CBS, Monday 10p.m      

STATS:  Lieutenant Horatio Cane (David Caruso) is a well seasoned cop who is the head of the CSI for Dade County Florida Sheriff’s department. A South American drug dealer widows him, by way of his wife’s murder. He has a teenage son, by a demented evil woman he had an affair with while in deep-undercover years ago. He’s a sharp-shooter, CSI officer, detective and whatever hat he might need to wear to get the job done. He is also a father figure to his team of CSI investigators. ‘H’, (as he called) seems to take care of everyone else, but himself. Cool, collected, he rarely shows a rattled nerve and is loyal to his friends and family almost to a fault. Even though surrounded by the open and colorful life of Miami, he is something of a loner super cop. He also has a habit for falling for the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen, only to find out she’s some evil genius criminal. For that reason, in the end he is always very much alone.  

THE LOOK:  6’, red hair, and intense blue eyes.  When interviewing a suspect, he rarely faces him, always stands at the ready, turning his head to speak in a low soft voice. Always with him, is his trade mark aviator sunglasses.

LEADING LADY:  Currently his only leading lady is his work. Every time, H, falls in love or gets married it’s a death sentence to his loved one. They eventually die some horrible death.  He’s a man destined to be alone.

BOTTOM LINE:  CSI Miami is my favorite of the CSI’s, due to H. I love his cool, calm almost suave exterior.  He has a heart of gold, and has a real weakness for children. Although, I consider CSI Miami, of the three shows to be the worst procedurally. The holographic computer, over the top beautiful lab, (it makes me want to work there), and the sky line as the panoramic view sweeps down over the bluest water I’ve ever seen. Makes one wish they could be arrested at least once in their life by H. All of it attracts me to CSI Miami, and most especially to H. And who can resist the mystery behind the sunglasses.

 QUESTION OF THE DAY:  Which is your favorite CSI? And what do you think of H.

Naked In Death By JD Robb (AKA Nora Roberts) (Berkeley, 1995) 

STATS:  ”Roarke–no known given name–born 10-06-2023, Dubin, Ireland….Parents unknown.”  Irish billionaire.  Education?  Unknown.  Criminal Record?  No data. 

THE LOOK:   Black hair, blue eyes, 6′2″, 173 pounds.  ”He was almost ridiculously handsome: the narrow, aesthetic face; the slash of cheekbones; and sculpted mouth.  His eyes were blue, but the word was much too simple for the intensity of color or the power in them.” 

LEADING LADY: Eve Dallas, NY police detective hunting ruthless killers.  Tall, willowy brunette with “eyes the color of honeycombs and a mouth made for sex.”  Serious cop of the future.  Battered leather jacket and jacked up, short hair.  Weakness for food and coffee and….Roarke.  

Roarke first meets Eve when she comes to interview him about the murder of an ex-lover.  The moment he saw her, he knew he’d have her, but that was before he knew she was a cop.  He hates cops, but he can’t stay away from Eve anyway.  He plies her with gourmet coffee and in an act of supreme romance, keeps the button that fell of her jacket in his pocket.      

BOTTOM LINE:   In this continuing series, Robb has created two characters so layered and complex.  The first is my favorite, the moment they meet, the book in which Eve first lets down her guard and gives in to passion with Roarke.  Roarke is strong and ruthless and sexy, but his true appeal lies in his utter devotion to Eve and, despite his worry, his ability to let her be the woman and cop she needs to be.   

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Like the gourmet coffee Roarke gives Eve, what “simple” pleasure could a man give you to win you over?

Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowlings, Scholastics 1997-2007

STATS: From the beginning Harry exhibited chieftain abilities, as well as the warrior side of him. An orphan boy, with magical abilities beyond imagination, he took on the roll of leading his new found friends, into and out of trouble, from the very moment he arrived at Hogwarts. Harry is fearless, and often reckless with both magic, and his own bravery. But from the start we all knew he was to become something special and we’re never disappointed.

THE LOOK: Harry grew up right before us in the books. As an adolescent, he was thin, with dark hair, and green eyes. Most notably is the lightening bolt left on his for head by Voldemort. The lightening bolt appeared, while his mother died protecting him from “the one who shall not be named”. Valdemort couldn’t kill Harry, because of his mother’s love. And it became Harry’s cross to bear.

LEADING LADY: Harry has had a couple of love interest in his young years, but one young lady who stayed closes to him was Ginny Weasley, his best-friend Ron’s younger sister. From the moment she saw him at the train station, when he bumped into Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and the twins, Ginny was in love. Harry just had to wait for her to grow up a little to notice, although he did save her life. Another close friend was Hermoine. Theirs was never a romantic friendship, although there was a lot of speculation as to who she’d eventually fall for. In the last book, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows, it was revealed that Harry and Ginny would marry and have three children.

BOTTOM: Harry has become an unconventional hero, who drew both children and adults to the series, and movies. Hundreds of websites are dedicated to the subject and dissection of the books and characters. He’s been described as, ‘unique’ in the writing world. And that there will never be a young hero that brought with him so much hype, discussion, book burnings, and renewed the love of reading in so many.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Why do we love Harry so much, and were willing to get up at midnight to buy a book we ordered months in advance?

MAVRICK WILD, Stacey Kayne, Harlequin Historical, 2008

Chance Morgan is a cowboy and ranch owner in the Wyoming Territory, in 1886.

THE LOOK: Well over six foot, broad shoulders and muscular from a life of breaking wild horses. “He whipped back, spraying water across the sky and revealing golden blond hair. Drops of water trickled down handsome features to his sharp jaw. His head tilted back as he raked his fingers through his hair. She spotted a tiny scar hidden beneath his chin. A scar she’d given him accidentally.”

LEADING LADY: Cora Mae Tindale. Wide soft dark eyes, long ringlets of red drives Chance Morgan to distraction. “She sure hadn’t turned out anything like her starchy, whip-thin mother. He couldn’t keep his gaze from roving the tight yellow bodice hugging full breasts. The gentle dip at her waist and prominent flare of her hips left no doubt that a man would find a soft, warm landing in her arms.” Cora Mae is running from her mother, who had orchestrated her rape, to force her into marrying a man she hated. She did the only thing she could think of, run to the only person she ever trusted, Chance Morgan.

BOTTOM LINE: It had been twenty years since Chance Morgan has seen his step-sister. Now all grown up Cora Mae appears on his door-step. Chance hated everything about Cora Mae’s mother. Now with Cora Mae under his roof, old feelings and distrust mingle into a bundle of confusing emotions and suspicion for Cora Mae’s motive for coming back into his life. He knows she’s lying and hiding the true reason behind her unexpected visit to Wyoming. Still, in the silent of the night, he holds the ribbon she gave him as he rode off to war as a boy. Now faded and tattered it reminds him of the little girl he left to her mother’s conniving devices and of his growing attraction and love for Cora Mae, woman.

After an argument:

“Cora Mae?”

“What do you want?” she spat.

“You left your basket.” He eased onto her chest of drawers, not about to take another step into her room.

“Should I dump it out, so you can search the contents?”

“I want to apologize for what I said. I didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, you did. You’re a man of few words. No doubt you choose them carefully.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is the allure of the west and the men who tamed it?