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Index Interviews: Peter Lance Lyn Hamilton Co-writing Committee-itis The Power of Repetition, Part II Before You Write Return to This Issue's Index Return to Homepage Subscribe
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Mystery/Thriller Book ReviewsPage Three of ThreeThe Thai Amulet by Lyn HamiltonBerkley Prime Crime, April, 2003Hardcover, 304 pages ISBN: 0425190064 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
Antiques dealer and amateur sleuth Lara McClintock
reluctantly agrees to help look for a missing
antiques dealer while she is on he vacation to
Bangkok, Thailand. William Beauchamp
left his Canadian wife and disabled daughter and set up shop
in Bangkok, where he was apparently doing quite
well. But one day he disappeared, and he hasn't
been seen since. Now his wife needs to know if he
is alive, so she can divorce him, or if he's dead so
that she can get life insurance money to pay for
her daughter's care. Lara's boyfriend's
daughter, Jennifer is also in Bangkok to visit
her boyfriend, Chat, who is a member of a very wealthy
Thai family, the Chaiwongs. As Lara begins to
immerse herself into the foreign culture, she
learns more about Beauchamp's life and
becomes involved with the Chaiwong family,
which has quite a few secrets. Soon she becomes
immersed in dual dramas: one that occurred in the
past and one that is very much in the dangerous present.
Lyn Hamilton tells a gripping story of love, power, greed and murder in this mystery which tells two stories: one set in contemporary Bangkok and one set in 16th-century Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. The atmosphere and flavor of Thailand are vividly portrayed. From the diverse and contradictory city that is Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai, to the calmness of a temple, Lyn Hamilton creates a sense of mystery and the exotic, which is the perfect background for this interesting puzzle told with heartfelt emotion. The Samurai's Daughter by Sujata MasseyHarperCollins, March, 2003Hardcover, 304 pages ISBN: 0066212901 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
American antiques dealer and amateur sleuth Rei Shimura
enjoys her life in Tokyo. Over the Christmas holidays,
Rei goes to San Francisco to stay with her parents
and to continue a research project she has started
about the history of the Shimura family (her father's
Japanese family). Rei's on again-off again boyfriend,
Scottish lawyer Hugh Glendinning is also in San
Francisco, working on a reparations case for
victims of the Japanese during World War II.
Soon Hugh's case collides with Rei's research,
when an elderly witness in Hugh's case is
murdered. Now he and Rei are in the middle
of a mystery that could leave one or both of them
dead.
Agatha and Macavity award-winning author Sujata Massey raises the bar in this sixth entry in her popular mystery series starring Japanese-American antiques dealer, Rei Shimura. Rei has to confront some complex questions about her own family's past loyalties. Rei's relationship with Hugh grows more complex, which is interesting, and although much of the action does not take place in Japan (one of the series' many appeals), the interesting plot and well-rounded characters make for a fascinating read. Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn FarmerAvon, February, 2003Hardcover, 272 pages ISBN: 038097889X Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
The bad economy is taking its toll on Tinseltown
caterer to the stars, Madeleine Bean. When bookings dry up,
producer Greta Greene comes to the rescue and
offers Madeleine a temporary job as a writer
for the wildly popular quiz show, Food Freak.
The show's head writer, Tim Stock, is missing
which is causing Greta quite a bit of annoyance.
Madeleine is enjoying her stint in the wild world
of game shows, with all its bizarre personalities,
until someone bashes her over the head when she
starts to look into the disappearance of the head
writer. Now Madeleine is more determined than
ever to find out what is going on behind the
scenes at Food Freak -- before somebody gets
killed.
Author Jerrilyn Farmer knows the game show business: she worked in the industry and actually created the hit Supermarket Sweep. She also knows how to craft a gripping mystery story. Madeleine Bean is an endearing heroine who solves puzzles by continually asking questions. She's a modern woman with a rapier wit and a brave, kindly heart. Jerrilyn Farmer keeps the plot moving along briskly; the characters are an interesting lot, and the dialogue is snappy and hilarious. The inside peek behind the scenes at the prodigious amount of work it takes to produce one episode of a game show is fascinating, as well. Mystery/Thriller Reviews Page One | Page Two | Page Three Click Here to Return to the Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of mystery books reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |