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Dying in the Dark
Valerie Wilson Wesley
Ballentine
228 pp., 12.95

CINNAMON KISS

Walter Mosley

Little, Brown

312 pp., 24.95

CINNAMON KISS opens with Easy Rawlins struggling with the thought of robbing an armored car in order to provide his daughter, Feather an expensive medical treatment.  Though Easy has operated outside the law before, this “sure thing” his friend Mouse has presented him with provides Easy a considerable amount of angst. Then another friend, Saul Lynx, offers Easy a more palatable job investigating the disappearance of an eccentric attorney whose assistant of sorts, the beautiful and mysterious Philomena "Cinnamon" Cargill, is gone as well. Easy’s new employer, Robert Lee, is as suspect as the man who disappeared.

In CINNAMON KISS Mosley deftly takes the reader on a journey from the hate and racism of World War II Germany to free love and acid trippin’ in California’s Haight-Ashbury in the 1960’s. This smart, witty novel is WM at his best.  It’s a perfect mystery that pulls the reader in from the opening scene and drops him right into the action---and there’s plenty of it---with memorable characters and believable storylines that blend to make this a perfectly enjoyable read.  This is the best Easy Rawlins novel I’ve read in a long time. CK would make and excellent movie and I hope it’s brought to the screen. CS Rating: 5 Handcuffs.

Blind Trust
Leslie Esdaile Banks
Dafina
276 pp., 15.00

This tale opens with financial genius Laura Caldwell in the midst of the hurricane - ravaged Caribbean where her Cayman Island villa has been left in ruins. She hasn't heard from her man in about a year, and some old adversaries have started to take revenge for Laura's part in bringing down Philadelphia's power brokers. After a series of threats, and then when her uncle is implicated in a murder, Laura and her allies set out to expose a group of murderous extortionists.
Blind Trust offers the reader excellent writing, intriguing plot and nicely developed characters. So why was this story so boring that I could only finish a very painful 100 pages? This story is like coming to the theater halfway through a production. I never felt connected to the plot or the characters and if a story doesn't make you feel a part of the action in 100 pages, what's the point in reading more? It just didn't move me. Perhaps readers of the author's prior work Betrayal of Trust could really get into this book, but for someone who had just learned of this author, the story was so uninspiring that I am not interested in the reading Betrayal of Trust. Rating:1

Getting Hers
Donna Hill
St. Martin’s Press
224 pp., 19.95

How many times have we seen this story? From Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train (1951), to the scores of imitators in film and print. The tale of a chance meeting by strangers who wind up getting each other to permanently dispose of the others headache is a classic. In Hill’s treatment, three strikingly different, very beautiful and successful women meet in the GYN office and due to a power outage find themselves bonding and ultimately, agreeing to kill for each other.

I must say I wasn’t expecting much from Getting Hers (I have Ms. Hill’s Rhythms, but never got through it), but I really enjoyed this book. Hill’s refreshing approach kept me turning pages. The fact that Vincent was in some form of law enforcement, positioned to trap Tess, wasn’t a surprise. But I got a kick out of the inclusion of a train scene and the sister, Tracy, all over Madame X like Jean Val jean. This is a thoroughly enjoyable work and a ChocolateSleuth.com recommend. 3 1/2

The Company You Keep
Angela Henry
BET/Sepia
211,pp., 14.00

 Kendra Clayton supplements her income by working in her uncle’s restaurant, where gossip is always on the menu. When Kendra’s friend Bernie’s philandering boyfriend is found murdered on Bernie’s property, Kendra is surprised when she is implicated in the crime. The only way Kendra can save herself is by doing some investigating of her own. As her curiosity draws her deeper into the case, she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to a man who may hold the missing pieces to the puzzle.

The Company You Keep is a fast-paced, humorous read. Henry’s easy writing style and strategic placement of red herrings, keep readers guessing throughout. Despite the absence of traditional gritty action of some mysteries (The I.D. of the killer wasn’t a surprise but the encounter with Kendra in the bathroom scared the sh** out of me), this is a good mystery and doesn’t disappoint. Some of the details didn’t ring true---Kendra was twenty-eight but made repeated reference to things more befitting a forty-eight year old (Christy Love, Huggy Bear, goo-goo-eyes, processed hair, etc.). And it’s hard to fathom anyone 28 years old in America who listens to cassette tapes and doesn’t have a CD player. The Company You Keep is an enjoyable read and a CS recommend. Rating: 3    

                                                                                         ***

 
The Blackbird Papers
Ian Smith
Doubleday, 336 pp., 24.95

World renowned Dartmouth professor Wilson Bledsoe is hunted down and brutally murdered on his way home from a party celebrating his latest honor. Wilson’s brother, and FBI agent Sterling Bledsoe inserts himself into the search for the killer. He discards the pat solution that local authorities are ready to accept that racists killed Wilson. Sterling believes his brother’s demise was based on a different motivation. He theorizes the murder had something to do with Wilson’s pet project, the alarming number of blackbird deaths in the area. Sterling searches for clues he is certain his brother left that would shine light upon the mystery and bring the killer to justice.  

With quality writing from the first page, Ian Smith pulls the reader into each scene with deft, masterful prose. The descriptions are detailed without becoming mired and slowing the story. The imagery of Wilson’s flight from his attackers, and later, the condition of the body, is vivid and deeply affecting. The only minus I would give this effort is that the brother, FBI agent Sterling Bledsoe triumphed in every obstacle during the investigation of his brother’s murder. If he asked a question, it was answered right away. If he went looking for something it didn’t take long to find it. Another thing I found weird was that his brother was murdered but there wasn’t a scene with Sterling telling his girlfriend and though he was out of town dealing with this tragedy, she never called to check on him. I would love to see a prequel to The Blackbird Papers exploring Sterling’s depression. Chocolatesleuth.com highly recommends this book and we look forward to Ian Smith’s next novel. Rating: 4

                                                                                     ***

In Search of Pretty Young Black Men
Stanley Bennett Clay
Atria
163, pp.,15.95 

Dorian Moore, a mysterious and seductive young man provides comfort to the moneyed, the neglected, the lost, and the lonely, in an elegant hilltop community in Southern California. Lester and Maggie Lester-Allegro look for comfort outside of their loveless marriage, unaware of a shocking link they share in their quest for love.

The prologue draws the reader in to the story but the first fourteen chapters are filled with over-the-top shock drivel that doesn’t take advantage of the strong concept that the author has created. Though Dorian's heritage wasn't a surprise there was so much meat to the very idea and neither the story nor the characters were fully developed. Clay’s writing is melodic and he has talent but it’s overshadowed by the lack of character and story development. The female characters were too flamboyant and their voices didn’t ring true. They should have been a footnote rather than filling chapter after chapter. There was much more depth in the male characters. The scenes between Dorian and Lester, Raymond Harris and Lester, and Larry Grayson and Lester make the readers feel for these men. You really wanted to know more about them. Though there is a murder this isn’t a mystery in the traditional sense. The author makes mention of a Rashomon-esque quality about the fate of the murder victim. If this was the goal the mark was missed. This book leaves the reader in search of a complete story. Rating: 1

                                                                                        ***

THE SAVIOR
Faye Snowden
Kensington
384 pp.,9.95

With brains, ambition, and the help of her wealthy benefactor, Luke Bertrand, Kendra Hamilton worked her way from the treacherous ghetto called The Pit in Dunhill County, California to become a medical doctor. When her mother Violet becomes the latest fatality in the drug infested Pit, Kendra suspects foul play. She believes that a serial killer is on the loose and tries to get stubborn Detective Rich Marvel to investigate. The investigation uncovers a trail of corruption, betrayal and madness. The apparent perpetrator, neither Rich nor Kendra is ready to accept.

The jacket back would make the reader believe that this is Kendra’s story but after more that forty dreary pages of Rich’s relationship with socialite Dinah Webster, I wasn’t sure whose story this was. Rich Marvel was good looking and ambitious. He became engaged to a woman from a prominent family hoping he’d lose the grime of growing up in The Pit by association. There was no love in his relationship with Dinah and the readers have to read through this excruciatingly boring union until the story picks up with the introduction of Kendra. It was apparent who the killer was by page fifty. The mystery was in the motive. This and the underlying sexual tension between Rich and Kendra kept me engaged in the story. But the buildups ended in disappointment for me. By page 100 I was just bored. Page 150---Kendra, frustrated with the lack of interest by the police in going forward on the investigation, begins to do her own sleuthing. When she and Rich finally get together it’s like wet fire crackers on the Fourth of July. The reason Luke was so invested in Kendra was never explained (or maybe I was asleep during that part). The April cut-aways were written well but distracting.

The author’s phrasing is good. The characters were developed well and the story concept was creative. But it lacked punch and was way too long. I look forward to reading future work from Ms. Snowden because she is a good writer. This book just didn’t excite me. Rating: 2

                                                                                         ***

A HEART'S AWAKENING
Veronica Parker
Genesis Press
220 pp., 9. 95

Artist Gloria Strum is so hung up on skin color and materialism that she doesn’t realize that her husband, Dr. Trai Baker has a gambling and sexual addiction. When Trai is killed in a car accident leaving behind a pile of debts and a one million dollar life insurance policy, foul play is suspected. Officer Morgan Peterson suspects Gloria is involved and opens an investigation. Destitute and rejected by her high society friends, Gloria packs what she can’t sell and returns to the small town of her birth to live with her parents. In order to survive, she has to swallow her pride and get a job as a waitress. In time, Gloria not only discovers true friendship, but she discovers true love, in carpenter Jackson Montgomery and she discovers her true self.

First, the negatives. The blurb on the back jacket of this books reads as follows: Lawyer DeAndra Blake has loved Judge Damon Kessler since she was fifteen years old…The story moves from D.C., Detroit and then Chicago where a stalker is on the loose. I start reading the book. None of the aforementioned characters are in the story, which takes place in Vermont. Perhaps our copy was just a bad one that slipped through the cracks.  The first forty pages did too much “telling” without as much “showing” how Gloria was. All of the emphasis on eye color and skin color was a bit annoying. Officer Morgan Peterson became simply Officer Morgan after he was first introduced. Was this an oversight or intentional? Later in the book, Jackson’s brother died in Vietnam. Jackson is only thirty-four and the war ended for the U.S. more than thirty years ago. It’s hard to fathom that Jackson could have had a relationship with a brother when there was such an age disparity.  With that said, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced story that I couldn’t put down. I loved the writer’s style and character development. A Heart’s Awakening is a great mystery-romance and I look forward to reading more from Miss Parker in the future. Rating: 3

                                                                                                                   ***

It's probably no surprise that the CS is partial to movies about writers. Over the holidays I had a chance to catch Under The Tuscan Sun (2003, Diane Lane) and Sylvia (2003, Gwneth Paltrow). Under The Tuscan Sun is about a novelist and reviewer (Lane) who finds out from a writer she'd given an unfavorable review to that her husband was having an affair with a younger woman. There was a subsequent divorce/depression. To pull her out of the doldrums her friends offer her a trip to Tuscany. Lane eventually accepts the offer. She not only purchases a beautiful old villa that she takes great pride in remodeling, but she also finds romance. I loved this story. Who hasn't wanted to just chuck it all and run away to some distant land? CS rating: 3

Sylvia, the story of the rocky marraige of poets Sylvia Plath and Edward Hughes was a cinematic dirge. I kept promting throughout the movie "kill yourself already I have to finish cooking my holiday dinner". This story of insecurity and infidelity was too plodding for my tastes. CS rating: 11/2

                                                                                                                 ***

IDA B.
Karen E. Quinones Miller
Simon & Schuster
231 pp., 22.00

This story opens with a look at the lives of the inhabitants of a subsidized housing complex but halfway through morphs into a murder mystery. With vivid descriptions of poverty and dispair, the reader is quickly transplanted into the story. That's the first two chapters. By chapter three I felt like some evil ghostwriter with a grudge against the author had taken over the keyboard.

The main characters are standard fare in popular fiction. Brenda Carver, the welfare mother with four kids by four different daddies; Rosa Rivera, the Latin spitfire and aspiring actress; Sharif Goldsby, the gay who's more man than the straight guys and finally, Vincent Harris, the criminal trying to scam his way to legitimacy. The writing style and pace is fresh and keeps you turning pages. But the book is riddled with errors that slow the story considerably. I didn't like the fact that the characters were so stereotypical. None of the adult blacks held regular jobs, attended college or trade school. The only white character lacked depth, and poor Rosa was portrayed as straight up trash. I quickly tired of all of her cussing "and shit" and was glad when officer Lopez put her in her place for being so self centered. Everyone who lives in the ghetto is not ghetto, as this novel seems to imply. Vincent was completely unbelievable. A black man who nearly beats a cop to death and lives to tell about it...yeah, right. Even with that, I would have liked to see his character developed more completely. Rating: 2

                                                                                                                  ***

LITTLE SCARLET
Walter Mosley
Little, Brown & Co.
306 pp., 24.95

Set during the 1965 Watts riots Mosley's viceral account---the acrid smell of charred ruins, the property destruction, the tension in the air---quickly places the reader into the virulence of the times in the ninth installment of The Easy Rawlins Series. The L.A. Police department taps “Research and Delivery” expert Easy Rawlins to help them solve the murder of a black woman last seen with a white male suspect. Detective Suggs reason for making this request of Easy is thin…to keep fresh riots from erupting. But when Suggs tosses out a few scenarios where the cops would have grounds to take Easy into custody if he refuses, he reluctantly begins the investigation.

With more than thirty characters, this tale flies as quickly as rounds from a sniper’s rifle. After the disappointment of Bad Boy Brawley Brown I was glad to see Mouse’s return, though his resurrection is not explained. I also liked that the list of players included Paris Minton and Fearless Jones, but the meandering way these two characters where pulled in added nothing to the storyline. Mosley captures the feeling of the time, the fear that had everyone on edge, the loss and the promise of the riots aftermath. Easy is older and feeling his age at every turn, refusing young sex and losing against young fists. This book continues the noir that we fell in love with in Mosley’s Devil In A Blue Dress and brings us back to the subject of passing and self-loathing, which unfortunately, still exists in our culture today. Little Scarlet is a must read for fans of the series. Rating: 4

                                                                                                                    ***

 DEAD BROKE is my latest book and you can get a copy of this sizzling thriller at www.iuniverse.com. AWMS fans will love this story of an insurance scheme that leads to murder. When the children of some of Audrey's clients begin to meet suspicious ends, Audrey defies Jules wishes and tries to get to the bottom of another mystery. Audrey is a mother herself now, so finding the killer is personal. Peace & Blessings...CM

ChocolateSleuth.com reviewers:

C.M. Miller
Saida Lincoln
E.J. Gordon