ReviewsByRita6

From the first paragraph where Ryan Monroe is working on his latest painting to the very end the reader will be able to almost hear ghostly piano mucic playing in the back of their head as they follow the Ryan through the story. Ryan hears the sound of music coming from the empty apartment next door and shortly later it stops with the occupant knocks on his door to see if he minds the music. Ryan is stricken with the looks of his new neighbor, who introduces himself as Evan Oliver a pianist.

Evan went back to his piano and Ryan went back to his painting but Ryan could not stop thinking about the handsome man next door. This in itself was strange because Ryan had not been able to think about another man since the death of Victor Hancock, his deceased lover, since his death almost two years ago on Christmas eve.

Since then, Ryan has been spending time with Amy Woodward a neighbor of his. Although Ryan has no attraction fo Amy or any woman as any more than a fried, it is good to have someone to hang out with. Their friends had been Victors friends and had slowly drifted away.

Staringly though Ryan heard the them music and saw Evan though the neighbor hood, even walking with him along the pier, no one else seemed to see him and Amy was sure the apartment next door to Ryan was empty. Then too, Evan always was dressed in black. Ryan fascination and attraction to Evan rose, and the mystery built. Evan did not quite seem human.
Who or what was this staringly exciting man.

During one encounter Ryan dreamed of Evan and a man, obviously his partner having a good time on the pier and taking photos in a vending machine. When Ryan woke Evan was gone But a photo of Evan and the man, Paul he realized, from his dream remained. Who was Paul and where did he fit in this picture?

Another morning Ryan woke to find his latest painted changed from the angry reds and yellow he had been using the last two years to a blue and green serene impressionist landscape, it was completely at odds with his previous style but it was what he had talked about with Evan a few days before . . . Both Amy and his agent Lauren were delighted with his new painting, Ryan found he had adopted a new calmer style of painting/. Perhaps at last he was letting go of the rage over his friends death.

His new show at the gallery was scheduled for just after Christmas, that worst of all times for Ryan. He was still desolate over Victors death on Christmas Eve as the holidays approached, Ryan and Amy planned a trip to his family, the first since the loss of Victor. And she got tickets to the symphony for the Nutcracker.

Trying to solve the mystery of Evan and his lover Paul they turned to the internet to search for Evan. The discovered his obituary. He had died in the same accident as Victor and he left a lover, Paul Goldman, a violinist.

After their next encounter Evan left a violin bow at Ryan�s apartment, ivory and ebony. Very special. Apparently as a pointed to Paul. Ryan and Amy attended the concert and found they recognize Paul from the internet and Ryan�s dreams. How could Ryan approach him he would be convinced that Ryan was insane. As they left the concert hall, Ryan saw Evan standing outside Was he a ghost" and was he trying to puts Ryan and his former lover Paul together.

There is more to this haunting story, but I will leave ti to you to discover it for yourself. I throughly enjoyed this well written book. It is a charming romance and a wonderful haunting. I would give it 5 notes out of 5 and a grace note as well, enjoy!

A hit and run death, Feral Cats, Animal Activists, Real estate Developers, Drugs and the Music Scene even domestic cats, these all are balls that freelance journalist Theda Krakow is balancing along with her friends and her boyfriend, Bill, a policeman, currently recovering from a broken kneecap.

Gail was dead. The Animal Activist had been attempting to trap feral cats at the old abandoned bottling plant near the river, and had been struck by a hit and run driver. Violet, another animal activist had called Theda to go with her to try to find the cats that Gail had trapped, If they could not be removed to a safe location they would freeze to death in the traps. Gail had died in surgery so they couldn't just ask her where the cages were.

Bill reacted to Theda's story like the bored policeman he was. To him it was an intellectual puzzle, statistics, evidence and facts. He was recovering from a broken knee cap and after two surgeries was barely able hobble around on crutches. He was an active intellectual man, and outgoing. He hated to be alone. The involuntary rest was hard for him.

Theda, on the other hand, welcomed the opportunity to be alone. She worked as a freelance journalist, doing a regular column, Clubland, for the Morning Mail. She preferred Mornings rousing herself slowly with a couple of cups of coffee, just the computer and her cat Mussete.

But as much as Theda liked her morning solitude her day was broken by others, first the editor of the Morning Mail called changing her current freelance assignment. Forget the group Dragon's Breath, and prepare an article on the new group Swann's Way. Swann's Way had never been seen or heard of before, but they had excellent publicity and were opening in a big concert at the university in just a short time.

Then she found another friend of hers, Tess, had been involved in an auto accident the night before. Her car was the same color as some paint marks at the hit and run scene. And Tess told conflicting stories to her friends about the accident.

Searching for information Theda could find no prior appearances for Swann's Way and the only song releases she could find was their sample on the website. It was a slick website with a non-memorable song. There was a notice that their true debut would be in a couple of weeks at MuzeArts concert hall, at 10,000 a night usually only booked by top flight groups. No one had seen or heard anything of this group before.

A phone conversation with the Morning Mail's house supplement editor started Theda looking into the development of the old river front building, including the old bottling plant where Gail was killed. Yet her real estate friends were reluctant to discuss the development of this building with her. There seemed to be something more than possible community protests involved.

The representative from Swann's Way agreed to meet with Theda at the Casbah club that night. Again, the girl seemed to be totally new to what she was doing, but the brochures were slick and expensive. She explained there was no point in putting all this effort into just one project. Perhaps even a coop deal with a string of book and music stores with Swann's Way displays and showcases. Another sign of big money involvement with the Swann's Way group. Somehow Theda resented the group buying its way in and skipping the normal development of local music groups.

A girl had staggered past them to the bathroom acting and sounding high as a kite. Not a totally unusual sight for the music club scene, but she did not look the type for this early on a Tuesday night and before the band had even begun to play. Then another woman came running out of the bathroom insisting that an ambulance be called. The girl in the bathroom was having convulsions and the woman doubted that she was breathing. When Theda told Bill about this later he mentioned there had been a rise in drug-related incidents recently.

The police were looking at Violet as a suspect in Gail's hit and run death, but could it have been her, or Tess, or someone from Animal Now, the violent animal rights group Gail had just left? Questions were multiplying and answers refused to appear. Then the realtor admitted to Theda about the problems with the development at the bottling plant where Gail met her death. The developer had been threatened, and tires slashed. Could Animals Now be involved? Everything came together loosely, but real ties could not be seen.

Yes, Theda had a lot to unravel. The Hit and Run death, Feral Cats, Animal Activists, Real Estate Developers, Drugs and the Music Scene even domestic cats, these all are balls that freelance journalist Theda Krakow is balancing along with her friends and her boyfriend Bill. How are they connected, if they are? You will be reading into the night to solve this fascinating puzzle.

The characters are well rounded and the cats are adorable. If you are like I am, a mystery and cat lover, you will be in heaven with this book. I would give it 5 catnip mice out of 5.

c Reviewed by Rita M., gottawritenetwork.com,
April 24, 2008

Kate had killed her first demon at the age of fourteen. She had done this with only the help of her teenage companion Eric, with whom she partnered with as a demon hunting pair. They were trained and sent out by Forza Scura, a secret arm of the Vatican. After she and Eric eventually married, they retired and settled down when Kate became pregnant.

It is now two decades later and their daughter, Allison ("Allie"), is fourteen. The opening of the book may confuse readers a bit if they have missed the previous books in this series. Kate and David Long, a rogue hunter and high school teacher, along with Eddie, an aging retired hunter, had just rescued her daughter, Allie, from a group of demons.

Since Allie could not miss what her mother had done to rescue her, coming on like Wonder Woman, Kate had to tell her daughter the truth: she is a level four demon hunter. At first Kate tried to convince her daughter that she was no longer active as a hunter, but the demons that plague them keep her in actions that she cannot hide totally from her daughter.

Kate's first husband and partner, Eric Crow, was killed a few years ago. Or was he? There is something about David Long that keeps Kate wondering if Eric had claimed David's body and is still alive. David claims not to be the Eric she loved and married, but is he lying and if so why? Exactly how did Eric die? The police had dismissed it as a random mugging, but information turns up indicating that it had been murder. Kate and Allie are determined to find out who killed Eric and why.

Then there is Stewart Conner, Kate's new husband and father to their preschool age son, Timmy. Stewart is campaigning to be elected as the new county attorney. He knows nothing of Kate's past or present activities as a demon hunter. Kate is trying to balance her role as the wife of an up and coming politician with her demon hunting. This is not an easy job under the best of circumstances.

The time has come to explain things to Allie, and to deal with trying to keep her safe, and train her to take care of herself. However, the demons have plans that will interfere with training to keep Allie out of the way. It quickly becomes apparent that the demons will attack Allie to get at Kate. Allie of course wants to help fight the demons and Kate wants to keep her safe. Every mother will resonate with the complexity of emotions here.

The demons seem to be seeking a stone or vessel of some kind that contains a powerful and very important demon, Andramelech, one of the high chancellors of hell. Kate has no clue whatsoever what or where this stone could be, but she knows it must not fall into the demons' hands.

How does Kate handle all these problems, with her usual aplomb in between her homemaker and wifely duties? She is pressed from every side, and the demons show no mercy. Allie wants to train, but how do you practice throwing knives and shooting crossbows in suburbia?

I have read the two previous novels in this series, Carpe Demon and California Demon and was willing to give it 10 out of five on seeing the cover, Ms. Kenner definitely does not disappoint. Her character leaps off the page and you will fall in love with Kate Conner and her family. I will have to give this one six stilettoes out of five.

c Reviewed by Rita M., gottawritenetwork.com
May 4, 2008

The setting is the period when Napoleon the Bonaparte was rising in power.. England and Russia are in an uneasy truce as they both fear the Frenchman and his agents. Into this turbulent period we are introduced to Shannon, a street orphan taken into Mrs. Merlin's Academy for select young ladies, where she was raised. She is trained in weapons, strategy, spying and seduction as a secret weapon for England. Merlin's Merlin's are what the members of this select group of spies are called.

Shannon is sent to Ireland to find and eliminate a French agent, D'Etienne, said to be the most dangerous agent the French have and very good at what he does. Shannon arrives at the castle in Ireland seeking this man, and discovers a Russian rogue stealing a rare snuff box from the castle. He tells her she should leave immediately and that her quarry moved on two days before and that the room would explode soon from a bomb he had planted. Their conversation is interrupted, however, when several armed men enter the room and start attempting to eliminate them as intruders.

Upon returning home with the rogue, Shannon discovers he is her Russian counterpart and they are assigned to a mission in Scotland as a team. The tension of the mission adds to the forces pulling them together and they are deeply attracted to each other. They find each other not only partners in a job to try to protect some young innocents from harm, but they are attracted to each other on a romantic level. But when the mission is over, will they both go their separate ways and can they really trust each other?

The characters are real and the action and adventure come to life in this novel. You can feel the urgency and the danger from the first paragraph to the final kiss. Action and suspense vie with humor and romance to keep the reader turning the pages to the end. Shannon and Alex Orlave are a wonderful couple. And beautifully brought to life by Miss Pickens. I hope she will continue this wonderful series. I would love to read them all. I feel Pickens offers a new and unique series that is destined to take its place as a sub genre of historical Roman novels, and a welcome one at that. I would give this book five silver daggers out of five.

c Reviewed by Rita M., gottawritenetwork.com
June 11, 2008

A serial killer, or is it two killers acting as one. This complex psychological mystery will have you in doubt till the final page, or perhaps even beyond.

Twins, Jamie Dole and Jessie Jr. Dole were born to a couple in Colorado. They were identical twins in looks but not in personality, and were definitely not raised the same. As soon as they were brought home from the hospital their mother started dressing and treating Jamie as a girl and Jessie as a boy.

Jamie was the stronger willed and more muscular of the two, so he dominated Jessie, putting the blame on the weaker twin for all mischief in the nursery. Their father did not speak up for Jessie because he regarded him as weak and worthless. The mother was aware of what was going on but too spineless to speak up for Jessie.

Things went well enough though, until the twins were about three and a half when Mr. Dole was injured severely on his job and disabled. Unemployed and unemployable, Mr. Dole sank into depression and the bottle, frequently turning on his wife and children. Mrs. Dole, unable to cope joined him and the drunken couple became abusive instead of protective to the young twins.

Shortly after, Mr. Dole suggested that finances would be better with one less mouth to feed and that one of the children should be sold. He had several reasons why Jamie should be the one sold. In only a few weeks they found a family eager for a baby who paid a large sum and promised to keep the family secrets.

Each child was raised from that point on to believe they had been the only child and they never had a twin.

Sometime during his high school years, Jessie watched as he, or Jamie (of whom he was unaware) or someone he didn't know, killed his parents as they slept in a drunken stupor. Following instructions planted in his brain by the killer, he waited till the weather was appropriate and buried his parents' bodies and most of their possessions in the back yard, destroying what would not burn. After cleaning the house, he found a hidden lock box under his father's chair containing a large amount of cash, the deed to the house, and the title to the car. Using the things he found, he got his license and completed college. Shortly after his parents were buried, a single flower arrived - a black tulip. Seeing the symbolism of the death of his parents, he located some bulbs at the local nursery and planted black tulips on their graves. So Jessie was free of his abusive parents and all should have ended.

Lt. Detective Eddy Konklin was a member of the Mt. Pride Police Department and had worked his way up from a patrolman. Recently, his partner, Joe Warner, had been promoted to Captain and Konklin was working alone on a double homicide. A new member of the force needed to be appointed to the detective's division, so until the new man was found Konklin was working alone. Konklin suggested officer Leo De Mija as the new addition to the detective's department. The double homicide Det. Konklin was working on is one where a husband and wife had their throats slashed while they slept. There were no signs of burglary. Their young son was in his bedroom unharmed. Did the killer overlook him or just break into the home to kill his parents?

When they returned with a witness the next day to try to rule out burglary, they discovered, in the child's crib a black tulip and a small decorative rattle with a card attached. The card suggested that someone felt the parents were abusive and did not deserve their child.

The characters on both sides are compelling and complete. The detectives appear to have appeared in several books in this series and have complete lives away from the case in question. I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime drama. I would give it five tulips out of five.

c Reviewed by Rita M., gottawritenetwork.com
November 2008