When private detective Donatello Sunrise is coerced into finding a Mob boss’s daughter, he stumbles onto a much bigger case. Dozens of women, all young, all petite, have disappeared in recent weeks. Mysterious and conflicting clues seem to point to a government conspiracy, a mad scientist bent on global domination, or abduction by bloodthirsty alien vampires. Nothing makes any sense.

Before he knows it, Sunrise and his hooker friend Lola find themselves in a life-or-death struggle. The Mob wants them dead, the cops want them for serial murders"even the kidnappers are after them. With the fate of two worlds intertwined, Sunrise and Lola must somehow help the good guys defeat the evil ones.

The trick is telling one from the other.

REVIEW

June 28, 2009

Rating: You Gotta Read ("Our highest rating - very few books will earn this award")

This book was fun! There’s action, adventure, suspense, drama, and romance. But what makes this book for me is that it does not shy away from the darker side of civilization " crime, poverty, war, power, and love.

Yes, I said love.

While never directly address[ed], [Donatello] Sunrise is often witness to how far people will go to in the name of love. It was love that drove inherently good beings to kidnap innocent girls. It is love of money that could bring a planet to its knees. It is love that will fuel a revolution. And love drives a father to commit grievous sins in atonement for his daughter’s virtue.

Perhaps the best part of this story is that characters are not spared the tragedy of the path they walk. Hard choices are made on all sides and many commit acts that they morally object to in order to survive.

I highly recommend this book. It’s fun and exciting, without losing [sight] of the characters’ mortality.

Reviewed by: Janelle
yougottareadreviews.blogspot.com

EXCERPT

I finished my third cup of coffee and tossed some bills on the table for Marge. I started to get up to leave, when a cloud blocked the bright sunlight streaming in through the window across the aisle. Except it wasn’t a cloud.

A ham hock of a hand slammed me back down into my seat and held me there by my shoulder. I looked up. . .and up. . .and up at an Everest of a man. He sneered the way a bully does when he’s about to pound a kid into the playground dirt. Across the table from me, a dapper and much less imposing man slid onto the bench seat.

“Long time no see, Sunrise.” His sneer matched that of the other goon. This didn’t look to be a social meeting.

“Not long enough, Weasel.”

“Always with the wisecracks, eh, Sunrise? And it’s Weisel. You’ll do well to remember that. My friend here,” he nodded at the man-mountain, “don’t take kindly to punks that insult me. Do ya, Tiny?”

The ham hock turned into a vise; steel fingers dug deep into my shoulder blade. I had to grit my teeth to keep from crying out. Weasel nodded sharply and the pressure ceased. Maybe Weasel didn’t like the nickname, but his hatchet face and beady eyes invited the comparison.

“Tough guy, eh, Sunrise?”

I fixed him with an acid glare and thought of all the things I’d like to do to the little rodent. He was the brains of the duo, which wasn’t saying much.

“Run outta wisecracks? That’s okay, you can think up some more on the way.” He nodded to Tiny, who yanked me out of the booth by my jacket collar.

“On the way? To where?” I had a pretty good idea.

“To see the boss. He wants to have a chat.”

That’s what I was afraid of.