Romance in Seattle in 3 books: "The Third Circle," "Mrs. Perfect," "Love and Biology"

We all know there's no shortage of literary talent in the Northwest. And now, to prove it, here's a trio of new novels — all remarkably different from each other — by female writers, some of whom use Seattle-area settings you'll recognize, and others whose imaginations rove far and wide.

"The Third Circle" by Amanda Quick (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 352 pages, $24.95). Amanda Quick, one of the pseudonyms of prolific Seattle author Jayne Ann Krentz, is in top form for this deftly plotted Victorian London romantic thriller about men and women endowed with an intriguing range of psychic abilities.

As usual with Quick/Krentz, the novel leaps right into the action with an opening scene of a dark night, a bloody death and an escape in the teeth of paranormal peril. And while there's never any doubt that her heroine, Leona (who reads crystals and harnesses their power), and her hero, Thaddeus (a psychic mesmerist), will end up together, there are some surprising twists and turns in a plot that gradually points toward a secret society whose members will stop at nothing to acquire power.

"The Third Circle" is an Arcane Society mystery (the author writes both historical and contemporary books under that label), but you don't have to know the previous books to enjoy this one.

"Mrs. Perfect" by Jane Porter (5 Spot, 419 pages, $13.99). Seattle novelist Jane Porter set her earlier "Odd Mom Out" in Bellevue, where a misfit motorcyclist/working mom struggled with her intimidating nemesis, the stay-at-home, picture-perfect Taylor Young.

Now Porter has produced a sequel that looks at Bellevue and its environs through the clear irises of Taylor, whose ideal world is about to come apart when her husband spins into a full-scale crisis (both economic and personal).

Taylor, the mom we all loved to hate in "Odd Mom Out," initially appears as shallow as a martini glass, but when her money and position are stripped away and she becomes a social pariah, she suddenly develops a little depth. As Taylor revisits elements of her past, we also find out why her perfectionist drive is so strong.

Can she and her children cope with their downsized lives, and can Taylor's marriage be saved? Porter has some intriguing answers.

"Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe," by Jennie Shortridge (New American Library, $14, 400 pages). Seattle novelist Jennie Shortridge invokes the spirit of the Fremont District with a charming new novel about a mid-40s woman named Mira who flees her previous life (in a small Oregon town) when she is betrayed by her husband.

Things are pretty complicated for Mira, who has grown up in a lively and contentious Italian family, and who has loved her husband since their college days. Her troubled relationship with their daughter, Thea, is driving her nuts, and Mira is tired of being the peacemaker and the grown-up "good girl."

When she flees northward after an encounter with her husband and his new love interest, and Mira's car breaks down in Seattle, she finds employment at the Coffee Shop at the Center of the Universe. There she discovers a lot of colorful characters — as well as a better understanding of her past, and some new possibilities for her future.

Shortridge has a lot of fun with the Fremont setting: "an urban mass of odd public art, old hippies, new hipsters, old fishing outfits on the canal, new dot-coms in refurbished old buildings."