New Jersey Bureau of Parole's "Jump Squad" assigns Loretta Kovass and Frank Marvelli to go to Seattle in order to bring back Sammy Teitlebaum, a parole violator. Sammy has been hired to kill mob informer Gus Risposi, who is supposedly hidden by the Witness Protection Program.

The FBI wants the hit to go down so they refuse to help the easterners. Instead, it is up to Loretta, even as she quits consuming caffeine and Frank to stop Sammy before he gets himself so tangled with the mob, the FBI, and the hit that he will not see daylight for quite a long time.

DOUBLE ESPRESSO is a humorous tale that will please of Kovass-Marvelli (see DEVIL'S FOOD). The story line is crisp and interesting though the caffeine withdrawal pains will pain many a reader. Anthony Bruno allows the reader to see more into the weird but intriguing lead protagonists, thereby adding a personal element to the novel. This is a fun series that is forging its own place in the legal pro! cedural sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

Tony Bruno's latest is simply an exciting and funny read to experience! His characters are satisfyingly real and funny. His descriptive metaphors are almost as bodacious as Joe R. Lansdale's, they are that funny.

I enjoyed this book tremendously, even if I did borrow it from the library. I'm going to read all the rest of his stuff, as much as I can get my hands on. A warm, humane author with genuinely likeable characters. His descriptions of coffee in this book were so alluring and vivid, that I almost was tempted to try a cup (I do not like the taste of coffee at all, makes me instantly nauseous). Now that's powerful writing!

New Jersey Bureau of Parole's "Jump Squad" assigns Loretta Kovass and Frank Marvelli to go to Seattle in order to bring back Sammy Teitlebaum, a parole violator. Sammy has been hired to kill mob informer Gus Risposi, who is supposedly hidden by the Witness Protection Program.

The FBI wants the hit to go down so they refuse to help the easterners. Instead, it is up to Loretta, even as she quits consuming caffeine and Frank to stop Sammy before he gets himself so tangled with the mob, the FBI, and the hit that he will not see daylight for quite a long time.

DOUBLE ESPRESSO is a humorous tale that will please of Kovass-Marvelli (see DEVIL'S FOOD). The story line is crisp and interesting though the caffeine withdrawal pains will pain many a reader. Anthony Bruno allows the reader to see more into the weird but intriguing lead protagonists, thereby adding a personal element to the novel. This is a fun series that is forging its own place in the legal pro! cedural sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

Fat Tuesday was my introduction to Earl Emerson and I intend to read all of his books. Fat Tuesday was funny, refreshing, and I found it to be a great page turner. Wonderful characters. The plot I didn't figure out. I enjoyed this book very much.

Fat Tuesday is the fourth Thomas Black novel by Earl Emerson. When Black and his friend, lawyer Kathy Birchfield go to meet with Fred Pugsley, they find him dead in a pool of blood. His wife, Maggie is found holding the murder weapon, a bicycle sprocket remover. The police think Maggie killed him because of Fred's numerous affairs. Another prime suspect is Eric Castle, a cycler and former co-worker of Pugsley at Micro Darlings, a manufacturer of computer games. There are other suspects who may have killed him because Fred may have slept with their wives or girlfriends. Black's life is also in danger from a motorcycle "mama", a 3000-lb. bull named Aunt Mabel, and a crazy man. This is the most complex Black novel to date, and is an excellent read.

A very fast paced, cleverly written suspense novel. The protagonist is one you will find interesting and will want to garnish your trust. You will read this book in less than a week. Kudos.

This is the perfect book to curl up with and forget about the dark winter evenings that have arrived. Every chapter makes you want to continue reading because there is just one more thing to figure out.

The characters feel real, and the environment fits the story which allows the reader to feel relaxed and not have to fight to make the story work. The WW II stories, which are true, give an amazing view into a part of history that has not been shared with many.

This is a book to be shared with anyone who enjoys siting down and reading a book until you reach the back cover. It is a good one night stand.

Good news/bad news: You discover a fantastic new mystery series. Yay! Then you find out there are only two books in the series, and the author has no immediate plans to write more. Boo! If you haven't yet met Seattle translator Margit Andersson, you're in for a treat. "Fate of Ravens" and its predecessor, "Runemaker," are delightful, suspenseful amateur sleuth tales, featuring, as a bonus, lots of insight into Scandinavian history and culture. What really made these books come alive for me were the characters. Margit and her friends are so well-rounded and real that I half-expect I'd run into them if I stopped by a certain Seattle coffee shop. I enjoyed Margit's cat, Gregor, too. Recommended to all amateur sleuth/cozy fans, but particularly those with an interest in Scandinavia! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Tiina will decide to put her translation work aside and bring Margit back some day...

Margit Anderson is working as a translator of Scandinavian languages at Sea-Tac Airport when she watches a senior citizen fall down an escalator, crying "not him!" in Swedish. Though the incident bothers her, Margit becomes concerned when she learns that another elderly Scandinavian fell from a high rise balcony. The police believe the second victim was pushed and ask Margit to help them translate into English items found at the murder scene.

Margit soon realizes that the deaths of the two women were not coincidence, but linked by their work as conductors on the WW II European underground railroad that sent many people to safety. Eventually, Margit meets an elderly Dane, who believes that the women's deaths have to do with their activities five decades ago. As she becomes deeply involved with the case, Margit does not recognize the danger posed to her by an individual who wants his dark secrets from the big war to remain hidden.

FATE OF RAVENS is a well-written regional and ethnic mystery that will please fans of Northwest tales and those who enjoy Scandinavian stories. Margit is a fascinating character and the Seattle-Tacoma area is always fun to visit while reading a good detective novel. Additionally, the historical tidbits add much flavor to the story line. Still, like its predecessor, RUNEMAKER, the charm of this novel lies in the insight to the Scandinavian culture.

Harriet Klausner

I have Mantle Cell Lymphoma. There is no cure. I don't what people to stop fighting. I believe that there is a danger sent here in that many people like myself will die before we are afforded the same opportunity. What is Mr. Murdoch doing with the proceeds from this book? If this book was written for noble reasons than donate all the money for this story as to not come across like an elitist who was given a chance to live that others won't. There are many inspiring tales of survival - for those of us that are sick - I certainly don't want to be reminded that he was privaleged. I feel like this was a bit sensationalist.

I have a Friend who just went through this process at John Hopkins. The results at this time are excellent and the procedures are almost exactly what the Author went through. I would recommend this book as a tool for all Patients that are diagnosed with this form of Cancer as a Ray of Hope for their peace of mind. The only downside is the exposing of how our Judicial System treats the Treatment of a serious illness as another point of Law. They should be ashamed and the Judge should be also for overturning a Jury verdict. They wonder why people have no respect for the Law and Jury Trials.

This was a riveting story - - read it! You will be uplifted most of the time, and outraged by the final conclusion. Many heros emerge in the telling of this heart-pounding story - - from Murdock the patient to the scientists working in the laboratory to the clinicians offering new hope to cancer victims. Two noteworthy anti-heroes also emerge, U. S. District Court Judge Roderick McKelvie and plaintiffs' attorney Donald R. Ware of Foley, Hoag & Eliot, Boston, MA, whose use of arcane points of law ensured cancer victims would be denied potential life saving technology. These two should enter into a suicide pact to honor the patients who died as a result of their efforts. Interestingly, Mr. Ware's firm represented big business in the book "A Civil Action", another legal saga in which cancer victims were denied.

This was my third J. A. Jance book and I will definitely be reading more.

Although I did get a feeling for Detective Beaumont in this book, I would have liked to be a little closer to the rest of the characters. Junior, for example, seems rather unbelieveably blah and emotionally capable of dealing with his situation. This seemed peculiar to me. I did not get a sharp understanding of several of the police officers' personalities.

I found myself reading along and hoping that in the next few pages, the pace would pick up and I would begin to feel the excitement that needs to accompany a thriller. Unfortunately, this never happened.

I do think the story shows the importance of the work done by organizations such as King County's Teddy Bear Patrol and supporting merchants and radio stations such as KLSY. For this reason alone I would recommend reading this book. Perhaps others will find it more to their liking if they have a different expectation than I did.

A policeman and his family are brutally murdered. When J.P. Beaumont begins his investigation, he finds out some unsettling things about the slain policeman's association with known gang members. He also discovers that the man had been investigating some crooked cops. Which group murdered Ben Weston and his family and what was their motive? We see a softer side of Beaumont as he deals with a small boy who is the only survivor of the massacre. Jance is a reliable author and you can count on a good read in this series.

Buy this book and all the other Beau stories.
Read them from the first to the last.
Best read you'll ever have!
I love JP Beaumont!

Stephen Greenleaf and Earl Emerson are probably the two finest practitioners of the "hardboiled P.I." school currently writing. THE MILLION-DOLLAR TATTOO admirably displays Emerson's strengths: a smooth, colorful style; a complex, outrageous, but ultimately credible plot; a motley cast of well-drawn characters; an outstanding sense of pace; a terrific ear for dialogue; and well-timed humor.

Other reviews here will give you a hint about the plot, so I'll simply add that underlying all of it is the serious theme of the misuse of money and power.

I really enjoyed Snake and the aliens women. The book is fantastic! It is a must read.

This is by far the funniest book in the Thomas Black series. About page 2 I gave up laughing and went right to snorting. And the mystery was pretty darned good, too. If you only read one book by Earl Emerson (and if you stop at one, your next stop should be a shrink), this one is the "must read."

Dan Mearns, who as served as managing editor of both "The Blood Horse" and the "Thoroughbred Record" has written a very workman-like account of the life Seattle Slew, the dark brown racing Hall-of-Famer, who is also an extraordinary sire-of-sires, a remarkable broodmare sire, and our last living Triple Crown champion. Last year (2000) Slew underwent surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his neck and alleviate pressure on his spinal cord. The feisty twenty-seven year-old is back in the breeding shed this year and his first mares have been pronounced in foal, so maybe we'll be privileged to watch many more champions by this extraordinary Thoroughbred.

Dan Mearns's book is number five in the "Thoroughbred Legends" series and he covers Seattle Slew from his birth (an ugly foal with big floppy brown ears), through his racing and breeding career, up into the year 2000. For those of us who admire racing's only undefeated Triple Crown Winner (Slew did lose a few after the Triple Crown races), this book is a satisfying read. There are also sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs of Slew from his ugly-duckling birth through a picture where we can see a few gray whiskers dotting his muzzle.

May the Slew live a thousand years through his offspring!

This is a wonderful, easy to read and understand book written about a true champion. I have read most of the Thoroughbred Legends and love them all. It is a wonderful collection for anyone who loves horses or anyone who loves a winner.

Wonderful book befitting of a King! Seattle Slew was definately king of the racetrack when he ran. He flew down the course with wings beneath his hooves.
A great honor to have written about a great horse!
The author did an excellent job on this book.

I am very pleased and satisfied with this book! 5 stars!

Overall, I'm glad I read this book. With a few exceptions--the narrator and his father--I genuinely liked most of the characters in the book, but I found this to be a bit of a problem--they were all *characters.* Similarly, as I read the book, I sensed heroic adulation sprinkled liberally throughout. Unfortunately, many of the heroes exhibited behavior that shouldn't be emulated. I especially wondered about the rather heroic depiction of Buddy's father. His signature behaviors--intimidating those around him, whoring around on his wife, and ignoring the resulting children--aren't what passes for heroism. Overall, I was surprised the narrator didn't include a single story about a stable, well-adjusted, decent, family-man. Remarkably, the non-fictional, but ancillary, Taky Kimura did the best job of filling this role.

Furthermore, the role of women in the book was a bit strange. With the exception of Buddy's ever-so-religious, ever-so-pure mother, they were cast, rather angrily, as stupid whores. Since I wouldn't normally notice such things, the author must've done this explicitly. I don't understand what the author's motivation for this might have been.

I liked the stories in the book alot. I could understand what several of the characters were going thru almost like a slice of my own life. I highly recommend it for filipino-americans becoming of age and who see a need to understand the boundard between american and filipino cultures.

Bacho's book captured this reader, who upon intial reading thought it was a non-fiction work. The short-stories all come together to form a well-rounded and captivating story of Philipino Americans, especially in the Northwest.

An OK book, very funny but not a lot of oomph, if you know what I mean.Some swearing and there is a very predictable ending>

This book was the best book I have ever read!!

His dad is six months dead and his virtually penniless mom is reduced to a self-affirming mantra, "every day my life is getting better and better". High schooler Tim Threfall has only his band, Dogbreath, going for him. At least until a meeting with the boy's counselor, Mr. Thompson, who threatens Tim with a suspension and recommends to Tim's mom that band activities cease until Tim's grades, attitude, and appearance all "improve drastically". Problems ensue as Dogbreath's big chance looms: an opportunity to play in a bands contest for a two thousand dollar prize, plus an audition for a recording contract. Tim can be self-absorbed enough to make the Alicia Silverstone character in Clueless seem intuitive and insightful. He can wonder why they eat a steady diet of macaroni and cheese each night even as he badgers his mom for the money he needs for the fifty dollar contest entry fee. Even so, author Henry is deft enough with his characters that Tim will engage the sympathy of most readers as he makes the wrong decisions and chases the wrong girl. A good title for reluctant readers, the supporting cast is hilarious: Ziggy, the best friend and fellow Dogbreath member who puts in two well-timed nude scenes, Ziggy's huge scene stealing dog, Howie, and another band, The Angry Housewives, who just rock at the contest, and closer to home, end up rocking Tim's home life as well. Something like Ron Koertge with just a seasoning dash of Daniel Pinkwater, Henry's debut novel is hilarious.

I enjoyed the book a great deal. It was cool to see how the company grew from a minor player in to a major craft brewer.

A fun read for anyone interested in starting a small business. Though the subject is brewing, the struggles and challenges faced by the founders are not unique to the industry. Excellent source of information for anyone interested in learning about the rise of the American craft-brewing industry in the Pacific Northwest. Cheers and enjoy!

I enjoyed the book immensely. It of course helps that the beer has been a favorite since inception and that I'm from the area but I would think anyone interested in the beer industry, entrepreneurial pursuits, or a sense of humor would like the book. The players involved in the formation of Redhook represent some of the business icons of the Pacific Northwest. It really truly was a great read.