DP54Cover - Deadly Pleasures

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Deadly Pleasures
Lupe’s teenage son, a kid with a lot of problems. Still, killing
his mom is not what anyone would have expected from him.
And the feather is found to be a clue leading to Central
America.
Tucker enlists the aid of her office partner and
private investigator to try to help Helen, as being closed for
even a day can put the financial health of the new business
in jeopardy.
Unfortunately, Tucker’s secretary/assistant, Eugene
decides to get involved in the investigation. He might
be just avoiding his visiting mother, but he isn’t staying in
contact, which adds to Tucker’s worries. The case is solved,
but not without risk to Tucker and Eugene.
While I enjoyed this book, as others in the series,
I confess I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more
chocolate lore in the book. I admit my hoping for samples
with the advance reading copy was unrealistic, but a
chocoholic can always dream
A ROYAL PAIN by Rhys Bowen.
(Berkley, $23.95). Second in the Royal
Spyness mystery series. Rating: A- Lady
Georgiana Rannoch is making the best of
her life in London. Her business opening
houses for wealthy families returning from
vacation is perfect for her skills, such as
they are. Of course, this business is a secret
from most of her family and acquaintances,
especially the Queen.
Having over thirty people ahead
of you in the royal succession pretty much
ensures you’ll never be crowned Queen,
but that doesn’t mean you can relax your
standards of conduct. Georgie is assigned
a duty by the Queen, one that will keep her
very busy. There is a princess from Germany,
Hanni for short, who is visiting England.
The Queen hopes her son will become
enamored with him, and lose interest
in the American divorcee he is besotted
with, much to the dismay of all who meet the woman.
Georgie has her hands full with Hanni, who has
lead a very sheltered life, and now wants to live it up. At a
“fast” party, there is a death, and Georgie and Hanni are
quickly hurried away. That is not the only death on the
agenda, and its up to Georgie and her quick wits to save the
day.
Georgie is a real treasure. I love the way she has
found a way to live a life of her choosing, yet still keep on
the good side of her family. Her ingenuity is amazing.
Further adventures of the Lady Georgie will be highly
anticipated by this reader.
THE DIRTY SECRETS CLUB by Meg Gardiner
(Dutton, $24.95). Series debut. Rating: A- Jo Beckett is
a forensic psychologist, and when she is contacted by the
San Francisco police department, she’s not sure she has the
time needed to determine why a top prosecutor drove her
car off a freeway overpass, killing herself and people riding
Reviews
in an airport shuttle bus. There was a passenger in Callie
Harding’s car, but she is in critical condition.
Jo generally needs days or weeks, not hours to
delve into a suicide’s innermost thoughts.
Police Lieutenant. Amy Tang suspects there will
be another high profile death soon. There have been two
previous double deaths recently. A fashion designer and
his lover died on his yacht which was an inferno. A
respected physician died after his son, supposedly a
recovered addict, died of an overdose.
Jo and Amy are a formidable duo, a mixture of
medical knowledge and police resources who find out
about a secret society. The Dirty Secrets Club is made up
of high rollers who have something to hide. It may be more
than that, and it seems the members are being hunted by
a man who was wronged by some of its members.
Jo and Amy, with the aid of others, track down the
man who is intent on bringing the club to a brutal end. Jo
has to battle him while protecting the
young child of a friend. A Savior helps
her out, one that was unexpected.
The final scene was truly hair raising,
and yet poignant. Jo may take a few
more books for me to really connect with
her, but this made a great start to a
hopefully long string of thrillers.
JUDGMENT DAY by Sheldon
Siegel (MacAdam/Cage, $26.00). Sixth
in the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez series.
Rating: B+ In a small law firm,
money can be tight, so an offer of
$50,000 for ten days of work could be
very helpful. Mike is approached to help
with a last ditch effort to stop the execution
of Nathan Fineman. Fineman was a
noted defense attorney, and for much of
his career was a respected member of
the bar. He lost a lot of respect in his
defense of drug dealers and gang members.
He was convicted of murdering two drug dealers
in a Chinatown restaurant. Mike’s dad was one of the cops
called to the scene, and though he is now dead, his
reputation could be tarnished. The defense tried to claim
that the murder weapon was planted on Fineman, but an
internal affairs investigation cleared the police of any
wrongdoing.
Mike enlists his brother Pete, now a private
investigator, to help with the case. Fineman’s wife is
wealthy, and the money offered is very tempting. Pete
agrees, but reluctantly. Neither brother wants any shame
brought to their father.
The investigation is made more difficult as one
witness was killed after talking to the police, and the other
disappeared shortly after that. The time factor is a major
part of the case, as is the strategy for how the appeal
process is to be done. And making it so much more difficult
is the death of the lead attorney on the case. Now Mike