Just returned from Paris where the Lonely Planet guide once again proved the value of the series. I have used their guides in Italy, Spain and Mexico. They have consistently proved to have the most detailed information and are marked by their slightly-off-the-beaten-path restaurant advice; if you want to eat where and what the locals eat at excellent prices and with marvelous service, BUY THIS BOOK. I am still remembering the tartare du poissons and the lapin aux pruneaux--and with wine and dessert less than $25 per person.

I was traveling with a friend who had purchased a guidebook from another well-known series. She soon announced that , "Your guidebook gives better directions and has more accurate information."

For my wife, 14-year-old nephew, 12-year-old neice and I, the Lonely Planet guide to Paris was perfect. (Nephew and neice to uncle: "No museums!") It suggested renting bicycles at the train station to ride to Giverny and told us on which days and at what times we could rent toy boats in the Jardin du Luxembourg -- two highlights of our trip. It suggested getting the Carte Orange Metro pass and explained the airports so well that we had the courage to take the train into the city (which worked out very well). The one restaurant suggestion we took from the guidebook (Le Bateau Lavoir in Montmarte) was very nice. The maps were useful (but you still need a pocket map book) and the book is not too large or fat. I liked the color pictures before the trip, and now that I open the book, I like them even more as a momento. We also had the Frommers, Michelin and Eyewitness Paris books. They were better as references. The Lonely Planet guide was better to have at hand while we were out and about. I wish it gave prices in Euros and not Francs, but I assume the next edition will.

In the past year I have had the chance to travel to Prague, Paris, and London, and for each trip I brought along a Lonely Planet city guide. These books are simply the best. In previous travels I have tried books by other groups, but Lonely Planet has never steered me wrong. The books are accurate and up-to-date, and offer advice for all modes of travel (economic, social, time constraints, interests, and so on). The history and culture sections are useful but not too long, and the same is true of the descriptions of the various sites and sights. Don't travel without one!

I have always come to the Maggody stories for light entertainment rather than edification. The jokes were often corny and the characterization crude but the mixture worked. In this one there are a number of highbrow references and Brother Verber reveals a childhood trauma that may account for his character flaws. Even the relatioship between Raz and Marjory is getting more psychologically complex. Where is all this leading? I'll keep reading to find out.

Maggody, Arkansas Chief of Police Arly Hanks feels that her current task is probably the worst assignment of her career. She, accompanied by the mayor's self-important wife Mrs. Jim Bob, despicable Preacher Brother Verber, and shop teacher Larry Joe Lambertino are chaperoning teens at the Camp Pearly Gates. The teens are a tough enough crowd, but her companions make for a long weekend.

All that becomes moot when one of the kids finds a corpse of a woman. The victim turns out to be a member of the Moonbeam sect, a bunch of space cadets who refuse to cooperate with Arly on the investigation. To make matters even more pressing, a local person is missing and though probably safe could be a second victim. Then there is the usual demands of her position involving pigs, family members, and a suspect who seems to spend more time out of jail than in a cell.

The latest tale in the long running Maggody series, MAGGODY AND THE MOONBEAMS, retains its freshness, something not usually seen by book fourteen. The story line is light, but quite amusing as readers watch beleaguered but competent Arly deal with a crowd of misfits. In some ways this tale satirizes its own series and other regional who-done-its, but does so in a kind reverent manner as Joan Hess provide her audience with a fun to read tale in which the laughs keep on coming.

Harriet Klausner

Maggody, Arkansas Chief of Police Arly Hanks feels that her current task is probably the worst assignment of her career. She, accompanied by the mayor's self-important wife Mrs. Jim Bob, despicable Preacher Brother Verber, and shop teacher Larry Joe Lambertino are chaperoning teens at the Camp Pearly Gates. The teens are a tough enough crowd, but her companions make for a long weekend.

All that becomes moot when one of the kids finds a corpse of a woman. The victim turns out to be a member of the Moonbeam sect, a bunch of space cadets who refuse to cooperate with Arly on the investigation. To make matters even more pressing, a local person is missing and though probably safe could be a second victim. Then there is the usual demands of her position involving pigs, family members, and a suspect who seems to spend more time out of jail than in a cell. T

he latest tale in the long running Maggody series, MAGGODY AND THE MOONBEAMS, retains its freshness, something not usually seen by book fourteen. The story line is light, but quite amusing as readers watch beleaguered but competent Arly deal with a crowd of misfits. In some ways this tale satirizes its own series and other regional who-done-its, but does so in a kind reverent manner as Joan Hess provide her audience with a fun to read tale in which the laughs keep on coming.

Harriet Klausner

Except for Martha Grimes, I don't usually go in for English mystery series, the sort of thing with continuing characters and starring a Scotland Yard investigator, nor have I read any others in this series. But I can see why this novel was voted a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and why it was nominated for both the Edgar and the Agatha.

Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid has been divorced for twelve years, his life is ticking right along, and he has a nicely developing romance with his sergeant, Gemma James. And then he hears from his ex-wife, Victoria, now a professor of modern English poetry at Cambridge, who has been researching a biography of Lydia Brooke, who died in what Victoria has come to believe are suspicious circumstances a few years before. She wants Duncan's help, and he agrees, to Gemma's consternation. Sounds like a pretty routine plot, doesn't it? It's not, believe me. Where most writers in this genre concentrate on the plot, with characters who are less than three-dimensional, or (again, like Martha Grimes) develop wonderful characters but tend to stint the mystery itself, Crombie succeeds very well at both. Duncan and Gemma and Victoria all come alive, as do the supporting players, and you won't guess at the solution to the mystery until the denouement, either. By the end of the book, Duncan's life has become permanently more complicated, and I want to know what happens next! (Obviously, I'm going to have to go back and read the first four books in this series before tackling the sixth one.)

Deborah Crombie gives a nice comfortable mystery story with several detours for one to ponder. Characters are very interesting people. This story was strange but well written. It kept my interest. Kincaid and Gemma's relationship is moving along nicely. On to the next.

So how can an author keep the readers interested in the two main characters after they become romantically involved with each other? For Deborah Crombie, it is easy. Bring in Duncan's ex-wife with a several-year-old murder masquerading as a suicide, her 11 year-old son, another murder, and still tie in Duncan and Gemma's explorations of their new relationship. This is a book about shattered dreams, new expectations, surprise revelations, and distorted relationships.

DREAMING OF THE BONES is, at times, funny, extremely sad, touching, and infuriating. It is Crombie's most emotionally complex book yet. I couldn't put it down and read it cover-to-cover in one sitting. Enjoy!

I was looking for a book to keep my attention for an hour and found a book I could not put down. It is a greaty story, and the kind of book you keep around for a rainy day. This was my first Samantha James book, but certainly not my last.

I have read afew of Samantha James novels and this one is a keeper. I really enjoyed it very much, Cameron and Meredith were wonderfully matched and the book was very sensual read. Thanks for a great book and look forward to reading all of them.

The title did not entice me to buy this book, but the story did. This is my first Samantha James book, and I really enjoyed it. The story is fast-paced, and Meredith and Cameron are great characters to spend a cozy evening with.

I was very disappointed in this book! I have loved the others in the series, and I re-read them in the two weeks preceding my purchase of this book. I found myself much more interested in Duncan and Gemma's personal problems than in the murder. They both are so likable, I want things to work out for them. Why was Gemma being so cold to Duncan? Why wasn't she helping him out a little with Kit? "Welcome to single-parenthood" seems a little unworthy of a young woman who has been struggling so hard to stay afloat herself. Duncan always tried to be supportive of her when she was having problems. And why is she looking around at other men? Neither of the characters seemed to be themselves in this book, and I think their strong personalities and their normality are what sets this series apart. Even Duncan's boss seemed to be edgy and not his reasonable self! The mystery of Annabelle's murder was much too convoluted, and the solution was totally unbelievable. Way too many characters!

turner beautifully written with compelling characters and lots of information about the recent history of Britain. I love the series in general.

The plot involves a beautiful woman found dead in a park in the Docklands area of London, a death that involves several long-time residents of this gentrifying area (which had more or less been destroyed by bombing during World War II and subsequently redeveloped). From time to time, the story is interrupted by a story from World War II, about children evacuated from London to live in the country -- a story of distant events that is clearly relevant somehow to this murder because the same names keep popping up. The romance between the two detectives (Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James) continues to develop -- and flounder a little -- as they attempt to solve this murder.

I felt this book could have been edited, made about 50 pages shorter, with certain subplots (particularly that involving Gemma's temptation by another man) deleted for a tighter, more satisfying book. I also was disappointed by the ending -- although I guessed the killer halfway through the book, the reason for the killing did not seem adequate at all.

If you love the series, read this book, but if this is your introduction to the Kincaid/James series, start with an earlier book, not this one. I personally did not feel this was her best work although it is well worth reading -- even Crombie's not-so-good books are very good.

I guess I'm lucky because this was my first Deborah Crombie novel, so I couldn't compare it to earlier "better" works as I read it. I enjoyed it so much, however, I checked out all the other Crombie novels from the library and read them. I can see a definite progession in her writing (not the story line between the two detectives but actual improvement in her ability to develop her characters.) She seems to write more and more satisfying novels as she goes along.

While I read "Kissed a Sad Goodbye" I pulled out one of my maps of London, and followed the trail. This may have helped me enjoy it. I like to follow maps while I read if the author is naming and describing places. I also may have enjoyed the book more because I was in the Docklands in last fall, and walked the tunnel under the Thames to Greenwich and through the little village itself. I had wanted to see the tunnel since I read P.D. James novel "Original Sin". Mudchute was also featured in "Playing for the Ashes" written by Elizabeth George, and I think the area was captured in the film "Career Girls" too.

Also, I am an inveterate tea drinker and fan, so I loved the description of the tea business.

Prior to reading "The Ice Child", I'd never heard of the Franklin expedition and was unfamiliar with past Arctic Explorations and the search for the Northwest passage. McGregor writes a story that switches from the Franklin expedition of the past to the present day tale of a mother trying to save the life of her ill son.

The chapters of "The Ice Child" which are told from the point-of-view of a member of the Franklin expedition are remarkably well-done, involving, and educational. While we can already guess the ultimate fate of the Arctic explorers, I was still engrossed by their story and was delighted to learn what life as an 1845 explorer was like.

The novel's present day story pales in comparison however. Nothing about the present day characters particularly grabbed me and I never felt emotionally involved with their tale. The central character suffers so much tragedy in such a short time that I felt I never got to know her. She merely moved from one tragic event to the next without ever becoming a fully developed character. This part of the novel was very weak, and for that reason I'm giving it 3 stars.

However, two weeks after reading the book I find the story of the Franklin expedition popping into my mind at odd moments. I'm still haunted by their tale, and believe "The Ice Child" would have been a much better story if it had stuck with the Artic exploration alone.

This is a stunning novel, a tale of two remarkable journeys, present and past, of suffering, endurance against the odds and huge courage. In one, a small boy and his mother battle against a terrifying disease; in the other, a crew of sailors and their officers struggle into the unimaginable bleakness of the arctic to find the elusive North-West passage that they hope will open up a northern route from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

THE ICE CHILD has it all: from meticulously researched historical writing to a full-blown love story. The very personal present-day drama concerns the journalist Jo Harper and her young son Sam who suffers from aplastic anemia - a disease similar to leukaemia and which requires an urgent bone-marrow transplant to give him a chance of survival. Sam's half brother John is the most suitable donor, the only match so far: but John is obsessed with his father's legacy, the desire to discover the truth of what befell the mysterious Franklin expedition to find the North-West Passage, and he has disappeared.

Sam's mother Jo's determination is truly moving and we are kept on the edge of our seats until the very end as she moves heaven and earth to save her son. The story cuts between the present and the past, and we see the historical narrative through the eyes of a young crew-member serving under Sir John Franklin. Gradually the truth of the tragedy that defeated the expedition is revealed just as the present-day crisis reaches its climax.

The very diverse plot elements in this story are masterfully managed by Liz McGregor, who has the lightest touch with marshalling detail and paints sweeping backdrops against which to set her tale. The descriptions of the arctic, its flora and fauna, and the desperate struggles of the men on the ice are at once bewitching and heartbreaking. I have read several non-fiction accounts of the Franklin expedition; this was by far the most affecting because the novelist's license to dramatise has given Liz McGregor the freedom to portray in the greatest depth the motives, the experiences and the extraordinary valour of Franklin's men.

I loved this book, and can't recommend it enough: it has something for everyone, and will touch your heart and your mind in equal measure.

I loved this book. It is is one of the most satisfying novels I've read in many years. It operates on many levels, exploring complex relationships and an almost forgotten historical event, linking the two through the actions, needs and desires of the main characters.

This is the dramatic story of a race against time to save the life of a child, two year old Sam Marshall. The adored only son of journalist Jo has contracted severe aplastic anaemia and his only hope is a bone marrow transplant from his half-brother, John, who is a close match. But John is missing, his fate curiously linked to one of history's enduring mysteries - the fate of the Franklin expedition - and he's lost in the most inhospitable place on earth.

Essentially THE ICE CHILD is a story about the power of unconditional love and in particular a mother's love for her child. McGregor writes beautifully and has created a deeply moving story that will grab you from the very first page. This is storytelling of the highest order. ENJOY!

In "The Red Horsemen", Admiral Jake Grafton travels to post-Soviet Russia to monitor the dismantling of that country's nuclear arsenal. Stephen Coonts, Grafton's creator, brews up a tale of crooked Russians, homocidal CIA agents and black market nukes being sold amid the disintegration of Russia. Unfortunately, the story bogs down quickly when Grafton gets to Russia - mostly because the plot becomes overly complicated, but also due to the sheer implausibility that Coonts inserts into the story - like Grafton's single-handed destruction of a formation of highly agile Su-27 fighters while himslef flying only a hoggish Su-25; the novel's climax has the hero meet Saddam Hussein face-to-face and exact a measure of justice in an ending that seems incredibly pat for Coonts. Even that ending would seem worse had it not capped off a book full of plot twists that don't come together. Coonts' original "Flight of the Intruder" was a great book because it resisted the temptation to become the sort of technothriller that "Horseman" is. Instead, take out "Cuba" in which Coonts returns to form.

Stephen Coonts's very best so far! A well-researched, fast-paced and easy-to-read thriller which deals with the story of a nuclear power plant explosion, caused by a renegade general intent on using the disaster to gain him access to a tactical nuclear weapons storage depot, to sell them to Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, members of the CIA are dropping down like flies in a binary poisoning plot which claims the life of a British newspaper tycoon(a thinly fictionalised Robert Maxwell) and could have been lifted from THE X-FILES. The flying sequences are as ever, as brilliant as Dale Brown with all the autheticity and fully-explained technics you could want, and it's interesting to see Jake Grafton handle Russian fighters for a change! The final scenes in Saudi Arabia and Iraq provide an excellent backdrop to the mission to retrieve the stolen warheads, and the Moscow scenes are also authentic and well-researched. Once again, like Tom Clancy's CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN, it brought back memories of my visit there. Well done Stephen Coonts, and an ideal starting point for those new to this excellent author's work!

The Red Horseman finds regular Coonts character Jake Grafton, now working for the DIA, traveling to the post Cold War Russia to prevent their nuclear weapons from turning up in places like the Middle East, struggling against CIA and KGB operatives along the way. The appearences of two world leaders adds a certain realism to the story. The story itself is rather complicated but does not seem that way with Coonts's style of writing. The flying scenes were wonderfully described, as usual, and the book also includes a particularly well written combat scene with special forces near the end. This is one of the better and more original novels to revolve around Russia after communism and the Cold War, a much too overused subject in many military and political thrillers. This may be Coonts's best book.

I found this book quite disappointing. It is about an elderly woman named Lily Maynard and her family. Or what is left of it. She is a divorced mother of three children, technically, although one has sort of disappeared (and the more you read the more you think you might have done the same). Miller highlights Lily's shining moments as an author and the fame and popularity her talents have found. Her son, Alan, takes her in temporarily until there is room for her at the nursing home. She is somewhat unbearable, although, that was not the real problem with this novel. For some reason, unlike Miller's other works, it was just really super boring. I kept reminding myself not to walk away without finishing it. Without at least giving it that much of a chance. At the end, instead of feeling like it was a good book after all, I was just glad I had finished it. Not the worst but certainly not the best.

Sue Miller's novel is captivating. I read it in one night because it was so good I couldn't put it down and go to sleep. I literally stayed up all night with this novel. The characters, Lily and her son in particular, are well drawn. The relationships are interesting. Miller really made me think with this book. I have read a few of her novels, and this is by far the best.

I was impressed by the intelligence, depth, and power of this novel. Sue Miller has succeeded here in spinning a tale that makes *real* many issues that I have struggled with personally, including dealing with an aging parent, the raw edges that inevitably surround familial relationships, the doubts that so many of us develop in midlife about ourselves, our successes and failures, and on and on. So many times as I read this book I found myself marvelling at how Wilson had captured a thought or a feeling I had experienced myself--and had thought, naively,was uniquely my own.

Then there is the fine portrayal of Lily, the fiercely independent, articulate, interpersonally cold yet socially idealistic writer who struggles with her declining physical and mental capacities from Parkinson's disease. The way that Miller approaches and analyzes Lily's past and her own ruminations about the past is nothing short of masterful.

Complementing the author's incisive depiction of the complex matrix of bonds and divisions that comprise an extended family, she offers insights into some of the most divisive and vexing political/social issues of our time, including the historical struggle of white Americans of good conscience to try to find a way to act rightly with respect to race relations. She never preaches, and never really takes sides when presenting this aspect of her story--but she demonstrates that she truly *understands* the various experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints that have emerged in response to this most contentious of issues.

This book impressed me tremendously. I have no idea whether this is because in some objective way, Sue Miller has created here a triumphant work of literature; conversely, it may just be a matter of this being the right book at the right time for me personally. Ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter.

Apparently you folks havent read Stuart Woods early novels. Try Chiefs, Grassroots, White Cargo, Palindrome or Heat. He's definately not writing the kind of book he used to! Dead Eyes was good but Imperfect Strangers, Choke and Dirt dont quite live up to my expectations of a novel by such a super writer

Stuart Woods always gives a quick read, filled with action. This book is no different. Within the first two chapters, the plot of the book is layed out. Sandy Kingsolving and Peter Martindale meet on an airplane. Ironically, they are both having difficulties with their wives, and plot to kill each others wife! They meet and work out the details, but Kingsolving has seconds thoughts and calls the entire thing off. His wife still ends up dead, and Martindale tries to blackmail him.

Will Kingsolving finish through with the plan and kill Martindale's wife next? Or will be go to the police and hope they believe him? Won't you be surprised when you find out just who Sandy is really supposed to kill...

The book lives up to its billing as the first great beach book of the season. It's a light, quick read with a fun -- but not funny --plot. (I must admit I've never seen Strangers on a Train to know if it lives up to the movie that inspired it). This is only my second Stuart Woods novel -- I look forward to reading more.

I listened to this on tape. The reader was very annoying, as was the way it was written, had to be written, his grey eyes...It was a soap opera on paper. Who knew you could, had to.. actually write things down the way the melodramatic soap stars have always spoken- in italics. The only thing that kept me going was to see how the story would resolve and now I feel like a sap for even waiting for that. Not for intelligent readers. I embarrass myself admitting I listened till the end.

I liked this book. The author has a different writing style, the story goes forward and backward in time alot which became a little tiresome but overall I enjoyed the characters and the plot held my interest. The ending was a surprise which is always good in a romance/suspense type novel. I would recommend it only to someone who loves a romance novel.

I like a lengthy story, but KS's are only lengthy because of too many repetitive lines; she writes practically the same sentences throughout most of her books. That is a little annoying. That said, I thought Chase was perfect, Cassandra was lovely, and the story line held my interest. However, I could have done without the blatant description of Cassandra's wounds, Dr. Stone.
This is a book well worth reading. KS is one of the few authors whose work captures the reader on page one.