When you have a book whose hero is almost as bad as its villain, you know you're in deep doodoo. In Maxwell's debut "Point Fury" we meet one Chris Nielson, a self-absorbed, self-pitying, fly by night who seeks the reader's sympathy because he's had such a terrible breakdown when his band breaks up and he loses his girlfriend. So he does what any self-respecting hero would do----cops out by agreeing to "housesit" for an eccentric friend of his father's. He plans to "get hia act together and spend time writing his own music." Well, he spends most of his first days in the house just sitting around and moaning his fate. Then he meets Caroline, and he's smitten, but of course, this young lady is not what she seems (gasp!). Then we find out that the man who hired Chris is (gasp) not what he seems. Then the cruel henchman for the boss (gasp) shoots and kills Chris' beloved dog. From here on out, things just get weirder and more confusing, culminating in some type of mafioso bloodbath at the end, that leaves Chris determined to lead a better life. And even though it seems Ted Harper's motives for imprisoning Chris are to punish his father for talking him out of being an actor (huh?), we never understand why he does this to Chris and not the father! An interesting premise, with some style evidenced by Maxwell, but Chris is so unlikeable, you can't really get involved in the book.
NOT RECOMMENDED.

John Maxwell's writing debut is a pretty good book. It held my attention throughout with nonstop suspense.

Chris Nielson is a college graduate in his twenties whose life seems to have little direction. He was a member of a hard rock band, but a fight ended that relationship. A rich friend of his father's offers him a job house-sitting his beach house. The house is located in a pretty deserted are of Maryland. There is little to do. Chris figured he was in for a mostly boring winter hanging around doing pretty much nothing. But little did he know what he was really in for. The owner of the house is insane, and Chris will have to deal with an awful lot.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing a lot. I will definitely be reading the next book John Maxwell writes.

Maxwell draws us skillfully into the world of the main character, Chris Nielsen, a young rock musician who has hit bottom in his personal life. When Chris takes a job house-sitting for a friend of his father's, he finds himself at the mercy of a manipulative, altogether terrifying psychopath. The character of Chris is so well-drawn that the reader identifies with him and understands him, and therefore shares his mounting fear as Chris realizes, slowly, what kind of a situation he is in. By the same token, the deeply disturbing insanity of Ted Harper is revealed only slowly as the book progresses, which makes him more real, and therefore more terrifying. This book does not rely on cheap pyrotechnics to create a completely suspenseful situation -- the author creates believeable and thoroughly realized characters, and then lets them create the situation. I found this book to be very realistic and subtle. The suspense builds slowly and inexorably throughout, until the cathartic and bloody finale. Once I started this book, I simply couldn't put it down.

I knew Bruce as a phibeta kappa at the University of Md. I "reviewed" this book . I picked it up and set it down. Bruce is/was a talented individual but I thought the length and time involved was too much ( as Shaw remarked on Joyce).Great talent. Great length. In interpretation, realize Bruce's mother also died in his youth. Art imitates life.

Reading this book reminds me of growing up in the 60's... particulary how weird it was visiting other kid's houses. At that age, I pretty much thought the rest of the world lived the same way I did (compulsively clean Mom), so it was like visiting a foreign country when I'd see other kids bedrooms, and smell the differences between my house and their house.

I hadn't really thought about stuff like that for 20 years... and reading this book brought it all back home. Very, very enjoyable and very, very funny (but tragic-fun... the best kind).

The World As I Found It (Duffy's first book) was a strong, irresistable book, which got behind you and pushed you headlong through the story of an opaque philosopher. It was great, and I wondered how Duffy could follow it. Last Comes the Egg could easily have been titled The World As I Found It too, but what a different world it is. Gone are the lofty havens of great thinkers, the vaulting halls of Cambridge and the battlefields of Europe. Instead we have suburban Maryland in the sixties, a place coming from nowhere, and not going to anywhere either. And in place of the sheer power, we have a very subtle, quiet story, which opens itself up to be explored.

The story all happens in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, in a middle-class neighborhood of nobody in particular. Into this life of complete unimportance are thrust the children, who, like their parents, cannot accept their own insignificance, and struggle to find a place of importance in a world that is indifferent to them. In a very different journey of discovery, these children seek in themselves to find who they are, even as they look around them to discover what role, what performance other people like best. And in this microcosm of identity and conformity, the attentive reader will find pieces of himself (and herself) scattered around. And hopefully they will come away with a better understanding.

I found the book tremendously rewarding, and a powerful window on adolescence in America. Duffy aims for and hits the real heart of the end of childhood, and brings out what everyone feels as they teeter on the edge of adulthood - "Wait - I thought there was something more..." In the emptiness of real life, we are shown how everyone finds something to latch onto, to call important, to be their own special illusion. We make ourselves into heroes, protecting our precious, fragile eggs, until some few of us find the strength to let it fall.

Ms. Kress turns out a competent work of mystery here. The story is good, and we don't find out "whodunit" until the very end. My only complaint is that the characters were a bit cliche. Dr. Melanie Anderson was just about the angriest character I have ever seen. In my own humble opinion, I don't see how she could possibly have risen to a position of responsibility within the CDC with some of the know-nothing convictions she holds. Agent Cavanaugh is the quintessential "man afraid of commitment"

Read this book and be entertained for a few hours.

Maryland, USA. Are we dealing with an attempt to wipe out the black population by a biological weapon? Dr. Melanie Anderson of CDC thinks so. Malaria reading, named after Malcolm Peter Reading, a black Senator from Pennsylvania and a presidential hopeful, who died after suffering a stroke in the middle of his speech, continues to spread rapidly. What made Dr. Anderson so sure about the genocide attempt is that the disease seems to attack only t hose with sickle-cell trait, a predominantly black population.

Nancy Kress has taken a bold step. She's an award-winning science fiction writer who is universally recognized as one of the best in the genre. With 'Oaths and Miracles' and now with 'Stinger,' she has proven that she can stand toe-to-toe with the best of the thriller/suspense writers as well.

'Stinger' begins with Senator Malcolm Peter Reading, a presidential hopeful, collapsing during a speech. Reading, an African-American, dies in a matter of minutes. It is discovered that he had contracted malaria. Others quickly begin dying of malaria. Nearly all of them are African-American. Then the epidemic begins.

FBI agent Robert Cavanaugh and Dr. Melanie Anderson of the Centers for Disease Control quickly discover that the deaths are not accidents. Someone...or some country...has reintroduced malaria into America. The cards appear to be stacked against them: they have few clues and little time. To complicate matters, both Cavanaugh and Anderson are faced with personal and professional crises just as an answer is beginning to develop.

I have always appreciated two things about the writing of Nancy Kress: fascinating characters and scientific ideas a clod like me can understand. Cavanaugh acts exactly the way we think an FBI agent should - logical, methodical thinking, going through the proper steps at the proper time, etc, but Kress shows us that while the agent has everything together on the job, that doesn't necessarily mean every aspect of his life is in order. Melanie Anderson is an African-American woman who is mad as hell at what is happening. She's not perfect, yet we identify with her, hurt for her, and cheer for her. Two great characters.

'Stinger' is a great thrill-ride all the way to the very last page, but it is also chilling in another aspect. Although this book was published in 1998, it has some frightening parallels to the events surrounding Sept. 11. A real page-turner...and a real eye opener.

303 fast-moving pages

Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Allison Blake's The Chesapeake Bay Book is a comprehensive and thoroughly user friendly: guide to all the great getaway adventures to be found in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Maps, indexes to the best places for lodging and dining, recreation opportunities by locale, and much more, enhance this superbly presented travel guide which is ideal for anyone planning a local day trip or an extended vacation in the Chesapeake Bay environs.

Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Allison Blake's The Chesapeake Bay Book is a comprehensive and thoroughly "user friendly: guide to all the great getaway adventures to be found in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Maps, indexes to the best places for lodging and dining, recreation opportunities by locale, and much more, enhance this superbly presented travel guide which is ideal for anyone planning a local day trip or an extended vacation in the Chesapeake Bay environs.

a college friend invited me to spend a few weeks with her in annapolis, but, when she got a job she couldn't refuse just before i arrived, i had to fend for myself entertainment-wise. thank heavens i wandered into a local bookstore and picked up this book. i didn't know a thing about the area. nor did my friend really. (i'm from texas, and she just moved there from connecticut.) but, with the help of this guidebook and a rental car, i wandered happily throughout the back roads of the chesapeake region. i found great little towns to stop in with its help, deliciously fattening restaurants to eat in and cool things to see. if you're a newbie there, i highly recommend that you pick it up!

Tom Parker's able reading of C. X. Moreau's terrific telling of the Antietam story works superbly on the one disc, 12-hour format. Parker maintains an authoritative, objective tone and recreates the individual voices--this novelization based on historical record depends on constant shifting points of view of all principals at Turner's Gap and Sharpsburg--with a non-histrionic authenticity. Indeed, his reading of Moreau's rendering of the thoughts and words of just about every major figure from Reno to A.P. Hill manages to sound genuine rather than offer the common stilted manner associated with so much of captured Civil War dialogue.

The novel itself gives needed attention to the preliminaries to Antietam, notably the actions at Turner's Gap from the shifting perspectives of D.H. Hill and General Reno, who died there. As one who has read a number of the major works on and accounts of the Antietam battle, and who has visited the site many times, including on last year's 140th anniversary, this novel really puts the flesh and blood into the historical event for me. As a historical novel should, Promise of Glory does not substitute for the analyses, anecdotes, and accounts. It simply provides them a dramatic narrative context which, at least for me, puts the real people into the hills and rills and cuts and corners of that hallowed piece of Maryland. I recommend the novel to readers and, with this valuable rendering, listeners alike. I read it last year and just finished the listening and am greatly improved by both encounters. I recommend it especially to those familiar with the battle already. I do not know how it would work as an introduction.

The MP3 format of this recording for those who have replay capacity for it on their CD players permits the handling of but one disc for the entire work. The studio work is very good--better than some other I have gotten from Blackstone--without the dropoffs, volume changes, echo chamber sensations, and telltale stop-and-restart pops lesser producers too often permit. The chapterization is a bit abrupt in the reading--I can't imagine there weren't a couple more seconds available to pause and go on more patiently--and the pitfalls of the CD versus tape system (the difficulty of replaying a missed or inattended section) remain, but the ten minute sectioning helps somewhat. None of these quibbles should dissuade anyone from getting this disc into his ear "as soon as practicable," as Lee himself might say.

Finally, I know there is another Moreau work out there, out of print, somewhere, and would welcome some assistance in obtaining it.

In the meanwhile, get this book and this recording.

"Promise of Glory" is a highly illustrative novel in many aspects. Moreau is particularily adept at character description and development and battle scene descriptions. It's almost as though he has battle experience himself. His accuracy and thoroughness are to be admired. Moreau's approach to describing the battle - the novel switches gears from one side to another and from one general to another - is particularily effective and keeps the reader turning the pages.

This isn't exactly a minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow description of the battle; it isn't meant to be. Rather it examines the vaious generals' thoughts and decisions - or lack thereof - all the while giving the reader what he needs to know about how and why the battle took place. For that alone it is worth the read. Moreau's dialogue - some fictional, some historically documented - is great and adds depth to the characters and battles.

A note to the tools who deride Moreau for his "similiarity" to Shaara: Instead of wasting your time writing hundreds of book reviews, of which at most *tens* of people will read, try and write a novel yourself and come up with a completely unique and new genre of writing style. Comparisions of Moreau's book to other Civil War writings are to be expected. But to more or less accuse Moreau of copying Shaara's writing style and characters shows you for what you really are: Trekkies who spend your time trashing others' work because you yourselves are more than likely failed authors.

If you are looking for a historical account of the Battle of Antietam this is not the book to read. If you are looking for a minute by minute, unit by unit account of this book, you are looking at the wrong book. This is a great novel on the men that fought the battle and the horrors of the battle. You see the battle through the eyes of many prominent civil war officers such as Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, Hood, McClellan Porter, Hooker, Burnsides and both the Hills. Moreau gives great descriptions of the battles and the men that fought in them. The nice thing is that this book isn't bias toward one side or the other. It's not another book written with the Lost Cause in mind, it shows the battle from both sides. There are similarities to the Killer Angels, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, which is fine because those are all great books too. This book can squeeze into the trilogy as a good account of the battle of Antietam. I recommend this book to civil war buffs and anyone who is looking for a good book to read.

I enjoyed the pictures of these houses, and thought the book was especially well written. It's impossible to separate the evolution of these houses from the changes in the city itself, so some history is inevitable; there is also a great amount of detail involving the lives of the owners and developers. (I suspect this is a result of the book's being partly funded by a grant. Nothing got thrown away, to give the sponsor their money's worth.) If you are not overwhelmed by all this, you will uncover some interesting bits: the ads for Formstone, the fact that basements were hand-dug by a crew of nine in two days, the tales of the "night soil" removers. Really concentrates on the local history, though, so it may not of interest to others.

The rowhouse is far more common in Baltimore than other US cities, and these authors have documented its history and development up to the present day. Every nuance of design change is thoroughly discussed, and the amount of detail allows a street-by-street discussion at times. We're told about the various developers who, parcel by parcel, converted old elite estates into street grids covered with rowhouses of varying quality. The book ends as an advertisement for new urbanism, in which dilapidated old rowhouses are renovated and run-down neighborhoods undergo renewal.

The quality of writing is particularly high. There are approximately 140 b&w photos, which for the most part are grouped together so they can be printed on high-gloss paper. This is an awkward arrangement that requires the reader to flip back and forth to the glossy photo pages. There are approximately ten cross-sections and floor plans. There are very few maps, and a detailed knowledge of Baltimore geography is assumed. Because of the highly specialized nature of this book, it is unlikely to appeal to anyone outside Baltimore, but it would probably be a delight to architectural enthusiasts within the city.

...and the time to read 'The Baltimore Rowhouse' is now! I'm telling you'se- this book has it all. ; )

You not only get the expected descriptions of the architectural styles of rowhouses, and a historical review of the development of this style of housing, but the author weaves in the chronological social climb of an immigrant family throughout the book. Following the family's real estate history gives the book a story-like, biographical feel; unusual for non-fiction of this nature. It is in a sense, a well documented account of one way the "American Dream" has been realized.

From a social/cultural perspective, the 'Baltimore Rowhouse' is a social commentary on Baltimorean (and American) housing development past, present and future from visionary authors who love the City of Baltimore.

I received the book as a Christmas gift and read it in about 3 days. I couldn't put it down and was a little saddened that it had to end. I say this rarely- IT IS A MUST READ.

His friends and family felt bad for Garrett and Missy Wilson when both their infants died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the 1980s. In 1993, Garrett divorced Missy. Later he married Vicky and had a little girl Marysa with her. In 1998, Maryland police arrest Garrett for smothering his son Garrett Michael to death in 1987. The death of his daughter Brandi Jean remains suspicious. A jury deliberating in less than two hours returned a guilty verdict on Garrett.

However, is he guilty of murder for insurance or is he the victim of a zealot police officer and a scorned former wife? Adrian Havill provides one heck of a true-life crime tale by having access to more than just both sides of the story. The author also obtains the latest medical information on SIDS that adds to the terror of this real life murder mystery. WHILE INNOCENTS SLEPT is a shocker not because Garrett did or did not kill his two children, but because of the realization that a statistically significant number of SIDS casualties are homicide victims. Not for the faint of heart, fans will find this scary true-life mystery to be one of the best the genre offers.

Harriet Klausner

Adrian Havill's novel was written with great detail. It was definately one of those murder mystery book that is hard to put down. It kept me in suspense from beginning to end. But my question was why would he kill Brandi Jean and Garret Michael, but never harmed Marysa? The circumstances surrounding both the infants were bizzare. As mothers how could both women not realized something was just not right about it. I mean it is a mother's intuition and whether that was Brandi and Garret's father how could you suspect something like that and wait so long to see justice is done? Some of the facts don't add up as far as the mothers of the children, it is very odd that not one but both women never forgot, but just let him get away for so long. This book was well researched and written down to every detail. But it keeps you guessing was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome the perfect way out to a cruel murder of innocents?

Adrian Havill's new book, While Innocents Slept, takes the True Crime-writing genre to a new level. He maintains a journalistic impartiality, keeping secret how he is viewing the accused, Garrett Wilson, and the crimes of which Wilson is suspected: The suffocation of his own two babies (from subsequent marriages), ostensibly for insurance money, and the covering up of those deeds with the handy mystery-diagnosis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The reader is kept in suspense until the final pages when the jury renders its verdict. Havill's even-handedness paints a clear picture of the tragedies. Three sets of families suffered. The two sympathetic families of the dead infants are certainly victims as well as the family of the accused man, who believe in him. The reader has a chance to identify with each person's pain and actions, because they are in almost every way, everyday people like we all know from somewhere.

Hollis is dragooned into judging an Elvis impersonator contest by her no good godfather Albie Lydekker. Her ghostly ex-husband and most of the people she knows think it is a bad idea, so does she. But, Albie is in debt to Bang Bang Devine, mafioso and Elvis impersonator and he wants a contest. Then, Bang is discovered dead in Elvis drag at the seedy Lock and Load motel, and Albie is a suspect. Things get really involved between all of the different Elvii, the real E, Sam the ghost, Snow White the grunge rocker hooker, and all of the usual Eastern Shore characters. It is all alot of fun however. I really didn't even try to figure out who the murderer was, I wasn't surprised, but the characters were so much fun, I didn't really care.

I found this the best yet in Chappell's mystery series, which continues the madcap tradition of Cary Grant in Topper. In this book, we learn more about Hollis' feelings for Sam, and his for her, but this wistful aside does not detract from the hilarity of the Elvis impersonators and life on the Eastern Shore. You really can't afford to skip over one bit of narrative in Chappell's work, because you're sure to miss a laugh if you do.

Hollis, reporter on Maryland's Eastern Shore is back. What bothers many people is that her gambling godfather, Albie is also back. Albie played one year with the Orioles,but his life style and gambling ended his baseball career abruptly. He lives from opportunity to failed opportunity. This time he is setting up an Elvis interpreter contest for a mobster to whom he owes money. When these Elvis impersonators begin to turn up murdered, Albie is the logical suspect. Hollis must clear him with the help of her ghostly ex-husband Sam, accompanied by stern warnings of her policeman boy friend to stay out of it. This book will keep you trying to come up with the solution while laughing out loud. A wonderful concept for both comedy and mystery that Chappell handles with a light professional touch. Great reading especially for those of us who grew up with George and Marian Kirby in the Topper series.

Amazon lists eighty-four titles under Antietam. Try any of the other eighty three, as this one is not worth reading. As two other reviewers note, scant attention is paid to the battle at Sharpsburg/Antietam. Rather, Reasoner uses this title as suberfuge to take the reader riding all over Virginia from March to September 1862. Even the dust cover is misleading. Twelve pages of over 350 have anything to do with this battle, which is grossly oversimplified and underdescribed.

Reasoner seems intent solely on telling one chapter of an eight-part life of the Bannon family, a cliched and boring Southern family if there ever was one. The plot is plodding, the characters are stereotypes. Even with an accurate title, there would be little here worth reading. The editor and publisher should be ashamed.

And one more thing: Although this is a novel, the reader deserves at least a map of Virginia with each of the numerous towns and battles mentioned in the book shown on the map. Unless you know Virginia geography intimately, you'll be more lost than some of the commanders who, as Reasoner notes, suffered from poor maps. He doesn't offer any assistance. Better yet, some of the larger engagements merit detailed battle plans. One map would be worth five thousand words.

My only consolation is that I borrowed this from the public library. And, in this case, my Amazon recommendations were way off the mark.

The main problem with James Reasoner's "Antietam," Book 3 in "The Civil War Battles Series," is the same as its companion volumes. The book is not ABOUT the Battle of Antietam, but rather it ENDS with the Battle of Antietam. Ironically, of all the battles covered in this volume--Stonewall Jackson's campaign in the Shenandoah, the Battles of the Seven Days during the Peninsula Campaign, the Second Battle of Manassas--Antietam probably receives the least amount of space. However, with the Civil War in full swing "Antietam" certainly offers more war and less soap opera than the first volume, "Bull Run." The happenings back on the Brannon family farm in Culpeper County, Virginia is fitting reduced to a minor subplot, although the romance between Titus Brannon and Polly Ebersole takes some surprising turns. More intriguing are the feeling of Cordelia's beau, Nathan Hatcher, who refuses to join the Confederate army and fight for a cause he cannot support. But the focus of Reasoner's novel are the two oldest Brannon brothers, Will and Mac.

Reasoner takes full advantage of these two siblings in terms of where he positions them to allow us to watch the war in 1862. Will is a Captain, commanding a company in the Stonewall Bridge, part of Jackson's fabled "foot cavalry." In "Antietam," Mac finally joins up with Jeb Stuart's cavalry, where he has the fortune of being the aide of Fitzhugh Lee. Consequently, the Brannons have a chance to witness many of the pivotal moments in the Eastern Theater of the War. These books do not have a lot of historical detail of the sort that would warm the hearts of Civil War reenacters, but Reasoner certainly provides a swiftly paced narrative. The soap opera elements that overwhelmed the first book in the series has been modified, although there is still a chance encounter on the battlefield and a hint of something extremely wrong between Polly and her father. This is not a great novel of the Civil War, but it is reasonably entertaining and certainly integrates the events of 1862. The section on Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign is probably the best in the book. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and wondering how many of the Brannons will make

Antietam continues The Civil War Battle Series. As a long-time owner and rider of horses, I particularly enjoy the way Mr. Reasoner writes the relationship between Mac Brannon and the mysterious wild gray stallion which Mac has "captured". Man and horse have formed an incredible bond, almost thinking as one. For anyone who knows and loves horses, Mr. Reasoner has captured those feeling beautifully.

And, the war continues to disrupt the lives of the Brannon family, pulling them further and further apart. Combine well-written characters with well-researched and depicted battles, and you have a winning historical novel.

See storyline above.

Michael Crow, a pseudonym of an apparently popular author, has a writing style that draws you in to the story and makes you part of it. This is the story of Luther Ewing. Luther is presently a detective for the Baltimore County Police Department. His past is a mystery to most of his friends and involves the Gulf war and his experiences with the special forces. When out of his past comes a certain old Russian mercenary named Vassily. Vassily seems to be taking over the drug trade in Luther's district and in his path he leaves death and destruction. Luther soon realizes that the only way to defeat Vassily is to veer a little outside the law.

Though just an average thriller, the writing style and knowledge of weaponry give it an edge that's worth reading. I was bothered by the fact that Vassily didn't have a clue that Luther was a detective.

Recommended.

With his novel Red Rain, author Michael Crow has created a nifty, gritty little thriller that pushes the boundaries of crime to its bleakest state. Although there is a lot of dark humour to be found in his novel, the storyline is so dark and the characters so conflicted that the read itself ends up being very, very dark. Not since Michael Connelly has an author tackled the grittiest side of today's world in such a realistic and affecting way.

The novel gives us Luther Ewing, a half-vietnamese, half-black Baltimore detective who also used to be in the army. His nickname? Shooter, a name Luther does live up to; his army training has left him so indifferent to death and violence that he has no problem pulling the trigger whenever he feels the need.

This time, Ewing is faced with a drug cartel that is slowly gaining ground in Baltimore. And the cartel's leader just happens to be a Russian man by the name of Vassily, with whom Ewing spent some time during the war. He now has to go undercover and head-to-head against a man that he once considered to be a friend.

Filled with colorful but realistic characters, and a very truthful storyline, Red Rain is the kind of novel that makes no apologies for its violence of subject matter. As a matter of fact, the book's title might not be apporpriate enough; it is not a rain a blood that keeps falling through these pages, but a real downpoor. As the body counts keeps getting higher and higher, Luther finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into a remorseless, dark world.

Michael Crow is the pen name for an award-winning novelist. I would love to know who that is, because Red Rain is one of the best crime novel to have been published in quite some time. You will admire Ewing, a character you will both love and hate (never try to understand his actions, he's impossible to figure out!), and you will admire the extremely witty dialogue and sharp, quick writing style.

There isn't much to hate in this brilliant little novel. I can't wait to see what Crow will bring us next!

I can't tell you very much about Michael Crow, other than that is not the real name of the award winning writer who wrote Red Rain, but I can tell you about Red Rain, the highest rated book of the year to date and an "E Ticket" ride from beginning to end. The speculation within the mystery writers community as to who is Michael Crow is now overshadowing a great read and increasing the value of any signed edition. And to mention on the QT this is the first in a series of two books with a movie deal in the working.

Now all the frosting aside and down to the real dessert, this book grabbed ahold of me from the very beginning where we meet the lead character, Luther Ewing, who passes for Indian as in American warpaint and all, but who is the child of mixed blood, a veteran of the Gulf War and ex-mercenary, and now a narcotics cop fighting the good fight. Luther's past all of a sudden no longer is in the past and his journey is what this whole book is about. Crow has created a dark hero in Luther Ewing, with real problems real aggression that people can relate to. I eagerly await the next chapter and I dare say, so will you.