The Arcanum of Beth by Mary Jane Russell

Publisher:              Intaglio Publications

Beth Chandler has been living a very quiet life as she helped take care of her parents, but now she’s ready to spread her wings and find something to do with her life besides work as an accountant.  Her best friend lawyer Janet Evans and her partner Ellen Harris decide to throw a sort of “coming out” party for Beth, but it has unintended consequences.  One of the guests is Louise Stephens, local playgirl, who sweeps Beth off of her feet.  Janet is unhappy when Beth suddenly moves in with Louise and moves her mother in, too.  Beth seems to become progressively more unhappy, but she won’t discuss what’s wrong, so Janet doesn’t feel she can get involved in the situation.  She’ll come to regret that when things become more complicated by Beth’s brother Will and his wife Patti showing up.  Patti and Louise spend too much time together and rumors are flying.   

Janet’s concern for her friend turns into anger when Beth is suddenly killed in an “accident” that seems more than suspicious.  No one knows until then that Beth gave Janet complete control over her estate and Janet has no intention of turning over anything to Beth’s family until she has checked out the circumstances of her death more thoroughly.  Janet and Ellen are pretty sure they know what happened.  The tough part is going to be finding the evidence to prove it.  Before she died, Beth whispered a clue to Janet, who is a master puzzle solver.  Finding the answer will be the solution to the arcanum of Beth.

The Arcanum of Beth is a different type of mystery.  There’s never much doubt about what happened to Beth.  The trick to the story is having Janet collect the evidence against two opponents who are very wily without having an “accident” herself.  Russell has to be given credit for having the courage to kill a very sympathetic character.  She spends a lot of time getting the reader to invest in Beth finally finding some happiness for herself and then goes through with the murder.  Though the reader knows from the blurb on the back of the book that this is going to happen, there’s still the hope that somehow the inevitable will be avoided.  Many writers won’t kill a strong character and end up weakening the story.  This is a bitter sweet story that is sometimes difficult to read for that reason, but it also makes it stand out from the crowd.  There are some parts of the story that seem a little contrived, but not enough to interfere with reading it.

The Arcanum of Beth is a promising first novel from Mary Jane Russell.  It’s worth reading for several hours of entertainment and it will be interesting to see how Russell develops her talent in future novels.

Just a Little Romance by Mary Jane Russell

Publisher:                   Intaglio Publications

          "If one more person under the age of twenty - making her own forty-three years

          all the more obvious - jostled her messenger bag without any form of apology,

          that person was likely to be decked.  She would swear she was menopausal and

          not responsible for her actions.  Who amongst a store full of people half her age

          would argue with that?" (pg. 1)

Does this woman sound familiar?  Maybe you've been this woman.

Samantha Moyer is a hero for the common woman.  She's a little too tall, carries a few extra pounds, has red hair thanks to L'Oreal and finds herself in middle age with no love to call her own.  She likes her job, stands by her friends, fights for the weak and can't understand why finding a woman to share her life is so difficult.  It's certainly not for lack of trying.  Sam and her best friend Paul frequently visit Internet sites hoping to make a match.  The result is a growing string of one time dates ranging from the bizarre to the ridiculous.  Her most consistent relationship is with a nurse in the emergency room she keeps ending up in and that woman has a decidedly negative impression of her.  As Sam moves through each day trying to maintain a successful business, she's drawn into the lives of Paul, her neighbor Ava and another neighbor Haley who has an abusive partner.  Her life is full, but could use just a little romance.

Just A Little Romance is a very enjoyable book.  It's not a typical romance, but a nice story about a routine life with some occasional excitement thrown into it.  Most books feature women who are strikingly beautiful, engaged in highly successful occupations and living totally satisfying lives.  Sam Moyer is just an ordinary woman making it through each day.  She's irritated by young people who lack proper manners and appalled by KD who frequently beats Haley.  She acts before she thinks because she wants to do what is right and sometimes she pays for it, as her bruises and broken bones prove.  Sam enjoys her job and her friends, but misses that special someone to come home to.  It's nice to read a story about a woman that most other women can relate to very easily, especially when the story is told with a lot of humor and some nervous suspense.

Mary Jane Russell has written a book that will draw the reader in.  The hook is that the characters will feel so familiar that it's like visiting with friends.  That will result in a few hours of very comfortable reading.