Review: I Know A Secret

Hello, Future Wendy.  This is Past Wendy.  Several months ago you practically broke a finger requesting I Know A Secret by Tess Gerritsen from NetGalley.  You love the Rizzoli and Isles series (the books; the TV show never did much for you) and to have the latest book so far ahead of the publication date was like Christmas morning and your birthday all rolled into one.  Still, you somehow managed to resist and not read it until late May - inhaling the last half of the book over Memorial Day weekend.  You've probably read a few books since then, so what did you think of this one?  Let Past Wendy refresh your memory.

Jane Rizzoli and her partner Barry Frost catch the case of a horror movie producer found dead in her Boston apartment.  Jane figures it's going to be a weird one the moment she sets foot inside the crime scene.  I mean, who chooses the movie poster for Carrie as home decor?  But it's when she gets into the victim's bedroom that things really get weird.  Cassandra Coyle is dead alright.  And the killer decided to scoop out her eyeballs and leave them lying in her open hand.

Meanwhile, medical examiner Maura Isles is dealing with her own creepy - her biological birth mother and convicted murderer, Amalthea Lank.  Amalthea has cancer and is dying, but that doesn't mean she's not determined to try and manipulate Maura for old time's sake.  Then Jane discovers that her dead horror movie producer may be linked to other homicides and somehow, someway, Amalthea knows something about it all.

This is one of Gerritsen's more straight forward plots.  By the halfway point I was thinking, "Ok, where's the twist - you've got to have a twist in here somewhere."  Up until that point this story is interesting, a return visit with characters that are like putting on your favorite pair of shoes, and the writing kept me engaged.  But I wasn't white-knuckling my way through the reading experience like I did with Die Again (the last book in the series) or Ice Cold (my absolute favorite of the more recent entries).  Still, it's a good solid plot and kept me engaged.

What makes Gerritsen such a good suspense writer (I think) is that she got her start in romance.  It's the way she crafts her characters and has them orbiting each other that is her strength.  We've all read suspense series where it felt like the author got bored with their creations - but I don't feel like that with Rizzoli or Isles.  Gerritsen has allowed her characters to change and grow while keeping them true to themselves.  Also, it's those teasing glimpses into their personal lives that keep many of us coming back to this series for more.

That being said, this felt like a regressive entry in the series when it comes to The Personal Stuff.  Jane, bless her heart, has always been a black and white, good or bad, sort of character.  She's not the sort who sees a lot of gray in the world.  She spends this book largely frustrated by the people around her.  Barry, who is on the verge of taking back the wife who cheated on him.  Maura, who can't seem to let Daniel go (ugh!), and her own mother, who has fallen back into a routine now that Jane's father Frank has broken up with The Bimbo.  Gerritsen brings the stuff with Jane's parents to a head, although it's far from over.  I suspect it'll take a couple more books to fully spin that out.  But Maura?  Dead Lord.  I was SO HAPPY with Ice Cold mostly because the Maura and Daniel "thing" seemed to finally have it's conclusion and here we are....back again.  Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Some of this probably reads damning with faint praise, Future Wendy.  But you did like this one.  And Gerritsen sets herself up well for future books in the series, leaving a believably villainous secondary character twisting out in the breeze.  It hasn't been since the first two books in the series that the author gave Jane a carryover villain to struggle over, so it's rather clever really.  Warren Hoyt was your textbook serial killer, the bogeyman hiding in your closet.  But this new villain?  More cerebral.  More cunning.  The kind of villain that will play mind games with you.  Not the sort to physically gut victims, but the kind that will gaslight them until they question whether up really is down.  And that's just as terrifying.

Final Grade = B

Review: Whistleblower

My trip through Tess Gerritsen's Harlequin Intrigue backlist continues with Whistleblower, which, like Never Say Die, was originally published in 1992.  Talk about a study in contrasts.  I was riveted by and immensely enjoyed Never Say Die (HI #181).  In comparison, Whistleblower (HI #195) is the clunkiest of clunkers.  It's hard to believe that the two stories were written by the same author and published in the same year.  All I can say is I'm glad I read Never Say Die first, otherwise I'd currently being weeding out the remainder of Gerritsen's early Harlequin work from my TBR.

It's a dark and stormy night in northern California and Cathy Weaver is on her way to visit her 5-months pregnant BFF.  Visibility is nearly non-existent and she's just trying to keep the car on the road when BAM!  Out runs a man from the woods, into the path of her oncoming car.  She hits him.  What follows is a struggle to get the injured man into her car and to the nearest hospital.

Victor Holland is a scientist who works for a biotech firm.  Before a colleague/friend was killed, the man passed classified company documents off to Victor.  Turns out the company is making a biological weapon at the behest of shadowy figures in the US government.  The Bad Men have found out Victor has this information and they run him off the road on his way to meet with an FBI agent.  Now Victor is on the run and has no idea who he can trust.  Cathy, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and acting good Samaritan, has now put her directly in danger.

Oh, where to start.  I'm a fairly hardcore reader when it comes to suspense storylines, but even I was shocked by Gerritsen's authorial choice to have Cathy's pregnant BFF murdered by one of the Bad Men extremely early on.  I just....wow.  I can't believe an editor let that one fly back in 1992, even if it was the Intrigue line.  Then there's the problem that because this is an Intrigue (short word count yo), there's not nearly enough time spent on Cathy's disbelief.  I mean, this was 1992.  A hero runs into the path of your car and starts talking conspiracy and government cover up and biological weapons and there's minimal thought on her part that "Ohhhhkay, this guy is a crazy person."  Of course Cathy being in immediate danger makes this lack of disbelief slightly more plausible, but not by much.

And that's ultimately my issue with this story.  I don't expect extreme plausibility in my romantic suspense, but this one is all over the place.  One moment the characters are acting like "regular people" caught up in "extraordinary circumstances" and the next?  They're coming up with a plan of action like they're some elite group of Special Ops soldiers or extras on an episode of Mission: Impossible.  It's that final plan of action to lead readers to the climactic finish that strain the seams considerably - complete with tranquilizer darts, movie make-up artistry (Cathy is a make-up artist), and the heroine driving a getaway vehicle through an electrified fence to rescue the hero who is being chased by police dogs.

Not helping matters was the romance which was rushed and equally implausible.  The characters start developing the hots for each other right away, never mind that Bad Men are chasing after them.  I don't know, if someone was trying to kill me I don't think I'd be wrestling with my new found feelings of love and getting jealous over the hero's Perfect Dead First Wife.  But that's just me.  Gerritsen does wisely hold off the sex scene until later in the story, but the kisses and the heroine's fretting over the fact that the hero is "still in love" with his Perfect Dead First Wife?  While there's government goons chasing after them trying to kill them?  Yeah, it didn't work.  At all. 

Friends of Victor's eventually come on to the page to help the couple, and there's a bunch of cutesy crap like their nickname for Victor (Gersh - after George Gershwin) and the fact that they were a bunch of college nerds who played in a band called "The Out of Tuners."  This just adds more fuel to the fire for Cathy, whose fretting over Victor still being in love with Perfect Dead First Wife kicks into overdrive.  But never fear!  Just to reassure readers that Victor couldn't possibly love anyone more than the heroine, Perfect Dead First Wife gets thrown under a bus and Victor declares that making love to Cathy was like his "first time."

Gag me with a spoon.

So, yeah.  If you're interested in reading Gerritsen's backlist, the books she wrote before she became a Big Deal - do yourself a favor and skip this one.  It's no bueno.

Final Grade = D

Review: Never Say Die

Tess Gerritsen is a Big Deal Suspense Author these days, but her roots are in romantic suspense.  Her early books were published by Harlequin Intrigue, and as Harlequin is wont to do - when an author from their past becomes a Big Deal, reprints happen.  And, as also inevitably happens, romance readers then have to wade through reviews from Other Genre Fans who stumble across the reprints and have a fit of apoplexy over the author's sordid past of writing "love cooties."  Sigh.

Never Say Die was originally published in 1992 - Harlequin Intrigue #181.  As happens when reading a contemporary novel written 25 years ago, the reader has to go into the experience like opening a time capsule.  Inevitably some things won't have aged well.  That said, given that this story takes place entirely in Southeast Asia, not quite 20 years post-Vietnam War, this one holds up better than most.  Not to mention it's compelling as all get out.  I was riveted by this book.

Willy Maitland is in Bangkok looking for answers.  Her mother is dying and Willy has taken it upon herself to learn the truth about her father.  20 years ago, while flying for Air America, Bill Maitland's plane went down near the Laos border.  His body was never recovered and there are rumors he may be alive.  Desperate for closure, Willy makes the trip to Southeast Asia, only to encounter one road block after another.

Guy Barnard is ex-Army, now a civilian contractor helping the US and Vietnamese governments identify recently uncovered bodies.  That's why he's in Bangkok and that's how he conveniently runs into Willy.  Her father was the stuff of legend and naturally, since he's a romance hero, Guy has a Super Sekrit Hidden Agenda.  She doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, which means he's just going to have to convince her that she needs his contacts and expertise.  What she really ends up needing through, besides his help, is his protection.  Especially when it becomes clear that Willy is in danger.

For a former Intrigue this story has a surprising number of layers to it and plenty of characters floating around to keep you guessing on the identity of The Bad Guy.  I wasn't reading romance back in 1992 (although I was a suspense reader and would have LOVED this book back then) so I'm not familiar with how the word counts for the Intrigue line may or may not have shifted over the last 25 years.  This one does have the feel of a single-title, so readers who scoff at reading "short" shouldn't have too much to quibble about here.

Vietnam was a messed up war, and that's what I enjoyed best about this story (as sick as that sounds). When Gerritsen was writing this book we weren't even 20 years to the anniversary of the fall of Saigon, and Senators John Kerry, Bob Smith and John McCain were serving on a committee for MIA/POW affairs - looking into rumors that live prisoners were still alive "in country."  This was seen as a humanitarian issue, but it was also the main sticking point keeping the US from "normalizing" relations with the Vietnamese government.  Which the US began to do more earnestly during the Clinton administration.  So for Gerritsen to use this idea as a backdrop for a romantic suspense novel would have felt timely in 1992 and, when reading this book as a time capsule, allows it to hold up fairly well to modern day readers.

By today's standards, there were times when I found Willy lacking as a heroine, but for 1992 she would have been viewed as extremely capable.  She does have the gumption to arrange the trip to Bangkok and get herself into Vietnam on a tourist visa.  That said, there are times when there is obviously something rotten in Denmark and she's a little too slow on the uptake for my liking.  I "get" her conflicted trust issues regarding Guy, but the minute he saves her life I would have been all like, "well, the devil you know!"  It takes Willy a bit longer after that to come around and realize that she needs his help.

Guy is a hero from the Han Solo mold.  Charming, rumbled, a little irreverent, but with a hidden agenda that the heroine doesn't find out about until later.  He's Romance Reader Catnip and Gerritsen wisely drops little hints, building anticipation, until the final reveal of who Guy is and what he's after.  These are two characters who bounce off each other well.

Speaking of bouncing. the romance itself is of the PG variety.  There is a love scene, but it comes later in the book and it's not overly graphic.  Like most romantic suspense novels, the characters do the deed in an interesting locale, but at least their timing isn't totally absurd (they aren't in imminent danger!).  But it really wasn't the romance that provided the emotional heft to this story.  It was the ghost of the war itself and the heroine's justifiably lingering Daddy Issues.  It's when the heroine has to confront the choices her father made, and how that affected her life, and her mother's - that's where the meat and potatoes of the story reside.  I've read suitably emotional category romances in my day, ones that lingered with me well after finishing the story, but nothing quite like this one.  I'm trying to imagine what it would have been like as a reader in 1992, being exposed to this story, at that time, and I bet it was pretty epic.  Especially for readers directly impacted by the war.

I'm sure Gerritsen gets tired of answering questions from cranky suspense fans who feel "tricked" into picking up one of her older romances - but really?  Those fans are wrong.  Look, this is a good book.  Says Wendy.  The suspense is engaging, the hero suitably heroic, and even the heroine (who I wasn't totally in love with) pulls some serious weight by the end.  I'm unlikely to reread this, but given how much I enjoyed it, it feels "better" than a B so....

Final Grade = A-

Review: Playing With Fire

I don't know an author alive who doesn't wish to "hit it big" with a popular series (And frankly if you're a writer who says you don't? Liar, liar pants on fire).  But I also think that hitting upon that Big Series Idea is a bit of a double-edged sword.  Because as great as being successful is, readers can be a demanding lot.  Once we discover your series and love it? That's all we want from you.  Which leaves authors dealing with how to keep things fresh for them, from a writing standpoint.  Some authors fail miserably at this, get bored, and morph their popular series characters into Pod People.  Others, like what Tess Gerritsen has done with Playing With Fire, write a stand-alone book.  The hope is, of course, that your series readers will stop whining long enough to pick it up and read it.  Which I finally have.  And you know what?  It's pretty good!

Julia Ansdell is a professional violinist.  Before heading home to Boston after a performance in Rome, she enters a decrepit antiques shop and buys an old book of gypsy music.  Tucked inside the book is a handwritten, presumably unpublished, manuscript for a waltz titled Incendio.  But when she gets home and plays the waltz for the first time?  It has a powerful effect on her 3-year-old daughter, Lily.  So powerful that it seems to have "changed" her - and not for the better.  Can music truly be evil?  Or is Julia losing her grip on reality?

This is a novel with alternating timelines.  There's the present day Julia story and then there's Lorenzo Toedesco, a young Jewish musician living in World War II-era Italy.  The Lorenzo story details the history of the waltz and eventually the two story-lines collide as Julia searches for answers.

Gerritsen does some interesting things with this book.  It starts out one way, with the reader thinking we're going to get a Domestic Horror novel with a Is My Child Evil? plot and frankly I was bracing for some paranormal woo-woo.  But as the author begins alternating between Julia and Lorenzo the story carries you on a totally different path.  I can see some readers feeling like the resolution to the Julia story-line is a "cop-out" - but I didn't.  I rather liked the way the author twisted it around.

You never know for sure when you throw something up on the ol' Interwebs - but I would hazard a guess that this blog is predominantly read by romance readers.  And romance readers tend to like "happy."  So I feel like this is worth noting - this story is tragic.  There are also some rather upsetting elements.  A family pet is killed/murdered and part of this story is set in World War II-era Italy and features a Jewish family.  Descriptions of how people died during the Holocaust are included. 

The author resolves her story lines, she wraps up her plot, but readers should expect that not everybody is going to be skipping through meadows filled with wildflowers at the end.  This one has a heartbreaking ending.  I think the author ends it the way she had to end it, and I didn't feel like she was unnecessarily heaping on piles of tragedy just for the sake of it - but after finishing this story I feel like I should read a nice Harlequin Romance to cleanse the ol' palate.

Of course I want another Rizzoli/Isles book and certainly this book won't be for everyone - but I rather liked this.  It's what I call a Quiet Thriller and Gerritsen twists and turns the plot in such a way to keep things lively and interesting. 

Final Grade = B

What I've Been Up To

So I hope everyone enjoyed my guest author feature last week with Jami Davenport.  Now it's time to get back to business as usual here at the Bat Cave and that means.....

Yep, it's back to being all about me.

Hey, at least I embrace my narcissism. 

So what have I been up to?  Gee, what haven't I?

++++++

First things first, I had a post go live over at Heroes & Heartbreakers last week all about my favorite librarian heroines in romance novels.  Why not head on over and take a gander, assuming you haven't already?

+++++

Despite the fact that I have review obligations coming out of my ears, I took a wee breather last week to read new books by two of my favorite mystery/suspense writers.  Just to make me a little bit of extra crazy?  Both of these new books released on the very same day!

I know as a romance reader that in some circles, all of my reading material of choice would be deemed as "fluff" - but romance is the last genre I tend to go to when I want "brain candy."  No, when I want fluff?  I mean, real fluff?  It's cozy mysteries all the way.  Death of a Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine is the latest in her series featuring freelance writer Jaine Austen (no relation).  This story involves the untimely death of an unpleasant elderly woman who had a brief flirtation with 15 minutes when she stared on a D-grade Munsters knock-off sitcom.  When she ends up dead, Jaine ends up the prime suspect, seeing as how it was her cat, Prozac, who killed the old lady's decrepit pet bird.

I was disappointed in the last book in the series, and this one was a nice recovery read.  The mystery was solid, and Levine keeps the sitcom-like antics flying.  My only real complaint?  When exactly did Jaine's neighbor - fabulous gay Neiman Marcus shoe salesmen, Lance, morph into such an asshole?  I used to love his character and the last two books?  Yeah, asshole.  Still a solid B for me.

After that it was Last To Die by Tess Gerritsen, the latest in her Rizzoli/Isles series.  I gave up on the TNT TV series based on the books after one year, largely because Hollywood morphed Dr. Isles into a pod person - but I'm still going way strong with the books.  The suspense here involves three young teenagers whose parents were killed in suspicious looking "accidents."  Two years later?  The foster families where all three kids were placed are also killed.  Meaning all three of these children have cheated death, twice.  It's up to Boston homicide detective, Jane Rizzoli, and Boston medical examiner, Maura Isles, to find the connection - assuming there is one.

What I tend to really like about Gerritsen's suspense are her characters.  She writes really interesting characters, in large part, I think, due to her past as a romance writer.  You can fudge a lot with plot and tension in the suspense genre to overcompensate for ho-hum characters.  In romance?  Yeah, good luck with that.  The Rizzoli family "stuff" is fantastic here, and Gerritsen pushes Isles into an introspective corner after her ill-fated love affair with a priest (yes, a priest!) flames out.  I also thought she did a lovely job with the kids in this book, all misfits that don't quite fit in - even at the boarding school where they end up that seems to cater to tragic misfits.  The suspense?  Was OK.  Not terrible, but also not Gerritsen's best.  It didn't light my world on fire, but it's a good entry to the series, so there's not a lot to complain about.  A very solid B for me.

+++++

My idiot Detroit Tigers were in town over the weekend to play the Anaheim Angels, so Saturday night Lil' Sis and I hit the ballpark (sans Lemon Drop).  We got seats in the club section - which means we had a waitress who took our concession stand orders and brought us our food.  Good thing too, since the game required a lot of junk food and beer thanks to Angels rookie phenom, Mike Trout, Justin Verlander getting lit up like a pinball machine, my idiot third basemen Miguel Cabrera arguing balls and strikes with the umpire and naturally, getting tossed - and oh yeah, we lost 6-1.  Let us relive the day through a series of pictures Lil' Sis snapped....

Justin Verlander warming up.  I swear they paint those pants on him.

Timing is everything.  Miguel Cabrera and our rookie, Avisail Garcia - scratching himself.  Niiiiice.

I believe the Tigers were down 5-0 at this point, when this advertisement came on in the stadium.  Don't mind if we do!

+++++

I've still got a mountain of reading to get done, the September TBR Challenge is right around the corner, there will be more RWA tote bag giveaways and oh yeah - I owe the Lemon Drop fan club a post.

Stay tuned!

Monkey Kings And Pawn Stars

I've been on a reading tear recently, mostly because in typical Wendy fashion, I've overextended myself on review obligations.  Which means if I want to read something I haven't "required" myself to read, I need to get on it, and quickly.  Two recent I Want To Read That So I Need To Find The Time Books aren't romances, and I thought it would be fun to talk about them together.

Tess Gerritsen is one of two authors I buy in hard cover, on release day.  Typically, for me, suspense series tend to ebb and flow.  I love some books, like others, and there are usually a couple I'm not so wild about.  Gerritsen is no exception, although I will say her last several have been very, very good reads for me.  The Silent Girl, the 9th book in the series, finds homicide detective, Jane Rizzoli, and medical examiner, Dr. Maura Isles investigating a brutal slaying in Boston's Chinatown.  When primate hairs are found on the victim, Jane finds herself plunged into the Chinese fable/legend of the Monkey King.

This was a good, solid entry to the series.  Jane is still Jane, Maura is still reeling from the aftermath of the last book, and the mystery is compelling, not to mention every loose thread is wrapped up.  Two things I really appreciate about Gerritsen's series is that she allows her characters to "grow" without morphing them into pod people, and that you can tell she got her start writing category romance (for Harlequin Intrigue).  I never feel like I'm slogging through a bunch of unimportant "filler" in a Gerritsen book.  Every word has it's place, every moment is there for a reason.  No drudging through verbal diarrhea to get to the goods.  More please.

Final Grade = B

My Man and I are addicted to Pawn Stars, a reality show on the History Channel here in the States.  We stumbled across it totally by accident, and got hooked after one show.  The show centers around a family-owned pawn shop in Las Vegas.  Since they aren't corporate, the Harrisons can deal in the off-beat and slightly odd-ball - like a 15th century samurai sword, a lottery ticket signed by George Washington, and original battle plans from the invasion of Iwo Jima.  After years of hard work, the business was a success, then TV happened.  License To Pawn: Deals, Steals and My Life at the Gold & Silver is mostly told from Rick Harrison's point of view - although the other personalities on the show, The Old Man, Big Hoss, and Chumlee, do get their own chapters.

My Man read this while I was at RWA, in about 2 sittings.  Let it be noted that as much as I love the guy - My Man ain't much of a reader.  He can read.  He has read.  But it's not his leisure activity of choice.  He called the book "fluffy."  I'm not sure I totally agree - but it is a super quick read.  I'm not sure it's going to appeal to anyone who hasn't seen (and enjoyed) the TV show, but if you're a fan?  It was interesting, if only to get some of the back-story.  And whoa doggie, it's quite a back-story.  These guys have led some....uh interesting lives.  Honestly, it's amazing Big Hoss isn't dead.  Chumlee isn't as dippy on the printed page as he is on the show, and Rick and The Old Man love the hustle.  I'm not sure I'd run out and plunk down hard cover prices for this book - but as a library read?  As a book that My Man actually read, and happily?  Good stuff.  Do you have a reluctant reader in your life who loves the show?  Yeah, this one is a no-brainer, slam-dunk.

Grade = B

On Series, On Rizzoli/Isles, On Fangirl-dom

I finished Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen over the weekend, and instead of contemplating an "official" review, I've found myself ruminating on the subject of series. Why I'm quick to jump on a mystery/suspense series bandwagon while 95% of all romance series either don't appeal, or leave me only marginally interested. Oh sure, I do read romance series. A few. But I'm not reading them because they are series books. No, I'm generally reading them because 1) I like the author or 2) it's a sub genre (ex: westerns) I want to support. I don't get that big anticipation rush with romance series like I do mystery/suspense. Just don't. Case in point? This new book by Gerritsen, which had me taking note of the release date, and plotting how, when and where I was going to buy my copy (in print, on my lunch break at work, at Costco).

Seriously, I had a plan of attack.

I don't do this with romance series. Just don't. The reason for this? The confines of the romance genre do not allow authors to follow the same protagonist(s) over the course of several books. That tends to shoot the happily-ever-after in the foot, which is what the genre hinges on (and FYI, I don't consider J.D. Robb romance). The only requirement of a mystery/suspense novel is to give me some resolution to the crime at hand. Where the characters are at? Yeah, the authors can play around all they want....well, within reason. Which brings me to what struck me most about Ice Cold.

As a suspense novel, it's very good. Oh sure, I have a few nit-picks, but it delivers as far as a page-turner, and the ending was tre' magnifique! But it was the series aspect that struck me the most. That now, with this eighth book following the same characters, Gerritsen has done what a lot of her contemporaries struggle with. She has allowed her characters to change and grow, while not straying from their foundations, all while keeping me interested in their fictional lives.

Writing about the same characters over and over is harder than it sounds. There are two common pitfalls. 1) The characters don't change or grow at all and the reader gets bored reading the same book over and over again (see: Stephanie Plum) or 2) The author gets bored, starts tinkering too much, and the characters morph into pod people (see: Kay Scarpetta). Gerritsen has struck a very nice balance with the first eight books in her Rizzoli/Isles series. "Stuff happens" to her characters, their lives change, but peel back the layers and they're still inherently the same people they were in book one. Jane Rizzoli's life in book eight is light years away from her life in book one, but she's still Jane. Deep down, under the layers, she's still who she is.

To put it another way, I like it when authors remodel the kitchen, or maybe put in a swimming pool. What I tend to hate is when the author packs the house with plastic explosives, pours several gallons of gasoline on the living room carpet and lights a match. Adding new dimensions to characters is good. Totally rewriting history? Yeah, that sucks. Major.

I also find it really interesting that while Gerritsen probably gets a fair amount of crap from her suspense-only fans about her romance writing past (icky, love cooties!), I think her romance writing past is the reason why her suspense novels are so good, and popular. Certainly characters are important in mystery/suspense. I wouldn't be so stupid to suggest otherwise. But compared to the romance genre? Oh man. If you can't write good, interesting, "real" characters in romance, you're sunk. Because without the reader believing in the characters? Yeah, how exactly is the author going to deliver on the happily-ever-after? In mystery/suspense, even if the characters are so-so, the author can still salvage the proceedings somewhat by giving the reader a crackin' good mystery. In romance, lackluster characterization = dead on arrival. Good luck with that.

Was Ice Cold my favorite in this series to date? No. The Sinner and Body Double are still tops in my mind. But it was still very, very good. An extremely strong entry that delivers on suspense, manages to wrap up some character baggage and add another layer to the onion. I loved where this book started (and ended), and I can't wait to see where the author leads her characters next.

And now....I wait. ::tap, tap, tap::

Final Grade = B+

Book Trailers: Money Vs. No Money

I know a lot of readers can take or leave book trailers, and most of the time I'm in leave 'em camp. But, I'll be honest - when I run up against a particularly well done one, book trailers have a way of snagging my attention. And most days, my attention span is on par with the life cycle of a fruit fly. I've seen two particularly interesting trailers of late, one for a suspense novel, the other for a historical romance trilogy.

First up, is the money trailer. This is for Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen, which comes out in late June. Gerritsen is a Big New York Times Bestselling Author, so naturally there's some money to throw around on a book trailer. Also, a new TNT series based on this series is debuting this summer, so it behooves the publisher (and author) to throw some extra promo dollars around. I don't love this trailer as much as the one she did for her previous book, The Keepsake, but I still like it quite a bit.

(ETA 5/1: The author popped up in the comments section to say that the trailer was actually the product of some local guys, a hand-held camera, and a snowy Maine day. So a low-budget affair, and the publisher didn't foot the bill. I think it looks slick!)



On the other end of the spectrum, in regards to money and genre, we have Tessa Dare, who has done a book trailer for her upcoming Stud Club trilogy, which lands this summer. Dare did this promo trailer herself, and while it has a decidedly homemade feel to it, it's so charming and funny I can't help but be tickled by it. If I didn't already have plans to buy and read this new trilogy, this trailer would have tipped me right over the edge. Yes authors, this is sometimes all it takes. Amuse Wendy and she'll open up her wallet.