February 2003 Fiction and Mystery Reviews

Clutch of Phantoms
by Clare Layton

Poisoned Pen Press

ISBN# 1-59058-027-3
Suggested Retail Price: $24.95 or as low as $0.39 from Amazon.com!

As improbable as it may seem, this plot is centered on a woman named Cass who has just found out that her long-lost grandmother is alive and has been in jail for murder. The police say Grandma killed her husband. Livia, the killer grandma, has just been released from jail and is on probation. An old friend of Livia's has purchased a home for her in a small town that is well away from the major media - a crucial benefit as Cass finds all of this out when reporters begin to harass her. Cass decides to finally visit her grandmother whom, according to pictures in albums, she resembles closely. So after a messy breakup with a lover, Cass goes to the country to meet her grandmother. It is there that she meets a man who has arrived at the house very ill, suffering from pneumonia. Grandma and Cass take him in and help him to get well. Grandma Livia also has taken on a young student who has a history of bad behavior and is doing quite well with him. All is well until the press finds them and they begin to make the headlines again. Its a gripping mystery you'll enjoy.

Bingo Under the Crucifix
by Laurie Foos

Coffee House Press

ISBN# 1-566-89-133-7
Suggested Retail Price: $14.00 or as low as $1.70 from Amazon.com!

This is an unusual tale. We meet Chloe who is a chain-smoking wife who makes what she calls "Bingo Lady" dolls. Her inspirations come to her when she attends church bingo games. Cloe has a dysfunctional brother who believes that he is Spiderman and has decorated his life in honor of that fictional super-hero. The brother is about to become a father, but he has reverted into a newborn at this news. At least that is what the family believes when they find this deformed baby with a large head who looks like the brother, but has the body of a baby. They are keeping him hidden in the basement and they expect that Chloe will somehow cure him and bring him back to himself.

In another location, a prom queen is about to be crowned after she makes a quick stop in the ladies' room, where she gives birth quickly and abandons the baby to rush back out in time to receive the crown.

If this all sounds confusing to you now, wait until you meet the other players in this plot. This satire will keep your attention until, in the end, it all works out despite the oddball cast of players. It's always refreshing to run into a new and bizarre plot.

A Puzzle in a Pear Tree (Puzzle Lady Mysteries (Hardcover))
by Parnell Hall

Bantam

ISBN# 0-553-80242-9
Suggested Retail Price: $23.95 or as low as $0.01 from Amazon.com!

As always, Parnell Hall has given us a light puzzle that surrounds a baffling murder mystery. We arrive in Bakerhaven, where the Puzzle Lady lives, just when the town is practicing for a stunning presentation for the Christmas season that will portray the 12 days of Christmas with a very full cast. Cora, who is supposed to be the public "Puzzle Lady," is playing one of the "Eight Maids A-Milking." The director is quite cruel in his criticisms of Cora's performance, but he also will not release her from the part. Cora's niece, Sherry, who is the real puzzle solver in the family although no one is supposed to know that, is also in the large cast. Suddenly, a red envelope appears in the Pear Tree. Inside the envelope is an acrostic puzzle to solve. At the same time, Becky, who is Sherry's rival for a local newsman, is almost killed by a falling sandbag.

There is also an outdoor "manger" display where most of these same people take turns posing in the tableau. Standing still for a period until the next actor relieves them. One of the "Marys" is found to have been murdered when she is supposed to be relieved by the next "Mary." The puzzles keep piling on top of one another as this convoluted plot gets thicker.

There is a new character visiting the town. He is a most unlikable Scotland Yard policeman who has offers his help in solving the murders.

Parnel has once again given us an almost unguessable murder mystery. In the end, sleuth Cora is the one who does solve the mysteries of the acrostics threats and the murders that have multiplied. It's all good guessing, which is the fun part in any mystery.

The Syndrome : A Thriller
by John Case

Ballantine Books

ISBN# 0-345-43308-4
Suggested Retail Price: $25.95 or as low as $0.01 from Amazon.com!

This is a thriller that will carry the reader happily along to the ending. Not classically literate, but every page fills you with a will to follow the hero through his "Indiana Jones"-like adventures.

Danny Cray is a sculptor and a video artist who lives in Washington D.C. Once in a while, he does some research work for a large firm of private detectives. A very well-known and wealthy lawyer asks Danny to take on a job for him. The money is too good to turn down. The client is a billionaire who is the target of a vicious campaign by the Italian press that threatens to ruin his reputation. The attorney wants Danny to find out who is responsible. What with digging around and spending a lot of time and money on the search, Danny finds himself traveling first class on trips to Italy and other countries until he stumbles upon the trail of a professor who was in touch with the Vatican regarding a remote tribe of Kurds and their strange religion. Danny finds the tribe and a potfull of trouble as he travels into an ancient land where this tribe lives.

There isn't a page that you will want to tear your eyes from until you reach the end of this mystery. Lots of evil characters and some virtuous ones run very fast through these pages, adding to the charm of this persistent artist who does finally wake up to save himself - just in the nick of time, of course.