Without Warning Eugenia Lovett West St. Martin's $24.95 HC

Not quite a cozy, Without Warning reads like an old school mystery thriller. The story feels fast paced, the writing style seems effortless and smoothly flowing. The story line harkens back a bit to the woman in jeopardy days. As back then, our heroine proves more than resourceful.

Emma Streat's peaceful life is shattered with the hit and run death of her husband Lewis a successful CEO in a weapons manufacturing company. Lewis hadn't been acting himself in the past few days. A business trip to London didn't go smoothly. Emma through some notes her husband left and her connections and knowledge of his work Emma links her husbands death to the death of another young man. Emma gets in touch with the police and persuades them that it's murder rather than a hit and run crime. Because of Lewis's position things move up to the Federal level. Emma is determined to see the criminal brought to justice and manages to stay involved in the case, providing British intelligence with evidence enough to call her back to England. The violence in Without Warning is hardly graphic by today's standards but Ms. West, should she allow her characters, particularly Emma, to stay connected with the weapons trade has the makings of an interesting series.

Dave Biemann