The plot is confusing and depends too much on visuals; nice in a movie but a strain in a book. Leo is hired to protect the good name of the La Cuisine International who are holding their first non-European convention in a five-star Seattle hotel. Employer Sir Geoffrey Miles feels some of the member/participants are in "mortal danger." Two competing magnates of chain steak houses are briskly skirmishing in the courts, a food critic of enormous influence is playing a ruthless game of "who gets the five-stars." Except for the fact that all the characters in "danger" seem uniformly disagreeable, it is difficult to see a compelling reason to kill them. Leo employs his Army of the Homeless for surveillance purposes, much chasing around ensues, great efforts are made to keep one of the steak house owners from having a giant barbeque in downtown Seattle and the food critic is knocked off. The reader solves the mystery about 100 pages ahead of Leo leaving not much but a series of anti-climaxes.

There are some bright spots: Sir Geoffrey Miles is deftly characterized as a Nero Wolfe par excellence and is amusing and entertaining. Mr. Ford does Seattle very well, as I noted in "Fury." He makes it sound so attractive I have to keep repeating to myself "Remember the Rain, remember the rain!" The homeless characters and their lifestyles are interesting and handled with sensitivity.

Perhaps Mr. Ford just had a bad outing. I will try another book, probably without Leo, and hope it rekindles my enthusiasm for Mr. Ford's books. Give "Slow Burn" a pass.

Leo is hired to defuse a situation between two rival steakhouse chains whose actions might disrupt an international convention at one of Seattle's leading hotels. A side issue is saving Bunky (a prize bull) from being turned into pit roasted beef for the opening of a new steakhouse. Events start to explode when a food critic caught between the rivals gets a bullet in the head.

The action is confined to about one week as events rapidly develop. Along the way, you will obtain some sidelights on Seattle and an overview of the homeless who live their own lifestyle. I won't reveal the ending, but it could only happen in Seattle. It would make a wild motion picture.

The author is correct about the afternoon traffic jam developing at 2:30, as this reviewer discovered to his dismay during a recent visit. It extends from around Everett on the northside to Tacoma on the southern edge. Driving was easier before they built the freeways.

The plot revolves around the underground industry of illegally importing aliens and making them pay for their passage by forcing them into slavery and prostitution. This is villany at its worst, but the cops never get beyond low-level goons in ferreting out the bad guys. The special guest star of FIRST VICTIM is TV anchorwoman Stevie McNeil, who in Scott Rosema's audio interpretation is given a stilted accent of no particular nationality. She spends most of her time fretting over the disappearance of her adopted Chinese "little sister," while at the same time trying to frustrate the attempts of Boldt and crew too find her. We are never really told why she is so uncooperative, except to the extent that journalists don't trust cops in general. Well, few people like lawyers in general, either, but when we need one, we don't hesitate to seek out the best. Pearson gives McNeil the obligatory sumptuous cleavage, blond hair, and shapely legs, but her sexuality never gets beyond that of a Barbie doll. This is the most chaste novel I have read in a long time.

There are problems with motivation, too. When we finally find out what happened to McNeil's sister, it is never clear why she suffered this fate. Further, what happens to the bad guy, or whether or not he really was a bad guy, is never resolved. The novel just ends, abruptly and unsatisfyingly.

Due to Typhoon Mary, the Visage lost one of its crates that it was transferring to another ship in the sea. The Coast Guard picks up the "metal iceberg" that threatens to harm ships in the Seattle area. Hearing human screams from within, they call the police and the INS. Nine Chinese women crawled out of the space with some help. Three were placed in bags.

Law enforcement officials Lou Boldt and John LaMoia investigate the case with a gritty determination due to what the smugglers did to these humans. Reporter Melissa Chow convinces her "brother" TV news anchor Stevie McNeal to investigate a small lead. However, she goes undercover, only to vanish somewhere inside the Chinese brothels. Meanwhile, the two police officers keep losing their witnesses as if someone in authority is leaking information to the criminal masterminds. Time is running out for Melissa.

Ridley Pearson is renowned for his action-packed police procedurals and his latest thriller will not disappoint his myriad of fans. The story line is filled with action and Lou remains a wonderfully frustrated individual. However, the novel falls victim to its own premise that centers on the cruelty of humans towards one another because that aspect never takes hold, leaving readers with little concern over the fate of Melissa. Mr. Pearson scribes an excellent police thriller that could have been a classic novel on human conditions.

Harriet Klausner

First off, what is the reason for the title of the book? Okay, it's set on an Alaska cruise, and birds of prey (such as Bald Eagles) are abundant in Alaska. However, birds are not even mentioned in the book, and, as far as metaphors go, I don't believe any of the murder suspects on board could be thought of as predators.

Second, I didn't believe Beau's explanation for being on the cruise ship in the first place. His newlywed grandma wanted him there in case she or her groom took ill or something. Don't they have medical doctors on board (or in nearby ports) for that very reason? What more could her grandson provide? And even if you swallow that, why would Beau sit at a different table from the octogenarians at dinner? He says it's to give them their privacy, but heck, he's already on their honeymoon cruise with them, and it's not like they're not sitting with a bunch of other people anyway. Jance's explanations for things that have to be a certain way to further the plot are too thin -- I could see right through them. I wish she'd found another way -- surely Beau could have been seated separately due to a cruiseline screw-up or something.

Another thing: Beau takes an immediate dislike to Margaret Featherman, and it's hard to see why. He goes on and on about how obnoxious she is when they meet at dinner the first night (they're seated at the same table). But try as I did to find evidence of her awful behavior, all I could find her doing before Beau expresses his dislike is 1) ask him what he does for a living, and 2) indicate the empty chair next to him and ask if his wife will be joining them. How dare she! Margaret exhibits behavior later that is indeed questionable -- she just doesn't do so before Beau makes up his mind about her.

Finally, the reader who earlier questioned the ability of one victim to fall off a cliff from inside a tunnel was right on the nose. That IS how it happened. I wondered about it myself, but as logistical things are not my strong suit, I doubted my own conclusions.

This book is not without its charms, but it is flawed. I can recommend it, with reservations, to diehard Jance fans who never miss her work, and to readers who are interested in one of the settings (the cruise ship OR Alaska). Jance is not a very descriptive writer, but I enjoyed reading about these places anyway.

In *Touching Evil*, Maggie Barnes is a police sketch artist with an unusal flair. ....

I thought the novel was well-written, though somewhat drawn out and not as suspenseful as it could have been. I read the teaser for *Whisper of Evil*, and it sounds like a good set up for the next in the series.

Maggie Barnes is a police sketch artist working with the police in Seattle. She has a unique gift of being able to draw crucial information out of victims and therefore sketching whoever has harmed them. No matter how terrifying or gruesome the crime is, Maggie finds a way to relate to the victims. That is until the Blindfold Rapist hits Seattle.

John Garrett is a powerful businessman who has just managed to worm his way into a high profile case. Someone is attacking the women of Seattle, savagely raping and brutally beating them. Then, for reasons known only to the attacker, he cuts their eyes out. Why is John involved? One of the victims was his sister.

While Seattle has a good police department, John becomes frustrated and takes matters into his own hands by calling Quentin, boyhood friend. Quentin works for a special unit at the FBI. This special unit deals with psychic abilities and the unknown. Sound familiar? You got it. Some friends from the 'Shadows' trilogy make an appearance and play a vital part of this story.

As I said before, there are so many factors in this story that I can't do it justice. I will say this before you dive into it, pay attention to the numerous characters introduced. They all play vital roles. If I have any complaints about this new series it would be the fact they are not going to be released one after another for three months like the last trilogy Ms. Hooper wrote. I have to admit while reading the 'Shadows' trilogy, I got spoiled knowing I only had to wait one month before the next book came out.

I've read several JAK books, and to be honest, I don't know what the fuss is about. The only book of hers that I really liked was Silver Linings, and the rest are mediocre. Her books, including the ones written as Amanda Quick, are all the same. Sure, she changes a few quirks around, but the situations and characters are recycled constantly. And after I read one of her books, a few weeks later, I forget about it. There is nothing memorable about her books. The only reason I'll remember Perfect Partners is because it is the stupidest book I've ever read.

I did like the mystery twist in the story...

I'm hesitant to read any more JAK books...

Kersey has shaped some suspense-filled scenarios, and he pulls out the stops in his depiction of the devastation wreaked by this incredible natural force.

The characters: Paul Judge, a Native American who is now a lawyer, and hesitant to relive his own heritage---Paul turns out to be quite a superhero, but is an intense and likeable character. Denise Baker---the "heroine" of the story is the mother of a deaf, but gifted, young boy named Evan. Evan is somehow the key to the revenge and the wind is out to get him and offer him as a sacrifice. Other characters are stock supporting characters, i.e., the lecherous assistant to the Mayor who puts the moves on Denise; the Mayor himself who is self-centered, arrogant, and sexist---and does an amazing twist at the end to become almost Angelic; a tough and durable old lady named Helen who experiences the wrath of the wind early on, losing her dog in the process, and becomes obsessed with exposing the wind as something more than a weather phenomenon.

All in all, "Soul Catcher" is a cleverly plotted, if formualaic, novel. It's out of print, so you may have a difficult time finding a copy. If you stumble on to it, you won't be disappointed, if you're not expecting Koontz/King/Deaver quality.

The sympathetic portrayal of a native american culture is reminiscent of Tony Hillerman's novels. A thoroly enjoyable story.

The story is one that, sadly, has been done over and over again in print AND on film. Anne Jeffers, ace reporter, watches serial killer Richard Kraven, whom she helped convict, die in the electric chair. At almost the same time, thousands of miles away, Anne's husband suffers a massive heart attack. Dead for over two minutes, Glen Jeffers recovers, but his personality is just never the same.

The gruesome murders attributed to Richard Kraven start all over again - four years after his incarceration. Who can be the killer? Is there an accomplice? Are these copy cat murders? Who can say?

Unfortunately, anyone who's ever seen the movie "Fallen" or an old 1980's horror film (the name of which escapes me now), knows what has happened.

Saul throws a few mugafins our way, but to anyone experienced in reading a variety of books can see right through the fluff.

The most disappointing aspect of the book is that the ending feels thrown together. It's as if Saul had a specific number of pages that he had to supply to his publisher, and he didn't want to go below or above that number. In short, the book just sort of ends. It's not satisfying.

The police in this book are more bumbling than the team that investigated the Jean Benet Ramsay case in Colorado. They haven't investigated all their leads and the proof that Kraven was the serial killer is never really fleshed out. The central characters don't act believably and the trains of thought displayed don't follow a logical flow.

And when was the last time you heard of a convicted murderer on death row being executed within four years of his incarceration? Four decades maybe - four years - never!

I wanted to like this book, because the writing wasn't bad as a whole. Sure, it was a pulp novel - I knew it would be - but it wasn't poorly written - just poorly thought out and executed.

The novel begins with the execution of serial killer Richard Kraven. Journalist Anne Jeffers, who worked diligently to assure the killer's conviction, is there to witness the event. While Kraven is being electrocuted, Anne's husband is suffering a near-fatal heart attack. The doctors don't seem to really do anything at all for Glen Jeffers, but he is soon back home resuming a fairly normal life. Warned by the doctor that her husband's behavior may be changed as a result of the heart attack, Anne and eventually her children become increasingly disturbed by Glen's behavior. They would really have worried had Glen told them he was having blackouts; he continually finds himself having to explain actions he has no conscious memory of having performed. Meanwhile, a new killer is on the loose, committing murders eerily similar to Kraven's handiwork. Soon the killer begins entering Anne's home secretly and leaving her messages. When cops begin finding Kraven's "signature" on fresh murder victims, a signature that no one besides the deceased Kraven and the cops could possibly know about, things go from bad to worse. When the killer finally turns his eyes toward his nemesis Anne Jeffers, things get worse still. This is no average serial killer, as Anne soon discovers when he strikes truly close to home.

The basis of this novel winds up seeming a little hokey. Midway through the novel, the story switched directions on me a little bit, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but by the time I reached the conclusion, this potentially impressive plot really started sputtering. At times, incidents and dramas last a little longer than they should, and this drags down an otherwise fairly brisk story. I can't address the paranormal aspects of the tale without divulging too much information, but it is not quite original and pushes the limits of credulity in the context of the novel Saul constructed around it. There are also a few subplots that seem important early on but sort of fade into obscurity, such as the relationship between Anne and the lead detective. Sometimes riveting, sometimes a little drawn-out, Black Lightning is a perfectly satisfactory horror novel. It makes a good change of pace for Saul, who sometimes seems to get in a rut of old curses and young teenagers. The effort is undeniably there, but unfortunately the book seems to shoot itself in the foot at the very end.