Patrick Bowers PhD is an en­vi­ron­men­tal crim­i­nol­o­gist for the FBI. A serial killer who calls himself the Il­lu­sion­ist is killing women in North Carolina and leading the FBI a merry dance. There's a major subplot involving another killer and Jonestown. And Bowers' personal life is com­pli­cat­ed by a sullen teenage step­daugh­ter.

Despite the ludicrous complexity of the plot, it's an en­ter­tain­ing and relatively thoughtful thriller.

Sarl is a barely industrial backwater on the Eighth level of a Shellworld, a vast artificial planet of concentric levels. King Hausk is secretly murdered after a battle by his top aide, tyl Loesp. His oldest son, Ferbin the fop, witnesses the murder and flees for his life. Meanwhile, his sister Djan, who has long been a Special Cir­cum­stances operative in the Culture, hears of the death halfway across the galaxy and heads for home. Their younger brother, Oramen, is still a minor and so tyl Loesp …continue.

A free ebook that I quickly gave up on because I couldn't stand the leaden writing and the heavy­hand­ed exposition.

I gave this free ebook a fair shake, but eventually the clunky writing grew too much for me.

A renegade warrior and his escaped-slave girlfriend penetrate the vast wilderness where no human has trod, and find a new race ruled by an ancient queen who needs to be over­thrown…

Marla Mason is the chief sorcerer of Felport. She's abrasive, hard-headed, and ruthless enough to stay on the top of the pile. But a challenger has arisen and she's gone to San Francisco with her sidekick Rondeau to seek the help of an old friend. That friend has been murdered by an Aztec sorcerer who's trying to bring back an Aztec god.

Fast-paced and en­ter­tain­ing. I found Marla too obnoxious at first, but then she grew on me.

Diana Ladd is the widow of a man believed to have killed an Indian girl seven years ago in the Arizona desert. The girl's grand­moth­er, Rita Antone, is helping Diana rear her son in a remote house. Now the real killer, Andrew Carlisle, is out of jail, blaming Diana for his being put away for manslaugh­ter.

Jance weaves together several in­ter­est­ing characters, their back­sto­ries, and Indian myths to make a satisfying thriller.

Superspy Devlin, head of the U.S. gov­ern­men­t's most secret black ops team, is on the run, apparently having being framed by someone with inside knowledge.

Second-rate ripoff of Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy. Ludicrous plot, cliched characters, risible tech­nob­a­b­ble. I gave it longer than I should before abandoning it.

Avoid.

Teenage D&D-playing bookworm responds to a help-wanted ad, steps through a door, and finds himself wandering in a forest where he can do simple magic.

I couldn't take more than an hour of the clumsy writing in this free ebook.