"When you keep the hours that I do, you often find yourself in other people's stories."

-Sonja Blue

With the exception of "Knifepoint," which takes place before she was "born," and "Cold Turkey," which provides telling insight into her "otherness," the words above perfectly capture the tenor of the remaining stories in this collection, which feature Nancy Collins' vampiric vampire killer, Sonja Blue, as a cynical, world weary adventurer, who, when she's not hunting her own kind, is cleaning up her little corner of the world, a la Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name." In "Tender Tigers," she rescues a child from her abusive stepmother, an ogre; In "Vampire King of the Goth Chicks," she gives a vampire wannabe his comeuppance; "Variations on a Theme" finds her in James O'Barr's "Crow" universe; "Some Velvet Morning" features her in her "angel of vengeance" mode, hunting down one of the oldest of her kind; finally, in "The Nonesuch Horror," she teams up with the werewolf sheriff of a remote western town to rid the hamlet of an unwelcome visitor.

Always the pro, Collins makes each of these pieces work, milking her themes and situations for all they're worth. Doing so, she delivers a handful of solid entertainments that should inspire longstanding fans to revisit her worthy Sonja Blue novels, and those new to her work to sample them for the first time.

This was a great beginning for a new series. Abbey Doyle is a heroine that would make a great friend. She is down to earth, hardworking and smart. The plot gets a little twisted at times but it continues fast paced and interresting. Abbey's newly returned daughter adds a little extra emotion. Necessary for any murder mystery are several corpses, starting with a General and the dedication of a group of environmentalists. I truly enjoyed the fast-paced read and am looking forward to another in the series soon.

This is an excellent resource for women who are just starting out in management and don't know what to expect or how to act in that capacity. The "letters-from-your-mom" format makes it a quick and easy read, yet packed with useful knowledge, insight, and foresight. Even though this book is out-of-print, it is well worth the wait. The author, Eliza G. C. Collins, has a warm and compassionate writing style, and is not overbearing or dogmatic in her approach. Ms. Collins has done a great job of identifying the thoughts of women executives and aiding them in their quest for excellence.

I have this book at home and I find it absolutely great to read. I want to be a doctor when I finish school and so I can see that this book is going to help me alot when I am a Med Student.

This book through important source documents shows the major trends of British history from the Glorious Revolution to the rise of the modern welfare state. Essential emphasis is placed on the power of Parliament and the increasing British sufferage, but important cultural changes are examined as well

This is a subject that is almost impossible to write about coherently. Collins has moments where he uses a difficult style that can seem impenetrable on a first reading (perhaps this is an american point-of-view). But often on a second reading, his points become exceptionally clear and well grounded. Not being an expert, though, I sometimes wonder if he's not a bit too sure of his analyses. Keeping that in mind, this is still a good, strong book with a great deal of historiographical landmarks to support his major premises.

The Ecclesiastical History is a well written account of the early years of the Britons to around AD 700. Although probably a good read for the time period, it does lack the more flowing style of today's authors. The book works more as a textbook than anything. Bede goes from one historical event to another with detailed description, but lacks any real insight. The piece is essentially religious propaganda that allows for real history when it doesn't interfere with the church. For all this, however, it is worth reading. Bede covers a time in history that is quite often passed over in the chronicles of the middle ages. The book is very telling of the church at the time and of the sort of influences that it had. A must for any history buff, but certainly not for the casual reader.

A well resourced book weaving fact and fiction on one of today's major issues - drug trafficking, the immense profits of it and how these profits are used for obtaining items on the illegal arms/technology market. I found it a little slow at first as seemingly unconnected events from all over the world were unfolded but the tension built to an amazing climax in the end. Well written, well compiled and written in chronological order, something often not found in modern day books.

A collection of essays by scholars of Apocalypticism. Good cites, interesting reading. Would have given it 5 stars, but the book contains no index, which would have been very useful to me.

Mr. Collins is best known for "The Moonstone", and "The Lady In White", and is generally considered the originator of modern mystery writing. He wrote an extensive body of work that never reached the same success with the public as the 2 works already mentioned. Some of his later work is not of the same caliber of his best-known writings, but there are many that are well worth the time of any reader that enjoys 19th Century Fiction. "The Evil Genius" is one work that while not stellar when compared to his best, is still as good or better than many contemporary practitioners of the genre.

Mr. Collins had an interest in the laws of Scotland as they applied to marriage. This was a theme he dealt with on more than one occasion. I have found him to be unique that while he addresses the impact of the law on both men and women, he more often than not explores the women's viewpoint, either as victim or beneficiary of Scotland's unique body of law. "Evil Genius" is an example of the law being a "friend" to the Wife, however this is but one event that results from the tale, and catalyzes many others.

This is not a mystery in the style of who did the deed, rather a study in who did what to whom and why. There is one who I believe virtually all readers will deem "The Evil Genius", however Mr. Collins gives all involved in this tale their chance at the title. In several cases the action that you readily expect of a person is precisely what they do not do. Generosity replaces greed, falsehoods of a devastating nature are set on the most innocent of persons, and honor has as many meanings in this work as there are characters that believe they practice it.

The story includes an opening with a jury that will ensure you never want to be a defendant, a ship that was alleged to have been intentionally destroyed at sea facilitating a diamond theft, and the ship's captain languishing in prison awaiting the verdict. From this point on the book traces the seemingly random intersecting of a variety of persons, some of who are the more interesting characters Mr. Collins created. There is Mrs. Presty, the Mother In Law created by Dante, Mrs. Linley or Norman or Linley and her extremely precocious Daughter Kitty, a Captain Bennydeck, and the attorney Mr. Sarrazin. Mr. Sarrazin is particularly interesting, described as "being English down to the weight of his umbrella"; he is actually of French descent. These alternate personalities are demonstrated when he rescues truffles from a friend's plate, and finding he could have only enjoyed them more were his eyes closed so that he may have concentrated upon them. However when asked whether he can row a boat he replies "In any water you like Mr. Gardener, fresh or salt." And then "Think of asking Me an athletic Englishman, if I could row!"

The story is not the strongest of Mr. Collins's works, but is very worthwhile. A decent story that contains great players, and some wonderful dialogue.