This
month, Cheri Rosenberg reviews four novelsAn Intimate Ghost • Hunter's Pursuit (this page)
Justice in the Shadows • When the Dancing Stops (page 14)
IGW would also like to report that Cheri will be busy during the month of June, first attending the Lammy Awards in New York, and second, attending a writer's conference in New Orleans. In fact, she will be presenting in New Orleans and we hope to have her report for the July issue of IGW.
  An Intimate Ghost by Ellen HartISBN: 0-312-31747-6 St. Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue New York, N. Y. 10010 2004/307 pages/$24.95 Hardcover Review by Cheri Rosenberg Ellen Hart is the mistress of mystery. An Intimate Ghost is no exception to the wonders of the remarkably talented, award-winning author known for her intricate plots, witty dialogue, flawless characterizations, and engrossing stories. An Intimate Ghost, the continuation of the Jane Lawless series, touted as the best one yet, has been deservedly nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for 2005. Jane Lawless has had formal training as a restaurateur, consummate chef, and caterer. In the continuing saga about the amateur detective, wedding guests start acting weird after ingesting gourmet food catered by her company. WHO poisoned the food, WHAT did they use, WHERE was it executed, WHEN did they do it, and WHY… are the questions Jane wants to figure out. Never mind that the police have started their investigation. Jane could be found culpable, and wants to clear her company’s name. Even if the wedding hadn’t been for her friends, Nick and Lauren Clifford, and Nick hadn’t ended up in critical condition from a drug-induced dive into an empty pool, Jane still would have had to solve the mystery. It’s not surprising that she enlists the help of her trusty sidekick, Cordelia Thorn, if for nothing other than comic relief. Jane and Cordelia are just hysterical together and they make a perfect crime solving team. The fact that Cordelia, the creative director of a repertory theater, is a bit pre-occupied when her sister, Octavia, literally drops her kid in her aunt’s lap and takes off for stardom, doesn’t stop the dependable Cordelia from helping her best friend Jane. Cordelia is hardly the mother hen type and her life is disrupted beyond compare by the addition of niece Hattie. Ellen Hart depicts the toddler so convincingly that this reviewer almost got up on more than one occasion to prepare a ‘kid friendly’ snack, but was reminded that she was just a fictitious character. Hart is not only a master mystery writer, but her storytelling is as delectable as restaurateur Jane Lawless’s culinary treats. An Intimate Ghost is appetizing, fulfilling, and deliciously funny with Jane’s deadpan humor and Cordelia’s catchy comebacks. Hart also writes with a contemporary flair that goes a long way to add to the believability of the story. Even the cars Jane and Cordelia choose to drive fit their personalities perfectly. In An Intimate Ghost, nothing is ever as it seems even when things seem to be crystal clear. Readers will find the story riveting, and the conclusion of each chapter keeps the reader hungering for more. To me, this is mystery writing at its best and I am quick to recommend anything penned by this outstanding and deserving award-winning author. Ellen Hart has written another funny, fast-paced, first rate, five plus star novel. Do not miss this gem. I highly suggest you purchase a copy today! |
 Hunter’s Pursuit by Kim
Baldwin1-933110-09-0 Bold Strokes Books, Inc. 1029 Livezey Lane Philadelphia, PA 19119 2005/ 304 pages / $15.95 Review by Cheri Rosenberg Hunter’s Pursuit by Kim Baldwin will keep you on the edge of your seat every step of the way. Readers who enjoy action, adventure, intrigue, and a delightfully budding romance will find Hunter's Pursuit every bit as thrilling as Terminator. But instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Baldwin gives us Katarzyna Demetrious, alias Hunter—a mean, lean fighting machine! Hunter is a memorable and appealing heroine even though she is a trained killer, hired gun, and bounty hunter. The tables are turned however, when she learns there’s a contract out on her. She’s no longer the hunter. She is now the hunted. Hunter is holed up in her secluded bunker a few miles south of the Lake Superior shoreline. Usually a loner, she never allows intimacy to cloud her judgment. On one of her first outings from the safe house, Hunter witnesses a car accident and is torn whether or not to get involved. She prefers not to risk being found as she’s close to retirement and is looking forward to a normal, quiet existence. Against her better judgment, she opts to save the victim, and takes the young woman back to her bunker. Although she suspects the mystery woman may be after the bounty on her head, Hunter can’t ignore her feelings for the beautiful “patient.” Suffering amnesia from the accident, they decide to call the mystery woman, Jake. Uncharacteristically, Hunter tells Jake her real nickname (that few people know), Kat. Throughout the story, the longing and sexual tension between Kat and Jake is palpable and positively entrancing. Falling in love, intending to stay alive, and keeping her friend safe, has the usually restrained and cautious Hunter distracted. She’s fearful of revealing too much of her clandestine life. As Jake tries to learn more about Kat’s past, she asks, “So, you’re a paramedic chef who plays a mean cello when she’s not saving damsels in distress?” [p. 54] While Hunter is thinking about her growing affections for her captive, she’s concerned with surviving the hardships of a treacherous Michigan blizzard, and, at the same time, fighting off would be assassins. Clever surprises and suspenseful drama resonate on each page setting the wheels in motion for an exciting ride. Action sequences fire rapidly in succession leaving the reader breathless. The total effect will have you riveted to Kim Baldwin’s book. Once you pick up Hunter’s Pursuit, there is no putting it down. Each character is fleshed-out in detail, the dialogue is snappy, and you can’t help but root for Kat and Jake to make it out of the hiding place unscathed, alive, and in love. Hunter’s Pursuit by Kim Baldwin has been nominated for a Golden Crown Literary Society Award for 2005 and deservedly so. It is a truly fascinating, five star, entertaining read and one of the best action/adventure/mystery novels I’ve read this year. Don’t miss it! I have added Kim Baldwin to my list of favorite authors. I am looking forward to reading her new romance novel, Force of Nature, and anything else penned by this talented novelist. |