ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604290137
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
TRIAL BY FIRE.
By Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. Dutton. $22.95.
I was surprised by the promotional sticker on its cover that offers one of four free books when you buy "Trial By Fire" because I think Nancy Taylor Rosenberg writes good suspense-filled legal pot-boilers that stand on their own merits. If you've read any of her four previous novels, you'll probably agree that this ex-cop and former investigative probation officer knows the formula for success.
In "Trial by Fire," Stella Cataloni, the brilliant and driven Dallas district attorney, relives an old nightmare when she is accused of murdering an eyewitness who claims that Cataloni set the fire that killed her parents many years ago. Physically and emotionally scarred, Cataloni must save herself and her troubled brother while trying to solve an old arson and murder that was set off by corruption, greed and hatred.
"Trial by Fire" is a tad melodramatic, but it's also an old-fashioned thriller made even more exciting and compelling by the well-developed characters and contemporary plot line.
- JUDY KWELLER
MY MOTHER HAD A DREAM: AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN SHARE THEIR MOTHERS' WORDS OF WISDOM.
By Tamara Kikuradse. Dutton. $17.95.
Inspirational collections can be wonderful gifts for those who have little time to read, and this book is no exception. It may even inspire the reader to explore in greater depth the words of such authors as Marita Golden, Maya Angelou, Anna Julia Cooper or Gloria Wade-Gayles. Scientists, opera divas, dancers, scholars, poets, workers - all black women - tell of the love, support and strength they found in their mothers.
- LENI SORENSEN
Judy Kweller is a free-lance writer and special events coordinator.
Leni Sorensen is a graduate student in American Studies at the College of William and Mary.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB