There actually is a plot. Julie comes from a much smaller town to a still-pretty-sleepy local newspaper. She splits amicably from her friend/boyfriend, makes some new friends, and nails everything in sight. From a fellow reporter with interesting ideas on delayed gratification, to a earnest young cop who is trying to be domineering, to the motercylcle-riding, philosophy-reading bad boy, Jon, to the fierce Monica. The characters in this book are pretty developed, the setting is more than backdrop, both the town and the news office seem real, and the background mystery plot stays within grasp, no matter what other hanky-panky is going on. Julie is unapologetic about her sexuality, and despite the variety and frequency of her encounters, it never seems truely gratuitous. This is a well-written keeper.

then you have to buy ths book and meet Julie our young, and of course beautifull crime reporter in a small, supposedly sleepy, provincal town in Northern England, Wintersea.

Our heroine wastes little time in taking matters in hand, and most any body part that passes in front of her, with the local cops to be able to get a direct line to the best source of info for her crime column. Julie, as well, of course, dedicates time to co-workers at the paper, and people she meets during her investigations, while making no apologies for loving every single moment.

If you enjoy reading books with a very high co-efficient of sluttishness then you'll love this book. Julie does not torment herself with self recrimination for the way she behaves and her absolute love of sex, so much so, that she continuously has to try to pace herself to avoid a scheduling conflict between the men and women she has affairs with. I thoroughly enjoyed the way she was portrayed by the author as being an 'in your face' kind of girl, which, I might add is hard to do.

Although this book is not as biting or as hard hitting as I would usually look for in my personal best erotica, as a whole I guess I'd say this book is 'erotica light' and a very easy read to while away a quiet rainy afternoon.

Once long ago, I had read a book about the Cid, and I expected this poem to give a similar story, but it didn't, hence the 4 stars. However, I did enjoy this book because of the beautiful translation, and also because of the medieval feel the translation had. I definitely enjoyed the poem once I realized that the story was different, but really, that is not the fault of this book, but rather the book I had read before. Anyhow, for those who want to know about the Cid and his great deeds, read this book first. Enjoy! :)

This edition of The Poem of the Cid is truly wonderful. For starters, it is a bilingual edition, presenting the reader with the original medieval Spanish text. The translation itself is highly readable. The humour and tension in particular scenes shine in this translation.

The story itself is also marvelous. We get a wonderful sense of the confusion and ambiguities of the feudal society. The uniqueness of the Spanish feudal experience comes through brilliantly. The Muslims are dealt with with more accuracy and tolerance than in any other work of medieval literature. The two Jewish characters in the poem -- moneylenders -- are presented without scorn. Indeed, it is the Frankish (probably Norman) count of Barcelona who is portrayed as the moronic outsider. There is much excellent description of medieval warfare, clothing, hommage ceremonies, and use of money, but most enlightening part of the story is the long trial scene.

The poem is short, with a fast-paced and coherent plot. It is very easy to read this in one sitting because it is so gripping.

This book is a good introduction to programming in the Windows NT environment. A good starting point for those new to Windows NT.

This book represents an exemplary survey for the C++ programmer on how to develop for Windows NT. It starts with an excellent survey of NT architecture then proceeds with several chapters on an overview of the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC). The strength of this work is that each chapter is succinct and relatively complete. Since MFC is so rich with features, it is extremely difficult for a programmer coming from another environment (i.e. UNIX) to see the NT landscape. This book is outstanding in this regard. After going over a chapter in this book, one can approach the Microsoft documentation without feeling intimidated.

The book does not assume a great knowledge of Catholic beliefs, practices and history, although it is written in a scholarly style, and is aimed at University level readers. Within the class of textbooks, it is an easy read, and full of fascinating titbits. Did you know that there were Catholics in China in the 13th century? The book does contain some church history, but is more interested in the beliefs and practices of ordinary people, and their interaction with the church. Highly recommended especially to people interested in everyday medieval life.

The one essential tool I think those who are seriously interested in the Middle Ages need is a good reference text on Medieval Catholicism. Without a good understanding of the Church and Christendom, there simply cannot be a good understanding of the texts or of the society. Even most contemporary Roman Catholics have forgotten (or never understood) topics such as the medieval concept of sin (mortal, venial, original), monasticism, fasting, the use of psalters, rosaries, breviaries, etc. To fill in the knowledge gaps in these and other areas, I use and strongly recommend this book. I discovered it 8-10 years ago at Cambridge University where it was wildly praised and widely read. It may not be a book you'd want to read straight through (though you could do so because it's not that long), but it is one that you'll want to consult again and again as a reference text.

Lara McClintoch and her ex-husband Clive Swain are in business together. Why she went into business with her ex-husband, she's not sure, but they get along better as business partners than marriage partners. They own an antique shop called McClintoch and Swain.

Lara goes abroad to do the buying. This time, while abroad, she is going to Bangkok, Thailand to visit Jennifer, Rob's daughter, who is there with her boyfriend Chat Chaiwong. Rob, a policeman, is Lara's significant other.

Clive asks Lara to look into the disappearance of William Beauchamp. He left his wife, Natalie, and disabled daughter some time ago fleeing to Thailand. He opened an antique shop there. Now, he hasn't been heard from or seen for months. Lara finally agrees and meets with Natalie to get any pertinent information. He sent her some amulets which Lara takes with her. They might help with her inquiries.

The many characters she encounters in Thailand, and the many escapades she and Jennifer experience, are very believable and add to the intrique. I think Lyn did a great job at creating the Chaiwong family -- showing their wealth and thus various attitudes throughout the book. She always brings some history into the books as well. This history adds to the story.

Most of the books in this series have exotic settings. I know that Lyn does a lot of research and it shows in the great descriptions and knowledge of the areas. It makes me feel like I've been there after reading the book.

Lara is a great character. She is very well developed and her actions are quite believable. She doesn't do really stupid, dangerous things like some characters. Most her dealings are something a regular person might do.

If you like exotic settings, history and mysteries, you'll like her books. I recommend them!

Thailand is an exotic place and when William Beauchamp goes there on a buying trip, he sends his wife Natalie a fax saying he is not coming back. Unable to keep the business going and care for her severely handicapped daughter, Natalie sells the store and lives off the profits. Two years later her resources are nearly depleted and Will has gone missing, not seen at his home or store in Bangkok for months. She needs to know if he is alive so she can get a good divorce settlement or dead so she can collect on his insurance.

Lara McClintoch, the owner of an antiques store in Toronto, Canada, is going to Thailand on a buying trip and agrees to look into the matter for Natalie. She learns that Will was working on a book about a vicious killing that happened to an American in the 1950's but no trace of his computer or manuscript is found. She starts asking questions about Will and the missing manuscript that stirs up some people who want certain skeletons (literally) to stay buried.

Lyn Hamilton has written an amateur sleuth tale that shows why visitors are fascinated by Thai culture. The protagonist is like Sherlock Holmes on the hunt and when she picks up the scent she stays with it even if it means making people uncomfortable. THE THAI AMULET is a fascinating tale about greed, treachery, betrayal and murder, and readers won't rest until they find out what happened to Will and why.

Harriet Klausner

"This Bloody Deed" is a well researched look at Idaho's first murder trial. Hamilton relates the known facts with a novelist's license for imagined dialouge and motivation. While historians may shudder, this makes the book highly readable.

Three thugs from Sheriff Henry Plummer's gang befriend and then murder packer Lloyd Magruder and party as they are crossing the Bitterroot Mountains from Bannack( now western Montana,then Idaho Territory) to Lewiston Idaho. Magruder's true friend Hill Beachy tracks the killers to San Francisco and returns them to Lewiston to face Idaho's first murder trial, if he can keep them from being lynched.

I grew up with this story as a folktale and as good as the narrative is the best parts of the book are Hamilton's asides into everyday life on the Idaho frontier, boom-bust economics of mining and territorial politics.

My only historical quibble is that my family always accepted that the prosecution's chief witness was also a Plummer gang intimate.

A solid picture of the frontier as it probably was.

Ladd Hamilton puts to paper one of the most compelling stories of the old west. His writing keeps you glued to the pages by vividly describing how life was 130 years ago. This murder mystery that takes you from the Bitterroot Mountains of the Idaho territory to the city of San Francisco and back is a must read for all.

While recuperating from a previous mission, Matt Helm finds himself thrust into an all too familiar role. Thinking himself free of past entanglements, Matt is once again called upon to teach various no-gooders, including a rival government agency, that it doesn't pay to mess with one of 'Mac's' people. This fast paced and highly readable 26th in the Matt Helm series contains all the elements which have made Matt Helm a fan favorite for over 25 years! Action, Adventure and, of course, the protagonists own fallibility make Matt Helm the archetypal All-American hero. Cudos to Donald Hamilton, for keeping this series as fresh and topical as the day he started writing it!

Donald Hamilton once again weaves an intricate tale of intrique, deceit, and treachery as Matt Helm returns to an action packed thriller pitting him against drug lords and members of his own government. With Hamilton writing the story, you just can't lay the book down until the last page is read.

If you collect Hamilton Electrics, or if you have some in you collection, you'll love this book. It even includes technical manuals for the two electric movements

An engaging and very well written history of the Hamilton Electric watch, which is a fascinating story even if you are only mildly interested in collectible watches. You feel like you are taken back to the Lancaster, PA factory in the 1950's and get to see the watches develop. It was a time of American craftsmanship and pride. The second section of the book is a completely illustrated guide to every model of the electric line, from the January 1957 introduction of the dramatic "Ventura" and more conservatively styled "Van Horn", to the end of the line Nautilus series in the mid-60's. There is even information about watches that were never available except through the Hamilton corporate division, which do show up and confuse you once in a while. Invaluable information for anyone trying to identify a Hamilton Electric, and well worth the investment in your library.

Matt Helm is sent to Sweden to kill a mysterious Soviet agent. The only drawback is that until he finds the master spy, he's ordered not to use lethal methods to defend himself. Hamilton keeps the villain's identity hidden well while throwing several obstacles into his protagonist's path. The 2nd in the series, some of the set pieces that will become Hamilton/Helm trademarks are already in place-the treacherous women, the rival agencies and the outdoors location- are familiar to any devoted Hamilton reader.

Matt Helm's marriage is gone, so he's back to his old line of work, hunting game that can shoot back. He's old, slow, and out of shape -- the perfect condition for what his spy-master boss Mac has in mind. Matt is off to Sweden to find Caselius, an enemy agent worth two armored divisions.

Flexner vividly recounts Hamiltons life and career through age 26. This reads like Dickens writing history - from Hamilton's miserable, impoverished home life until age 10, his teenage life in his adopted country, (America), his career in the Continental Army, his love for Elizabeth Schuyler.

Flexner Brings the young Hamilton to life through his letters and actions in the revolution. This book has a vividness that is remarkable. The famous and not so famous participants in the story come to life also - George Washington, The Marquis de Lafayette, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, etc.

This book has been criticized for being overly "psycological". This aspect is not over done. Simply put, this is a great story - well told, well researched. Highly recommended.

In the bibliography of this book Mr. Flexner wrote that he felt that the real Hamilton had become obscured through the years through the writings of people who were either too fawning or too critical, depending on their political biases. Mr. Flexner therefore tried to get back to original sources as much as possible. Reading quotations from Hamilton's correspondence is one of the great pleasures of this book. But there are many things that make this book special. The author has a smooth, easy-to-read style. I have read elsewhere, in connection with one of Mr. Flexner's volumes on George Washington, someone complaining that the style is stilted or "old-fashioned." I heartily disagree with that criticism. Mr. Flexner was born in 1908 and this book was first published when the author was 70, but there is nothing "old-fashioned" about the prose. The style is actually quite modern. Another thing I enjoyed about the book was that the author went into the psychiatric reasons for Hamilton's sometimes aggressive and impulsive behavior, but he did so in a reasonable manner. You didn't feel as though you were being bludgeoned with analytical arguments but Mr. Flexner "gently" gave some commonsense and logical reasons for why Hamilton behaved the way he did e.g.-the stigma of his illegitimate birth, his mother's irresponsible behavior, being brought up in the West Indies and being left to basically fend for himself at an early age, etc.

I also enjoyed the way Mr. Flexner concentrated on Hamilton's service as aide-de-camp to George Washington during the Revolutionary War. There is a lot of interesting military history here, dealing with the battles fought on Long Island and in Trenton and Princeton and Monmouth, as well as Yorktown. There are wonderful gems of information, such as Washington's propensity to lose his temper amongst his close aides, when he wasn't on "public view" and felt that he could "let his hair down" a bit. Other interesting scenes include: at the Battle of Princeton where a patriot cannonball went through the window of Princeton college and slammed into a portrait of George II that was hanging on the wall, "decapitating" the king. (The patriots took the portrait down and "repaired" it by having an artist paint a scene with George Washington in it!); The Battle of Trenton, where the patriot army celebrated by drinking up the liquor the Hessians had left behind. Washington wanted to pursue the Hessians but was forced to give up on the idea as his men were in no shape to do anymore fighting!; Finally, in the section dealing with the Battle of Yorktown, Mr. Flexner mentions that shortly before the battle word had spread that a British force, led by Benedict Arnold no less, had been so upset by the strong resistance they had encountered in trying to take a fortress in New London, Connecticut, that the British had executed the men who had wanted to surrender to them when the fighting was over. The patriot army at Yorktown wanted to get revenge on the British and Washington had to give a speech before the battle that he basically didn't want his men to "lower themselves" to that level. If British troops wanted to surrender the surrender should be accepted and they should be taken prisoner. The troops did obey Washington's directive...

On a final note, I felt Mr. Flexner was very fair in this book. The author looked at Hamilton from all angles and praised the good things about him- his intelligence and hard work and sincere interest in doing what he felt was good for the future of the country- but also criticized his sometimes rash and impulsive behavior, and the author didn't gloss over Hamilton's general disdain for humanity!

This was a really excellent book and well-worth your time.