There are times when short story collections may be disappointing but this is one of the best mystery anthologies out there. The stories are all top notch and it stays with you after having finished them. Some of the best stories are THE CASE OF THE PIETRO ANDROMACHE by Sara Paretsky where she departs from writing a story in the first person and tries something new with one of V. I. Warshawski supporting characters; Loren Estleman's I'M IN THE BOOK which is a good starting point for readers not familiar with his character, Amos Walker; and Barbara Collins's SEEING RED about a woman who has a very bad day.

My favorite story out of this whole collection is Ed Gorman's THE REASON WHY. It is a story of a twenty-year class reunion in which a couple of students have been keeping a secret since high school graduation. They receive a threatening letter saying that they must confess to their crime. It is a very powerful and moving story. If you do not care for the authors involved in the project at least try Gorman's short story.

14 short stories by some of my favorite authors. I like the short stories because I can pick them up and set them down again and can get my mystery reading in along with my busy lifestyle. I carry this book to the dentist, doctor, and sometimes even read while I sit in traffic. Sure makes the time go faster. These are all stories of suspense that would satisfy any mystery readers taste.

It was great! It had the perfecct balance of the two most important things: mystery, and suspence. You may like this book, or you may LOVE it, I happen to be one that loves it, it was cunning, and abouve all, smartly written. As a college student, I was scared to receive sleep that nite! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) HI dad!

She has interviewed and written about killers, psychopaths and spree killers but all her researching skills never enabled her to close in on the truth about what happened to her parents when they seemingly vanished into thin air. True crime writer Marie Lightfoot has given up hope of proving that her parents weren't traitors to the civil rights movement.

One day while shopping at the local supermarket, she picks up a paper and reads about her parents who betrayed a civil rights group called the Hostel in their hometown of Sebastion, Alabama. She is later contacted by email by a man claiming to know the whole story of her parents' death and wants to collaborate with Marie about writing a true crime book where she is the victim. Marie's search for answers takes her back to the town of her birth and a deadly conspiracy that is almost four decades old.

Nancy Pickard has written another exciting installment in her delightful "Marie Lightfoot" crime thriller series. This time the protagonist is portrayed as the victim and through the first person narrative, the audience sees how she suffers. The confrontation with the killers of Marie's parents is so astonishing that readers will never be able to get the scene out of their heads.

Harriet Klausner

This is a mystery with a difference! Our heroine, Marie Lightfoot, is not a lawyer, police officer, private detective or journalist for starters. She is a best-selling True Crime novelist. What vistas this opens up for a series! She has every reason to be nosing around the crime scene, the courtroom, the witnesses and families of victims; and she has no boring boss to slow her down. She has a highly comfortable life style, easily explained. Marie has no background, so the reader is sure to exercise his/her own imagination. I have always felt Kinsey Mahone was far more effective before Sue Grafton hung a back story around her neck giving her a plethora or relatives and details about an ex-husband.

Marie switches from first person observation to chapters from her current manuscript with the lackluster title, "Anything To Be Together." It is the story of a charismatic minister convicted of beating his attractive wife to death, probably with the aid and assistance of his girlfriend. Rev. Wing is awaiting execution on Death Row. Ironically, the rector has received much local publicity in the past for his anti-death penalty activism. She has just completed the text, but feels dissatisfied with parts of it, particularly the lack of background and insights on the principal players.

The plot is excellent, complex with a labyrinth of twists and turns. There are a few attitudes that boggle my mind, but perhaps that is just me. Ms. Pickard is a fine writer and has created a thoroughly likeable heroine. A fine read.

Marie Lightfoot has been working on her latest true crime book for the past year. The two murders in her book seem to be solved, but now that her book is in the hands of her editor, she is beginning to think that all is not as it appears. The scene moves back and forth between Maire Lightfoot's book and her life as a writer. This, the second installment in the Lightfoot series, is very well written and as enjoyable as all of Pickard's books. Her characters are shown with all their warts and pimples. Some are quite likeable, others are easy to dislike. There are devious plot twists aplenty in this story and that is what makes Pickard one of my favorite authors. A very well put together story.

A mystery with many twists and turns that keep you intrigued and trying to guess who did it until the very end. A pastor, who has strongly opposed the death penalty is accused of killing his wife, and is sentenced to death himself. While writing the story on this crime, Lightfoot is having trouble putting all the pieces together, and gets in the middle of the crime. She discovers that the pastor was not the killer after all, and that the next person scheduled to be put to the death penalty is in fact innocent. Lightfoot discovers who the true murderer is, and nearly gets killed in the process, but in the end, it turns out that none of the facts that the police had uncovered were true and it is up to Lightfoot to set the record straight. Ring Of Truth is an original, intriguing mystery that sucks you in and doesn't let you go until the very end. I could not put this book down!

Most mysteries are pretty dull, if you ignore the wrong piece of trivia you are lost. This multi-layered mystery is excellent as it blends Jenny Cain's personal and businesses affairs into a compelling mystery that kept me guessing to the end. I was more enthralled by the complex backgrounds for her small town characters, than the mystery itself

I love the Jenny Cain series. I have read all of them and each one gets better as you go along. The only bad thing that I can say is that it looks as if Nancy Pickard is no longer writing books in this series. I'm hoping she will come out with a new Jenny Cain book. I can't say enough about these books. The plots are great. Please Nancy write more!!!!!

I am very disappointed in this book. I really don't appreciate some of the unsavory words that are found throughout its pages. This is my first Nancy Pickard book and I must say that if the rest are this bad, forget it. I recently bought several of her selections and I hope the next will be better, otherwise, I am getting rid of them fast.

This was the final book by Nancy that I had to read, and I think that it was by far the best one! As she's getting involved in yet another situation, our murder-prone heroin struggles with some deeply personal issues. She had me intrigued to the very surprising ending! Note: The language in this book is a lot stronger than in any of her others.

I loved this book. It's one of the first mysteries that got me interested in mysteries. I've read all of Nancy Pickard's books and wish she would write more often or faster. I love her style of writing!

As a longtime fan of Pickard's Jenny Cain books, and having been impressed by the Pickard short stories I've read in different anthologies, I was prepared to be impressed by this book--especially considering the raves it has received. In fact, I had to force myself to finish the book.

The main character doesn't have any of the appeal or complexity of Jenny Cain, Pickard's previous series heroine; after spending a whole book with Marie Lightfoot, I felt that she had never really come to life or engaged my interest or sympathy. The chapters from "her" book interspersed with the mystery are flat, shallow, and disappointing as they reduce the potentially intriguing story to conventional, even cliched phrases and flat characterizations. That the chapters from Lightfoot's book are so uninspired makes me less sympathetic to her as a character, and all the more skeptical that everyone else in the book recognizes her as a literary phenomenon.

Perhaps the series will improve, but I'm in no hurry to continue reading. I miss the humor, self-awareness, and spunkiness of Jenny Cain and her supporting characters; this book and heroine rate little more than a disappointed sigh--or yawn.

I liked this book and disagree with all the people that were disappointed in the ending. I feel like the ending was not only a total surprise(I never had a clue)but that the author wrapped it up neatly and explained everything rather well. The only thing she failed to explain was why Ray Raintree escaped from the courtroom after sentencing if he was so eager to go to jail to escape the villian. He had not been sentenced to death yet, so that kind of irked me. It was a slow story in spots and I skimmed a coupla times, but all in all it was pretty interesting and I liked Marie. Will I read her next book in this series? I may, but I am not dying to get my hands on it like some series.

I have read and enjoyed Nancy Pickard's Jenny Cain novels for many years but this new series is really fabulous. As a true crime novel, you are aware of the outcome of a particularly heinous murder trial and the defendant who has just been found guilty. An outbreak in the courtroom, a shooting of the defendant by the judge and an unexpected jail break are the beginning of the unraveling tale of the story behind the story. How could Ray Raintree have no traceable past? Was it true he had no memory of his childhood? Why did he kill the young girl in such a brutal way and steal one of her organs?
Marie Lightfoot is the very likable heroine, a true crime writer. Despite all the knowns, she slowly finds out more of the story and creates suspense as we too discover what really happened. There are lots of plot twists that make things interesting and great character development makes all the key characters very appealing. You will have a hard time putting this book down and the ending is a real surprise. Pickard throws in a teaser about the heroine--we find out that she is an orphan and it just looks like she too will find out about her past and what happened to her parents....But wait and see. I was so hooked on this series that I immediately got and read the next installment, Ring of Truth... You will not be disappointed with this new series.

"Naked Came the Phoenix" is a serial novel written by 13 top female mystery writers and it is a whole lot of fun! I was impressed at how well the chapters flowed together, and became totally absorbed in this soap opera-like mystery. "Naked Came the Phoenix" is not a serious murder mystery, and it's not supposed to be. What it is, is an immensely enjoyable tale filled with twists and turns and outlandish characters that was created for a very good cause.

The story revolves around Caroline Blessing, a congressman's wife and cellist, who has taken a trip with her very difficult and newly widowed mother, Hilda Finch, to the exclusive Phoenix Spa in Virginia. Caroline hopes that their time at Phoenix Spa will give her mother and herself a chance to heal after her father's death, and maybe even a chance to bond. Unfortunately, Caroline's dreams of a relaxing and healing vacation go up in smoke when the spa's owner, Claudia De Vries, is found murdered in one of her own mud baths!

Caroline realizes that everyone at the spa is a potential suspect and a potential victim. The spa's guests include a model-waif and her manager, an aging rock star, a short and stout grey-haired psychic, a dried-up Hollywood producer, and a beautiful and successful actress. They all have their own hidden connections to Claudia and secrets aplenty. Not to mention Claudia's own husband, the half-naked pool-boy, and the rest of the spa's staff. Everyone has something to hide, and these 13 talented authors take us along on a fast-paced and thrilling mystery filled with strange clues, red herrings, blackmail, and incest.

And when more people start turning up dead, the very likable police detective, Vince Toscana, goes into overdrive trying to find the culprit. Not only is Caroline overwhelmed by what's going on around her, but she also must deal with some crushing news about her supposedly devoted husband Douglas. Caroline resolves to take her life back into her own hands and find out what's really going on, but there is nothing that can prepare her for the staggering truth behind the murders!

"Naked Came the Phoenix" is an outrageous and exciting murder mystery that is sure to entertain. I found the first chapter, by Nevada Barr, a bit tough to wade through, but after that every other author was great. This book is just good clean fun, and if you read it with that in mind, I have no doubt that you will enjoy it enormously.

Naked Came the Phoenix is a riot from beginning to end! When Caroline and her mother visit the Phoenix Spa in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, they expect rest and relaxation, but soon after their arrival, the spa's owner is found dead in the mud baths and the "fun" begins! Thirteen popular mystery writers take the reader on a roller-coaster ride of murder, mayhem and mirth. What fun to watch one author plant a clue then lean back, rub her hands together and wait to see what the next author does with it! Kudos to Nevada Barr for introducing us to the cast of supporting characters -- King David, the aged rocker; Ondine, the wrath-like model; Howie Fondulac, the has-been Hollywood producer; Lauren Sullivan, the movie star; and my particular favorite, Phyllis Talmadge, the psychic who's at the spa touting her latest book, Flex Your Psychic Muscles! Brava, Lisa Scottoline for giving us detective Vince Toscana, who "retired" to rural Virginia to please his wife, but wants nothing more than to sink his teeth into a Philly cheese steak, and, oh, by-the-way, solve the murders. Wheee, to JA Jance who drowns a victim in the lake and to Faye Kellerman, who knew CPR! Ka-pow, to Diana Gabaldon who really knows how to throw the reader a curve. Ye-gads, to Val McDermid who gives new meaning to the word "incarnadine". Wow, to the amazing Laurie King, who ties up all the loose ends with delicious tongue-in-cheek humor. And, thank you, Marcia Talley who sewed the patchwork together into one, seamless novel and is a heck of a writer, too!! All I can say is, "Encore"!!

With the recent death of her father Hamlin Finch from throat cancer, Caroline Blessing decides to help her mother Hilda deal with her grief. Though she knows that reconciling their differences will be impossible because the only way to accomplish that is unconditional surrender. Still Caroline, a cellist and wife of less than one year to a first term Tennessee Congressman, takes her mother to the exclusive Phoenix Spa.

At the spa, Caroline's mother remains her usual obnoxious manipulative self though perhaps acting a bit more bizarre than usual. The owner of the spa Claudia de Vries, her mother's college roommate, behaves even weirder than Hilda does. However, Claudia's behavior becomes moot, as someone murders her. The police and Caroline conduct separate inquiries even while other patrons die.

NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX is an entertaining collaboration from thirteen of the leading female mystery writers on the market today. The story line is fun though the line up of superstars tend to void pronouncements from the previous chapters. Still, the plot seems fresh due to Caroline who is the one consistency throughout the who-done-it. For the most part the authors provided strong entries that help make NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX a likable story. What else would you expect from a who's who consisting of Nevada Barr, J.D. Robb, Nancy Pickard, Lisa Scottoline, Perri O'Shaugnessy, J.A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Mary Jane Clark, Marcia Talley, Anne Perry, Diana Gabaldon, Val McDermid, and Laurie King.

Harriet Klausner

I ordered this book before I knew that it was a Eugenia Potter mystery, based on the characters created by Virginia Rich. I always considered Rich's mysteries "lightweight." They are lacking in plot and suspense. Ms. Pickard religiously recreates these flaws.

The phrase, "Where's the beef?" for this chili comes to mind. If you want to read a nice romance between Eugenia and a former college sweetheart, then this book is for you. If you want a challenging mystery, look somewhere else. The dead body was found way too late and I guessed who done it way too soon.

With respect to the recipes, Diane Mott Davidson's series of Goldy of Goldilock's catering provides more and better ones, some of which I have tried and liked.

My mother enjoyed the book and actually made the chili recipe - it was delicious!

Reading Virginia Rich's mysteries always left me hungry, not simply for the food described within the pages, but for another adventure with Eugenia Andrews Potter, the main character of her novels. In quick succession, I read The Cooking School Murders, The Baked Bean Supper Murders, and The Nantucket Diet Murders. With Genia, I went to her childhood home in Iowa, to her cottage in Maine, and to Nantucket for a reunion with old friends.

I wondered where we'd go next and what wrongdoings she would uncover. For years, I anxiously checked the R's in the mystery section of each bookstore I entered, looking for a new release by Rich. NOTHING!

Then I learned that Virginia Rich had died. I mourned the loss of that fine writer, but I was consoled to learn that I wouldn't lose Mrs. Potter, too. Nancy Pickard, another of my favorite authors, was commissioned to write the long-awaited, fourth Eugenia Potter mystery. She was even given access to some of Rich's own material, thereby creating a rather unique collaboration. I bought the book, The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders, the day it was released.

The locale of this mystery is Genia's "home on the range" in Arizona. Pickard's own experience as a rancher, as well as her superb writing skills, account for the realism inherent in the book. The plot is more than sufficiently entertaining, and there's even a romantic subplot this time around. Discussions of food abound, as in Rich's previous books, and recipes are again included on the inside covers of the book. The characterization is typical Rich, introducing me to still another circle of Genia's friends.

More than anything, I wanted Pickard's word picture of Mrs. Potter to be consistent with Rich's powerful portrayal of this precursor of Jessica Fletcher. Pickard didn't fail me. Genia is back in all her glory, from her introspective nature and her love of food and cooking to her graciousness and the "ubiquitous yellow pads with which she organized her l! ife."

It's a difficult task for an accomplished writer, accustomed to his or her own voice, to write in the style of another author. Pickard was more than equal to the challenge, and the product is a beautiful tribute to Rich. Many thanks, Nancy!

I have only one problem: I'm hungry again for more of Eugenia Potter. Am I greedy to hope for still another adventure?

The mystery here takes quite a bit of the book to set up, that is, unless you count the 'mysterious' pottery as the gist of the book. After an arduously prolonged development of a mystery, the book is nearly over. The only factors it has going for it are an impressive use of vocabulary and it beats starring at a blank wall for entertainment.

I just finished reading this book & it had a good ending but the whole store line was a little slow. Both ms. Pickard & ms. Rich are wonderful authors. I really love her books. Even though it is not her best book it still is a good book and worth reading.

Nancy Pickard is continuing a series started by Virginia Rich. Ms. Rich has since died. Ms. Pickard has done a great job with this series and I look forward to others in this series by her. Genia is an older woman who lives on a ranch in Arizona. She finds old pottery on her land and joins a woman's hike with an archaeologist to try to learn more about the pottery and where it came from. Many things happen and of course, Genia ends up helping solve murders.