A quick look at recent releases

Best-selling author John Connolly returns with his favorite flawed detective, Charlie Parker, in yet another gritty tale flavored with a bit of the supernatural. Parker is hired to investigate the apparent suicide of a former soldier and encounters a smuggling ring made up of men from the soldier's unit, which served in Iraq. The group is trafficking in artifacts purloined from overseas and it's not happy with Parker's inquiries. The group members are also uneasy because others in the unit have been dying, apparent suicides. But could it be something else? Could they have brought back some ancient evil they didn't bargain for? Parker must find out before it catches up to him. Connolly deftly melds issues and problems confronting our returning trooops with a chilling thriller. Good read.

MILFORD REID,

Sports designer

Lizzy Tucker is no Stephanie Plum, but she comes close. Too close, at times. Lizzy is the heroine of this new series by Janet Evanovich, author of the highly popular bounty hunter series ("One of the Money" through "Sizzling Sixteen"). Evanovich clearly has found a formula that works, and she's stickin' with it. Lizzy, a baker at Dazzle's Bakery in Boston, is innocently baking cupcakes when her life is interrupted by Diesel, a mysterious and very handsome stranger. He demands that she use her special powers to help him find the Seven Stones of Power, each representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins. He needs to get them before they are found by another mysterious stranger, Gerwulf Grimoire, who has evil intentions. Their quest: find four charms that together will lead them to the stone representing gluttony. Diesel, Lizzy's round-the-clock protector, reminded me of Stephanie's cop boyfriend Joe Morelli, and Grimoire resembles the mysterious Ranger of the Plum series. Lizzy, like Stephanie, has a sidekick -- Glo, short for Gloria -- whose bumbling attempts at magic spells add to the book's humor. Yes, it's all a bit familiar, but it's still fun, and these characters feel a lot fresher than Steph and the gang. With one stone found, there are six to go. I'm looking forward to them.

JUDY ROMANOWICH SMITH,

NEWS DESIGNER