Book Review: Chain Reaction by Diane Fanning

This is not the first book by Diane Fanning that I have read. As a matter of fact, I have quite a few of her books on my book shelf. Chain Reaction is the latest in her Lucinda Pierce series.

I like this series. With each book, it's like getting back together with a friend. I like Lucinda.

When a bomb goes off at a high school, two bodies are found in the aftermath. The FBI move in to investigate, but Lucinda, a homicide investigator, doesn't agree with the FBI's theory of what happened. Lucinda begins to investigate on her own. She's not alone, though. She has the backup of her boyfriend, FBI Agent Jake Lovett.

In addition to the bombing, there's a suspicious teacher who's not above soliciting the male students.

I like books with female protagonists. I especially like ones like Lucinda: smart, determined, concerned, involved. The people in Fanning's books come to life. Some of them you'd like to sit down and have coffee with in the morning. Some you'd like to punch. There are no cartoon characters, only ones that are believable and relatable. Ones that you'd like to meet again in another book.

Tequila Sunset

Tequila Sunset is the second book I've read by Sam Hawken. It's set primarily in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which is just across the border from El Paso. Felipe "Flip" Morales is the main character in this tense story.

Flip, whether he wants to or not, joins the ruthless Azteca gang. Being part of a group or gang is necessary to survive. Over the course of Tequila Sunset, Flip is pulled deeper and deeper into the gang. At the same time, the police and a Mexican federal agent are trying to use him to rat on the Aztecas. They don't care that he's being forced to do things he does not want to do. Things that he will pay dearly for doing. What he wants is peace and a life with his girlfriend Graciela without violence

Nothing could be more dangerous for Flip. He's not only trying to survive, he has family that he needs to protect, as well as Graciela.

There's quite a bit of violence in the book, but that's the way it is in Flip's life. That's the way it is along the border of Mexico.

Tequila Sunset is a captivating and powerful book. And at times, very intense. 
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Disclaimer: Okay, what do you think of the cover? I think it's great. It really fits the story and the setting. My husband and I used to go into Mexico every year. Friends who lived close to the border would go across for dinner or lunch. But we haven't been in years, probably decades. It became too dangerous to go. The last time we went, we got to the border back into the U.S. and the border patrol guy waved us back into the U.S. without looking at our passports. It pays to have a Federal agent in the front seat. If I ever went back to Mexico, I think I'd look for the mask on the cover. I'd hang it on the living room wall. Probably wouldn't have relatives showing up at the front door unexpected.

Pearls and Poison

Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown is a cozy mystery. As in other books in this series, Reagan Summerside is up to her neck in craziness going on in town. If you've read a Consignment  Shop Mystery, then you know Reagan is like a daisy caught up in a wind storm. She tries not to get involved but, in this case, she has to stand up for her mom.

Reagan's mom is running for alderman and Regan supports her campaign. But then her mother's opponent in the race is poisoned. With her dead, Regan's mom becomes the number one suspect. From there things move fast, from costumes to sneak around in, to friends trying to help, and, of course, there's Boone, the best looking guy in Savannah … and possibly the most dangerous.

I think anyone would like this tale, whether you're from the South or not. I was born in Georgia and lived there ten years. I can relate to this community. But even if I weren't originally a Georgia peach, I would have liked Pearls and Poison. It moves fast, has characters who feel real (and the crazy ones could be my relatives), and is set in Savannah.

If you've never read a Consignment Shop Mystery, Pearls and Poison is a good place to start, but don't blame me if you get addicted.

Do you get into your characters?

I don't know about you, but I know a book-in-progress is going to be good when the characters take over. Apparently, it's not just my characters who do that. Carolyn J. Rose is here today to talk about her characters and to answer these two questions:

Do you get into your characters?

Or do they get into you?

In case you haven't already met Carolyn, let me tell you a bit about her.

Carolyn J. Rose is the author of several novels, including Hemlock Lake, Through a Yellow Wood, An Uncertain Refuge, Sea of Regret, A Place of Forgetting, No Substitute for Murder, and No Substitute for Money. She penned a young-adult fantasy, Drum Warrior, and a cozy mystery, Death at Devil’s Harbor, with her husband, Mike Nettleton, author of The Shotgun Kiss. 

She grew up in New York's Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She founded the Vancouver Writers' Mixers and is an active supporter of her local bookstore, Cover to Cover. Her interests are reading, gardening, and not cooking.

(I'm totally with her on cooking!) Please welcome Carolyn J. Rose.

Do you get into your characters?

Or do they get into you?

Recently I was chatting with a group of writers and, at the risk of being told I should wear an aluminum foil helmet to block the signals, mentioned that there comes a point in my novels when I feel the characters try to take the wheel. They start suggesting plot twists and chance encounters, romantic interludes, comic moments, and dangerous dilemmas.

“You mean,” another writer asked in amazement, “your characters know you’re there?”

To me that was a no-brainer. Of course they do. And I have no problem with that, even though she seemed to feel I was breaking a cardinal rule of writing. Furthermore, it seems that I have no choice in the matter.

As I finished up the first draft of No Substitute for Maturity, the third in my Subbing isn’t for Sissies series, characters started suggesting scenes for a fourth book. I’ll take all the help I can get, even help from fictional folks, so I dutifully wrote these ideas on file cards. Will Allison learn to drive? Will Mrs. Ballantine perfect her routine for that Las Vegas reality show? Will Barb get a full-time teaching job? Will Dave propose? Will Cheese Puff have to deal with a rival for Lola’s affections?

Notice that I wrote the suggestions in the form of questions. That’s my way of telling my characters that I’m still the one in charge, the one who decides what gets on the page.

Meanwhile, the characters I developed for Hemlock Lake and Through a Yellow Wood are also haunting my dreams and invading my quiet moments. I have file cards for them, too. Fortunately—because there’s only so much room on my desk for stacks of file cards—characters from my other books seem to feel I left them in good places and so far they’re content to stay there.

I work at getting into my characters, thinking about their back stories, their skills and failings, their biggest hopes and fears, what they do if they hear a bump in the night, etc. Apparently while I was doing this my characters were getting into me.

What’s your experience with your characters? Leave a comment and we’ll put you in the drawing for the e-book of your choice from the ones I’ve written.

Thank you Carolyn - for the post and for giving away an e-book! Now, everyone...leave a comment, please.

Mentoring

How many of you have been a mentor? Maybe you mentored a new employee at work. Showed them the ropes. Answered questions. Helped them advance.

Since a lot of you are probably writers, have you ever mentored another writer? There are different ways to do that.

You could blog how-to posts that might help a writer with grammar, or promotion, or publishing, or plotting, for example.

You could also work one-on-one with a fellow writer. Meet with her or him in person or online or via phone or Skype.

The Sisters in Crime group that I belong to does once-a- year mentoring during the month of April, leading into  May.

This year, I was asked and agreed to be a mentor. My mentee lives in San Antonio, probably a hundred miles away from me. That won't stop us from getting together, though. We can meet halfway or I can drive to San Antonio. And, of course,  there's always phone calls, email, and Skype (if I can figure out how to use mine or even where my little Skype camera is).

If you have already been a mentor, email me with advice. I would appreciate it. (Whether it's advice on mentoring or Skyping.)

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

The Bughouse Affair

 The Bughouse Affair, by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, is the first in their Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery series. This series is set in the nineteenth century in San Francisco and stars Sabina Carpenter (a former Pinkerton operative) and John Quincannon (an ex-Secret Service agent).

The time period allows for an interesting backdrop to the story. We get to see the Barbary Coast as it was at that time. There are even pirates and what we today would call whore houses, but back then were called houses of joy. And, yes, of course there are murders and robbery and thievery, and even piracy. There's even a man claiming to be Sherlock Holmes. But how can he be Sherlock Holmes? Holmes is dead … isn't he?

Carpenter and Quincannon remind me of Sherlock and Watson. Carpenter and Quincannon are working separate cases and don't work together often, but they employ the same methods of detection and deducing. When their separate cases come together, they join forces to solve both of the cases they were working.

I especially enjoyed seeing a female detective on equal footing of the male, which I suspect would have been unusual in this time period. The story and the characters are believable and strong. It doesn't take long to pick up on the lingo of the time and it's fun to trek along with them through the streets and bowels of early day San Francisco. They go and search many places that I, a wimp, would have avoided.

This has the makings of a new great series. So, if you like historical mysteries, get The Bughouse Affair and get in on it from the beginning.

Amazon   

Barnes & Noble  

BookPeople    

Powell's   

I give The Bughouse Affair by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

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Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by a publicist with Tor/Forge. I was asked if I would like to read the book. I said yes. I was not asked to write a review. But I did. I have never met Marcia Muller. Nor have I ever met Bill Pronzini. I have never met John Quincannon, nor have I met Sabina Carpenter. Okay, the last two are characters, not real people, although they seemed real as I read their story. In fact, I think perhaps Sabina and I are related. Cousins, once or thrice removed. I mean, we must be. Carpenter was my maiden name. If Muller and Pronzini ever set one of the series' books in Austin, I'll invite Sabina over for tea and barbecue. That's what cousins do.

Duffy Brown

 Today, Duffy Brown is posting here on Straight From Hel. Recently, I reviewed the first book in her Consignment series, Iced Chiffon. She agreed to guest post before I'd even written the review!

One thing I especially like about Duffy is that she says that while others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, she longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. Plus, she has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson. I could tell you more secrets, but I think I'll let her do the talking. Please welcome Duffy Brown.

Scoring the best deal ever!

Consignment shopping is the fun of wearing designer clothes on the cheap. I could never afford a Coach handbag or an Armani jacket but I do love the expensive look and great quality. Most of all I love bragging to my friends how much I paid! The conversation goes something like, “Oh, isn’t that a great Kate Spade purse.” And my reply is, “I got it at the Snooty Fox for forty bucks!” instead of the usual three-hundred and fifty!

For years I shopped consignment stores then decided I needed to work at the Snoot since I was there all the time looking for deals. My kids were some of the best-dressed on campus and I did it for K-Mart prices.

Don’t you love the name Snooty Fox! The Snoot is an upscale consignment shop. How many times have you bought something, wore it once, decided it wasn’t your color or didn’t fit the way you liked and you were stuck with it? Well, that’s where the Snooty Fox comes in. You can sell your green plaid jacket that you just had to have but then decided you hated at the Snoot. There is a customer out there who will love that jacket and pay you good money for it.

How this works is that you open an account and hand over your clothes. The Snoot chooses which clothes they will take. They clothes must be cleaned, pressed, on a hanger, gently worn, in very good condition, and within a two-year style period. The price is a third to a fourth of retail and you get half of that when the item sells. Not a bad deal for something hanging in the back of your closet!  

Consignment shopping is a lot like solving a mystery. It’s all about the hunt for the perfect scarf, skirt or shoes. I think that’s why mystery and the Consignment: Murder series seemed like a perfect fit. The hunt is on!

I’ve gotten other good deals but for consistent, over-the-moon bargains, consignment shopping is it

But what about you? What stores do you shop for deals? Is there one deal that was your all-time best score that you still have bragging rights on?

I’ll give away three Iced Chiffon totes from the answers. After all, free is the best score ever, right!

Thank you Duffy! I love giveaways. And I loved your post.

Duffy Brown conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. Iced Chiffon debuts this month, October, 2012. She also writes romance as Dianne Castell and is a USA Today bestselling author.

For a chance at a copy of Iced Chiffon, remember to leave your answers to her questions in the Comments section.

Review: Iced Chiffon

 Iced Chiffon is set in Savannah, Georgia. How could I not read a book set in my birth state? Plus, it's a cozy murder mystery -- the first in the Consignment Shop series by Duffy Brown.

The main character, Reagan, is recently divorced, strapped for money, about to possibly lose her home, and trying to keep her head above water. To make money, she turns her home into a consignment shop and begins selling her clothes. The women of Savannah show up to gossip and to buy, and they also bring things for her to sell.

Reagan gets caught up in a murder -- her ex-husband's mistress -- and sets out to discover the real murderer… before the police pin the murder on her. This is a town where everyone knows everyone, and your business is their business.

It's an easy, interesting read with characters who are southern, unique and full grown. It's often funny and will keep you guessing as to the real murderer. You'll also like Reagan who runs at full speed, her friends who help her start and keep open her new in-home shop, and her commitment to solving the murder.

Not only will you keep guessing, you'll keep reading.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books a Million 

I give Iced Chiffon a rating of Hel-of-a-Debut.

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Disclaimer: Iced Chiffon was sent to me by the author. She even autographed the book. That did not influence my review. Nor did the fact that it was set in Georgia. I was sort of influenced by Iced Chiffon being set in Savannah. I've been there. Twice. I can't remember why my sister and I drove to Georgia, but we did. And we went to Savannah to go to a particular restaurant my sister was dying to go to. Except it was closed that day. So we went back the next day. If Reagan Summerside's consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, had been in business then, Cathy and I would have stopped by. Cathy would have bought something. I would have helped solve the murder mystery.

Author Douglas Corleone

  Douglas Corleone is a former New York City criminal defense attorney. He now resides on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Doug is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime novels set in Honolulu. His debut novel ONE MAN’S PARADISE was a finalist for the 2010 Shamus Award for Best First Novel and won the 2009 Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. Douglas’ third novel LAST LAWYER STANDING will be released tomorrow.

Some of you may remember that in late July, I went on vacation to Hawaii. During the leg of the trip where we went to Honolulu, I stalked Douglas. Mercilessly. He changed his phone numbers. I hacked them. He issued a Cease and Desist order. Like that would ever work! He tried wearing disguises. Seriously, Doug? A blond dreads wig? Eventually, he gave up and agreed to include Straight From Hel on his final day of touring before the debut of Last Lawyer Standing.

Please welcome Douglas Corleone.

Title Fight 

All right, so it’s not really a fight.  Not even an argument.  More like a team sport in which there’s no other team.  We’re all on the same side.  We all want to put out the best book possible, and we all want a title that will hook readers, that will get them to pick up the book and read the gripping dust jacket copy and ultimately make the purchase.  We all want readers – authors and publishers alike. 

What many readers and aspiring writers don’t know is that the title the author places on his final manuscript isn’t always the title you ultimately see on store shelves.  In fact, in my experience it’s pretty rare.  For me, putting together 80,000 words of compelling prose is easier than thinking up one to three words that will make book browsers go, Mmmm.

Don’t get me wrong – so far, all three books I have had published bear titles that I’ve thought up.  But two of the three are titles that were thought up well after I’d written The End.  And the other was a title that had essentially been pre-approved by my editor.

Well after John Grisham was a bestseller, his publisher rereleased his debut novel A TIME TO KILL with a forward from the author that revealed two interesting things – one, that Grisham had to sell copies of his first book out of the trunk of his car, and two, that A TIME TO KILL was originally titled DEATHKNELL.

Why?  Because John’s publisher didn’t think DEATHKNELL was a very compelling title for a legal thriller.  I think they were probably right. 

 There’s no question that my publisher was right about my first novel.  ONE MAN’S PARADISE was originally titled HULA ME ONCE.  While writing the book, I was aiming for something fresh and funny, a story that would ultimately wear a colorful dust jacket and bear a clever title.  I was shooting for something along the lines of Bob Morris’s second mystery, JAMAICA ME DEAD.  But, at least with respect to the title, I missed. 

I know some authors who will put up a fight for a title they love.  For now at least, given the fact that my books consistently wind up with better titles after several brainstorming sessions with my agent and editor, I’m of the thinking that Publisher Knows Best.  That’s why a manuscript that was submitted with the generic title CHOICE OF EVILS is being released as LAST LAWYER STANDING this month.  And why I’m not entirely sure of what the title of next year’s international thriller will be. 

I am, however, sure of a few titles that you won’t be seeing next to my name in 2013.   

Thank you, Doug. 

Tomorrow, you'll be able to find Douglas' latest book, Last Lawyer Standing, everywhere: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, the iBookstore, IndieBound, and other places.

Okay, I was kidding about the Cease and Desist order. But…how do you like the picture I got of him? See that beach in the background? Look close. You'll see me. But I won't tell you where he lives. I'm sworn to secrecy. No, really, the judge made me swear.

Disclaimer: I'm kidding!

Leave a comment for Douglas. Give him a shout-out. Buy his books. Or just tell him to drop the restraining order against me.

Book Review: When the Past Haunts You

 When the Past Haunts You by L.C. Hayden is the latest in her Harry Bronson Mysteries series. Despite the word "haunts" in the title, there aren't any ghosts in this story. Just memories, regrets, and pain, both emotional and physical, for Harry Bronson. His sister, whom he hasn't seen or spoken to in years is killed and dies in his arms.

Bronson, although retired from police work, sets out to find out who killed her. In the process, he untangles her past and comes to regret their falling out. His remorse has to be set aside, though, while he digs deep into her past and the years they were apart.

I've never read a Bronson mystery, but I quickly felt comfortable with Harry. By laying bare the life and missteps of his sister, we also see his regrets and failings. I quickly eased into the story and followed him on his quest and shared in his discoveries.

As happens in real life, Harry sometimes breaks the rules and he drags in his friends to help. And as in real life, he doesn’t always come out on top and he doesn't know everything. But like the rest of us, he picks himself up and he figures out what has to be done.

While he can't go back and save his sister's life, in the end, he'll have to save his own life.

When the Past Haunts You moves quickly. There's always action and discoveries. And while I was not too worried about Harry dying (it is a series, after all), I was worried for those around him since Bronson is up against some ruthless foes.

Amazon  

Barnes and Noble  

Powell's Books  

I give When the Past Haunts You a rating of Hel-of-a-Character.
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Disclaimer: I know L. C. Hayden from long ago. I met her through Sisters in Crime. I've not seen her in years, though. She's quite active in the writing community. If I remember right, she, at some point, taught writing classes on cruises. Now that just sounds like a mighty fine gig to me. You get to go on a cruise AND talk about writing. I'd want to do that. Well, maybe not so much now with all the craziness with cruises lately. Seems like you're likely to either tip over or drift powerless in the middle of the ocean or get boarded by pirates. Maybe a cruise down or up the Mississippi. 'Course a few years ago, the Mississippi flooded. That wouldn't be much fun. You could end up like a dry docked Noah's Ark in somebody's back yard. Maybe I'll drop this idea of teaching on a cruise ship. I'd probably end up with sea sickness, anyway. Wait a minute, what was I supposed to be saying? Oh yeah. Disclaimer. Dis is what I claim…I know L.C. She probably doesn't remember me, but I’m sure I'm on her list of co-teachers for the next cruise she goes on.

Morgan Mandel on Life Altering Events

 Our guest today is Morgan Mandel. Morgan is a past president of Chicago-North RWA, was Library Liaison for Midwest RWA, belongs to EPIC and Sisters in Crime. She enjoys the diversity of writing mysteries, thrillers, and romances. Her current release is the thriller, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse. Her others include the romantic suspense, Killer Career, the romantic comedy, Girl of My Dreams, and her debut mystery, Two Wrongs. As you might guess from the title of today's post, Morgan has offered to talk about life altering events.

Please welcome Morgan Mandel.

Life Altering Events

Both of my stories in The Corner Café: A Tasty Collection of Short Stories deal with life altering events.

In What Nice Blessings, Suze’s Dad finds a new job and her family must move from their home town. This happens right before her first day at high school. She’s stressed by the thought of leaving her best friend behind and entering a new environment amongst strangers. In the process of relocating, a more drastic event takes place, dwarfing Suze’s prior fears, and testing her mettle.

In The Closing of the Corner Café, a couple takes a huge step by starting their own business, a corner café. With no guaranty their venture will succeed; they, like many entrepreneurs, are still plucky enough to give it a try. It takes courage to invest time and money in such an enterprise.

 Each of us face countless life altering events. Ranking number one has to be being born in the first place.

On the upside, some might be: Starting school, graduating, getting or changing a job, making friends, moving to a new town, new house or apartment, meeting a life partner, getting married, having children, grandchildren, or even adopting an animal. I was born in Chicago, moved to a suburb, lived in several different apartments, before finally buying a house. I was introduced to my husband in the cafeteria at college and we’ve been married for over 39 years. Though we were never blessed with children, we’ve always shared our home with an adopted dog, the current one being Rascal.

On the downside, it’s hard to avoid any of these sad events: Death of a family member or friend, illness, unemployment, estrangement in the family or of a friend, foreclosure, unsettled weather. I’ve suffered the loss of both parents, and some good friends, have dealt with my share of illnesses, some minor, and others chronic, such as high blood pressure and thyroid issues. I lost my job, which turned into a blessing in disguise, and have since retired. Last July’s flood left seven inches of water in the basement and it was no picnic cleaning up the mess. I’m hoping that will never happen again. 

It may not be easy to deal with whatever comes our way. How we relate to the good and bad not only tests our character, but is also what life is all about.

Do you have a particular life altering event you’d like to share -- One that’s either happened to you, or someone you know, either real or fictional?
***
Thank you Morgan. You're so right when you said that some of our most trying experiences can turn out to be blessings. (Giving birth came first to my mind.)

Here are some places you can click to find out more about Morgan and her books, as well as to connect with her online:
Amazon Author Central Page
Blog  
Excerpts & All Buy Links to Morgan’s novels 
Facebook
Twitter 

Remember, leave a comment about your own life altering events - or even ones that happened to someone you know or to one of your characters, if you're a writer.

Book Review: The Lies Have It

I believe The Lies Have It is the third in Jill Edmondson's Sasha Jackson Mystery series. I've read and reviewed the first two, Dead Light District and Blood and Groom. I like Sasha. She's tenacious. She gets a case or two or three and she keeps working until she solves them. She doesn't zip around town in a red sports car having meetings with the rich and famous. She hoofs it or takes public transportation. She doesn't slip into an evening dress and glide into a celebrity ball unnoticed. She doesn't pretend to be something-- oh, wait a minute. She does dress appropriate to the occasion, like in The Lies Have It, which starts with Sasha working the bar at a fetish party at The Stealth Lounge.

And from there, we follow her into places and lives both troubled and fascinating. Edmondson makes Toronto come alive on the page. She makes me want to go there. She brings even minor characters to life. Here's an example. This is from page 22. Sasha and a friend have been discussing one of the participants at the fetish party:

I folded my arms across my chest, and pressed my knees closer together than words in a dictionary. Right now, I kind of wished I were wearing a medieval chastity belt.

From that, you have no idea what or who has caused this reaction, but you know this may be a coming out party, but there are no debutantes attending. Some parts of The Lies Have It would probably be rated R, although not overly graphic. I figure that will entice as many buyers as it will scare away.

Sasha tends to take the cases other investigators won't. And because she's willing to tromp around in grunge clothes, talk to street people, and go where others won't, she solves problems, she finds people, and she steps into situations that sometimes turn out very bad. But more of them turn out very good.

The story moves fast. I would estimate the book is about 10 to 20 percent prose and the rest is dialogue. When Sasha works a case, she doesn't sit in an office. She's out on the streets finding answers and finding people.

Amazon and Kindle

Barnes and Noble and Nook

More places listed on Jill Edmondson's site to get The Lies Have It

I give The Lies Have It and Sasha Jackson a rating of Hel-of-a-Character.

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FTC Disclaimer: Jill Edmondson autographed and sent me this book. That did not influence my review. I've enjoyed every book in this series. I'd like to meet Sasha. I'd like to meet Jill. I'd like to go to Canada. Or, to be accurate, I'd like to go back to Canada. I've been once. My husband and I and our kids were in Montana and we drove across the border. We went to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. Yes. That is a place. It's an Interpretive Centre. It's at a site where native people of the North American plains would herd buffalo over a cliff. At the bottom, more of their people would be waiting to finish off the buffalo so they could have meat to eat and skin to make clothes, etc. Pretty inventive, huh? Kinda like Sasha Jackson. She's very inventive, too. She may have even been to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. If I get to go back to Canada, I'm wearing my Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump t-shirt so folks will know I'm no first-timer. I'm practically a native.

Book Review: False Front

 False Front by Diane Fanning is the latest in the Lucinda Pierce mystery series. Pierce is a Homicide Investigator who’s called out to a home where a woman has been found hanging from the second floor balcony. Suicide or murder? This is not Pierce’s first time to a scene like this and she’s not jumping to any conclusions.

But this is not just a book about Pierce trying to unknot the twists in the case. It’s also about her boyfriend, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jake Lovett, who’s off on a case of his own, which involves a murder three decades old. Their two cases collide, though, when Lovett comes across a connection between them. Sharing notes and information doesn’t necessarily make things easier.

Lucinda Pierce is a formidable protagonist. She’s smart, determined, loving and flawed. You would want her on your side. You would not want to be on her wrong side. The case is complicated with lots of twists.

This is not my first book by Diane Fanning nor my first Lucinda Pierce book. In 2009, I reviewed Punish the Deed and in 2010 I reviewed Twisted Reason.

Each Lucinda Pierce book gets more complex. While each paints a cold picture of crime and evil, Fanning also lets us see a warm still-developing picture of Lucinda Pierce.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Powell’s 

Murder By The Book 

I give False Front by Diane Fanning a rating of Hel-of-a-Character.

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FTC Disclaimer: I paid for False Front and felt no obligation to review it. Diane is a friend of mine, but that did not influence my review. She has tons of best-selling true crimes out, four books in the Lucinda Pierce series, and one in the Molly Mullet series. You may have seen her on shows like 20/20 or 48 Hours. I could have mentioned about a half-dozen shows, but I won’t because I can’t get them because Time Warner won’t hook us up so we can’t get cable. And more than likely, Lucinda Pierce will end up being a series on cable. On the crime network, if there’s such a channel. Or on FX. Is that a channel? I wouldn’t know. I … can’t … get … cable.

Multiple Personalities of the Write Brain

 I’m excited to welcome Carolyn J. Rose to Straight From Hel. Before she takes over, let me tell you a bit about her. She has a long bio, so I’ll reveal two things I found really interesting: Carolyn served two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She’s written a lot of novels, including recent indie titles A Place of Forgetting, An Uncertain Refuge, and No Substitute for Murder. A mainstream mystery, Hemlock Lake, was released by Five Star in 2010, and two Oregon-coast mysteries (The Big Grabowski and Sometimes a Great Commotion) penned with her husband, Mike Nettleton, came out through Krill Press in 2009 and 2010. Oh, she’s also going to be giving away a copy of No Substitute for Murder, so read to the end of her post to find out how to enter.

Now, I’m going to put my feet up and turn the blog over to Carolyn.

Please welcome Carolyn J. Rose.

Fortunately, I’m the kind of writer who enjoys revision.

Why fortunately? Well—let’s face it—I have a touch of OCD when it comes to tweaking my writing. If I allow myself, I could go on revising a piece for days—perhaps even for decades. I could revise books already in print or poems I wrote in grade school.

Why?

I don’t know for sure, but my theory is that the process of writing—the preparation, plotting, perseverance, and patience—make it difficult for me to recognize when a work is finished and/or to let it go. Sure, I reach a point where I’m happy with a project. But am I satisfied? Probably not. Probably never.

The writing process is just that—a process. There is one ultimate goal (finished novel) and hundreds of intermediate goals (specific scenes, chapters, bits of dialogue, etc.).

The process also involves a lot of what ifs, then whats, suppose thats, how abouts, and okay buts. It involves waking in the middle of the night to scrabble through the contents of the nightstand in search of pen and paper, stopping in the middle of the soup aisle to make a note on the back of the grocery list, and pulling over to the shoulder of a highway to excavate an index card from the glove compartment and note a plot twist.

I co-authored 5 novels with my husband and can tell you that a second author complicated the writing and revision process even more than it already was.

But my solo projects were hardly solo acts. Inside my author’s brain—what I call the Write Brain—is a committee. Every member has good ideas and they all have good intentions. But if you’ve ever served on a committee, you know how complicated even an easy project can become if the chairperson doesn’t have a firm hand on the helm. And if you’ve ever been that chairperson, you know that some members clamor for a larger share of your attention than others, and clamor at inopportune times.

So it is with my committee. Members all want to be heard and, to make certain that they are, often chime in with their comments when I’m busy with other things. But because they frequently offer better plot twists, character traits, or similes, I listen. And, when I can, I take notes.

Over the years, I’ve put aside annoyance about ideas that cause me to dump entire chapters or create more obstacles for my protagonist. I’ve come to welcome their input, even though it seems they prefer to sound off at inconvenient moments and enjoy catching me when I’m not prepared to record their thoughts.

By this point in my life and writing career, I’ve heard from them so often that I’ve given them names.

There’s Poolside Polly. Her ideas aren’t always all wet, but the concepts often go down the drain while I finish my water aerobics class and dry off enough to get at the pen and index cards I keep wrapped in plastic in my gym bag.

Midnight Margo offers brilliant ideas in the dead of night. Those ideas don’t always sparkle in daylight, but the best ideas, like the biggest fish, are the ones that slip away. I don’t roll over and go back to sleep without writing them down first.

Gardening Gracie waits until my shoes are clotted with mud and manure and then announces a dozen details for a terrific scene. Do I keep a pen and paper on the gardening cart? You bet.

Diana the Dinner Diva loves to eat out and enjoys adding spice to the meal by coming up with ideas for unique characters while someone at the table is providing juicy details of how their last relationship went south. Trust me, friends expect more from than an offhand “Poor baby” while you’re jotting down a string of notes on a napkin.

Shower Shawna is inspired by soap, shampoo, and the spray of water on my head. I keep index cards in a drawer by the sink and try to allow myself an extra five minutes for each shower.

Unfortunately, most of Dog Walk Donna’s ideas are forgotten before I get home. Between the leash and the plastic bag for poop scooping, I have no free hands to record suggestions about pacing and tension. I’ve tried repeating them to myself, but conversations with neighbors and encounters with other dogs that send mine into a barking frenzy wipe my short-term memory banks clean.

Who is on the committee in your Write Brain?

Tell me about who you hear from and when and we’ll put your name in the drawing for No Substitute for Murder.