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"North of Montana"
The first Ana Grey Mystery

Published by Vintage of Random House 1994
Price US $15.95 CAN $17.95

I got an early Christmas present this week and I am going to explode if I don't share this with you! We mystery loving bibliophiles have something to celebrate! April Smith has been very blessed with a gift for writing, mystifying readers and bringing to life a new super sleuth that I am certain will take her place as a new rival to many of our favorite Detectives. Do you love the genuineness and charm of Kinsey Millhone? Do you wish you had more books on Clarice Starling and intense, consuming determination to go after the worst society has to offer? Do you hunger for more Alex Cross as he uses his natural skills to examine the most deranged killers? or do you just want to read a really good mystery - one that is a sure fire best seller? Then my friends I have the detective and the author for you!

April Smith has hit on every cyclinder with her creation of a tenacious, fascinating and highly gifted FBI Detective Ana Grey ... my newest favorite!!! When asked to review her 3rd novel Good Morning Killer, I asked if I could read the first two so I could better understand this new heroine of the mystery/thriller genre. I am so happy that I did and I encourage each of you to start with this one then the next one Judas Horse which I will review in a few days, then get in line with me to buy her latest novel newly printed and now on the shelves.

Oh forgive me, I got so carried away I forgot to give you my reasons for why I became enraptured with Ana Grey ... let me tell you what kind of woman and detective Ana is.

1. Co-workers describe her as "Annie Oakley in black lace".
2. Ana is in her 30s with black unruly hair who prefers jeans and sneakers to dresses
3. Ana loves her pink high tops but not quite as much as her well cared for 70s Barracuda ... yes I said a 1970 Barracuda.
4. Ana is as eccentric in her own way as Poirot or Holmes ... she brings such a freshness with her quips and thoughts you will be hooked.
5. She is full of "gems" of insight of a modern woman as she declares that "I am a romantic ... my favorite tear-jerker is Terminator"!

In this, her first novel with Ana, she begins by making the most amazing arrest single-handedly and for reasons unknown to her, she is pushed into heading up a case involving an aging movie star legend and illegal drugs. At the same time Ana is coming to grips with her mixed ethnicity and the buried predjudice within her remaining family member, her retired cop grandfather.

The two come together explosively as Ana digs up bones of skeletons best left buried. But being the true Maverick Ana is, she grabs you and takes you with her as she crashes through all barriers to get at the truth, the monsters and the answers. This book was such a joy for me that I highly recommend that you get the whole series and get in early on what will surely make Ana Grey a household word and a common name on the favorites list of all of us who live for the next "Mystery Thriller".

About the Author:

This new writer has already won an Emmy and is sure to continue on to win many more awards. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband of over 30 years, a psychotherapist, her two grown children and her cherished dog and cat. She meekly adds "I write and produce dramatic TV shows as well as writing books. I’ve been nominated for an Emmy award three times, a Writer’s Guild Award twice, and by 2011 will have published five novels."

Mystery Net Community Mystery Books & Authors Book Reviews OLDER BOOK REVIEWS Smith, April: "North of Montana"