...and tell your friends to keep an eye on you, because you won't be able to put Endless Love down, even if your house catches fire. Then get ready to laugh, cry, and see God. Yes, God. Lesbian-style. For a few hours, you will be trapped inside the skin of the troubled protagonist, as love hurtles her through ecstasy, unimaginable pain, then toward peace and wholeness.

The prose is glittering, transparent, and the plot, though not suspenseful in the classic sense, will leave you gasping. This is the Great Universal Novel, and wouldn't you know it? The main characters are lesbian, so it's tucked away in a genre drawer. But you won't find any formulas in this sparse and fast-moving tale. Ah, but whether you are lesbian or not, you will laugh and cry and tingle with awe.

Buy this book. In fact, load up with as many copies as you can find, because once you lend this book to your friends, you will never see it again. I can't praise this book enough.

My only complaint--I wish I'd written it.

To me, Endless Love ranks up there with Curious Wine as a great piece of lesbian romance. Though, Endless Love comes with a twist! The copy I own has since found it's way into a friend's hands and another friend received a copy as a gift. My highest, highest possible recommendation on this book.

A very, very moving book. Its one of those books that can make you wake up and realize so many things...

This is my favorite Shapiro story. The feeling and emotion Andrea experiences are as close to real as it gets when you are young and lose your first love. Her recovery hits close to home and I found myself wanting to meet her and the rest of the characters.

1. This book is an excellent investigation into what occured in Boston involving the Catholic church and sex abuse.

2. It is also an excellent book in explaining the power of the Catholic Church in the culture and politics of Boston. This power may explain why Cardinal Law and others were able to get away with such abuses of power.

3. This is an extremely painful read as it details exactly what occurred to these children while they were being abused.

4. With that said, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR ALL CATHOLICS!

It doesn't matter if one is Catholic or not, one thing that must be agreed upon is that the abuse and mistreatment of children must not be tolerated. Therefore, it is disturbing to read such an account as this; that one can see the mechanisms that were systematically used to protect the perpetrators of these crimes, rather than the slew of victims.

This book is NOT a book condemning Catholism or Christianity. I am not Catholic myself, but I have enough respect for Christianity and the Catholic Church, that had it been merely thus, I probably wouldn't have wasted my time reading it.

With the persistance of the staff of the Boston Globe, though, much of this information, which was previously off-limits, has been opened and researched. This book is a product of that research, and without drowning the reader in tons of details, goes into many aspects of this story - how the story broke, victims' stories, profiles of some of the most heinous perpetrators, the Catholic culture around Boston, and the heirarchical structure of the Catholic Church, and the effects this scandal has had on the Catholic Church in America and in the world.

As late as this has come to many people, I am glad that somebody had the nerve to pursue the story. For those who still want to believe that this isn't a major problem, remember that what is written here is just Boston's story, and just a small bit, at that. The priests who committed these crimes are criminals, and should be recognized as such, both inside and outside the Catholic Church.

The authors have a done a fine job compiling the facts about the sexual abuse crisis that is rocking the Catholic Church. Although the authors present the facts in a balanced way, you will be morally outraged by what "responsible" people of the church are capable of. A must read for anyone who has any doubt about the authoritarian, anti-intellectual, and medieval nature of the Catholic Church.

Great book, I'd recommend it for anyone concerned about the gun crackdown soon coming to a town near you! However, he mentions a movie called "The Pallax View." That I can't seem to find anywhere. If anyone can help please e-mail me. jdwilliams@thegrid.net

Boston's on Guns and courage is well written. Many quotations from John Ross' book Unintended Consequences, as well as from patriots going back to the revolution of 1776, frame a nice discussion of the authors thesis, namely that the second amendment is the final guardian of the rest of the constitution. I myself think that constitutional rights are like muscles. They get flabby and weak if not used.

Boston also explains something about current gun laws, which is a confusing and fast moning topic, and a moving target hard to hit.

I thought the chapter on woman and guns to be of particular potential interest to the woman's lib types who don't agree with the usual anti gun agenda.

Overall , there is more on hardwear than on philosophy or tactics, which is perhaps as it should be. Buy 'em. Then have someone teach you to use 'em.

A really nice review of available hardware, some of the prices a little out of date and low. Mr. Boston likes the .308 and the FAL, admits his bias, gives his rationale. I can live with this.

Personally, I think the .308 is fine, and if loooking for a weapon with some long range accuracy potential, I'd prefer the M1A(M14)-bettter sights, I like the traditional stock better, less need for meticulous cleaning, and face it-put a small mag in, and w a walnut stock and blued finish, looks more politically correct.Easy to scope too, which this weapon cries out for.

That not withstanding, the FAL is just fine, and his info on the AR-15 pattern weapons out there is just fine. Next edition should cover red dot type sights.

Overall-good book, to recommend to those who have decided to own firearms and what to learn before they buy. The author puts in his predjudices, but admits them up front. If nothing else, you will probably go out and buy Unintended Consequences.

Boston, Mr. Royce, is entertaining and informative. I have this book and the follow on volume, and both are excellent. His views are field tested, and perhaps best of all, he admits his prejudices, says why he thinks what he thinks and then leaves it to the reader to make the decision for her/him self. A true libertarian. He talks the talk, but also walks the walk. I had the privilege of meeting him at a show once and he impresses me as a man you could leave your teenage daughter or your wallet with him and they would absolutely be safe upon your return. This personal integrity shows in his writing style and approach to life. Hooray for this book.

I may be the last dedicated mystery reader on the planet to discover Brady Coyne, but what a happy discovery it was! I understand this is Outing #17, so I predict many enjoyable hours for myself.

Brady's good friend/client is devastated at the loss of his teen-aged son in a tragic auto accident. The boy and his girl friend perhaps took a curve too fast, broke through the guardrail, and plunged into a swift flowing river. The girl drowned in the driver's seat with seat belt still strapped on. The boy apparently was thrown out of the car and washed away. The body has not been found. Brady agrees to handle the legal and bureaucratic details for the grief-stricken family.

Nothing is quite as it seems in this perfect small town with its perfect, civic-minded sheriff. The pace is relentless, the body count rises, the events are ever more baffling---and the reader is thoroughly hooked.

The characters are multi-faceted; not one could ever be called a stereotype. Brady is a pure delight, a basically nice guy who is a mite lazy, is a walking manual on how not to run your love life, a fond but not too effectual father of grown sons, and doesn't handle stress well at all. Even if this were not a well-plotted suspenseful story, which it most certainly is, I think I'd read more Brady Coyne books just to spend time with my friend, Brady-and make sure he didn't leave me in mid-story to go fishing.

A great outing and highly recommended.

William G. Tapply is one of the finest mystery writers working today. In "Scar Tissue", Brady Coyne receives a phone call from Jake Gold telling Brady that his son, Brian had been in a fatal auto accident. Brian's girlfriend, Jenny, has been killed, but Brian's body hasn't been found. Brady feels there is little he can do, but when he finds Ed Sprague, chief of police in Reddington, murdered in a motel room and when Jake Gold disappears, Brady begins to investigate. Brady uncovers a child pornography ring and blackmail, as well as murder. This is an excellent addition to a top-notch mystery series.

Not being adept at writing book reviews, two things come to mind as I set-out to write about this excellent mystery novel: first, to give an opinion about the book, and secondly not to give away the conclusion to the mystery. So as not to spoil the ending, I will avoid the latter concern and say a few words about the former. Here's my opinion: Simply stated, Scar Tissue by William G. Tapply is a gripping mystery in the Brady Coyne series. This was my introduction to Tapply's mystery writing, and I am eager to seek out other editions. I found Scar Tissue to be a fast-paced, intriguing story with some likable and not so likable characters. Tapply develops his characters with depth and sensitivity, Brady Coyne being the most magnetic. Coyne never misses a beat, even as he winds his way through the plot in a human and down to earth manner. For the reader who is looking for an engrossing mystery with a twisting, turning plot and unlikely outcome, this book is for you. I look forward to Brady Coyne's next adventure. Now, back to my fly-tying bench.

Great primer about all the little droppings one leaves around going about one's daily business. Pagers, computer, internet, your home, your groceries, your automobile, etc., all the aspects are covered, albeit some more in depth than others. You also get some real life stories about how some notorious fugitives got caught when they screwed up. If you were ever thinking of disappearing, get this book and go from there. If I was to say that the book had one over riding precept, it would be "That leaving a light trail is leaving the same thing as an obvious trail. Any trail at all will get you caught. Its an all or nothing game". Let the fugitive beware!

Boston T. Party is a master of privacy, and he shares his secrets with the reader in Bulletproof Privacy. I've read a few books about privacy, but this is by far the best guide. He doesn't feed you that soft stuff about removing your name from mailing lists and stopping telemarketers, like the other privacy guides. He tells you about setting up an untraceable address, how to use the telephone privately, keeping your home private, and more! Every freedom-loving American should get this book!

I've read over 20 books on privacy throughout the years, most of which were merely rehashes of each other with little original or useful info. Boston T. Party's book, Bulletproof Privacy, is the real thing! I guess he's developed his experience from being "Boston" (author of Good-Bye April 15th!, You & The Police!, Hologram of Liberty, Boston on Guns & Courage, and Boston on Surviving Y2K), and it shows. An excellent synthesis of street savvy measures, knowledge of the law, human psychology, and realism--this book is just superb. The tip about how to establish a working, yet untraceable, address is alone worth the price.

I had read almost all the Spenser books before I got to this one, and so I was fascinated by how it foreshadowed the rest of the series. Most notably, it introduces us to Susan Silverman -- at this point a high school guidance counselor but later to become a psychologist. And she is why this is a 4-star, not a 5-star, review. By my lights, she remains the weakest element of this entertaining and evergreen series. Spenser is almost instantly besotted by her, and I have no idea why. She is pretty and dresses well, but isn't the greater Boston metropolitan area filled with attractive fashionistas? She doesn't quite instantly fall into bed with Spenser, but then again, I'm sure that there are many women who don't automatically have sex with private detectives they meet at work. Her insights are not that brilliant. While she is not as high maintenance here as she becomes in future books, nor as pretentious, she is still not all that remarkable. All this said, the mystery itself is wonderful. The plot twists kept me intrigued. And Spenser himself is fascinating. True to his code and filled with compassion and integrity, he is still my favorite sleuth with a series. (Apologies to Nero and Archie!)

Robert B. Parker, God Save the Child (Berkeley, 1974)

One of the great enduring mysteries in the literary world-and it says quite a bit that a piece of genre writing has had such a pervasive cultural effect-is the first name of Robert B. Parker's longstanding favorite good guy, Spenser. What short memories we have, for it's revealed in God Save the Child, the second Spenser novel. (The book contains the one scene where someone says his first name and isn't later contradicted. And no, I'm not going to tell you what it is.) Not only that, but it also pinpoints Spenser's age, which is something that's come up in more than one recent review. And yes, he is getting up there. (I won't tell you that, either. But pretty soon, the A&E made-for-TV movies will have to case Don Ameche and Garrett Morris as Spenser and Hawk.) For any Spenser fan, those two things alone should be reason enough to go back and correct any error they may have made by not reading this at their earliest opportunity. To cap off the must-read things about this book, it's where Spenser first meets Susan. Okay, get thee to a bookstore and get to work.

In this case, Spenser is hired to find a runaway kid. After a few days of wheel-spinning by both Spenser and the cops, a ransom note turns up; the kid's not a runaway, but a kidnap victim. Spenser enlists the help of a smart-aleck state cop and the kid's guidance counselor (Susan Silverman), and things go about the same way they usually go in detective novels. Those used to later Spenser novels will find the prose much drier than the average Spenser novel; whether Parker hadn't yet developed the distinctive Spenser style or whether the publisher was leaning on him to sound more like Ross MacDonald is anyone's guess. But don't worry, you won't be hurting for wisecracks, culinary commentary, and other such Spenserian traits.

While the book itself is vintage Parker, it's plain to see that the publisher was still thinking of Parker in dime- novel terms back in 1974. Hopefully reprints have corrected some of the more egregious errors of spelling and grammar, but if you happen to get your hands on the mid-seventies Berkeley paperback (...), be prepared for some painfully obvious screwups, if you happen to notice such things. I considered using the book to start a bonfire the second time Spenser "payed" a bill. (Amazing that they didn't spell his name Spencer throughout.) Obviously, it's not a knock on Parker, but still worth noting for those who get annoyed by proofreading errors in their pulp fiction. ****

This is Book 2, and Spenser is as feisty as ever. A couple comes to his office and says they never thought of using a Private Eye before; he's bored because he's heard it so many times. Turns out their kid has vanished, taking his guinea pig with him. This is in Smithfield, bastion of the rich up on the north shore. The local police chief is portly and doesn't like Spenser much. So what else is new?

One thing is new - Susan Silverman, the High School Guidance Counsellor. She's feisty and beautiful. Their meeting-scene is rather overdone, though. She drinks a lot, which is MUCH different from later stories. He tells of his nose-breaking and she likes his carving of the "Indian on the Horse" (in front of the MFA) which he did in the first book. She's sad that she's only a guidance counselor and can't really help people. I have a feeling that many guidance counselors out there would have some objection to her point of view. You can make a difference anywhere you are - if only you do your best.

Susan becomes a staple to the series, the love-partner of Spenser throughout the books, the one that brings sense to his sometimes frayed world. Unfortunately, at least in this book, she doesn't seem to be helping much. The story is extremely simplistic in dealing with the causes of child unhappiness and the ways in which it can be "fixed".

The story has a good dose of homosexual behavior, drugs and fetishes - all soon to be part of the Spenser trademark plotline. What is EXTREMELY interesting to me is that while the "later" Spenser is very much a hip guy with gay friends and easily defending gay rights, he most definitely did not start out that way. Some of the stereotypes shown here border on insulting.

There are other trends forming here. Alcoholic couple, the "artistic" wife is drooling all over Spenser. Also interesting is the repetition of tennis references (which I didn't think Spenser played), and his reference to the comfort food of the chop suey his mom used to make. His dead mom? State Cop Healey makes his first appearance here.

Despite in general being a huge fan of Spenser stories, I hated the ending, but read it and decide for yourself on that one.

I bought this book based on several 5-star evaluations here in Amazon, but I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed (which doesn't happen very often). I admit that the plot was interesting and I learned more about Boston than I knew before. However, many of the characters (especially the present-day ones) seemed very two-dimensional. It was hard to tell who was supposed to be driving the action -- it wasn't entirely third-person (which would have been logical in an historical novel) and it wasn't written through the eyes of only one or two characters. For example, a lot of space is given to Fallon the contemporary writer, and he seems to be the one that should draw our focus, but his intentions are all over the map. In fact, every time a new person is introduced, we get glimpses of that person's point-of-view too. I found it disconcerting to read the thoughts of a character in one paragraph, then have to guess what might have motivated their actions in the next one.
Maybe it's an older style of writing (the book was originally written in 1979), but I found the descriptions of relationships between people especially clumsy. I don't know if I'd have finished "Back Bay" if I hadn't been on a trip to a foreign country with no opportunity to find something else in English. I certainly appreciate Michener more than I did as a result of reading this attempt at his kind of storytelling.

I am not always much of a reader, but this book caught me from the first pages. It is a MUST for anyone who knows and/or loves the city of Boston and the history that goes along with it. I found myself visualizing the streets and areas of Boston as I read each chapter. My only disappointment was the ending...I could not believe that I was on the last page! I wanted it to end differently for the characters (thus, only 4 stars), but overall I was quite satisfied with the book. I am now going to dig into Cape Cod, but the same author.

a family saga told in parallel histories of the early 19th and the mid to late 20th centuries, spanning six generations. historic boston makes for a prominent backdrop for an elaborately plotted metropolitan treasure hunt doomed by a fatal curse. contrivances aside, an entertaining, nearly folkloric tale.

The author certainly can't be faulted for being uninformed or without conviction. However, he is certainly without the ability to write effectively and coherently. The book looks like it was written on a computer by a twelve year old (every possible combination of bold, italic and underline type is used) and, far worse, the quality of communication matches.

The author hints at some very interesting notions (such as exiting your vehicle and locking your car door upon police detainment as well as hiding your trunk key) but he's incredibly vague about exactly why you should hide the key or exactly what the cop can and can not do with the key. There are numerous other examples of the author mentioning things in passing that aren't well explained. It's clear Boston doesn't have the ability all good writers have of keeping in mind what he's told his readers and what still needs to be explained.

I have never read such detailed advice in handling yourself in many scenarios with the police. I found this book to be helpful in describing various tactics in your automobile to avoid calling attention to yourself. How to act during search requests and home visits is critical! Well Done, Mr. Boston T. Party!

This book is like having a roadside lawyer with you! You & The Police! covers every possible confrontation with police, explaining exactly how to assert your rights. For example, if you got stopped for a broken tail light, and then the officer wanted to search your trunk, you'll know if he can, if you can refuse, and how to handle the situation. I used what I learned from Boston's book on a recent trip with some snoopy airport cops and shut down their whole intrusive scene in about 20 seconds! Best 12 bucks I ever spent. Boston T. Party has also written five other books which I strongly recommend (Good-Bye April 15th!, Bulletproof Privacy, Hologram of Liberty, Boston on Guns & Courage, and Boston on Surviving Y2K). While Boston supports Law & Order, he clearly disagrees with Laws & Orders. He is one of Liberty's modern treasures.

This is a departure for Parker, as some of the story is told from the point of view of the villain. It's a very suspenseful read, and I liked how how strong Susan was; you may not always enjoy her, but in this one she seems to be a person apart from Spenser, which gives her some reality. Not just a pretty face who finds it "irresistable to be loved so completely." My biggest problem is Parker's simplistic Freudian psychology. Guess why the serial killer kills? Surprise - it's his mother's fault. Parker does tend to take the easy and obvious route with the motivations of his characters, and that isn't always a bad thing, but it gets wearying when you read the whole series. Spenser, the ultimate autonomous man, would never say his father (or anyone else) is responsible for his actions. So why should anybody else's parents take the blame? Gimme a break.

I've read all of the Spenser novels, and I believe this is one of the very best. It delves into previously unseen areas of Spenser's relationship with Susan, especially when their professions come into conflict. When Susan becomes a potential victim of a vicious serial killer and may have knowledge, through her practice as a psychologist, that could help catch him, Spenser runs up against the doctor-patient confidentiality that helps define her as a therapist. He must quell his normal bull in a china shop urges and work around her rather than irreparably damaging their relationship and her opinion of herself.

Crimson Joy is less physical than other novels in the series, with a heavier emphasis on the psychological aspects of the case. It also adds a rather effective new twist: some of the chapters are told from the killer's point of view, rather than Spenser's. All in all, it's an excellent read, and a very well put together story.

I'll start with a confession: I've never read Robert B. Parker before. And I didn't know anything about Spenser before I met him in Crimson Joy. I don't know - I thought maybe Sam Spade; dark, rainy nights, bare light bulbs in a dingy office.

Boy, was I wrong.

In this book, Spenser and friends are up against the Red Rose killer. The bad guy is quite obviously a psychological case, so Spenser's psychologist girlfriend gets to be a partner in crime as well as in bed, with delightful humor and good will. They're both such really great people, it's fun to be around them.

Spenser is in great physical shape; he's brave and witty; he's a gourmet cook. He's never ruffled. Faced with a slime talk show host or a five-thug citizen pressure group, his wit, strength, and courage save the day.

Okay, it might all be too good to be true, but this is a story. It's comfortable, funny, fast-paced, breezy and uncomplicated. The plot is clever enough to interest, even if the outcome is surly a foregone conclusion.

In Spenser's words, "To be who I was and do what I did had to assume I'd win." That's how I felt from the start and I was glad he was who he was and did what he did and I loved every minute of it.

For fans of Elinor Lipman's brilliant novels, this one might well be a disappointment. I couldn't find much to root for in her protagonist, a brainy surgical intern with zero social skills, and there wasn't enough about the more interesting secondary characters to redeem the novel for me. As for Alice's unorthodox fudge salesman suitor, Ray Russo, it seemed as if Lipman couldn't decide how she felt about him. One minute he was showing incredible thoughtfulness toward Alice, and the next minute he was portrayed as a hopeless cad. Based on my past experiences with the author, however, I've given the book one more star than it really deserves. For those unfamiliar with Elinor Lipman, don't hold this one against her. Try any of her other novels, and enjoy.

Thank God, more Elinor Lipman! Her latest gem is the story of the initiation into simple humanity of Alice Thrift, a brilliant but socially-challenged surgical resident who has all the instinctive people skills of a chilly stethoscope. The paradoxical inversion of Lipman's usual lucidly insightful heroines works to perfection here; Alice's cluelessness is itself a kind of x-ray vision and Lipman is as hilariously wise about men and women as ever. Alice's insanely persistent suitor, the sublimely slimy Ray Russo, is a perverse delight; watching the twists and turns of the courtship is like watching a car wreck in slow motion, but it dawns on us slowly that this is precisely the car wreck Alice needed. The novel's minor characters are realized wonderfully, and the delicious unfolding process of naive Alice's education in the intricacies of actual human beings is pure joy. I can't agree that this falls short of Lipman's usual wonders; it's simply a delightful read, laced with laugh-out-loud dialogue pitched to perfection and all the treasures of Lipman's effortlessly graceful style. She is our Jane Austen and hurray there's more of her now to read.

The typical Elinor Lipman book involves a discovery or rediscovery of a relationship from the main character's past: a missing parent or sibling, old high school friends, acquaintances or enemies. In Alice Thrift, though, she has created a main character without a past--she was too busy studying to have one--and thus Lipman explores an entirely new theme: how to create a personality for the first time in your late 20's.

As always Lipman effortlessly creates an environment that feels both familiar and real, here a teaching hospital in Boston. Aware of her lack of bedside manner or really any empathy for other people, Alice is frustrated and alone. She doesn't realize that the people who care about her--first her roommate Leo and then her hallmate Sylvie and a kindly OB--are the ones who are helping her to develop a personality and interests, and instead credits the changes in her to Ray Russo, the obviously evil patient turned suitor (we learn they will marry and the marriage will not last before we learn anything else; Lipman is interested in characters, not plot twists). Nobody loves Raymond (sorry, I couldn't resist), but Alice's huge blindspots where her personality should be give her no defenses to him, and she is unable either to resist him or to ask herself the most obvious questions about his behavior. Yet she runs away first from Leo when he turns out to have a girl friend (who is obviously wrong for him, but--in a twist that shows Lipman is writing about people, not "characters"--nonetheless a good person who helps Alice discover her own strengths as a doctor) and from Sylvie when she flirts with Leo. Yet she only discovers that running from Ray is in her best interests at the last moment. It is a tribute to the self-confidence and self-awareness she has developed over the course of the novel that she is able to turn the tables on Ray even before Sylvie and Leo bust him for his lies.

This is a far less crowded novel than Lipman's previous effort, The Dearly Departed, and while not as passionate or fully-realized as The Inn at Lake Devine (which is simply a masterpiece), it is a small, but wonderful achievement in its own right.