Deadly Decisions,  by Kathy Reichs

Dr. Tempe Brennan, the American forensic anthropologist who works in Montreal, is back in this third book by Reichs.  Tempe is called in to try to identify the uncovered bones of two bikers who were killed in a gang war between two motorcycle groups.  At the dig, another set of bones is found and Tempe is able to determine that the victim ws a teenage girl.  But, who was she and what happened to her?  Tempe's search will take her to North Carolina, where the girl grew up.  She will get caught up in the world of outlaw biker gangs--both as part of her investigation and to try to protect her visiting nephew, who is fascinated by motorcycles and may be hanging out with a dangerous crowd.  Tempe must also contend with the arrest of her cop boyfriend, Andrew Ryan, charged with dealing drugs.  His arrest shocks her and makes her question her ability to judge people.  Could she have been so wrong about him?  I'm still having trouble keeping the various Montreal police departments straight and some of Tempe's colleagues are just vague blobs but the story is pretty good and the forensic science is always interesting.
 

On Secret Service, by John Jakes

It's been awhile since I've read a John Jakes novel.  You may remember him for The Kent Family Chronicles and the North and South trilogy.  With this latest book, Jakes returns to the period of the Civil War.  Lon Price is a young man working for Allan Pinkerton's investigations and protection agency.  When the war begins, he wants to enlist as a soldier on the Union side but Pinkerton convinces him that he would be more useful as a secret agent working for General George McClellan.  As the war progresses, Lon will be sent behind enemy lines, spend time in a Confederate prison, and fall in love with a Rebel sympathizer living in Washington, DC.  Lon will eventually end up on the new Secret Service that is protecting President Lincoln.  His first assignment in his new job is investigating a shadowy conspiracy involving a certain Mr. Booth and his girlfriend's brother.  I enjoyed this well-researched look at the Civil War from a different perspective and I especially liked the interweaving of real and fictional characters.
 

Wild Justice, by Phillip Margolin

Amanda Jaffe, newly minted attorney, has joined her father Frank's law practice in Portland, Oregon.  Her first big case is assisting her father in the defense of Vincent Cardoni, a surgeon who has been accused of serial murders by mutilation and dismemberment.  Although the evidence is overwhelming, the police obtained it by illegal means and it is all thrown out in court and Cardoni is released.  Cardoni had accused his ex-wife Justine of setting him up but before he can prove anything he disappears with just his severed hand left as evidence of his death.  Four years pass and new murders are discovered that fit the pattern of the original deaths.  This time, however, all the evidence points to  Justine and she is arrested for the latest crimes.  Amanda is hired as her attorney and she gets drawn into the dangerous, tangled web of finding out the identity of the killer.  This is a great mystery/suspense novel with lots of twists and turns, plenty of villains and heroes, and a lawyer you want to root for.  I'm ready for your next case, Amanda.
 

The Secret, by Harold Robbins

I guess this is probably Harold Robbins last novel (calling Vincent Lardo!) since he has died.  It is billed as a sequel to The Predators--which I can't remember ever reading.  But, no matter.  This book can be read on its own.  The main characters are Jerry Cooper and his son Len; each of them alternates chapters telling the story.  Jerry has come up the hard way.  After some shady business deals, Jerry has two million dollars to invest and he decides to start a lingerie business called Cheeks--modeled along the lines of Victoria's Secret.  While he is starting his new business, Len is growing up and Jerry and his wife Giselle are determined that Len will have all the advantages that they were denied as youths.  Eventually, Len will join his father in the business when it expands into Asia.  Along the way they battle the mob and cutthroat Chinese business partners as they build the company.  I have to confess that I am at a loss as to what 'the secret' was.  There was one revelation in the book but it didn't seem all that important to me.  Maybe someone can enlighten me.  If you are a Harold Robbins fan you might want to read this 'last' novel but I can't recommend it very highly.  Most of the characters weren't likable and Robbins was unable to make the startup and expansion of a business interesting.  Rather a flat swan song.
 

Shattered, by Dick Francis

Gerard Logan is a talented glassblower with a shop and workspace in the small English tourist village of Broadway.  His best friend is champion jockey Martin Stukely and on December 31, 1999, they are off to the races, where Martin will be riding in several of the events. In the last race of the day, a steeplechase, Martin is killed when his horse stumbles on one of the hurdles and falls on him.  As a shocked Gerard is leaving the racecourse, Martin's valet hands him a videotape that Martin had intended to give him after the last race.  Before Gerard can view the tape, it is stolen from his shop during the millennium festivities. The theft of the video leads to Gerard being attacked by four people in masks who believe that he still has the video or knows where it is.  Gerard is lucky to escape but to preserve his life he needs to find out why the video is so important and what happened to it.  Helping him is and unlikely group that includes a computer whiz kid, an ex-con, Martin's widow Bon-Bon, and a beautiful policewoman who captures his heart.  I read somewhere that this might be Francis's last novel--he says that at eighty years old it's getting more difficult for him to write.  And, his wife, who assisted him with his research, has passed away.  Well, I hope not.  He may have lost a step or two but a Francis novel is still something to look forward to and Shattered was both a good mystery and a fascinating introduction to the art of glassblowing.
 

A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks

This is the first book that I've read by Sparks and I liked it.  The place is Beaufort, North Carolina, and the time is 1958.  Landon Carter, forty years later, looks back and relates the story of his last year of high school.  Growing up in the small town of Beaufort has been mostly a happy experience for Landon.  His family is well-off and his only complaint is that his father is not around much--he's in Washington most of the time serving as the area's congressman.  Landon has been a happy-go-lucky  indifferent student and as he starts his senior year he's worried about getting into college.  His father suggests he run for senior class president--that will look good on his college applications.  Landon wins the election and that, in turn, sets into motion events which will throw him into contact with Jamie Sullivan, the quiet, bible-toting, goody-two-shoes, unpopular daughter of the town's Baptist minister.  Landon's involvement with Jamie--his seemingly polar opposite--will profoundly change his life.  Forty years later he remembers all the momentous events with crystal clarity.  The cover of this book shows a beautiful autumn scene and it's a very enjoyable little novel to sit and read on a fall day.
 
 

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