• Witness for the Defense,
  Set in San Francisco. A public defender suspended for allegedly trying to get a witness to lie in court to help a suspect trades with a young, female lawyer: she will defend him if he defends her dad's friend, suspected of kidnapping a child. They, of course, fall in love. Two-dimensional characters. By the end of the book, I was just glad it was over.

• Against the Law
• Body of a Crime

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Although the main characters in this book are African American, their difficulties will ring true across cultures.

Norma is a photographer with a four-year-old son, Miles, and a husband who has been hiding in his work since she lost a second baby. Moxie is a divorced social worker with a teenaged daughter, Zadi, whose diary entries throughout the book reveal problems Moxie doesn't even know she has: Zadi has gotten interested in one of her mother's troubled teen clients at a funeral for a young shooting victim.

Norma and Moxie usually talk about anything with one another but, when Norma confesses her affair with a white man, Moxie pulls away from her. The story continues to unfold as the two women negotiate life's difficulties without the the safe harbor of their long-standing friendship, and Moxie's daughter tries to be grown up.

"Breathing Room" is a beautifully written first novel of the sort that leaves you feeling as if the characters are real people by the time you reach the end.

• American Psycho,
  Very disturbing and well written story of a serial killer who seems to be deteriorating, yet continues for a long time to escape anyone's attention.

Going Crazy in Public

This is a light mystery in a series featuring Mac Fontana. He is the Fire Chief in a small town outside of Seattle where he moved to escape faster-paced city life. In this story, a serial arsonist plagues the town. When a regional investigation fails to turn up likely suspects, attention is turned towards the locals, each of whom, it seems, has a pick-head axe to grind.

Rubicon Beach
1986

Quartet Books Paperback

This book is very tough to write about because it's overflowing with symbolism and self-examination, from the thoughts of a prisoner released into an ostensibly post-apocalyptic Los Angeles to the life of a young girl born to a South American tribe. The events in this book seem to co-exist in time while they are separated by it, and to happen in one place even though they are wide ranging. It's also a parable on the way we live our lives. If you want to read thought provoking fiction which presents many mysteries, give it a try. Reviewed 1-9-00.

One for the Money

Just in case you aren't acquainted with this author or series, let me recommend them for some amusement. Stephanie Plum is a Trenton, NJ gal who lost her job as a lingerie buyer and falls into a job as a bounty hunter for her Uncle Vinnie's Bail Bond business in order to keep a roof over her head, and the cage from which her hamster, Rex, observes her antics.

New-age gal in a man's job vs. Mom angst drives part of the first three tales, which I've just finished (Two for the Dough and Three to Get Deadly are the other ones.) Plot, a cast of kooky but believable characters, and local color drives the rest. You'll get some belly laughs out of these!

Stephanie Plum's trials and tribulations will definitely make you feel like your life is in good working order.

Four to Score

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This book is a scream! From Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter in Trenton, New Jersey, to Sally Sweet, a transvestite singer and code breaker who refuses to shave, to Lula, a 200-lb ex-hooker who wants in on every phase of the chase, to Stephanie's own 73-year-old thrill-seeking grandma, the cast of very human characters sling barbs as they chase down a bail jumper who is herself seeking revenge. Ostensibly a simple case, the twists and turns get more and more convoluted, and end up tying into a case a cop, Joe Morelli, is working on with the Feds.

Hot Six

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Another entry in the escapades of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum that will certainly be a hit with devoted Plum followers.

If you like these, check out books by Paula Boyd.

See also the author's site: http://www.evanovich.com/

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