Monthly Archives: April 2015

Unintended Consequences

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Unintended Consequences by Stuart Woods

Stone Barrington is no stranger to schemes and deceptions of all stripes—as an attorney for the premier white-shoe law firm Woodman & Weld, he’s seen more than his share. But when he travels to Europe under highly unusual circumstances, Stone finds himself at the center of a mystery that is, even by his standards, most peculiar. Two unexpected invitations may be the first clues in an intricate puzzle Stone must unravel to learn the truth . . . a puzzle that will lead him deep into the rarefied world of European ultrawealth and privilege, where billionaires rub elbows with spooks, insider knowledge is traded at a high premium, and murder is never too high a price to pay for a desired end. It soon becomes clear that beneath the bright lights of Europe lurks a shadowy underworld . . . and its only rule is deadly ambition.

July 2013 MFLibrary

 

At Risk

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atrisk_patricia-cornwellAt Risk by Patricia Cornwell

ISBN 0-399-15362-4
Copyright 2006
Originally published in serial form in the New York Times Magazine

Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she’s planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk-its motto: “Any crime, any time.” In particular, she’s been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she’s found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder-in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right?

Her investigator is not so sure-not sure about anything to do with this woman, really-but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It’s not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed . . . and they’re about to get much worse.

 

Dirty Blonde

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dirtybloneDirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline

ISBN-13-978-0-06-074290-4
Copyright 2006

Judge Kate Fante has just been appointed to a Federal Judge position, a life time appointment. She was handed a glitzy case involving the intellectual design and creation of a hit TV show “Attorneys at Law”. Mr. Marz is suing producer Art Simone for stealing his ideas. While the law is clear on this issue Judge Fante delivers a lecture to Mr. Simone when she rules from the bench, which sets a number of events into motion. While she ruled in Mr. Simone’s favor, she stated she believed the plaintive. This is a crushing blow to Mr. Marz and he attacks Mr. Simone in the court room. Court is cleared but later that night when Mr. Simone is gunned down Mr. Marz is blamed for it, especially when he turns up the victim of an apparent suicide.

Judge Fante also has a secret life that comes out to haunt her. She has been sneaking to seedy bars to have hot sex with strangers. Unfortunately someone has been following her and feeding the information to Mr. Simone who has already set out to make a spin-off of “Attorneys at Law” starting a woman Federal Judge.

A detective friend of Mr. Marz doesn’t think that he committed suicide, or that he killed Mr. Simone he thinks Judge Fante hired a lowlife porn maker to do it for her. When trying to blackmail her doesn’t work the information gets released to the press which sets into motion Judge Fante running for her life, being suspended from her job, and her determination to find out who really killed Mr. Simone.

Summary credit to http://allreaders.com/book-review-summary/dirty-blonde-33968

 

tough customer

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toughcustomer_sandrabrowntough customer by Sandra Brown

Hardback
978-1-4165-6310-5
Copyright 2010

Private investigator Dodge Hanley’s daughter is targeted by a deranged stalker—the daughter he’s never met. Filled with Ms. Brown’s trademarks: edge-of-your-seat suspense; tight plotting with surprise twists and hairpin turns; and white-hot sizzle.

When a deranged stalker attempts to murder her daughter Berry, Caroline King has no doubts who to contact for help: Berry’s father, the cagey private investigator Dodge Hanley. It’s been thirty years since Dodge last saw Caroline, but the savvy real estate mogul still haunts his dreams. He has a whole bagful of grudging excuses for ignoring Caroline’s call—and one compelling reason to drop everything and fly down to Texas to protect the daughter he’s never met: guilt. As always, Dodge’s perseverance knows no bounds as he teams with Ski Nyland, a small-town sheriff, but the alarming situation worsens when the stalker claims other victims, leaving a trail of clues lethally pointing toward Berry. And Dodge—a street-smart fighter who has always put his life on the line—realizes that this time, he’s risking his heart as well…

The Intrigue at Highbury

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IntrigueatHighburyThe Intrigue at Highbury (Or, Emma’s Match) – a Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Carrie Bebris

ISBN 978-0-7653-1848-0
Copyright 2010

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are looking forward to a relaxing stay with dear friends when their carriage is hailed by a damsel-in-distress outside of the village of Highbury. Little do the Darcys realize that gypsies roam these woods, or that both their possessions and the woman are about to vanish into the night.
The Darcys seek out the parish magistrate, who is having a difficult evening of his own. Mr. Knightley and his new wife, the former Miss Emma Woodhouse (the heroine of Jane Austen’s Emma) are hosting a party to celebrate the marriage of their friends, Mr. Frank Churchill and Miss Jane Fairfax. During dinner, Mr. Edgar Churchill, uncle and adoptive father of the groom, falls suddenly ill and dies. The cause of death: poison.
When the  Darcys and the Knightleys join forces to investigate the crimes, they discover that the robbery and Edgar Churchill’s death may be connected. Together they must work to quickly locate the source of the poison and the murderer’s motive–before the killer can strike again.

Unintended Consequences

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UnintendedConsequencesUnintended Consequences – A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods

ISBN 978-0-399-15987-9
Copyright 2013

Stone Barrington is no stranger to schemes and deceptions of all stripes—as an attorney for the premier white-shoe law firm Woodman & Weld, he’s seen more than his share.

But when he travels to Europe under highly unusual circumstances, Stone finds himself at the center of mystery that is most peculiar, even by his standards. Two unexpected invitations may be the first clues in an intricate puzzle that will lead Stone deep into the rarified world of European ultrawealth and privilege, where billionaires rub elbows with spies, insider knowledge is traded at a high premium, and murder is never too high a price to pay for a desired end…