From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Lt. Eve Dallas and her squad take on corrupt cops in Robb’s 33rd full-length novel featuring the New York Police and Security Dept. homicide detective (after Indulgence in Death), a fast-paced, intricate, and deadly dance of well-matched opponents. When Dallas’s partner, Det. Delia Peabody, overhears an angry exchange between Lt. Rene Oberman and Det. William Garnet that reveals an unlawful killing and ongoing skimming, Dallas’s reaction to this news is decisive: “the blue line breaks for wrong cops.” The setting may be slightly futuristic, but the procedures are familiar: Dallas puts together a solid team that meets in her home to avoid leaks as they compile evidence. At the same time, she initiates confrontations with the dangerous Oberman, whom she begins pushing toward a trap. From this pure good guys versus bad guys scenario, Robb (aka Nora Roberts) wrings plenty of exciting strokes and counterstrokes before reaching the satisfying climax. (Feb.)

As said above, Treachery in Death is the thirty-third full-length book in the In Death series.

Be advised, there might be some minor spoilers below.

Set about fifty years in our future, the world that Eve Dallas lives and works in as a Homicide Lieutenant in the Big Apple is noticeably different from ours, yet very much the same when it comes to the kind of criminals the police protect society from. Society has outlawed lethal weapons, but that hardly seems to slow the bad guys down. Forensics has improved to an astonishing degree, yet the smart criminals always seem to be a step ahead.

In this book, the criminal elements wear badges just like Dallas does. When her partner, Peabody, overhears a conversation she shouldn’t have, the wheels start spinning to stop the bad cops before they kill again. The cast of characters readers of this series know well once more leaps into action to get the evidence they need to stop the bad guys.

This book, unlike the earlier ones in the series, starts off with Dallas (and the reader) knowing exactly who is guilty and of what. All they have to do is prove it. That quickly becomes very predictable. Not one single thing in this book caught me off guard. I spotted all the turns long before they make their foregone appearance. I can’t say twists really as there were none. The book is well written structurally, but the story is flat.

It’s sad for me, really. The lack of tension left me totally unconcerned for anyone’s safety. There was no threat to keep the tension high. In fact, there really wasn’t much tension. Perhaps the author was trying to break the formula of the long running series to get a change of pace. She did that, just not to her benefit.

I’ll be waiting for her next book in this series, but with the expectation that it has to be better.

I give Treachery in Death three stars.

Publisher’s Summary: “Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She’s never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father’s people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help…”

River Marked is the sixth book in the Mercedes Thompson urban fantasy series.

Be advised there may be some minor spoilers below.

It may just be me, but one of the big draws in good urban fantasy is a strong female protagonist. Patricia Briggs delivers in spades with Mercy Thompson. She’s tough, independent, smart, and a truly good person. That makes her very easy to root for and makes for an emotional ride when she hits a rough spot. And the author isn’t shy about putting her through the wringer on occasion, either. That makes this series one of the best in the urban fantasy genre.

In this book, Mercy finally ties the knot with sexy Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the werewolf pack that lives behind her lot, and they’re off on their honeymoon. Their relationship has been moving this way for quite some time, and seeing her making her personal life work was very satisfying.

Of course, being off on their own without any of the secondary characters I’ve come to love made for a different tone. There was a bit more romance, which I liked, and fewer subplots, which I didn’t like so much. That lack hurt my enjoyment of the book a little.

We did get to see a few new secondary characters, though, and some of them look like they might be recurring. The main one was Coyote of Indian legend. As one would expect, he both helps and hinders her as she tries to stop a monster that has been killing people. He also provided some surprising and interesting insight into her mysterious father, a man who died before she was born. I’m hoping he makes further appearances later in the series.

The tone in River Marked was a bit different from the earlier books in the series, and it detracted from my enjoyment. While I welcomed the added focus on her relationship and the romance, the pressure seemed too light on Mercy, which slowed the pace more than I liked. I really think not including the established cast of characters also hurt the story a little.

Even so, it was a good read and a solid addition to the series. I’ll eagerly be awaiting the next book to see what happens next. I’ll give it four stars and recommend it strongly.

Terry here. The editor of the anthology I’m in this April has made a blog post about the stories included in the book. She gives a rundown on all the stories that were included. Give it a look, and if the urge strikes, preorder a copy. There is some not safe for work cover art on this page, so check it out from home. Bet you can figure out which one I am.

I have a short piece of podcast fiction up on Different Worlds. This anthology was to be inspired by Asia songs. My was inspired by Sole Survivor. The word count limitations were pretty strict (2K words max), so I didn’t get to include everything I wanted to and the scope of the story is pretty narrow, but I got to kill people.

Check it out.

http://www.differentworldsanthology.com/?p=9

Well, it’s my turn to serve up some erotica goodness for Philippa Ballantine’s Erotica a la Carte. The menu for my story is up and I’d like to encourage everyone to go vote for the story they’d like me to write. And, please, pass the link along to other people or places that might find it interesting. I’m very much looking forward to writing and producing this piece. Thanks Pip for the opportunity.

http://www.eroticaalacarte.com

Just a heads up that some of my voice work is up and live. I recently narrated a story for Nobilis Erotica, so the link below is NSFW. Check me out as I read “Strip Laser Tag.”

This is just a heads up to our listeners that a great podcast that delves into the happenings of the sci-fi publishing world is back! Host Shaun Farrell and his amazing sidekick, Sam Wynns, have given us some great interviews over the years and tons of news, so I am very excited to see the show return. Maybe this year Sam will finally take over!

To mark their return, they features Greg Van Eekhout, the author of Norse Code. Everyone should check it out.

http://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/2009/07/aisfp-78-greg-van-eekhout/

Our recent and frequent guest, Philippa Ballantine, has just won New Zealand’s highest award for speculative fiction: the Sir Julius Vogel award! Our warmest congradulations to her! Send her email at pip@pjballantine.com and tell her how pleased you are for her!

The Uber Nemisis (He Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned In Conjunction With Pip, Until She Says So) was there to take pictures.

Even though I’m busy until the middle of May, I’ve decided to start producing a full-cast, sound effects and music included, recording of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes book: A Study in Scarlet. See this new page here at the DRS for all the details.

A Study in Scarlet

As the other hosts have their blogs aggregated here, but I don’t have a blog of my own, I’m posting my thoughts directly here. I don’t blog because I think I should only say something in one that is important enough to need to be said. I know that’s not how everyone else seems to see it, but blogging came to be long after my ways were set and I don’t expect them to change.

That said, on to the main subject of my thought.

There was a recent story that ran in a number of places that claimed there were a lot of things hidden in the stimulus package. I don’t doubt that. One of the specifics mentioned was 30 million dollars for the endangered mouse living along part of San Francisco Bay.

That story was false. A distortion.

One of the responses to the story got my blood up. It was the most recent of several similarly themed comments, and not the worst. Someone I know said the following about the story.

“No mice. No Pelosi. Complete GOP lie. As per usual.”

Statements like this make my blood pressure rise, be they from the right or left. Now you get to hear what I think about this phenomena.

[Rant Mode ON]

Enough is enough. It’s time for these hard-line, biased smear attacks to called out, whatever side they come from. The hard left lies and distorts just as much as the hard right. Anything claimed by the far right or left needs to be looked at with a jaundiced eye. They are after all, extremists. It’s been that way for as long as I’ve been an adult and longer. At this point, it doesn’t even matter who started this downward spiral. We don’t need finger pointing, we need to stand up as Americans and say this isn’t right and it needs to stop.

The sad thing is that this kind of talk has become so widespread that people see it as the norm and acceptable behavior. It shouldn’t be. The Washington Times distorted this story and they don’t expect to be called on it because everyone there does it. While not quite yellow journalism, it’s close. And it’s not just the media on the right. The media on the left has been just as bad with the New York Times leading the way. Don’t get me started on the television media. Both sides can and do intentionally distort a story to try and influence people that they don’t seem to realize already share their point of view. News flash! People take in news from organizations that share their biases.

With something like 40% of the country being a Democrat of some type, and about the same amount being a Republican of some kind, we need to be finding ways we can work together, come together. Not point at the other side and call them liars and trash everything they do. We need to find points we can compromise on and come together. This divisive talk, demonization, and at times outright hate of someone whose ideas don’t mirror our own will never, ever do anything to help this country and all its people.

Such one-sided behavior is bigotry, pure and simple. A bigot is, as defined at Dictionary.com, one who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. If this isn’t bigotry, I don’t know what is. Now, that being a hot-button word, I’ll no doubt be flamed for my “intolerance” of someone’s right to speak as they see fit.

So be it.

Perhaps such things just trip off our tongues and we don’t realize how hateful they are because everyone around us seems to share the same views. Well, we should be told. Hate and intolerance should always be called wherever we see it. If enough people say no to something odious, society changes. 1960′s anyone? Things have changed. It’s time to raise our voices again.

Paraphrased, President Obama says we can’t keep doing business as usual, being partisan hacks. I couldn’t agree more. Yet his voice is being overwhelmed on both sides. I may not have voted for him, or even support most of his policies, but in this I am his loyal servant. We must change Washington or it will change us. For the worse. To do that, we have to change ourselves and those around us.

The founders envisioned the people of the government would be drawn from the people, bringing their views to Washington. Instead, Washington now seems bent on dividing the country and forcing their myopic biases on the country. And it’s working.

Where does that lead us? Do the people in Washington that behave this way ever look at the endgame? What do they expect to come from this behavior? Do they really think their divisiveness will convert the other side to be like them? Doubtful. Nobody is fool enough to think that demonizing someone and their beliefs will make them do anything but move further away from your view. So, what is the point? Making people hate you because you attack them? Counterproductive.

I don’t really think any of them have a long-term strategic goal. It’s all about short-term tactical goals. Gathering power and control long enough to ram through your agenda before the other side gets control back and undoes what you’re doing and does what they want.

I didn’t vote for President Obama, but I did hope that he could soften both sides and bring back some civility and cooperation to Washington, get them to look past their own short-sighted desires. Bipartisanship. I still do cherish hopes, though they are fading.

Every time anything political is trotted out in a public forum, we see zealots from both sides come out and do as Washington does. Frankly, I’m tired of it. Zealots aren’t interested in finding common ground and bringing people together. They just want to take that issue they feel so strongly about and use it as a club to beat someone with.

It’s time to stop acting like children who don’t understand what compromise and respect for opposing points of view is. Adults learn the art of compromise. That is how society survives. We as a people need to grow up. We’re all Americans (those of us that are, of course) and it’s long past time we started behaving like responsible adults. If we can’t start coming closer together, then we will move further apart. Does anyone really want to see that? It can, and will, get uglier if we allow it to continue unabated.

Look at the endgame. People that are divided do rash things, because they feel they are disenfranchised, that have no voice or control. Do we want to condone even more drastically partisan behavior?

I don’t.

Stand with me to dial back the rhetoric. It’s fine to disagree, even vehemently, on issues, but when we lump all our opponents into a pile and label them liars or worse, we are part of the problem. If we don’t stop the slide and change the tone, we can never expect our representatives to.

[Rant Mode OFF]

Terry