BOOK REVIEW: A Stranger's Touch by Cait London

Due to the fact that I have begun to run out of books to read (the horror!), I decided to open my mind up to other authors. While I was in the used bookstore on my last trade-in, this one by Cait London caught my eye, mainly because I had seen Cait London's work on books in other genres, and I was wondering if, like most of the authors I have read, she's got a Main Talent and pretty much just applies the template, or if she has a genuine separation. I figured I might need to read more than one book of hers to make that distinction.

Alas, but no. Her characters are right out of the pages of a bodice-ripper: cheesy names (Tempest Bartel, who changes it to Tempest Storm to make herself less visible!), excessive brooding, melodramatic dialogue, and enough breadcrumbs to lead you to the killer with enouch red herrings to make you annoyed at the side plots. Her characters sometimes do improbable things, as when the hero fires the loyal family retainer because she was secretly in love with his mother (yes, that really happens in this book, all of it).

So no, I did not need to read another one of her books to see if this genre is her first love. I do wonder however, if maybe a change of venue might complement her style more. She is, at the very least, imaginative and a good solid writer. The plot was well-crafted and some key issues were handled very deftly. The chemistry between the hero and the heroine was good and believable. The writing was not so much bad as the book itself was an historical fiction disguised as a thriller. Like the emperor's new clothes, they just didn't suit well.

For people who love her historical fiction, this book may very well be an interesting segue. For the rest of the population, I give it 2 packs of Dunhills and pound of Maxwell House.

BOOK REVIEW: The Tiger Prince by Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen is a very successful author who has written romantic short fiction, historical romance, and modern thrillers. All of her books have a few things in common: a courageous heroine who has been through some rough times, a complex hero, loyal friends, and psychopathic enemies. These characters, in their many incarnations and storylines, are what draw people to her books. My favorite of these, of all the genres, is The Tiger Prince.

There's nobody pluckier or more hardcore than the scrappy heroine, Jane. The daughter of a prostitute who suspects one of the kinder men who hung around the bordello as being her father, she practically pleads with him to take not only her on his next job, but her Chinese friend Li Sung whose legs were crushed in an uncoupling incident on a train and her dog. Fortunately for us, Patrick decides to bring them along after Jane promises to take on responsibility for all of them even though she and Li Sung are both still children.

As a woman who grew up following her "father" from work camp to work camp building railroads, Jane's unconventional ways (and natural affection for orphans and strays) place her in the path of Ruel MacClaren. Ruel has found an island with a rich cache of gold that he wants to own. There's one problem: the island is owned by the feeble-minded maharajah. Further stirring the pot is the maharajah's sadistically cruel son, Akbar, who is devoted to death and destruction and celebrates both his reverence for the goddess Kali and his own lust for power in a particularly nasty way. He is after Jane for harboring Kartauk, his personal goldsmith, after Kartauk refuses to participate in the atrocities that Akbar commands.

Add in Ruel's half-brother Ian and his bride-to-be Margaret, and you have a story with enough intrigue to last a lifetime. A stunning betrayal by Jane's "father" jeopardizes the love that springs up between Jane and Ruel and tears them apart, literally to opposite ends of the world until Ruel throws down a gauntlet -- and an opportunity for Jane to redeem herself and chase her own dream. But Akbar's still waiting for them, and their own history together seems capable of doing enough damage on its own. Will love conquer all? You know it does -- but it's a beautiful ride as Iris Johansen shows you how.

Overall, this book was great. I give it 4 packs of Dunhills and a pound of Jamaica Blue Mountain.