New Books: March 2010

Books are stacking up on my shelves, silent evidence that I'm not reading fast enough. I know I can't get to them all, but some by popular authors look like they could be pretty good. Instead of continuing to feel guilty, I'm going to just list them here with a short blurb describing the plot. If you read any of them and find they weren't worth your time, well--sorry! 

Deception, by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine Books; $28): Psychologist Alex Delaware works with LA detective Milo Sturgis on the murder of young teacher at one of LA's most prestigious schools. A DVD found near her body contains the record of her 18-month nightmare of abuse at the hands of three fellow teachers.

Deep Shadow, by Randy Wayne White (Putnam; $25.95): South Florida jack-of-all-water-trades Doc Ford is diving in a safe little lake when a falling rock ledge traps two of his friends. He comes up to try to get help, but runs into two low-lifes who want Doc to help them dive to the bottom of the lake to salvage a wrecked plane allegedly filled with Cuban gold. With the lives of his pals in the balance, Doc is, as usual, in a mess of hot Florida trouble.

Capitol Betrayal, by William Bernhardt (Ballantine Books; $26): Former senator Ben Kincaid is meeting with the president when a threat to Washington forces their evacuation, along with the president's advisors, to the secure underground bunker. There they learn that a foreign dictator has hacked into the US nuclear defense system and will blow the US to smithereens unless the president does his bidding.

Sleepless, by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books; $25): When insomnia infects the Los Angeles population. LAPD detective Parker Hess goes undercover to investigate the pharmaceutical company behind Dreamer, the only drug that can help victims sleep. I like Charlie Huston. His Joe Pitt vampire books are among the very, very few vampire books that I read. His Already Dead was terrific.

Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reich (Doubleday; $25.95): The plan for a romantic weekend away for Doctors without Borders physician Jonathan Ransom and his secret-agent wife, Emma, come to a bloody end in a terrorist attack. Now Emma is missing, and Jonathan is threatened with imprisonment unless he aids in her capture. His only chance is to think like a spy and uncover what she's been cooking up. Soon he learns that she's in far deeper than he realized and he's been an unwitting player. My husband really liked this book.

Kisser, by Stuart Woods (Putnam; $25.95): Lawyer Stone Barrington's latest assignment, protecting a lip model (seriously!), puts him in the New York world of art, million-dollar co-ops, and family scandals.

Blood Ties, by Kay Hooper (Bantam; $26): Special Agent Hollis Templeton uses her psychic abilities to help the FBI's Special Crimes Unit solve a series of brutal murders.

Treasure Hunt, by John Lescroart (Dutton; $26.95) San Francisco detective Mickey Dade investigates the murder of Dominic Como, a prominent activist, who may have been involved in some unseemly goings-on.  

Breathless, by Dean Koontz (Bantam; $28.00): Okay, I read the flyleaf, and I can't begin to describe what this one is about. There's a dog, twins, a veterinarian, the government, a vagrant, chaos theory--I have no clue. I consider it a very bad sign when I can't understand the publisher's description of a book's plot.