Copyright 2006 - 2007 Susan Sleeman
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Fatal Deduction Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Multnomah Reviewed by Susan SleemanIf you love solving crossword puzzles then pick up Fatal Deduction by Gayle Roper as puzzles keep this mystery going.As Fatal Deduction opens, we find twin sisters Libby and Tori Burton moving into their Aunt Stella's old Philadelphia home. Aunt Stella has required the estranged twins to live together for six months in order to inherit the home and the aunt's sizeable estate. Not a problem for most twins who are often in sync with one another, but Tori and Libby have very little in common and frequently find themselves in turmoil, often as a result of Libby's faith and Tori's lack there of. Tori is right at home in the big city but Libby, along with her daughter Chloe, are more at home in the suburbs. Imagine Libby's fright when on the first morning in the house, she stumbles across a dead body on their doorstep. A dead body holding a crossword puzzle that implicates her twin in the murder. Though not a fan of her sister or her lifestyle, Libby pockets the clue to protect Tori from a murder accusation. And keeps protecting her as more puzzles arrive in interesting ways. Drew Canfield - neighbor, Ben Franklin scholar, father to teenager daughter Jenna and the stories love interest - partners with Libby and the pair works through serious life issues all the while moving forward on solving the interesting crossword puzzle mystery. Not only does a special relationship develop between Drew and Libby but Jenna and Chloe become fast friends, too. Though classified as a suspense book and there is a suspense plot as the main story, I found Fatal Deduction to focus more on interpersonal relationships artfully depicted by Roper. Roper attacks issues like divorce, parenting, family betrayal and underhanded attempts to buy affection of an impressionable teen. A story like this one, filled with dysfunctional families and the problems caused by their behavior, could be overpowered by the issues, but Fatal Deduction doesn't bog down in heavy character studies. The story moves along at a fast pace and holds your interest until the very end, keeping you pulling for the characters as they work through their struggles. This is a well crafted story that you won't want to miss. |
Gayle Roper has been writing mystery and romantic suspense novels for more than thirty years and is the author of over forty-five books. She is a three-time Christy Award finalist, the winner of three Holt Medallions, and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine. Her novel Autumn Dreams won Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. She and her husband, Chuck, divide their time between Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. Read more about Gayle Roper
Suspense Books By Gayle
| Allah's Fire, Task
Force Valor Series #1 Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Chuck Holton & Gayle Roper / Multnomah Publishers Inc. A suicide bomber blows up a hotel in Beirut. An American woman is kidnapped in Lebanon. Connected or coincidence? While Liz Fairchild searches for her sister, John Cooper tracks extremists who possess an undetectable weapon. When their paths intersect, more is at stake than a mission! Can John and Liz put aside their antagonism long enough to survive? 400 pages, softcover from Multnomah. |
| Autumn
Dreams, Seaside Seasons #3 Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Multnomah Cassandra Merton, newly forty and never married, is intrigued and intimidated by the rich 44-year-old bachelor who arrives at her Seaside, New Jersey, bed-and-breakfast. Management and finance specialist Dan Harmon is there to contemplate his life's significance as a result of witnessing the September 11 tragedy. Meanwhile, Cass dares to resist being the family doormat for the first time in her life, as she struggles to care for her teenage niece and newphew as well as her aging, deteriorating parents. Strengthened by each other, the two Baby Boomers dedicate themselves to untangling life's puzzles--and a local mystery. |
| Caught In A
Bind Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Steeple Hill For Merry Kramer, life isn't very ordinary. When the husband of one of her coworkers disappears along with $12,000 and a car from a local dealership, it's her job to find out exactly what's going on and how the body in the family's garage relates to the mystery. What exactly could have happened to Tom Whatley? As if murder weren't enough, Merry's personal life gets thrown around when she catches the attention of a local art gallery owner. Will Merry choose to stay loyal to her boyfriend or does she put her faith into something unknown? |
| Caught in
the Act Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Steeple Hill Books Who would want to kill ordinary guy Arnie Meister? Reporter and small-town sleuth Merry Kramer was on the trail of the supposed killer when she uncovered more murder suspects than she ever thought possible-an ex-wife, an ex- girlfriend and suspicious business associates. Nothing added up. But with Merry embroiled in the story, danger wasn't far behind. And those she thought trustworthy-even charming Curt Carlyle-might not be who they seem…. |
| Caught in
the Middle rpkgd. Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Love Inspired Suspense Amhearst, Pennsylvania, was just the kind of place for new beginnings for brokenhearted reporter Merry Kramer. But she soon discovered danger lurked behind the holly bushes when a dead body turned up in her car! The trouble did not end there; gunshots, attacks and a handsome new friend who might not be what he seemed. Surrounded by suspects, Merry would have to use all her investigative skills to keep from becoming front-page news...as the killer's next victim. |
| Caught
Redhanded Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Steeple Hill Mysteries followed reporter Merry Kramer everywhere. Case in point: On a morning jog one day, she discovered the body of a murdered woman. The small-town journalist had to find out who'd committed the horrible crime. And the more she dug, the more she realized that whoever was hiding the truth certainly wouldn't stop at one murder to protect it. Merry knew she had to decide- and decide soon-whether finding the killer was worth risking her own life, as well as her future with a wonderful fianci. |
| Fatal
Deduction Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Multnomah Fiction Twin sisters Libby and Tori have never been close---so when they're forced to share an old house as they await their Aunt Stella's inheritance, neither is thrilled. Then an unexpected visitor changes everything: a corpse clutching a crossword puzzle full of deadly messages! Can they work together to solve the puzzle before time runs out? 352 pages, softcover from Multnomah. |
| See No
Evil Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Love Inspired Suspense My home-decorating business was booming, thanks to that new account for model homes in a posh neighborhood. Of course, it didn't seen quite so posh when I came face-to-face with a man escaping the scene of his crime--a murder right next door to the house I was decorating! |
| Winter
Winds, Seaside Seasons #4 Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Gayle Roper / Multnomah After his guardian's severe illness, pastor Paul Trevelyan returns to his congregation in Seaside with a big surprise--a wife he's been estranged from for seven years. It was the ailing old man's wish that Dori and Trev return to each other, and they agree, as long as they can sleep in separate bedrooms. The dangers of a sinister luggage mix-up are compounded by discord within the church, as a highly opinionated elder proves he stop at nothing to see Trev gone. This blizzard of difficulties leaves just a snowball's chance of a thaw between the stubborn spouses. |
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Christian Suspense
To Die For
