One Hand Killing: An Alex Sullivan Zen Mystery by Nancy O'Hara

 One Hand Killing: An Alex Sullivan Zen Mystery. Nancy O'Hara. Amazon Digital Services - Kindle Edition. 428 KB. ASIN No. B006LAA9WW.

Alex Sullivan has a Zen ability when she's in the middle of a crime scene in her role as an NYPD homicide detective. Going inward, she turns around and looks around a room, activating a sense for what is unusual and central to solving the mystery of a crime. But little does she know as she wearily travels upstate to a Zen monastery where she hopes to spend ten days reviving her inner spirit that this skill will be sorely needed very soon. Will it be to strengthen her for her job or is it time to be thinking about retiring? It turns out she won't be thinking about either, for upon arrival she senses an unusual tension among the community and not from the preparations for a Buddha birthday party to be held the following weekend!

Alex doesn't really get a chance to find out the problem when it is discovered that one of the monks is missing. The monastery is situated in the center of land surrounded by forest and mountains, so this monk could be anywhere. Almost before one can absorb the shock, the monk is found - dead - with a written message or Koan about a man hanging upside-down from a tree with a branch in his mouth - with a puzzle posed for the appropriate Buddhist response.

Things begin to spin totally out of control with two more deaths, a cat slaughtered, and a severed hand, all of which indicate a passionate killer. Two detectives are assigned to the case initially after the first death and it takes them a while to overcome their distrust of a female detective who is out of her precinct and has no authority in upstate New York. However, she's got what they need of which she for once can't seem to make sense as there are so many potential community members and non-community members who might be the guilty party or more than one guilty party.

Nancy O'Hara's got what it takes - She has crafted a terrific mystery with plenty of clues slowly revealed and with characters who exude both innocence and guilt. The calmness of the Zen Master and spiritual practices are a fascinating counterpoint to the increasing brutality and tension of the murders, with all beginning to worry about their personal safety as well as who is the killer and and how do these trained professionals, including Alex Sullivan, plan to solve the crimes before more happen? Finely done, with more captivating details, Ms. O'Hara!!!

 

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer. Patrick Suskind. Vintage Press. February 2001. 255 pages. ISBN #: 9780671749606.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born in late 19th Century France to parents who is rejected by his parents and all who would otherwise want a little baby to nourish and cherish. The few who do encounter him as a baby note that he smells "evil," like an abomination, whatever that means; it turns out he literally has no smell to him, unlike other sweet babies. But Grenouille survives the rejection of a woman, priest and others to discover that his total way of appreciating the world is through the unique sense of smell that HE has. For he can recognize any object or person by smell, and this is what feeds his soul and sets his identity - that is until the day he encounters a wholly new intoxicating smell. What he will do upon reaching the source of that lovely odor will shock the reader to the core of his or her mind and heart!

Grenouille is now a changed man and seeks to create perfumes that will entrance other as he has been enraptured. But how he will do it is both mesmerizing and shocking, again and again. For creating the perfect perfume makes him even more of a misogynist than previously and his hate will lead to numerous victims as he seeks to rid the world of malodorous men, women, and children.

This is not your average horror or serial killer story. For the author depicts this psychotic individual with such neutrality and writes in such a literate style that the reader is compelled to keep rapidly turning the pages until the last shocking event! The story also gives a nice historical touch to the story, depicting the poverty, wealth, degradation and depravity of the times in a France that may be post-Revolution but is none the better for the overwhelming changes.

One word only perfectly describes this novel - amazing!

Legacy of the Highlands by Harriet Schultz

Legacy of the Highlands. Harriet Schultz. Kindle Edition. Cottage Park Press. 443 KB. ISBN #: B0062LPAO2.

After a passionate, sexy evening, Will Cameron goes out to buy some ice cream. He's worried and has something to tell his wife, Alexandra or Alex, but decides not to mar a perfect evening. Four hours later Alex awakens to find two policemen at her door, announcing Will is dead. She's obviously overcome and her friend Francie helps her make it through the funeral and luncheon held thereafter. Alex blames herself for mentioning the alley that was a quicker way home but also the place where her beloved was killed!

She's also annoyed that Will's former best but now estranged friend has shown up for the funeral but is so overcome with grief and inability to handle Will's family and friends that she allows Diego Navarro to take over. She tells him she has to get to Logan Airport and get out of Boston and soon thereafter she is comfortably resting and recovering in Diego's Florida home, a luxurious retreat where rest and food prepared by a caring maid allows Alex to begin the healing process. But Diego has something to confess to Alex as well as his overwhelming feelings for her that are beginning to slip out. More and more, she is also responding to him, a rather incredible response given the depth of her love for Will and the short passage of time since his death. Whatever is happening here?

The plot thickens as a family secret and an ultimate betrayal connected with Scotland begins to emerge. Scotland has small segments of its population who want separation from England and have signed a certain document in which members of an elite group vow to do everything possible to further the cause of separation from England - and not peaceful. Yes, financial and other agreements leading to Scottish independence are not enough for this group, and Will becomes the means to punish the one who chose other priorities. How will they do it? The story moves from Boston to Florida to Boston to Scotland and back home to Boston. Will's family is guarding some devastating facts that prove to be unforgiveable. Punish the family before the betrayer. But they don't realize that Diego and his bodyguard, a former Massad agent, have different plans and they are not peaceful either? How much will Alex play along?

Harriet Schultz has written a fascinating mystery/thriller novel. There's a bit too much of waiting for the story to evolve but it's worth the wait as events begin to spin out of control both on the personal front between Diego and Alex and on the international front for those seeking revenge. Will there be a satisfactory finale? Read it and discover what possibilities follow for all involved in this lethal story! Nicely done, Ms. Schultz!

Always the Vampire by Nancy Haddock

Always the Vampire. Nancy Haddock. A Berkley Trade Paperback: Penguin Books. May 2011. 342 pp. ISBN #: 9780425240885.

Francesca Melisenda Alejandra Marinelli, St. Augustine, Florida's only vampire, is a competent woman who gives ghost tours and presently is sharpening her skills as her best friend, Maggie O'Halloran's maid of honor and organizer for an absolutely perfect wedding. Some initial challenges arise with an increased number of unexpected guests and other matters, but suddenly a more formidable threat to the peace and well-being of all appears.

A disease is spreading among vampires which seems in essence to be sucking the life out of them a little at a time, altering their physical condition in a most sickening manner that is only the precursor to a horrific death. The disease is known as the Void, explained to "Cesca," as she is known, as a nonphysical thought form, "a magical construct, likley created in a ritual that focused willpower, visualization, and life force energy," one that is directed by its Creator. Who is the Creator and what is the intent of such a destructive entity? Therein lies the challenge behind this paranormal romance that is also a well-developed mystery with just enough clues to keep the reader flipping the pages to reach the unexpected conclusion.

Along the way, the reader meets a bevy of characters with unique personalities that are funny, fearsome, and possessed of magical powers well-needed as the complex plot unfurls and eventually ties together somewhat confusing loose ends. Passion in relationships abounds, with some remnants from the past resolved with some testy but funny banter.

Cesca's life is threatened frequently, although she seems to the only vamp immune to the encroaching power. Powers pass through various time and space patterns known as the Veil. Cesca, as well as the other characters, must be trained to tackle the devastating, new, and increasingly dangerous events that are kiling human beings as well.

Sometimes difficult to follow but ultimately a light, funny story, Always the Vampire is the third novel in this series that will delight all who love vampire stories, mysteries, the paranormal, and good romance tales. Cesca is a sassy, modern, and feisty vampire character for sure! Very cool story!

A Canterbury Crime - A Belinda Lawrence Mystery by Brian Kavanagh

A Canterbury Crime: A Belinda Lawrence Mystery by Brian Kavanagh. 2010. Bewrite Books. 150 pp. ISBN No. 9781906609450.

Professor de Gray has suddenly died, and Belinda Lawrence and Hazel Whitby, knowledgeable ladies in the world of antiques, have arrived in the ancient, well-renowned town of Canterbury, to catalogue the furniture and objects in the Professor's home. Once they settle in, they are put off by the cold, unwelcoming attitude of Miss Mowbray and the weird, silent presence of Mrs. Jones. That initial reaction, while initially offsetting, becomes downright frightening when they learn that the Professor and his wife died suddenly under highly suspicious conditions.

It's right about the time Belinda and Hazel decide to investigating in addition to their cataloguing job when Miss Mowbray fails to return from a brief trip and a mysterious caller says she won't be back for a while. The case becomes even more complex when a rather flip character, Tom Bedford, enters the picture and claims he has the right to lurk through all of the late Professor's computer and paper records.

The Professor, it turns out had written a book in which the last chapter was supposed to be a historical blockbuster that would guarantee it's widespread sale and fame for the Professor. Everyone is looking for that final chapter and some shady characters are vying for opportunity to publish, hoping to connect to a new connection to Canterbury that will change history.

Add to the complexity of this mystery with a new twist on every page the fact that Belinda is being forced to decide between someone in England and someone else in Australia who would both love her hand in marriage. Mark, however, is the English beau who will prove himself in a life-threatening scene within these pages and offer her a new view of spending life with him in wedded bliss.

Brian Kavanagh is a very talented writer who has written an even more tautly plotted tale than his last crime mystery. The story is totally unpredictable and never loses the reader's rapt attention. Brenda and Hazel are witty, irksome, sharp, and pleasure-loving characters who are the perfect detectives barely managing to elude disaster by the most dire, unsavory criminals imaginable!

A best seller, for sure!