I'm always looking for a good book -- one that takes me somewhere else; one that has intrigue. This one does it and more. I look forward to more from this author.

Mr.DeCure's "Reef Dance" is a stand-up story which takes the reader through a gamut of human emotion - deception, love, abandonment, anger, and fear. In the forum of a child dependancy court, contrasted with the uncertain ride of the surfer, the protagonist of "Reef Dance," J Sheppard, carries the reader through his life's tulmultuous series of waves, both literally at the beach, and figuratively through the heart-breaking stories of a Los Angeles child dependancy case, and his personal story of early abandonment by his mother, which eternally haunts him. The character of J Sheppard gives the reader a first-hand look at what abandonment and deception can do to the human spirt, and how these emotional blows exacerbate J's emotional carnage. "Reef Dance" is a compelling story which insists that the reader stay till the end to learn the outcome. Mr. DeCure's use of the adjective and his colorful descriptions thrust the reader into the settings themselves, making the story all the more interesting and cohesive. A very good read!

Mr.DeCure's "Reef Dance" is a stand-up story which takes the reader through a gamut of human emotion - deception, love, abandonment, anger, and fear. In the forum of a child dependancy court, contrasted with the uncertain ride of the surfer, the protagonist of "Reef Dance," J Sheppard, carries the reader through his life's tulmultuous series of waves, both literally at the beach, and figuratively through the heart-breaking stories of a Los Angeles child dependancy case, and his personal story of early abandonment by his mother, which eternally haunts him. The character of J Sheppard gives the reader a first-hand look at what abandonment and deception can do to the human spirt, and how these emotional blows exacerbate J's emotional carnage. "Reef Dance" is a compelling story which insists that the reader stay till the end to learn the outcome. Mr. DeCure's use of the adjective and his colorful descriptions thrust the reader into the settings themselves, making the story all the more interesting and cohesive. A very good read!

A DEADLY DOZEN (TALES OF MURDER FROM LOS ANGELES ) is the third anthology following the 1997 DESSERTICIDE (DESSERTS TO DIE FOR ) and 1998 MURDER BY THIRTEEN.

The Los Angles chapter of Sisters in Crime has released a book of twelve short stories, based on murder and mayhem. I usually do not like to read short stories, but these stories were fully contained with well-crafted plots and well defined characters. My favorites were Wifely Duties, because every woman can identify with Lucy and her discontent with her marriage, but I would like to think that we would not go to the lengths that she did, and with such a startling conclusion. Cats and Jammer was another favorite, it's about a teen-age detective that finds a body and the suspects are many.

Stories included are: Sentience Imposed by Kris Neri Wifely Duties by Cory Newman Push Comes To Shove by Nathan Walpow Fatal Tears by Ekaterine Nikas Miss Parker and the Cutter Sanborn Tablets by Gay Tolti Kinman Driven To Kill by Jamie Wallace Touch Of A Vanish'd Hand by Phil Mann Ai Witness by Kate Tornton Over My Shoulder by Lisa Seidman The Cats And Jammer, by Gayle McGary Copy Cat by Joan Myers Midnight by Dorothy Rellas

This book is well worth the read.

A Deadly Dozen is a compilation of short stories, naturally involving murders, written by the Sisters in Crime in Los Angeles, California. Featuring a deadly dozen stories from such authors as: Kris Neri, Cynthia Lawrence, Cory Newman, Lisa Seidman, and others, these stories provide a platform for these writers to dip their pens into stories with a twist. This group, which formed in 1986, led by Sara Paretsky, Sisters in Crime is now a respected national organization. The Los Angeles Chapter was formed by Phyllis Miller in 1989. In recent years, male writers have been welcomed into the organization. A Deadly Dozen is the second anthology published by this group.

The problem...and the thrill...of short stories is that the characters have to introduce themselves to the reader early and completely. The reader has to immediately descend into the world that the author has created, and be ready for a real jolt at the end. Kris Neri's chilling "Sentence Imposed" does just that:

"Call it fate, call it chance--either way, it'll change your life. Sometimes you just find yourself staring into a crowd, your gaze floating aimlessly over a sea of faces you won't remember the instant you look away--until one person's eyes seem to grab hold of yours and you make a connection. You can't explain it, but somehow your life and that stranger's become bound together. When I made that link, it was with a little girl."

Whatever the subject, these writers know how to pull no punches. "Wifely Duties" is a Hitchcockian tale of a wife who plots to kill her husband, and ends up as a victim herself. "Push Comes to Shove" is a wrestler's nightmare. "Fatal Tears" is a classic sibling rivalry piece. A Deadly Dozen exposure is like taking in several episodes of "Night Gallery," with cataloging students catching a murderer in "Miss Parker and the Cutter-Sanborn Tables."

Shelley Glodowski, Reviewer

I found this collection of short stories to be amazingly gripping and enjoyable. Each of the stories were well written and kept my attention from start to finish. I've not been a fan of locked room mysteries, however, I must admit that Phil Mann's "Touch Of A Vanish'd Hand" not only kept my attention but spurred me to purchase more books in this specific genre. Joan Myers' "Copycat" was another personal favorite. I tip my hat to each of these authors as well as the three editors. Thank you for such a wonderful piece of modern literature.

Fairly new to Ross MacDonald, I am finding his books superb dramatic novels told as mysteries...the pieces of the poignant story are given to you jigsaw style, but you still experience the power of the story as they are pieced together. Lew Archer's role is that of the puzzle solver, and you are not as involved with him and his character development as you are with the characters.

This is possibly his most satisfying story and like most of the other reviewers, I choose to let you discover the story for yourself. If you have read previous MacDonald, you may spot elements of the story before they're completely revealed, but this hardly will diminish your enjoyment of the book. It might even enhance it. There's much more of interest here than just the identity of the murderer. There's a lot of figuring out the essences of the people involved, and they do act consistently.

There is one minor stretch of credibility in this particular book, one rather unlikely coincidence, but it's a realistic coincidence, one which fits nicely as one of the coincidences that do occur in real life and does not seem like the author's contrivance.

I don't think it makes any appreciable difference whether or not you've read any other MacDonald works or not. This will read well as the first one or the later one.

One of the great mystery novels, for sure.

This novel was also anthologized in the "Archer At Large" omnibus, which contains a revealing, fascinating foreward by MacDonald, who stated that The Galton Case was his "break-through book." And then he diclosed the numerous--and poignant--autobiographical parallels he had with the novel.

The Galton Case has a realistic, painful and angry intensity not present in any other Archer novels I've read--perhaps because MacDonald had put more of his life and sorrows into this book than in any other; into the examination of how the sins of the fathers ruin their sons' lives. For MacDonald every family is riddled with moral cancer: skeletons can never be fully shoved into the closet, especially because Archer, relentless and haunted, will bring them back to life.

It's true that MacDonald basically wrote the same work throughout most of his novels. All work out the same issues of buried identity, familial guilt and moral corrpution. This is not an entirely damning fact--it just means that Archer was a limited, minor artist (like Hammett and Chandler) and that he was fixated with a primal story that he retold continually. "The Galton Case" may be the finest version of that story--the most wounding, convincing and saddening.

As a stylist, MacDonald lacks Hammett's laconic grace and Chandler's brilliant flamboyance. Parts of this book can be awkward, while other parts display figurative language of uncommon acuteness and insight. MacDonald chose to work with a sparer, elegantly economic and less sensationalistic style--his sentences literally work up a quiet storm.
As a storyteller MacDonald is deeper, more human and more interesting than either Hammett or Chandler--because he is genuinely intersted in other people besides his detective. He doesn't make Lew Archer cooler(Sam Spade)or simply better (Philip Marlowe) than his clients. Archer is more like a hard-boiled, tough detective-shrink dealing with clients whose neuroses can be dangerous. His plots are neither ingenious displays of dedeuctive/inductive insight (a la Sherlock Holmes) or outrageously complicated messes (as in Chandler). Instead they resemble the gradual construction of a scandalous family tree, with hidden connections and relations acumulating into a damning account of old sins.

Unlike Spade and Marlowe, Lew Archer genuinely gives a damn about and sympathizes with his clients, who must deal with the horrible buried truths he discovers. MacDonald's true subject is in how families and friends are capable of hurting and crippling each other. The Taiwanese film director Edward Yang once gave a chilling coment on human relationships:"The bombs we plant in each other are still ticking." That quote goes striaght to the heart of MacDonald's mystery novels. They possess a fundamental humanism that's often missing not only from most crime stories, but from most novels and movies period.

You'll notice that I really haven't said anything in specific about "The Galton Case." The less you know about it before reading it, the better. Enjoy the story, and how it pierces straight into its target.

Just about all of Mr. McDonald's novels deal with long lost family members,who may be dead and buried,living a new life hiding their past, or some similar predicament.The relatives want to somehow find the whereabouts of this clansman, and turn to Lew Archer,PI. The author knows how to turn all the corners at high speeds,leaving the reader baffled when the first definite victim appears. It's always a high flying ride as Archer, the compassionate but hard-boiled detective, uses his subtle charm to finally unmask the strange doings, always in a contemporary setting,circa 1940-1976,his writing years. The GALTON case is my personal favorite,and Mr. MacDonald's beautifully crafted novel may initiate you into a mild addiction to his special family based mysteries, usually based in the Los Angeles area.

The book is kind of boring in the beginning, but hey most books are. After a while you can really get in to it. I loved it! Kenny read it and he couldn't stop saying how good it was when I was trying to read it and ignore him. But he was right! I gave it 4 stars because the beginning was kind of a drag, but the rest was great!!! THANKS!!!!

A story about a stranded man attracts even the laziest of readers. Pilot Down, Presumed Dead is a one in a million novel, it is simply stunning, it gives the reader a detailed vivid image of the action; honestly, this novel placed me inside the action. My hands couldn't get off this great novel....very well portrayed.

I read this book and thought it would be bad but when I stated reading it turned out great! It is about this guy that crashed on an island and was stuck there for three and a half week and he needed to get off. The bad part is when he has to leave this coyote that was friend with for three weeks.

I found this book while searching for manuals on how to raise my new chihuahua "baby." He came into my life not because I had lost someone to cancer like the author, but as a last-chance effort to get over a broken heart. In the end the cause of the loss didn't matter; I could totally relate to the author, her grief and the healing power of 6 pounds of atomic puppy.

My thanks to the author for a book that was an integral part of my recovery and for validating all the feelings I thought were mine alone.

This book is not for the literary snob, or high-brow reader; however, it's pure delight for anyone who thinks they'll never love again after a loss.

An entertaining narrative of Chihuahua personality and charateristics per se, as well as an astute insight into the complexities of emotions and perceptions while restructring life after the loss of a spouse. An excellent account of canine capers and especially personal renewal, spiced with humor and tears, says it all so well!

I really related to this story as I too, lost my husband two years ago with cancer. Also my chihuahuas and cats and birds have been my salvation. I really understand where this lady is coming from. She did an excellant job of relating the real feelings one experiences with a death of a loved one. My hat is off to Mary Beth as a really great writer and may she find the happiness she deserves. I too, believe there is a connection with dog and God.Carole

William Hill's "California Ghosting" is a well-rounded mix of mystery, suspense and fantasy, filled with interesting individuals. Even if I wasn't pulled along nicely by the plot (and I certainly was), I would have kept turning pages just to see what the people (and ghosts) in the story would do next. I particularly liked some of the subtler elements, like the interactions between some of the "fully-fleshed" ghost characters and various two-dimensional, "real" minor characters . . .

Have already read the book twice and recommend it for readers of all ages. Mr. Hill has a command of the English language and has an exciting writing style.

A visit to Ghostal Shores is worth the price of admission. My favorite aspect was the characters. They were realistic and full of life, even the ghosts. California Ghosting is a nice twist on the haunted house theme, blending action, suspense, mystery and romance at a fluid pace that keeps moving faster and faster. I could clearly see the characters and the resort. This would make a great movie!

Beautiful pictures depict romantic spaces with clear details, they helps me as an architect to re-create the Spanish living environment with many examples from different projects. The 20 houses in this book are gorgeous and inspiring -whether you are looking for ideas or merely relax reading. This is not a book showing only pieces of details for decorator use, it's an awesome architectural book as well as a perfect collection for my coffee table.

One of those books that is just full of great images of the Spanish Revival/Moorish style architecture of So. California. While not heavy on text, this book is a very important visual reference for designers, etc. who want to see how it used to be done. Many photos are of the interiors, but most are of the gardens.

If interested in the glazed Malibu tiles seen throughout the book, check out "Ceramic Art of the Malibu Potteries: 1926-1932" by Ronald L. Rindge.

This is a gorgeous book full of color photos and description of Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture in Southern California. The beginning of the book provides a review of the style with information on stylistic influences and historical setting. As another reviewer mentioned, the homes in this book are mostly huge, and it really would have been nice to see some well-done modest homes (i.e. the 1000 or 1600 square foot variety). Nevertheless, this is the ONLY full-color book I have been able to find on this style, and I do think it provides helpful elements for use in smaller houses, but one needs to be imaginative to find them. If you are living in a smaller house, you can't just lift a whole room out of this book. For example, the cover photo features a huge staircase and fountain. It is very difficult (and would be inappropriate) to duplicate this type of thing in a smaller home, but I might notice that the decorative tile on the stair risers and the saltillo tile on the steps could be used on the steps up to my own modest front porch, for example. We have used a number of individual elements from this book in our own home, and we've used the photos to get an idea of what "works" and what doesn't in this style. I do really wish, though, that there was a companion book that showed how this style can be used to advantage in smaller homes, since the vast majority of homes of this style are in the 1000-2000 square foot range.

Overall a beautiful and helpful book, and I do think it was worth the money.

this is a really good book! it gives good insight on a teen girl's point of view on things. not only that, but it is fast paced! i got in bed to read at nine and stayed up until two to finish it! belive me, you will like this book!

Bronwyn Lewis is a sixteen-year-old girl who has just been forced to move to Ojala, California with her family. The year is 1960. Bron is a good student, and has always lived life by the rules. It doesn't take long for her to realize if she doesn't change herself, she will not fit in with the carefree, easygoing teens in town. A popular interest of these individuals is drag racing, something that Bron wrongly thought she would never experience herself. Soon she meets J.C., an extremely attractive racer, and Will, a down-to-earth, old-fashioned country guy. She gets caught between them, and some interesting things occur with both men. I guess you could say she has a lot of things on her mind, including her reckless friend Lanie, the legendary horrific fires of Ojala, the profits of her family business, and her life's turn for romance and adventure. Hobbs really brings Bron's story to life through her dense plot and rising action. There is an overwhelming mood this book gives you through Bron's interactions with other characters. I really started to enjoy the book as the number of friendships and relationships Bron aquires increased. The ending really left me thinking because there is a distinct mystery to it. The genre is a combination of coming-of-age, adventure, and romance; no single genre would be fit by itself in my opinion. I really felt like I knew the characters personally as the plot thickened. I would definatly recommend this book to anyone. If an adult were to read it, he or she would have a good idea of the aspects of American teenagers' lives.

I think this was a great book because it captured the life of a teen girl. Some thing she did reminded me of my friend who is exatly like Bron. I would recomend this book to everyone. I think adults should also read this book so they can get and understanding of a teens life. Some parents dont understand Teens. Eveyone but this book its worth reading.

I read a lot of biographies and, while I love the genre, I'm often disappointed with the writing. This book, by the late Randy Shilts, is an exception. Shilts was a great writer, able to take a variety of facts and put them into readable passages (his "And the Band Played On" is another good example of this). Harvey Milk and the San Francisco of the 1970s come to life in this book. The tragedy of Milk's assassination and its aftermath are rendered in gripping detail.

Randy Shilts has taken great pains to present the man honestly, exploring his political and personal lives. The result is an illimunitating portrait of the Gay Rights champion, documenting his triumphs and ideals alongside his personal ambiguities and foibles. Milk's rise to power, as well as the city's rich gay history, are depicted with candor and clarity.

The assassinations are reported in graphic detail, as is the reaction of the people. Intial shock and grief turn to righteous indignation when, on May 21, 1979 White is convicted on two counts of "valuntary manslaughter" with a maximum sentence of seven years, eight months. The city explodes. Justice is thwarted. A martyr is born. Milk's murder galvanizes the Gay Community to stand up and take their rightful place in society. A great book.

In The Mayor of Castro Street, the late Randy Shilts paints a vivid picture, not only of the life of gay politician Harvey Milk, but of the fight for gay rights in 1970's San Francisco and the nation as a whole. After a description of the events immediately following Milk's death, Shilts begins the book with Milk's youth in New York City. He briefly describes Milk's years in New York, and spends the vast majority of the book on Milk's last five years in San Francisco. It was during his San Francisco years that Milk made his critical contributions to gay history, including encouraging the development of the Castro into a gay Mecca, and running for, and finally winning, elected office as an openly gay man in a time when most thought such things simply couldn't happen.

Shilts is a meticulous reporter. In his section on source material he details how he extensively interviewed Milk's former lovers, including Scott Smith and Joe Campbell. Many of the dialogues for the biography come directly from the personal diary of Michael Wong, a longtime Milk supporter. According to Shilts, dialogues with others who knew Milk virtually always corroborated those in Wong's diary. Shilts's history of the Castro area came from over one hundred interviews he conducted with area residents.

One of the best qualities of the biography is its astonishingly objective posture. Achieving something like objectivity is a tremendous challenge for the author of any modern-day history, and nowhere is this more true than in histories of the gay liberation movement. The living participants in that history inevitably portray it in a range of ways and often fight vigorously for placement of credit where they feel credit is due. Shilts allows those participants to speak for themselves, and focuses on telling the details of the story, rather than interpreting that story for the reader. It is this author's unique degree of commitment to researching and conveying all the details that allows him to present such an apparently unbiased account.

It is also Shilts's attention to detail that makes the book so tough to put down. It reads more like a novel than a history, and each segment leads into the next with a sense of a tremendous plot unfolding. In a style that would come to characterize his later books, such as And The Band Played On, as well as Conduct Unbecoming, Shilts manages to draw the reader into multiple stories of individuals that end in cliffhangers, only to be picked up again in a later chapter. It is these stories that make up the fabric of gay history in San Francisco and a portion of that larger tapestry called gay liberation.

Margaret Wyman has written a compelling story about early California and its invasion by Spain and the Catholic church. Surprising twists and turns are followed through the intertwining of the lives of the natives, the Spanish soldiers, the Mexicans, and the "black robes". Good and Evil, sanity and madness, religious fervor and native beliefs are all portrayed in this novel.
I hope that her future titles will be as readable.

I was delighted to come across this incredible book by Margaret Wyman. Having taught fourth grade in California for ten years, I thought I had a good understanding of the relationship between the native Americans and the Spanish. This indredible story of a Kumeyaay Indian woman, took me to new heights of understanding, and stirred emotions in me from compassion and sadness for the natives, to rage and disgust of the Spanish. The author does an exceptional job of bringing her characters to life. I literally could not put the book down as I raced to learn the fate of these intriguing characters. Margaret Wyman writes with passion and ingenuity. I highly recommend this fine book.

Besides telling the dirty truth, this book will keep you reading and biting your nails until the very end. (In fact, you will be asking "What's Next?") The book is that good!
Just remember that beyond the kind, decent, misguided and sometimes sordid characters, the story is historically accurate, even when the truth is frightening and shameful.