Mystery over generations

Title:  Altar of Bones
Author: Philip Carter (aka Penelope Williamson)
Genre: Thriller
Sub-genre: Conspiracy, suspense, romance, murder, mystery
Pages:  480
Published: 2011
Publisher: Gallery
ISBN: 1439199086
Reader's Annotation: How are Zoe and Ry's lives interconnected and will they be able to find the Altar of Bones?
Summary: By a series of events in the past, Zoe and Ryland's lives are interconnected. They are brought together by Zoe's grandmother's death and the deaths of Ry's father and brother. Now together they must find and save the Altar of Bones
My Evaluation: The dust jacket flaps for this book made it sound really good... However, Penelope Williamson should still to writing romance novels (what she's know for writing). The premise behind the book is good and well intentioned, but the conspiracy (how both JFK and Marilyn Monroe were murdered and why) is just way to far fetched to be believable. Not to mention the chase scenes were something badly written right out of the Bourne movies. There were some great twists and turns in the books but overall it was poorly written.
Rating:  2 out of 5

Fantasy murder

Title: Naked in Death
Author: J.D. Robb (AKA Nora Roberts)
Genre: Suspense
Sub-genre: Fantasy, Murder, Crime, Thriller, Women's Fiction, Chick Lit
Pages:  294
Published: 2004
Publisher: Putnam
ISBN: 0399151575
Reader's Annotation: Will Eve be able to solve the killings before they stop?
Summary: Eve Dallas, a lieutenant with the New York City Police in the year 2058 has a serial killer on her hands. As she continues to investigate the murders, she encounters Roarke, a man who both pushes her buttons and makes her attraction gnaw at her inside. Will she be able to solve both the murders and make a relationship with a well-known rich man work?
My Evaluation:While I had know about this series for sometime, I had yet to read them, as I was beginning to find many of Nora Roberts books... formulaic and got to be old. This series is still somewhat formulaic, as I figured out who did it within the first half of the book, but Roberts does throw some good twists and turns in and although it is set in the future, the futuristic stuff isn't all that hard to believe and it is not in your face as some fantasy novels are. I will definitely continue to read this series.
Rating:  4.8 out of 5