Elizabeth Lowell Always Time to Die

Always Time to Die

Elizabeth Lowell

Morrow, Jul 2005, $24.95, 352 pp.

ISBN: 0060504153

Near Taos, someone murders former New Mexico Senator Andrew Jackson Quintrell III, but everyone who knew him feels the womanizing low life got his just desserts. Meanwhile his sister-in-law Winifred Simmons y Castillo, who rejoices in Andrew's death, hires historian Carolina "Carly" May to develop the family tree. Her nephew New Mexico Governor Josh Quintrell, Andrew's legitimate son, worries that his father's philandering could cost him his bid for the White House. He is pleased the old man cannot cause any new scandals, but worries about might shake out of the tree when the genealogy chart is completed.

Dan Duran, the unrecognized great-grandson of the late Senator from an illegitimate tryst, also has big concerns over Carly's study because it upsets his mother; he wants the endeavor stopped. When Carly refuses, Dan decides to keep an eye on her to see what dirt she digs up. However, someone else warns Carly to cease and deist or else she will be stopped in a violent manner. Dan joins her to uncover the family secret that someone wants buried and is willing to kill to keep it interred. He wonders if a highly visible politician would stoop so low.

This is a detailed suspense thriller filled with realistic and complex characters that will intrigue those readers who want more background information on topics critical to the storyline. The use of DNA and the dating of old photographs that provide historical state tidbits augment the investigation and adds depth to the cast especially the heroine but also slows down the action. Still ALWAYS TIME TO DIE is a strong, realistic and exciting thriller in which the romance plays a key but secondary subplot.

Harriet Klausner