April 8, 2010

Reunion in Death (In Death Series #14)
J.D. Robb
audiobook

Publishers Weekly

Seasoned author Nora Roberts, writing as Robb, delivers another exhilarating entry in her popular futuristic cop series featuring Eve Dallas (Seduction in Death, etc.). Dallas, a New York police lieutenant, is a hard-bitten warrior cop who buries the pain and anger of her early childhood by excelling on the job. In her latest adventure, all the usual suspects are back: Eve's charismatic husband, Roarke; her plucky assistant, Peabody; and hipster techno-geek McNab. For this round, their objective is to take down a woman Eve arrested 10 years ago, a poisoner named Julianna Dunne. Julianna's out on parole, and now rich old men are dying sudden deaths. What's more, the ex-con wants to exact a little revenge on her one-time adversary. Eve's search for Dunne takes her all over the country, and eventually to Dallas, Tex., the city that gave her both her name and a legacy of violent nightmares. This is a satisfying, well-paced novel that offers readers a little of everything sex, death, family drama and well-orchestrated chase scenes. Although Robb's plot is tight and suspenseful, the real pleasure here comes from watching Eve struggle to maintain her distance from others, even as she finds herself tied ever more closely to her friends and family by the bonds of love. (Mar. 5) Forecast: It's a given that Roberts's books will grace the bestseller charts, but a stylish cover image depicting a ghostly, Manhattan subway entrance may attract new readers.

April 7, 2010

Street of the Five Moons
Elizabeth Peters

From the Publisher

Art historian Vicky Bliss may be blond and beautiful, but looks can be deceiving. She also has the brain of an Einstein, the reckless courage of a test pilot—and no one's more savvy about fine works of art. For example: the gold pendant her boss at Munich's National Museum is currently dangling in front of her. It's an exquisite replica of a Charlemagne talisman—and it was found, along with a note written in hieroglyphs, sewn into the suit pocket of an unidentified man lying dead in an alley.

There's a murderous puzzle to unravel—and Vicky will start by hunting down the master craftsperson who created the magnificent piece, even if the search carries her to the ends of the Earth. Instead, it's pointing her toward Rome, the most romantic city in the world. But it's also pulling her into a treacherous game of intrigue where the stakes could not be higher: Vicky's life!

April 2010

Borrower of the Nile
Elizabeth Peters

From the Publisher

A missing masterwork in wood, the last creation of a master carver who died in the violent tumult of the sixteenth century, may be hidden in a medieval German castle in the town of Rothenburg. The prize has called to art historian Vicky Bliss, drawing her and an arrogant male colleague into the forbidding citadel and its dark secrets. But the treasure hunt soon turns deadly. Here, where the blood of the long-forgotten damned stains ancient stones, Vicky must face two equally perilous possibilities. Either a powerful supernatural evil inhabits this place . . . or someone frighteningly real is willing to kill for what Vicky is determined to find.