The hike called the Eiger Trail is spectacular, a great addition. We did this hike last year and found it as rewarding as the Alspach's state. We are looking forward to the hike to Obersteinberg, as it suggests an overnight stay in a mountain hotel.

I highly recommend the 2nd Edition if you are lucky enough to be traveling to the Swiss Bernese Oberland.

Thos Kahale's body is found naked near Rubicon Point in Lake Tahoe, his clothes neatly folded onshore and a bullet through his head. Thos's mother, Janeen Kahale hires Owen McKenna to look into the death. Thos was an upstanding young man with a successful business and a discreet nature, and there is no apparent reason for his death. Owen has to dig deep to find the reasons, and in the meantime the Kahale family seems to be dying at an alarming rate. All Owen has to go on is a suicide note left by Thos and his family history:

"'Janeen, Thos's note says he was responsible for the deaths of three people. Jasper's father and brother have died in the last few weeks. Could they be two of he people Thos referred to?' 'Of course not. Jasper's father died of lung cancer. His brother in a car accident. Obviously, Thos could not have had anything to do with either death.'"

One of the real strengths of the Owen McKenna series is the characterization. Mr. Borg has a knack for telling a "tall tale" with larger-than-life characters. Owen himself is 6'6", and his dog spot is a Great Dane who is perfectly tuned to Owen's commands. McKenna's girlfriend Street completes the triad; an entomologist (science of insects) who deals with the grisly forensic side of murder. Together the threesome make for a winning combination of grit, intelligence, strength, and tenderness that is captivating to the reader. But Mr. Borg's plots are also super-twisters that take the reader back and forth, into and out of the mountain scenery at a dizzying rate. TAHOE ICE GRAVE is as compelling as any of Todd Borg's tales to date. With each book his writing advances to a new level, much to the delight of his growing audience. A big thumbs up.

"Three of a Kind" is an adventure set in the Caribbean, with a strong sexual undercurrent. Hero Duncan Fitzroy rescues the lovely Alexandra from would-be killers. Alexandra has a secret- she has a female lover named Carolyn. And she has enemies who aren't going to give up.

With both women on board, Duncan's dream of sailing the Caribbean takes on a new twist. His boat allows them to travel unnoticed at first, but he's an amateur when it comes to dodging bullets. As the action heats up, Duncan finds himself falling in love...with both women.

The story works as a straight adventure, and also as an examination of the possibility of lasting love between three adults, an intriguing subtext. The descriptions of sailing, and of the Caribbean, are crisp and sense-driven. After reading about the incredible beauty of the book's setting, I think I'll have to visit The Caribbean.

Catton grew up in Benzonia, Michigan, "a city upon a hill," as he correctly notes, very close to Lake Michigan, where the old certitudes held seemingly invincible sway over virtually every aspect of one's daily life. Catton's father was the superintendent of Benzonia Academy, whose main building is now Benzonia's library.

The memoir, which recalls the years between the author's birth and his graduation from high school, is a series of reflections on what it was like to be a boy just as Michigan's logging era was drawing to a close, when sleepy Benzonia, along with the rest of the nation, was about to drift into the maw of the violent twentieth century. Catton writes of boyhood ambitions and boyish pranks, of the rich history that made Michigan's Lower Peninsula what it was, and especially of the Civil War veterans whose stories would later prompt Catton to devote years of his life to recording the history of that great conflict in rich anecdotal detail.

Though unabashedly nostalgic, "Waiting for the Morning Train" is neither saccharine nor bitter. Catton was far too experienced a writer and historian to let his emotions get the better of him. This is, nonetheless, a rich and moving memoir of a time which, though it may seem virtually within reach, we will never see again.

I recommend this book highly as a gift for yourself and, perhaps, for that reflective friend who can appreciate personal history told with universal appeal. Bruce Catton was, quite simply, one of the greatest writers and historians this country has produced, and in many ways this deceptively modest little volume represents the zenith of his literary achievement.

Maccarrone is an excellent writer. I can clearly see his book being translated to the big screen, and if I were a movie producer, I'd grab the rights. The suspense and drama built into his style are naturals. I hope he comes out with another page-turner real soon!

Jeneid's writes beautifully of natural features and wildlife encountered. Clearly he has a love for birding. If you are a kayaker and a birder, then I highly recommend this book before you plan your next outing.