A Couple of Interesting Titles

Cat Coming Home
Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Morrow, $19.99
ISBN: 9780061806933

In Los Angeles, the murders of her son and daughter-in-law shake Maudie Toola’s equilibrium as even her bone marrow feels numb in shock. However, she has no time to grieve her loss as she must make the holidays uplifting for her grandson Benny who witnessed the double homicides. Maudie and Benny move to her childhood home Molena Point, California.

However, the town has its problems as criminals have broken into homes and assaulted women throughout the small village. Police chief Max Harper struggles with the attacks as they are seemingly random and he lacks the manpower to handle them. At the same time the L.A. killer has followed Maudie and Ben to Molena Point. Apparently Christmas may not be coming to town this year; as even Joel Grey, Dulcie and Kit fail to help Max until a hardened elderly stray arrives with a message for the cats and the cop. .

This is an entertaining holiday mystery in which Benny and the visiting tomcat add a special warmth to the tale. Both subplots are fully developed so long time fans feel sympathy for the Toola twosome and shock that Joel and associates fail to connect the dots. Shirley Rousseau Murphy provides her myriad of fans with a very merry Christmas tale. Harriet Klausner

Jeweled
Anya Bast
Heat, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425236864

At the court of the Edaeii in Belai, Evangeline the Enchantress is euphoric as she is rewarded for her magical skill of emotional manipulator by being be-Jeweled with a sapphire, which makes her recognized as a master adept. However her joy shatters when revolutionaries destroy the court and kill most of the mages. Adept Anatol Nikolisan the illusionist saves her life.

Already attracted to each other even before the insurrection, the pair flees together to the only potential sanctuary, the home of Gregorio Vidhin. Ironically his oratory was the catalyst that inflamed the rebellion. As the low born hunt for the pair, Evangeline finds herself torn between two lovers.

This heated erotic romantic fantasy is fast-paved from the onset, filled with vivid love scenes that will raise body temperatures of adoring fans, and a strong sense that in the Bast universe the physics of magic feels genuine. The prime threesome comes across as real whether they flee the revolutionaries, deal with locals wanting to buy “his sister” for the night, or stop for a tryst. Although expressions like “sowing your wild oats” and even “middle class” feel out of place in this realm, fans will enjoy Evangeline’s excellent escapades with the two mages in her life. Harriet Klausner