Burn Out by Marcia Muller

Genre - Mystery
ISBN - 0-446-58107-0
No. of Pages - 309
Rating - 4.0 out 0f 5

Burn Out begins which Sharon McCone retreating to her high desert ranch suffering from burn out and traumatized by a recent life or death investigation. Here we see McCone suffering from depression and trying to figure out the direction her life should go in. Even though she is determined not to investigate anything, McCone finds herself drawn into a case concerning a First Nations American woman and her dysfunctional family. As the corpses keep mounting up we see McCone coming to terms with her own Shoshone heritage and future of her life.

Once again Marcia Muller shows us why she is regarded as one of the world's premiere mystery writers. She combines a strong sense of place along with an in-depth character study of her main protagonist. The plot moves along well and keeps the reader guessing as to "whodunnit." Muller consistently provides us with satisfying reads.

Watch Me by A. J. Holt

Genre - Mystery/Thriller
ISBN - 0-312-95997-4
No. of Pages 370
Rating - 3 out of 5

This is another book that has been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while. As far as I can tell it is still available from major bookstores. I usually do not care for serial killer novels because of the violence portrayed in them so the fact that I was able to read this one through to the end speaks volumes about the author's ability to hold the reader's attention without wallowing in gory details. The added plus is that the story is told from the perspective of Special FBI agent Jay Fletcher who knows how to catch serial killers. She has developed a computer program that identifies the most vicious murderers in the US.

Holt has provided the reader with an in depth character study of her protagonist and the toll that her job takes on her. A good read. This is the first book I have read by Holt- I will be on the look out for more.

Lost City by Clive Cussler

Genre - Thriller
ISBN - 0-425-20419-7
no. of pages - 515
Rating - 2.75 out of 5

This novel has been sitting in my TBR (to be read) pile for a while. It is a fast paced novel that keeps you turning the pages to find out how the heroes are going to get out of the jam they are in. I like like Cussler's novels. They demand a suspension of belief, with just enough science fact to make the stories interesting. The writer takes you from the cold 2000 feet below the icy waters of the North Atlantic to the countryside in France as Kurt Austin, the leader of Numa's special assignments team tries to discover why scientists from a remote Greek island are disappearing and what this has to do with a body discovered frozen high in the Alps. A decent time waster and a fast read.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Genre - Mystery
ISBN - 978-0-14-317009-9
Rating - 5/5
No. of Pages - 841
It has been a long time since I have read a mystery that I just couldn't put down. This book has everything, a striking sense of place, two fascinating characters- a disgraced financial journalist and a captivating complex heroine Lisbeth Salander, a terrific mystery of family and power dynamics sprinkled with death, intrigue, and sex. I sincerely doubt that you with find a better book. To be honest when I saw the size of the book I thought to myself - O Boy, this will be a dragged out story. Not So. Larsson combines a chilly Swedish backdrop, his reporter eye for detail, and high tech sleuthing, to give us a compelling well woven tale that keeps you wanting to find out what happens next. This is one of the few books that I have given an excellent rating. The only down side is that the author died unexpectedly at a young age. There are 2 more books in this series. I have the second and the third is due out this year. I will be reading them!

It has been quite a while since my last post. Real life had been extremely with work changes and a move to a new city. But the good news is that I have returned and will be publishing reviews again.
I have just reading two mysteries and the reviews will be up shortly.

Lillian