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JANA'S BOOK SUGGESTIONS.

The Death Artist by Jonathan Santlofer

Reading this book, I kept thinking what a great movie it would be, done right, as good as "Silence of the Lambs", in my opinion. Kate McKinnon Rothstein, a former Astoria, NY cop, now philanthropist and art expert is drawn into a murder case when a close friend/surrogate daughter becomes a victim of a killer, the self named "Death Artist". His crime scenes mimic paintings, not so famous ones, so Kate being the art historian, and having her previous police experience, becomes an invaluable asset to the case. Kate is also one of the heroines I love to follow in series mysteries, tough, smart and like the male counterparts of fictional cops I love, prone to acting first and explaining later. The killer begins to correspond with her and soon she and more of her loved ones are in danger. This was an engrossing novel, I'm almost done with "Color Blind" the next one in the series so I'll keep you posted.

There's no place like here by Cecelia Ahern

After seeing this author's other book immortalized in the movie P.S. I love you, I remembered I had this one. I like this author, her books are always unique and interesting. Sandy Shortt has a missing persons agency in Ireland, when ironically while meeting a client in Limerick, she up and disappears. Her client, Jack Ruttle, finds her abandoned car and is worried, but he can't get anyone who knows her to share his concern. Sandy has a habit of taking off and not letting anyone know where she's going, so all who know her treat her disappearance casually. In order to compensate for his feeling of hopelessness in the search for his brother, he becomes obsessed with finding her. Meanwhile Sandy has found herself in a strange land with quite a few of the missing people she has spent all of her adult life searching for. She begins to share stories of the loved one's that are still searching for the people in the community, making them happy and frightened in equal measures. She is also discovering missing items that she has obsessively looked for all throughout her life. This book had kind of A Wizard of Oz theme to it, one of my childhood favorites so I liked this book.

Anatomy of Fear by Jonathan Santlofer

This was a really quick read but a terrific new mystery series. Nate Rodriguez is a sketch artist for the NYPD, his drawings are interpersed throughout the book, a surprisingly welcome addition in a fiction novel. Nate also has a bit of second sight, the "perps" he draws are occassionally not from victims descriptions, sometimes he just sees them and draws them out of his own imagination. When a detective sees an accused criminal and the exact likeness to said man in Nate's drawing, she enlists his expertise in a murder investigation. The case involves an artist as well, left with each body is a drawing of the murder, drawn with such detail that Nate is sure the victim was not just killed but stalked as well. It was an engrossing book, I kept dragging my poor dog out for walks to get back to my reading! Always a good sign when I can't wait to get back to a book, his next installment of this character will be out in April. I'll be reading it, and trying his other series as well.

The Perfect Match by Kimberly Cates

I love this authors romances and once again this one didn't disappoint. Rowena Brown has felt like an outsider, with her family, with her new town. One place she's always felt loved is amongst the animals she rescues and sells into homes with families that will cherish them. When her newest orphan tears up an older ladies teapot collection and proceeds to get himself arrested (as arrested as a dog can actually get), Rowena meets the hero of our story. Cash Lawless is overrun, with his job as a lawman, his single father status with his one daughter who is handicapped and his other who is just plain sad, and now a huge dog whom Rowena insists should become a new member of his family. Once again I came away from this book misty-eyed, as I do in most of her books, and hoping she writes again soon.

The Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman in Audio Form

With all my insatiable reading I haven't ever picked up a Tony Hillerman book, I did enjoy the movies made from three of the books (Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, Thief of Time) but this was the first time I had actually sat down with one of the series. I liked it. Tribal policeman Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is now retired, his protegee Sgt Jim Chee on the verge of getting married to Bernadette Manuelito. They're both drawn into a case involving missing diamonds, a 1956 two-plane collision, and a mystery man who may dwell somewhere in the Grand Canyon. Soon Chee, his friend Cowboy Dashee, and Bernie are venturing into the Grand Canyon to find the mystery man in order to clear Cowboy's cousin Billy Tuve of a robbery charge. Soon it becomes apparent that more than just they are in the canyon and the others might not have such selfless motivation. It was a quick read, only 6 CD's, and unabridged at that so I found that aspect of the book appealing. I also liked the characters, Bernie and Jim are a good couple and Cowboy and Billy are entertaining too.

Cold as Ice by Anne Stuart

Another romantic suspense novel, this book is also part of a series but I'm behind on even purchasing the other installments. In this one, second of the series, Genevieve Spencer gets more than she bargains for when she tries to deliver legal documents to a rich man, Harry Van Dorn, on his yacht. He turns out to be a villian, not above kidnapping women just to abuse them and throw them overboard. Luckily for Genevieve, there is also a secret agent from a clandestine agency on board and he was sent on a deep cover mission to kill Van Dorn. Whether or not she gets saved or saves herself, keeps the suspense level high, and the romance is one of those hate/love beginnings that always makes a good plot point.