The Vendetta Defense,  by Lisa Scottoline

Philadelphia lawyer Judy Carrier has been handed a tough case.  Tony Lucia, seventy-nine, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Angelo Coluzzi, a fellow senior citizen.  Tony is known as 'Pigeon Tony' because he has raised racing pigeons all his life.  Judy is acquainted with friends of Tony and she agrees to be his lawyer.  The case is tough because Tony readily admits to killing Angelo.  But, in his mind, it is not murder. He feels he is revenging the murder of his beloved wife, Silvana, by Angelo over fifty years ago.  Silvana had been courted by both men but she chose Tony.  The murder happened in Italy during World War II and Angelo was never charged.  Both men immigrated to Philadelphia after the war and remained bitter enemies.  Judy must figure out why Tony killed Angelo so long after the murder of his wife and somehow come up with a defense that will keep him from being sentenced to death.  I enjoyed this book with its courtroom drama interspersed with flashbacks to Tony's life in Italy and his courtship of Silvana.
 

Hit List, by Lawrence Block

Hit Man, Block's very entertaining earlier novel, introduced us to John Keller, a stamp collecting regular guy living in New York City who just happens to be a hit man.  Now, Keller is back and he's got a problem.  Another unknown hit man has decided it would be a great idea to kill off his competition and he's started eliminating Keller's fellow hit men one by one.  Keller's afraid he may be next so he and Dot, who handles his bookings, concoct a wacky scheme to bring this other hit man out into the open so Keller can take care of him and get his life back to normal--or what passes for normal when you're a hit man.  As with the previous novel, the fun comes from the inner workings of Keller's mind as he goes about his trade and the terrific comedy act he has going on with Dot.
 

The Last Lover, by Laura Van Wormer

This is the first novel I've read by Van Wormer.   Sally Harrington is a Connecticut newspaper journalist who also works part-time for a local television station.  Things are going ok until she and her boyfriend, Spencer Hawes, fly out to Hollywood to attend a celebrity book launch.  At the party they meet Lilliana Martin, a gorgeous and famous actress.  The next day, Lilliana and Spencer both turn up missing. And, they stay missing.  Sally was the last person to be with them and the police suspect she is involved in some way.  As Sally investigates their disappearances--as part of her job but also for personal reasons--her life will be increasingly in danger the closer she comes to the truth of what happened to her friends.   Van Wormer is billed as a master of romantic suspense--by The New York Times, no less.  Maybe, but her latest could have used a little more romance and suspense. It was pretty good but not great.
 

Black Lotus, by Laura Joh Rowland

Samurai-detective Sano Ichiro, our Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, is back in this sixth installment of one of my favorite detective series.  The place is Edo and the time is Year 6, Month 8 of the Genroku Period.  For the rest of us, that's Tokyo in September 1693.  Sano is called in to investigate a fire at the mysterious and powerful Black Lotus sect that has killed a high-ranking police official and an unidentified woman and child.  A fifteen-year-old orphan girl named Haru is found dazed near the remains of the fire.  She claims to have no memory of how the fire started but Sano soon has her as his chief suspect.  Reiko, Sano's wife, has assisted him in past investigations and she's not so sure.  She interviewed Haru at Sano's request and she feels that Haru may be innocent.  She thinks that several of the Black Lotus leaders have acted suspiciously and she wants Sano to take a closer look at them.  As the investigation continues, Sano and Reiko become so convinced that each is correct that they are soon working against each other and their once happy marriage is put in jeopardy.  Worse, they have both been targeted for death.  Great characters and wonderful historical detail make this a worthy addition to the series and, as usual, I enjoyed my brief sojourn in medieval Japan.
 

Chosen Prey, by John Sandford

Ok, listen up!  The latest serial killer to vex Minneapolis Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport is a college art history professor!  James Qatar is his name and he is definitely a fun character to get to know--as are all college art professors, of course.  Qatar had started out just drawing his victims but has now moved on to killing them.  Lucas is sort of at loose ends--trying to decide if he wants to get married--and he decides to take the case.  It won't be an easy one because there isn't much information to go on.  All he knows is that the victims were young, blond, and involved in some way with art.  Assisting Lucas are his usual sidekicks Del and Marcy and they are all in top form with their wisecracks and put-downs.  Sandford takes time to poke some gentle fun--with broad brushstrokes--at the academic world and it all comes together in a delightful composition.
 
 

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