This is a quiet, rather slow mystery with the apparent hidden theme that everyone in the story must fall in love. Loan shark and blackmailer Weems is killed, and the inspector Pitt must track down the people listed in his papers -- including some members of high society and some members of his own police force. Meanwhile, his wife Charlotte is helping her pregnant sister Emily deal with the demands placed on a would-be MP's wife. And everyone -- Pitt's superior Drummond, and people both of society and not -- falls in love, though not necessarily with happy results.

Perry writes in a competent, though not artistic, way. Her characters seem believable as people, with one exception which I'll get to, but are not striking or outstanding. She is at her best with setting: the etiquette, fashion and stifling "correctness" of late Victorian society are well delineated here. The newness of a police force and its iffy social status form an interesting part of Perry's world.

I found the plot to terminate with a twist that had not been sufficiently foreshadowed. Instead of "Oh, of course," it made me say "Huh? Where'd that come from?". It is a good twist, but it needs some foundation. The characters involved need to show, at least in retrospect, better signs of their hidden relationship. Also, the means of Weem's death, which promised to be interesting, was never really explored.

For those unfamiliar with this series, Inspector Pitt is a police detective in Victorian England, in the period shortly after the professional police force was first established. Policemen were respected to a degree, but apparently had about the same social status as a skilled laborer. Pitt's wife, Charlotte, on the other hand, is from a much wealthier and higher-status family. Indeed, Charlotte's sister is married to a wealthy and well-connected man who is being considered for a vacancy in Parliament. That connection enables Charlotte to participate discreetly in Pitt's investigations when they require a peek into the activities of society's upper crust.

The story: a sleazy loan shark is found shot to death in an unusually gruesome manner. Almost everyone who knew the man had good reason to want him dead. Even Inspector Pitt, who is assigned to investigate the case, can't avoid the feeling that the murderer did the rest of society a favor. But murder is illegal, and so the investigation goes on.

It quickly develops that the victim was not only a loan shark, but a blackmailer as well, with several socially prominent people on his list of victims. Hence the investigation must proceed delicately. And that's where (as usual) Pitt's wife, Charlotte, lends a hand.

If you are already familiar with Anne Perry's Inspector Pitt series, you know that she's one of the very best mystery writers around. Personally, I think Elizabeth George and possibly P. D. James are her only superiors in the field. It's hard to rank one book in the series against the others, but this one certainly upholds the high standards of the entire series. The characterizations are vivid and believable, the plot is complex and captivating, and the ending is logical and satisfying. My only complaint about the book (and it applies to all the Inspector Pitt books) is the constant obsession with differences in social class. Those differences existed in Victorian England, of course, but I find it hard to believe they were such a preoccupation in everyone's mind, minute by minute, day after day, as Perry makes them out to be. The class distinctions were more likely taken for granted, like the weather.

If you're a mystery fan and you haven't read any of Perry's work, then this is as good an introduction to the series as any. You're in for a treat.

Thomas Pitt is a police inspector in London, circa 1890. He has been removed from more routine cases to handle a special investigation. An unsavory usurer (loan shark) has been killed, and some high placed people have an interest. It seems the usurer was also a blackmailer. Someone else may now have information damaging to various people.

The novel provides a good picture of the social climbing and snobishness of Victorian England, where the old school tie meant a lot, mistresses were OK as long as you were discreet, and an exposed skeleton could ruin you socially, destroy your children's marriage prospects, and get you blackballed from club membership. People were expected to be seen in the right places, but you could not accept invitations unless you returned them, and a woman could not possibly wear the same dress or hat to two functions.

Events are compounded by a shadowy secret society that goes beyond the old school tie. People are not telling the whole truth about their relationships, and investigations by Pitt (with some additional nosing around by his wife) reveal well hidden secrets. The novel comes to a surprising conclusion as truths are revealed.

The novel has some sexual content and violence.

My main complaint with this book is that the author obviously does not know the meaning of the word "penultimate" since she has used it incorrectly at least twice. Also, she has the Canterbury Tales being written in Old English when, in fact, they were written in Middle English. I am not even halfway through the book, and these things are already taking away from my enjoyment. Good editors should eliminate these egregious mistakes.

Jody Jaffe's books are awesome and Chestnut Mare, Beware is one of the best. The story is a good one, fast paced, excellent dialoge, but what really does it for me is the accurate horse world descriptions. Very few writers get it all right, and Jaffe is one of them. Definitely a must read for any horse person!

Anyone who enjoys murder mysteries will enjoy this book. It is an added bonus if you are in the horse world because you can recognize parts ie. George Morris. The characters are well thought out, and the writing is comfortable. I recommend this book.

Other Mason books would be more helpful, this one is older and less updated

I think the title is a bit misleading. This book is a wealth of information in and of itself! I read it after I had already read all of the Original 6 Volumes by CM herself. This handy litte book by Penny Gardener is a treasure chest for anyone intersted in pursuing this method of education. It is well written in "bite-size" pieces and easy to read/understand. It is very compact and we are using it in our monthly support meetings with great success.

This book is a must have. Not only do I have the book, but I was able to hear Penny annd Karen Rackliffe speak at our HS conference. What wonderful women. They inspired me beyond measure. They were funny, and open, and inspirational, just like both their books! 5 starts all the way!

Writing a good story is an art; likewise, writing a solid, enthralling mystery is a gift. Paula L. Woods has the gift of weaving the threads of secrets, lies, love and hate into an intriguing mystery and captivating read.

In "Stormy Weather" Paula L. Woods gives us Charlotte Justice, a determined, intelligent, dedicated detective of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division.

In her latest adventure, Detective Justice delicately negotiates the murky politics of the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the Rodney King Verdict, while attempting to solve a complex and potentially dangerous mystery.

The closer she gets to the truth, the more the threads of her personal and professional life become tangled in a web that proves almost impossible to untangle.

Charlotte's intense involvement in a murder of a renowned director of film noir creates an increasingly damaging effect on her relationships with her lover and her family. Even on the verge of losing her career and quite possibly her life, Charlotte Justice never wavers in her pursuit of the truth (Charlotte "Justice" - get it?).

This story inspires the true spirit of the traditional mystery while allowing the reader to marvel at a true heroine with rock solid integrity and vulnerabilities that make her human.

"Stormy Weather" is the second in what I hope will be a series of Charlotte Justice mysteries. For all you mystery buffs out there, this one will keep you on your toes.

Charlotte Justice is on the case again. This time the case involves the death of Maynard Duncan, who in his day was one of the elite of black Hollywood. Was it murder, suicide or an accident;Charlotte will have to delve into the victims life to figure it out and Maynard has a few more skeletons in his closet than most of us.

This novel picks up where Inner City Blues left off. It's an entirely different case Justice is assigned to but there are a lot of constants. Steve Hightower, her supervisor, still needs a good castration;he continues to make Charlotte's days in the department a living hell. Her family which she affectionately calls the "Nut House" is still earning its' good name and her relationship with the "good" doctor is heating up in more way than one.

Paula Woods writes with such grace. Her story lines are so well thought out and clever, but I think I enjoy her characterizations the most. They are just as paramount to the enjoyment of her novels as the plot. She gives us some of the most interesting and flushed out characters.

Another Winner!

Reviewed by Ruby
APOOO Book Club

In Inner City Blues (1999), set during the LA Riots, Detective Charlotte Justice burst onto the sister sleuth scene with a vengeance. Now, in the second Justice novel, Paula L. Woods continues the story of this sharp homicide investigator as she searches for the answers surrounding the death of a pioneering black Hollywood director.

Charlotte continues to loathe her superior Steve Firestone, who made sexual advances towards her and has her riding the desk, where she is adrift in a sea of paperwork and administrative duties instead of out in the field. So when Charlotte's comrade Billie from across town tips her to the death of the director, Maynard Duncan, Charlotte is ready to get back down to business. The death seems strikingly familiar to a recent Kevorkian-like case Billie was an integral part of, and Billie needs Charlotte's help to find out if the two cases are connected.

The circumstances surrounding the death of Maynard Duncan allow Charlotte, and her not-so-friendly partner Gena Cortez, a look into the lives of the director and his close associates and into the depths of what Duncan himself dubbed "Hidden Hollywood."

STORMY WEATHER picks up right where Inner City Blues left off, but adds more insight to Charlotte's family and personal life. Her beau Audrey and her brother Perris are recurring characters, as are the ghosts of her deceased husband and daughter. Woods is a great storyteller, and she keeps you intrigued and allows you to easily become enraptured with the newest addition in the Charlotte Justice saga.

Reviewed by CandaceK

I found it hard to believe that Charlotte Vale Allen let this sexual abuse by her father continue until she was 18 years old. By that time, she certainly knew it was wrong. For that reason, I did not like this book.

Although this book was written two decades ago, it is still a ground-breaking memoir. In fact, it was the first book on sexual abuse I had ever read. As a victim myself, Vale Allen's voice helped me realize my feelings were normal, I wasn't to blame and that I could make something of myself.
Vale Allen uses her skills as a novelist to reveal her life-altering experience in surprisingly entertaining way.
Unfortunately all these years later, there are too many new victims. I hope Daddy's Girl will help them as it helped me.

Of all the books written on the subject of child abuse, this book (one of the very first published) stands alone as a singular accomplishment. It is honest and insightful, yet never overly graphic. The author brings her considerable writing talent to bear on her reflection of how years of abuse shaped her as an adult and a parent. Never bitter, never placing blame, Charlotte Vale Allen offers a potent look at the insidious permanent effects of her childhood experience. It is a gracious, heartfelt autobiography in which the author not only never names her parents but, in many ways, offers an understanding of the family dynamics at play that is nothing less than remarkable. To read her fiction and then to read this book is to see a very full portrait of a woman with the heart of a lion and a powerful gift of insight into the behavior, not only of others but also of her own self--past and present. It is the definitive book to read in order to comprehend how an extraordinary child coped with an ongoing horror and yet emerged to take what she'd learned and turn it to the good by writing books that always offer viable explanations for what is, so often, inaccessible to most of us. In its own right, Daddy's Girl is a quiet masterpiece.

I have all the books by this author. This small volume is huge on 'Right Think' especially when the people you love encourage you to 'Wrong Think'. It's amazing how vindictive your family and friends get when you are wronged. The instant pleasure of revenge is quickly replaced by pain you feel when you see the damage you have done to your own case. Killers & Boosters keeps you on the right path. Money well spent.

Read a listing and think about what it has to do with your child, or you, or your case, or the other parent. Some won't mean a thing to you. Others will remind you of things you already knew. Many will cause an attitude adjustment: a positive adjustment. It is a list of other people's sayings with many others put in by the complier. It is useful if you are engaged in custody litigation. Killers & Boosters is an opportunity to pull away from much of the anger, fear and frustration. It even helps you deal with many of the toxic emotions. Well worth the money.

No ... book is going to solve anyone's custody issues. This book helped me slow down and think about how I felt about things and how I was reacting. Well worth the money.

No thank you, I won't be having seconds. I already own the original Ebony cookbook so I picked this one up with high expectations. What a let down! The New Ebony cookbook is full of bland recipes that I will never try. Considering that the orignal book is a treasury of Americas finest Black cooking there is no excuse for this new version to be so poor. Stick with the original.

This book was a huge disappointment. I have Frieda Knight's wonderful _Dinner with a Dish_ (from Ebony), so really looked forward to this one. But it was so coldly written, with no introductions, anecdotes, or descriptions of the recipes. In the aforementioned _Dinner with a Dish_, it tells how a minted pea recipe became very popular after someone mistakenly used mint tea instead of water to cook some peas. I like that sort of intro/description, and missed it here. For example, all recipe collections include some that are quick-and-easy, some that use up ingredients we keep on hand, some that are very cheap, some that are out-of-this-world delicious show-stoppers, some that have sentimental value, etc. -- and it is important to know which are which before wasting your time and effort. (For example, I'm a northerner, and have never seen or tasted collard greens. A recipe describing them as delectable would tempt me to locate and try them -- but, without such a description, I have no way of knowing if the recipe is listed because collard greens are readily available, or because they taste good.) is book doesn't provide any clues about time or effort involved or results expected. I was horribly disappointed, and will be returning it.

However, I gave it three stars rather than one, since the above criteria may not matter to all people.

this cookbook is perfect for cooks like me who really don't know how to cook!!! the language is plain, the ingrediants are simple, and the results.....for me... is usually tasty!!!

the timely tips in the back of the book are especially helpful. they teach me how to make substitutions, when i don't have certain ingrediants the recipes require.

i also found this to be the perfect cookbook for my 14 year old son to learn the basics of functioning in the kitchen.

It took me a while to read this book, which is a rarity for me when I've got hold of a Tamar Myers mystery (Den of Antiquity OR her Penn-Dutch series). Although the book takes Abby to a different locale (Savannah) there isn't much action in it. Ms. Myers' humor is not up to par in comparison to her other books. Some of the plot and characters seem contrived - too coincidental, and it just didn't make her usual grade. I downright dislike what she did with Abby's mother in this one. It's way out there. Read if you must, but don't expect it to be one of her best.

Even if you haven't read another book in the Den of Antiquity series yet, you could start with A PENNY URNED and not have missed anything. Here we're with Abby, her mom, and friends in Savannah, where we get to enjoy some of the local color while we watch them on a search for all manner of things, including lots of answers. There's a ton of silliness and a satisfying mystery, and the ending is really fun. Tamar Myers always leaves me wanting the next book. This edition even very kindly provides you with little excerpts from each of the six preceding entries in the series that began with LARCENY AND OLD LACE.

Tamar Myers is one of a kind. Her humor has me laughing out loud as I turn the pages, following Abby as she unravels the mystery. This story also gives a peek into Abby's family that is poignantly handled. Well done!

An interesting look at the rural south in the 1920s. I could picture the red clay dirt, the houses and people, but felt little about the characters, their struggles, fears, and pain. The author's frequent repetitiveness of words and phrases was distracting and detracting. It needed better editing.

Through meticulous attention to historical detail, Charlotte Miller has given us a picture of 1920's rural Alabama that is precise, from clothing to cars to speech patterns. Her research is exacting and faithfully transcribed to the pages of this beautiful novel. There is a need for stories that explore the class distinctions of the past. The generational stigmas and privileges that were passed from father to son are detailed in her intriguing plot. For the southern reader, it will be a reminder of the tales told by grandparents. For readers in other parts of the country, this book is a journey to a brutal, hauntingly beautiful southern landscape of place and time.

From the moment I picked this book up, I could not put it down. Written in a flowing and highly readable style, this novel presents characters that grab your heart and your interest and will not let you go from the first page through the last. Don't miss this book.

BETHLEHEM ROAD is another installment in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. As such, it has all of the usual features: interesting characters, many of whom are familiar as series regulars, an intriguing plot, Victorian London as the backdrop, and a burning social issue of the day that plays a significant role in the story. As occaisionally happens, Ms. Perry lets her soapbox get in the way of her mystery once or twice in this one, but that's only a minor problem.

For most of the story, the plot revolves around a series of murders involving MPs. Each is found tied to the same lamppost with his throat cut. Each was returning home alone and on foot from an evening session of Parliament. This is pretty riveting stuff, and for most of the book there is no obvious suspect. The only suspect on the horizon seems unlikely to be the perpetrator. Both Thomas and Charlotte are baffled. Ultimately, however, the solution to these murders is only the prelude to the real climax of the story, which is abrupt in true Anne Perry style. For me, the solution to (or, really, the rationale for) the lamppost murders is this book's weakness; it's what keeps this from being a five-star book. The lamppost murders, with their bizarre circumstances and the misery they provoke in the families of the victims, need a more compelling purpose than what we end up with here. At the risk of giving away too much, it just seemed to me that the lack of intent and motive for the murder of these men left a little to be desired when all was said and done.

BETHLEHEM ROAD is a pretty good mystery with most of the strengths usually found in the Pitt series. While Perry perhaps over-reaches herself a bit here in trying to pull off a plot within a plot, it will keep readers turning the pages from beginning to end. For me it was entertaining, even if ultimately a little frustrating. I recommend it to other mystery readers, particularly fans of the Pitt series.

The statue of Boadicea driving her war chariot stands in front of the British Parliament building. Members of Parliament (MPs), walking past the statue every day, contended that women did not have the ability to understand issues and vote intelligently. The year is 1888 and women's rights are a contentious issue. When MPs have their throats cut on the way home from evening sessions, suspicion points in many directions. Was it a radical women's rights advocate, a demented anarchist, or perhaps someone benefiting financially?

Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, become involved in the investigation. The entire issue of women's rights unfolds including various repressive laws. There are issues of inheritance, child custody, and a wife's obligations to her husband (religious fundamentalists in the U.S. have been revisiting this issue). This is a real whodunit with a surprising conclusion. The novel provides a good picture of the English social structure of that time period.

Bethlehem Road is the tenth novel in the Pitt series of mysteries by Anne Perry. While I would recommend reading the series in order for maximum enjoyment, the characters are at a turning point in this book and so you could just jump in here if you wish. Charlotte Ellison Pitt is really getting comfortable in her role as a police Inspector's wife; Thomas Pitt, her husband, has a more sympathetic and appreciative new boss; Emily Ellison March (Charlotte's sister) just married for a second time; and Aunt Vespasia is starting to show alarming new signs of frailty and age. Together, Thomas, Charlotte and Vespasia work together to solve the mystery of the "Westminster Cutthroat" who is murdering MPs on Westminster Bridge.

What I most liked about this mystery was the number of red herrings that were thrown in the way of the conclusion. I found myself unable to figure out who had perpetrated the crimes and went down lots of blind alleys as a result. This added to my enjoyment of the book, although the ending was a bit Christie-like in all honesty. I'm really looking forward to Highgate Rise, the next book in the series, since Bethlehem Road sets up so many interesting new possibilities.