I enjoy reading Deborah Smith. Her books always seem to pull the heartstrings in a unique and touching way. As an eclectic reader who enjoys many different genres, whenever I see that this author has a new book, I know it will afford me a pleasant change of pace. Her characters are well drawn and always fascinating. If you want a good escape "read"--step into one of Deborah Smith's well written charming stories set in her southern world. Yankees may never be able to truly relate to the world of traditions and family codes that she creates, but it's fun to take an occasional peek.

The Stone Flower Garden: A Novel is a wonderful book by Deborah Smith. The plot of the book is typical Smith: girl and boy meet at a young age...boy and girl get seperated at a young age...and meet again when they are adults and reconnect emotionally and romantically. Sounds simplistic but Smith is, as with TSFG, always able to make you see beyond the prediction by creating appealing characters through impressive writing.

The Stone Flower Garden holds a secret that burns a hole through the innocent love of childhood. A secret of innocence and death, of betrayal and loyalty. A secret that, after a quarter of a century, one family is determined to unearth and another yearns to forget.

Burnt Stand, North Carolina holds many such secrets within its walls of marble. The Hardigree family and their quarry is the center of it all, run now by Swan Samples Hardigree, a lady to the core of her cold heart. Darl Union is Swan's granddaughter and the keeper of her shameful legacy...one that, if made public, would shatter the grand image Swan's own mother first carved out for them.

Drawn into the tangled web of deceit was Eli Wade. His family arrived in Burnt Stand when he was just a boy and he immediately lost his heart to the lonely little girl that Darl was at that time. They shared years of happiness in their own private escape...a lovely stone flower garden situated part-way between their two homes on Hardigree land. That happiness was to be shattered, however, by a secret that would itself be buried within the garden....one that would force Eli and what was left of his family out of town.

Twenty-five years later, all the key players would be drawn back and, one way or another, the truth would come out. But would it be welcomed or destroy just as many lives the second time around?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deborah Smith is an amazing author that enables her characters to live in such a way that makes it hard to accept their one-dimensionality. She irrevocably draws the reader in with this dramatic tale of a loyalty so fierce and demanding it destroys everyone it touches.

This book will consume the reader and, at times, leave him or her breathless....with shock, with anticipation or with sympathy. After the last page has been turned, the characters will be missed and Burnt Stand will have burned another hole....into the memory of those who won't want to leave it behind with the closing of the cover.

We've noted before, both for this Judge Deborah Knott series (Loons = #3 of 8) and the earlier 8-book Sigrid Harald series, that Maron is a fine writer that can do wonders with anything to which she sets her mind and pen. We would probably rate this and the rest of the set higher were it not billed as a mystery. A murder or two occurs, but it seems nobody is chasing clues or suspecting anybody except in the few moments of idle thought Deborah turns to the subject. Then, all of a sudden, the murderer is revealed all too conveniently at the end of the book.

What we really have with this series is human drama, mostly about the rural life and lifestyles of the wonderful characters Maron gives us from all over North Carolina, this one set on the lovely, albeit anachronistic, Outer Banks. Her dialogue and imagery are quite enjoyable, and she does well in describing the societal conflicts between the old and the young. But it might be better to just take out the mystery rather than do it such poor justice (so to speak). Those used to the Harald series will be particularly upset, for in that set the crime and the procedural detection of the culprit were everything. In fact, we find it hard to believe Maron is winning mystery awards (per se) for the Knott stories. Even the courtroom scenes where we get to watch Knott judge mostly menial cases are pretty dry going. Frankly, Knott could be holding down almost any profession and these stories would still work.

These books will probably satisfy those not wanting or looking for much of a crime and solution motif; but those that are looking for plot complexity will be quite disappointed. We will probably forego the rest of the set as just a little too bland, even though the nice easy reading style will please many who don't care about intrigue, suspense, or procedure in their crime stories. Just be aware...

As a somewhat recent resident of Raleigh (4 1/2 years, though that almost makes me a native), and lifelong mystery lover, I truly enjoy reading Maron's books set throughout North Carolina. I stumbled upon her Deborah Knott series at the library and have devoured the entire series in less than a year. (I rarely dedicate myself to one author or one series.)

But to correct Jerry Bull, this book is set on North Carolina's Crystal Coast, not the Outer Banks. It just so happens that I spent the weekend at the Crystal Coast while reading "Loons" and have spent some time at the Outer Banks -- they are two different areas of the coast.

I love all this author's books and her writing style!

Andrew Greeley has lost his sense of identity as a priest, otherwise he would not have published something so close to romance (code word for print-a-porn). As an alledged catholic, he is a heretic (at least in that novel). As for the rest of the book, it is a lot of sentimentalistic Irish-American superstition and drivel; taking place in an Ireland which the real Irish cannot recognize. terribly dissapointing!

I have loved every other Nuala Anne McGrail novel that Andrew M. Greeley has written, so it was somewhat of a disappointment to me that I did not love this book as much. Although I enjoyed it to a degree, I felt myself predicting future events and had nearly figured out the entire plot by halfway through. After I read the author's note at the end where he explains his formula, I realized the problem. The Nuala Anne McGrail books have become too obviously formulaic, and it's making otherwise delightful characters go just a little bit stale. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a quick read, you might want to try this one. Just don't expect anything terribly different from the others.

Nuala Anne is suffering from post natal depression and in keeping with her character she has a pretty severe case. She gives up singing and doubts herself in everything. Her doctor prescribes Prozac and a trip home. Of course, they can't have a quiet trip. Fiona the wolfhound is pregnant, and the TD next doot has his house blown up. More disturbing, while on a walk through some ruins nearby, both Nuala Anne and Nelliecoyne see a scene of murder from the distant past. Apparently, a man was wrongfully accused of the murders and hanged for the crime. The local priest, Jack Lane, finds part of a journal, written by an American reporter who was there at the time, that tells the whole story as it happened. Nuala, Jack Lane, and Dermot have to find the rest of the journal and the fate of the murdered man's family.

This is pretty typical of the series. Nuala has a crisis of some kind, she finds a mystery in the past, she solves the mystery and her problems at the same time. Each one of the mysteries, however is very well done, with just a little bit of Irish history thrown in.

As a resident of Bali year-round, the number one complaint by almost every lonely planet carrying visitor is how inaccurate and outdated the lonely planet guides are. Whether it is Thailand or Indonesia, information that is needed on a daily basis is history by the time the lonely books reach the traveling consumer. Bookstores throughout Asia are piled high with lonely planets discarded by weary travelers eager to lessen their load. Lonely planet books do offer historical perspectives that can also be found on the internet, but the insider's information the first time traveler needs to save money and sanity their first days in Asia is sorely lacking. Updated info on how to avoid being ripped off from lodging to transportation to moneychanging is of primary concern to almost all visitors to Bali that we meet. Books as heavy as bricks with pretty pics are nice but hardly handy when you are in need of fast, accurate information. Try "The Beginners Guide to Bali" on cd-rom- it has weekly updated info and prepares the first time traveler to Bali for the unexpected.

I found this book quite informative and useful in its information about many different aspects of visiting Bali. The book provides wonderful cultural insights, historical background and detailed information.

The only major discrepancy we came across, for instance, was that the book said that Kuta has problems with tourists being hassled by street vendors, but when we went in April, we found that the main street in Kuta (where the Matahari Department Store is) quite the opposite. It turned out that the officials had just recently come down on the street vendors and put a stop to harassing tourists there. Instead, when we went to the center of town in Ubud, we were hassled a great deal by taxi/moped drivers to get us to hire them; this caught us off guard.

In response to concerns that the book isn't current on it's information, I feel that you shouldn't rely on a guidebook for prices, and that as a whole Lonely Planet Bali & Lombok gives the information that you need to know. It tells you in great detail about what there is to see and do, and where things are and how things work. I mean afterall, by the time any book reaches publication, isn't a lot of the information out-of-date? Otherwise, a book would never get published; it would be a newsletter.

I gave this a rating of 4 stars only because when we went to Bali, we didn't travel enough of the country (and we didn't get to Lombok) to give the book 5 stars.

We have just returned from Bali (October 2000) and strongly recommend taking this LP with you. I have been a bit skeptical about the info of some LP's (Mexico-we hardly used it!) but in Bali whoever put this one together knew their stuff. FORGET THE PRICES MENTIONED, they've at least doubled for meals accomodation etc , but then so has the amount of rupee you'll get!! One interesting note. We took a taxi to the Temple of Gudang Kawi, an 11th century temple. LP justifibly raves about it. The only other tourists there we saw were holding a LP. Local tour operaters didn't seem to think tourists would be interested in it and must take them to more boring temples!(and believe you me, they get boring!)

Wheeler assumes Masterson's identity and writes a first-person account of a 1919 trip the old lawman, gambler and businessman might have taken out west to make sense of his life and legend.
The author seems to care very much about getting historical details right, which is important to me as I like to learn something about history when I read historical novels.
Masterson was, by 1919, a newspaper columnist living in New York City with his wife Emma. Wheeler has Masterson uneasy about the dichotomy between his legend and his real life and sends him back into the American West to reach some conclusion about how he would like to be remembered.
It's a fact-filled odyssey that takes Masterson to Dodge City, Trinidad, Los Angeles, Leadville and Denver (among other places). Along the way he reminisces about his life in the West, talks to Wyatt Earp, gets a bit part in a William S. Hart movie, discovers the result of a forgotten act of kindness in Denver and formally marries Emma (a rite they had somehow neglected oh those many years).
There's a touching scene when he visites the grave of Doc Holliday and hears that the long-dead dentist's widow has been paying to have flowers put on the grave every week for years. "God bless you, Big Nose Kate," he says to no one.
It's a masterful book, no pun intended, and I'm glad I read it. But it suffers from lack of a plot, which is why I'm giving it just three stars. I won't fault the author for that, however, as the whole premise mitigates against the use of a plot in the meaning that the term is generally accepted to have.
"Masterson" does exactly what historical fiction is supposed to do. It entertains and instructs simultaneously. I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in the reality of the American West but has trouble digesting non-fiction history books.

As far as Western's go this book by Richard Wheeler is not half bad. His historical fiction of Bat Masterson is for the most part a well written book. The only exception is his treatment of Wyatt Earp. It was the one low spot in an other wise fine book about a true Western Lawman "Bat" Masterson.

Richard Wheeler does creditable research on his main subject Masteson in the waining days of his life as a New York Reporter. He peoples his novel with very real people such as Louella Parsons. I found his charaters were fleshed out rather well for the most part, but found his charicature of Wyatt Earp who was very much a real friend of Bat Masterson less than honest. Wyatt was far better educated than portrayed. That aside, enjoy the book.

It's a rare treat to walk through an actual person's mind in such a convincing book as "Masterson". I only knew of Bat Masterson as the foppish crime-solver from the TV series, and this Masterson is a much more human and plausible man. This is a Western hero I could believe in. It's a grand, sad journey he and his lady take in this book. His life, "past" and "present", and the historic settings through which he travels were obviously well researched. Are there any missteps here? Only Bat could tell us. I think it happened just as Wheeler says.

For a change, trouble finds Mrs. Pollifax instead of the other way around, when she finds a young woman hiding out in her closet. An extended chase ensues, ending up with Mrs. Pollifax and Kadi, the young woman, hiding out in a carnival subsidized by Mrs. P's CIA friends for just such a purpose. The threads are complex, and there are a few more coincidences than are comfortable, but it all boils down to a plot to take over the African country where Kadi grew up and where her friend Sammy has a politically prominent position.

It's another enjoyable Pollifax romp, weakened a bit by the coincidences, but again brilliantly read by Barbara Rosenblat, whose skill I admire ever more increasingly with each new voice she comes up with.

This time Mrs. Pollifax begins her adventure right in her own back yard when she discovers Kadi, a young woman who is fleeing her pursuers and is hiding in Mrs. P's house. She tries to help the girl get away, but the pursuers are right on her tail, so she appeals to Carstairs, her CIA contact, who sends her to a "safe house". Much to her surprise the safe house turns out to be a carnival and Mrs. Pollifax and Kadi learn some new skills to become part of their new environment. Someone who is also on the run and is hiding in the carnival is badly beaten and Mrs. Pollifax has a new angle to explore. This is all tied in with Kadi's friendship with a young man from a small African country and the disappearance of a wealthy American businessman. Before it's over, Mrs. P. and Kadi are whisked to Africa and new problems surface before a satisfactory ending is achieved. This is a delightful romp with the intrepid 60-something heroine and most of it is set in the United States, a nice change of pace from her other adventures.

_Mrs. Pollifax Pursued_ is definitely candy for the mind. It's a very quick read, entertaining precisely long enough to be a treat, contains nothing challenging and nothing difficult. I would normally tend to give it three stars, but it's so professionally written and meets its function so well, that I'm extending it to four.

Mrs. Pollifax finds young Kadi hiding out in her closet, and takes her on the run to escape her pursuers. The Bishop stashes them in a rather unusual safe house-- a carnival in rural Maine-- and together they need to discover why Kadi is in so much danger.

Anyone reading this effort is going to be convinced of one thing.

Man, if that guy can get published, then there is hope for anyone.

There appears to be no reason for the book except that the author had done some research on famous people of the 50s and didn't know what to do with it.

My guess: Collins was setting around drinking and wondering how to pay his bills when it dawned on him, "hey, why don't I use the names of these famous people and connect them in some way and see if I can sell it to someone as a novel?"

Those appearing include, Frank Sinatra, Jayne Mansfield, Sam Giancanna, Tony Accardo, Drew Pearson, Estes Kefaufer, and Joe McCarthy. Notice anything they have in common?

All of them are dead, which means they can't object to being in such a dismal novel.

"Chicago Confidential" is the twelfth Nathan Heller novel from Max Allan Collins.

It is a deft blending of true crime and mystery fiction---an astonishing mix of fact and fiction. His theories and conclusions are most convincing

It is not a whodunit---rather it is about a famous time in crime. It is 1950 in Chicago as the initial congressional inquiry into organized crime is starting up.

Heller runs the A-1 Detective Agency and is not mobbed up, but still has no desire to testify before Kefauver's committee.

Heller's ability to work with the underworld figures as well as the law is what makes his agency successful.

Ambitious politicos, rancorous gangsters and a couple of honest cops are the central figures Heller must deal with.

Snappy dialog, menacing action sequences and scrupulous historical research make this hard-boiled thriller a treat.

Among the real characters interacting with the concocted ones: Jayne Mansfield, Frank Sinatra, Drew Pearson, Sam Giancana, Senator Joe McCarthy.

Sorry, Steve 731, I respectfully disagree. I think this is one of the BEST Nate Heller books. The "crime" itself may not be as sensational as "The Black Dahlia" or the Lindbergh kidnapping, but most readers will be well aware of the McCarthy hearings and Kefauver hearings into organized crime (and this book provides a fascinating-- if theoretical-- inside look at both).

I do agree, though, that with a cameo appearance by Jack Ruby (and the fact that Frank Sinatra and mobster Sam "Mooney" Giancana are major characters in this book) it's only a matter of time until Max Allan Collins/Nate Heller tackle the JFK assassination (I can hardly wait!).

I liked the lead character. She was protrayed as brilliant and compassionate and devoted to fairness in the law. However, after building her up to be this kind of person, the author then allowed her to make some exceedingly foolish moves, such as keeping key evidence (that could get her killed) in her purse while she went alone and unarmed into a dangerous situation with the villains. Also, for a supposedly brilliant person, she was very quick to dismiss the statements made by her client as insane ravings instead of investigating, even though she had evidence that something was amiss. I found the premise of implanting a drug into people to turn them into jury zombies to be highly improbable. The quality of the writing was excellent and the dialogue was witty. However, I quickly figured out the plot and I actually felt frustrated at times when the characters just didn't react to obvious clues and danger. Didn't keep me awake and in places I even found it a bit preachy about the jury system.

This book wasn't a yawner, but it wasn't a page turner. Sorely unrealistic, this book was good for bed time reading as it woud not keep you awake. On the good side, there were no slopy ends that were just tied up to end the book. If you are looking for a nice book this will work.

"A Jury of Her Peers" is a mediocre legal thriller about a dedicated public defender named Sybylla Muldoon. Sybylla devotes her life to helping her indigent clients, even though she receives very little appreciation for her efforts. While defending a homeless client who has slashed and maimed a nine-year-old girl, Sybylla learns of a nefarious right-wing plot to undermine the jury system. While investigating this plot, Sybylla places her life in jeopardy and she uncovers some horrible secrets concerning her parents. Does this sound impossibly complicated and far-fetched? Well, it is. Although the author gets credit for creating Sybylla, who is an attractive and witty individual, the mystery gets more and more preposterous as the book wears on. Ultimately, the sometimes witty dialogue and the compelling courtroom scenes do not make up for the weak and implausible story.

I wouldn't recommend this as a first Spenser book. In fact I'd suggest going to "The Godwulf Manuscript" at the very beginning of the series.

Be that as it may, it is a rewarding read for those familiar with the characters. Especially rewarding is the re-introduction of Cholla who we met briefly in "Stardust".

Parker varies his narrative style this time out. The perspective switches back and forth between the victim Lisa, who's police detective Belson's young wife, and Spenser, so we can see when Spenser gets on the wrong track and when he gets back on the right one.

This isn't quite the best Parker, but it's good and worth your while if you're a Spenser fan.

When "Thin Air" begins with the italicized description of a woman bound in the back of a van, abducted by someone who knows her and is videotaping everything, it is reminiscent of Robert B. Parker's "Crimson Joy," the first Spenser novel to get away from the first person narrative style of the series. When Detective Frank Belson shows up and tells our hero that his wife is gone, we know the identity of the woman in the van. As far as her husband is concerned, Lisa St. Claire has disappeared into "Thin Air" (Parker has been much more mundane with his titles in his recent efforts and it has been years since he started off with any grandiose literary quotations). Each Spenser novel is unique in its own way and for this one the main trick is that we know what has happened to the damsel in distress and we get to watch as our hero gets closer and closer. Belson does not know anything about his wife before the fateful night they met, and, of course, Spenser uncovers a whole lot of information. But what looks like the old story of the beautiful young wife who leaves her older husband is shattered when Belson is ambushed and almost killed.

Whereas the previous Spenser novel dealt with Chinatown, "Thin Air" focuses on the Hispanic elements in the greater Boston area, which forces Spenser to use the assistance of Chollo, the enforcer for the L.A. mobster we met in "Stardust" (Hawk is in Burma--the mind boggles). But while most of the usual supporting cast is not around for this one, Spenser certainly meets a couple of interesting women in the course of his investigation (although I find it strange that Quirk is not a lot more involved in this one). Once again Spenser tries to put all the pieces together and then find a way of making everybody happy, but as usual, things never do work out perfectly. While certainly an atypical Spenser novel, "Thin Air" probably grades out as an average effort for Parker

More plot to this novel ~ more detecting too ~ than some other Spenser stories. Still, plot is not everything, and still not the real reason one reads Parker. The interplay between Spenser and Susan is as strong as ever; Hawk is in Burma ~ don't ask ~ so we miss seeing him and Spenser. There is a Hawk replacement in the person of Chollo, a Latino hit-man from one of Spenser's West Coast connexions and, while not as detailed or intricate as the Hawk conversations, his with Spenser are still pleasurable. The pretext for the action this time is the disappearance of Lisa St. Claire, wife of Spenser's Boston PD friend Frank Belson. When Belson is hit with three shots from behind Spenser activates himself and goes hunting. The trail leads to a Hispanic community in northern Massachusetts ~ hence the introduction of the Latino side-kick. A welcome innovation (from Parker, not for fiction as a whole) is the use of third person sections interspersed, in a different type-face, telling of Lisa's experience. We thus are given both the hunter and hunted points of view.

Ten years ago, Harding failed to protect a young girl from her sexually abusive father. He went after the man and revenge ended up costing him one-and-a-half years in prison, not to mention his private investigator's license. Nowadays, he does work on the side for his old friend, Donnie Wilson. The case Harding is presently working on consists of getting the goods on one Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, whose wife, Elenya, is looking for a divorce and possibly access to the supposedly two million dollars hidden in a Swiss Bank account. Dr. Rosenberg is an adulterer to the tenth degree. He not only cheats on his wife with other women, but with men as well, getting heavily into S&M and other forms of kinky sex. It doesn't take Harding long to get the pictures that will insure Elenya an easy divorce and a nice settlement. The only problem is that someone else is after the good doctor...someone so despicably evil that he makes the Rosenberg's escapades look like a day at a church picnic. This monster, for want of a better word, calls himself Gaelen, and he is gruesomely killing everyone Rosenberg has been sexually involved with in an effort to set the doctor up for murder. When Harding starts getting too close to what is going on, Gaelen comes after him and his tough kickboxing partner, Alison. After a couple of encounters with this creature, one of which puts Alison in the hospital, Harding, who isn't an easy man to scare, knows that he is going to have to put this demon from Hell down the hard way, even if he has to drive a stake through his heart. Harding will also have to figure out why Gaelen is so interested Dr. Rosenberg and his wife, Elenya, and what the hidden agendas are. THIS FAR, NO FURTHER by John Wessel demonstrates what top quality writing is about. The reader is not a bystander on this journey through the gritty side of Chicago and into the heart of unthinkable evil, but rather a participant. You will literally feel the depraved evil of Gaelen and understand why the fear it generates in our hero makes Harding a more dangerous adversary. Mr. Wessel lets us know that a person never entirely escapes their past, and for Harding, it must come full circle. As he attempts to keep himself, Alison, and the Rosenbergs alive, Harding has to eventually face the results of a passed action, and in doing so, perhaps find redemption for his failure to live up to his own expectations. Few authors are able to write such a compelling novel on their first try out, but John Wessel succeeds wonderfully in THIS FAR, NO FURTHER. Its darkness will remind you of the earlier "Burke" novels by Andrew Vachss and the later "Matthew Scudder" books by Lawrence Block. Buy this book, read it, and then pick up the second novel in the "Harding" series, PRETTY BALLERINA. After that, you going to have pray like I'm doing, that John Wessel will to write more books.

John Wessel's _This Far, No Further_, introduces us to an ex-PI named Harding.

Though he no longer holds a license (because of a sequence of events which are gradually filled in during the course of the book), Harding still does some occasional work for his friend Donnie, an old friend from his Chicago neighborhood who now works in a corporate security office.

As the book opens, Harding is tracking Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, a plastic surgeon, who has some decidedly unsavory sexual practices and preys on the nurses and students at the University of Chicago hospital. Rosenberg's wife, Elenya, is getting tired of the physical abuse she must sustain at her husband's hands and is looking for a way to divorce him.

This decidedly simple premise sets in motion a very complicated chain of events and gruesome murders, which, ultimately, I don't think, was ever satisfactorily solved. When I came to the end, I still had a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, the book was very good in its depiction of winter in Chicago; of the post-graduate hangers-on around campus, including Harding's friend, Boone; and of the unusual relationship Harding has with his former girlfriend, Allison, a woman into Goth and kick-boxing, and who now appears to be a lesbian. Harding is a memorable creation--a very well-educated, moral, romantic detective who loves horror movies. I wouldn't mind spending more time with him, though I hope subsequent books aren't as complicated.

Those who dislike a very dark, grim, at times even grotesque read, will be turned off by this book.

I've read all three of John Wessel's books about Harding, the ex-con PI. All three have kept me up late nights, reading "just one more chapter." I can't put these books down! This Far, No Further is the first book in the trio, Pretty Ballerina is the second, and its latest (but hopefully not last!) installment is Kiss It Goodbye. All three books are fast-paced, loaded with action, and are damn good mysteries that will keep you scratching your head until the end. Harding's cynical world view leads to some hilarious observances, but this guy's no slouch as a PI; he never misses a trick. Well, almost never. His girfriend, Alison, is equally intriguing as a kick-[butt] femme who keeps Harding on his toes and watches his back. She could give Xena a run for her money! All in all, the characters and the stories in John Wessels' novels a well-worth the price of admission. Wonderful books, all!