“The Perfect Poison” by Amanda Quick

“The Perfect Poison” by Amanda Quick
2009, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-15580-2

“The Perfect Poison” by Amanda Quick. Brisk. Perky. Lovely psychic stuff. Mystery. Love with the unlikeliest of people. Handsome and yet not too handsome, beautiful and yet not the fashion at all. These are all elements of the stories by Amanda Quick. But, when she signs her name as Amanda you’ve got a mystery set in the 1800’s.

Lucinda Bromley has the ability to be able to detect poison. She occasionally helps the police with cases, but she herself is viewed with horror by polite society. This is because her father was accused of killing his business partner and then committing suicide. Then, her fiancé was poisoned and it was commonly felt that she did the poisoning. She didn’t do the dastardly deed, but that is beside the point. Society thinks she did.

The bad trouble starts when she detects a very rare fern stolen from her greenhouse several months earlier had been used in a poison used to kill someone in high society. She told the police officer she works with that the person had been poisoned. What she didn’t tell him was that she suspected that the poison might have been made from her stolen fern.

Lucinda went to Jones Psychic Detective Agency and hired Caleb Jones to help her track down her fern and then to find a murderer. When Lucinda and Caleb meet the sparks begin to fly.

The psychic stuff comes in with a bunch of stories called The Arcane Society Novels. I love when the heroine doesn’t understand the subtleties just like they can often fly by me occasionally. Still, at the age of 54, I can learn from these characters on how to bounce back with aplomb from a faux paus.

It’s not just a story. It’s a box of chocolates.

“Death goes on Retreat” by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

“Death goes on Retreat” by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
1995, Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0-385-31047-1

I’ve always been a great fan of the religious. Once upon a time I aspired to be one, but those were girlhood dreams and were a long time ago. My husband and I have been married over 30 years and I morphed in my middle age into a psychic, so, presumably I am as far away from being a nun as I could possibly be. But, that doesn’t mean I can’t still be a fan.

This is a mystery with nuns at the center of the tale. It’ called, “Death goes on Retreat” and it was written by Sister Carol Anne O’Marie. A co-worker told me about her because she had recently passed on in May of 2009. She helped to co-found and run a homeless shelter for women in Oakland called A Friendly Place. Sister was from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet religious order.

Central to “Death goes on Retreat” is Sister Mary Helen who is an elderly nun on retreat who somehow becomes involved in a murder investigation. While the detectives come to investigate Sister Mary Helen and her friend Sister Eileen begin their own investigation. They have already gained a bit of notoriety as sleuths in another murder and so know how to ask the right questions.

The story lets you peek into the lives of the clergy, the priests and nuns in the story. It also shines with love and compassion. It’s one of those books to read when you’ve grown tired of sirens and serial killers and mass murder.

Curl up and pick up one of Sister O’Marie’s books. She wrote 11 of them. Your library should have at least one of them for you to read. Mine did.

“Straight Into Darkness” by Faye Kellerman

“Straight Into Darkness” by Faye Kellerman
2005, Time Warner Book Group
ISBN: 0-446-53040-9

Tell me a story and I’ll be interested. Tell me a story by Faye Kellerman and I’m riveted. “Straight Into Darkness” takes place in Munich, Germany just before Hitler came to power.

The story focuses upon Axel Berg who is a police detective and a number of murders he is trying to solve. What is interesting is to see how the German people are reacting to Hitler’s rise; how many agree with him and his hate and how many of them can’t abide him or his views. This gives you the advantage of seeing history unfold before your very eyes and all you want to do is to say to the people in the story, “Don’t take anything for granted. Treasure your loved ones. There is worse coming.” This story also provides a sharp elbow jab to your side about how complacency can be the best thing a despot could hope for.

Not only is this a really good who-done-it, “Straight Into Darkness”, is a very secret look into the soul of a people on the abyss of something very much worse than a serial killer.

"Promises in Death" by JD Robb

"Promises in Death" by JD Robb

2009, GP Putnam's Sons

ISBN: 978-0-399-15548-2

Dallas, Lt Eve. It doesn’t take long until you are understanding cop speak in the year 2060….way into the future where cars go straight up when you want to get somewhere quickly.

These are series books and this one is, “Promises in Death”. The misery here is the DB (dead body) is a policewoman. She is not all that well known to Eve, but her murder falls to Eve to solve.

Morris, who is the chief medical officer was Amaryllis Coltraine’s sweetheart and he is a friend of Eve’s. To help him handle the grieving Eve invites him to help solve the mystery and put Amaryllis’ killer behind bars. In fact, for a woman who doesn’t mingle well and who doesn’t feel comfortable with lots of people she has a great number of them to help her with solving this crime.

Even is you’ve not read any of these books before J.D. Robb draws you into the group of characters in this book, many who will be in the other Death books. There’s a whole slew of them so if you end up liking these (some do and some don’t…I definitely do!) you’re set for a large collection of books to plow through. On the book jacket it said J.D. Robb, a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, has written 150 books. I can’t even imagine that. She’s got to do it in her sleep!

Good story. Goes quickly. I was done in 2 days. Eat books.