Every Breath You Take : A True Story of Obsession, Revenge, and Murder
by Ann Rule
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (17 December, 2001)
list price: $25.00
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (121)

music lover
This book was very interesting, informative & entertaining.Ann Rule certainly did her homework in researching the details for this book.She left no stone unturned.Yes, it was very long at 681 pages, but well worth it.She brings out the personalities of each character & you could really picture what must have gone on in that house, that gruesome day of the murder, as well as the courtroom drama that took place.

Detailed account of relentless revenge
Ann Rule reconstructs Allen's twisted childhood and its effects on his multiple abusive marriages and convoluted business deals.It shows the resulting horrific murder-for-hire of his former wife, Sheila, after she fled the state with her quadruplet toddlers.
The clues tying the bumbling murderer and accomplices are painstakingly detailed, showing that they all led back to the ex-husband.
The trials seem a bit tedious as the reader follows the same clues once again through each proceeding, but in general, the book is Rule's usual gripping account.

Boring -- Wait for the City Confidential Version
This is a "true-crime" novel about an abused wife/mother who leaves her wealthy, charming husband after years of marriage.The husband wants revenge and stalks her and eventually brutally murders her.This is where the story begins.

The story itself is interesting enough.And Rule does a good job of keeping your attention for a while.But after the murder, the ensuing court case just goes on and on.It's as though Rule has made a deal to mention everyone in the book that she interviewed, so she has to give the most intricate details of the court case in order to fit everyone in.

Bottom line:The TV show City Confidential could do a great job with this story (if it hasn't already), but as a book it's just plain boring.One of the few books I was not able to finish. ... Read more

Isbn: 0743202961
Sales Rank: 88012
Subjects:  1. Bellush, Sheila,    2. Biography    3. Case studies    4. Florida    5. Homicide    6. Infamous Crimes And Criminals    7. Murder    8. Murder - General    9. Murder victims    10. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    11. Sarasota    12. True Crime    13. United States    14. True Crime / General   

Bad Connection
by Michael Ledwidge
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (03 April, 2001)
list price: $23.95 -- our price: $23.95
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Penzler Pick, April 2001: Michael Ledwidge follows his exciting debut, TheNarrowback, with another edge-of-the-seat thriller. Sean Macklin is atelephone repairman in New York City. While dealing with a problem on a line,Sean inadvertently plugs into a conversation that he should not be hearing--but he does. Sean's wife is disabled and they desperately need money, and the conversation is about a merger about to take place. Sean knows that inside information like this can pay off big, so he invests, making a handsome profit.

But Sean can't leave well enough alone. He knows that he risks his job tapping into the line of a CEO in a large investment bank, but he also knows that if he does this just a few times, he will have enough money to move his wife to Florida. But then he hears something he really shouldn't. The CEO, in a conversation with an overseas associate, suggests something that Sean knows is more than illegal--it's immoral. Outraged, he contacts his brother Ray, who is a cop, and lets him listen to a tape of the conversation. Sean would like to see the CEO busted and out of a job, but Ray has other ideas for the tape and he's not about to share those ideas with Sean. He asks an old street friend, Scully, to help him out, and between them they place in jeopardy everybody they know. By the time this story is finished we have been treated to a fable about greed that is about as dark as it can get. --Otto Penzler ... Read more

Reviews (12)

QUITE A RIDE!
This was a fast, tense, twisting tale, all the more exciting because it was written by a guy with inside information. Mr. Ledwidge seems destined for a long career in this genre. This would make a terrific movie. His characters come alive, his dialogue is crisp, and his action sequences are not for the faint of heart...everything the action flick devotee loves. I already have the lead actors chosen...

Fast-paced suspense, intriguing premise
Bad Connection is a novel with a fascinating premise --a telephone worker listens in on the corrupt dealings of financial bigwigs in Manhattan and attempts to use the information to his own advantage. Sean Macklin is the closest thing to a hero in this basically amoral tale. He works underground in midtown Manhattan, where he repairs the phone lines for some of the world's most powerful financiers. When he overhears a conversation about an upcoming merger, he sees no harm in using that information to do some daytrading of his own. Macklin's inspiration to make extra money is not greed, but his wife, who is seriously brain damaged after a car accident. The plot thickens when Macklin continues to listen and learns of a plot that involves not merely stock manipulation but the killing of native people in Central America. Sean then turns this information over to his brother Ray, a corrupt cop. From here, we have a complex but well-developed story, as Sean, Ray, the callous CEO of a pharmaceutical company and his ex-CIA henchman all collide over this volatile bit of information. I really enjoyed most of this book, but found the last quarter of it or so a little over-the-top in its action and violence. Although Bad Connection deals with moral issues, it doesn't exactly have a moral, being ultimately too cynical for that. Michael Ledwidge has an exceptional talent for writing clear, taut and elegantly descriptive prose. Although this is a good book, I think he is capable of even better ones.

Intriguing thriller of telephone worker battling corrupt CEO
Like "Narrowback," "Bad Connection" portrays a bloody Newtonian world of action and reaction as each of Ledwidge's flawed or damaged characters spar with each other.

Sean Macklin is a solid citizen - a telephone repairman - who's carrying both the guilt of putting his wife into a coma in a road accident and the exhaustive/expensive effort of looking after her 24/7. He sees a solution to his problems when, tapping into a telephone line to diagnose a problem, he overhears an investment banker talking about an upcoming acquisition. Armed with this insider trading knowledge and further, subsequent taps, he quickly turns $5,000 into $100,000.

Well experienced by now, he shifts his tap to the direct line of Brent - the hard-charging, arrogant young CEO of a major chemical company. Macklin gets more than he bargained for, however, when he tapes a conversation between Guest - an ex-CIA fix-it man- and Brent, talking about a $2 million bribe to a local governor in South America for murdering 30-40 environmental protestors. Brent, desperate to maintain himself in the heady world of private jets and trophy girlfriends, approves the bribe. Macklin turns the tape over to his brother Ray in the NYPD, unaware that Ray is living in a pressure cooker himself. Ray decides to blackmail Brent with the help of his broken-down old buddy Scully. Guest, of course, tails Ray and Scully after the payoff and predictably nasty repercussions follow.

Macklin's use of arcane telephone procedures to battle Guest and Brent makes "Bad Connection" an interesting and enjoyable thriller. I gave Ledwidge'sfirst novel "Narrowback" four stars but think this one is worth one less. The sense of collective doom surrounding the characters in "Narrowback" was more convincing and I found the story grittier and more compelling. Nonetheless, Bad Connection is a worthwhile, well-plotted, entertaining and light read. ... Read more

Isbn: 0743405935
Subjects:  1. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    2. Chief executive officers    3. Consolidation and merger of co    4. Consolidation and merger of corporations    5. Employees    6. Fiction    7. Fiction - Espionage / Thriller    8. Suspense    9. Telephone companies    10. Thrillers    11. Fiction / General   

Friendly Enemies
by Victoria Taylor Murray
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 January, 2003)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $19.95
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (120)

Great Fun Is What The Lambert Series...
Is About!I loved this series.It offered me everything I look for in books of this nature.Each book in the series only continued to get better and better and the excitment was nonstop!

I couldn't wait to see who Nouri Sommers finally wound up with.Surprised!Maybe a little.I will tell you this perhaps who she wound up with wasn't that must of a surprise BUT how this story ended certainly was!!!

I look forward to many more stories by Victoria Taylor Murray, my new favorite writer of romantic suspense.

The Lambert Series By Victoria Taylor Murray ...
IS MORE FUN THAN WATCHING A TELEVISION SOAP...I have to tell ya, I am having such a glorious time with this fun soap opera!The characters hooked me right from the very start.Of course, Nouri is my favorite but I also enjoy all the sexy men in her life as well.This series has been highly etertaining and I will be sorry to see it end.

Just fabulous!
I absolutely love this series. The story, the characters, the locale, the love scenes, the continuing mystery - all are just fabulous. From "Thief of Hearts", book one, to "Le Fin", the fourth and final installment, Ms. Murray keeps her readers entertained and engrossed. Characters come and go, the mystery deepens, and Nouri finally meets the man of her dreams. But will things work out for her? I'm not telling. Put away those boring books and pick up The Lambert series and have some fun! ... Read more

Isbn: 1591298733
Sales Rank: 358813
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Mystery & Detective - General   

Dreamcatcher
by Stephen King
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (20 March, 2001)
list price: $28.00 -- our price: $19.04
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Stephen King fans, rejoice! The bodysnatching-aliens tale Dreamcatcher is his first book in years that slakes our hunger for horror the way he used to. A throwback to It, The Stand, and The Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher is also an interesting new wrinkle in his fiction.

Four boyhood pals in Derry, Maine, get together for a pilgrimage to their favorite deep-woods cabin, Hole in the Wall. The four have been telepathically linked since childhood, thanks to a searing experience involving a Down syndrome neighbor--a human dreamcatcher. They've all got midlife crises: clownish Beav has love problems; the intellectual shrink, Henry, is slowly succumbing to the siren song of suicide; Pete is losing a war with beer; Jonesy has had weird premonitions ever since he got hit by a car.

Then comes worse trouble: an old man named McCarthy (a nod to the star of the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers) turns up at Hole in the Wall. His body is erupting with space aliens resembling furry moray eels: their mouths open to reveal nests of hatpin-like teeth. Poor Pete tries to remove one that just bit his ankle: "Blood flew in splattery fans as Pete tried to shake it off, stippling the snow and the sawdusty tarp and the dead woman's parka. Droplets flew into the fire and hissed like fat in a hot skillet."

For all its nicely described mayhem, Dreamcatcher is mostly a psychological drama. Typically, body snatchers turn humans into zombies, but these aliens must share their host's mind, fighting for control. Jonesy is especially vulnerable to invasion, thanks to his hospital bed near-death transformation, but he's also great at messing with the alien's head. While his invading alien, Mr. Gray, is distracted by puppeteering Jonesy's body as he's driving an Arctic Cat through a Maine snowstorm, Jonesy constructs a mental warehouse along the lines of The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. Jonesy physically feels as if he's inside a warehouse, locked behind a door with the alien rattling the doorknob and trying to trick him into letting him in. It's creepy from the alien's view, too. As he infiltrates Jonesy, experiencing sugar buzz, endorphins, and emotions for the first time, Jonesy's influence is seeping into the alien: "A terrible thought occurred to Mr. Gray: what if it was his concepts that had no meaning?"

King renders the mental fight marvelously, and telepathy is a handy way to make cutting back and forth between the campers' various alien battlefronts crisp and cinematic. The physical naturalism of the Maine setting is matched by the psychological realism of the interior struggle. Deftly, King incorporates the real-life mental horrors of his own near-fatal accident and dramatizes the way drugs tug at your consciousness. Like the Tommyknockers, the aliens are partly symbols of King's (vanquished) cocaine and alcohol addiction. Mainly, though, they're just plain scary. Dreamcatcher is a comeback and an infusion of rich new blood into King's body of work. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Reviews (694)

dreamcatcher

Dream catcher by is a very interesting novel which is worth dedicating your time to. It was written by Stephen king and is one of his many science fiction books. The story takes place in current times and the setting spreads from suburban areas to deep in the woods. The author uses excellent descriptions which allow you to visualize the scene as if you were there. The interaction that the main characters have with the setting makes the book even easier to imagine by putting the readers in situation that they have personally been in. All of these factors make the book more enjoyable to read.
The setting is not the only well developed factor of the story.Much time was also put into the development of all the stories characters. Each and every character could be looked at as a real person and if u saw them on the street you could walk up to them and have a conversation with them. Most of the characters are friendly and have you rooting for them in the end but a few just get under your skin and have you hoping that there future is not great. Overall the characters are well handled and are a contributing factor to the greatness of the book.
The most important feature of the book is of course the plot. The plot of this book would have to be one of my favorites. It feature the adventures of childhood friends
And spans to one final endeavor that will prove what friendship really is. It features everything from hunting to special force to aliens and many other things. This book is sure to appeal all audiences and offers something to anyone who enjoys reading.
Scot

Great story
Man, i just finished reading this book, and i was really impressed. this was my first stephen king book. i have seen some (actually a lot) of movies based on his books, and i like all of them. (Cujo, the shining, pet semetary, it, misery, the secret window, and even more.)
This book does a great job at getting you attached to the characters, even though half of the main ones get killed at around the middle of the book. I even got kind of attached to one of the bad guys, the alien named Mr.Gray.
In this book four friends who annually go on their hunting trip up in Maine, go this year when they are all about 38 years old, and this time things start going very bad when a stranger wanders in, carrying an "implant" made by aliens. he ends up getting 2 of the main characters killed, including himself. But it was his "implant" that kills, him which is living. a great book with a great plot and great cast of characters.

they can't all be bestsellers...at least they shouldn't be
(SLIGHT SPOILERS)

I'm a stephen king fan. I will gladly defend the body of his work to all the literary snobs who seem to foolishly believe that commercial success and mass appeal equal artistic compromise and marginal talent. I will go so far as to say that i believe that he will be remembered as one of, if not THE, greatest american writer of the 20th century; not because he writes scary books, but because he tells good stories. William Shakespeare wrote plays to pay the bills, and they happened to be popular. His work has survived while most of his contemporaries, despite being more "critically acclaimed," have faded from history. I feel the same about the majority of Mr. King's work.

But not all of it.

I can't explain this book. I can't imagine what made the story seem worth telling to the author. I can't imagine what made it seem marketable to the publisher (well, yes I can: the byline). I think Mr. King has reached the unfortunate level of wild success where the people whose job it is to rein in and direct his talent feel either unwilling or unable to do so. Somewhere, somebody, sometime, should have read this book and said, "Steve, what's this ABOUT?" Not because it's hard to follow (quite the opposite). But it's nothing more than a collection of hackneyed, B-movie elements swizzled together, resulting in a confused and, frankly, boring albatross of a novel.

The beginning is promising enough--I was willing to revisit the "childhood friends with an uncommon bond who face the bad guy as adults" idea from "IT," because that worked the first time. It fails rather miserably on this go-round, however. The characters are wooden, and largely unbelievable: more "types" than real people. Their banter is contrived and unrealistic: phrases intended to be unique and engaging ("Same S**t, Different Day," and "No Bounce, No Play") repeat themselves with irritating frequency and detract from rather than add to the humanity of the characters. Nobody talks like this, ever. And if they do, it makes me not like them, and I don't care when aliens pop out of their rectums.

The antagonists are a mishmash of archetypes: a race of aliens, spreading like a virus, intent on inhabiting our planet (after making a few changes); the crazy, flag-waving, sadistic military man, intent on exterminating the threat, and covering up the fallout at any price (he has his own stash of silly stock phrases: "laddy-buck" pops up about every other line of dialogue).

This book has the same flavor as the Tommyknockers--after a few hundred pages, the reader gets that sinking feeling that people stuck in elevators get: we should be getting somewhere by now, but it feels like we're right where we started; and unlike an elevator ride, the trip's supposed to be the best part.

The story is just BAD. It's been said (about a thousand times) that this was Mr. King's cathartic attempt to exorcise some of the demons hanging around after his brush with death. If it's true that this book was necessary to get him back in the saddle, then it's worth every page of subpar narrative and ridiculous dialogue. But there's no reason to publish it, or to purchase it.

I was a little worried after reading this one (and "Black House") that Mr. King's narrative genius had somehow been lost or amputated after his near-death experience. I'm pleased to say that no longer appears to be the case: "From a Buick 8" and the final three "Dark Tower" novels are beyond fantastic. For a guy who's published dozens of best-sellers, I'm more than willing to forgive the occasional creative hiccup. ... Read more

Isbn: 0743211383
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Horror    3. Horror - General    4. King, Stephen - Prose & Criticism    5. Literary    6. Suspense    7. Fiction / General    8. Horror   

War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton, and the Generals
by David Halberstam
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (25 September, 2001)
list price: $28.00 -- our price: $17.64
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of 17 books, David Halberstam has a gift for bringing current events alive and putting them into historical perspective in an engaging way. In many respects, War in a Time of Peace serves as a sequel to his classic The Best and the Brightest in its examination of how the lessons of Vietnam have influenced American foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. Beginning with the Persian Gulf War, Halberstam discusses the political shift in emphasis from foreign to domestic issues that ushered in the first Clinton administration. Despite the fact that Clinton, along with much of the country, preferred to focus on the home front, the U.S. nonetheless found itself drawn into conflicts in Haiti, Somalia, and the Balkans--events that reflected American discomfort with the use of its military forces abroad while at the same time acknowledging that much of the world is dependent upon the U.S. for both guidance and support. The book also highlights the many nonpolitical factors that have influenced these political changes, including a generational shift in national leadership, the modern media's emphasis on entertainment over foreign news, a leap in military technology, and American economic prosperity that has rendered foreign policy largely irrelevant to many citizens.

Halberstam is a master at presenting well-rounded portraits and telling anecdotes of the personalities that have created U.S. policy, casting new light on well-known figures such as Clinton, Colin Powell, and George H.W. Bush, as well as supporting players such as Anthony Lake, Richard Holbrooke, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, General Wesley Clark, Al Gore, and many other influential American leaders of the past decade. Having covered many aspects of American history and foreign policy since the early 1960s, Halberstam is uniquely qualified to report on an era in which the U.S., and the world, has changed so dramatically. --Shawn Carkonen ... Read more

Reviews (77)

Excellent insider account of Clinton FP
The first time I read this, I wasn't quite smitten, but having had to read it a second time, I appreciate it more.There are flaws in it: other reviews have pointed out the occasional repetitive sentence, and Halberstam could have better cited his sources, but still, there is nothing else out there any better.A few other gripes: Halberstam focuses far too much attention on Clinton as the poll-driven politico.I'm not doubting Clinton's political drive, but it is possible that he was so heavily focused on polls because he had certain policy preferences he wanted to enact.Granted, he may not have been good at laying that out there, but the Clinton-as-amoral-poll-hound seems a bit overplayed.Halberstam could have better laid out the different international relations/foreign policy philosophies of major characters.This might have been done a little bit earlier on in the book (I honestly can't remember), but it should have been discussed throughout.This would have made the book more useful for foreign policy courses.Also, in writing so much about the Balkans, a few maps would not have killed him.Too many people know too little about the region.There is not a single map!Ridiculous.Charts and timelines would have been helpful as well.

Still, Halberstam wrote a thoughtful and thorough analysis of the topics he covered, which were those small wars between the Cold War and the wars on terror and in Iraq.

The People Behind 90's Foreign Policy Decision-Making
Halberstam is a master of creating a human portrait of the major foreign policy actors in the Bush and Clinton White Houses of the 1990s.While Halberstam devotes the majority of the book to crises in the Balkans, he also devotes space to Somalia and Rwanda.Attention is given not just to the White House, but also to the U.N. and N.A.T.O.
To me, the strength of this book was the personal descriptions of the "major players".The reader gets know Lake, Holbrooke, Albright, Clark, etc. as Halberstam devotes multiplt pages to biographies and backgrounds of dozens of high-level officials.It is a major benefit to readers that need to put a human face on foreign policy debates.Halberstam does a superior job and this book is definitely worth reading.

Oustanding, thorough, compelling history
Outstanding use of language, clear recollection and fair interpretations make this an outstanding read for the modern history buff.

Halberstam's language is clear, concise, yet insightful and sophisticated. His detailed diversions into the roots of conflict, the reasons behind the leaders' actions, and his detailed accounts of interpersonal interactions all pull the drama along.

Educational and fascinating. ... Read more

Isbn: 0743202120
Subjects:  1. 1989-    2. Bush, George,    3. Foreign relations    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: American    7. Influence    8. International Relations - General    9. Intervention (International law)    10. Military - Vietnam War    11. Politics and government    12. U.S. Foreign Relations    13. U.S. History - Post World War II Period    14. United States    15. United States - 20th Century    16. United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)    17. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    18. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975    19. Bush, George    20. Clinton, Bill    21. History / General   

The Good German: A Novel
by Joseph Kanon
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 2001)
list price: $26.00 -- our price: $26.00
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

This compelling thriller is both a touching love story and a masterfulportrayal of the struggle for geopolitical control of postwar Germany. Networkcorrespondent Jake Geismar, who covered Berlin before the war, has returned tothe devastated city, ostensibly to cover the Potsdam Conference but actually tofind the woman he loves. Miraculously, Lena Brandt, Jake's wartime mistress, hassurvived. However, her mathematician husband is missing, and both the Americanand Russian intelligence services are hunting him. When the bullet-ridden bodyof an American soldier washes up on the shores of Potsdam in front of Jake'seyes just as Truman, Churchill, and Stalin convene the first postwar conference,Jake is plunged into a maelstrom of intrigue, corruption, and betrayal.

A brilliantly evoked portrait of a unique moment in history (the end of one warand the beginning of another), The Good German amply fulfills the promiseshown by Joseph Kanon in his two earlier novels, Los Alamos and The Prodigal Spy. --JaneAdams ... Read more

Reviews (69)

Kanon's 'Good German' is a real thriller!

It is in the months following WWII in Berlin that "The Good German" is set. Joseph Kanon in his third novel captures, readily the tonal integrity, the dynamic symmerty, the
full atmosphere of this traumatic time in history. Jake Geismar returns to Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, at least that's his cover.

More knowledgeable than his colleagues know, Jake has spent time in Berlin before the war. He's now looking to pick up the pieces, perhaps more literally than one might think. At the center of his reasons for returning: to find Lena, the woman he loved-and left-because of the war. Jake finds Lena, but Lena's husband is missing. He's a top-rated mathematician and both the Russian and American intelligence agencies want him-badly.
However, as the Conference is progressing, an American soldier's body is found in the Russian sector of Berlin. Thus begins what is certainly one of the tautest murder mystery thrillers lately.

Yes, Kanon evokes LeCarre, Len Deighton, even Robert Ludlum in places, yet he holds his own with the riveting story line and Jake is a memorable character, one who easily combines romance with espionage, social significance with irony. Philosophic
and poetic, Kanon's literary reach is broad, but not so much that it drags. The author, clearly in control of the plot development, cruises to a dramatic-and exciting-finish. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

A hard look at the real questions
Like in his other books (Los Alamos in the best, In my opinion), Kanon uses the mystery genre to ask difficult questions and to try to answer them.

An American journalist returns to Berlin immediately after WWII.He reunited with his lost love and, through her and through his work, meets a series of Germans and non Germans, whose lives have been twisted and torn apart by the war.

The main theme of the book, namely, who is a good German, or, more accurately, who is a good person, is presented in a series of subtle onion skins, which get peeled as the book progresses.The real greatness of Kanon is that the answer to the question is ultimately a matter of the reader's personal choice.

I love Kanon's writing and think that this is a truly brilliant book, but I must admit to one area of discomfort.This book is one of a wave of recent publications that seeks to portray the German suffering in the Second World War.Kanon is very fair in this regard, because he presents the German suffering suffering in its context and because his protrayel of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust is both powerful and touching.But the fact still stands that lately there have been quite a few books that have focused on the poor Germans and their trials during the war. As a Jew whose life was hugely influenced by the tragedies of the holocaust, I feel uncomfortable with the new trend.I understand that many Germans suffered horribly, but despite this touching book, I am hard pressed to feel pity for any of them.The voices of my many relations who died in the camps are simply too loud for me to hear these statements.

This not withstanding, The Good German is a brilliant book and an excellent topic for a book club or any reader with a heart.

great book!!!!
I have recommended this book so many times.My mother was born in Germany and was smuggled out before the war.Not a perfect non-fiction but a novel.Very compelling.I wish it had been longer. ... Read more

Isbn: 0805064222
Subjects:  1. 1945-1955    2. Americans    3. Berlin (Germany)    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Historical    6. Germany    7. Historical - General    8. History    9. Journalists    10. Men's Adventure    11. Mystery/Suspense    12. Suspense    13. Thrillers   

Thief of Hearts
by Victoria Taylor Murray
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (26 February, 2001)
list price: $21.95 -- our price: $21.95
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (275)

Just fabulous!
I absolutely love this series.The story, the characters, the locale, the love scenes, the continuing mystery- all are just fabulous.From "Thief of Hearts", book one, to "Le Fin", the fourth and final installment, Ms. Murray keeps her readers entertained and engrossed.Characters come and go, the mystery deepens, and Nouri finally meets the man of her dreams.But will things work out for her?I'm not telling.Put away those boring books and pick up The Lambert series and have some fun!

Fun way to spend time
Reading "Thief of Hearts" is a fun way to kick back and relax.What a great beach book this is.It's fun to lose yourself in the lives of the rich and famous and see how the "other side" lives.Of course, since this is a series, we don't find out who is behind the killings until we reach Le Fin, but I'm having fun in the meantime!

Fun start for fun new series,
I enjoy getting lost inside the world of a great adult fantasty like Thief of Hearts.Nouri Sommers, Clint Chamberlain, Ethan Sommers, Charles Mason, Becka Chamberlain and Mai Li are only a few of the fun characters the reader is introduced in the first book of the Lambert series by Victoria Murray.I can hardly wait for the next book to arrive so I can continue my journey to the isle resort of the rich, shameless, and famous.I'm having a blast! ... Read more

Isbn: 1588515591
Sales Rank: 83506
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Mystery & Detective - General    4. Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths    5. Mystery/Suspense    6. Romantic suspense novels    7. Suspense   

Witness in Death (In Death (Paperback))
by J. D. Robb, NoraRoberts
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (03 February, 2004)
list price: $7.99 -- our price: $7.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (82)

Sex, Malevolence, Incest, Etc.
Witness in Death is the tenth book in the In Death series written by J.D. Robb, a.k.a. Nora Roberts. And once again the reader is treated to an amazing adventure complete with grand subplots and interesting twists and turns along the way. A combination of mystery, science fiction and romance, Witness in Death is an excellent story!

Eve Dallas is again thrown into the middle of a murder, except this time she is not only the primary investigating detective on the case, but also a witness. While she and her wealthy husband, Roarke, enjoy the opening night of a new Broadway play, murder happens right in front of the entire audience. The main actor, Richard Draco, is killed when the prop knife is switched for a real knife. It's Eve's job to find the killer's identity. Ok, so it seems as if this is a plot right out of the game Clue. Any die-hard Nora Roberts fan knows that she always throws a few twists and turns in along the way and Witness in Death is no different.

What's different about this particular homicide is that the murder was committed in front of an entire audience, along with cast members and stage crew. Any one of them could have had the opportunity to kill Draco, but finding him/her was another problem for Dallas.

During the investigation, the reader is enlightened with Richard Draco's personality traits and lifestyle. He's an egomaniac who has made more enemies than friends, and doesn't mind trampling anyone in his way. He's enjoyed many battles where he humiliates his opponent with any means necessary to be the victor. He's enjoyed using women all of his life, and the daughter given up for adoption at birth was his mistress (hey, she didn't know he was her father, so he figured she was fair game). With so many enemies, the difficulty was narrowing down those who wanted to kill him into the one that actually committed the crime.

And a reoccurring theme for Robb/Roberts is the fact that someone close to her is a suspect in the murder. This time it's Nadine Furst, the channel 75 news reporter. For those that have read this series from the beginning: In a previous book she was a victim, but not a suspect, so this is not a repeat on the suspect list. Seems Nadine and Draco had a fling years before and he broke Nadine's heart. When Dallas finds out that Nadine had dinner with him the evening before he died, she begins to wonder if she can help her friend remain anonymous. Then when a video is found of Nadine and Draco in a bout of sex, she's moved to the short list of suspects.

If this murder mystery wasn't enough, one of my favorite subplots continues in Witness in Death. Ian McNabb and Delia Peabody continue their romantic interlude, and it's a hoot. They just can't get enough of each other, and neither will admit that there is more there than pure lust. Between the hilarious idea of these two opposites together and the uneasiness of Dallas and Feeney (supervisors to McNabb and Peabody) with an office romance, you'll chuckle away. This subplot is fantastic.

Witness in Death is a very enjoyable book by one of my favorite authors. As usual from Robb/Roberts, this book is filled with obscurity, humor, and you can always count on a few twists and turns to keep the journey lively. She never writes a straight story line that's completely predictable. Some subplots are easily figured out, but watch out for the bombshell that is usually dropped!

Excellent twist added to Robb's usual pattern
This is the tenth book in the series and those who have been following Eve's cases and personal developments are used to Robb's writing style and usual story lines. The basic idea is relatively simple but original nevertheless: a futuristic world, a female cop that is tough as nails and who is married to a slick billionaire, a set of interesting secondary characters, and a collection of steamy scenes. But even if the idea is simple, Robb usually finds a twist here and there to keep the readers hooked and provide them with enough variety to prevent boredom.

I particularly like the case Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to solve in this installment. One night Eve and Roarke are enjoying a night out in one of the billionaire's theatres. The production they are watching is called "Witness for the Prosecution" and includes a murder scene in the last act. The audience is dumbstruck though when the murder actually happens, with Areena Mansfield thrusting a real knife into Richard Draco's chest. Draco was a womanizer and there are plenty of people with a motive for changing the dummy knife for a real one and thus causing the "accident".

The story gets really interesting when we find out that Nadine Furst, Eve's friend and reporter for Channel 75, contacts Eve to tell her about a meeting she had with the victim. She had been Draco's lover years ago and had not heard from him in the last six years, after Draco dumped her and broke her heart. But recently, he called Nadine back and they met for dinner the precise same night in which he was murdered. To make matters worse, a discussion and a fight followed the dinner pleasantries. Therefore, this case hits close to home for Dallas, since her friend is in danger of being accused and Eve was one of the witnesses when the murder took place.

Besides the superior delivery in terms of the way Robb describes the action, the author provides the readers of this series with what I considered the most comprehensive description so far of the physical appearance of Eve and Roarke. This happens right at the beginning of the book, and I am sure that most details were mentioned before but not together as a bundle as we get them here. I also like the way in which the author is using more and more the technique of mixing fragments of what the killer is thinking at different times with the narration of the events that are taking place. In my opinion this provides an added level of interest due to the understanding we get of the killer's psyche.

Eve and Roarke ride again..
The first night out at the theatre for Lieutenant Eve Dallas brings it all home to familiar territory. A murder mystery by Agatha Christie has been Roarke's choice for the needed cultural introduction to Eve's life, and when you own pretty much half the planet, naturally you would choose to visit one of your own theatres.One small hitch; the stabbing scene looks a little too real because it is.The lead actor has been stabbed to death in front of a live audience and while there are plenty of witnesses to the act, no one knows who made that switch of the knife to commit murder.

With Eve's prime suspects being actors, there isn't much she can read from them that gives her clues on where to start hunting for the killer behind the facade.In fact, too many possible suspects each with their own reasons to despise the deceased create more wrong turns than leads for Eve and her colleagues Peabody, Feeney and McNab to follow.

Reminded at every turn at just how lucky she is to have such a man as the gorgeous Roarke, the man handbag every woman in the year 2058 wouldn't mind having,Eve decides to take some time out from a wearying murder investigation to give a little appreciation back to her husband.

Ten novels on in the "in Death" series and author Nora Roberts (writing as J.D. Robb) does a sterling job at keeping the romance seekers happy.While the big clanger remains to be revealed in future novels (who Eve really is), "Witness in Death" provides enough of the romantic warm and fuzzies between our heroic couple to keep the fires burning.The future New York described here (the setting of this series) is the best peek at our future urban life that you could hope to find out there in the wide world of fiction. A nice little nod to the mistress of the craft, that being Christie, is granted in this novel and with a little updating, you can see that Eve is following an investigative process that originated back in those days. Great reading, nothing too cerebral, and another must read entry in a must read series.

... Read more

Isbn: 0425173631
Sales Rank: 5777
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Mystery & Detective - Police Procedural    4. Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths    5. Mystery fiction    6. Romance - General    7. Suspense    8. Fiction / General   

The Empress File
by John Sandford
Average Customer Review:
Mass Market Paperback (08 May, 2001)
list price: $7.99 -- our price: $7.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (10)

Kidd and LuEllen are back!
This is the second book in the Kidd and LuEllen series. It is much lighter than Sandford's Prey series, but is quite good in its own right. The dialogue is great, and the plot is complex yet easy to follow. There are also some quite funny parts. The story shows that the lines between right and wrong, good guys and bad guys can often become a bit blurred.

Intriguing thriller
I love John Sandford's Prey-series, and thought I would also check out the Kidd-series. The Empress File is the second in this series, but the first one I've read.

The computer-expert/artist/con-man Kidd receives a call late at night from his online friend Bobby, asking him to go to the town of Longstreet, where a black kid has been shot by the cops. The town is covering up this shooting, as it was the wrong boy who got shot.

The town's underground hard-core black politicians are mad, about the killing of the black boy which is just the latest thing in a row of injustices, redneck racism and corruption in this small Southern town.
Kidd is asked to help developing a scheme, making the current city council fall. His on and off lover, the burglar LuEllen, is brought in as his sidekick, and the story takes off.
There were some intrigues in this story concerning political stuff and computer technicalities that I couldn't quite figure out, but the story moves quickly along, and it is overall a fast and easy read. Some of the rednecks and their methods stand out as particular bad, and the freaky new-age mayor is also a good character.
Though I am not rating this story a 5 star read, I am sure I will read the other Kidd-novels by John Sandford.

Kidd/LuEllen tackles a new con scheme, better than Fools Run
This is the second novel starring Kidd, a computer whiz and painter and his partner in crime LuEllen, a professional burglar.After taking down a defense corporation through computer hacking in the first novel(The Fool's Run), Kidd was asked to help bring down the corrupt government of Longstreet, a small town located south of Memphis.The town's political machine consisted of the mayor, a few councilmen, and a dogcatcher who is the town bully.The town was also divided among its white and black residents.The current town government was ruled by whites (with only 1 black councilman) even though blacks were the majority.The mayor and her gang accepted bribes and stole money from the city at every chance they got.Kidd agreed to help the few black members who want to overthrow the government both as a favor to a friend and a good opportunity to steal the illegal cash the political machine members had stashed away.

With LuEllen's help, Kidd concocted a con scheme to topple the current town government and appoint new members to the council.As the plan is executed, something terrible happens.Several murders took place.Kidd and LuEllen is faced with possible danger as the mayor and her gang gets more desperate...

Overall, I like this book better than the first one because there is less computer terms therefore no confusing dialogue since the con scheme relies more on lying and planning than computers.The con scheme is fun to read about, almost brilliant. The relationship between Kidd and LuEllen gets more interesting as Kidd's feelings are brought more to the surface.Even though they enjoy an open relationship (each had other lovers), it's clear that they are devoted to each other more or less.Kidd on several instances in this book declares his love for LuEllen.However, I think it will be some time, if ever, before this couple is willing to acknowledge their feelings and settle down with each other.Hope the author doesn't disappoint us and fully develops their storyline in later novels. ... Read more

Isbn: 0425135020
Sales Rank: 26755
Subjects:  1. Espionage/Intrigue    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Espionage / Thriller    4. Mystery/Suspense    5. Suspense   

Money, Money, Money : A Novel of the 87th Precinct
by Ed McBain
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (28 August, 2001)
list price: $25.00 -- our price: $25.00
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, and Fat Ollie Weeks having been working the87th Precinct for more than 40 years, but they're still the top dicks in townfor devotees of Ed McBain's absorbing police procedurals.

When a pretty, red-haired, ex-military pilot is killed, the boys in blue blunderaround for a few chapters before they unmask her secret life as a drug courier.By then the burglar who broke into Cass Ridley's apartment and stole the "tip"she got for her last run has already tried to spend one of the $100 bills fromher stash, attracting the attention of the Secret Service. The "superbill" isphony, and by the time Carella and his crew uncover the internationalcounterfeit ring behind it, McBain has notched up the action with a terroristplot to bomb Clarendon (read Carnegie) Hall, where an eminent Israeli violinistis performing. There's also a conspiracy involving a publishing company whosesales reps are so venal and violent you might think they were the creation of awriter who blamed them when his last book failed to sell. Not so McBain, whocan't have too many complaints in that department. His publisher's reps havebeen living well for decades on the commissions earned on McBain's books(including those of Evan Hunter, his alter ego).

That he has kept this series going for so long without tricking up the plots,turning his characters into stereotypes, or sacrificing their humanity is atribute to his authorial gifts: expert pacing, sharp-edged dialogue, authenticity,wit, and confidence. There's only thing getting old in this, his 51st book in anevergreen series: the fictional convention that locates the 87th in a placecalled Isola instead of midtown Manhattan, where it so clearly is set. --JaneAdams ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Aintricate 57th Precinctmarred by Fat Ollie and Carella!
A nice solid procedural about counterfeiting is constantly interrupted by silliness. Escaped lions at the zoo, Carella's anger and whining (so out of character) about his mother and sister's choice of beaus, and of course, any story featuring Ollie Weeks is guaranteed to be filled with its share of stupidity. McBain's books are always worth a read, as they are well-constructed, with rock solid plots and a storylines that are always filled with enough complexity to be satisfying, but this is a fairly weak entry.

Really, very entertaining.
This was my first McBain book and I loved it.As an old-time fan of Joseph Wambaugh, I found much entertainment in the character, Fat Ollie.He was animated, but real.I find myself chuckling as I think about him, even while I write this review. The plot was interesting, although the Al-Qaida connection is very spooky (released before 9/11).

I am headed out to get another McBain book as soon as I'm done with this review (Fat Ollie's Book)

Money Makes The Eight-Seven Go Round
Ed McBain's 51st entry in the 87th Precinct series shows the author in fine fettle, robust even. It's an enjoyable, somewhat unusual novel, a good page-turner as McBains nearly always are. If it's less than his best, it's not from lack of trying.

Someone is moving funny money through the streets of Isola. A woman gets fed to the lions. A guy turns up dead in a garbage can. A peaceful burglar gets an odd visit from a Secret Service agent. A group of terrorists from the Middle East plot an explosion at a city landmark. Just another day at the office for the 87th Precinct.

There's a lot to chew on here, and like the poor woman in the lions' cage, it ends up getting scattered in many directions. Focus is usually one of McBain's strengths, but after a promising start, it kind of gets lost. Perhaps it is because he wanted to tell a story that had little to do with the 87th Precinct, a story about counterfeiters and spies and terrorists. The novel begins rather oddly on a dirt runway in the American Southwest, and the 87th Precinct detectives don't even show up until the book is well underway. They take a back seat for much of the ensuing narrative, while McBain focuses his attentions on one of his more interesting villains, a nasty coked-out drug dealer named Wiggy The Lid, and a white-shoe publishing house where all is not as it seems.

Even this gets tangled up, however. I'm not sure I understand what happened in the novel, why this person did that, but as best I can tell, the pieces don't all connect in the end the way these books usually do. The resolution feels muddy. There's some noises made about government conspiracies, which frankly reeks of Oliver Stone paranoia but grabs you all the same, then it's just dropped without further mention. "Money, Money, Money" feels like an experiment, at times a worthy one, but as a novel it's more than a den of lions can chew on.

The introduction of a terrorist subplot is notable. The copyright of "Money, Money, Money" is 2001, and I suspected McBain threw the subplot in because of a wish to acknowledge 9/11. Yet "Money, Money, Money" hit the bookstores earlier that summer, which renders his take on a group of al-Qaeda operatives plotting to detonate a bomb in a concert hall rather eerie. "We are teaching them we can strike anywhere, anytime," the terrorist leader explains. "We are telling them they are completely vulnerable."

More eerie is the fact this subplot has no apparent purpose in the novel. It doesn't connect with the other plot threads, except that it seems this particular al-Qaeda group has the benefit of counterfeit cash in funding their deadly work. McBain just throws the terrorist plot in there, it seems, because he sensed it was something important that needed to be dealt with. He was right, of course.

But "Money, Money, Money" is not a better book for this Nostradamian turn. It's certainly interesting, vibrant, readable, at times funny, with Fat Ollie Weeks, the miserably uncouth and bigoted cop, getting more center-stage attention than usual. Reading "87th Precinct" novels is always worthwhile, and this is no exception. But this is no standout, either, however elevated its ambitions. ... Read more

Isbn: 0743202694
Subjects:  1. 87th Precinct (Imaginary place    2. 87th Precinct (Imaginary place)    3. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    6. Mystery & Detective - General    7. Mystery & Detective - Police Procedural    8. Mystery & Detective - Series    9. Mystery fiction    10. Police    11. United States    12. Fiction / General   

Point Deception
by Marcia Muller
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 May, 2002)
list price: $7.50 -- our price: $7.50
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

A new Marcia Muller book is always cause for celebration, and in thisbrooding, melancholy thriller she introduces a compelling new heroine. Rhoda"Rho" Swift is a deputy sheriff in California's fictional Soledad County. She is still tormented by a 13-year-old multiple murder in Cascade Canyon, where two counterculture families and their children were slain by an unknown killer. And when the body of an unidentified woman washes up in the waters off nearby Point Deception and two other local women go missing, Rhoda fears that the anniversary of the Canyon murders has unleashed another killing spree. She's not alone. The scared, suspicious townspeople are wondering the same thing. They're also unhappy that Guy Newberry, a New York writer whose bestselling books have exposed the secrets of other small towns, has turned up in Soledad trying to ferret out theirs. But Rho and Guy have something in common besides trying to learn why trouble has come back to Point Deception: they're both running from their own demons, and even the attraction that's starting to grow between them can't change the past.

Muller's intricate plotting and strong narrative flow have won a dedicated fan base for her Sharon McCone series, and both qualities are on full display here. She's skilled at evoking the landscape and atmosphere of her native California, and even her minor characters (like Wayne Gilardi, Rho's fellow cop, and Jack Swift, her father) are complex and interesting enough that their sketched-in back stories are worth telling. A terrific read from a master of the genre, Point Deception is Muller at her best. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Excellent
This book is the type of excellent work you'd expect from Marcia Muller. I'm just disappointed she didn't seem to follow up and turn Rho Swift into her own series.

I've been reading Sharon McCone for years, but never tried this one out until I saw Rho mentioned as a minor character in "Cyanide Wells." If not for that, I never would've known about her, nor enjoyed such a great read.

Highly recommended.

A brisk read
I enjoyed this book.It was a clever mystery that moved along at a brisk pace.I did not suspect whodunit until almost the end.And I never guessed the name of the killer.My only disappointment was that he did not live to tell his part of the story.

I have always wondered what happened to the idealism of the hippies.Point Deception gives us a tale about a few of the flower children who tried to create their own paradise and failed.It was sad.The effect it had on their families and all the people who just barely knew them was sad.There are no happy people in this book.No happy scenes, no happy endings.No character without some guilt.But there is a promise that life goes on, and that it gets better.Skip it if you are depressed. Otherwise, it is a good read.Mild references to sex, drugs, violence, and child abuse.

Dan Browns Best Work must read
In my opinion Dan Brown's Deciption point is his best work yet.This book is crammed with twists to satisfy anyone. If you are the person who likes a good mystery, action adventure then this book is for you.
One thing that I like about this book is the amount of sensory details.Dan Brown's use of descriptive words and Imergry literally paints the setting, and what the character does.Let me put it this way, it is like sitting in a movie theatre watching the movie before your eye's.
Another aspect of the book that hooked me in is the authors story line.Dan Brown Incorporated into this book a lot of cliffhangers and twists to the story that had me at the edge of my seat, motovating me to keep reading the book to find out what happens.
One minor problem that I found in the book is that the amount of details is emense.Probably why the book is over 500 pages long.At certain points in the book their are times when it drags and starts to get boaring.
Even though this book has the slight problem to get boring, the other positives dramatically make up for that loss.At the emotional high I literally had started to sweat due to the unbeleivable ending that was unfolding before my eye's.

... Read more

Isbn: 0446611360
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Mystery & Detective - General    4. Mystery & Detective - Police Procedural    5. Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths    6. Mystery fiction    7. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General   

Dark Guardian
by Christine Feehan
Average Customer Review:
Mass Market Paperback (01 May, 2002)
list price: $6.99 -- our price: $6.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (76)

Quite nice actually....
Okay, i've basically read this series from the begining and this is as far as i've got. I realise that it's gotten a bit monotonous; that caracters eventually say exactly the same thing, using exactly the same dialogue. I gave this book 4 stars however, because i thought the battle scene was well written compared to others, Jaxon's role in it was unusual because Carpathian females do not fight vampires period. I was also pleased with the idea of the kind of wedding/family reunion at the end though i'm ticked that we don't actually get to 'see' the gathering. I get the feeling that a book where they all get together would be fun and funny. In any case, i got a nice warm and fuzzy feeling after reading this one, i strongly recommend it.

An irresistible story...
From the prologue to the end, this novel will surely keep you hooked. The dark sensuality of Lucian is simply enticing. It is so delicious and, not to mention, envy-worthy, to witness his possession, as well as need of Jaxx.

Lucian is a very powerful Carpathian, well-respected by his own kind as well as feared by the darker creatures of the underworld. He has lived for about two thousand years, but now has come the time when he has to find his mate so as to not be converted into a vampire--the race of evil that he has unrelentingly fought and hunted for the entirety of his existence. Seeing vivid color for the first time in his life upon meeting Jaxon made him realize that, at last, he has found his lifemate.

Jaxx is a cop who has made it her life's aim to protect people. The traumatic events in her childhood has made her strong--and the last thing she wanted was to be dependent on anyone else. So it came as a surprise when Lucian comes into her life and starts to make her feel that she needed this man. Lucian subtly and steadily broke down her defenses, overpowering her with his fierce possession and unconditional love.

The beauiful facet of this story is that, Lucian was prepared to wait until Jaxx realized that she loved him as much as he loved her. I enjoyed the encounters both Jaxx and Lucian had when Jaxx finally became a Carpathian. Of course, the steamy love scenes were an added bonus!

This is simply one of the most romantic, sensual, and exciting stories ever written. It has the elements of passion, humor, action and suspense. After you read this book, im sure you're gonna yearn to have someone like Lucian in your life! :p

Cringe-worthy
Knowing me to be a lover of vampire-fiction, a friend recommended these books ... Spurred by this recommendation I actually went out and BOUGHT two of them (a student's income usually relegates one to digging them out of bins at Woolies).
Not my smartest move.
Predictable plot lines, characters that were like cardboard and had all the spirit of drugged garden snails.Sex scenes that were trite and wouldn't steam sweating and dumped on a Swedish pavement in January.
A shame considering that her premise had promise ... !
Get this one from the library - or better yet, don't get it at all. ... Read more

Isbn: 0843949945
Sales Rank: 3397
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Romance    3. Romance - Fantasy    4. Romance - Historical    5. Romance: Historical   

Sea Glass: A Novel
by Anita Shreve
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (09 April, 2002)
list price: $25.95
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

From its opening pages, Anita Shreve's Sea Glass surrounds the reader in the surprisingly rich feeling of the New Hampshire coast in winter. Vividly evoking the life of the coastal community at the beginning of the Great Depression, Sea Glass shifts through the multiple points of view of six principal characters; it's a skillfully created story of braided lives that bounces easily (even inevitably) from character to character. We learn how these lives come together following the stock market crash of 1929 and about the struggles of mill workers on the starkly beautiful New Hampshire coast during the following year. At the novel's center is the story of Honora Beecher, a young newlywed who compulsively collects sea glass along the beach as she collects unexpected friendship in her new beachside community, and Francis, a boy who discovers a father figure in the towering character of McDermott, an Irish mill worker, at a time when he most needs direction. Each character finds unexpected new purpose beyond the struggle to survive during that turbulent year among the dunes. First their lives barely touch, then they intersect, and finally they become inextricably bound. By the powerful and unexpected final scenes of the story, every point of view, every brilliant shard of life depends deeply on all the others. It is a very satisfying read--confidently told and deeply felt--with as many subtle colors and reflections as the sea glass that permeates the narrative. --Paul Ford ... Read more

Reviews (105)

A BEAUTIFULLY POLISHED TALE
Once again, Anita Shreve weaves a tale of love and loss around the New England seaside.In Sea Glass, we are given alternating viewpoints of 6 characters chapter by chapter.The story takes place just as the stock market crash of 1929 is about to hit and then how its tragic aftermath affects each character and seals their fate.

The main character, Honora Beecher, is swept off her feet by a swift-talking typewriter salesman, Sexton Beecher and they soon marry. At first, the marriage seems to be all Honora had hoped for.But after the stock market crash, her husband's true nature begins to reveal itself.We soon meet young Alphonse, McDermott and Vivian, whose disparate lives all intersect as the world they once knew crashes down upon them.And, although we never actually meet Honora's mother, Alice Willard, we get to know her nature and dreams for her daughter through her letters.

After the stock market crash, the only job Sexton can find is in the local mills.Shreve depicts the deplorable conditions the workers had to work under and live in with her usual attention to detail, making that world real and painful for the reader.Meanwhile Honora meets Vivian and they strike up an unlikely friendship.Vivian seems to be the only one who still has any money left after the stock market crash,but she is generous and willing to help those less fortunate.Alphonse is a young boy who has never had much in life and he and McDermott strike up a friendship as well.When the mill workers decide to strike in hopes of obtaining a livable wage, Sexton offers up his home as a meeting place where the leaders of the movement can write up their flyers and plan their strategies.This leads to a strong attraction between Honora and McDermott.As the events progress to their inevitable tragic conclusion, we are thankful that it is Shreve, with her wondrous ability to weave a heartbreaking but beautiful story, who has taken us along for the journey.

Honora collects sea glass - colorful pieces of glass which have been smoothed and shaped by the sea.In one devastating and climactic scene, Sexton arrives home, drunk, on Christmas Eve, announcing that he has lost his job and that he has no interest in the wonderful Christmas dinner that Honora has worked so hard to prepare.Vivian had given Honora a beautiful collection of sea glass earlier in the day and, in a fury, Sexton grabs the platter of sea glass and tosses it angrily into the air, before storming out of the house.After Honora collects all of the pieces of sea glass that she can find, she thinks:It's a miracle.Sea glass doesn't break.And this is the ultimate message of Shreve's book - no matter what life throws at Honora, she will not break.And it is the message of hope, amid all of the despair and sorrow, that the reader takes away upon finishing this achingly beautiful book.

As seen through opaque lenses
Sea Glass has that feeling of something old filtered through the perspective of time.It is a novel about the Depression era and how that desperation leads people to do things they would never have imagined themselves doing, such as forming a union in the slave wages mills.The characters each undergo unforseen changes.Honora finds that there is more to life than what she had imagined was bound by the traditional marriage vows.Sexton (her husband) discovers that sometimes you just can't sell.Vivian discovers a meaning to her life which has nothing, or at least not directly, to do with her money.McDermott discovers that love comes in strange and unexpected ways.And young Alphonse discovers that family are those you love, not just those you are born to.

I think it was an enjoyable novel that has you anxious to see how it will turn out.The romance is light but meaningful.A good read.I recommend it.

From Random Pick to Great Find
I picked this book up spur of the moment b/c I knew I was going to have to wait at the Dr.'s office. I had read The Pilot's Wife and wasn't too impressed but the back cover description appeared to be the most interesting among the limited choices I had available at the time. I was captivated by this book. I thought it was a graphic and honest depiction that spanned several different classes during the early days of the depression. This book was good enough to inspire me to pick up a few more Shreve novels. ... Read more

Isbn: 0316780812
Subjects:  1. American Historical Fiction    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Historical - General    5. Labor movement    6. Literary    7. Married people    8. New Hampshire    9. Romance: Historical    10. Stock Market Crash, 1929    11. Fiction / Historical   

Forbidden (The Lambert Series, Book 2)
by Victoria Taylor Murray
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 May, 2002)
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $29.95
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (194)

WOW! WHAT A WRITER!
I got hooked on this author with her latest book, SHADOW OF HER SMILE, and went back to read the book that launched her amazing writing career, THIEF OF HEARTS.Now I just finished FORBIDDEN, the second book in the four-book LAMBERT series. The continuing saga of these "beautiful, though slightly wicked" people was just as exciting as ALL books that Victoria Taylor Murray writes with her golden pen.
Highly recommended by me and her legions of fans.

From Cover-To-Cover...
I had a very good time.I enjoyed this romantic-suspense soap very much.I have read all 4 books in the series and was sad when it ended.The good news is that I've recently learned Ms. Murray has several new books that will be released sometime this year.I, for one, can hardly wait.

Fun, Fun, Fun, Story!
I had a wonderful time connecting the four books that make this series.I liked the characters a lot!I was like most people who have read this on going story line, I hated to see it come to an end but will be on the lookout for more books by Ms. Murray to hit the book stores.If you like to have fun while you read then you just have to read the Lambert series by Victoria Murray!You'll be glad you did! ... Read more

Isbn: 158851594X
Sales Rank: 94197
Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Mystery & Detective - General   

The Summerhouse
by Jude Deveraux
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (30 April, 2002)
list price: $7.99 -- our price: $7.19
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

What if a woman could go back to the beginning and rethink her choicesfor love and life? When Leslie Headrick, Madison Appleby, and Ellie Abbott firstmet, they were in their early 20s and the world lay before them with itsinfinite possibilities. Now that they're about to turn 40, they reunite for aweekend at a summerhouse in Maine where they share the details of their livesduring the past 20 years. Each woman has serious doubts and questions about thepath she chose to follow, but none of them suspect the startling opportunitythey're about to be offered to relive those choices and change their futures.

Thought-provoking, entertaining, and downright delightful, Jude Deveraux'sThe Summerhouse deftly develops the individual stories of the three womenin fascinating detail while maintaining the overall focus on the central tale.The ties of sisterhood and shared experience that bind the three resonate withdepth and clarity--no wonder then that Deveraux is a perennial favorite withreaders. There is little doubt that this volume will join her lengthy list ofbestsellers. --Lois Faye Dyer ... Read more

Reviews (117)

Would someone please teach her how to write?!
I don't usually read books of this genre, but I liked the premise ofhaving an opportunity to go back to an earlier time, to redo a past mistake(s).And the author had received many favorable reviews.But the book was a disappointment.The writing was stilted and awkward - her words and sentences were without beauty or grace.Similarly, there was no subtlety in the way she discussed her characters.Everything was spelled out bluntly, as if she doesn't expect her readers to be bright enough to read between the lines.I will not be reading any of her other work.

A great read even the third time!
This book is just fast enough to keep you on your toes. The characters are real enough to care about and the plot although not realistic (by intent) is well plotted out and exciting to witness. You won't be bored for even a moment!

I was disappointed by the middle/ending of the book
I was really very excited to read this book because it sounded similar to the plot of my favorite movie "Sliding Doors".I even got my girlfriend who is a devote of that movie psyched about the title, however I am not sure if I want to give it to her now, I don't want to disappoint her.This is a new author for me, I have never read one of her books, and I really hate it when people give away the whole storyline of the book.However, I will say that the book had a great beginning and even the middle where they get to go back to their past lives was pretty good.My complaint with the book is that the author spent too much time focusing on the beginning of the book and not enough on what happened to the characters during their three week period or what happened to them after they came back and why they made the choices they did.I don't know whether she ran out of pages or time, but I was really disappointed in Part Two and Part Three of the book.It was a major let down after building up the characters so much.I will read another title by this author, however as most people I hate to be disappointed and love a good book to "sink my teeth into".But if I am disappointed again I can't bring myself to read another title by her.She needs to focus on the characters in the middle and end of book as she does in the beginning. ... Read more

Isbn: 0671014196
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Romance    3. Romance - Contemporary    4. Romance - General    5. Fiction / General   

The Want-Ad Killer
by Ann Rule
Average Customer Review:
Mass Market Paperback (01 March, 1995)
list price: $7.99 -- our price: $7.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (10)

One of Rule's best works
This is one of Rule's best works.I have read numerous true crime books over the years and this, by far, is one of my favorites.It amazes me how such a diabolical mind was able to stay free after so many years and so many murders.I also know someone who works for the MN Dept of Corrections who speaks with Harvey on a regular basis.This cold blooded killer is alive and enjoying his regular meals and cable tv.He receives chemotherapy compliments of the taxpayers.Alaska would have saved so many so much if it had taken care of this man after his first murder.

Laura Showalter was my Grandmother
I am the third and youngest grand son of Laura Showalter. Harvy Corignan's should have died in alaska in 1949, but he was to live and kill again.He is now probably dead himself.The last time I spoke to Ann Rule I was told that Harvey was dying of cancer in Minnisota.May he rest in peace, as I know he wasnever at peace in life on earth.

Accurate Depiction
This book is true to form. The former head of the Minneapolis Crime lab is a personal friend who worked on this actual case. He told me about the case before I ever read the book. After I read the book, I could tell how accurate Ann Rule depicted this true case. One attracting aspects of this book is that it fast pace, always on the move. There is never a dull moment because there can't be. This book takes you on a trip through the inner workings of a true diabolical mind. Along the way you travel to numerous parts of the United States where this hanus murder went from Alaska to Washington and finally in Minnesota where this unfortunate story ends. I also has the privelage of meeting Det. Sonnestahl who worked the Minneaoplis end of this case. This is a book that will leave a lasting imprint on your memory. ... Read more

Isbn: 0451166884
Sales Rank: 43416
Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Crime and criminals    3. Criminals    4. General    5. Murder    6. Murder - General    7. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    8. True Crime    9. United States   

The Apprentice
by TESS GERRITSEN
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (20 August, 2002)
list price: $24.95
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Boston detective Jane Rizzoli hasn't completely recovered from thenear-death experience at the hands of a serial killer (The Surgeon) that left herscarred and scared, but that doesn't keep her from going after a copycatmurderer whose modus operandi is disturbingly familiar. Warren Hoyt may still bebehind bars, but Jane thinks there's a connection between him and the man thepolice call the Dominator, based on the way this new fiend subdues and violateshis victims before he kills them. Political interference from an FBI agent whoseems to know more about the Dominator than anyone else only intensifies Jane'sdetermination to solve the case. When Hoyt escapes from prison and teams up withhis blood brother to take revenge on the policewoman who put him there, the paceof this truly frightening thriller picks up and drives the narrative to itsviolent conclusion. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Reviews (57)

AWESOME
A REAL PAGE TURNER I LOVED EVERY PAGE EVERY DETAIL.... GREAT READ, THANKS TESS

Medical Thriller
Are sequels ever as good as their predecessors? Are they written because the author is running out of ideas, and so is recycling previous things?

Series fiction usually has a new case every time, and may not dwell much on the original. But Tara Moss's Makedde Vanderwall series has the Stiletto Murders still fresh in the mind with the first three novels ("Fetish", "Split" and "Covet"). Tess Gerritsen has also brought back her killer, the Surgeon, in this follow-up - "The Apprentice".

We first met homicide detective Jane Rizzoli in "The Surgeon", where the killer preyed on damaged women, and cut out their uteruses. "The Apprentice" (which should be read after "The Surgeon" as it names the killer) sees murders similar to the Surgeon's, but the victims are different - instead of damaged women, they are wealthy couples. And the Surgeon has escaped from prison.

Neuropsychiatry is brought into this novel with an interesting take on murderers - damage to their frontal lobes causes them to kill. Detective Jane Rizzoli considers if this is true... or maybe some people are just born evil.

Tess Gerritsen's most fascinating and thrilling novel is "Gravity". Yet her other medical thrillers are of extremely high quality. Lately she's been into police procedure and life in the medical examiner's world - i.e. the novels are going more mainstream - but still manages to write complex and intriguing storylines. Can you believe this fantastically intelligent and talented author used to write romantic suspense? Tess Gerritsen proves that change really is for the better. And as a former physician, her novels have that ring of authenticity.

"The Apprentice" is well plotted, with interesting characters, curious deaths and murderers who are very clever, indeed. Tess Gerritsen's books must be read.

Hollow Follow-On Package
This story is a sequel to Tess Gerritsen's more original book 'The Surgeon.' In 'The Apprentice' she largely recaps the trauma her protagonist Jane Rizzoli had to endure during the hot summer a year ago. Passages of inner monologue are meant to captivate the reader. Unfortunately, I was not captivated by Jane Rizzoli's rather flat and not very nuanced perception of her surroundings (including her constant feminist offense by anything male). Sure, there is plenty of medical detail of the slayings and forensics; but they do not seem to lend the book any soul. The characters have almost no depth which together with the detailed procedural descriptions of techniques used to investigate crime-scene evidence leave the reader very dissatisfied.

Around pages 200-250 (of 350) the actual plot is finally revealed, and I must admit that Ms. Gerritsen had a quite clever and almost convincing idea to link the series of 'apprentice' killings to a war criminal. But too little is made of this idea. The reader learns almost nothing about the 'apprentice.' Interspersed monologues by the 'surgeon' (the bad guy from her last book who in a run-of-the-mill fashion manages to miraculously escape from a medical ward and who is meant to act as a 'teacher' to the apprentice) do not help.

I would strongly recommend you choose another book to sink your precious time into. ... Read more

Isbn: 0345447859
Subjects:  1. Boston    2. Boston (Mass.)    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - Psychological Suspense    5. Massachusetts    6. Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths    7. Police    8. Policewomen    9. Psychological    10. Science Fiction    11. Serial murders    12. Suspense    13. Fiction / Suspense   

The Academy: Tales of the Marketplace (The Marketplace Series, 4)
by Laura Antoniou, Cecilia Tan, Michael Hernandez, David Stein, M. Christian, Karen Taylor
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 March, 2000)
list price: $13.95
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (16)

A excellent read indead
This book is a common type in the science fiction area where guest authors add stories on a theme to a skeleton set by the main author.Not only does this require strong co-authors but a strong and skilled main author which role is filled admirably by Laura Antoniou.
The Academy its self is a meeting of trainers with slaves that are good enough that their owners want to show them off.While there is good erotica here the main plot centers on Chris and his goal of being a slave and Anderson's sale of him.The other major plot concerns his proposal to rate trainers and only give full rating to those who have served as slaves under a master trainer for at least two years.Michael from The Trainer is still around and Chris has improved him to the extent that he appears human and has started to understand service; in fact he gets an award as "most popular with men women and sled dogs".
Unlike some standard erotic fiction these books by Laura Antoniou have plots, humor and good character development with interesting characters.

A wonderful idea that is done very very well.
Laura Antoniou had a great idea: her Marketplace series was so popular and fans wanted so much more, why not continue the story but also allow others to create their own Marketplace pieces?The result is the wonderful story of the Marketplace worldwide meeting with the intriguing Kris Parker as the main character.We also meet older slaves, trainers, and owners, and those somewhere in between at the Asia meeting.Not only do we find out more about Kris Parker but we also get the wonderfully varied works of sevearl well-known and fairly new erotica authors other than Antoniou.Almost every taste and every orientation and every combination is covered as we go from formal slavery in Asia and England to the new age of California and the proper victorian style households.I enjoyed it greatly; only wished I could have written a story for it too.

The Academy - Worth every cent
This book was awesome. I loved the way differnet writers did different stories and then Laura worked her magic to weave them all together. I could not put it down. I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone. ... Read more

Isbn: 0964596032
Sales Rank: 141849
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Mystery & Detective - General