I’m looking forward to interviewing Helen Macie Osterman, author of the new thriller “Notes in a Mirror” on December 8.

This compelling book, released November 15th by Weaving Dreams Publishing, is set in a grim, 1950s mental institution where the treatments are as archaic as the dark. cold buildings.

The author worked as a nurse for 45 years. During her training, her rotation took her to such a hospital for three months where she witnessed hydrotherapy, Insulin coma therapy and electroshock. These were once accepted treatments for the mentally ill, and they are part of the world protagonist Mary Lou Hammond and Kate Stephens are plunged into at the fictional Hillside State Mental Hospital.

But there’s more. Somebody is trying to contact the sensitive Mary Lou. Is it her imagination, a former patient, or perhaps the mad house is driving her mad. This 213-page mystery will keep you guessing while making you thankful you were never committed to Hillside–or the real-life institutions on which it is based.

As the Osterman writes in her introduction, “The treatments provided were primitive and sometimes dangerous, but at the time, considered state of the art.” The author’s experience as a student nurse in such an institution gives her the knowledge to make this an accurate and chilling novel.

–Malcolm, author of “Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire” and “The Sun Singer”

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I’ve been reading a lot of mystery lately.

I’ve probably read more mystery in the last month than I have in the rest of my life combined.

And I think I like it.

But this is my one caveat: if you’re going to promise me a mystery, then you’d darn well better deliver the goods. If you’re going to present a twist, then it had better leave me open-mouthed, doubled over, and gasping.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff left me shaking my head, rolling my eyes, and feeling cheated.

The premise of the book is that a young boy who lives with his grandfather begins to have strange dreams and memories of his past. He remembers the number eleven, which he thinks is because he’s turning eleven years old. But (dun-dun-DUN!): It’s not!

Possibly because of the previous trauma in his life, Sam is having a hard time learning how to read. He’s the only kid in his class that can’t read very well. One day, he’s in the attic and finds Mack’s secret stash of Sam mementos (“What is this fascination with my Forbidden Closet of Mystery?” – points if you can name that quote), amongst which is a newspaper clipping with a picture of Sam with a headline stating that he’s missing – and has a different last name!!

Intrigue!!

Since he can’t read the rest of the article, he makes friends with the new girl at school, Caroline, who helps him to read the clipping and research what really happened to him.

I won’t spoil the rest of the mystery, but I will say this: some mystery.

The ending of the book to me was like going to a mystery dinner theater and having the host declare: “And the murdered is someone in this very room!!”
(The audience gasps.)
“By the way, the victim of the murder isn’t actually dead. This is just pretend, people.”

Read the book. You’ll see what I mean.

Ms. Giff got me all riled up for nothing. She promises this huge payoff by working up all this intrigue and tension, and she simply doesn’t deliver.

And this book doesn’t even count as a Cannonball Read because it’s not long enough.

Phooey. I’ll be sticking with Trenton Lee Stewart and Ellen Raskin, thanks.

View all my reviews >>

Dancing for the Hangman

Martin Edwards

Five Star, Dec 2009, $25.95

ISBN 9781594148484

In 1910 in London, stunned American physician Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen awaits execution as he has been convicted of the murder of his second wife Cora.  He swears he is innocent, but no one believes him except the real killer.

However, he also believes a jury of his peers found him guilty of her homicide due to his flaunting of acceptable grieving.  He abandoned his son so he could move in with no hindrances with his mistress.  Now he confesses to his side of what has led to his wrongful date with the scaffold.

This is a fascinating ethnographical fiction of a real life person as Crippen tells his side of the tale in which he insists he is not a killer, but convicted of an unacceptable lifestyle.  Fans will enjoy his narration though he comes across as an unsympathetic person as he pulls no punches.  Apparently in (see Crippen by John Boyne), Crippen was an intriguing person whose behavior was unsavory but did he commit murder?

Harriet Klausner

A Word to the Wise

David Heinzmann

Five Star, Dec 2009, $25.95

ISBN 9781594148477

Former FBI Agent Augustine Flood has become a practicing attorney in Chicago at the law firm of Cronin, Drew and Guzman. Senior partner Alan Cronin assigns Flood to a certain case due to his eight years as a Fed to help a desperate client, Dan Westlake, find his missing wife, Marcy.  Westlake is not being altruistic as he needs his spouse so he can obtain his money invested in an offshore account in Marcy’s name.

Flood learns later that Westlake is connected to a mob-run casino project that is undergoing a federal investigation.  From his former FBI contacts, Flood meets a battered corpse whom he assumes is Marcy.  Now he must decide between his position at the firm and its client or the cops, not realizing he inadvertently places his girlfriend Jenny in jeopardy and not from his baking.

This is an engaging Chicago investigative thriller that is fun to read except when the hero bakes apple pie, etc. as his cooking feels forced to soften up his hardboiled personality (should have used quiche).  The action-packed story line takes readers on an intriguing tour of Chicago as Flood leaves the downtown Lake Michigan area to loop his way into a hostage mess.  A Word to the Wise is a bit thin, but enjoyable starring a lead character who is at his best outside the kitchen kicking down barriers especially human.

Harriet Klausner

Death Without Tenure

Joanne Dobson

Poisoned Pen, Jan 2010, $24.95

ISBN 9781590585856

In Massachusetts, Enfield College English Professor Karen Pelletier is up for tenure.  Her rival has much less experience and papers than Karen has.  However, the department chair is pushing Native American Joe Lone Wolf for the spot.

Upset by what she knows is unfair treatment, Karen is also anxious about her daughter Amanda who is in Kathmandu, Nepal and her boyfriend U.S. National Guard Bureau Lieutenant and State Police Investigator as a civilian Charles Piotrowski deployed to Iraq.  When Joe dies from apparent peyote poisoning, the police suspect Karen as she had plenty to gain with the competition removed.  Not one to sit by idly, Karen puts aside her personal concerns made worse by a jealous “Person” in the department to investigate and soon locates other suspects from among the faculty, staff and student bodies.

Professor Pelletier’s latest amateur sleuth (see The Maltese Manuscript) is a fascinating whodunit that starts off a bit slow as Karen whines about the unfairness of academic life, but accelerates once the heroine gets out of her funk to investigate the homicide.  The story line somewhat lampoons the college world as Karen’s inquiries lead to stereotype characters from all lines of academia and their related issues.  Fans will enjoy the New England English professor who puts aside her companion The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson to investigate who killed her rival.

Harriet Klausner

Assassins of Athens

Jeffrey Siger

Poisoned Pen, Jan 2010, $24.95

ISBN 9781590586891

In Athens, Greece, Police Chief Inspector of the Special Crimes Division Andreas Kaldis arrives at a rundown part of the city to look at a corpse found amongst garbage in a dumpster.  At GADA, Andreas’ secretary Maggie Sikestis sees the photos of the victim and recognizes he is Sotiris Kostopoulos who is always in the tabloids as part of a ménage a trois with the granddaughter of the Linardos clan while his family and hers are at war.

Andreas visits Sotiris’ adopted parents Zanni and Ginny, who say nothing to the news or the questions asked by the CI.  An affluent publisher Zanni says the only suspects he can think of are Sarantis Linardos and his family as each covets the highly regarded The Athenian newspaper.  Meanwhile clues lead the detective to hooker Anna Panitz who admits to taking cash from strangers to entice the victim to go with her to an isolated locale.  With pressure mounting from high officials to close the case, Andreas keeps the pressure on the feuding families and their associates.

The latest Kaldis investigation (see Murder in Mykonos) is an enjoyable Greek police procedural Noir as the CI curses out incompetent cops and roughs up crooks while taking fans on a tour of Athens not seen by the Olympics crowd.  The story line is fast-paced from the opening moment when Kaldis hammers a cop for tainting a crime scene and never slows down as he stares down everyone except Maggie.  Although somewhat linear with not twists, fans will enjoy this tough cop’s homicide investigation.

Harriet Klausner

P

Grave Secret
by Charlaine Harris

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 306
Rating:4/5
Read: Nov. 17-24, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2010 Countdown Challenge;  2009 Celebrate the Author Challenge
Yearly Count: 61

First Line: “All right,” said the straw-haired woman in the denim jacket. “Do your thing.”

Harper Connelly has traveled to Texas with her stepbrother Tolliver to do a job. They like to travel to Texas, it allows this to see their little sisters. But what they learn while in Texas is worse than they could have ever imagined anything. First they learn that Tolliver’s father is out of prison and is trying to re-establish family connections. After they finish the job that brought them to Texas, Tolliver is shot. But the police think that Tolliver was not the intended target, that Harper was. While Tolliver is recovering in the hospital, Harper is trying to figure out what is going on. She has a feeling that there is a connection between their last job and Tolliver being shot, but she can’t possibly figure out what it is. And the fact that Tolliver’s father is back in the mix only makes matters worse for her. However, what she will ultimately find out will turn her world upside down. Harper finally finds out what happened to her sister so many years ago, but what the truth reveals is something far more disturbing than anyone ever thought possible.

This is the fourth (and, sadly) the last in the Harper Connelly series. Although Ms. Harris left a small opening for another book in this series, she has mentioned in numerous places on her website that she is finished with Harper. And honestly, I can see where it would be hard to go anywhere else with this series. Although a lot of people might have been turned off by the relationship between Harper and Tolliver, I didn’t find it all that problematic. In fact I can see where it can be quite common – however, I would have thought that the attraction would have happened when they were teenagers. However, having Harper and Tolliver together practically 24/7 on the road made it kind of inevitable also. I personally liked Harper’s character. I thought that the gift that Harris thought up for her was quite interesting, and her descriptions of how she did her work were interesting. However, I have a rather large complaint about this book – there was very little action in regards to what Harper does as a living. She came in and did her “thing” within the first chapter and that was that. The rest of the book was mainly about Tolliver recovering and Harper trying to figure out what was going on with the help of Manfred. I rated this book a 4/5 simply because I felt it was a little rushed in places. It was like Ms. Harris was trying her hardest to wrap this series up as quickly as possible. There were also more than a few grammar/spelling errors (which I have noticed is a common thing in Ms. Harris’ books). Overall I thought that this was a pretty decent way to end this series, and that although I am sad to see the end of this series, I am also glad to have a conclusion.

Dew explained it to me when I was producing Darkness Abiding Trailer—what a producer does. But she did it in a way that made her Co-producer. That ain’t right! So, this time as I am getting ready to produce the book trailer for The Adventures of Silli Page, I totally disagree with the definition. So, she goes, “I should do everything else I did the last time and you’re the producer?” Yes Absolutely! She says okay. And I go, Heck, If nobody knows what a producer does, it’s what I do! [Note: I love the Dew's new big as* banner with the stones.]

THE ADVENTURES OF SILLI PAGE EXCERPT

For character profiles and everything else about the book visit    ADVENTURES OF SILLI PAGE WEBPAGE

Darkness Abiding Available on Your PC! 

 DARKNESS ABIDING EXCERPT. 

Darkness Abiding ON KINDLE

Save Our Spirit (162 MB download)
After a whirlwind honeymoon, a mysterious secret society has kidnapped Mary Longstep for her mystical powers, which connect her with precious talismans from famous world destinations. Lord Longstep has set off on a grand adventure across the globe to save the love of his life and stop the DARK soceity from using the mystical treasures for their own evil purposes! Embark on a turn of the century adventure in a tale of intrigue and mystery!

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IMDB link  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1273811/

IMDB ratings   2.9/10   53 votes

Release Date : 31 October 2008 (USA)

Genre : Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot : Following the unexpected suicide of her mother, Angela finds comfort in her new friendship with Brian. One day she receives a terrifying package containing a voyeuristic tape. The tape chronicles her mother’s final days and reveals that someone had been following…watching…stalking her. As the death toll around town rises, it becomes clear that this is no mere coincidence. The deaths were thought to be suicides, but the truth is far worse.

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Here is a short story I wrote in 1980, when I was just beginning the detective phase of my literary career, generally indicated in my several youthful journals with lists called “clues” and “things to report to police,”  and short stories featuring no bathing beauties, or blood or gore, yet still called “The Case of the Bathing Beauty,” and “The Bloody Gory Mystery”. I presume now upon reading this that it was intended to be a dialogue, but what I find charming even now is that the reader never finds out who the Phantom Diamond Stealer is; the mystery remains intact, even now.

Hello, my name is Miss Wickwak. I am rich and I just had my diamonds stolon and I am nervas. Hey I just remembered I could call Detective Moore. Detective Moore? Yes? Good! I just had my diamonds stolon at 3:00 and I am nervas. OK. I’ll be right over. Ding Dong. Hello I am Detective Moore. Miss Wickwak I presume? Yes I am Miss Wickwak. OK tell me everything you did. OK. Well first I went to the grocery store and then I went into a bookstore and then I came home. I checked to see if my diamonds were gone and they were! I heard a thumping noise upstairs and locked all the doors and then I called you. That means he is still here! Thump Thump. OK hands up your under arrest. Yay! I got my diamonds back!

Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was found dead on the B4116.
The 28 year old from Atherstone was pronounced dead at the scene after a mysterious crash, that caused her to be thrown from her blue Ford Fiesta saloon, as she was driving from Coleshill towards Atherstone.
It is unknown what caused her to lose control of her vehicle and anyone who may have witnessed the event, or the car described prior to the crash is encouraged to contact the police as soon as possible.
If you have information you are urged to contact Rugby police on 01926 415441 and asking for Police Constable 784 Simon Marchetti.

By Ryan Brailsford

Pursuit to Algiers, the twelfth film to star Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as his boon companion Dr. John H. Watson, is a minor entry in the series, but a thoroughly enjoyable one. It’s the ninth Holmes picture directed by Roy William Neill, and his sure hand and professionalism are fully in evidence.

The film gets down to business in a wonderfully circuitous fashion, as Holmes and Watson are handed cryptic directions by a series of strangers. In each case, it takes Holmes a few beats to catch on, while Watson is oblivious the whole time. Eventually they are led to a group of men from an unnamed foreign country whose king has just been assassinated. They want Holmes to guard the life of the heir to the throne, Nikolas, who was educated in England. Holmes suggests that Nikolas pose as Watson’s nephew on a steamship voyage to Algiers. Once at sea, the film introduces a worthy cast of drawing room mystery characters, including a trio of sinister but quirky assassins.

Elements of Leonard Lee’s screenplay are taken from an otherwise unrecorded affair mentioned in the beginning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder,” in particular the use of the steamship Friesland. And at one point in the film, Watson begins to share with his fellow dinner guests aboard the ship his adventure with Holmes that involved the “Giant Rat of Sumatra,” which is mentioned in Doyle’s story “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.” These references are similar to what Anthony Boucher and Denis Green would occasionally do in their scripts for the radio show The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which was heard on the Mutual Broadcasting System, and, like the film series, starred Rathbone and Bruce. For instance, in one program, Holmes is willed a patch of land in gratitude for his successful work on a case, and he tells Watson he plans to retire there someday and keep bees. (In Conan Doyle’s stories and novels, the background of Holmes’s retirement in 1903 to the Sussex Downs, where he engaged in beekeeping, was never supplied.)

At times, Pursuit to Algiers comes dangerously close to being a musical, as one of the passengers on the ocean liner is a young and beautiful pianist named Sheila Woodbury (Marjorie Riordan), whom Dr. Watson makes a bit of a fool of himself over. It’s all in good fun, though, and Bruce’s “silly old goat” act is always fun to watch, even if his portrayal of Watson is a bit more ridiculous than Conan Doyle’s original conception of the character. Sheila plays several songs on the piano, including the beautiful “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton.” Watson even joins her at the piano toward the end of the picture for a lovely version of “Loch Lomond.” Director Neill always keeps things moving, however, and despite its minor status, Pursuit to Algiers is still a worthy entry in the Sherlock Holmes series.