Murder Books

Don't ask me to share my copy of Weddings Can Be Murder. I intend to reread it. It's that funny. I didn't think anything could be as funny as Divorced Desperate and Delicious, but Christie Craig may have topped herself with this one.
If you don't have your copy, you'd better hurry. I went to three bookstores in town the week after the release and they were out already.

Just loved this book. Fast moving. Several storylines very artfully intertwined. Can't wait for Ms Craig's next book!!!

With two weeks to go before they exchange I do, Katie and Joe have doubts. Katie is not sure she wants to walk down the aisle while Joe wonders why he felt attracted and connected to a woman he met in a bar.

While the pair separately wonders about marriage to each other, private investigator Carl Hades after battling a man wearing a pink thong is meeting with wedding planner Tabitha Jones of Tabitha Weddings on a case he is working as her brides are suddenly dying which is murdering her business. However, Tabitha is murdered. Meanwhile, Katie wants Carl and her best friend Leslie desires Joe. Besides which a serial bride killer aims to make Katie the next victim as WEDDINGS CAN BE MURDER.

Romantic suspense fans will appreciate this fine fast-paced tale in which two couples struggle with their pairings while Carl works a homicide case in which his client is no longer around to pay him. The story line focuses more on the romantic quadrangular relationships with lighthearted sexual bantering. The murder mystery subplot is entertaining although the wedding killer is a bit over the aisle; but clearly this tale is predominately about the zaniness of marrying the wrong person when Mr. Right is locked with you in a closet.

Harriet Klausner

Absoulutely love Christie Craig! If you like Jennifer Crusie, you will love Christie Craig. Dialog is very believable, you can easily imagine sitting among these characters. This definitely goes on the keeper shelf.

Anne Butler's horrific but astounding account of a near death experience at the hands of a tormented and twisted cold blooded and clearly calculated killer, is truly more stranger than fiction could ever be, particularly when it is her own husband, that pulls the trigger, not once, but over and over again. From the moment I began to read this amazing piece of literary prozac truth, I knew that there would be no stopping until I had devoured it, sifting the underbelly of it, carefully, weeping and laughing with her as each moment of her life leading up to that ghastly moment and each step thereafter, unfurled. I couldn't stop until I had finished it--all in one setting.

The book shocks you, saddens you, but it also somehow speaks to the heart of us all; how one can find strength in the midst of literally death and dying; how one can keep her priorities straight and think on, in her case, her two brave yet fainthearted children. I admire how this true-to-life protagonist fought back. Not in a physical way at first, but with the inward will and drive to beat it all and to beat him at his game, a game he had by all accounts mapped out, hoping to win. But he didn't get his wish. This woman fought with the stuff that warriors are made of. She got through surgery after surgery, and from all accounts, it appears she still has more to endure. The need to be around for her children, for her family, and for her friends, surely were the driving pathos, not to mention the love of her stately home and her thriving buisness.

All I have left to say is kudos to a woman who's made from lion's cloth, to woman who's got grit in her craw. Anne Butler, was in deed carried in the arms of angels, but to me she is an angel. To have lived to tell the story is victorious. I am so grateful to have read her book. And now when I am going through my dark tunnels, and I think that I can't make it, I just think on Miss Butler, and quietly and thankfully I go on.

A psychological thriller and at the same a true story of both a heinous crime and emotional and physical survival. The story is beautifully told of a married couple, each individually well respected, and why the marriage went wrong. Anne Butler asked herself this question many, many times during her amazing recovery from five 38-caliber bullets fired at point blank range. The book delves in depth her answers and also shows remarkable aspects of her community -- the friends she never knew she had and the success of the Louisiana criminal justice system in putting here estranged husband in prison for good.

Follow the steps leading up to the shooting, the recovery (as it is to date), all aspects of the trial which was a perilous trip for Anne Butler as well as for everyone touched by the bizarre crime and finally her forgiveness of her assailant. Anne's prose reads as though she is talking directly to the reader, explaining in detail her pain, her anxiety over her children, her conclusions, and her own realization of how wonderful life can be when you are in the bosom of friends.

A book to read that will keep you captivated from beginning to end. The author tells her story as an experience that nearlly cost her her life. A true Southern Belle in the heart of Louisiana's plantation country running her familys plantation as a B&B. She tells her gripping events as she looked down the barrell a foot away of the 38 special that put 6 bullets in her body. Her courage to assume death to survie her attacker as he stood over her reloading. She talks of the unbelievable pain she has just been rendered, then feeling how serene her body felt as she was carried in the "arms of Angels" for survial. A mother of two children with their thoughts in her mind as she is shot. Who will take care of my children? If you like reading mysteries, this true mystery will keep you on edge as you turn each new page of her account and candid revelations. Knowing the author personally, her near death, and the people surrounding her makes this a more compelling book to read.

My daughter who is a very big fan of "Court TV", as am I (this is where she heard about "Weep For The Living")-told me about their review and couldn't wait to read it. It was everything they said and more. How this woman survived the brutal torture at the hands of her husband is difficult to understand. She evidently has a very strong will and desire for life. She is definitely to be admired. Neither one of us could put the book down. We highly recommend it. The title is perfect. Society all to often forgets their is a victim and all attention is put on the defendant, maybe this will help turn this kind of thinking around. Our only regret is that it took a long time to locate this book, couldn't find anywhere ...It definitely should receive more publicity. ...

Written by Book of the Year award finalist Steven Gills, The Weight of Nothing is a novel about money, regret, revenge, and forgiveness. Two friends, each carrying a burden that has haunted him for years, resolve to travel to Algiers and confront their demons. When terrible tragedy strikes, it poses a difficult question - how resolve years of squandered ambition, lost chances of love, and continue living past unspeakable violence? A poignant and memorable chronicle of the long, difficult journey of the human spirit.

The Weight of Nothing is a huge novel. While you could read it in a leisurely fashion, enjoying the characters and the plot at a superficial level, there is a wealth of appreciation for art, music and philosophy. After a few pages I picked up a pen and started highlighting passages I liked and wanted to mull over later.

The two central characters are connected by an act of violence when the office building that Niles father works in is blown up by Bailey's brother in a terrorist bombing. Niles not only loses his tycoon father, but also the love of his life who was on her way to confront his father. A strange sympathy develops between Niles and Bailey. Bailey tries to save Niles from the somnambulant masochism that Niles tells Bailey he's developed, and Niles tries to keep Bailey from losing Elizabeth, a pianist who has lost her arm.

I love Elizabeth--she is the first real challenge to Bailey's self-protective philosophies. "You're all gusto and wild performance," she tells him after hearing him play piano. Her bluntness is offset by how deeply she cares for Bailey, evidenced not only by many of the things she says but also by her willingness to put up with Bailey's emotional stagnation. Bailey's determination to "want for nothing" eventually sends Elizabeth away though. While in general Gillis complicates issues very satisfyingly, it is clear that the philosophies and attitudes Bailey has cultivated to protect himself are the very things that will hurt him the most in the end, if he cannot overcome them.

Bailey and Niles are both deeply wounded characters, who cannot stop wounding themselves. They creatively, endlessly, try to work through their problems. Both have lost their girlfriends, and both have overbearing fathers (who Gillis manages to paint huge in only a few brushstrokes). In the end, they travel to Algiers for what proves to be a life-altering--and for one of them, life-ending--journey.

I found myself not only enjoying TWON for its plot and characters, but also for the philosophical questions which were explored throughout the book. The author developed certain themes and questions over the course of the novel which I poured over after reading it. Besides those themes in bold on the inside cover (Memory Regret Revenge Forgiveness) there were several passages about time that I loved--some related to memory, "There's no order to memory after all, is there? I mean, once something happens, it's there in your head with all the rest," and others about the weight of time and its effects. In the end an unusual therapy is used on Bailey to undo this weight, and after this Bailey reestablishes contact with Elizabeth. As with all of the rest of the book, this attempt to reach out to Elizabeth is strange, compelling and beautiful.

Steven Gillis' novel, The Weight of Nothing, explores complex and deeply personal and painful issues, and he does that through wounded characters struggling to find answers to those issues. However, the answers they are searching for may not exist.

Bailey Finne is a talented musician who doesn't fully develop or use his talent. What he does is become a professional student of Art History and makes excuses to the PhD. Committee about why his dissertation hasn't been completed. His problems revolve around the death of his mother, and his father's inability to move on after her death, as well as a troubled love life.

Niles Kelly was born to a wealthy man via a surrogate mother that he had no contact with following his birth. Niles rejects his wealth but is haunted by the violent deaths of his father and his lover.

Bailey and Niles travel together to Algiers to confront the ghosts of their past, hoping that the journey will help them excise those ghosts.

The Weight of Nothing is well-written and a deeply moving piece. Gillis' prose is compelling as he weaves the characters through the labyrinth of life.

"There's a point in every piece of music when the melody completes itself and what's left is a final refrain. Occasionally an aria will vary its rhythm just enough to reinterpret the music through a less predictable finish, and other times an arrangement ends so suddenly the audience isn't quite sure the music's over until the last echoing notes have faded and the room falls eerily still. Either way, the song is done."


Steven Gillis quietly set the literary cognoscenti on alert with the publication of his first novel WALTER FALLS last year. As always the question arises when a `first novel' suggests a talent of depth: Is there more? With the writing of THE WEIGHT OF NOTHING Gillis proves that his prelude, no matter how accomplished that was, served as only as intimation of the talent of this new American writer of substance. Gillis is that rare breed of writer who understands how to grasp the reader's attention, secure a train of thought in content and technique, assuring that once the written journey has begun, the only choice is to hold on with mind and emotion to the anticipated conclusion.

THE WEIGHT OF NOTHING intertwines the lives of several young people in quest of the answer to the universal question of `Who Am I?' in a way that avoids the predictable and in essence incorporates their ephemeral acts with paired explorations in philosophy, art, music, religion, and global socioeconomic problems. In short, this is a story of two men whose early lives were set in motion by traumatic confrontations with loss and the aimlessness that accompanies that unleashed spectre.

Bailey Finne is a gifted natural musician, Secretly learning piano from his musical mother until she is lost to him in childhood in a freak death that pushed his alcoholic father further away from his two sons (Bailey's older brother Tyler responds to this death by fleeing into a life crime, the military, and eventually terrorism). Descrying his father's flaccid, empty life, Bailey embraces music, being able to play all manner of music by ear but settling for entertaining folks in a bar rather than pursuing a career in classical music. He eventually becomes an art history major in college and blithely approaches his dissertation on an obtuse recluse of an artist (L.C. Timbal) with the same glib attitude that has become his life signature. He has girlfriends who try to encourage his gifts, but none more significantly than Elizabeth, a music major/pianist/composer who lost her right arm in a vicious dog attack. Bailey's obsession with her after she leaves him because of this immature, slothful attitude towards things she considers important propels Bailey on his journey to discover what is meaningful in life. "It's the conflict between what ends and our need to continue that causes trauma."

Niles Kelley is the only son of a megalomaniac capitalist who unsuccessfully attempts to mold Niles into a template of his design, seeing no value at all in Niles' preoccupation with literature and philosophy - especially his `hero' the nihilist Camus - nor his relationship with Jeana, a free spirit who encourages Niles' dreams and sees the evil in the capitalistic empiricism of Niles' father. In a auspicious moment of time Niles loses Jeana as she enters the building where Niles' father controls industry: the building is exploded with terrorist bombs placed there by one Tyler Finne and his roommate, the Muslim Oz, a lad who loathes American capitalism and has grown disenchanted with his own father's superficial use of religion to camouflage his own power brand of capitalism. The result of this tragic loss of his beloved Jeana and the collapse of his father's influence drives Niles into a state of self-mutilation, an illness for which he seeks the advice of a Muslim philosopher/healer who encourages Niles to go to Algiers to better understand the writings of Camus and find healing for his malady and his need for forgiveness for Jeana's useless death and his father's `part' in that calamity. In Algiers he hoped to find "the surrounding silence Camus wrote of as weaving together the hopes and despairs of human life."

Bailey and Niles, fellow students at a university, grow close at the funeral for Jeana and eventually accompany each other to Algiers, Niles to seek forgiveness and healing through Camus, and Bailey to finally focus his diasporic creative mind on finding the elusive painter Timbal - the subject of his long avoided dissertation. Bailey tends to Niles' somnambulistic wanderings and self-mutilations while Niles encourages Bailey's efforts to bring closure to his fragmented life. As Bailey discovers Timbal and confronts his own vacuous artistic and spiritual life, Niles wanders the desert and encounters Aziz, a man who assists him in finding the perpetrator of Jeana's death and Niles' life ends in a way that brings him into the ring of closure of his author hero Camus wrote in A Happy Death. Devastated, Bailey returns home, begins therapy with Emmitt who slowly helps Bailey become grounded into finding peace through a long series of self-imposed deprivations meant to clear the slate of his life and allow him a starting point afresh - "to achieve a point of nothingness and return to a natural state of being." "The idea that examining our past will lead us to a clearer understanding of ourselves, and in turn a more constructive life, is egocentric....Self-knowledge is unreliable at best and at times a danger. The emphasis should be not on remembering but forgetting and returning to a point where no wounds exist."


Steven Gillis draws such exquisite characters that each becomes wholly believable, even at their obtuse edges. The story is told in a series of explanations introduced very slyly by a page or two of what we eventually realize are on-going therapy sessions with Emmitt for Bailey and Massinissa Alilouche for Niles. But the real wonder of Gillis' writing stems from his obviously profound depth of knowledge about art (here is a fine synopsis of the works of Bacon, Gorky, Diebenkorn, the abstract Expressionists, etc), of music ( Bailey's turning point in his break with Elizabeth is his ability to play an Etude by the obscure composer Nikolai Roslavets (1881-1944), a Russian composer who did exist and married the styles of Debussy with Scriabin and Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich with his own Messiaen-like sense of atonality), of the very current schism between American imperialism and the view of the Muslims we are now breathing, of the great literature of the 20th Century, of terrorism, and of world politics. He writes poetically about the smells and vistas of Algiers in a way that would suggest that he has lived there extensively. At the same time he is able to make wry tongue-in-cheek diversions by naming the buildings that housed the fathers of Bailey and Niles "Ryse and Fawl" and "Reedum and Wepe"! It is this sophisticated mixture of parody, metaphor, depth of factual material from disparate fields of knowledge, and impressive sense of structural detail that makes his fascinatingly unique and timely story and characters burst off the page. Steven Gillis enters the ranks of the important writers and thinkers of the 21st Century. With THE WEIGHT OF NOTHING he assures us his future is solid.

The author expertly uses his knowledge of scuba diving, criminal investigations, and large pelagics to weave another suspenseful tale in this exciting sequel to Dangerous Waters. Terry and Joe are at it again as they get involved in international intrigue to help save the whales and solve a puzzling murder. Paul Mila has a smooth writing style that compels you to finish this book in one reading. Well done, and I hope to see this blockbuster series continue with another novel.

FOR ANYONE WHO HAS A LOVE OF SEA CREATURES & THE WONDER OF THE OCEAN. THIS BOOK GIVES YOU A REALISTIC LOOK INTO THE WORLD OF OUR FRIENDS IN THE SEA, THE WHALES & DAUPHINS & THEIR KEEN PERCEPTION & CLOSE RELATION TO HUMANS, & THE REAL DANGER OF THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTINCTION OF THESE WONDERFUL ANIMALS. PAUL GIVES YOU A REALISTIC LOOK INTO THE FASCINITATING WORLD UNDER THE SEA ALONG WITH AN ACTION ADVENTURE WITH TERRY & JOE, A COUPLE YOU GREW TO LOVE IN HIS PREVIOUS NOVEL, DANGEROUS WATERS.
JOAN MILLER SOUTH CAROLINA

In this sequel to Dangerous Waters, Paul Mila has crafted another exciting adventure-mystery featuring Terry Hunter and Joe Manetta. Like Tony Hillerman, Mila skillfully combines an intricate mystery plot with engaging characters and insights from a different culture, allowing his readers to experience the world from a novel perspective: that of the whales and dolphins who inhabit three-quarters of our planet. Don't miss this one!

Judith Hemenway, author of The Universe Next Door.

A solid plot, intriguing characters and a realistic depiction of scuba diving and marine creatures are the hallmarks of Paul Mila's second novel featuring Terry Hunter and Joe Manetta. This time out, Terry and Joe get involved with activists ("Angels") attempting to prevent a rogue sea captain from harpooning whales in the chilly waters off Iceland. Trying to save a whale, one of the Angels ends up dead -- but was it really an accident? The resolution of the mystery will keep readers --divers and non divers alike -- on the edge of their seats."
Bonnie J. Cardone, former editor of Skin Diver Magazine, author of Shipwrecks of Southern California and Fireside Diver

but it is a story that needs to be told. Contexts and causes, risk factors for SBS, consequences, grief and punishment, and intervention and prevention are all covered here. Ann-Janine Morey has a very sensitive writing style, you sympathize with all the people (including the murderer), and she makes ordinary people fascinating. A very moving book, you will be crying by the end of it. The death of a child-any child-is always horrible.

as a mother of a child who was severely shaken I found this book very hard to read at first. But this is a story that must be told. People must become aware of this needless senseless hideous crime and the author of this book tells the real story. I highly recomend this book.

I thought that this book was very sad. It is so cruel how a father could treat a baby like that.

I really care about shaken baby syndrome it is very sad how people actually do this to child.When the child has done nothing in this world, the child has not even asked to be in this world. I think it is a very sad and bad issue.

Fine read. Makes you think hard abouth the Death Penalty

I was given Mr. Bisbort's "When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America" as a gift, and what a gift it was. I have read many books related to the tragic nature and ultimate futility of capital punishment, but not recently. One reason, perhaps, is the dry, "cookie-cutter" publishing approach to the re-telling of these stories. One reviewer stated, "At times the spirited defense engages in hyperbole--for instance comparing Chessman with Alexander Solzhenitsyn--rather than just letting the facts of the case make the powerful argument." It's that exact sentiment that had me drifting away from the genre. Rather than re-tell a story by rote, Mr. Bisbort's lively take is sprinkled with a treasure trove of historical and pop culture references. Also, rather than having the typical all-in-one photo section, Mr. Bisbort's book is illustrated throughout with a wide range of photos, news clippings, book cover art and illustrations. All of these elements, combined with the sad tale of Mr. Chessman, make this book a true page-turner.

Alan Bisbort has delved deep into heretofore unplumbed archives to present a solid, nuanced portrait of a compelling American anti-hero: a small-time career criminal who never killed anyone but wound up being executed anyway by the state of California for reasons that, in hindsight, seem driven mainly by public hysteria and political calculation. The injustice of his execution is one matter, but what really drives Bisbort's narrative is the fascinating tale of Caryl Chessman's jailhouse redemption. During a lengthy internment preceding his trip to the electric chair, Chessman transformed himself into a legal expert and a literary figure of renown. Bisbort delves into Chessman's interior psychology, and the reader feels as if he or she is in that dim San Quentin cell with Chessman as, for the first time in his misspent life, the lights come on and burn bright within his fertile brain. It's a remarkable tale that is ripe for rediscovery in our present age, given all the debate about the death penalty. And it would make a great movie, too. Sean Penn as Caryl Chessman, perhaps?

Only now, some forty-five years after the barbaric execution of Caryl Chessman, Los Angeles' so-called, 'Red Light Bandit,' are we introduced to the man behind the myth. Bisbort brillantly mirrors Chessman's real face. Over a dozen years, on death row, we hear the voice of a soul on fire begin to cool and mature as it seeks light and finds true personal redemption. Alan Bisbort's sensitive historical postmortem stands in service of the truth."

Steve Hodel, author of Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (3/08)

A while ago, I decided to leave the information on the book cover or book jacket for last, since I did not want to be influenced by it while reading the book. There are things that one can easily forgive if the author is new, but with the more seasoned authors one tends to be more demanding and more critical. Imagine my surprise when I finished reading Christopher Valen's "White Tombs," a detective story that I found extremely solid and well written, and then discovering that this was Mr. Valen's first novel. I found the quality of his writing amazing, and well beyond expectations for a fiction debut.

Colombian-born detective John Santana is investigating the murder of Julio Perez, the owner of the largest Hispanic newspaper in St. Paul area, El Dia. While investigating his murder, Santana discovers that Perez's Rolodex is open to the name and address of Rafael Mendoza, a well-known local lawyer. Santana and his partner, Rick Anderson, head over to Mendoza's to ask him some questions, but they arrive too late or rather just in time to see Mendoza fall to his death from the balcony. In the ensuing chase Anderson shoots a man, believing that he was trying to pull a gun on him. The dead man is Ruben Cordova, an employee of El Dia. He is pronounced to be the killer of Mendoza and Perez. Santana does not think that Cordova was the perp, but the investigation is taken away from him and given to Kehoe, an investigator Santana has very little respect and even less liking for. Although most clues point to some kind of illegal aliens visa scam as the reason for Mendoza's and maybe even Perez's murders, Santana is not convinced and he pursues other clues, fitting the pieces of a nearly impossible looking puzzle neatly together and solving the crime.

While I certainly do not wish to give the ending away, let me just say that Mr. Valen touches and addresses a very wide range of extremely relevant social issues in "White Tombs" and that this book goes well beyond being just a detective story.

Mr. Valen's characters are fantastically well developed, and finding more of their layers gradually through the developing story makes them particularly fascinating. Just like in real life, there is more to every character than what first meets the eye. Christopher Valen deftly shows the influence of one's surroundings as well as past events on a person's life. Nothing in his story sounds unbelievable, nothing too far-fetched, yet the story keeps surprising us until the very end. The writing is solid and elegant, without unnecessary detours, yet with enough background information to further the reader's insights into what shaped the heroes and villains of the "White Tombs."

In spite of very obvious targeting of the Hispanic audiences, this intriguing detective story should have a much broader appeal. Any lover of solid writing should enjoy it greatly. "White Tombs" also screams out for a sequel - or better yet, sequels. I'll definitely be on the lookout.

Meet Detective John Santana of the St. Paul Police Department. He is not a man you will soon forget. Santana is a native of Columbia. He left under a cloud and to this day fears that assassins will eventually find him even as far away as Minnesota. Life was not easy on Santana when he arrived in the United States but he survived to become a respected detective in St. Paul.

Julio Perez is found shot to death in his home. Perez is the owner of El Dia, a monthly Hispanic newspaper in Stipule. His rolodex was open to the name of Rafael Mendoza, an immigration attorney. After leaving the Perez residence, Santana and his partner pay a visit to Mendoza but they are too late. The two arrive at the loft just as Rafael Mendoza falls to his death from his balcony. Santana rushes to Mendoza's loft and gives chase to a man running away. Santana's partner shots the man thinking he has pulled a gun. The man who is shot and killed turns out to be an employee of El Dia.

When Mendoza's loft is searched, files are discovered that point to a racket involving phony visa applications. A sexually explicit photo of two unidentified men is also found hidden in the loft.

Santana begins to try to fit the puzzle together and figure out if the three deaths are connected. Before Santana gets too deep into the investigation he is pulled from the case by his superior and James Kehoe is put in charge of the murder investigations.

Santana has little respect for Kehoe and his investigative abilities and at the risk of his job, he continues trying to put the pieces together on his own. He even travels to Mexico at his own expense and without the knowledge of the department.

As the connections between the victims are established, the picture becomes clearer and clearer. I was very surprised when the whole story was finally revealed. The outcome of this investigation touched many lives. The book is a great read and Santana is destined to become one of my favorite detectives.

Armchair Interview says: Truly a 5-star read from this author.

White Tombs by Christopher Valen is a great new crime novel introducing John Santana, homicide detective for the St. Paul Police Department. Originally from Columbia, Santana is a smooth, tough and somewhat mysterious detective that we slowly get to know better over the course of the book. In White Tombs he becomes embroiled in the investigation of three murders - of three members of St. Paul's close-knit Hispanic community - that are connected. But only Santana suspects what the true connection between them might be.

Santana's investigation, set in the snowy, icy cold of a St. Paul winter, takes on increasing complexity as he digs deeper into the lives of those murdered, and those that knew them. The hard, unforgiving edge of winter complements the solitary path John Santana must take in his investigation, and the cold penetrates the novel even as it surrounds his life. The flavor of Hispanic culture also infuses the book, with the occasional Spanish phrases and detail adding to the authenticity; deftly woven into the story without detracting to the non-Spanish reader.

Christopher Valen's direct prose and detailed description is softened with elegant metaphors that elevate his writing above that of a simple dime detective novel. We also get to know detective Santana slowly, his story unfolding over time, which lends a richness and depth to his character that leaves the reader wanting to know more about him. Many of the characters in the book are the kind that one expects in a crime novel - the beautiful woman suspect, the cop you love to hate, the old flame - but they're described nicely and written believably, and after all - isn't that why we love crime dramas? Occasionally Valen's writing style is a little choppy, especially at the beginning of the novel - sentences too short, more detail than necessary slowing the flow of the narrative - but on the whole the style works, and makes it a crisp, believable story. This is a solid start to what could be a terrific series of books. There is plenty to mine in Santana's story for future use, and the Hispanic viewpoint presents a fresh way to approach this genre.

St. Paul Police Detective John Santana left Columbia knowing assassins will come one day to Minnesota to kill him; his regret and guilt for leaving his homeland is his sister who is left behind to perhaps face the wrath of his enemies. He and his partner Rick Anderson currently investigate the murder of Julio Perez, owner of the monthly Hispanic newspaper El Dia, in his home. After searching the crime scene, the two cops visit Rafael Mendoza because the victim's rolodex is open to the card of the immigration attorney.

They arrive to witness Mendoza fall off his balcony with a man running from the scene. Anderson shoots and kills the fleeing person Ruben Cordova, who turns out to have worked for El Dia. They search Mendoza's loft finding evidence of fake visa applications and the photo of two John Does in a sexually explicit pose. Meanwhile Internal Review investigates the shooting pulling Anderson and Santana off the investigation as they were getting closer to solving the case. Santana's boss decides Cordova killed the other two men so has no qualms with reassigning the official investigation to Detective James Kehoe for final cleanup. Santana disagrees with the conclusion and also knows Kehoe will not dig any deeper than he has already done so he keeps investigating on his own time and at his own expense.

WHITE TOMBS is a superb police procedural starring a fascinating lead detective who has a history in his homeland. Santana is a wonderful new addition to the sub-genre as he cares about victims, even dead ones, but especially their grieving loved ones; in this case he pledges justice to Julio's widow. Alcoholic Anderson is as dedicated in his own way. Readers will appreciate this strong whodunit with a stunning late twist that no one will see coming as Christopher Valen argues that a person's collective past makes the person's present as experiences lead to current actions and reactions.

Harriet Klausner

I read this book and was very interested in the story. Unfortunatley I came away felling very sad and empty because the crime was commited in 82 and the book was written in 95 and one of the killers had been out for a few years already. BY 1995!!

This book is an excellent read for those interested in this subject and I looked for a site for Marvin to tell him how much I support him and what he does for others, and I am sorry the system failed him and Staci, and Hilari.

I have read this book 3 times trying to figure out why I am so confused. John Pierson had a background where he raped and licked and tried to suffocate his girlfriend right about the time he did those things to Staci Weinstein. His blood was found in her bed and on her under pants. He had a history, which several people atested too, that when he became excited or violent his nose bled. Eddie Wasko, on the other hand... was never accused of rape, being violent in any way...and not one bit of physical evidence of his was found at the Weinstein home. There was nothing to prove he was there with the exception of a statement that he gave after being interrogated for close to 30 hours without food or much sleep. And let's not forget the Eddie Wasko passed a polygraph test at the point he was questioned the first time. I am also confused at the fact that this Judge Snyder would not allow John Pierson's girlfriend, Janice Langhorn, to testify that John had raped her, licked her all over and tried to suffocate her while becoming extremely violent because she didn't want to have sex with him....That is just what happened to Staci....So why was she not allowed to testify to that to show that John Pierson is a maniac and HIM and only HIM killed poor little Staci Weinstein??? If I had some type of Law degree I would go through this case with a fine tooth comb because everything is showing the the guy who actually committed this murder...spent only 7 years in jail for it and no sooner he was out he was sent right back in for rape...AGAIN!!! COME ON...people...Are we trying to clean up violence in our communities because we didn't in this situation, did we??? The other guy...is still to this day in prison. It's unfortunate that these things happen in our judicial system...but they do and SOMEONE needs to take a look at it case by case and put a stop to it!!!! My sympathies to Marvin and his family..and also to Eddie Wasko for believing in and listening to the corrupt investagators who were trying to get professional gain out of a vulnerable, niave man. Thank you!

I was a teenager when my step brother killed Staci, My adopted Mother was married to his father and everyone knew that John had major problems. He shoved me in front of a bus in grade school which lead to my being hospitalized. He also tried to smother a girlfriend after she refused sex. He was paroled and soon was back in prison for attempted rape of a woman in central florida.
He is now out and working for his younger brother Gene Pierson doing home repair in Florida. Again the system has failed us. My sympathy to Marvin for his loss.

As someone who knows Marvin, this has been the hardest thing for him to go through. He is the sweetest and kindest man you will ever meet. This story just proves that bad things do happen to good people. Only a parent can truly understand what its like to lose your child. This book will help those who don't to understand what its like.

Dorriance Publishing Co. no longer carry this book. At this moment C C Publishers own this book. It can be delivered within 2-3 days. ccpublis@home.com Fax (609) 232-2527 Phone (609) 402-0505

Dorriance Publishing Co. no longer carry this book. At this moment C C Publishers own this book. It can be delivered within 2-3 days. ccpublis@home.com Fax (609) 232-2527 Phone (609) 402-0505

I recommend that every parent in America read this book. It is a wonderful guideline for parents.

The book "Will You Murder Your African American Children" is a guideline for parents who care for their children but do not have the information that will help them become successful parents.

Hello Eric: I've reserved "Wind Cave" at local public lib & am anxious to read it. Good luck with book! I'm a PA author with my "Passing the Baton..." in pre-publication stage. Am not going to Convention at Ft. Detrich Holiday Inn, are you? How was your book signing at Willow Grove? I'd like to communicate with you, if you're so inclined---to compare notes, etc. William J. Hirsch, 150 Strafford Ave., Suite 115, Wayne, PA 19087, voice 610-687-7792, fax 610 687-7704.

I found Wind Cave an insightful work based on the following observations. First, I enjoyed the way the author depicted different character types in the teenager heroes of the story. Moreover, in the course of the story it is the innocent soul of a teenager that is the key to help the restless spirit of the victim of a horrible murder to find her murderer and bring him to justice. The other aspect of the story, which I found commendable, was that the author touched on one of the most fundamental questions of human beings - life after death.

In Wind Cave every reader can find him/herself in the image of one of the teenager heroes of the story. Meanwhile, the thrilling nature of the murder mystery keeps the reader attached to the story. Wind Cave is a work that will be remembered long after it has been read because of its originality.

On Saturday, June 14, 1969, John Ellison, age 13, and his stepfather were exploring Wind Cave, a segment of the Arnold Lava Tube System in Bend, Oregon. Shortly after entering the cave, John had a sudden, overwhelming feeling of dread and a premonition that something was terribly wrong. John convinced his stepfather to leave the cave as quickly as possible. About a half hour later, two other men in the cave discovered the badly decomposed body of Mrs. Beverly Gayley. The body was wrapped in bedding and hastily buried under rocks near the entrance. She had an electrical cord around her neck and severe head trauma. Gayley, age 54, had been reported missing from her home since mid-April. An autopsy reported her death was due to "combined acts of violence." For young John Ellison, the memories of that trip and the ensuing murder investigation would have a profound effect on him for years to come. So profound in fact that as an adult, "the need to purge his soul of disturbing memories" would inspire him to write Wind Cave.
In Wind Cave, Ellison (NSS# 50750) has relived the events of his youth through the eyes of Ronny Hazelwood and his young companions. When a woman's body is found in Wind Cave, the kids begin their own murder investigation and unintentionally get caught between supernatural forces of good and evil, culminating deep underground where the known laws of nature seem to have disappeared. It is the perfect book to read aloud the next time you find yourself trapped underground with a bunch of scouts.
Anyone wishing to explore Wind Cave after reading this book should be reminded that the murderer of Beverly Gayley was never found. And you know what they say: the guilty always return to the scene of the crime.

John Eric Ellison's new book takes a nod to horror and the supernatural. Although the writing is as refined as Desecending Circles, John takes a different step and concentrates more on characterization this time, as opposed to historical detail. The result is a more enjoyable book in my humble opinion. It's obvious that Mr. Ellison has remembered his childhood; many people forget that children's problems can be as agonizing in their minds as the problems adult's have. This concept is brought home with striking ability as the story unfolds. The reader begins to race along with the novel's events towards the conclusion, where the philosophical ramifications of life after death, spaced throughout the book, are brought into play.
In many ways similar to Dean Koontz' novels from the 1980's and 1990's, this novel takes murder and the supernatural, and combines them with humanity and philosophy.
The result is a complex and deep novel you will read again.
(Additional note: my high school aged son read this book in record time, also enjoying it immensely.)