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Mystery/Thriller Book ReviewsPage Three of FourThe Midnight Before Christmas by William BernhardtBallantine Books, November 1998.Paperback, 224 pages. ISBN: 0345428102. Ordering information: Amazon.com. | Amazon.co.uk 
Megan McGee, a
kind-spirited lawyer, is prepared
to spend Christmas alone
with her bulldog, Jasper. Her lonely
plans began to change when
Bonnie Cantrell arrives at her office
seeking protection from her
ex-husband who she says has
vowed to kill their son Tommy.
To make matters worse, Bonnie's
ex-husband Carl is an ex-cop
and is on friendly terms with
the force. While Megan goes
and tries to get a restraining
order on Carl, he, in turn, kidnaps
seven year old Tommy from the
nursery. As the hunt for Carl
ensues, Megan begins to uncover
a crime that may be more sinister
than Carl's kidnapping and threats.
Can Megan solve the caper and
save Christmas for poor confused
Tommy? Will she find
any holiday company besides
Jasper the bulldog?
The Midnight Before Christmas is a surprisingly good Christmas mystery full of plot twists and appealing characters, including especially devious wicked characters. An excellent mystery with an ending full of Christmas spirit. An enjoyable book for the holidays. Mosaic by Gayle LyndsPocket Books, December 1998.Hardcover, 482 pages. ISBN: 0671024051. Ordering information: Amazon.com. | Amazon.co.uk 
Concert pianist Julia Austrian has been blind since she was
struck by a little-known psychological disorder ten years ago
while onstage for a performance. She adjusted to her
blindness and went on with her concert tours with her mother
as her manager and close companion. While giving another
performance at London's Royal Albert Hall, Julia regains her
sight as suddenly as she lost it. But her happiness is short-lived;
she sees her mother murdered before her very eyes during a robbery.
Believing Julia to be blind, the assassin does not kill Julia. But the trauma
of the event causes Julia's blindness to return. Unable to accurately
identify the killer until her sight returns, Julia vows to regain her
sight and track down her mother's killer. She returns home to America
for the funeral to the palatial family home, where the rest of the
extended family is busy with her uncle's bid for the American
presidency. Once she returns home, however, she is plunged into
a nightmare; someone is trying to kill her. She regains her sight through
hypnosis, but she knows the change is not permanent and that she could
lose her sight at any moment. She teams up with CIA analyst Sam Keeline
(whose path crosses Julia's while he is searching for a long-lost treasure
from World War II)
and goes on the run to solve the puzzle, barely staying one step ahead
of a merciless killer who will stop at nothing to keep her from finding
out her family's darkest secrets and exposing a horrible miscarriage of justice.
Mosaic is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller with enough plot twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded reader. The subplot about the stolen Nazi treasure is intriguing and the action never stops. Another complex, exciting and very readable tale from the author of Masquerade. Mystery Reviews Page One | Page Two | Page Three | Page Four Click Here to Return to the Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of mystery books reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |
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