Eight of Swords (Tarot Card Mystery 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Eight Of Swords" by David Skibbins - ISBN 0-312-33906-2

In the early `70s, he was an active member of the notorious Weathermen. Assumed dead for 30 years, Warren Ritter, latter-day, anarchist, makes a living reading Tarot cards on Telegraph Ave. in Berkley, California.
Now, fifty-five years old, he has a comfortable life: frequent forays into book stores for poetic sustenance, once a month to the shooting range with his favorite cop on the beat, cruising at 90 mph on an Aprilia RSV Mille motorcycle, and therapy sessions for manic depression on Wednesday's.
When out of no-where his older sister, Tara, discovers he is still alive, on the same day he gave an ominous reading to young, Heather Wellington, who has been kidnapped: it rocks his world.
Trying to still his fears, salvage his anonymity, life-style, and fend off an inevitable guilt trip, Warren tries to assuage Tara's outrage. But he's shocked to find out he has a daughter, and about to become a grandfather.
Panic escalates when Heather's mother also disappears. Then one of the victims is found murdered. Since both women were last seen in the company of Warren, he becomes a suspect.
Having the police and F.B.I. nosing around in his violent past just isn't cricket. Newly birthed with paternal feelings and pricked with guilt, Warren-anti-establishment-Ritter, the hunted, becomes the hunter.

David Skibbins' development of the characters and their interaction is well-crafted. But, the first-person musings of Warren Ritter are priceless. More than once I winced at his cheeky sarcasm.
Although some readers' recollection of the infamous Weathermen may be a little rusty, Warren's past affiliation with them was an integral part of his character profile. As more information about their activities is divulged, a better understanding of the depth of his fear of being caught and an appreciation of Warren's diverse capabilities is realized.
A fragile art that can't be forced, writing humor effectively is elusive to some scribes. In EIGHT OF SWORDS, subtle glimpses to brazen, in-your-face laughs stalk the pages. I can't remember the last tome I read that tickled my funny bone so well, so often. Yet, it did not clash with the killer / survival instincts Warren needed to "kick butt" and bring the murder mystery to an "anti-establishment" conclusion. You gotta' love him.
Get ready. Don your leathers. Grab your helmet. Straddle that chrome pony, (careful: hot pipes!) A new dude in town has just been jump-started. Name: Warren Ritter, he's over fifty, revved and long over-due.
It's about time.




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A Pointed Death (Pointer Mystery Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Pointed Death is a very well written, compelling mystery that brings together murder, corporate intrigue, bioscience, and one truly fine pointer dog named Skootch. In the interest of full disclosure, I must reveal that the author was kind enough to provide me with a copy of her book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I must also state that I have never given a five star rating to a first time author with a self published novel. This one is truly deserving.
I started this book with much trepidation. I know nothing about the biotechnology business or finance, two areas that play a large role in this story. For the first thirty pages or so, I was feeling a bit lost as the author seemed to be providing me with too much information. It wasn't long however until her characters of Nola, Janie Belle, and of course Skootch had me completely invested in the story. When Nola discovered a headless body that just happened to belong to a disgraced ex-employee, I was intrigued. When she met Harrison, fraud detective with caramel eyes, I was even more intrigued. When she started playing amateur sleuth and began discovering all the intricate threads that connected into a very ugly web of corporate and international crime I was totally hooked.
The author has a very readable writing style that flows well. She infuses her story with quite a bit of humour, often provided by Skootch the totally lovable dog. Nola is a fierce middle aged woman, often despairing of her current situations, but ever confident in her own abilities. She's a great character; a woman of intelligence and talent who steadfastly refuses to take herself too seriously. Her relationship with Harrison was very nicely portrayed in a way that added further unexpected depth to Nola's character.
The author obviously loves San Francisco as she includes a lot of descriptions of the city and it's surroundings. I was initially a bit put off by this, but soon came to appreciate the role the city played in the story. Her descriptions are so well done she has essentially created another character. By the end, I felt that I had actually been there.
As with all mysteries, in the end, the plot is the thing, and that is perhaps what surprised me most about this book. It is just expertly paced and plotted. There were no gaping holes of implausibility, no chapters that should have been left out or repetition of facts, or any of those other elements that often plague first time writers. This is a great example of mystery storytelling. I now know a bit more about finance, biotech, San Francisco, Episcopal Church Services, and Pointer Dogs. I was also late for work and fixed my kids frozen pizza for dinner so I could finish this up and find out how it ended! The author states in her final acknowledgements that this is a "silly escapist book". Perhaps I will only add that this is in fact a thinking person's escapist book. It was a fun ride and one that I would recommend to any mystery lover.

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The Lost Gold of San Francisco Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a fan of historical fiction. But as the former editor of San Francisco's city magazine, I'm picky when it comes to stories set in SF. The romance, the history, the twists and turns and exotic corners of the city invite mystery writers, but a story can't just be 'set' in San Francisco, it has to be saturated with the feel, the sounds, the air. Michael Castleman delivers it all with a well-crafted plot that draws on the minted gold wealth upon which the city was founded...and the shaky fault-ridden ground that gave way in the catastrophes of 1906 and 1989. A tough-minded reporter of the breed that once made the city famous (Mark Twain penned much of his work a short walk from the famous San Francisco Mint which is at the center of Castleman's novel), pursues the story of the mysterious lost gold and in the course of his investigation almost...ok, no spoilers. San Francisco has delivered some of the greatest mystery writers, and Castleman seems ready to join their ranks. (An added bonus: those who know the city well will love matching up some of the books most colorful characters with their famous and notorious real life counterparts.)

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This intricately-plotted mystery thriller is charged by priceless missing Mint gold framed between the two big earthquakes of 1906 and 1989.The day before the 1906 earthquake, the US Army failed to pick up $130,000 in mis-struck $20 gold pieces at the San Francisco Mint. These coins' S mint marks had been accidentally double-struck SS and they were to be melted down in Denver. After the Big One, the coins dissapear; only two are ever found. These are the most storied coins in US history, with the others known as the Lost Gold of San Francisco. In 1989 Chester Worthington Gilchrist III, billionaire publisher of the San Francisco Foghorn newspaper donates his priceless coin collection -- with one of the SS pieces -- to the California Museum. Then the founder of the Museum, a contoversial figure, turns up murdered. Brash reporter Ed Rosenberg chases the story . More bodies drop, and Ed suspects a connection to the Lost Gold.

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Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery Review

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(More customer reviews)This historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco is a complete package of a modified locked room puzzle, more than one murder, daring undercover snooping, romantic tension and a few twists and turns for a powerhouse of a debut novel.
When I finished this book I immediately missed Annie (a liberated woman ahead of her time!) and the other characters, showing just how well they had been brought to life and made, dare I say...memorable. The mystery was well plotted so I went down the wrong path along with the police at first. The setting of Victorian San Francisco and period details are rich and layered, easily woven in the overall story from the attitudes towards Chinese and class divisions to the strict propriety rules restricting women. The journey back in time seemed so complete I felt jarred if pulled back into the modern world when my reading was interrupted.
The climax and revealing of the murderer was tense and an edge-of-your-seat ordeal where Annie is in very real danger. The ending was satisfying and I put the book down smiling at the wrap-up.
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It's the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie's husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt.Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco's most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl's clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen.Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior.Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco.

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