It's the 1950's, and an 18-year girl from South Dakota arrives in New York City expecting to become a dancer, a showgirl, like her older sister who moved there a few years before only to have her sister turn her away and a con man take most of her money, and that's just in the first few pages of a fun and rollicking New York noir crime story called Fifty-to-One.

Tricia Heverstadt gets a big-city education right off the bus in Manhattan, but she's a quick study, and it's a good thing, too, cos she finds herself mixed up in a bigger jam than being an easy target for a flim-flam artist. Tricia writes a "true" story anonymously for Hard Case Crime publishers about robbing a mob boss, a story that turns out to contain more than a kernel of truth and becomes a crime she needs to solve -- or else.

Ardai, who wrote Little Girl Lost and Song of Innocence under the pseuodnym Richard Aleas, has crafted a fast-paced, attention-gripping, hard-boiled crime story that threatens suspension of disbelief only momentarily but in no way lessens the enjoyment of an expertly-written crime noir tale. This is tantalizing, hard-boiled pulp entertainment at its best.

Not only do I highly recommend this Fifty-to-One, I also heartily recommend the two books Ardai wrote as Aleas (mentioned above).

In Ian McEwan's Atonement, a young girl with a fanciful imagination witnesses an interaction she doesn't understand, and because of her lack of experience and unaware of her own ulterior motives, she spends the rest of her life trying to rewrite the consequences of the events she sets into motion. To say more would ruin your own journey in Atonement. This is a masterfully-written story with an ending that is fully supported by the events that lead to it. Perhaps this is too abrupt a reaction to be called a review, but it is too hard to comment on the complexity of psychology with the hint of fairy tale without saying too much.

I did not know that a movie had been made of this book; I did not know that this book had already received much (well-deserved) acclaim. I had read a couple of books by Ian McEwan, and while they were good, I wasn't moved. When I finished reading the novel on a recent Saturday morning with nothing planned for the day, I was grateful for the silence and the lack of needing to be anywhere; I needed a little time to soak in the comprehension of the girl, now an old woman, and her quest for absolution.

Oh how I hate to say this, but Janet Evanovich, creator of one of my favorite mystery genre protagonists, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, seems to be pumping out stories for quantity, not quality. Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is a light and fun, fast read anyway; it's part of the charm: the bumbling everywoman heroine who finds herself working for her cousin Vinny the bondsman in suburban New Jersey while pulled between her more sensible relationship with the hottie cop Joe Morelli and the more adventurous liaison with hottie international problem-solver (let's call it) Ranger; the fat bombshell ex-hooker and now file clerk Lula; Plum's penchant for losing her bond-skips at the last minute and her bad luck with her car always catching fire or blowing up. I love Stephanie Plum, and I love her romantic tug-o-war, and I love all the characters in this crazy, funny, light-hearted mystery-lite series.

So it pains me, right here in the middle of my heart, that lately Evanovich seems to be losing interest in her detective creation or perhaps is distracted by other, non-Plum issues. Yes, the latest in the number series, Finger Lickin' Fifteen, is a light romp through the usual plot lines and character set-ups. But the only part that elicited a genuine giggle was the hot-dog costume scene. The tension is gone, the charm... gone. And what is Stephanie's reluctance to have sex with Ranger while off-again with Morelli really about? In this book, it's transparently a plot device that doesn't convince at all.

The story revolves around Ranger's Rangeman security business suffering from break-ins. Somehow, unbelievable even in a world created in fine-spun sugar delight, Ranger needs Stephanie's help to figure out who's breaking into his clients' homes. But we stalwart Plum fans will accept just about any premise, because we know our suspended disbelief will be rewarded with goofy action and unlikely but hilarious resolution to the problem.

Fifteen doesn't deliver. The inconsistency of voice and the superficial treatment of already two-dimensional (but typically highly-entertaining) characters came as a huge disappointment, since Evanovich has delivered so strongly up through about a dozen books. After providing so many novels that cracked me up and amused me greatly, Evanovich can be forgiven for faltering in these last couple of Plum novels. I hope it is only a temporary setback. As greedy as I am for the next Plum novel, I'd prefer it if Evanovich took her time and spiked the novel rather than produce something less than Plum-worthy.

P.S. If you aren't familiar with Stephanie Plum, start (right now!) with the first of the series, One For the Money. A whole fun world in New Jersey awaits you!

Jeffrey Deaver is a prolific writer of mysteries and detective fiction whose latest novel, Roadside Crosses, features Kathryn Dance, a kinesics (body language) expert for the California Bureau of Investigation based in Monterey, California. As someone who has recently discovered the television series Lie to Me on the Fox network, a show about an expert in facial expressions and body language, I was particularly interested in Deaver's novel as the subject holds an especial interest. These kinesics experts interpret nonverbal language to assess whether witnesses and suspects are being truthful or deceitful, which, perhaps, was the next logical step after the slew of forensics television shows and detective fiction.

The main mystery revolves around an unpopular teenager, Travis Brigham, who was at the wheel when he lost control of the car, killing two classmates. A third passenger survived the crash. A local blog writer with a large audience questions whether or not that stretch of the highway was adequately safeguarded to prevent such accidents and readers' comments about the question degenerate into an attack on the driver's character, with rumors obfuscating fact and deteriorating into cyberbullying.

Roadside crosses appear on the side of the highway before the car accidents that the crosses are meant to memorialize. The victims of these "accidents" are classmates of Travis who have participated in the cyberbullying.

This mystery is well-crafted in that while I suspected one character's innocence and believed I knew who would be unmasked as responsible for the deaths and attempted murders, I was wrong. Meanwhile, there are subplots that deepen the characters and keep the story moving along at a good page-turning rate.

Another facet of modern technology that Deaver weaves into the story (in addition to the kinesics angle) that should interest you, since you're reading this on-line, is the Internet, specifically blogs and the democratization of so-called news and how rumors spread almost instantaneously. Deaver quotes heavily from the blog, The Chilton Report, and even provides the URL, www.thechiltonreport.com, which he encourages readers to visit, which I did only after I read the book. Don't expect much. (Sorry.)

I will say this: Deaver's heroine, Kathryn Dance, and other characters rightfully express concern over the amount of personal information that people unwittingly reveal about themselves on the Internet, and it's a good reminder to those who enjoy reading and commenting on blogs – and even writing blogs – that it is very easy to give up one's anonymity and privacy while participating in on-line fora and to keep one's guard up.

I highly recommend the nonfiction book “Factory Girls, by Leslie Chang. China is undergoing the largest human migration in history. In this book the author, a former correspondent for the Wall Street Journal follows two younger girls over the course of three years as they leave their home villages for work in the factories in Dongguan, a large industrial city. This is called “going out”.
It is with the author’s keen intelligent insight into the lives of the girls that gives the reader a strong sense of the significant and profound societal changes that are occurring in present day China. We follow along with the author as she interviews the girls and gets to know them on a deeper more personal level. They begin to share with her many of the personal details of their lives as we read journal entries, listen to cell phone conversations, text messaging back and forth, and hear about some rather funny online dating scenarios. In a particularly poignant section of the book we go back on a visit with one of the girls to her home village during the celebration of the Chinese New Year, where we begin to see that life in the village is forever changed for her. It has been said that you can never really go home again, but I wonder where will she go? She describes with the same kind of riveting detail the daily life in the factories as these young worker’s continually try to better themselves for higher better paying jobs.
As someone who prefers novels, I approached this book with skepticism as to it’s readability, but I found that in the authors intimate writing style that I was captivated and discovered that her telling of this interesting story is nothing short of astounding.

If you're looking for a good scary summer read, Michael Marshall's Bad Things is the book for you.

Former lawyer John Henderson is haunted by his four year-old son's death.  He tries to escape his past by moving to a town in coastal Oregon and working as a waiter at a pizzeria.  But things start to happen that draw him back into the mystery that shattered his world.

What separates this novel from all of the Stephen King/Peter Straub books that it has been compared to is the writing.  Whereas King and Straub infuse dread and foreboding throughout their novels, the better part of Bad Things reads like a straight novel.  It succeeds very well in this regard.  The plotting, characters, and narrative are all first-rate.

It takes a long time for the scary part of the book to develop. For a good part of the novel I wondered if it was supposed to be scary at all.  It took me a while to realize that the veneer of normalcy only made the emerging horror more potent.  Other reviewers have compared the book to a David Lynch movie: creeping horror lurking beneath an everyday scene.

Did I mention that this book is particularly well-written?  Not only was it tough to put down, there were passages throughout the book that completely drew me in (not many novels can do that).  Plus, the plot‘s twists and turns will keep you guessing until the end.

For those that like their summer reading on the scary side, Bad Things is tough to beat.

In The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks , when Frankie finished her first year at a super-prestigious boarding school, she was mousy, flat-chested, and an excellent member of the Debate Team.  When she starts her sophomore year, she’s a bombshell.  Smart, gorgeous, and dating the senior she crushed on all last year. 

 Sounds great, right?  But then she finds out that her perfect boyfriend is part of an all-male secret society and that he’s been lying to her so he won’t have to tell her about it.  What’s more, it’s the same society her dad used to belong to. To top it all off, the secret society’s pranks are really, really dumb.  Frankie decides she can do way better.  She moves in, takes over, and discovers her unparalleled talent for organized crime. 

Frankie’s pranks are inspired, they’re brilliant, and they have a purpose, but what will happen when her boyfriend realizes that she’s the mastermind behind his secret society?  And what does her old boyfriend, from her mousy days, have to do with all of this?  Is Frankie in over her head, or is she just deep enough?

 E. Lockhart, author of The Boyfriend List, Dramarama, and How To Be Bad, has written a book that addresses parental expectations, teen relationships, sexism, and radical art, but you’ll hardly notice because you’ll be so caught up by this Printz Honor-winning story.

Author Jefferson Bass is actually two authors.  Dr.  Bill Bass is a world-renowned forensic anthropolgist.  Mr.  Jon Jefferson  is a veteran journalist and writer. 

Together they have created Bones of Betrayal , a riveting, accurate account of murder most foul entwined in the story of the Manhattan project.

This secret government project to build the first atomic bomb provides a fitting backdrop to espionage, infidelity, dementia, and simmering resentments.

Dr. Bill Brockton  with his graduate assist, Miranda Lovelady, jump into a frightful battle wtih the horrors of radiation sickness.  Their battle is liberally laced with accurate scientific information on this "hot" topic. 

The forth thriller from Bass and Jefferson will lead you to read their  earlier books:  Flesh and Bone , The Devil's Bones and Carved in Bone .

We have come to know Nina Reilly over the course of nearly a dozen thrillers written by a sister duo.  Nina has moved between Tahoe and Monterey, always working as a single mom lawyer.  Now in this prequel, Show No Fear , we move back to 1990 and meet a younger Nina just starting her law school studies.  Her mother is dealing with her divorce and a disfiguring disease.  The man who had been an absent father of Nina’s son, reappears with demands she doesn’t want to meet.  In the back of the reader’s mind are questions – don’t we know something that Nina doesn’t know? And Paul Wagoner will come to mean much more to her in later books.  This is an engaging read, filling in the back story to characters we’ve come to care about over the course of the series.

In the New Orleans of 1913, Valentin St. Cyr is working as an investigator for several big law firms.  He is done with Storyville -  the location of bordellos, saloons, music, graft and mayhem - much to the relief of Justine who now lives with him.  His old friends and employers feel somewhat abandoned by St. Cyr though they understand the violence and loss of a childhood friend in the last year, had taken their toll. Forces begin to pull him back into the quarter as men are being killed and marked in a bizarre way.  Tom Anderson, the King of Storyville, seems to be slipping; he needs his former employee, the Creole Valentin to make sense of these murders before Storyville’s carefully balanced financial and social structure collapses.

Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Geraldine Brooks, adds to her list of wondrous reads another victory.  People of the Book utilizes all the historical detail her works have been known to encompass. 

The narrative bounces back and forth in time to search out the people who have contributed to the illuminated Hebrew Haggadah's history.  Using clues such as an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair,  Hanna Heath , an entrepid rare book expert,  will risk all in the pursuit of a scientific truth.

A touching love stories are interwoven with the book's journey through time.  Love of God, love of wealth and love of tradition compete in fascination with the romantic love Hanna struggles to grasp. 

When you finish reading this scientific and literary investigation you will be compelled to go back and read Geraldine Brooks' earlier two works, March and Year of Wonders . 

In Death Was in the Picture , while the country struggles to survive the depression, LA is somewhat immune – the movie business is thriving.  When Kitty’s boss, PI Dexter Theroux is hired to keep an eye on things at a Hollywood party, he comes to think he was set up to be a witness to a crime.  The suspect, matinee idol Laird Wyndham is quickly charged with the murder of a starlet and just as quickly, he and his lawyer want to hire Dex to prove his innocence.

Lucas Davenport constantly runs in mental circles in this new novel, Phantom Prey , by John Sanford.  This mystery resolves itself only in the final pages.  It seems totally disjointed and difficult to grasp in its narration. 

It delves into the Goth culture. It also manages to include a story line that hinges on the criminal insane.  In many ways the book seems over optimistic in its attempt to narrate a story that in final analysis just doesn't make sense.

I found it unbelievable and much to convoluted to hold my interest.  For readers who enjoy 200 pages of total confusion before a solution appears, it just might be the ticket for a good evening read.  

Tommy Carmellini is back again as a narrator and protagonist in The Assassin , a fast paced spy thriller.  In "Library Journal on Liars and Theives " Carmellini is described as "a self-deprecating and wisecracking narrator who brings a welcome energy to the genre".

Admiral Jake Grafton once again does battle with the forces of evil.  His battle is complicated by the efforts of a group of private citizens who are financing their own war against terrorism.  These citizens and the President of the United States become the targets of a master terrorist. 

Coonts is a master of the techno-thriller laced with spirited action.  An over the top violent  and recreational read.

Ted O'Connor is 16 years old and recently orphaned when his parents died in a car accident.  He is now a foster child with a new home with fellow foster children and rather odd foster parents as well as beginning a new school.  He was a social outcast in his previous school with no friends and is well on his way to continuing as one until he is taken underwing by his two foster brothers.  Ted's unconnected, weird parents had a pet store where Ted helped out.  Out of isolation, Ted developed an uncanny ability to communicate with animals and there he finds solace.  Astin and C.W., his foster brothers, try to smooth Ted's way in the high school world and gradually Ted adapts to his foster home, brothers and the school.  This is a positive story of a young man finding his place in the world.  I liked all the characters in this book, even the really strange ones.  Strays is well-written and, even with the magical talking animals element, somehow rings true with me.  Lonely Ted learns how to connect and to believe in himself.