While some stories are very good, I had trouble getting interested in the long novelette, "The Strawberry Tree," which is written in a narrative form with only a little dialogue. The narrative starts on the island of Majorca with no real indication of why the narrator is there, then skips back 40 years to give an account of past events on Majorca, her life in between, and finally her arrival on Majorca where the story started. A mystery is introduced along the way, and a solution is finally presented. This story, like the others, was written in the 1990's, but the Spanish apparently didn't use DNA analysis.

The characters are all well drawn with accurate psychology, and many have rather disturbing and strange traits. The first story, a Wexford, which serves as the title for the collection, is well written and clever, but not quite as entertaining as some other Wexford short stories.

However, now we come to the final story. "The Strawberry Tree" is a short novella of about 90 pages, but it is the best story in the collection, and possibly the best novella i have ever read. It says many things about the human condition, as well as being incredibly touching, well evoked, interesting, clever, very well written, etc. It in itself is worth the price of the entire book. Set in part in Spain, she describes the foreign landscape beautifully, as she does the relationships between the four main children in the story. It is a beautiful story, full of psychological perception. It's intriguing, compelling, emotional, sometimes sad, and has a subtle twist to the tale that it is hard to pre-empt.

First class, but this book by the world's most talented writer. Of this generation or any previous.

Zachary enjoys his squabbles with the snob. However, he is unable to open her eyes to his love as Christy becomes engaged to the wealthy lumber baron, Jake Vigil. As the wedding gets closer, Christy realizes she loves Zachary, making her wonder if she should marry for love or money?

THE WOMEN OF PRIMROSE CREEK: CHRISTY is an entertaining western romance that sub-genre fans will enjoy due to the battle of the sexes. The story line is fun as the lead characters take center stage. Christy may seem spoiled but inside she wants to insure Megan's future even if it costs her own happiness. Zachary is simply a passionate hero. In the second Primrose tale (see BRIDGET), Linda Lael Miller provides her audience with an enjoyable lighthearted romp.

Harriet Klausner

Christy, another of the strong willed McQuarry women, comes to Primrose Creek with her sister, Megan, upon returning from England after the death of their mother. Christy is as stubborn as her "cousin," Bridgette. Their parting was on bad terms. Now Christy has her share of the land bequeathed to her from their grandfather which is across the creek from Bridgette's and Skye's. Christy wants to sell her share and marry a rich man to provide for her and Megan. However, love does not always come with money. For Christy, love is in the form of the town's marshall, Zachary Shaw.

Zachary Shaw, tough and handsome, is attracted to the lovely Christy. Zachary realizes his feelings for Christy, who tries to deny her feelings for him. Also, Zachary realizes that Christy has agreed to marry someone else because of money. Zachary is hurt and sets out to once again take up bounty hunting to gain money. However, Christy insists to everyone that she will marry Jake Vigil, who owns the lumber mill. Will Christy succumb to her need to be rich or will she let her feelings of love dictate her actions?

"Christy" is indeed a winner. Keep up the good work, Ms. Miller!

Pamela Kirrage and Donald Hill were very much in love and living in England right before the outbreak of World War II. Donald was sent overseas and spent three and a half years in a Japanese prison camp. He was never the same after the war, but tried to live a normal life with Pamela and their children.

David kept a diary during his imprisonment, but no one could crack the code until years after Donald's death, when Pamela found a mathematician who solved the mystery.

This book tells Donald and Pamela's sad, but moving story of true love, the horrors of war and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

Andro Linklater writes clearly and eloquently about the love affair between Pamela Kirrage and Donald Hill at the eve of World War II. He brings to life the great excitement of their budding romance and the long, difficult years they spent apart, Pamela doing her part to support England's war efforts at home and Donald languishing in a Japanese concentration camp.

The atrocities that Donald experienced are described in a matter of fact manner that does not take away from the sheer horror of what he must have endured. He was determined to document what happened in the camp at the risk of his own life and eventually coded his diary to ensure that it would not be discovered. Through it all, his promise to return to Pamela gave him the will to survive.

Years later after Donald's death, Pamela resolved to know the contents of his diary so she could understand what had happened to him, what had happened to them. I found the efforts to decode his diary just as fascinating as the turbulent relationship between Pamela and Donald.

This is an intelligent and articulate account of two passionate people caught up in the throes of war and their struggle to regain their lives and relationship once reunited. It is a romance, a war history, and a mystery all rolled into one.

I am recommending it to everyone I know. Read it!

The body of Norbert Thompson was found in the log cabin of retired officer Mel Pickett. Not only was the small community shaken by the murder, but naturally Pickett found himself involved -- especially when he realized who the murderer might be.

The more I read, the more I liked Norbert -- who never appears in the book ALIVE.

Between the purity of the writing, the decent characters, and the intriguing sub plot involving Pickett's son, I'm interested in reading the sequel (if one is written) as well as the other series by Eric Wright. The author caught my attention, kept it throughout the book, and left me wanting a little more. I believe that that means that "Death of a Hired Man" is a success.

Upon hearing the news of the homicide of his border, the sixty-six-year-old Mel, as well as his wife Charlotte, is stunned. While the cops wonder if this might be part of the recent break-ins that turned ugly, Mel wonders if he was the target. Also under consideration by the law remains the fact that that Norbert left his brother's home to live at this cabin after a major spat with his sibling. Not wanting to wait, Mel goes into his police mode seeking the identity of a killer.

DEATH OF A HIRED MAN is a fabulous police procedural with private investigative elements. The story line is well crafted because author Eric Wright makes his cast seem genuine without slowing down the tale. Fans of a good crime novel starring newly married senior citizens struggling with difficult decisions such as wills and multiple homes will find this book as a sure thing.

Harriet Klausner

Quick Charlie Sims is another fine example of characters that Ralph Cotton brings to life. Well worth the read...

These were the words that a condemned Ephraim Wheeler heard, when in 1805 in Lennox, Massachusetts, he was sentenced to be hanged for raping his thirteen year old daughter, Betsy.

Historians Richard D. Brown and Irene Quenzler Brown's book, The Hanging Of Ephraim Wheeler, recount in micro-history format not only the trial, but also the sociological, political, moral, ethical, historical, legal as well as psychological elements that surrounded the trial and played a role in the eventual conviction and hanging.

In essence, the authors explore subjects that are both repellant and fascinating reflecting deeply American roots as to what constitutes right and wrong.

What was quite noteworthy about this unusual trial is that the jury 's conviction had been based on non-corroborative evidence, as well as the fact the victim had never been physically examined by the appropriate authorities.
Moreover, according to the authors, it was apparently the only case that they were aware of in early America, where a mother had sustained her daughter's successful prosecution of a father.

Although, as is pointed out, that to gentlemen and farmers rape was tantamount to murder, the debate pertaining to capital punishment was just as controversial and divisive in 1805 as it is today.

In fact, owing to the gravity of the punishment, it was very rare during early America that the charge of rape, particularly against your own daughter, was the preferred recourse.
Generally, legal authorities at the time were more inclined to bring forth a lesser charge of lewd and lascivious conduct and incest against the accused. The latter crimes did not carry with them capital punishment.

From 1787 to 1826 there were only six executions in the County of Berkshire, where the trial had taken place, for capital offenses.

We are informed "in the generation leading up to 1806 in Massachusetts, and throughout the United States, it had become almost unthinkable to hang a man for the crime of rape, so powerful was the movement toward Beccarian reform. But now in Massachusetts, following the reformer's failure to remove rape from the state's capital list in 1805 and 1806, execution was deemed not only lawful but also acceptable."

What makes for intriguing reading are the authors' masterful descriptions and analysis of the principal actors of the crime and trial. The accused, who barely made a living and had in the past tried to rape his daughter, the victim, a young teenager who certainly was brave in deciding to reveal all, and the wife, who was the first to summon the authorities in order to have her husband arrested.

Readers are also vividly exposed to the courtroom arena and its various players, such as the three judges, the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorneys, all of whom were not only influenced by their legal training but also by their social and political beliefs.

This is an exciting and fascinating book using a variety of historical methods, including micro-history and social history in order to examine events in early America.

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