(Published: November 3, 2002)

Dark Soul

By Sean E. Thomas

(Infinity Publishing, $14.95)

The blurb: "Alaska State Trooper Robert Sable watched his wife and son die at the hands of his enemies and is now on a mission to even the score. When his investigation gets him into trouble with the Troopers, his chief assigns him to a Fish and Game stakeout in the Alaska wilderness. Intent on stopping the mob boss responsible for the hit on his family, Sable invites him for a final confrontation. When the meeting goes wrong, Sable must run for his life, with the mob boss's men close behind."

Excerpt: "With his family dead, was life worth living now? The thought of ending his life here swirled in his head. He looked for his gun, but his eyes couldn't focus. He tried to pull himself up but failed. A new thought emerged. He'd join his family, but later. His one mission in life now was to avenge his family's murder, to kill David Meyers. Darkness clouded his mind, heart and soul -- Meyers would die."

Black Sheep Talking: Her Life, Lust and Loves

By Delphia Pearson-Rowe

(Milligan Books $13.95)

The blurb: "Her real name is Yvette Brown, but they call her Candi Caine. Her life of addiction, prostitution and sexual perversion eventually led to helplessness, hopelessness and homelessness. Her story is one that takes you deep into the mind of the daughter of a hard-working, loving father and a God-fearing mother."

Excerpt: "I have no idea how I could have done something like this, but I did. I felt so bad. I wanted to take it back, but I couldn't; it was too late. Nothing could bring back the puppy. For many years, this act of cruelty haunted me. Only recently I came to believe that I was a very emotionally sick little girl. By this time, I knew something was different about me, and it wasn't good."

The Beluga Cafe: My Strange Adventure With Art, Music and Whales in the Far North

By Jim Nollman

(Sierra Club Books, $16.95)

The blurb: "Animal communication expert Jim Nollman has sung with orcas, plucked a Jew's harp in waters teeming with humpback whales and shaken rattles in the company of bottlenose dolphins. Now, in this heartfelt and quirky true-adventure story, Nollman and two artist friends set out on Canada's vast Mackenzie River delta, electric guitar and underwater sound equipment in tow, to make music with belugas, the elusive white whales of the Arctic."

Excerpt: "Hearing a single whale sound for the third time in just a few hours buoyed my spirits. The call started out as a friendly warble that made me search the shore, as if I might find a canary flitting among the flock of terns feeding there. This high-pitched song slowly morphed into a deep, overtone-rich groan, which started as one long note but then began to pulse, mutating into a hair-raising sound like Darth Vader letting loose with a loud belly laugh before heaving his guts."