close to the victim. In fact, Norman Rhodes, Hannah’s second-string beau, may be the only man in Lake Eden Ronni hadn’t tried to bed. His immunity to Ronni’s charms, along with his own charming modesty, raises his stock in Hannah’s eyes, and before long the two of them are whipping up Bonnie Brownie Cookie Bars in his custom-designed kitchen while watching security tapes to see who might have taken Ronni for her final swim.
Despite its caloric restrictions, Fluke’s 11th cozy is a tasty treat.Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7582-1022-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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Fluke’s latest puzzler boasts 25 recipes and even more surprises.
A cruise may be romantic for Lake Eden’s Lutheran minister and his wife, but it’s murder for Hannah Swensen (Gingerbread Cookie Murder, 2010, etc.) and her pals.
Now that his childhood friend Matthew Walters has taken over his pastoral duties for two weeks, Rev. Bob Knudson can finally take his bride Claire on a belated honeymoon. Grandma Knudson’s willing to look after Matthew, just as she did when he and his cousin Paul stayed in Lake Eden as a teenager. And she’s even willing to keep an eye on Pete Nunke’s mynah, who’s staying in the rectory while Pete recovers from back surgery. Of course Hannah keeps Grandma Knudson well stocked with Butterscotch Bonanza Bars and Nutmeg Snaps from The Cookie Jar, her coffee shop. But when one of Hannah’s visits ends with the discovery of Matthew’s body face down in a piece of Red Devil’s Food Cake (recipe included), she leaves Grandma Knudson in the care of Clara and Marguerite Hollenbeck to stalk a killer. Hannah’s partner Lisa Beeseman entertains customers with tales of the grisly find while Hannah enlists sisters Andrea and Michelle to question potential suspects. They even stop at the skuzzy Eagle roadhouse to question Lenny Peske about the dollar coin he gave Lisa as a tip. Hannah’s main partner-in-crime-prevention, Norman Rhodes, on the other hand, has seemed strangely preoccupied ever since his ex-fiancée, Beverly Thorndike, joined his dental practice. Will Claire and Bob’s idyllic adventure spell romantic disaster for Lake Eden’s premier sleuth?
Fluke’s latest puzzler boasts 25 recipes and even more surprises.Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7582-3491-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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