The Ambers were an apparently happy and well-off couple, or that is how they appeared. In actuality, their marriage was one of convenience. Richard Amber's success had been arranged by his wife, Judith; he owed his success to her financial and social status. When Richard Amber disappeared, Judith Amber chose to keep his disappearance a secret from all but those closest to the situation.

Milan Jakovich, a private investigator, was permitted to question Richard Amber's girl friends (current and past) and colleagues (Jerry Stendall, Senior Vice-President of Marbury-Stendall; John Marbury, owner of Marbury-Stendall, and Jeff Monaghan, supposed best friend of Richard Amber). His attempts to question Walter Deming, Judith's uncle and owner of Deming Steel (both Richard's and Marbury-Stendall's largest account), were discouraged and, when eventually permitted, involved at attempt on Jakovich's life.

After having his life threatened, Jacovich was determined to find the man who both attempted to kill him, and who was Amber's killer. The outcome is shocking, and will make you think twice about every person you meet for the rest of your life.

You can expect that I will read the rest of the series!

Pike gives hundreds of tips, tricks, examples, and outlines for instructors to use and adapt, and he gives something even better: his experience as an instructor *using them*. His credentials are excellent, and the style with which he presents this material attests to his ability to teach effectively.

This is a great reference for experienced instructors, but I think it is a must-have for those new to teaching adults. As the author states, "So many people get into training by accident." Just because you accidentally found yourself a trainer is no reason not to become good at it. With Pike's book, you will have a much beter chance (and much easier time) of becoming truly effective.

Highly recommended.

Sita, after living 5,000 years as an immortal vampire, has finally reached a dream she never thought would happen; the alchemist's experiment (in book three) worked, and now she is finally a human, mortal. Maybe now, she thinks, she can finally have a daughter, possibly one like Lalita, the daughter she left the night she became a vampire. When Ray, whom she thought dead, shows up, she thinks she can finally achieve that dream, especcially when she becomes pregnant, and finds a new friend, Paula, who also happens to be pregnant. But the baby grows at an unnatural speed, the birth is painful. Sita names the child Kalika, not Lalita "she who plays" but instead "she who kills." And it seems she is right. The child grows fast, and craves blood. Sita returns to her old ways to find blood for her demanding daughter. And Ray seems so . . . different, not the old Ray who cringed at the sight of blood, now he tries to make sure Sita is feeding their daughter.

When Kalika is physically twenty, Sita slowly begins to understand who her daughter is. And just what Kalika wants with Paula's child, the strange boy with pale blue eyes whose blood has the power to heal . . .

I know that most people say this book isn't as good as the rest, but I think it is. It just stuck in my mind, and I've read it over and over. It is good, but is a little confusing at parts. But, read it if you've read the first three.