I found your book quite fascinating with so much interesting material that you have researched and then presented so well. I could say that there is a very welcoming and homely atmosphere in your book that one feels like throwing another log on the fire in the old cabin and settling back for a long read.

The time was well spent and resulted in a top-notch product. In his book, Jerry takes you back in time to the Boom Town days of yesteryear and brings to life the ageless Old West mining-era days of Boom Towns, miners, prospectors, and pioneers. Yet the book goes far beyond providing simply a historical account and includes rare historic maps, 98 outstanding photos and exact locations of long-lost famous ghost towns and mines in Northeastern Washington State. Jerry also included a chapter on Metal Detecting and Relic Hunting, which offers advice on how to search out and locate those long lost valuable treasures from the past with just a little knowledge about research and using a metal detector. His book most certainly will keep the spirit of the Old West alive and well for many years to come.

I'm a student in Oak Harbor Middle School and as a history project in our class, we had to get into groups of two and fill out a web site evaluation for a site containing information about the state of Washington. My classmate and I chose your site and used your book. Not only did we rate Boom Towns & Relic Hunters of Northeastern Washington an "A," but that is the grade that we received on our report from our history teacher. KEEP UP THE GOOD WOORK!

In 1877, 20-year-old Jolie McKibben heads west to the town of Prosperity in the Washington Territory. Her two companions rob the bank, shoot a man, and leave her to a cruel fate -- death by hanging. Yet the widowed farmer Daniel Beckham decides to save her life by marrying her according to the town's wedding ordinance. Jolie now faces a big challenge -- winning this stranger's hardened heart to get what she is dreaming of -- a real home and family.

Given the nature of this novel, there are plenty of sensual scenes. Many a reader will find them perfect swooning material, but, other than that, the detailed love scenes don't propel the story. Concerning Jolie's and Daniel's romance, a little less would have been more. Jolie's inner turmoil could have been expressed better than letting her alternately say or think "I hate you, Daniel Beckham" and "I love you, Daniel Beckham."

Linda Lael Miller created a solid western romance novel complete with steamy love scenes. If you like that genre as well as stories set in the Old West, you will find "Daniel's Bride" to be a satisfying read. If you can do without the sensual factor and want a more realistic approach to the western theme, give the pioneer novel "Against All Odds -- The Lucy Scott Mitchum Story" by Barbara Riefe a try.

I've read many romance novels where sex is all two people in a marriage of convenience have in common, but this book is special. LLM instills a level of tenderness in this relationship that is missing from so many novels, and makes the reader ache for both the hero who still mourns his dead wife and the heroine who is trying her best to connect with him. The conflict of wanting someone and yet not really trusting them is so sharp in this story, yet the reader always has a sense of hope for this special couple and it is very realistic when the walls finally come down. This book is a keeper for LLM fans or those new to her work.

This is the best story I have read of Miller's so far!
What a challenging way to save a person and gain a bride.

Even though Daniel Beckham refuses to love Jolie McKibben, he is willing to save her from the hangman's noose and gain a housekeeper and bed partner, also a cook. Wow! what a man. [grin]

Jolie gained a humorous friend and protecter in the lad called Deuter, the young man working for Daniel.

The unexpected arrival of the youngsters, Gemma and her brother Hank threw a monkey wrench into Daniel's plan of remaining emotionally uninvolved. And of course finding out that Jolie had not known any man physically brought confusion to Daniel's preconcieved ideas of who and what Jolie was.

Finding out about Pilar, Daniel's sometime lover, did upset Jolie a trifle. But Pilar was not going to get her husband.
Nan and Joe Culley became very valued and accepted friends of Jolie and I cried with her. And then to have Nan take up with Ira January. Ugh!

I couldn't believe that Blake Kingston could even imagine himself in love with Jolie. [the rat] and she had a few close calls with the return of Blake and his partner, Rowdy, a killer with no conscience.

I was so afraid that Daniel might finally send Jolie and the kids packing before he would realize that he needed them to love and to be loved by them.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED with no reservations -- wonderful -- sexy -- and liberating -- We need more like this.

Emerson's only moderately competent private eye sails through a tale that presents moral dilemmas as well as insights into relationships without being pretentious, some wildly improbable characters, witty wise-guy prose and a strongly realistic evocation of the West Coast. Easy reading and excellent of its type!

This was the first (but not the last) Earl W. Emerson book I've read. I found it very enjoyable, and could not put it down until I was done. Being from the Pacific Northwest, I especially enjoyed all the references to familiar places. I went to our local bookstore this afternoon and purchased several more Earl W. Emerson mysteries. Can't wait to get started. Going back to start at the beginning of the Thomas Black series with "Rainy City", as I would like to see his relationship with Kathy unfold in chronological order. Highly recommended and just plain fun!

I've read all of Emerson's Thomas Black books and have enjoyed every single one of them. (I'm currently reading Catfish Cafe). I started reading this series almost 10 years ago and am constantly waiting for new ones to come out. The humor as well as mystery in his books keep you reading until the very end. I'm not into really gory and scary books but I love mysteries. Emerson's writing gives me exactly what I want. Deception Pass was not quite as suspenseful as some of his other books (try Million Dollar Tattoo). I kind of knew the ending in the middle of the book, but I read mostly because I enjoy the character Thomas Black and I like to hear the descriptions of Seattle in the books. This book is written in the typical Emerson style and you won't be disappointed!

For the President's Eyes Only gives readers tremendous insight into the U.S. intelligence community, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Every student of political science and criminal justice should read this one.

I found this book extremely fascinating, mainly because I have an intrest in "secret" government information. This book details how American intelligence developed over our country's history. I was most amazed in learning about the lack of secret intelligence until Wilson's administration, and then not really developing until FDR's administration. Americans prior to Wilson felt espionage was only something the Europeans engaged in, and America was beyond that. America had not learned about the necessity of secret intelligence. The author also does a great job in showing how the intelligence, or lack there of, influenced presidential decision making. A great book for anyone interested in American forign policy history and or how our intelligence community developed!

This book is extremely well written and very informative. I picked it up as a reference for a term paper, and initially I read just the section pertaining to the term paper. Whenever I opened it to read a passage for the term paper though, I found that I just couldn't put the book down because it was so interesting. While on Christmas vacation, I went back and read the rest of the book. I rank this book right up there with Clay Blair's "Silent Victory," and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the development of the American intelligence community at the highest levels of government.

Barbara Fleming's Hot Stones, Cold Death is a murder mystery featuring veteran Washington, DC Detective Matthew Alexander and his sidekick, Jake Jackson. The mystery opens with two black men found dead dressed in African warrior regalia in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Their bodies are curiously arranged in an African Village diorama complete with spears, shields, and a priceless emerald necklace. At first glance, it looks like a theft gone wrong, but something lies beneath the surface that does not sit well with Matt and Jake. The detectives are faced with few clues, airtight alibis, and a hostile environment in which the highly connected museum staff wants the case closed as soon as possible. They follow leads that take them all over DC; from posh Georgetown to the crackhouses of Florida Avenue. A lucky break, another body, and follow through on a haunting suspicion allow the detectives to apprehend the culprits and resolve the mystery.

There are many characters in this story and the author provides a great service to the reader by providing a list of primary characters and their roles at the beginning of the novel. Even with the helpful guide, the author's handling of dialogue between characters is somewhat awkward and cumbersome at times, especially when familiar characters referred to each other by first and last names. Despite the issues with dialogue, this reviewer found the plot to be original and very well paced. The author introduces twists and turns at appropriate intervals to keep the reader interested until the end. This is a light, easy read; appropriate for a summer afternoon.

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, Nubian Circle Book Club

Hot Stones * Cold Death by Barbara Fleming is well worth your time. It has a great mystery plot. I welcomed the list of primary characters. Although, I didn't need it for long.

If you like/love mysteries, then you will definitely enjoy this book. The dialogue is witty. The characters are believable. The setting is realistic. Thank you Ms. Fleming for a story well done. I look forward to reading more of your work.

Mrs. Fleming's publisher sent In the Company of My Sistah bookclub a copy to read and review.
I finally go around to it. I enjoyed the novel soo much, I wonder
why I waited.
It opens with a bang!. Two bodies in the Smithsonian, WOW.
Excellent writing. A good story line. A great whodunit. The
characters were believable. The portrayal of the bureaucrats and their actions were so on target.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I am definitely recommending my
bookclub and others read this mystery.

Jo D Wright - ITCOMS
itcoms_bc@yahoo.com

The begining was great Guy walks into police station to confess but plot warps out Leaving a gap.where the only thing worth remebering was a set-up Cant see this one getting great reviews

Clark Mason arrives in the Spokane police department one Friday night, looking like any other homeless person. Only he isn't. Behind his disheveled appearance, his mysterious eye patch and his quirky behavior, he holds information to a murder.

Not believing him at first, Detective Caroline Mabry discards him as a lunatic, a nuisance, a bother. Clark soon convinces her, however, that there is more to his story than meets the eye. Under her consent, he proceeds to write his self-proclaimed confession for the next nineteen hours.

While Clark is busy penning his confession, Caroline is busy tracking down the tiny pieces of information she gleans from him. Slowly, she pieces together the story he is writing, his confession of how everything went wrong with his world.

But is he really a murderer? And if he is, whom did he murder?

Despite protests that usually an investigation starts with a body, not a killer, Clark is determined to convey his story to her in the best way he knows how: through the telling of his life story, and all the events leading up to the day he met Caroline.

Land of the Blind is an intriguing novel from start to finish, right down to its unusual chapter titles. Written unlike any other crime novel, its vivid descriptions and unusual twists keep the reader guessing. At times humorous and at times horrifying, this novel moves fluidly between the past and the present to tell a story unlike any other.

Jess Walter's second novel, LAND OF THE BLIND, transcends the form and formulae of the police procedural mystery. The central character who has confessed to a homicide says, "There aren't even names for some of the crimes we commit". While ostensibly about murder, it is those unnamed crimes which most interest Walter and, through him, the reader. LAND OF THE BLIND reminds me of John Irving's SAVING PIGGY SNEED.

Caroline Mabry is a police detective in Spokane Washington who has been relegated to swing shift because she is burned out. Patrol officers bring in an apparent derelict caught breaking into the long-vacant Davenport Hotel who has told them he committed a murder. The one-eyed "loon" refuses to give either his name or the name of his victim, but says he will write out a confession for Caroline. Ensconced in an interview room, he starts filling page after page of a legal pad. We read segments of this confession (which begins in fifth grade) as it is written. Caroline has agreed to wait until it is finished, but cajoles from the confessee the name of one of the people who figure in the confession. Armed with that, she starts to unravel the story backwards from the present as the confession gradually unveils the past. Despite its static form, Walter keeps the story's suspense building right to the final page.

He does a marevlous job of showing the cruelties of childhood and adolescence played out in the poor Empire Road district, which is "pinched like an ant farm" against the Spokane River. The social landscape of Spokane and the cultural divide between it and Seattle are thoroughly explored. Even though a central character says "Spokane is Kmart and Seattle is Nordstrom", Walter's heart clearly belongs to Spokane. He jibes contemporary Seattle with, "We turned every gas station into a coffee shop, and by the time I left Seattle you could get four hundred flavors of coffee, but you couldn't find a decent gallon of gas".

In LAND OF THE BLIND the one-eyed man leads us over moral terrain where sins of commission and omission perpetrated by Jess Walter's characters may remind us uncomfortably of our own.

Mary Daheim is a good writer. Her characters are interesting and her plots are each different. But that's sort of the problem. Some of her characters, like Judith's mom in the B&B series, are a little TOO interesting. I get awfully tired of Judith and her mom arguing. And some of the plots in that series are kind of off the wall. I mean, I like my mysteries to have some surprises in them, but too much is still too much. I was really unimpressed with the latest one I read.

That's why I was interested in exploring this series. And this one is more to my taste. There are some eccentrics, but mostly it's just small town life on a believable scale. Of course, like Judith, Emma Lord has her share of romantic problems and kid problems. But I enjoyed this one a lot more. In fact, I've read the next two in the series and they just get better.

Emma Lord has always dreamed of running a newspaper, but the reality is a bit different than she had anticipated. The bills are rolling in and the money is rolling out in this small town in Washington where there isn't much happening which is newsworthy. Alpine is shocked when the son of a prominent family is murdered. Another murder follows and Emma is consumed with not only reporting the news, but in finding out who is causing it. There are plenty of people around who have a motive for the killing, even within the victim's family, but Emma doesn't want to jump to conclusions. Finally the murderer is revealed and Emma's life is in danger. This is a promising beginning for this "cozy" series.

If you love light, escapist mysteries, with strong female protagonists, you will like the Alpine mystery series of Mary Daheim's. I do not have to read things in series, and I find Daheim carefully reconnects the reader to the on-going characters and situations no matter which letter of the alphabet you pick up to read. I do endorse starting with A, The Alpine Advocate, however, as it sets the true scene. And protagonist Emma Lord is a wonderfully independent woman, a journalist of the big city of Seattle, who has purchased the little town news tome of Alpine, fictional, but very real, and invested her life and welfare in it. As the outsider, she must adjust to the local controls, the old-timers already in place on her staff, and to the expectations of a town who sees her as NEW. Her Catholic faith, her love of the wrong, and very unavailable man, and her love for a son with growing pains, and her brother, the charitable priest, give her substance the reader can sympathize with.

There is so much fun in these works by Daheim, in repeating, quirky characters, in idyosyncrasies of nature, in a middle-aged, sexy woman, and her spunky approach to life. Once you get hooked on Emma Lord, you will want to read all the books, which I believe are up to Alpine Obituary. If you start, you will find Emma and her circle to be a set of old friends, suitable for any reader's entertainment. There is red hot sex, suspense, laughter, and unexpected heartbreak. But this is great escapist reading. Fast, slick, and fun!

This is a rather short book of 56 pages (8.5"x5.5" in size). However, it puts a good deal of infomation into those pages. The book starts with a short history of what leads to the French and Indian War, then gives information concerning George Washington's service under the British up to Braddock's march. In dealing with the begining of Braddock's Campaign, we are told of Benjamin Franklin's part in securing supplies for the march. There are illustrations and excerpts from first-hand accounts of those involved.
The author gives a fairly good account of the battle (Braddock's Defeat) itself, but there are some mistakes. For example, the book claims the French set up an ambush for the English at Braddock's Defeat. This is simply not true. It is true that the French were trying to set up an ambush at the river crossing, but the English had already crossed the river before the French arrived there, and the English spotted the French and Indians before any "ambush" could take place. When the French first met the British, both sides were equally surprised. This mistaken belief that the French ambushed the British, however, has been repeated by many historians. And the "Indian" the book claimed was spotted by the English was really the French commander of the attackers. Also, the book leads one to believe the Indian and French "ambushers" immediately routed the English but this is not true either. The English formed up into ranks and had the French and Indians in a near retreat after the French Commander was shot down. The English only began to retreat when the French and Indians regrouped under another commander and threatened to surround the English. This is when things turned ugly for the English.
There is really no excuse for these mistakes, but the story of George Washington's part in the Battle and his miraculous escape from injury is well told. Perhaps because of the rather short length of the book, the author simply skipped things which would be covered in a longer account.
One incident related is the story of Mary Draper Ingles, George Washington, and the Indian called Red Hawk. The author tells of an incident when Ingles met Washington. The author uses as his source for this information the book "Follow The River." Now, while I have read "Follow the River," and it is a very good book, it is a novel, and should not be used as a source. In fact, the author of that novel writes in his "notes" at the end of the book that there is NO record stating Ingles and Washington ever met. In other words, it isn't really true; the novelist just used the incident for dramatic effect. Also, the author of "Follow the River" states he used the book "Trans-Allegany Pioneers" by Hale for much of his information. This book relates the incident of Red Hawk and Washington, but Ingles is not involved in any way. And "Trans-Allegany Pioneers" uses for its source of information, the book "History of the Valley of Virginia" by Kercheval. Again while the story of Red Hawk and Washington is most likely true, Ingles is not involved in any way. Barton should never have used a NOVEL as a source because the author of the novel changes things for the benefit of the story and as a way to introduce the information. In other words, the incident with Ingles really never happened, but the information concerning Red Hawk and Washington is based on fact. (By the way, however, "Follow the River" is a very good novel, based on the life of Mary Ingles, but it is a novel, not a source for reference.) The other account of Washington and Red Hawk and Dr. Craik has as its original source a book by Washington's stepson, "Recollections and Private Memoirs of George Washington" (by George Washington Parke Custic).
So the story has some faulty history, but it does not distract from the main point of the story a great deal. Overall, the writing is well done and leads the reader on to the finish.
This is a good book for someone who has little knowledge of the French and Indian War, but anyone who has read of this account before will most likely find nothing new. For what the book is--a 56 page story of George Washington's part in the French and Indian War--this is not a bad book. The excerpts of original writings from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Indians involved in the fighting would probably be expecially interesting to those who haven't read a great deal about this time period. But in reality, there are better books (but also longer much longer, which may not be what the reader is interested in). That said, I would give this book to any child, and it is written in a manner that will most likely hold their interest more than any book about history they are given to read in school. In fact, if there were more books like this, children would probably have a greater interest in history, as this is the type of book that makes history "come alive" with a story of people and events instead of stale dates and places. A good read for adults too for those who have little knowledge of this event.
By the way, the book is somewhat religiously oriented in that it claims God personally protected George Washington during Braddock's Defeat (an idea that is repeated several times throughout the narrative). Whether that is true or not, or whether one even believes in God or not, does not really detract from the book. However, because of the faulty history, I downgraded my rating to 2 stars. Still a good book to give to your kids though.

The historical evidence, much of which has been twisted or swept under the rug by revisionists, show that Washington was indeed a Christian. This excellent book chronicles what is possibly God's divine providence in his life. Here is the evidence that I speak of about Washington being a Christian; There have been numerous prayers written by Washington, verified in his handwriting, that mention Christ and his faith in Christ again and again. Many of these more poignant prayers reflect the way in which he felt guilty for his sins and he realized his need for the mercy of God....again, always making mention of Jesus in these prayers. After a request for a chaplain to accompany his army onto the frontier when Washington was a colonel was not fulfilled, Washington himself conducted Sunday worship services and preached to his troops for 2 full years. Washington forbade profanity by his troops explaining - and I'm paraphrasing - 'Our enemy is so great (at the time there were 500 British ships right offshore!) How can we expect the divine providence and assistance of Almighty God if we 'betray' him and do those things he despises with our speech.'
When Washington's father died - George was 11 - His mother required him to conduct daily worship services in their home for the whole family.
Upon reading his diary, you will see multiple references to his attendance of Church on Sunday ( Sunday - attended Church or Sunday - inclement weather - unable to attend Church )
The revisionists of history and indeed most history books for students today, dampen or even worse, reverse Washington's greatness. As one prominent historian wrote of the historical revisionists: " These termites of the timber of our history - they seek to destroy his(Washington's ) greatness because, they are not great and cannot be. They seek to destroy his goodness because they are not good. To face the father of our country as he really is......they (the revisionists) could not face themselves and what they are" -
This book is rooted in historical fact. Washington was a Christian if you look objectively at the historical evidence.
I don't know if having four bullet holes in your coat and two horses shot out from under you in battle and surviving is divine providence or not, but, if you're a Christian, you certainly know that it could be.

Whether God spared Washington's life in this account of battle, I know not. The author certainly seems to think so. And other accounts of Washington's career seem to indicate something of the Divine was involved in directing the steps of his life. Scripture teaches us that God directs the affairs of men, since there is no authority except from God. (Rom13:1-2) Therefore in the strictest since, the birth of America was ordained of God and Washington played an important role in the forming. But service to the Lord is quite another story. To imply that because the hand of God was obvious in the life of George Washington, that he was therefore a 'genuine' Christian is stretching the truth. True conversion to Christ is manifested in humbleness of character, purity of heart, meekness and love. Something very rare in our modern churches. Although Washington lived in a time where sound preached was the rule and not the exception (as it is in our day) he did not manifest the fruits of the Spirit in his life to prove that he had anything better than the 'faith of devils' (much like most professing Christians today)
He was indeed a highly principled man and probably moral in most of his conduct. But such were many of our founders. They excelled in the principles of sound leadership and upheld personal liberty. (unlike the reprobates in office currently) But MOST of them were not disciples of our Lord. We can remember Washington for his courage and determination in founding our Republic and pray to God that more like him would rise up to spare us the impending tyranny that is fast approaching.

_Camping! Washington_ is a great book for anyone looking to find the perfect spot for a camping getaway. Whether tenting or RV'ing, this is a truly useful book!

It's easy to see from the writing that the author truly loves camping and being outside, and that he really has spent a lifetime camping in the Evergreen State. His enthusiasm for great campsites comes shining through, and the entries for each campground are very easily read.

There are several useful maps which show campgrounds' locations, and the rating system is very straightforward - 1 tree (barely worth mentioning) through 5 trees (absolutely don't miss this.) Those campgrounds rating 1 tree generally only get mentioned in the backs of the chapters, with very little space devoted to them - the author wants to give us the best camping possible, so he doesn't waste a lot of time telling us what's awful, noting that he only puts them in so that people who hear of these grounds, or who see them on a map know what they may be in for.

The books gives a total number of sites within the grounds, and breaks them down by service: "32 full hook-ups, 35 water/electrical hook-ups, RV's to 65 feet." He also gives contact info for each site, whether or not they accept reservations, and what the open/close dates are (if any.) Very handy! His descriptions of the overall feel of the campgrounds and the surrounding areas are vivid and enjoyable in and of themselves - he's really reawakened the Camping Bug in me.

The book goes over the whys and wherefores of making reservations ahead of time, common pitfalls and downsides to certain areas, and what to expect in terms of general costs (though they don't list individual grounds' prices, as they frequently change.) They also do not mention privately-owned grounds, and go into why they don't. They give a few handy tips about each park that'll make everything easier, too.

Keep in mind that this is not a *how* to camp in Washington book (going over bear precautions, et cetera,) but a *where* to camp book - and it does its job really, really well. Highly recommended to anyone planning to camp in our beautiful state.

This guide, by far, is the best guide to Washington campgrounds. It is well-written, filled with good humor, and painstakingly researched. You get the feeling the author has spent at least one night in every campground listed in this book.
It is obvious the author has spent much of his time in the great outdoors and camped throughout the state, and of all the camping guides, this one is written by a local author and longtime Washington resident. He knows what he's writing about, and it shows in the accuracy of his reporting.
If you spend money on one Washington camping guide, this is the one.

As a lifelong NW camper, I have all of the (several) NW camping guides on the market. This one is the best, for tents and RVs (I'm in both from time to time). Well written, with lots of good insights, photos, and a great rating system. Looking forward to the next edition.

This was the first novel in G.M. Ford's Leo Watterman private detective series that I have read. I found Ford to be a decent writer and Waterman to be a moderately interesting character. But neither can hold a candle to such greats as, say, Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder or the master Chandler's Phillip Marlowe. The back cover says that Ford is a former creative writing teacher and that figures because his writing is at time a bit too cute in its effort to be entertaining. The biggest drawback of Waterman's charcater, son of a now deceased prominent politician, is that he's far too happy with his domestic life and too well known in the community to be the classic alienated cynical private eye. Ford gives a good feel for life in Seattle as a backdrop for Waterman's antics. Waterman is also properly quick with both his wit and his weapons when need be. But his continuous run ins with the cops get tiresome after awhile and the story is bloated by about an extra fifty pages or so.

Overall, I rank Ford squarely in the middle of P.I. fiction writers. Though I enjoyed spending time with Waterman on this one occasion, I will not be going out of my way to seek him out again.

This is definitely a quality book. It is a very well developed story with interesting characters. The story builds very well and the conclusion is satisfying. I would recommend this book to any avid mystery reader. I am a big fan of Robert Parker, Robert Crais, and Harlan Coben. While Leo Waterman doesn't have the sidekick that the hero in those books does, he has much the same demeanor as Spenser, Elvis Cole, and Myron Bolitar. The wit isn't quite as snappy, but still enjoyable. These are only minor comments and what prevents me from giving the book 5 stars, don't let it prevent you from reading this book. I have a ton of books, but I am sure that I will pick up another one of Ford's novels sometime in the near future.

I've been looking for new authors recently, and decided to give Ford a try. I am happy that I did. His main character Leo Waterman is in the same vein as Robert Crais' Elvis Cole, only perhaps not quite as funny. In Last Ditch, Leo, in the course of doing some renovations to his property, comes across a buried body. The body turns out to be that of his late politician fathers biggest enemy, and has been missing for some 30 years. Obviously Leo's father is the number one suspect, so Leo sets out to find the truth. Leo is a great character in the genre, tough, but not unbelievably so, very human, and of course wisecracking. There are lots of twists and turns and misdirections in this well plotted novel. The writing is also above the quality often found in the genre, Ford really puts the reader into the scene. If you like a good mystery, Last Ditch is a good place to look.