Always Time to Die

I've got to disagree with some of the negative reviews here, but that is because I am familiar with Northern New Mexico. I think Lowell got the local color just right - the book is superb if you appreciate it in that context. Northern NM is a land unto itself, with characters unto themselves - most (Hispanos) are decendents of families who moved from Spain over 400 years ago. Although the relationships are complex in this book and I had to use the geneology chart in the front very often, I think it reflects the nature of the population. You will enjoy this book if you are willing to see it as a set piece, not just another romantic-suspense book. I am proud of the work Lowell does in crafting the plot.

Don't listen to the negative reviews! This is a good read, a book that I could not put down. Interesting story, great characters. I have read most of Elizabeth Lowell"s books--they are great, differing subject but always compelling and interesting.

Carolina (Carly) May is a historian hired to compile the family genealogy of a very well-known New Mexico family, which includes the current Governor and his deceased father, who was not only a Senator, but a womanizer. However, not all of the family is happy to have her researching the family tree...including the Governor himself, who feels the sins of his father could hurt his Presidential campaign.. Carly meets up with Dan Duran, the illegitimate great-grandson to the late Senator. Dan also wants Carly to stop researching the Castillo/Quintrall family because it is upsetting his mother, but decides to stick close to Carly when she refuses to leave town. When someone threatens Carly and Dan, they figure out that the only way to keep innocent people from getting hurt is to figure out the Castillo/Quintrell family secret. However, someone doesn't want the family Genealogy and bloodlines to be traced...and some secrets are worth killing for to be kept secret. Elizabeth Lowell has done it once again. This book is sure to hit the best seller lists. It not only will entertain you, but will have you scrambling to figure out the family secret. Elizabeth is a brilliant writer who's' characters are so well defined that they will stick with you long after the last page has been turned. Be warned that the book has many characters to keep track of and that the storyline is not simplistic.

I will buy any Elizabeth Lowell book. This one is a contemporary novel. It is a racy book that you will be unable to put down until you get to the end. It is written with her usual attention to detail. The characters are believable and the story keeps you in suspense. Truly worth reading.

Elizabeth Lowell is one of my favorite authors -- the sort whose books you do not start to read until the weekend unless you enjoy going to work on 4 hours' sleep (you just can't put it down). This book is not an exception. The characters are finely drawn and the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat. The fact that Lowell, while obviously doing a lot of research on genealogical DNA testing, dropped the ball with the Y-DNA testing on women (they don't have Y chromosomes so it can't be done) does not take away from this great book.