Always Time To Die by Elizabeth Lowell

Former U.S. Senator Quintrell is dead. His son, New Mexico's governor, is preparing his run for the highest political office in the land.

And dark family secrets are about to explode with the devastating force of a Southwestern earthquake.

An eccentric Quintrell aunt has invited genealogist Carolina "Carly" May to their Taos compound to compile a record of the illustrious family. But digging into the past is raising troubling questions about a would-be president's private life . . . and the grisly street crime that left his drug-addicted sister dead. As a dark world of twisted passions and depravity slowly opens up before Carly, there is no one whom she dares trust - perhaps least of all Dan Duran, a dangerous, haunted enigma who's tied to the Quintrells' history. But she will need an ally to survive the terrible mysteries a father carried to the grave - because following the bloodlines of the powerful can be a bloody business. And some dead secrets can kill.

Always Time To Die ni novel ke-4 karya Elizabeth Lowell yang aku baca. Kiranya cerita ni secara keseluruhannya pasal Carly May yang diupah oleh Ms. Winnifred utk mengkaji salasilah family Castillo yang juga mempunyai kaitan dengan family Quintrell. Dalam menjalankan tugasnya itu, Carly bertemu dengan Dan Duran yang merupakan cucu kepada bekas Senator Quintrell.

Dalam menjalankan siasatan, Carly beberapa kali diugut supaya tidak meneruskan kerja2nya. Tapi kerana tugas dan rasa ingin tahunya walaupun terdapat beberapa kematian sepanjang penyiasatannya, akhirnya terbongkarlah sejarah hitam keturunan bekas Senator Q di mana Gabenor Q sebenarnya bukanlah waris Quintrell yang sah. Dengan kata lain, Gabenor Q adalah anak luar nikah bekas Senator Q yang telah membunuh anak kandung sebenar (Josh Q yg identitinya diguna oleh Gabenor Q skrg).

Tetapi apa yg musykilnya apabila diperiksa akan DNA yang digunakan oleh Josh Q skrg a.k.a Gabenor Q menunjukkan bahawa Josh Q adalah anak kandung bekas Senator Q. Memandangkan Dan Duran adalah cucu kepada bekas Senator Q, dia mengambil keputusan utk membandingkan DNAnya dengan DNA Josh Q. Sungguh menakjubkan apabila dia mendapati DNA mereka adalah sama (mcm DNA kembar seiras). Ini bermakna salah seorang dari mereka ber2 adalah penyamar. Maka terbongkarlah rahsia John Q juga identiti sebenar Dan Duran yang selama ini menyangkakan bahawa bekas Senator Q adalah datuknya. Tetapi rupa2nya lelaki itu adalah merupakan ayah kandungnya (ini kerana bekas Senator Q sangat terkenal dengan sikap playboynya & dia juga telah memperkosa anak perempuannya (nenek Dan Duran) dan juga anak perempuannya hasil hubungan sumbang mahramnya dengan nenek Dan Duran (ibu kepada Dan Duran). No wonder ibu Dan sangat sensitif dan mengharamkan sama sekali nama bekas Senator Q disebut di dalam rumahnya.

So... begitulah ceritanya. Agak menarik jugak walaupun lebih boring berbanding 3 lagi novel Elizabeth Lowell yang aku baca.

Last Breath by Mariah Stewart

As renowned archaeologist Dr. Daria McGowan readies the most important project of her career—a museum exhibit showcasing the priceless artifacts her great-grandfather unearthed a century ago in the Middle East—she makes a shocking discovery: many of the most significant pieces have vanished. Panicked, Daria turns to the FBI.

It's an assignment that Special Agent Connor Shields is more than happy to accept: Daria is the same pretty American archaeologist he's been searching for ever since a chance meeting two years ago. Working together to track down the owners of the stolen artifacts, Daria and Connor discover a trail of bodies—collectors who have met brutal, bizarre ends at the hands of a killer whose murderous methods are based on the rituals of an ancient civilization.

Amid rumors of a curse and mounting pressure from both the FBI and the museum, Daria and Connor race to unmask their enemy and unravel a mystery stretching across oceans and centuries. All the while, an ingenious murderer follows a sinister plan to gather the coveted antiquities, and one last acquisition: Daria.

Last Words by Mariah Stewart

A nine-year veteran of the FBI, Special Agent Mia Shields thinks she's seen it all. But nothing prepares her for the terror that descends upon the idyllic bayside community of St. Dennis on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where a depraved killer has left a grisly surprise for chief of police Gabriel Beck: the body of an unidentified woman, naked and completely encased in plastic wrap, stretched across the backseat of Beck's car. Hidden in the wrapping is a tape recording of the victim's last, gasping words, terrifying evidence of the horror endured at the hands of a madman. Soon the body count begins to rise as more victims are found, all gruesomely cocooned, their final pleas captured on tape.

Determined to capture the sadistic killer, Beck and Mia team up and set a trap—with Mia as bait. But their prey is closer than they ever could have imagined. Now Beck must race against time to save Mia from becoming the next victim of a serial killer as elusive as he is evil...

Last Look by Mariah Stewart

News that the body of a recently murdered prostitute—shot through the heart at close range, stabbed repeatedly and dumped on Georgia's Shelter Island—has been identified as Shannon Randall stuns the FBI, particularly Special Agent Dorsey Collins. Twenty-four years ago, nineteen year old Eric Louis Beale was convicted and later executed for Shannon's murder—and the agent in charge of the investigation was Dorsey's father. Now Dorsey is determined to find out where her father's investigation went wrong, what part he played in the death of an innocent young man, and where Shannon has been all this time.

The heat is on FBI Special Agent Andrew Shields to discover what happened to Shannon on that night decades ago, and to find out who killed her and why. Dorsey shadows Andrew's every investigative move, hoping to redeem her father's reputation and capture a cunning killer. Together, Dorsey and Andrew unravel a shocking mystery that will shatter one family, and rock an entire town.

Akukah Itu?

A.K.U.

- sangat bersopan santun : rasernyer x sangat..
- mudah bertolak ansur : dgn kwn iyer (tgk situasi)
- sangat cermat teliti dan teratur : utk certain benda yg aku suke jek
- suka menegur kesilapan orang lain dan mengkritik : agaknya tapi rasernya aku yang slalu kene tegur.. hehehe c",)
- pendiam tapi pandai bercakap : ya, betol
- sikapnya sangat cool : cool lah memula kalo tak cari psl
- sangat baik dan mudah simpati : ada ketikanya jugak la :)
- sangat prihatin dan berperinci : prihatin? ntah la, mungkin
- amanah, setia dan jujur : i'm working on it :)
- kerja yang dilakukan sangat sempurna : tak jugak
- sangat sensitif yang tidak diketahui : ini yer
- orangnya banyak berfikir tapi pendiam : aah, suke pikir terkedepan, sampaikan banyak rambut luruh (nasib baik x botak, hehehe) :)
- daya pentaakulan yang baik : mak aih ..
- otak bijak dan mudah belajar : boleh tahan tapi malas lebih berleluasa
- suka mencari maklumat : sebagai persediaan utk menghadapi apa2 yang mendatang
- kawal diri dari terlalu mengkritik : i try to tapi kadang2 terlepas jugak :)
- pandai mendorong diri sendiri : yer ah, sape nak dorong lg?
- mudah memahami orang lain (daya firasat yang tinggi) : memahami tp takleh nak control mulut dari beri nasihat
- simpan rahsia : emm
- suka sukan, hiburan dan melancung : sukan? tgk kat tv boleh la. yg lain, boleh la...
- kurang menunjukkan perasaannya : mana ada, mesti xleh sembunyi kat org
- terluka hatinya sangat lama disimpan : ini mmg yer..aku nih kuat berdendam
- terlalu memilih pasangan : err.. taklah.. tapi susah nak cari yang boleh menerima diri ini seadanya.. maklumlah skang ni aku dah jadi anak yatim :(
- sukakan benda yang luas : luas? kalau bilik yang luas ya.. sebab aku byk barang :)
- kerja bersistematik : mcm tak logik jek ini aku

That's The Way It Is

I can read your mind
And I know your story
I see what you're going through
Yeah ....
It's an uphill climb
And I'm feeling sorry
But I know it will come to you
Yeah ....

~ * ~ * ~

Don't surrender
'Cause you can win
In this thing called love

~ * ~ * ~

When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is

~ * ~ * ~

When you question me
For a simple answer
I don't know what to say, no
But it's plain to see
If you stick together
You're gonna find the way

~ * ~ * ~

So don't surrender
'Cause you can win
In this thing called love

~ * ~ * ~

When life is empty
With no tomorrow
And loneliness starts to call
Baby don't worry
Forget your sorrow
'Cause love's gonna conquer it all

~ * ~ * ~

Ohhhhhh .....
When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is

~ * ~ * ~

Photograph

Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red?
And what the hell is on Joey’s head?

This is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneakin’ out

This is where I went to school
Most of the time had better things to do
Criminal record says I broke in twice
I must’ve done it half a dozen times

I wonder if it’s too late
Should I go back and try to graduate
Life’s better now than it was back then
If I was them, I wouldn’t let me in

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It’s hard to say
It’s time to say it
Goodbye, Goodbye

Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say
It’s time to say it
Goodbye, Goodbye

Remember the old arcade
Blew every dollar that we ever made
The cops hated us hangin’ out
They say somebody went and burned it down

We used to listen to the radio
And sing along with every song we’d know
We said someday we’d find out how it feels
To sing to more than just the steering wheel

Kim’s the first girl I kissed
I was so nervous that I nearly missed
She’s had a couple of kids since then
I haven’t seen her since God knows when

I miss that town
I miss their faces
You can’t erase
You can’t replace it
I miss it now
I can’t believe it
So hard to stay
Too hard to leave it

If I could relive those days
I know the one thing that would never change

Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
Every time I do it makes me