November 2005 Fiction and Mystery Reviews

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
by Bill Watterson

Andrews McMeel Publishing

ISBN# 0-7407-4847-5
Suggested Retail Price: $150.00 or as low as $87.58 from Amazon.com!

It costs a bit but for any fan of this wonderful pair, a boy and his tiger, this is the Christmas present they would want. I did not get the book, but I have written to Santa and I am keeping up my hopes.

Bill Watterson left the field much too early for my taste. His cartoon was one of the delights on my Sunday paper. Unfortunately we have lost a number of the greatest cartoonist to …..I am not sure what. Burn-out of one kind or another, I suppose. So it is with delight that I call your attention to this publication of the complete Watterson collection.

Seven Lies
by James Lasdun

W. W. Norton
Book
ISBN# 0-3930-5754-2
Suggested Retail Price: $23.95 or as low as $5.75 from Amazon.com!

Author Lasdun is the author of "The Economist" which was selected as the Best Book of the Year. Now he has given us thriller. The story is about Stefan Bogel, a young man growing up in East Germany. He dreams of love and glory in his future and, most of all, freedom. He dreams of going to America. Through some dark but clever moves, he finds himself married and he finds himself in America. He has left a secret life back in Germany, but

Life Sentences
by Alice Blanchard

Warner Books
Book
ISBN# 0-4465-7672-7
Suggested Retail Price: $24.95 or as low as $8.74 from Amazon.com!

Daisy Hubbard is a researcher in a Boston medical school. She wants to find the cure for a rare genetic disease that took the life of her younger brother. Daisy has a mentally unstable sister who is supposed to be in Los Angeles, but has gone missing. Daisy finds her sister’s killer and agrees to go with him to where he buried Anna. She fears the worst, but it turns out even more terrifying than she could ever have imagined.

Daisy teams up with a LAPD detective to blend his skills and her scientific knowledge to track down the killer. What you get here is a good mix of science and the kind of thrills that this author is such an expert at delivering to readers.

Fiddlers : A Novel of the 87th Precinct
by Ed McBain

Harcourt
Hardcover
ISBN# 0-1510-1216-4
Suggested Retail Price: $25.00 or as low as $12.20 from Amazon.com!

Ed McBain passed away recently, and he will be sorely missed by mystery fans around the world. During his lifetime he won just about every award a mystery writer could win. He wrote more than 100 books.

The 87th Precinct finds itself really stumped by a serial killer who just doesn’t fit any profile. The victims range from a blind violinist to a sales rep that was cooking eggs in her own kitchen. Did you know that most serial killers don’t use guns and that they do not strike five times in two weeks?

Savor a last adventure with the familiar personalities of the 87th Precinct.

Mew is for Murder
by Clea Simon

Poisoned Pen Press

ISBN# 1-5905-8165-2
Suggested Retail Price: $24.95 or as low as $11.69 from Amazon.com!

A delightful new character to enjoy is presented in the form of one Theda Mkrakow. Theda is a freelance writer, but for now she is on funk. Her boyfriend has split and her cat has died. Losing the cat probably upset her more than losing the man. Theda is out for a walk when she runs into a house owned by a woman who collects lots of cats. Theda wants to write about the people like this one. What makes a crazy cat lady? Theda sells the idea to an editor and returns to the house to find that the cat lady is dead.

As the lady’s cats are being rounded up, Theda adopts a kitten that has taken a shine to her.

We discover that the cat lady was murdered, and from there on Theda is determined to find out who-dun-it. Along the way to solving the mystery there are many interesting characters to meet and a nice little kitty to amuse us. A most satisfying mystery.