August 4, 2005: Dog Days of Summer

"Every dog must have its day."- Jonathan Swift

A bit of interesting trivia for those who like that kind of thing. Speaking of the dog days of summer, I found this on the internet today, the origin of the name for the hottest part of the year. "Dog days is the name of the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to August 11th. Named in early days by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction of Sirius (the dog star) and the sun. In the latitude of the Mediterranean region this period coincided with hot days that were plagued with disease and discomfort."- direct quote, from http://www.infoplease.com


I have two reviews today, both of which I recommend but are not top-notch 5 star choices.
They are fine for the "dog days" of summer when you are too busy, or too hot and bothered, to want to delve into a complicated storyline. These are both romantic suspenses written by romance authors who are branching out into the currently marketable romantic suspense genre. I had never heard of either the books or authors before, but I was willing to give it a shot. Carry them on the boat, in your beach bag, on the bus, or just out to the back deck. They will pass the time nicely for you!

Review: Romantic Suspense
"The Perfect Family" by Carla Cassidy * * * 1/2
(362 pages) Signet Eclipse Books, paperback issued 2005
Previous romantic suspense--"Promise Him Anything" 2004
Ms. Cassidy was known as a prolific romance writer prior to this

"If he can't have her, no one can..." so promises the front cover of Ms. Cassidy's new book. I stumbled across this one in the romance section of the bookstore, but the edgy front graphic and the back cover inferred this was a romantic suspense. I don't usually read strictly romance books, so I was willing to give this one a try. While I was happy enough with my choice, I was not kept to the edge of my seat, or staying up past midnight to finish it. It was decent enough reading when I had the chance, but I had no driving urge to finish it up quickly.

Marissa Jamison lost her firefighter husband a year ago, and lives in St. Louis with her two small children while running her own gift shop, started with the insurance money from her departed's insurance. Life seems good, until out of the blue, a young woman is killed and her murder is traced back to Marissa. The woman had had an argument with Marissa in the parking lot and the next day was found dead with her neck sliced and a red bow on her forehead. A gift card under the bow said "To Marissa, love Blake". An anonymous caller phoned and told her "you're welcome" that night after the body was found. The murderer is hypothesized to be a secret admirer of Marissa's who watches her every move and knows her routine and likes and dislikes. Suddenly Marissa and her children are in danger, as the stalker moves in closer and none of her acquaintances can be trusted anymore. A long-lost boyfriend enters on the scene and she is not sure if she can trust his affection. Meanwhile the two detectives, Nick and Sarah, who seem to be a mismatched pair on the case, feel an attraction and try to fight it as they struggle over the case.

Though Ms. Cassidy did the typical red herring trick of throwing out several possible male suspects who might be the stalker, I made the correct guess about halfway through. The murderer was revealed about 3/4 of the way through as the main characters struggle to a climactic ending. I found the first 1/3 a bit slow moving in the suspense category, more of a contemporary women story, but then it picked up and got interesting as more crimes were committed. The ending was satisfactory and made up for the slow start. All in all, worth picking up if you like romance with your suspense or light reading that you can pick up and put down without guilt.

Review: "Finding Mary Blaine" by Jodi Thomas * * *
(384 pages) Mira Books, paperback issued 2004
Ms. Thomas is known for romance books that take place in Texas

Blaine Anderson is married to a successful attorney in Austin Texas, who is contemplating running for public office. Blaine is wealthy and has a good life, but she and her husband have emotionally drifted apart, and the story opens with Blaine thinking she might accidentally have become pregnant, and knowing her husband has never really wanted children until years down the road, she needs to confirm the pregnancy and then decide what to do about it. Blaine goes to a free clinic in a less affluent part of town so no one will know who she is, but while there, the clinic is bombed and all chaos breaks out. People die, she is injured, and the building demolished. Stunned, in shock and hurting, she comes to and starts to make her way to her husband's office nearby, when she overhears Mark's boss talking to an employee about whether he had taken care of Mrs. Anderson, and what it would do to Mark's political career. Blaine tries to reach Mark, but everytime the evil boss answers her husband's phone, and he soon realizes she is still alive and sends the employee after her again.

A nurse was holding Blaine's coat with her wedding rings in the pocket at the time of the explosion, so her husband Mark unwittingly declares the burned body as hers and she is pronounced dead. Blaine take on her first and middle name as her full name and becomes Mary Blaine, a homeless woman who hangs out at public shelters. She feels she cannot trust anybody from her old life and befriends some street people who are good to her and show her the ropes of living on the streets. She realizes she is indeed pregnant, and will do anything in her power to stay alive to save her baby.The story will keep your interest simply by being original-- not too many romantic suspenses out there about homeless people. I found some of the situations a bit far-fetched, but if you can suspend belief that Blaine cannot get to her husband without the company and the boss intervening, you will enjoy this quick and unusual read.

As always, happy reading...