I enjoyed this book. I am a huge fan of mysteries, especially mysteries like this one. Steve Brewer is a fine story teller, and he captures the multicultural aspects of the American southwest perfectly. Crazy Love is an excellent book.

It is such a pleasure to read a mystery where the protagonist isn't a super hero. In fact, Bubba Mabry is probably the antithesis of a super hero. Steve Brewer's characters and scenes get better and better with each story. There were occasions when I stopped and went back just to read his description of a particular character, because that description was so enjoyable. Read his description of Melvin Haywood on page 2 and you'll get the picture. Brewer's characteristic humour presents itself once again in Crazy Love. Bubba is his usual funny self, and Bubba's father, Dub, is the perfect foil to bring out the worst in his son. The scenes with Bubba and Dub are priceless. I recommend any of Brewer's books. I've read them all and it is a pleasure to see his grasp of his craft improve with each novel.

Do you like your mystery detectives to be human? Are you tired of the too tough to care detective? Bored with the detective that can tell a persons past by the lisp of their s and the limp of their leg? If so, then let me introduce you to Bubba Mabry. Bubba is the star of the novel, Crazy Love, the sixth book in a series of excellent mystery novels by Steve Brewer. Born and raised in Mississippi, transplanted to Albuquerque by the Air Force, Bubba is a private investigator working hard and usually scraping bottom. He is not the tough as nails, super confident type of PI that spits blood casually at the feet of thugs beating him, but instead takes his licks and deals with them like a real person: He bleeds, bruises, and takes aspirin to help with the swelling.

In "Crazy Love", Bubba gets into one of his typical situations. He isn't getting much work, and rather than allowing his wife to support him, he takes on an odd case, the client that wants to find out with whom his dead wife had an affair. Things seem to move toward a quick conclusion of the case when suddenly the suspected lothario is dead, Bubba's client is the key suspect, Bubba is viewed as a potential accomplice, and the client disappears. Ever faithful to his client, Bubba tries to find out who the real murderer is. Getting in his way is a happy widow, a bruising hulk, another case with a demanding client, and Bubba having to deal with his jealousy of his wife working long nights with a handsome new coworker and his parents dropping by from out of town. He is sucked further into the quagmire finding himself in jail for attempted murder, being fired from a case, and his wife angry at him for his jealous accusations. How does he resolve it all? As only Bubba can.

If you enjoy a good twisted plot mystery, a likeable detective, and hours of good reading, pick up Crazy Love by Steve Brewer. While you're at it, pick up any of the other titles by Brewer, they are all very enjoyable.

Think Elvis is dead? Then perhaps you should start with Lonely Street, the first Bubba Mabry mystery.

This book is simply the best available for southern New Mexico, and one of the bext of its type. Very comprehensive. It's clear that the author has actually been to and caught fish at the many remote spots he describes, over a period of many years. If you are even thinking of visiting the remote mountains of southern New Mexico, this is for your bookshelf

I have been a fly fisherman from time to time over the last ten years or so, and I lived in the Southwest from 1977 until 1998. My family returned to the area for a vacation and re-visited the Gila National Forest last summer, equipped with a lot of fishing gear and Rex's book. FFSNM seemed to bring the Gila's trout streams to life. This book is a kind of "sleeper'. Not many people have read it, but it's a good example of quality outdoing quantity. A lot of really good things in this world, like this book, remain overlooked, but that's probably fortunate in this case, because, like Rex Johnson, Jr., I liked having the Gila all to myself.

This is a great book. It's as much a piece of literature as a book about fishing..

Brewer once again shows he knows how to titillate the reader with a wondrous menagerie of characters. His "bad guys" are fantastic. Not only are their personalities unique, but Brewer's ability to describe them so that they jump off the page at you is what sets him apart from so many mystery writers. And his protagonist, Drew Gavin, so much like Bubba Mabry in many ways, is a sympathetic character who somehow gets it right--despite his weaknesses and tendency to barge into all sorts of trouble. I look forward to the next Drew Gavin book. Brewer keeps me coming back for more.

Albuquerque Gazette sports columnist Drew Gavin hates watching his alma mater University of New Mexico Lobos playing football as they almost always lose even at home. This year's homecoming game, a sure defeat at the hands of nationally ranked BYU, includes a ten-year reunion that is his graduating class. Though not intending to go because he feels like a failure next to his alumni peers, Drew cannot stop himself from entering the class tent where he sees his college girlfriend Helen.

Bookie Three-Eyes plans to make an example of Helen's spouse, Freddie Graham, who owes the bet taker a fortune. Knowing his sports connections, Helen wants Drew to ask Three-Eye for an extension. Drew tries, but Three-Eye refuses to budge. Drew heads to the nearby mountains to talk with Freddie, only to find Freddie's dead. The police suspect the murder, done with a fire poker, is a crime of passion, which leaves Drew as the prime suspect. Rather than wait for further damaging evidence to surface, Drew begins his own inquiries starting with an END RUN with no blockers in front of him and plenty of defenders waiting to tackle him.

The first Gavin amateur sleuth mystery is a powerful modern sports noir that provides a glimpse into the deadly political side of major college sports. The story line is crisp, often outrageous, but always fun. However, the plot belongs to its faded star, a has been jock found seeking to connect his short glory days with his failed present by using self deprecation and interesting "soliloquies." Steve Brewer provides a tale that will send readers seeking his other series (Bubba Mabry) while wanting Gavin sequels.

Harriet Klausner

I always find the ACCESS Guides to be the best travel guides overall, and look for them whenever I am about to travel to a new location. So far, I have used their guides to Alb/SantaFe/Taos, Seattle, Montreal/Quebec City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Hawaii, San Diego, and London.

I like their format - they are organized by neighborhoods, so you don't have to seach around through the book all day; and they have an empasis on restaurants and shopping, which I find the other guides don't give enough info on and which are my FAVORITE activities when travelling. Also their print is large, clear, and color coded, which also makes it easy to find what you want (restaurants in one color, shopping in another, tourist sites in another).

It's the best guide to carry around each day while travelling.

My wife is an Artist. One of the themes she likes to paint is ballooning. I bought several books on this subject. There was no reviews of this book "ALBUQUERQUE. Where the World Celebrates Ballooning". It is inexpensive, and I was concerned the book might be too descriptive, containing perhaps few pictures and an too much text with an emphasis on promoting tourism for New Mexico. What a great surprise! Other than a five page textual introduction (also with pictures inserted), the book is ALL pictures, the only text are short footers on the pictures. One hundred twenty pages and 200+ huge, colorful and artful photographs. A great buy!

Steve Brewer replaces the humor that so often punctuates his Bubba Mabry novels with suspense and action that keeps the reader engaged throughout. Unlike Bubba, Drew Gavin is a more confident, less klutzsy protagonist who takes on challenges with an aggressive, "take no prisoners attitude."

But one aspect of Brewer's writing that is so rewarding for the reader, and which is a hallmark of all of his books, is his uncanny ability to describe his characters so that you can see and even smell them, as though they were standing in front of you. When he writes that the high-tech guru, Wally Mertz, " . . . looked like Alley Oop" and then adds, "Lank black hair . . .", "A square face and a heavy brow and a long upper lip.", "A jagged beard along his jawline.", and "Big forearms . . ." you picture the guy and know the character in a way that few writers are able to convey. Brewer makes you care about his protagonists, his victims, and even the peripheral characters. And boy does he make you hate the bad guys!

I can't wait for the next book in the Drew Gavin series.

This is a great book. Especially for those (like me) who needed to understand foreign policy 101. So many issues that I've heard discussed in the media and in congress i.e. Exim (Export/Import) Bank, I would have been clueless about, wondering who are they and what the heck do they do????, except for this book. I first discovered it on a library shelf, but decided I needed my own copy. I refer back to it often to refresh my memory on details when I need to. And there is an excellent source of other resources in the back of the book to expand your knowledge in many areas. Anyone who is not aware of how our policies affect the world needs this book. And unfortunately that means most American citizens need to read it.

This is one of the better true-crime books I've read. What a horrific crime! What a disturbed person! One almost feels sorry for Darci, yet her gruesome crime is unforgivable. This book was well researched and very well written. I found myself neglecting everything around me until I finished this book; I simply couldn't put it down!

If you're looking to travel to Belize for lesisure or study, this book is a required read. With much more information than you can find in ANY travel guide, this book was used for a college class I took in 1997-98. This book includes information on politics & government, the economy, society & ethnicity, social forces, environment and foreign influences! Thats quite a bit of info for such a tiny country, and Barry tells it well. In my opinion, this book is the best reference available on Belize. Even if you're just a casual traveler to this country, you can benefit from knowing so much about it. If you've ever travelled somewhere and wondered about that places' political or historical background, a book like this will answer all of those questions and probably more. And as for the country of Belize, it's truly a gem!

If you've read anything else by Lewis Grizzard, then you owe it to yourself to read this book. (It's called "closure," and you probably need it.) This book is living proof that the good die too young. I'll sure miss this guy (sniff.)