Salem's Updates en-US Fri, 29 Sep 2023 08:24:03 -0700 60 Salem's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Friend1375168622 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 08:24:03 -0700 <![CDATA[<Friend user_id=52784886 friend_user_id=170305657 top_friend=true>]]> Rating647398350 Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:11:40 -0700 <![CDATA[Salem West liked a review]]> /
Salem West liked Henriette's review of Hold of the Bone (L.A. Franco, #6):
Hold of the Bone by Baxter Clare Trautman
"The discovery of Frank Franco
I have been since 2000 an avid reader of the early books of detective and now Lt Frank Franco. I loved the gritty, near noir police investigations set in crime-infested central LA. The professional and love life of her was real, not always happy-ending and so well-written: characters, setting, story (note: the earlier books were published under Baxter Clare).

When I started #6 in the series I noticed from the outset a noticeable change: Frank is middle-aged and at a crossroad of her life. Although job, lover, the struggle with her personal demons are all fine and settled, she feels change coming. A well-told story of finding a second life, a new calling unfolds.

Frank is investigating a cold case and her investigation becomes a quest when she ventures north into mountains that call to her. It is a transition from the concrete, steel and broken glass of her urban precinct right into the wilderness, it is a transition from logic and reason to the mystic language of once native lands. I loved the huge nod to the traditions of those who first lived there.

The language esp. when it comes to the frequently interspersed descriptions of nature is lyrical, heartbreakingly beautiful and a delight to savor: „The scabrous sycamores bend and sway, dancing to the most ancient of songs. The wind, the clouds and trees, the grasses bowing at the storm’s approach, all seem uncannily alive, and Frank’s breath halts between wonder and fear.�

The love scenes capture the essence not the technique.
„Frank kneels and strokes, reaching and fondling. She kisses her lover’s pale mounts and plains, straddles an alabaster thigh as Caroline spreads to receive Frank’s palm, writhing atop it, panting, grinding hard into the bed. Burning slick against Frank’s upturned hand, they surge together, mare and rider become one, the climax of one spurring the other.�

So, if you are open to see a hard-nosed city cop venture into the realm of visions and return to her very roots, give this gorgeous story a chance and you won‘t regret it.
"
]]>