Book Review: True Detective by James A. Huebner

Read and revieved for Front Street Reviews
New York City cop, Sergeant Detective Marlowe finds himself in a new place. Coming back to work after an extended leave of absence, sitting through sessions with a therapist that he believes he doesn’t really need, and starting work in a new precinct with a new partner. On their first night together, they discover an odd crime in Battery park. Someone has left a carefully stuffed cadaver skin, hanging above the water that formed one of the park’s boundaries, holding a sign that says SS New York on it.

In the days and weeks that follow Marlowe learns more about his partner. Both he and his partner Detective Captain Cross both had been touched by the events of 9-11 in ways besides helping with the rescue, and eventual body removal from the tower’s rubble. Both had been involved in investigations and arrests concerning the attacks on the World Trade Center. Marlowe finds that his partner cross believes that the “body” they found in the park was connected with the terrorists, and is adamant about discovering who did it and why before New York is attacked for a third time. The cadaver, along with a very prominent suicide/homicide and a sting on a well known local drug dealer all start to seem like they could be intertwined. Along with the stresses of work, Marlowe is starting to doubt the sanity of his partner.

I found the story a bit slow at first, but it built up to a nice pace. Author James Huebner has built a strong story based in mystery. As a reader I enjoyed following narrator Detective Marlowe on his journey to find the source of the “darkness” that is threatening his city. It becomes a tumultuous journey as he strives to figure out where the many cases they are investigating might connect, and which, is the true crime. We see Marlowe grow as a person with the discoveries about his self that he makes with the help of his psychiatrist, and his own personal reflection while on and off duty. I found True Detective to be a wonderful look into the police procedures of the daily work life of a modern day New York City Police detective. This was a great story, full of twists and turns, with a surprising twist of an ending.

Book Review: The Diva's Fool by Silvia Foti

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Alexandria Vilkas, a reporter for the Chicago based Gypsy magazine, is interviewing world renowned opera singer Carmen Dellamorte about her passion for tarot cards. During the interview, Carmen’s understudy in a moment of anger utters the name of the opera, Macbeth. This is taboo in the operatic circles, as it is considered a part of a 400 year old curse in which if the name of the opera is uttered out loud while in production a cast member will die. After a stunning final performance, Carmen steps on stage during her curtain call and collapses. She has been as the police will discover shortly, poisoned.

Alexandria is pulled into the mystery surrounding Carmen’s death for three reasons. Her first reason is her interview with the diva before her death. The second reason, Carmen entrusted Alexandria with a box of material to help her ghost write a biography of Carmen’s father - a box which may contain clues to the diva's death written in her own hand. Finally, and most importantly to Alexandria, the third reason, it was predicted that she would have to solve this case in order to become a member of the secret society, the Order of the Tarot.

Her boss at Gypsy Magazine changes her story from one about celebrity usage of Tarot cards, to one that finds and reveals the murder responsible for Carmen’s death. Alexandria finds herself learning more about Carmen’s past, family, and career as she investigates the murder. She finds herself in a race against time to find an answer to the question that everyone is asking.

Has the curse claimed another victim, or are there other sinister plots in play to bring down the diva?

The Diva’s Fool is Silvia Foti’s second mystery with reluctant detective Alexandria Vilkas. It is also, the first book in The Tarot Chronicles series. I was a little reluctant to start this without having first read Skullduggery, however the story is paced well enough that you don’t feel as though you have missed something by not having read the introductory book. Paranormal themes have recently started to creep into every genre from science fiction & fantasy to thrillers, mysteries, and romance. It is also, a theme that is extremely hard to write and have come off convincing and not cheesy. The adventures of Alexandria Vilkas ended up grabbing my imagination while reading. The fact that the story is set in Chicago, the city I grew up in and still live near was another good thing for me while reading. It was extremely easy to imagine Alexandria running around the city I love. Like Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files books, The Diva’s Fool shows another layer to Chicago, one filled with ghostly encounters, and where nothing is what it seems. I found the book to be thrilling read filled with murder, music, and unseen forces at work. I am looking forward to reading Silvia Foti’s first book, and her future books.

Publication Date: April 2007
Publisher: Echelon Press
Author's Web Site: http://www.silviafoti.biz/

Book Review: The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury

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Martin of Carmaux, a young Templar knight, flees the city of Acre after the Muslims take the last city held by the Christian knights in 1291. He joins his mentor Aimard of Villiers on a mission to deliver a chest for the dying Grand Master of the Templar’s order. Their ship, the Falcon Temple, is lost in a massive storm, and the mysterious chest never delivered.

In current day New York City, Hundreds of attendees are attending the opening, of an exhibit of art on loan from the Vatican, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Those attendees become witnesses to four men dressed in knight garb ride horses into the museum and rob the exhibit. Archeologist Tess happened to be close enough to witness one of the horseman steal a strange mechanical device, and hear the reverent Latin phrase that the horseman uttered as he picked it up. Tess brings up the connection between the garb the horsemen were wearing and the phrase the one horseman uttered with the Templar Order from the 14th century to the FBI team investigating the theft.

Sean Reilly is an FBI agent working on the case. He is joined by his partner Nick Aparo, and an envoy from the Vatican, Monsignor De Anglais. As three of the horsemen turn up dead, it becomes apparent how important the stolen device is Tess becomes more than just a witness as her experience as both a research and field archeologist becomes a helpful addition to the search team. Tess and Reilly are drawn out on a chase that takes them through parts of New York City, into the desolate mountains of Turkey, and remote islands of Greece. Will they be able to catch up with the fourth horseman, and find the mysterious lost treasure of the Templar?

Raymond Khoury’s first novel, The Last Templar is an action packed thriller. He successfully pulls off the telling of two tales, the current day treasure chase and the interspersed tale of the knight Martin as he struggles to escape Acre and make his way to France. I was impressed with the complexity of the plot, and the thought provoking look that it gave towards faith’s role in the modern world and faith versus historical fact. I was a bit leery going into The Last Templar as I had heard it compared to The Da Vince code, which I disliked intensely when I read it last year. However, I was surprised by a thought invoking tale with characters that popped off of the pages and into my imagination. I will be waiting eagerly for Khoury’s next novel to be released later this year.

Book Review: The Venus Fix by M.J. Rose

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Dr. Morgan Snow, sex therapist at the well known Butterfield Institute in New York City, has a new patient. He is an extremely influential and powerful man that she only knows as “Bob.” His problem is an extremely strong addiction to watching internet porn of the web-cam variety. He is not the only patient that Dr. Snow has. She is also running a group session for a small group of teenagers, at a prestigious high school, who are all obsessed with the same type of internet fed sexual fantasies.

Then the women creating these fantasies start to die while performing. Suddenly, The N.Y.P.D. is fielding hundreds of phone calls from across the country. Phone calls made by the men who were watching as these women became sick and died. Dr. Snow’s work becomes entangled with detective Noah Jordain’s investigation as he tries to unravel the riddle behind the murders. All the victims are purveyors of the web cam porn industry. Also, all the victims are employed by the same company. What other connections tie the victims together?

The clues point towards Dr Snow’s new patient. However, new evidence comes from an unexpected source and changes the focus of the hunt. Can they find the real killer in time, or will more women die?

The Venus Fix is M.J. Roses third book in the Butterfield Institute series. As a newcomer to this series, I found it easy to fall into Dr. Snow's world and sensibilities. M.J. Rose has crafted a story that pulls its elements from seedier aspects of society and combines them with well crafted events to make a quick, enjoyable, thrill-filled story. Being fairly new to the mystery/thriller world, I was unaware of M.J. Rose’s reputation for writing that is a bit sexual, raw and underground. In fact I stumbled across her due to a self promotional contest online for this title. M.J. Rose is one of those authors that you hear a lot about. She self published her first novel, due to increased frustration with having her book turned down by several publishing houses, and put all her effort into using the internet to market her writing. As a result, her books have been picked up by the mainstream publishing industry. She still keeps a web blog called Buzz, Balls & Hype which she uses as an outlet to help publishers and authors reach a larger audience about their books. I’ve never been much of a reader of thrillers, however I found The Venus Fix a fantastic introduction to the genre and am looking forwards to reading more works by the author.


Author's web site: http://www.mjrose.com/
Author's Blog: : http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/

ISBN: 077832317X
ISBN-13: 9780778323174
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: July 2006
Binding: Mass Market Paperback