Hannah thinks her life is settling into a comfortable rhythm. Then Norman announces he's bought a house he intends to turn into the dream home the two of them designed together. This startles Hannah because he hasn't proposed and she doesn't even know for sure what she'd say. Then, while searching the existing house for antiques, her mother stumbles on a body in the basement. Rhonda had come back to pick up a few personal items, but the food Hannah finds leads her to believe that she planned to meet someone there the night she was murdered. Who killed her right before she left for a trip to Europe? Who was the mysterious dinner guest? Add in Hannah going on a diet and her youngest sister visiting for the Fourth of July and you've got the recipe for another winner.

Those who already love this series will enjoy the latest addition. With three other visits under our belts, it's like meeting up with old friends again. I was thrilled to finally get to meet Michelle, and her scenes were hilarious. I hope we see more of her in the future. The murder plot takes a little time to get started, but it soon takes center stage. This one seemed a little more straight forward then the others, and I had the killer figured out before Hannah did. Even so, I enjoyed every minute leading up to the suspenseful and creative ending. This book features a total of 9 new recipes to try. I have yet to try any of the recipes in this series, but they all sound so good, I swear I really will someday.

If you enjoy cozies, this series is for you. It's best to jump in with the first, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, to fully enjoy this book. But you'll enjoy every delicious minute along the way.

Hannah Swensen returns in the 4th book in this series. In this installment, Hannah jumps in to help solve a murder when a lemon meringue pie from her bakery, The Cookie Jar, is found at the crime scene. When Norman Rhodes, one of Hannah's "boyfriends", purchases a home, he does not realize that the dead body of the previous owner will be found inside. It seems that this owner, Rhonda, stopped at her old home to pick up a few last items and thought she would have one last meal there. This meal was definitely her last, as the person that met her there may have been the last to see her alive! Adding to Hannah's troubles is the fact that some of her clothes just seem too tight, and so she sets out to put herself on a diet (even while she is baking all kinds of yummy cookies!). Playing a part in this mystery is Hannah's nagging mother, Norman's mother, and Mike, the policeman who usually fights to keep Hannah out of each case but finally gives up this time. As Hannah fights to keep her life in order and her weight in check, she must find a killer before he/she strikes again!

I have enjoyed each of the Hannah Swensen mysteries and have loved the recipes that are included in each book. Each time I have read one of the books, I find myself getting hungry (not good for my waistline either!) for all of the goodies that Hannah serves. The mysteries are interesting, but as I like culinary cozies, I enjoy the books more for the food and the characters. My only complaint about this series has to be in the dialogue between characters, as they are constantly repeating each other's names. Other than that, this delightful read will leave you "hungry" for more!

The first book in this series is "The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder". Enjoy!

A Cozy Lover

Hannah Swensen owns The Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minnesota along with her partner Lisa Herman. Norman Rhodes, one of Hannah's favorite people and one she dates occasionally, has bought the Voelker place from Rhonda Scharf. He is a dentist in town. He is planning to tear the house down and build their dream house. They had designed it together and won a contest. Hannah is surprised by Norman's decision to actually build it. She wonders if he is going to pop the question. When he doesn't she worries that she has gained too much weight and goes on a diet -- tough to do when you bake cookies all day long!

Hannah is also seeing Mike Kingston, head detective with Winnetka County Sheriff's Department. So, on one hand she is happy Normal hasn't asked her to marry him. She'd have to give up Mike!

Delores Swensen, Hannah's mother, and Carrie Rhodes, Norman's mother, own and run Granny's Attic, an antique store. Before Norman demolishes the Voelker house, Delores is going to go through it looking for antiques for their store. She asks Hannah to come. Norman is coming too. Delores has a habit of putting Norman and Hannah together. She is hoping they will eventually get married. Although there are times both Norman and Mike are invited to events by Delores. Then she places Hannah between them at the table!

When the three of them are looking through the Voelker house, Hannah discovers one of her Lemon Meringue Pies partially eaten with ants crawling on it. She takes it out to the trash. She sees the remains of two take-out meals of osso buco.

Delores goes downstairs to see if there are any antiques. When she returns, she looks like she has seen a ghost. Close. She'd found a dead body.

In this book Mike doesn't mind Hannah looking into this murder. Usually he has fought with her when she has looked into a murder.

Hannah's older sister, Andrea, who is pregnant with her 2nd child, begs Hannah to let her assist. Andrea is married to Bill, Mike's boss. Their younger sister, Michelle, has come home to visit and assists them as well.

Not only has their been a murder, but then some money from a long ago bank robbery appears.

I thoroughly enjoy this series. This latest book is very enjoyable. The recipes sound scrumptious too. Hannah and her relationships with Mike and Norman are fun to find out the latest.

Lake Eden is a great setting for books. It is a small town but near the big city. Joanne has made me want to vacation there from her fabulous descriptions. The people sound like they would be fun to get to know.

I like that Hannah and Andrea are getting closer. I would like to see Hannah get married, but I can't decide which man I'd want it to be with.

Hannah's cat Moishe sounds like a playful but loving cat. I like how he keeps stealing her pillow and how he insists on getting his food.

I guarantee reading this book, and the others in this great series, will make you laugh but will also make you hungry!

Baker's book is the definitive work in the growing baseball autograph hobby.

It's too bad his publisher has not commissioned an update. The book is nearly ten years old and as such it's now about 25 players short and the autograph values are now just wishful thinking. Babe Ruth signatures for $495 -- I'll take a dozen!

Regardless of its age spots, if you are considering entering the hazardous world of baseball autograph collecting this book will be your core reference.

This is the best book on the market with regard to baseball autographs. However, this book is almost ten years old and there are a lot of new players to reckon with (Sosa, Garciaparra, Jeter, etc) and the information in the book is in need of total revamping. This book is most helpful in providing pictoral samples of autographs, especially throughout different stages of the players' lives. It would have been more helpful to have forgeries shown side by side with real samples, particularly with those players now widely forged (McGwire, Sosa, Dimaggio, Mantle, etc). This book teaches a lot about the hobby and is almost as good as studying actual samples.

The best part about the book is that the author doesn't look as an autograph as a commodity but, rather, as a form of connection between himself and the signer. He appears to have a lot of respect for each individual he asks for autographs and there is a lot to be learned from his fine approach to this great hobby. I hope that he is working on an update.

This book tells you everything you need to know on autographs. A must buy

Star*Drive is a campaign setting for the popular Alternity sci-fi gaming system, and requires both the Alternity Player's Handbook and Alternity Gamemaster Guide for play. In a game that emphasizes a build-your-own world approach, the Star*Drive universe provides a quick but customizable campaign and a large selection of compatible add-ons.

This 256-page book describes a 26th century world of faster-than-light speed travel, frontier exploration, alien-human commerce, war, and interstellar nations. The comparison with Star Trek is obvious but not an over-riding factor; Star*Drive has its own flavor and plenty of room for your own additions, whatever your TV, movie, or literary favorites might be.

Mutants, psionics, and cybertech-enhanced beings (all optional in the basic rules) are included in this campaign. Also given are statistics and descriptions for 26th century technology (ships, military, medicine, robots, and much more), the 13 stellar nations of Old Space, and 18 solar systems of the Verge (the edge of Star*Drive's frontier). Brief histories of campaign technology, alien contact, and wars are also covered. The five alien player character species will be familiar from the Alternity Player's Handbook (Fraal, Mechalus, Sesheyan, T'sa, and Weren), as are the five basic professions; however, Star*Drive offers several subcategories under each profession (49 total) as models for your character.

Accessories for the Star*Drive campaign include Alien Compendium: Creatures of the Verge, Planet of Darkness, Outbound: An Explorer's Guidebook, Arms & Equipment Guide, and Threats from Beyond.

Star*Drive offers excellent possibilities for your Alternity game.

--Sharon Daugherty for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

I am NOT a TSR fan. Haven't played their games in years. But I picked this up and its great. The artwork is stunning, the information is very detailed, and the setting is very interesting. I am looking forward to adventuring in the Verge.

This game wouldn't be successful without the superb writing and information given in these books. It creates a -very- realistic setting for the game.

Should we believe the statements in this book when Mr. Ryan tells us streets are paved with a twelve-inch layer of asphalt?
It's probably just an innocent mistake, but obvious factual errors make me wonder about the veracity of the rest of the book.

Let me start by going backwards. In the appendix, the authors testify that this book is about the "greenest" on the market. With soy-based inks and nearly 100 percent of the paper content comprised of post- and pre-consumer waste, the book is a monument to sustainable production. Although they bemoan the "well traveled pulp" cover, no dioxins were co-produced alongside the book. To prove the book really is this cool, they painstaking tracked the web of connections involved in its production as far back as possible.

After discussing every facet of the book, from guts and cover to printing, the only thing they were unable to determine was where half the cover's paper was produced. In all, this post-production analysis was stunning. The delicate web of causes and effects that entered into the books production should serve as a model to all those who would conceive the production of any product. Ideally, we should strive for this kind holistic understanding of production, consumption, and disposal before products every leave the design table.

The actual content of the book is just as salient. What happens when millions of ordinary people like you and me go about our ordinary business, using lots of stuff? What ecological "wakes" do they leave behind, rippling outward across the world? This is the premise of the book, which is rather unassuming and commonsensical. The answers, however, are anything but mundane and commonsensical. The true stories of how things are made might leave you feeling overwhelmed or depressed. You might think twice about throwing that lump of sugar into your coffee -- and not only because it could add a few extra pounds and put you at greater risk of heart disease. You do so also in efforts to help restore the habitat of the Florida Everglades.

Did the profound disconnect sink in yet? Not to worry, another 9 generic commodities with their own unique global "ripples" await you after picking up this book. They include you morning coffee, the newspaper, your T-shirts, shoes, that computer, the bike (and the car), those French fries, the hamburger that preceded them, and also the cola which will wash it all down. Although the imaginary North American whose daily consumptive routine this book tracks might not be you, do not then assume that these issues do not therefore concern you. The fact is, the consolidated effects of this consumption are harming much more than the Florida Everglades. They could potentially end all human reproduction. Perhaps you should read that last sentence again.

We need to educate ourselves about this net ecological "wake" before the rooster tail of acid rain, rainforest destruction, ozone depletion, water depletion, air pollution, forest annihilation, energy exhaustion, pesticide inundation, sweatshop labor promotion, species extinction, waste production, monoculturalization, spiritual declination, heavy metal pollution creation, VOC smog accretion, and desertification leave us all wet and shivering in the cold.

"Well, what am I supposed to do bury my car?" you wonder. The book also offers hope. Consumption, whether we like it or not, is in end inescapable. Thus by understanding our impacts, seeking alternative solutions, educating the friends and the general public, and at the same time altering some our most unhealthy consumer habits, we can help move things in the right direction. If you are looking for more in-depth suggestions along these lines, check out "The Better World Handbook" (2001). It is my personal eco-bible. You can also get further eco-tips from the Northwest Environmental Watch website.

~A Top 10 glObal Eye-Opener~

I didn't know this book would be such a nice read...
After receiving it, I read it all in one sitting. The book chronicles a day in the life of a typical person (an American). Although it is about an American, I believe there is not much difference between any ordinary person in any developed country on earth. The impacts of this person's consumption of products, her actions are all examined from an environment viewpoint. Some people may think that the book is too amateur but that's precisely why it's such a good read. It's easy to understand but leaves a lasting impression on you. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about how our everyday actions affect the world we live in.

This is one of the best baking books I ever invested in. I am an avid cookbook reader/collector. Ms. Goldman's writing is warm and inviting, however, you must be careful with her baking times - they are way, way off. It is not our stove (it is properly calibrated) so I know it wasn't me. As long as you keep an eye on a timer and periodically check, you'll be fine. Also, the time it takes to do ANY of the bread/dough kneading is way, way off too. It takes much less time than she notes - in ALL those recipes too. If you can handle that than I strongly suggest you buy this wonderful cookbook, I did and we love it.

I am a big fan of Marcy's a Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking (my copy has more splatter marks than any other cookbook in my kitchen... including the Joy of Cooking!) and was thrilled when this second book came out. I have tried many many recipes and they have all turned out incredibly well. The recipe for Logan's Cheesebread is outstanding - I took it with me to Thanksgiving Dinner and people couldn't believe that I had baked it myself, from scratch. Other show-stoppers: Classic shortbread, Better for the Mistake Scones and Killer Chocolate Layer Cake. I never knew I could bake French bread until I tried Marcy's recipe... amazing.

Marcy's recipes are clear, easy to understand and yield excellent results. The ingredients are straightforward and use things that most people have on-hand in the pantry. The book makes you want to get in the kitchen and bake! Her vignettes are also a great addition - when you read the book you feel as if you are part of the betterbaking.com community. I am a fairly experienced home-baker but I think that beginners will get a LOT out of the book. I consult it every time I need to make a dessert. THanks Marcy!

Marcy Goldman's baking expertise "shines" through, in this, her second book.

Marcy passes on her wealth of knowledge in a warm, friendly way, ensuring that even the novices amongst us - want to 'give it a try'. Believe me you won't be disappointed.
Having baked many of the recipes already - I can vouch for that!
Not to mention rave reviews (on what I have already made), from friends, neighbours AND my family - I will be trying out many more.

Not only does Marcy guide us through, with helpful hints along the way, her book is written in an easy to understand language, along with helpful techniques, so as the inexperienced baker, to the experienced, will have no bother understanding and baking, in the knowledge that the 'end' product, be it a tantalizing loaf of her freshly made French Country Bread, hot out of the oven, or a Killer Chocolate Layer Cake, you will be guided, every step of the way and feel as though you'd been baking all your life.

The Best of Better Baking.com takes you through from delightful breads, you MUST try her Vidalia Onion Bread, it is superb! Her mouth watering Sesame Buttermilk Pan Rolls (another must try recipe), onto Pizzas and Flatbreads where you will find Rustic Whole-Wheat and Honey Pizza along with her golden Pizza Croissants - to her incredible Montreal Bagels and so much more.
A wonderful array of Brownies, with pointers and techniques to help you achieve in turning out the perfect brownie.
One of my favourites are her Notting Hill Brownies - you really have to try these!
Cherry-Chocolate Decadence Cookies, Tiramisu Biscotti, not forgetting another favourite, her Triple-Almond Biscotti.
Maple, Walnut, Oatmeal and Brown Sugar Scones to Sunrise Cranberry, Apple and Orange Buttermilk Muffins, which are exceptional - are just a sprinkling of recipes that make up a part of this great collection.
The Pastry Shoppe section includes her delicious "Oh-So-Sticky" Cinnamon buns, Apple-Raspberry Crostata through to a gorgeous Dulche de Leche Pecan Pie.
Then on to the The Cake Walk where you will find a collection of fabulous tasting Cheesecakes, along with her Killer Chocolate Cake. Believe me, this is Divine!!
I could go on and on - I am thrilled with my copy.

Here is Marcy Goldman - again at her best, with her warmth and ease of writing and her wonderful array of recipes, that work beautifully.
She makes you feel as though she is there, alongside you, guiding and offering helpful advice with her many kitchen tips and suggestions throughout.
Made me, want to get out the flour and the bowls straight away. Which I did!

Marcy's Big 'n Buttery Bake Sale Buns, and Black Top Cookie Cheesecake to name just two of the 'want to eat', 'can almost taste' - photographic 'edibles' will have your mouth watering.

Not only is The Best of Better Baking.com filled with enticing 'want to make' recipes - that work - AND are enjoyable to make - it is beautifully presented with an in-depth helpful Source Guide followed by information on Equipment and Supplies.

Thank you Marcy
For a wonderful book. And for sharing with us - your fabulous recipes.

This is an entertaining enough book to keep in the bathroom, but it's written in a cutesy style that I found off-putting. (I expected and wanted it to be witty, but the authors frequently settled for jokiness.)

Some of the facts are wrong -- for example, they perpetuate the myth that Jayne Mansfield was decapitated in the car wreck that killed her. She wasn't. In other places, there's just not enough information. They mention China's "Festival of the Hungry Dead," but instead of explaining what it is we get two paragraphs on how China's communist regime prevented the celebration of religious holidays. Snooze.

This book is cute, but for a more entertaining and in-depth exploration of death, check out Paradox Press's "The Big Book of Death" ...

I could not put this book down! Went through it in one sitting and I go back to it and read it again and again. When I'm not reading it, friends and family are always borrowing it. Full of facts and funnies.

The Big Sleep is the kind of weird, funny, fascinating book that keeps you saying, "Just one more page." Some of those chapters really knocked me out . . . like "Death Styles of the Rich and Famous" or "Hell No, We Won't Go". It's far from some morose book on the realities of death. I loved the quotes, the jokes, and those incredible factoids. Hey, who knew that Balanchine died from a form of Mad Cow disease or that the Marquis de Sade died in an insane asylum. Crazy stuff.

Having read all of her books, especially her early work, I was disappointed with this offering. There was nothing wrong with the writing, which is always crisp and to the point. But for me the story line was ho hum. I didn't care for the heroine at all, she seemed too bland. And the story seemed too morose to me, not too uplifting as it moved to the final pages. Certainly her past books are not happy go lucky stories, but they are at least rich in Irish detail, and this one seems to have far too many lifeless characters, except the children. Will I stop buying her books? NEVER. Although I appplaud authors who step outside of their traditional story lines, I would love to see a return to her paranormals, they are a classics and the very best in Irish Romances. I don't say don't buy it,but be aware this is a different voice for Jeanette Baker, not one I liked very much.

True to its title, Spellbound is a captivating and riveting novel that takes on a new slant for author Jeanette Baker. In Spellbound, Ms. Baker daringly and successfully moves from one genre, paranormal, to another, contemporary fiction, while keeping intact her extraordinary talent of creating a rich and detailed story that her readers have become accustomed to. Ms. Baker paints an accurate and vivid portrait of Irish life that is centuries old while transcending the paranormal themes in her previous works. The reader is not required to travel back into history to understand implications because the characters and setting contain the history within themselves, allowing the reader to remain in one time frame. As with all of Ms. Baker's works, the characters come to life from the start in the reader's mind due to their realistic and enticing nature. Spellbound is truly a work of art for Jeanette Baker!

Jeanette Baker has done it again. Some authors remain stuck in a genre they are comfortable with. Jeanette Baker is NOT one of them. She continues to grow. Each book outshines the one before. Her lyrical prose, her attention to detail, her knowledge and mannerisms depicting the setting and character of the Irish people are uncanny for an American woman living in Orange County. Still waters run deep. The touching portrayal of life on the Arans and the young American woman and Irish playwright who care for each but have obvious obstacles in their paths, is a keeper of a book. Mollie goes to the ARans to meet her family, a father she never knew and a distant and older brother. BEfore she can accept her teaching position, her brother and his wife die, leaving three needy children. Baker does a marvelous job of portraying the children, the adults who agonize over their custody, the stark beauty of the ARans and the family torn apart so long ago that finally comes together again. Jeanette Baker's exceptional weaving together of the stories of Mollie's parents and their children make this a mainstream novel worthy of a first printing in hard cover. I am continually amazed at Baker's sense of story and her intuitive understanding of several points of view. Bravo, Ms. Baker. Once again, you've mesmerized me. I can only wait on pins and needles for your next masterpiece.

Although Ms. Wade describes all the sections of Arizona with area maps it is lacking in the amount of where to stay info. I found the book's format hard to follow. An index divided by subject would have helped and detailed maps. I will stick with Fodors travel books.

We recently returned from AZ and we used the Arizona Guide for the third time. It was great in helping us find places from just below "the rim" to the Mexican border. It is coherently written and organized - easy to stay with even for those of us who are just learning that wonderful state!

I like The Arizona Guide because it is different from other guidebooks that attempt to cover every single hotel and restaurant. The subject matter is current and informative. Even my husband, who has lived in Arizona his whole life, told me he was surprised at how much he learned about the state from the first three pages. Filled with both well-known and unusual destinations, written in easy-to-understand prose and organized into eight geographic regions, The Arizona Guide is the perfect reference book for Arizona visitors and residents alike.

Although it wasn't the greatest comic book story I've read, it's definitely a good first effort by co-writer Mark Hamill. A rather interesting look at the potential of being a so-called superhero in the real world. It's also a story about how certain situations and circumstances can blow things way out of proportion, especially when the news media's involved. This is exactly what happens to a man who's basically a stalker turned superhero, and a notorious media celebrity (allegedly made in the mold of entertainment/media sensationalists like Jerry Springer & Tom Green) takes advantage- and fans the flames- of the craze that follows.

Originally a screenplay for a proposed film, Hamill and co-writer Eric Johnson turned to the original superhero medium- comics- to tell the tale. After reading this mini-series, I saw that a few parts of it would've been better translated part of a movie. But as well, there are several scenes that are pure comic book moments.

My only problem with the trade paperback is that Dark Horse edited a few parts that were in the original mini-series. All of the panels that originally depicted exposed female mammaries have now been covered with brassieres and halter tops. I guess I'll have to read 'The Black Pearl' for more wholesome reasons now...

'Late!

The Black Pearl is an excellent comic book mini-series for the following reasons: it's original, has character depth and exceptional art work. But above all, Hamill himself astounds me; he's multi-talented and for him to be able to pull me into a movie screen as well as a comic book is nothing short of genius. Good job, Mr. Hamill!

mark hamill is soooo talented! he can not only pull my attention into the big and little screens, but also to this comic book. i love the fact that he drew some of the pictures himself. the story is a little awkward. a hero made solely by the media, who in reality is basically a stalker. i love this book, and mark hamill!

I would like to see those negative reviews if they were posted. Why did they get removed. It is clear that not everyone agrees with the reviews presented here. I did not find the book as informative as the others here. I found it leaves out a lot of other high-quality and very creative artists. Please return the negative reviews a mentioned in the one review so we can make our own decisions.

I have everyone of Cozy Baker's books. Each one is worth at least five stars. I didn't think Cozy could improve on her last book full of the festive colors and imaginations of kaleidoscopes and their makers', but she certainly has. I am a devote lover of kaleidoscopes and have been collecting them since 1982. My collection must be over 300 scopes by now. Everyone of them is completely original, beautiful, and loved by my family and I. I am always looking for more information regarding the artists and "industry" of kaleidoscopes. This book is filled with just that kind of information. I 've been collecting for over 22 years, but found out there is a lot I didn't know about my passion and the creator's that have made a difference in creating it. The one thing I never knew until I read this book was that these exciting, talented artists started out as collectors', just like me. I always assumed it was the artist's talent in either glass, marble, brass, wood, ect. that led them into saying "maybe I should try using my art to make a kaleidoscope". This book has taught me that all these spectacular artists are not only "artists", but "scope lover's as well. This book is a gem and you get to see and learn at the same time. Pure enjoyment! Just the same as when you look at a kaleidoscope. I love this book and it will be added as part of my collection and enjoyed forever! Thank you, Cozy Baker, you are indeed the "First Lady of Kaleidoscopes". All of your hard work and honest love for this craft shows brilliantly in this new book. The book deserves as many "stars" as when you look at a "star" with a teleidoscope. You "scope lovers'" will know exactly what I mean!
John B. Mannes, Jr.
Collector & Lover of Kaleidoscopes
Also part of the "Cozy Baker" Fan Club!!

This is a GREAT Book. Someone gave it to me as a gift along with a kaleidoscope and I'm hooked. The beauty of the photos as well as the well-written text are a harmonious blend--just what a kaleidoscope is supposed to be!