Creeping Ivy

Rating:
Summary: This is a "cozy"?
Review: Although I love a chilling psychological mystery (Ruth Rendell rules), sometimes nothing hits the spot like a good old-fashioned British cozy with characters suitable for a game of "Clue" and a victim who's usually unbereavble by all -including the reader. I picked up this book because a blurb said the author was a master of the genre. What I found was a crime that simply cannot make the transition to "entertainment" in my mind(child abduction/pronography/molestation/murder)along with uniformly cold, unlikeable characters and a cynical attitude that must have Agatha Christie twirling in her grave.
Not a pleasant read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent psychological suspense
Review: In a London park, four-year old Charlotte Weblock mysteriously vanishes when her nanny becomes distracted for a moment. The media blasts Charlotte's mother renowned banker Antonia for leaving much of the care of her child with a nanny. Though the child may have wandered off by herself, law enforcement officials believe someone abducted the little girl.

The police find several suspects close to the victim's family who have the motive and the means to carry out a kidnapping. They investigate the nanny and Charlotte's stepfather, both of who had ample opportunity. They look into the background of Charlotte's biological father too. Finally, the police make inquiries into Trish Maguire, Antonia's cousin. Trish, a crusading barrister, specializes in child abuses cases. Trish, a former victim of abuse, begins her own inquiry into what happened to Charlotte.

Natasha Cooper, author of the Willow King mysteries, shows the width and depth of her talent by taking a turn into an entirely different type of story line. CREEPING IVY is an intelligently written psychological thriller that puts its' focus on a parent's worst nightmare. However, the well-designed plot actually centers on the investigation by Trish, which leads her to never accept the external mask of anyone ever again. Readers will want more stories starring Trish, a wonderful protagonist.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed by ending
Review: While this was a very good book, I was quite disappointed by the ending. It wasn't fulfilling enough. After reading it all day and breathlessly waiting for the climax to a kidnapping story, I felt let down. I'm not sure if I'll read any of Natasha Cooper's other books.