"Nine" deals with vigilantes who have decided to kill all of the suspects on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. They methodically track down these felons, then torture and kill them. Many people across the country applaud the vigilantes, since they are catching dangerous criminals who have thus far eluded the FBI's dragnet.

However, Los Angeles Homicide Detective Alex Brandon does not applaud the vigilantes; he considers them to be criminals, not heroes. As Alex gets more deeply involved in the case, he finds to his horror that the perpetrators may be targeting not just wanted felons, but him, as well.

Although Burke is a talented writer who knows how to build suspense, "Nine" has some glaring weaknesses. The vigilantes are cardboard characters whose motivations and behavior are implausible. Most of the dialogue is stilted and the plot becomes more far-fetched as the book lumbers on to its melodramatic conclusion. At almost 400 pages, "Nine" is too long, and it goes off in too many directions. Tighter editing might have helped the book flow more smoothly. Although "Nine" does provide thrills and gore galore, I did not find it realistic or truly entertaining.

This is an exceedingly difficult book to review, as there are three main storylines of equal importance with numerous overlapping plot points. As such, I am forced to simplify greatly while trying to avoid giving away major elements of the plot. The main thing is to understand that this is simply a very good book.

As the book opens, Homicide Detective Alex Brandon of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has been called out to the site of a gruesome murder. Someone has been carefully hung upside down from the ceiling of a bathroom. The individual was repeatedly tortured and then, through the use of an anti-coagulant injection allowed to slowly bleed out through numerous small cuts into the bathtub until dead. He has been dead sometime but he is readily identifiable as Bernado Adrianos, one of the top ten on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. Along with killing him, his killer has also helpfully written the number nine in his blood on the bathroom mirror.

The killing reminds Detective Brandon of another case from many years ago involving Kit Logan. At this same time, Kit Logan is at his expensive home in Colorado. The victim of horrific child abuse, which is detailed graphically in the novel, he has tried desperately to put his past aside by isolating himself. But isolation has not turned out to be the answer and once again, his enemies seem to be moving in on him.

The third storyline involves Everett Corey who is a manipulative sociopath with twisted ideas fueled by his own past history of child abuse. He seeks revenge and as the third point on the abuse triangle he is going to stop at nothing to manipulate Logan and Detective Brandon to get his way. He has a plan and a machine and intends to get his revenge for perceived slights from many years ago.

The three storylines are steadily weaved tighter and tighter as the body count climbs until an incredible climax that covers the last fifty pages of this very enjoyable novel. At times, this book is very disturbing in that the theme of child abuse at various levels touched all three characters (as well as others in the work) and had major impacts on their lives. The child abuse sections are very graphic in description and as a parent I found them to be disturbing. However, these scenes are necessary to the work and not gratuitous as they provide fundamental explanations of character development.

As such, this is not an Irene Kelly book. The writing is intense with the characters having multiple levels of depth and complex emotions and motivations. This book lives up to its billing and then some and is well worth the read. From the jacket copy as well as the novel itself, it would not surprise me a bit if this turned out to be the launching pad for a whole new series and if so, Jan Burke has her work cut out for her to beat this one.

The text is full of a number of very, very witty one liners, but reaches a great subtext about human bravery in a time when people give other people very little credit for just getting out of bed each day.

This is Fisher's finest book so far.

You will laugh. Trust me.

Blood and flesh were found under Nicole Brown's fingernails; the blood type did not match OJ (or Nicole or Ron). Ron Goldman walked to work, worked out, and practiced karate; his hands showed bruises from punching someone in the face or head more than once. OJ had no scratches or bruises on his hands, arms, face, or body: he could not have been a lone murderer.

The newspapers said that when the bodies were found after 12:15 AM their red blood was trickling down the sidewalk. The crime scene pictures printed in the National Enquirer showed the red blood. This says they were freshly killed, around 11:30, because their blood would be black and clotted if dead for over an hour (as in the Borden Murders).

The above physical evidence proves OJ Simpson to be innocent of these murders. Some say the 25 to 30 stab wounds on Ron Goldman suggest an emotional frenzy from a personal enemy, and Nicole Brown was the innocent bystander. The book "Killing Time" is the first and only objective book (arguments for both sides) to discuss all the evidence.

I hope that those who want to know the facts will read this, and reconsider any prejudgments that they made in June 1994.

The authors pursue this case based on facts, motive, and the essential timelime, or killing time. If you are interested in truth, you'll love this book. The authors did a great job of exploring what was possible and by whom. To this day, many people believe O.J. guilty. Yet, they seem little bothered by Mark Fuhrman asserting his fifth amendment right when answering to questions about whether he planted evidence in this case. There is a whole lot more for someone willing to open their mind. In the end, you may find a greater appreciation of people who tirelessly pursue truth versus the many who are so eager to capitalize on their own careers. It makes one wonder about how eager we are to grasp truth no matter how hard it is to swallow.

Ron Goulart's novel is a pleasant diversion. If you are a hardcore mystery fan there is really not much here, so it may well be this book is going to tickle the fancy of devoted Marxists such as myself. With this Groucho Marx you get both the blazing and constant sarcastic abuse (one of the running gags is people thinking they recognize Groucho without his mustache) and the "real" Julius Marx (on those rare occasions when he forces himself to drop all of the pretenses). The parade of Hollywood stars in the background seems a bit forced at this point, but it becomes more refined down the road. The main thing is that we get another chance to hear Groucho speak. Ever since I heard about "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine," a play in which the second act is the Marx Brothers doing Chekov (sort of), I have been open to the idea of reviving Groucho and his siblings in new and creative ways. In that regard, Ron Goulart's books are a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

When Groucho died in the summer of 1977, we were greatly saddened by the loss of one of the world's greatest comedians. Of course, we can still enjoy all the film, television and radio appearances he left behind, but the possibility of anything new coming across has been pretty slim...Until now, that is.

In his latest novel, Ron Goulart takes us back to Hollywood in 1937. Groucho Marx is embarking on his latest venture, a radio program titled, aptly enough, Groucho Marx, Master Detective. In this book we are introduced to Frank Denby, an ex-crime reporter who has been hired to script Groucho's new show. The story begins with Denby trying to make a ten o'clock appointment at an ad agency in Beverly Hills. While driving down Ocean Boulevard, he finds traffic tied up because of some police activity in front of a small cottage. Trying to avoid a collision with a police car, Denby inadvertantly runs down a bicyclist by the name of Jane Danner. Miss Danner is not injured, but the bike is totalled and Denby offers her a ride to work.

After a somewhat depressingmeeting with Groucho and some ad agents, sponsors, and radio execs, Denby and his recent traffic victim get together for a quiet dinner. On returning to Denby's digs, the two find Groucho waiting on the steps. Groucho produces a newspaper story announcing the death of up-and-coming actress, Peg McMorrow who, coincidentally, turns out not only to have been an acquaintance of his from the recent past, but also the reason for all the police activity that caused Denby and Danner's "meeting" earlier in the day. The story in the paper calls the death a suicide, but Groucho knows better. And, begging the help of his new sidekick/writer, he decides to embark on a quest to prove that the cause of death was, in fact, murder.

Theplot takes us through a number of twists and turns involving irate sponsors, crooked cops, movie moguls, and a fair number of Hollywood's more sinister characters. With all this running around and getting shot at, not to mention the fact that he has a brand new radio show to get on the air, Groucho certainly has his hands full!

I came away from this book totally satisfied. While a few factual matters involving Groucho's life are a bit distorted here and there, this is after all a novel, and a most enjoyable one at that. Goulart presents an intriguing mystery in which he has managed to capture Groucho's comic spirit wonderfully. Complete with just the sort of wisecracks and non-sequitur we've all come to know and love from Groucho's lengthy career, this novel caused me to chuckle openly and often; I can easily imagine Groucho delivering the lines Goulart has written for him (the interplay between Denby and Danner is pretty entertaining as well). Groucho Marx, Master Detective is a fun read, and a novel that I think will appeal to Marxists (not to mention mystery fans) everywhere. Personally, I'm looking forward to a sequel!

Jill Landis, the lead agent in the field on this case does show some strengths. But like Bergman, who seems to wear a name tag that says "Geek", she wears one saying "Vulnerable". One character worth watching is the mind-control specialist Landis consults. Trying to figure him out is a useful distraction if you are determined to get through the book. I should also mention that there are a couple of scenes of gratuitous violence which added nothing to the story but were a sledge hammer to a nail in trying to move the story along.

The mind control/terrorism plot with its Manchurian Candidate twist was a great idea. Unfortunately it really doesn't go anywhere. I'm willing to bet that Mr. Passman has some more good writing in him. It just doesn't show in Mirage.