Storm Front by Jim Butcher

This book was a fun read. Harry Dresden is hired by the police to investigate whether magic was used to violently murder a hooker and a mob enforcer during a night of love making. During the course of a few days, Harry is ordered off the case by a mob boss, confronts a vampire and must deal with his overzealous watcher, who by the way thinks that Harry is the killer.

At the same time, Harry is working on a second case involving a wife's missing husband.

Jim Butcher creatively combined classic PI detective and fantasy. I'm normally a slow reader, but the story was so entertaining, I found that I had a hard time putting Storm Front down.

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley introduces a new PI named Leonid McGill. A little background on McGill: He is African-American, average height, a boxer in a previous life, the son of a communist, married to a woman who had children by other men during their marriage and used to take on unscrupulous jobs if paid the right price. With all that said, McGill is trying to make up for his past by taking jobs that won’t ruin the lives of others. But sometimes getting out of the life is hard to do.

Mosley weaved together a great story of personal redemption while maintaining an excellent mystery. McGill, with all his flaws, is a likable character that you want to see succeed. By using his experience as a former boxer and using his own interpretation of what his communist father was trying to teach him as a child, McGill fights his way through several dangerous scraps and uses insight that is uncommon in most mystery novels.

Cross Country by James Patterson

Alex Cross is thrust into an investigation unlike any he has ever faced. The killer known as The Tiger, uses children to commit terrible murders. When an old frame of Alex's is murdered, he follows the Tiger all the way to Africa, where the police are more than unfriendly. With little help from the CIA and no official authority in African, Alex quickly discovers that bringing the Tiger to American justice will be impossible.

The difficulty of catching the Tiger pales in comparison to the plight of the African people Alex soon realizes. The brutality of war, rape, and how the world is ignoring these travesties are brought out in Patterson's book for all to see.

Patterson does not hold his punches, which is why I think this story may be offputting to some people. Still, Cross Country is definitely worth reading.

Infinite Crisis - Part One by Greg Cox

Superheroes around the world are facing three threats; one from a group of supervillians who have banded together and led by Lex Luther; the second threat is from an advance security system created by Batman to watch other superheroes. The system eventually began thinking on its own coming up with its own agenda, altering human dna and changing them into unthinking cybernetic warriors, whose sole role is to hunt down and destroy super powered beings; the threat comes from an insane supernatural being called the Spectre, his goal is to destroy all magic. On top of all this danger, the three founding members of the Justice League (Superman, Wonder Woman & Batman) have personal grudges against one another and will no longer fight as a team.

With a full cast and super sound effects, the audio production was excellent. I could picture all the action and felt the emotional turmoil of the characters. There was an underwater fight scene where the voices were a little annoying but it wasn't enough to distract from the story telling. I recommend this book.

Jonathan Luckett's -- Dissolve

I was immediately caught in the story, though at the beginning I had a hard time with David Sands falling for this mysterious woman he spies through a window. When I read the back of the cover, I expected more of an intense mystery but found it more of a suspenseful emotional journey and erotic romance. Still I was captivated by the characters and truly wanted to know how things were going to end. As for my reservations regarding David falling so deeply for the woman so quickly; well let me put it this way, the ending answered all my questions and quashed all my doubts.

David Baldacci -- The Collectors

Oliver Stones suspects there is a link between the assassination of the U.S Speaker of the House and the director of the Library of Congress rare books room. The Camel Club is joined by Annabelle Conroy, a con-artist who should be running for her life, but is instead aiding the group to solve this mystery.

All the members of the Camel Club lives are threaten by a ruthless enemy that once worked for the same ultra secret organization as Oliver Stone.

David Baldacci has the amazing ability to thrill and surprise in his novels and never disappoints with his Camel Club series.

Michelle Gagnon's Bone Yard

Somewhere along the Appalachian Trail hikers discover human remains dug up by animals. This leads to a massive search for more bodies through several states. FBI Special Agent Kelly Jones, who was on her way on a much needed vacation, was asked to delay her plans and to coordinate a special task force consisting of law enforcement officers from Vermont and Massachusetts. During the investigation it becomes clear that there are two serial killers, one whose murderous skills are fine-tuned, while the other is an inexperienced copycat.

All the victims are young men and drifters—people that would not be missed. As the investigation continues, Jones finds that these killings have been going on far longer than anyone ever expected. Jones is teamed with Massachusetts State Trooper Bill Doyle who has little admiration for her and even less regards to the necessity of the task force, making Jones’ work that much more complicated. Jones has an ally in Vermont’s homicide investigator Monica Lauer, though this too becomes problematic as Lauer’s rapport with Doyle has the two constantly at each other’s throats.

Bone Yard was an excellent read--I had a hard time putting the book down. The action is high pace, the suspense gripping and there are plenty of twists-and-turns. Bone Yard is author Michelle Gagnon’s second novel featuring Special Agent Kelly Jones, the first being The Tunnel. I guarantee that after you read Bone Yard you’ll immediately go in search of Gagnon’s previous novel. I highly recommend this book.