Spotlight on an Author

Catherine Coulter

Well-known for her bestselling FBI thrillers, Catherine Coulter has also written historical romances which is how she became an author. I first discovered her through the book The Deception but soon became an avid fan of her suspense mysteries. The thrillers are unpredictable and riveting with just the right amount of romance- enough to keep you interested without overwhelming the plot. The Cove is the first book in her FBI series, but the books can be read out of order; I started with Whiplash. The main characters are a man and woman, the same characters pop up throughout the series but they are not always the main focus. The woman are strong and self-sufficient without being overbearing and the men are the same.
The historical romances are both accurate and engaging. The women are not the type to faint away at the sight of blood and yes, the men are stereotypically nefarious or blustery saying things like, "Damnation!" and being ruggedly handsome.

The Cove

Sally Brainerd is on the run; her high-profile father has been murdered and more than one person is after her. Her estranged husband wants to put her back into the mental institution she escaped from, the doctor who abused her in her incarceration wants control over her again, and Special Agent James Quinlan is undercover and in hot pursuit. Sally's father was into something dangerous and Sally may have the clues James needs to solve the case.
Sally escapes to the Cove, a tiny town that caters to tourists by selling their famous World's Greatest Ice Cream. The Cove is not just a small town full of the elderly and infirm however, something sinister lurks beneath the quaint exterior of charm; something dangerous...

   The Deception

Evangeline de Beauchamps is part English and part French, she lives in France with her father during the Napoleonic era. One night her father is kidnapped by supporters of Napoleon who want to see the Emperor take back the Empire taken from him by the English.  Evangeline is chosen to become a spy to the Duke of Portsmouth because her cousin was once married to the Duke before she died. Evangeline has no choice, she must worm her way into the Duke's household so that she can pass information onto the French, if she refuses then her father will die.

Evangeline persuades the Duke to give her a position as governess to his young son Edward. But as time passes Evangeline's guilt grows along with her feelings towards the Duke and his son. Her position is made harder by the fact that the Duke's friend was murdered by French supporters and the Duke himself is vehemently anti-Napoleon.

I will admit the story is a little hokey, it's all melodrama and instant attraction but well the worth the read if you ever find yourself bored on a rainy afternoon.

Postcard Killers

By James Patterson and Liza Marklund

This story will make you think twice about meeting strangers while on vacation...
Europe is being plagued by serial killers; an unknown couple is murdering young honeymooners all over the continent. Before they do, they send a postcard to a local newspaper with a Shakespeare quote warning the world that another murder has been committed.
The killers meet unsuspecting honeymooners and persuade them to go back to their hotel, they then brutally murder the two and escape before anyone finds the bodies.

Jack Kanon is an American policeman and his daughter Kimmy was murdered in Rome with her new husband by the postcard killers. Hunting down the murdering couple becomes his obsessive goal and he follows them across Europe as they leave a trail of bodies in their wake. 

Dessie Larsson is a Swedish journalist who receives a mysterious postcard in the mail, she frantically realizes it's the calling card of the postcard killers. Jack catches up with her and together they work to find out who and where the postcard killers are and who they may be killing next...

It was a good thriller; twists and turns abound and it's exciting to delve deeper into the minds of the psycho killers, especially when it turns out that they are murdering in the name of art.

  

The Adjustment Bureau

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthonie Mackie, Terence Stamp, John Slattery

Rating: PG-13

Score: 3/4

Based on the short story Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick, this is a story revolving around the concepts of fate, predestination, and free will.

David Norris is a popular New York politician running for the US Senate. Because of his rowdy ways, he does not win. On election night he goes to the bathroom to review his concession speech and meets Elise, a free-spirited dancer hiding from security because she crashed a wedding.
Only a few days later he meets Elise on a bus and they flirt back and forth realizing they are attracted to each other. She gives David her phone number. But David will have a hard time calling her because the adjustment team is on his tail.

The Adjustment Bureau is a secret organization that keeps everyone "on plan." The head of the bureau, the Chairman, has created a plan for every human on Earth and they have to stick to it. David's plan does not let him be together with Elise, he is meant to do great things but can't if he stays with her.  David doesn't like the idea of fate and decides to fight for free will by doing everything he can to find Elise.

There are obvious parallels between adjusters and angels, and the idea of the Chairman as God. It's a thought provoking story; are we here to fulfill a fate already planned for us or do we have the choice to do what we want with our lives?

It's not a confusing storyline to follow as some critics are saying, it's pretty straightforward and I would recommend it.

A Royal Likeness
By Christine Trent

Marguerite is a doll maker, she lives with her husband Nicholas in London and together they own a doll shop. But, this is during the Napoleonic Wars and even though Marguerite is a loyal British citizen, her name is enough to make a French-hating mob show up at her front door. They destroy the shop and kill her beloved Nicholas. Stricken with grief Marguerite retreats into seclusion at her friends' estate in the countryside.

In an effort to convince her to move on with her life, her friends apprentice her to Madame Tussaud, a French wax worker who has a traveling show. Marguerite agrees and travels to Edinburgh with Marie Toussaud and her young son. There, she meets the smarmy owner of the show traveling with Madame Tussaud's, Philip Philipsthal. Marie has some kind of mysterious obligation to Philip that she won't tell Marguerite, they stand in corners arguing in whispers and then refuse to tell Marguerite what is wrong.

In Edinburgh, Marguerite also meets the taciturn Hastings, a Navy officer under the great Nelson. He doesn't smile, doesn't laugh, barely talks, but somehow he intrigues Marguerite and in turn finds himself intrigued by her. But soon, Margueurite will find herself caught between Hastings and his friend Brax, the polar opposite of Hastings. One of them is a traitor to the Crown and a danger to her life...

The story culminates with the Battle of Trafalgar...and somehow Marguerite is on a ship right in the middle of it!

The beginning of the book can be a little too sticky sweet, it took me until about the middle of the book to actually start liking Marguerite. The Battle of Trafalgar was my favorite part because she finally started acting sensibly. We meet many real people: Admiral Nelson, William Pitt, Charles Fox, and even Madame Tussaud herself. At 384 pages it's thick, but a very easy read. By the end, I found myself rooting for Marguerite and a certain someone, however, I did think the ending was a little melodramatic.