Amazon.com ReviewThe main protagonist of River of Darkness is a Scotland Yard detective so damaged by his experiences during the First World War that his superiors worry about his ability to do his job. This may sound like Madden is sent to a town in Surrey where a local family has been massacred in what looks like a robbery gone wrong. He finds enough echoes of his recent battlefield experiences to conclude that the killer was just one man--most likely a former soldier using a bayonet. As for motive, it could well be perverse sexual passion, that "river of darkness" to which a psychologist introduces him. We meet the killer early on, watch him as he maintains a rigid control over every aspect of his life, then stare in horror as he periodically explodes into mad violence. Unlike Madden, this man has not been severely damaged or changed by the war; he has simply used it to channel and redirect his dark river. Airth's point--that survival comes in many shapes and sizes--gives a solid foundation to an impressive leap of imagination. --Dick AdlerFrom Library JournalSo you thought British detectives had to focus on "the colonel in the drawing room with a candlestick" solutions? Newcomer Airth blasts that stereotype with this tale of serial murder set in post-World War I Britain, featuring the debut of Inspector John Madden, a veteran whose experiences in the trenches give him an edge in tracking and capturing the killer. Meanwhile, Dr. Helen Blackwell entices Madden to employ psychiatric theories shunned at the time by Scotland Yard to explain and predict the killer's behavior. Airth develops a situation that presages today's much-touted psychological profiling and serves to build an almost excruciatingly suspenseful plot. In addition, his deft handling of the emotional aftereffects of war gives the work an added sense of purpose. Fans of Thomas Harris will enjoy this book and can take heart in knowing that another Madden tale is already in the works.ANancy McNicol, Hagaman Memorial Lib., East Haven, CT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The unflappable Inspector George Gently has become a household name through the hit BBC TV series starring Martin Shaw. These are the original books on which the TV series was based, although the George Gently in Alan Hunter's whodunits is somewhat different to his TV counterpart. He is more calculating, more analytical, and his investigations are even more enthralling. In this title:Who has been murdered? Where is the crime scene? Where is the body? All Gently has to go on is an anonymously delivered photograph of a corpse. The photograph of the corpse, shot in the head and lying in a forest clearing, comes with no explanation or identification other than the East Anglian postmark on the envelope. The first thing that Gently has to find out is whether a crime has actually been committed. Is it some kind of cruel hoax or has a hideous murder been committed at a woodland beauty spot? Exactly where is the crime scene, where is the body...

From Rhys Bowen, the author of In Farleigh Field, comes the next Molly Murphy mystery: The Ghost of Christmas Past.Semi-retired private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is suffering from depression after a miscarriage following her adventure in San Francisco during the earthquake of 1906. She and her husband, Daniel, are invited for Christmas at a mansion on the Hudson, and they gratefully accept, expecting a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. Not long after they arrive, however, they start to feel the tension in the house's atmosphere. Then they learn that the host couple's young daughter wandered out into the snow ten years ago and was never seen again. Molly can identify with the mother's pain at never knowing what happened to her child and wants to help, but there is so little to go on. No ransom note. No body ever found. But Molly slowly begins to suspect that the occupants of the house know more than they are letting on. Then, on Christmas...

Unpublished author and reluctant amateur detective Jennifer Marsh doesn't know how she keeps finding herself in the middle of a murder. Okay, the first one was her fault (she framed herself) but this one is just bad luck: catching her good friend, Emmie Walker, standing over her dead ex-husband, Edgar, holding a bloody knife.Jennifer's sure Emmie is innocent. She's a sweet senior citizen who is way too smart to do something so stupid. So what if she has motive (her former husband was loaded and she'd gain ownership over his successful chain of restaurants) and opportunity (found holding a knife over his body)? She's not the only one.Edgar Walker was not a nice man. People were probably standing in line to murder him. The question is who got to him first?With help from her quirky writer's group, gorgeous, cranky reporter Sam, and her own fictional heroine Maxie Malone, Jennifer's determined to get to the bottom of this... before Emmie's convicted based on Jennifer's own eyewitness testimony.

A morning show host must unearth the truth behind the murder of a special forces operative and relay coded messages to the troops before the nukes fly on a very secret military base.

The Broken Trilogy continues with Broken White, the second volume, in which Elly is pushed to her limits while Jonathan Pope struggles to escape the chaos of the game. Having chosen to live with Mark, Elly is eagerly awaiting the next stage of the game. A trip to Zurich ends with unexpected tragedy, however, and Elly is soon forced to question Mark's motives. Finally, Mr. White offers a chance for the game to move forward, but Elly soon learns that even if her mind can deal with new experiences, her body might be the weak link. Can she survive Mr. White's methods, and can she face up to her destiny? Meanwhile, Jonathan Pope is given some shocking information that makes him more determined than ever to bring the game to a conclusion. With Lady Red now seemingly coming around to his way of thinking, Pope devises a plan that might just allow them both to escape. Soon, however, there's a noose around his neck, and Pope must think fast if he's to have any hope of surviving. For the first time, the complete series of Broken White is available in one volume. Total word count is around 100,000 words. This volume contains all 8 books in the series: Book 1: AffectionBook 2: SuspicionBook 3: FriendsBook 4: TornBook 5: All That You AreBook 6: RomanceBook 7: KnivesBook 8: Dramatis Personae Please note: This book contains swearing, violence and sex scenes. For adult readers only. Ends on a cliffhanger that will be resolved in the Broken Red series. Readers are advised to read Broken Blue first.**