Windreaper is book 5 in the 10 book WindLegends series. Conar McGregor, once a Prince and beloved husband of Liza, is no more. Kaileel Tohre, leader of the Dominion has been able to strip him of all that he loved; his wife, his children, his family and his friends. He had suffered extreme cruelty at the hands of Kaileel as a child, but his time spent at the Labyrinth prison has changed him. Conar has escaped from the Labyrinth prison and became known as the Dark Overlord. He has been spending his time annoying the Dominion. He has been removing gold from the Tribunal and Temples of the Dominion, causing great consternation in the Dominion. It has been six years since the escape from the Labyrinth. However, his decision to return to his homeland sets in motion a cataclysmic reaction. How will A'Lex and Liza react when they find him alive? How will he react when he finds out that Corbin is his son? And can he keep his hands off Liza, who is no longer his wife?

Ms. Boyett-Compo has written another page turner. She keeps you reading to see how the triangle of Conar/Liza/A'Lex will end up and, more importantly, to see how much further Conar can sink to. Conar is an extremely flawed character and he doesn't have many heroic moments in this book. Even with all his flaws, you can see a glimmer of greatness -- of what he could be if he had more control of himself and if others didn't interfere with his life. He succumbs to the addiction of drugs this go around (in earlier books, it was alcohol). He has never been able to fully control his physical urges and he takes it out on various women, especially his current mistress and Liza. Poor Liza, never has a heroine been treated so badly! Married to one man while still in love with another and treated badly by both! Liza loves A'Lex, but she is in love with Conar, who is her soulmate. Even with all his many faults, Conar is still able to command loyalty from his brothers, friends and Liza. Many of the characters from previous books makes a reappearance so it is vital that you read the previous books. There is sexual violence in this book -- definitely not for the squeamish! Even though I did wince more than once while reading this book, I do look forward to the next one.

Much to his surprise he finds the Chief's daughter, six months pregnant, working at the school for pre-schoolers.

Stephanie Gray has had a crush on Danny since her school days, but now she is pregnant with another man's child, the bum is not interested in marriage. Will Danny ever see her as a woman?

It is rolicking good fun, except for PMS, to watch them fall in love over their own preconceived notions of each other.

Then Emma Jean comes up with another prediction of the next bachelor to fall into the trap of love.

Recommended --M You should enjoy this one!

Little Randy is put in a foster home where one of the older kids tells him that when a dog is put in the pound they don't live long. So Randy runs away to Mike's place - a complex for singles, no children and no pets allowed. Because of Mike's experience in the system, he decided to foster Randy temperorily. Which of course, brings Kristin into closer contact with Mike.

Kristin has her own secret sorrow to contend with and Mike and Randy did not help her emotions. Mike needed her aditional help with his work schedule to oversee Randy. Boy, she might as well live with him.

Randy decided to do a little matchmaking on his own. Maybe he would get his own family.

PMS showed up again -- the women must be a bunch of hussies.

Recommended --M -- pretty good story but --- Well, onto Logan Strong's story, [most of these men are confirmed bachelors?] grin.

This book, which is in her Sarah Kelling series, takes a look at a Boston blue blood family on its way down. Sarah Kelling (of the Beacon Hill Kellings, has been forced to turn her historic, brownstone home into a boarding house. As a result she has a ready made bunch of entertainly eccentric suspects when one of her tenants winds up unexpectly deceased.

Highly recommended for cozy fans who enjoy a spoonful of absurdity with their mystery.

I thought the story started out slow, but once I got into reading it, I could not put the book down! It has it all: love, romance, suspense, colorful characters and of course, steamy lovemaking scenes that typify Linda Howard. HEARTBREAKER is not her best work, but if you enjoy her writing as much as I do, not one to miss.

Note: this book goes along with Diamond Bay, Midnight Rainbow and White Lies. Although it is not necessary to have read the other books, the characters from Diamond Bay are mentioned.

A dead man found on the steps of one of Victorian London's most fashionable homes kicks off the 19th mystery featuring Superintendent Thomas Pitt of the Bow Street Police Station and his clever wife, Charlotte.

Although General Brandon Balantyne denies knowing the shabbily dressed man, his snuffbox was found in the dead man's pocket. Since he's dealing with his betters in class-conscious Victorian Britain, Pitt must tread carefully as he delves into the dead man's past in hopes of finding a connection.

"Bedford Square" is a story which promises much but delivers little. There's much talk about class differences -- Pitt's constable assistant is nearly blinded in his anger against the upper classes -- and in Pitt's investigation of what turns out to be a nasty wide-ranging blackmail plot, we are repeatedly told that the victims are all pure in character and how least revelation, no matter how false, will blast their reputations so utterly that it becomes tedious. The solution to the mystery is extremely disappointing: neither making much sense, nor is it in keeping with what we know of the characters. A disappointing book to someone who wondered what all the shouting was about.

Like Antoinette, Rhys grew up in the Caribbean, a troubled and hermetic world of Creoles, colonists and former slaves. Antoinette is truly a loner--the reversal of family fortunes causes her to be rejected by her own people, and despised by those who previously were on a lower rung of society. Throughout the novel, Antoinette is used, buffeted and never in charge of her own life. She feels that, as a woman, she is an object, not a person. As a woman, she is not in charge of her ultimate destiny, and this provides the conflict for the novel. Her madness is only an extension of this isolation and rejection.

What makes Rhys a masterful novelist is her use of conversation and immediate events to describe the world in which Antoinette lives. There are no long passages of exposition; we see the world only through the eyes of the characters, mostly at the same time that they experience it. However, the immediate events and conversation or narration are so cleverly constructed that the reader sees through the narrator's eyes and can really see and feel the surroundings. This intimate point of view puts the reader in the skin of the character, but can be a bit confusing because we cannot always rely on the veracity of the narration. The point of view itself switches in the novel from first person to third person, in the second part, and back to first in the third and final portion, where Antoinette is locked in the attic.

The novel is in no way a re-write or version of "Jane Eyre." In "Jane Eyre", the madwoman is not really a character--she's a symbol for evil, for carnal and worldly desires yielded to without regard for the soul. "Wide Sargasso Sea" develops the madwoman into a character. Rhys slyly copies the beautiful symmetry of "Jane Eyre", where events occur in a sort of repetition; in "Jane Eyre", the heroine must leave a hostile home and find a haven, which then becomes hostile because it fails to nourish her soul with love (Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield and then Marsh House. Only when Jane can marry her Mr. Rochester on HER terms, does she find a true home.) In "Wide Sargasso Sea", Antoinette's home burns twice, a similar use of symbolism, here representing rejection by the world.

"Wide Sargasso Sea" is often listed as a "must-read" book --it certainly is a unique book and was far ahead of its time when Rhys wrote it. It's really worth reading.

"Wide Sargasso Sea" is narrated in several different voices including Antoinette and Mr. Rochester. These voices switch throughout the novel with little warning. Some may find this hard to follow. The novel also creates a great sense of place. Rhys does an excellent job of evoking the hot, humid atmosphere of the Caribbean.

"Wide Sargasso Sea" was a recent selection in my book group. We enjoyed discussing it while dining on Caribbean fare. The discussion focused on topics such as colonialism, rich vs. poor, slavery, love, and of course madness. This was a good book for a discussion group since there were many themes to cover and also since it was inspired by "Jane Eyre", the group could also compare both books. I read the Norton Critical Edition of "Wide Sargasso Sea" which contained footnotes and an Appendix of essays and articles written about the book. The footnotes helped to deepen my understanding of the book since there were many references (literary and otherwise) that I may've missed.

I am always interested in the amount of research that Ms. Perry does and this book was quite well done. The information on photography at the time and how she connected it to the theatre and even a little Shakespeare thrown in was intriguing. The mystery was centered on censorship and pornagraphy and I thought it was interesting that these were problems faced over 100 years ago. I guess there are no 'new' problems, only new ways of looking at them (Pun?). I highly recommend Perry's work. But I think to truly enjoy you need to start at the beginning and read in order. This book in particular delved into old relationships (Mariah Ellison and Caroline Fielding) and someone who did not understand these characters from previous books might be lost.

Set adrift in the water, the man is first believed to be a missing French diplomat; however, Delbert Cathcart, a highly successful photographer/artist, is reported missing by his housekeeper who identifies his body.

The reason why anyone would want to murder a photographer and dispose of his body in such a way takes a backseat to the always sensitive issue of censorship. Perry places Charlotte's mother, Caroline, a widow who has remarried beneath her station to an actor, in the role of hostess to her late husband's mother, a condescending Victorian witch. While attending a controversial play, Caroline is introduced to Samuel Ellison, her late husband's long-lost and heretofore unknown half-brother. His existence is a surprise and a threat to the elderly Mrs. Ellison, who schemes to be rid of him.

The basic issue that connects the controversial play, Mrs. Ellison's secrets and Cathcart's death is censorship. How far should society go to protect traditional mores and values?

Perry does a wonderful job of presenting both sides of the censorship debate in a fair manner. Readers who are not fans of Perry or mysteries should give this book a chance if for no other reason than the volatile censorship issue which affects us today as much if not more so than it did Victorian England.

Half Moon Street differs from the other Pitt books in that Charlotte and Emily are not in the book. Thomas and Tellman are investigating the death of a photographer, and in a sub-plot Caroline and her mother-in-law play an important role. I highly recommend the book to fans of mysteries and historical fiction.