REVIEWS OF Xs

Xs: An Allie Armington Mystery
Louise Gaylord
Little Moose Press (2007)
ISBN 9780978604912
Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (2/07)

What do you get when you wrap the thrills of a mystery writer like Agatha Christie up with the hip style of Janet Evanovich and toss in a little Nora Roberts romance? You get Louise Gaylord. While her style of writing is all her own, the minute I started reading “Xs” I knew she had a combination of talents much like these other well-known authors. The spunk of her characters, Allie Armington and her sister Angela, create a never ending thrill throughout the book.

As Angela's roommate is found dead after Allie receives an odd phone call from Angela asking for twenty grand "right now,” Allie is pulled into this odd twist of tales between her gorgeous model sister, her roommate and a group of "higher ups" that get what they want. Add to the thrill and mystery a sexy and even more mysterious Texan who once took Allie's heart for a spin and you have some real action going on!

As Allie, a former DA turned boring old lawyer, delves into helping the local authorities figure out a huge cartel by becoming a mole for them she begins to realize exactly what danger she's in. Not sure who to trust or where to turn, she keeps some of her information secret to save her own life. Twists and turns, wild parties and sinister men, Allie's life becomes anything but boring as she attends masquerades that boast the highest of high profiled men. Trying to figure out who killed her sister's roommate becomes only one of the dilemmas she faces as she literally fears for her life when she gets in too deep. Will the one man she's always carried a torch for be the one man who can save her or is he really working on the other side? And what exactly are these huge masquerade parties for,
other than trading women like prostitutes?

“Xs” contains constant action and never a dull moment. You will be encompassed by the storyline immediately. Hard to put down and even harder to truly figure out until the end, the author does a wonderful job at creating an intricate web of deceit and surprise. I can't wait for the next Allie Armington mystery to come out!

“I began reading about Allie in the Big Apple while stranded in a carpark in downtown Santa Barbara and couldn't resist turning the pages. There I was, oblivious to my surroundings, deeply immersed in Allie's travails in Houston and Manhattan. One page seemed to melt into the next, until, finally, a dear soul came up to my car and tapped on my window, gently motioning for me to move on, which I did, of course, to let other cars pass. I felt that sting of guilt as my eyes fell on page 43.

Louise Gaylord's Xs is the kind of book that you close, only when you have to. I enjoyed Anacacho, the first in the Allie Armington series, well-worth the price of admission, but I enjoyed so much more Xs.

Allie and her constellation fascinate and entertain with the precision of a perfectly crafted movie. Read the book for Gaylord's polished writing, for an ending you won't be able to guess, and for her ability to make the written page turn into fast-moving Technicolor, right before your eyes.”

— Cynthia Teed

Dear Louise, I finished your second book "Xs" at five am a few mornings ago. If possible it was even more gripping than "Anacacho." And the love story going through both books is great! Surely you will win a prize on this second one too. Certainly your books are great amovie material or a TV series. Congratuions on "Xs!!!!"

— Margaret

Heartland Reviews are not like those found in other book review sources. Each book is evaluated according to standards laid out in scientifically developed rubrics or evaluation guidelines. Essentially they are given a grade through a quantitative scoring process which examines multiple areas of consideration, i.e., plot, pacing, characterization, emotional content, symbolism, and several others. These scores are added together for an overall numerical score. This drives how many hearts we award the work, which range from one to five hearts.