The Dark Before Dawn - Laurie Stevens, Author

Chocolaty Caramel Pecan Bars
(In honor of the book series, which is dark and
   deals with mental issues!)

Crust
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 Tbsp. whipping cream
1 cup all purpose or unbleached flour

Filling
24 vanilla caramels (unwrapped)
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 cups pecan halves (or pieces)

Topping
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet
2 Tbsp. whipping cream

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.  If you don't have parchment paper, grease the pan.  In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 1 Tbsp. whipping cream until well blended.  Add flour and mix until crumbly.  With floured hands, press evenly into pan.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine caramels and 1/3 cup whipping cream.  Cook over low heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.  Add pecans and stir well to coat.  Immediately spoon over baked crust, spreading carefully to cover but not rip the crust.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter and chocolate chips, stirring constantly until melted.  Stir in 2 Tbsp. whipping cream.  Drizzle over filling.  Refrigerate 1 hr. or until the filling is firm.  Cut into bars.  (You can also toss the topping ingredients in a microwavable cup, heat and stir until it's smooth enough to drizzle.)

The Dark Before Dawn - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Dr. B sniffed and repositioned his glasses atop his nose.  "This last case you were on - you assaulted a grandmother."...  "Grandma had a twelve-gauge shotgun lying on a table in plain view from the front door.  Her drug-pushing grandson lives with the old lady and was a known gang-banger.  Grandma was very agitated with me.  Now, what am I supposed to think?" ... Dr. B chose his words carefully.  "But did you think first, Gabe?  When you pushed her, she fell and broke her hip.  She's an eighty-year old"...  "In a separate case two weeks ago," Dr. B said, "you nearly throttled a fifteen-year-old boy."...  "Then let's talk about the young man who was shot at that Halloween party you responded to when you were in uniform."

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Gabriel McRay has seen and even created his share of problems.  Enough so that he has been sent to the department's psychiatrist Dr. Berkowitz, better known as Dr. B.  Gabe's problems are showing through his temper but Dr. B feels it goes a lot deeper than that.  He feels Gabe's problems stem from a deeply suppressed past.  Gabe is not only suffering from his temper but also blackouts which leave him not knowing where he has been nor what he has done.  And to top it all off, someone has gone on a murdering spree that always ends with a message being left for Gabe with the 1st one reading "We are one."

As Gabe's memory starts to surface he finds himself wondering if he could possibly be the killer.  Is this what he does when he blacks out?  Turns out that Gabe isn't the only one with these same thoughts.  Some of his fellow officers are having the same thought.  As the murders and notes continue with each becoming more and more morbid the suspicion reaches the point that the department has decided put a watch on him.

This book isn't for the weak.  It's graphic and nothing is held back but it's also one of the best books I've read in some time.  I had a very hard time putting it down after reading the Prologue.  I could see it being a great story for Criminal Minds.  Now I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series Deep into Dusk.

Murder in Paradise - Larry K. and Lorna Collins, Authors

Larry's Hawaiian Pineapple Boats
(The big trick is to cut the pineapple as shown in the photo)

Cut off most of the top, leaving only a few inches of green.  Quarter the entire pineapple lengthwise.  Cut under the core in a straight line, and then along the outer edge of the fruit. (Larry usually has to do one side at a time.)  Cut the fruit crosswise in about 1" sections, leaving the pieces intact in the shell.  Push alternate sections to each side as shown.

Now for the fun part!  Garnish each section with either a maraschino cherry or a mandarin orange slice (or both) on a toothpick.  When all slices have been garnished, insert toothpick and sprinkle coconut over the whole thing.

This is a finger food and perfect for an appetizer or dessert.  (Warning:  if the pineapple is especially juicy, it can become stick - but SO good!)

Murder in Paradise - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

"But you're retired," she objected several times during the discussion.  "You're not getting into any dangerous work, are you?"  "No," I insisted.  "I'm just helping Detective Duke with investigative procedures, evidence gathering protocol, that kind of thing.  Police in Hawaii don't get many high-profile cases, and Duke wants me to train their people in some of the NYPD procedures."  I didn't tell her I would be the special investigator... There are two kinds of police officers' wives: one wants to know everything, usually keeping a radio scanner on all day; the other doesn't want to know anything.  Gerry was the second.

Agape Jones retired from the NYPD after taking a bullet in the thigh.  Looking for a quieter life, he and his wife Gerry moved to Hawaii but that quiet was disrupted when he and the other members of an outrigger canoe racing team found a body floating about a mile from the shore.  The body turned out to be the son of State Senator Thomas Fowler. 

Due to his knowledge of police work, Detective Duke recommended Agape to the Senator as the person to hire to investigate his son's death.  His biggest problem was convincing Gerry that this was nothing more than an advisory position and he would be in no danger at all.

Murder in Paradise has taken me back to Hawaii in my reads.  The Authors have made me not only feel a part of the scenery but also an investigator.  I tossed around the suspects trying to decide who would benefit and how.  I suspected the girl friend, brother and even the Senator himself.  Then there was the mystery blond.  Could she have committed this murder and if so why?  And what about the surf board makers?  Could they be involved and if so why?  The list kept going on and in the end... I have to admit I was a bit surprised.  This is yet another light read mystery that takes you on a trip across the ocean.

Legacy of the Tropics - Mary Deal, Author

GOAT FRICASSEE

Puerto Rican Style
(A Mary Deal Special)

SOFRITO (Sauce):

In a BLENDER:

10-15 Garlic cloves

A bunch of Cilantro

4-5 sweet Pimientos (also known as

Hungarian or Cuban peppers. They

are sweet peppers.) If pimentos

aren’t available, use Green Bell

Peppers

20-30 Small sweet peppers

Liquefy all the ABOVE ingredients.

Capers

Salad Olives

1 14 oz. Can Tomato Sauce

Salt

Potatoes, quartered

For 2 Pounds of Meat:

(Goat meat should be washed with or soaked in lime juice before cooking to remove the wild odor.)

In a thick bottom pot, pour olive oil to cover the bottom. Heat and add 4-5 tablespoons of the Sofrito. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Add capers and salad olives in quantities you desire. Add 1 can of tomato sauce. Salt to taste.

Add the meat. Cook until half tender. Add potatoes. Cook until the stew starts to thicken and potatoes and meat are well done. Serve with rice.

If four pounds of meat are cooked, double the recipe.

Refrigerate or freeze any remaining SOFRITO for future use.

Legacy of the Tropics - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Promises:

“Why don't you sleep in our house, Mama,” Pablo asked. “So we can be a family, like my friend Jose next door. His mama and papi live together. A renter lives in their cottage.”

Pablo, son of Rico Rey and soon to be step-son of Ciara Malloy, doesn't quite understand why the two people he loves most in the whole world aren't married and living together. Neither Pablo nor Ciara knows the secret that Rico holds that keeps them apart. Rico has promised that soon, they will be a complete family but first he has promised to take them on a vacation that will have them sailing the seas near their home east of Puerto Rico. All goes well, until a sudden freak storm blows in, sinking their ketch and leaving them struggling for their lives.

Adrift:

“People die at Ke'e Beach, Lillian,” he said. “Why do you keep going back there?” She forced herself to remain quiet a moment longer than usual to quell an urge to put Glen in his place. “Careless people,” she said, enunciating each word, “die at all beaches.”

Lillian Avery is an underwater photographer who has made her home on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. She has her goal set to take pictures of every fish living in the beautiful waters around her island but became distracted by the docile green sea turtles that seemed to take a liking to her, nipping at her bathing suit. Her friend Glen tags along with her and all goes well until a vicious rip current pulls them both well out to sea till losing sight of land. Will Glen’s neuroses and actual fear of water cause their drowning deaths as he loses control of his emotions?

Reunion:

“Hurricane season's almost over,” Ciara said. Rain pelted down outside the window. “Most likely that storm south of us will die out, don't you think?”

“All the others have this year,” Lilly said. “But every storm is different.”

This tropical storm had more to offer than either could foresee.

Ciara and Lillian had lived next door to each other years earlier in Puerto Rico but had never met. Ciara had always wanted to meet the lady next door who took much sought-after underwater pictures. Lilly had always wanted to meet the lady next door who wrote darling children books. It never came to be until some years later when Ciara moved to Hawaii with her grandson and bought the house next door to Lilly. Even though the two ladies had never met, they found they had a lot of history to share as they caught each other up on their lives.

Life in the tropics seems to be going great until the hurricane hits their island. Will these two ladies, who have lived through so much already, be able to ride out yet another storm in their lives? Or will this be the end of a friendship or even their lives which seem to have come full cycle? Will Lilly finally learn Rico’s secret that even Ciara has kept hidden all these years?

This book has taken me to Puerto Rico and Hawaii, two places I've never been but now feel like I've been there many times. It has taken me under the waters watching not only the fish but the beautiful sea turtles. It has taken me through two storms that I hope and pray I'll never have to live through in real life. Even though I've experienced all of these through reading, it still feels like it has all been real. A great book that gives you three stories, or novellas, that combine to make one incredible adventure for these ladies, a true Legacy of the Tropics.

A Murderer Among Us - Marilyn Levinson, Author

Blueberry Cake
(This is an easy cake to make with blueberries or apples)

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup of flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
1 pint of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except the blueberries.  Spread dough in a greased 9 x 9 pan.  Top with blueberries.  Bake 40-50 minutes. 

A Murderer Among Us - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

"You're Warren Mannes, and you've no business handling anyone's money." 

Though she hadn't raised her voice, people sitting at nearby tables sensed something sensational was happening and paused in mid-conversation to gap and listen.  Lydia, usually so in control, was enraged - too outraged - to watch her words.  "You went to prison for stealing millions of dollars from people who gave you their trust.  Innocent people, whose lives you destroyed.  Not to mention that company you took down!" 

He gripped her arm.  "Stop it!  You've confused me with someone else." 

She jerked herself free.  "Oh, no, I haven't!"

"Lydia, get a hold of yourself!"  Peg hissed grabbing her other arm.  "You're spouting nonsense."

"I wish I were."  Her baby sister's face flashed in her mind, causing Lydia to winch in pain.  Here stood Warren Mannes, decked out in expensive clothes and a salon haircut, enjoying a lifestyle paid for with stolen money, while Allison lay dead in her grave!

After the passing of her husband, Lydia Krause moves to Twin Lakes, a five minute drive from her daughter, Merry, and her family.  The gated over-55 community is the perfect place for her to live out her retirement.  She'll be near Merry and her two granddaughters, yet close enough to the city to visit her younger daughter, Abbie.  But out of the blue pops Warren Mannes AKA Marshall Weill.  Six years earlier Lydia attended his trial and heard victims testify that Mannes had stolen their life savings.  Lydia's also convinced he sent her baby sister to her grave.  And here he is, acting as Financial Advisor to the Twin Lakes HOA.

After exchanging angry words with Mannes' wife, Lydia heads to the bathroom to calm down.  She overhears the retching sounds of someone being sick.  Out of a stall comes Barbara Taylor, a woman she met a week earlier.  Lydia helps Barbara to her car, and ends up driving her home and staying the night.  In the morning, Lydia returns home to find her beautiful Lexus has been badly damaged.  The hood is crumpled, a headlight smashed, and the windshield has been cracked in several places.   After calling 911, Lieutenant Detective Solomn Molina shows up and informs Lydia that her car was involved in a serious accident involving the death of a pedestrian.

This turns out to be just the beginning of Lydia's problems.  Now she's Suspect Number One for Claire Mannes' murder.  And where does Merry go those many days Lydia babysits her daughters?  Abbie has a secret of her own that will take her far across the Atlantic.  Another Twin Lakes resident is murdered, an attempt is made on Lydia's life, and all the while she's aware of her growing feelings for Detective Molina.

Now and then I find a writer who gives us, not the super macho main character, but the more down-to-earth, common, everyday main character who you feel you can actually relate to and who just might be your next door neighbor.  This is what I've found in Marilyn Levinson's style of  writing.  Her books are suspenseful but light-hearted at the same time.  I can pick up one of her books and finish it in three or four days.  It only takes that long because I have things to do in between reading.  I can't wait to read more of her work.

The Howling Cliffs - Mary Deal, Author

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

 (A Mary Deal Special)

1 lb. fresh jumbo mushrooms

1 chopped onion

1/4 cup Olive oil

6 Crumbled saltine crackers

1/2 cup Bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp Chopped walnuts

1/2 cup Red wine

Pinch Basil

Pinch Thyme

Salt

Pepper

Wash mushrooms. Remove stems, set caps aside. Chop stems and combine with chopped onion. Sauté in olive oil until tender. Remove from heat.

Add saltine crackers, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, pinch of basil and thyme. Add chopped walnuts and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour wine in shallow baking pan. Carefully stuff mushroom caps with crumb mixture. Arrange in pan with wine, cap side down, stuffed side up.

Bake in moderate oven until tender (depends how many in pan). Do not overcook. Serves 4-6.

When served, crumbly mixture should be kind of crunchy or dry to hold everything together so you can pick them up to eat, if you choose. If overcooked, or if too much wine is used, mushrooms and everything may be soggy.

The Howling Cliffs - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Ka'imi's ears rose rigid.  She gave a short whine.  The howling of dogs came from a distance.  It seemed to fill the valley.  It was the howls of two dogs.  No wonder the locals wanted to ban noisy dogs from the trail.  Ka'imi pulled hard on the leash.  Sara picked up the pace.  Ka'imi seemed onto something.  A winding ascent later, they crested the plateau.  The round hewn rocky trail on the plateau was well-worn, wide and rimmed a canyon. Trail did not get too close to the edge, which was marked by low brushes and other grown.  Sporadically the trail simply dropped off sharply into the valley.  Foot-tall signs warned hikers to stay away from these areas.  The foliage, clouds and mountain views would be a photographer's heaven, easily distracting the unwary close to the precipice.  Ka'imi was very agitated.  She paced, pulling on the leash, turned and paced and turned back and paced.  She sat facing the canyon.  Her head went back and her neck stretched.   She howled mournfully and kept howling.  She was evidently sensing what other dogs did. 

Sara Mason has just bought a home in Hawaii where she plans to make an R and R camp for members of  her team who search for MIA vets whose bodies have never been recovered and returned to the states.  Her soul mate Huxley Keane is in search for his brother's remains along with her best friend Esmerelda Talbot who is searching for her daughter's remains. Both were taken prisoner, along with others, by the Viet Cong and their bodies had never been recovered.  The work was stressful and a resting place in Hawaii would be perfect for all involved in the search.

Sara also works missing cold cases.  After meeting her new next door neighbor Birdie, Sara learns that the neighbor on the other side of her had a sister who turned up missing ten years earlier.  The child was in the watch of her brother Maleko when she simply disappeared.  The girl had Down syndrome and it apparently hurt the boy more than anyone realized.  Sara also learned, through Birdie, that there was a section of the mountain that they called The Howling Cliffs.  When hikers traveled with their dogs along this area the dogs stop and howl into the wind.  Sara found this to be true after taking Birdie's dog Ka'imi along with her on a hike to the area.  The howling along with the anger shown by Maleko when she tried to communicate with him, have both peaked her curiosity enough to solve the two mysteries.  But along with answers come attempts on her life.  Someone doesn't want her to find the answers to either mystery.

Author Mary Deal has a way of writing mysteries that will keep you turning just one more page to see what happens next.  I found myself in this position way up into the night as I had to read just a little more.  After finishing the book, I also found that I had learned a lot about the Hawaiian Islands as well as the Viet Nam War.  This was an enjoyable book filled with action, mystery and history.  I loved it.

Romance Under the Oaks - B. J. Robinson, Author

Louisiana Seafood or Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo
(A B.J. Favorite)

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1 pkg. beef smoked sausage
Add crabs or oysters if you like.

One large onion
One large bell pepper
Several cloves of garlic
A Couple stalks of celery
A half bunch of green onions

Wash and chop onions, garlic, bell peppers, celery, green onions (leave out or add other seasonings according to taste).

A large tablespoon of flour
A large tablespoon of butter or cooking oil

Make a roux using flour and oil.  (This makes enough for a small family, but increase if you want a larger serving.)  Brown flour and slowly add the chopped veggies and saute. 

You can add chicken broth or use water and season with butter, Worcestershire sauce, kitchen bouquet, and Tony Chachere's to taste.  I use about a tsp. of the sauces and a couple dabs of butter.  Drop in two bay leaves, if you like them.  You may also add ground cayenne pepper if you like your food hot New Orleans Cajun style.  Salt and pepper to taste.  2 Tsp. ground gumbo file  may be included toward the end of cooking.  Bring to a boil.  You may cook as is or add vegetable such as corn and peas or a frozen vegetable package if you like gumbo with veggies, or you can leave this part out and have just the shrimp and sausage.  Let simmer until meat and veggies are done.  You can also slow cook it in a crock pot.  I like to include veggies, but this is up to you.  Cook a pot of rice and serve over rice.  Have crackers on hand.  If you don't know how to make a roux with oil and flour, you can cheat and buy packaged gravy, but homemade is better.  I have cooked it with just shrimp and smoke sausage as well as with veggies.  It's good both ways, depending on your family's taste.  This is a brown gravy recipe, but you can add tomatoes or tomato paste if you like red gravy.  Enjoy.  Freeze leftovers for later. Experiment with different veggies and seafood and make your own style to please your family.

My mother-in-law taught me to cook this recipe when I was a young bride.  I've experimented with her basic shrimp and smoke sausage one over the years and found you can use it with or without veggies.

You can make the recipe to include various seafood such as shrimp, crab, crawfish, and oysters, or use only shrimp and smoked sausage, according to taste.

Romance Under The Oaks - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Jacques Roman had the place picked out for a home as well as his woman, but the problem was getting the love of his life to see his dreams.  She was a socialite, used to being seen in the high-society, ritz, and glamour of old New Orleans.  She adored grand balls and was often the belle of them.  It'd be only fitting that she should have the belle of the ball when it came to plantation homes.  He'd give her the grand dame of them all.

Celina Pilie didn't want to talk about bayou swamp land.  It had to be infested with mosquitoes.  Weren't they bad enough in the city?  Hope dashed with each word Jacques uttered.  If he did get around to asking her to marry him, Jacques expected her to live fifty miles from the New Orleans she loved.  Didn't he realize she was born for the city?

Finally.  Jacques stood, got down on his knees, pulled a black velvet box from his coat pocket, opened it, and asked, "Celina, will you marry me?"  She clapped her hands together like an excited child.  "Oh yes, Jacques, yes, yes, yes.  I can't wait."

Well, she did have to wait.  She waited two long years while Jacques built her a home that would take away her breath.  but... she is a city girl and sees no way she can be happy living so far away from her family, the balls and the many stores she loved to shop.   Even though her father had given her Zelie, a slave she had known her whole life and loved dearly, she was lonely for other female friendship.  Her life seemed to evolve around reading the many books that filled the library.  And through her reading she ran across a book titled "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which stems an idea that will keep her busy as she actually helps people.  But what she does must be kept a secret.  With the Civil War coming she could lose everything if anyone found out her secret actions.

This is such a beautiful story.  I've always loved reading Civil War history and when an author gives us this history in the form of a family's involvement, it makes it even more interesting.  Through this book Celina, Jacques, Zelie and many of the other slaves become people that you end up feeling that you know personally.  You hurt for them as they struggle to make adjustments as their lives change.  But you also feel happiness as their struggle through the war brings them out with families of their own.  And you cry with them as they lose those that you too have come to love.  This is truly a story that will bring out all of your emotions.

Pandora's Succession - Russell Brooks, Author

Curried Chicken
(The dish that Parris and Fox ate at the Tea House in Tokyo)

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1 bulb of garlic, more if you desire

4 bay leaves

1 tsp. ground cloves

3 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. marjoram

1/4 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. yellow mustard seeds, ground

2-3 ounces curry powder (suite to your taste and color)

1 chicken bouillon cube (if you'd like to salt your curry)

2 potatoes

1 eggplant

Roti

4 cups flour

hot water

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 tsp. salt

Cut chicken into bite size pieces.  Add garlic and mix into chicken.  In a separate bowl mix all of the spices and curry powder together (but not the bay leaves)  Slowly add spice mixture into chicken/garlic while mixing by hand to ensure even coverage.  Set the mixed chicken aside while you prepare the Roti.

Roti

Boil water and let cool until you can handle it with your hands (you'll be kneading the Roti dough).  Mix 4 cups of flour with the salt and then add the hot water until it is moist but not sticky.  You want the consistency of a flat dough that will be rolled out using a wooden rolling pin.  Take a little more than half a stick of room temperature and add it to the flour and water mixture.  This will keep the dough form sticking to your hand and itself.  Use judgment for rolling consistency.  Flour flat surface and rolling pin and form dough into balls.  Roll balls out to flat and thin consistency, about 5-7 inches.  Heat up your frying pan to medium-high heat.  (This can be done using 2 pans to make it go faster)  Take a paper towel and use oil to rub onto pan before each roti that you cook.  The roti will form small brown spots on each side when done.  Do not overcook, it should never be stiff.  When done in the pan, put on a plate lined with paper towels and cover with a dish towel to keep it warm.  After the Roti is done, start making the curry (both can be done at the same time if you like.)

Curry

Pour just enough oil to cover the bottom of a large pot.  Place 4 big bay leaves into the pot and warm oil on medium for a few minutes (before the bay leaves turn brown).  Turn heat to high and add chicken.  Cook at high heat stirring every minute for 10 minutes, then turn to medium/medium low heat.  Use your judgment when cooking at high heat because you don't want the chicken to stick or burn.  If the pot is lacking any liquid form the high temperature, add small amounts of water or chicken stock.  As the chicken cooks longer, the juices are released.  5 minutes after turning the heat to medium/medium low, add the cubed potatoes and eggplant.  When potatoes are done, the curry is done.  Make sure the eggplant is dissolved into the curry.  You'll all finished!  Use the Roti to scoop up your meal.  No silverware required!

Pandora's Succession - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

His partner stood beside the open briefcase.  "You couldn't have been more perfect."  He took the fluorescent-green vial and let it drop gently on the ground without breaking.  He then hit the alarm button.  The siren was heard for miles.  It was not too long after, that ten of the guards burst through the doorway with their assault rifles in position.  They fanned out to cover the inside of the dome.  "What's the emergency?" yelled the leader of the two scientists, and then he saw Cole's body with the dagger protruding from his stomach.  His assault rifle shot up immediately.  "Both of you, hands in the air.  Do it, now!"  Within seconds, they had encircled the two scientists.  "I repeat," yelled the leader to the two scientists.  "Put your hands up, or we will be forced to shoot you."  The two white-coats didn't obey him, but instead looked at each other and smiled.  "For The Promise?"  The partner already had the vial under the heel of his shoe.  As he slowly raised his hands along with the assailant, he breathed his last breath and crushed the vial.  It wasn't long before what felt like millions of microscopic teeth tearing away at the flesh, starting with his foot and then moving to the rest of his body. 

Ridley Fox was a former JTF2 operative who has since been recruited into the CIA. He has the job of his life and should he fail, the whole world, as we now know it, will be at risk from the deadly "Pandora."  At the time a group known as the "Arms of Ares" which is made up of former intelligence operatives, originating from the former Soviet Union, has Pandora and plans to sell it to the highest bidder... but Hexagon Pharmaceuticals has their own feelers out to acquire it for their own use. 

This book is designed for the need for action reader and believe me, it fulfills that need.  There is barely a page that is turned without fast, pack energy and suspense.  And the best part is that Fox has no idea who he can and can't trust.  Hexagon has its hands, or should I say mind, into many high places through its mind control cult making no one safe to deal with. 

When reading this book I found myself being like Fox... not believing anything anyone said nor did, except Fox and I was beginning to worry a bit about him.  This is a 'man's' book but some of us women who like a good action will love it too.