2009 # 38

J. A. Jance - Hand of Evil - Finished - 3/9/2009

PB - Back with an Ali Reynolds book and an earlier one than the last one I read, but that's ok, no I know how she got to where the later one started. This one is before she bought the big house on the hill and began renovations. It starts with a mad getting his hand caught in a car door and getting dragged to death on closed mountain park road. Ali is called on to drive her dad to pick up his cherished Bronco which was found parked with flat at a highway rest stop. ALi's dad friend and helper Kip had been driving it and now he is missing. Then Ali's friend Dave calls her and asked if she can go out on the road again to pick up his young daughter Crystal who has run away from home in Vegas were she lives with her mother and stepfather.. Is that enough going on? Well there is more and in the end it all comes together,but you will have to find out how yourselves.

ISBN - 978-1-4165-3774-8, Suspense, Pages - 395, Print Size - R, Rating - 4.5

2009 # 37

C. S. Harris - Where Serpents Sleep - Finished - 3/8/2009

A nice period piece mystery set in London circa 1812 has a Daughter of a Lord, Hero Jarvis who is definatley not a typical "lady" of the period involved in research on prostitutes in order to put forward a bill in parliament . While interviewing some of the "ladies" at a refuge house they are interrupted by pounding at the door and the sound of splintering wood. Hero and one of the girls escape out an upstairs window and are running down an ally when a shot is fired and the girls falls, seeing that she can do nothing Hero continues to the end of the alley and escapes in her carriage. She is very upset and engages Sebastian St, Cyr VIscount Devlin for help. The ensuing investigation involves Lords, Ladies, soldiers, scamps, private houses of ill repute and all number of London inhabitant. Its was a fun read especially after giving up on the Eco book.

ISBN - 978-0-451-22512-2, Mystery, Pages - 341, Print Size - R, Rating - 4.5