Buchanan's Britt Montero is a tough independent woman--which is always nice to see but her relationship with her fictional partners is weird. In ACT OF BETRAYAL, the reader is never privy to why Montero and McDonald's relationship is on and off. Furthermore, the author never allows the reader to glimpse, in any depth, what goes on in Montero's brain after the unexpected meeting of the two men in her life. I noticed the same lack of depth in MARGIN OF ERROR--as far as whoever Montero's present heart throb happened to be. The romances are sort of eruptive and then dormant. In addition to a lack of depth in part of Montero's character, a lack of depth was evident in other parts of the book. For instance, I found the reason behind Reyes' perversion to be very weak and unsatisfying. I also found that the plot would ebb and flow with too much detail and then not enough. The plot would nearly stumble and then rush to finish.

Loved this book as much as all of Buchanan's work. A fabulous read, full of suspense. I highly recommend this book.

Act of betrayal was a wonderful book. I was interested in from the word go. It took fiction to a new level. This book kept me in supense for a long time. When it was time to stop listening to it. I couldn't wait to get back to it. I love this book.

This story needs to be told. It shows how powerful Miami Cubans not only punished the man responsible for the process of dialogue that led to the release of prisoners from Castro's jails, but essentially elected George W. Bush president in the astonishing electoral race of that year in Florida.

I was moved by the travails of Bernardo Benes,who put his life and family at risk because insensitive right-wingers in the Cuban exile community in Miami turned him into a paraih because he dared talk with Cuba's Castro in behalf of political prisoners and dialogue.

This book masterfully exposes the venality of the right-wing Cuban exile power brokers, especially the suffocating voices of Spanish-language radio in Miami. I can attest to the fact that the book is wholly on the mark. It reveals details about the exile experience that are astonishing, and also very sad. This is the best book I have ever read on the subject, and also on the precarious, often bad-faith relationship between Washington D.C. and Havana.

Charles Willeford has definitely improved with age. His earlier works were a mixed bag. Competent, but no humour. However since the 1980s Willeford has developed a sense of humour which matches his ability to crank out good crime stories, complete with memorable characters. 'Sideswipe' carries on in this tradition.

In 'Sideswipe' with have a violent ex-con, a disfigured ex-stripper, a retiree who just lost his wife, and a talentless artist caught up in some shenanigans. Solving the caper is Hoke Moseley, our quirky cop from the novel 'Miami Blues'. Actually most of 'Sideswipe' concentrates on Hoke and his odd family whereas the crime story itself is a relatively minor element to the book. But overall it works well. The overall effect is funny without being stupid.

Bottom line: competent and fun.

This is it, the classic Florida crime novel. Hoke Moseley's no Travis McGee. In fact Hoke's a LOT like a real person. And poor Stanley, what a great character. This stuff is TRUE Florida, this is precisely what things are like here. Willeford's slow style is just to be enjoyed, he has so much compassion for these incredibly flawed people. One of the top ten ever Florida crime novels.

If you're wondering whether or not it is necessary to've read the first two Hoke Mosley books to appreciate Sideswipe...the answer is a resounding NO. This was my first Hoke book & I absolutely loved it. Willeford had an amazing gift. I never found myself wondering where the story was going. It didn't matter...his storytelling abilities are that good. If the book ever seems slow, it is because Willeford actually takes the time to let you become familiar with the characters. Sideswipe is, on occasion, ugly, but it is more often hilarious. Willeford has a way of making his heroes flawed enough to make them believable. I will read the other Hoke Mosley books, without trepidation, because of what I found in Sideswipe. The quirks of Hoke, Troy, Stanley & the other characters steal the show from the actual mystery. It's almost as if the criminal events were created as a stage to showcase these bizarre characters. The strength of Willeford lies not in the story itself, but more often in the telling of that story. I don't like to give away anything in my reviews, just enjoy a wonderful book.

Mystery in Miami beach is an excellent book for people of all ages. Some younger kids may not understand all of the mystery, but is a great learning point about the St. louis and other holocaust related material. I would suggest it for anyone 10 years or older, it makes a great gift!

I adore the Vivi Hartman books and Mrs. Feder has a wonderful way of telling stories.
This story is no exception. Follow Vivi on a trip down to Miami Beach. While visiting her grandmother Vivi falls into a plot of agents and the lap of a nice Jewish boy. This is the most thrilling Vivi book I have read.

I thought that this was an exptionaly well written book. It was very informative about the lifestyle of a Jewish family in modern life. I woul recomend this book to anyone that likes mysteries or is Jewish. It was a great book!

A great companion to the 'But We Were 17-0' book. 17-0 gives every players insight into the great season and the effect on their lives, whereas 'Still Perfect' looks at things from a different perspective on a game by game basis.

Excellent read and well worth the purchase!

Very interesting book, reading, approach and insights. Its obvious that David Hyde did intense research and interviewing to provide this type of perspective on the 'Perfect' season.

Having followed the season and Larry Czonka in 1972 from Syracuse, it provided interesting reading and perspectives on what worked and went right for the team. If you liked the team and wanted to understand their success, this is a very good read.

Organizing the book around the season and each game, as well as weaving the story and detail around the roles of Don Shula, Joe Thomas, Joe Robbie, the players and other coaches keeps your attention throughout.

Thanks Dave.

Dave Hyde was in the fifth grade when the 1972 Dolphins took the field to create the only perfect season in NFL history. The players were only slightly older than me, a Miami boy in love with the Fins since Joe Auer's kickoff return of 95 yards on the expansion Dolphins first play in 1966.

I spent that year mostly in Athens Georgia where unlike my Miami friends affected by the blackout, I could, through the miracle of cable, see each and every game.

Nothing could have prepared me for this book. It is as if Hyde was in the locker room. The boys of fall are revealed in all their humanity and high-spiritedness. Some secrets are finally revealed such as who put the baby gator in Shula's shower. Mostly it is just about guys who had the desire to do what no one had ever done before.

It is the ultimate and definitive book, in its own way, as perfect as that season.

Tourism generates over {$$$$} billion annually for the Florida economy, which is more than twice the entire GNP for Cuba. That is why there is a fierce fight for the Florida travel guide market. Frommer's is one of the best guides available.

This South Florida guide is somewhat more expanded than "Frommer's Florida" Guide (see my review). If you are going to visit just MIAMI, the EVERGLADES, PALM BEACH, FT. LAUDERDALE or the KEYS, then you will find this guide more compact, lighter and a bit cheaper.

The same great writing style that is in the Frommer's state guide is found in this more compact companion. The accommodation and dining recommendations are reliable and on the money. This guide lists the best restaurants that South Florida has to offer. A lodging and restaurant index would be a definite plus for this guide. As it stands now, if you have a restaurant you want to look up, you have to go through all the listings in the city you are in until you stumble across the name you seek or miss seeing it completely.

The rating system is labored and difficult to understand. The explanation of the "new star rating system" is buried in the book and not indexed. It was by quirk that I found it. Strange.

The Internet web site addresses provided for hotels could be more comprehensive considering that this is a 2003 guide. In today's world of "connectivity" you can visit the hotel sites and see the accommodations and rates prior to making reservations. And, website/email addresses are restricted to the lodging listings even though many of the restaurants now have their own websites with photos and menus and email to makes reservations.

However, there are two significant areas in this guide that could use improvement: maps and hotels/restaurants.

Regarding the maps: the maps in the guide are lackluster. More and better maps would greatly help the user.

What put this guide on top of the competing guides is the clear and enjoyable writing style of the review. The introductions of the regional areas are the best of the guides I reviewed. You will do well if you have to chose just one South Florida guide and you select Frommer's.

This is probably the best guidebook I ever read. The author has a really good writing style and it is genuinely interesting and fun to read (not that I'm suggesting you pick it over Fitzgerald or anything, just that it's a really well-written book). Her restaurant reviews are really excellent--just reading some of them made me start to drool. And while many of the restaurant listings are for priceyish places, she does list some great, fun, authentic, and in some cases, way off the beaten track yummy places to try. I trust her opinion completely!

This is a really thorough guidebook, with good and honest hotel listings (one of the only people to vocalize what we all know--the Delano IS overrated!) and a great chapter on what to do and see if you want to do and see more than just the beaches of South Florida. The Miami coverage is awesome-- good tips on shopping, a really knowledgeable chapter on nighlife, and more.

The Everglades chapter has a hilarious essay about how the author was reluctant to go the first time, and the coverage of the Keys, Palm Beaches, Boca, etc. are just as good. I usually expect a Frommer's guidebook to be a bit stuffier than this, but as soon as I read the intro, I knew I had to try this book, and I'm so happy I did. You will be too. It rocks!

Wow. I used to think that South Florida just meant Miami and palm trees. This book proved to me and my husband that South Florida is much, much more. I got the book on a bet with my husband, who insisted that So Flo was a lot of fun and not just laying out at a pool kind of fun. This book proved me wrong and I lost the bet, but boy was I glad to be a loser in this wager! This book is a must have for anyone who thinks that a trip to Florida can be hot and boring. Quite the contrary!! Thanks, Frommer's. We'll be back to So Flo very soon.

This informative book on Miami University is by no means a prolific body of literature, but merely relays factual information about the history of the university and important events. I would definitely recommend and encourage anyone interested in attending/working at Miami to read this book as it will give the reader a good impression of what the school is like.

Dr. Shriver has done an excellent job of bringing alive the history of this amazing university tucked away in the gorgeous midwestern countryside. If you attend Miami now, or are alumni, this book opens your mind to the people and events that shaped this historic and renowned university. You'll never walk down the slant walk again without thinking about those who have walked it before you! For me, I have always thought of the Civil War as a bloody and gruesome war, but have never thought about Miami men, just my own age, taken from Oxford, fighting against roomates, fraternity brothers and friends. This book is an excellent history of my school. Now, if only I can get into Dr. Shriver's lecture.....

As a Miami alum, I was thrilled to find this book. Dr. Shriver writes with the same mesmerizing style that kept his students fascinated in class (and I was one!). For anyone associated with Miami, this book is a treasure - it makes the state school burst with pride and recognize the importance it had in American history.

I enjoyed this book and her others with her female detective Britt Montero. Always good for a recipe or current styles.

This book is of a genre that I think the national media is passing by.South Florida novels are hot as the climate and like the climate getting hotter every day. This is one of the best of them. The nation thinks nothing good can come out of our state except coconuts and beaches. They couldn't be more wrong.

Never been in Miami but now it can imagine it and have fun.

Edna Buchanan has captured the essence of Miami with her protagonist, reporter Brit Montero. This book was especially great fun. A brash young reporter tries to upstage Brit at the newspaper. She is quite successful. Brit is there with Lottie her friend and Kendall MacDonald. This is a great fun series by Edna Buchanan.

This book was fantastic - you did NOT know what to expect! It really got you into the storyline- I didn't want to put the book down - really great!

I found this book to be better written than most of the similiar books on the market. Her story line progressed well, the multiple plots tied together excently and the crime was believable. I admire Buchanan's style.

The Life and Times of a Deco Dowager is a slice of American Pie.The interplay between the architecture and the times shows how the history of an area can be impacted by world events.

The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce carries this book in the Miami Beach Visitor Center because it provides insight into the facinating history of Miami Beach.

An easy read for history buffs.

Interesting history, nice photos. A must for fans of Art Deco architecture, preservationists, and lovers of old Miami Beach.

Reading the "Deco Dowager" took me back almost 50 years, It brought back memories of a time of uncertainty, December 1942, with the world at war, there I was 18 years old, taking my military basic training in Miami Beach. The beauty of the Art Deco district somehow detracted from the fact that I was in the army. Having buddies stationed in nearby hotels, including the Edison, coupled with Miami Beach itself, made my training period easy and pleasantly memorable. Reading Dr. Berson's book refreshed my memory of those days. Her story is well written. The "World WarII Years" segment, is a must for the 500,000 airmen who trained there during the period covering 1942-1945