COLD RELATIONS by Gerald Hammond (Allison and Busby)

When you're head of Edinburgh's canine unit, everything seems to go to the dogs. Det. Sergeant Honey Laird's caseload seems to thin out a little, so she takes on a chore for an old friend--babysitting the friend's ex-husband, an ex SAS officer recuperating from a head wound in Iraq. Honey's obvious solution to most problems is fixing them up with a dog or two. This time the fix becomes a problem when Andrew's spaniels are kidnapped after a grouse shoot, a shooter goes missing, and a womanizing QC demands a female investigator for his case. The seriousness of the crimes lose nothing by the light touch of Hammond's writing. This book has something for everyone, but it's a wonderful find for lovers of cozy English police procedurals!

THE TORSO by Helene Tursten (Soho Press)

You know it's gonna be a bad day when a torso, so mutilated that it's gender is unknown, turns up on a beach. Det. Insp. Irene Huss gets the call on a case that moves her from her home office in Goteborg, Sweden to Copenhagen, where she encounters a similar mutilation. The further she probes into the case, the more murders appear. Irene is plummeted into Copenhagen's "Sin Central" where she meets a 400-pound plus Sumo wrestler who becomes an unlikely supporter. A call from an old neighbor adds the chore of looking for a runaway teenager. Meanwhile on the home front, one of Irene's twin daughters is involved in an automobile accident, and the family dog is sued for a paternity suit. Tursten provides the perfect police procedural--gruesome crime juxtaposed against a detective's ordinary familly life. I'm glad this one was in my TBR pile!

SAVANNAH BREEZE by Mark Kay Andrews (Harper Collins)

When Mary Kay Andrews writes a sequel—she writes a SEQUEL! Following the Edgar-nominated SAVANNAH BLUES, Andrews now tells the story of trendy restaurant owner Bebe Lowdermilk (BLUES' Weezie's best friend). No longer successful, Bebe has been DONE WRONG by Reddy a gorgeous con man, er investment counselor, who has sold everything she owned except a run down 1950s motor court on Georgia's Tybee Island. Fortunately all Southern Belles have family and friends (both lifetime and new) to call on when the going gets tough. Bebe's assembled posse comes together witih a vengence to restore her fortune and to teach Reddy why it's not good to mess with GRITS (girls raised in the South). This might well be the best summer read of 2006!

OH DANNY BOY by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin's Minotaur)

The Molly Murphy mystery series keeps getting better and better! In her fifth outing, Molly's determination to find a new career becomes tangled with her resolution to put dashing police Captain Daniel Sullivan out of her life. Her plans are put aside when Daniel is arrested for corruption and jailed and she is the only one who will help him. Additional complications from her personal life and with an outbreak of murdered prostitutes require all of Molly's skills as an investigator and as a strong-willed woman. In keeping with all of Bowen's works, the supporting characters are well-drawn and realistic, and the story moves at breakneck pace until its harrowing conclusion. This is a marvelous entry in a top-notch series!

THE COLD DISH by Craig Johnson (Penguin)

Like a magnet grabs iron filings, this book pulled me in from the first sentence and held me through the last words of the epilogue. Characters were well defined and likeable; the pacing was perfect; the story compelling. I had an idea of the perpetrator, but that didn't detract one iota from my enjoyment of my reading. After all, I could have been wrong.

Sheriff Walt Longmire has many bad memories of his 24 years of duty in Absaroka County, Wyoming, but only one haunts him—the brutal rape of a fetal-alchohol teenaged Native American. Even though Walt caught the perps, who were brought to trial, nobody thinks they got what they deserved. With a new death (is it a hunting accident?) on his plate, Walt introduces the reader to other inhabitants of his county, each of whom has a backstory of his/her own. Absaroka County is no Mayberry, but the sheriffs have a wonderful similarity. I cannot say enough good things about this book!

DID YOU DECLARE THE CORPSE? by Patricia Sprinkle (Signet)

Georgia magistrate MacLaren Yarborough joins a bus tour of the Scottish Highlands as part of a search for her roots. She's been warned by her husband and her travel companion that she's not to look for murder. What can she do, though, when murder comes looking for her companions? Sprinkle does what so few authors do--she throws a busload of new characters at the reader and then sketches them so fully that each is identifiable without recourse to a cast of characters—or my personal worst, page flipping. The murder happens in the first chapter, but we don't know who's the victim until much, much later. The is not only a good mystery, it's a primer in how to write a compelling story. Additionally, Jan Karon fans who like mysteries will love Mac!

DEATH OF A BORE and DEATH OF A DREAMER by M.C. Beaton (Mysterious Press)

Highlands Constable Hamish Macbeth is one of my favorite fictional police officers. Hamish grows as a character throughout the series, and Beaton continues bringing in new characters who keep things fresh. In BORE, a "famous" writer moves into the area and offers to teach his craft to villagers. Hamish doesn't think his canny villagers will be duped by the promise, but he's surprised to see a crowd at the first class. You know who is killed, but iyou may be surprised at the killer.

In DREAMER, it's an artist who's the victim, a woman who moved into the Highlands over the cold winter. There are plenty of suspects--villagers and newcomers alike. Beaton does a particularly good job in recycling characters in this one, giving Hamish and the reader plenty of suspects.

Enjoy your visit to the Scottish Highlands!

THE CIRCLE by Peter Lovesey (SOHO Crime)

A guest speaker at a writer's circle is killed when his house is set on fire. Police immediately arrest the chair of the writer's circle. There was reason to suspect the chair--after being told his book was nearing publication, he was told he'd need to pay to have it published. Another death within the circle itself cast doubts on the police theory, even while members of the group are working to clear their leader. Parallel investigations, one professional, one amateur, keep the reader turning pages while wondering who, how, and most of all why. This is another keeper in the long string of great crime fiction by the charming and clever Peter Lovesey.

THE SUMMER SNOW by Rebecca Pawel (Soho Crime)

The death of a rich old woman who called in the police on a regular basis shouldn't have prompted a full-scale investigation. The old woman, however was special. She changed her will almost as much as she called the police and her will is missing. Not only that, the administrator of her will is the father of Lt. Carlos Tejada of the Guardia. The investigation not only plunges Tejada into family intrigue, but it forces him to reconcile his young wife and son with the haughty aristocratic family he left behind when he joined the force. The story is further complicated by its setting: Post World War II Spain, still recovering from the Red Menace. Pawel won the Edgar for the first in this series, DEATH OF A NATIONALIST.

THE FALLEN by T. Jefferson Parker (William Morrow)

Parker creates such wonderfully flawed protagonists I would probably read his books as novels, even if there weren't a marvelous mystery involved! Robbie Brownlaw survived a fall from a sixth floor window in an attempt to rescue survivors from a hotel fire. He's left with synesthesia (a neurological condition that mixes up ones senses) which dramatically improves his skills as a detective because he can, quite literally, see lies. His latest case is the murder of a San Diego policeman-turned ethics investigator. Parker's skill as a storyteller and his compelling characters made it impossible for me to lay the book aside for more than a few minutes at a time. Another winner from this two-time Edgar award winner!

THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI by Paul Levine (Bantam)

It's funny, fast-paced, and irrevrent. It's also a great legal thriller that pits builders against environmentalists and lawyer against lawyer. On another note, it's a poignant look at a young boy with special needs. Then, like any good Florida Keys book, you can test your Parrothead quotient. Whatever causes you to pick up this fun paperback original--you'll be glad you did!

A DEATH IN VIENNA by Frank Tallis (Grove Press)

Freud's Vienna comes to life in this locked room mystery when a successful medium is killed in her apartment. An apparent ruling suicide is thwarted when no weapon is found and Dr. Maxim Liebermann finds an inconsistancy with the suicide note. As much a tale of Vienna's cafe society and the early days of psychoanalysis as a murder mystery, this book will find fans among history lovers and philosophers. A DEATH IN VIENNA has already been short listed for the C.W.A. Arthur Ellis Award.

HELLO, STRANGER by Virginia Swift (Harper Collins)

When women's history professor "Mustang" Sally Adler literallly gives a student the coat off her back, she thinks she's helping a victim of domestic abuse. That's true, but the situation proves far bigger when Sally stumbles over the body of the student's father. Smarmy lawyers, religious rights, and California realtors muddy the waters as Sally works to save her student. Although this is the fourth "Mustang Sally" novel, Swift makes it easy for newcomers to the series to fit into the Laramie, Wyoming series. With truly fast pacing, Swift keeps the story moving while tieing up all loose ends. My kind of a read!

RIVER OF DARKNESS by Rennie Airth (Penguin)

I don't know how I missed this when it was first published (and nominated for the Edgar and Macavity awards), but at least I got a copy of the 2005 trade paperback verstion. In post-WW-I England, Scotland Yard is called to investigate a small village slaughter of a young family. Because a few items were taken from the house, one particularly inept inspector is intent on ruling it a robbery gone bad. Fortunately for justice, Inspector Madden and Chief Inspector Sinclair are on the case. Madden, like Charles Todd's Inspector Rutlege, is haunted by the recent war, and he is determined to get to the bottom of the gruesome killings. After hearing a Viennese doctor speak about the influences of the mind on one's behavior, Madden is convinced that the killer has a past that is worthy of exploration. RIVER OF DARKNESS caused me to neglect my daily activities and burn the midnight oil much too late!

THE BEST BRITISHI MYSTERIES 2006 ed. by Maxim Jakubowski (Allison and Busby)

If you need just a taste of crime before bedtime, keep this jewell on your night stand. You'll find historicals, cozies, and contemporary short stories in this compendium. Want to try out a new British author? Here's the answer. I was glad to renew my literary friendship with Anne Perry, Peter Robinson, and Keith Miles, among others. Kim Newman took me back to Belgravia, not via Watson's eyes, but through Col. Moran's. I won't mention the authors new to me--I'll loose credibility for not knowing them already! Whether you read straight through or in nightly tastes, you'll be glad to have this collection on your shelf.

MURDER IN MONTMARTRE by Cara Black (Soho Crime)

When Cara Black takes you to Paris, you can be sure it won't be to the Champs-Elysées! Rather, Black's Paris, seen through the eyes of computer dectective Aimée Leduc, is the gritty underworld of kickbacks, prostitutes, and street people. In this outing, a childhood friend has achieved her dream of becoming a policewoman, only to be accused of killing her partner. As Aimée struggles to clear her friend, she seeks answers, as always, to the reasons for her father's death which left his name clouded. Even as Aimée risks her own life to find answers, her partner, René proves himself quite capable as a field detective.

PERFECTION by Walter Satterthwait (Thomas Dunne Books)

Walter Satterthwait's name on a book is like "sterling" on silver. This Florida thriller pokes fun at America's obsession with weight while giving the sub-genre a new Hannibal Lecter. Police detectives Sophia Tregaskis and Jim Fallon have all they can handle with the latest crime (does it really target morbidly obsese women?) without a power hungry police chief and a powerful hurricane. Satterthwait plays fair with his readers, but I guarantee you'll have no time to figure out who dunnit—you'll be too busy turning pages!

THE CHOCOLATE MOUSE TRAP by Joanna Carl (Signet)

What do a wedding planner, a chocolate store manager, a caterer, a florist, a restaurant owner, a baker, and a pair of B&B owner have in common? They're part of "The Seventh Food Group" email group--and somebody is bumping them off, one by one! Lee McKinney manages her aunt's chocolate company, and she's no stranger to murder (after all, this is the fifth in the series). Clues were obviously in the emails sent among the group, but hackers have infected computers with a virus and destroyed hard drives.

This is one of my favorite light series--and Carl does just what I like when several new characters are introduced: She gently reminds the reader who is who every time she mentions a member of the supporting cast. Do yourself a favor and indulge in this no-calorie confection.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE by Pip Granger (Poisoned Pen Press)

If you were as enchanted by Granger's Agatha-nominiated NOT ALL TARTS ARE APPLES as I, you'll be delighted to read the prequel. Since APPLE's narrator, young Rosie, hasn't been born yet, Zelda, a young World War II wife delivers the story. It's a charming look at a tiny neighborhood in London at the end of the War. While not a mystery by the purest standards, this engrossing novel has enough elements to fall under the crime fiction umbrella. No matter its classification, however, it's delightful reading.

CARVED IN BONE by Jefferson Bass (Wiliam Morrow)

Forensic fans, walk don't run to your local bookstore! This is the real thing. The writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson (Jefferson Bass) set their first collaboration in and around the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility, better known as the Body Farm, that Dr. Bass founded more than 25 years ago. Fictional director of the farm Dr. Bill Brockton is called to rural Cooke County, Tennessee by the sherrif to examine a body found in a cave. The suspense never falters—except to deliver realistic details. If I wished for better dialog, forensic fans will be well satisfied with details! Fortunately, I was enthralled with the story, which made up for the slightly stilted conversations. Cornwell and Reichs have a worthy partner in crime.