Mystery Crime Books

I have discoverd that I do not like Mr. Whites writing style so this is a very biased review. I am sure many people love this series, I tried and it is not me. Read Lee Childs series about Jack Reacher, much better.

I love the character who is much more than he appears to be. Very smooth reading, captures your attention with twists and turns, and for me a very exciting end.

I have read all of Randy Wayne Wright's Doc Ford books and am anxiously awaiting his next. This particular book is the one that really got me hooked into the characters and Doc Ford. Mr. Wright is an unusual writer in that his books are based in Florida and are quite accurate and informative about the state, as well as entertaining about the characters and intriguing about the mysteries he incorporates. I have encouraged several fellow Floridians to read him and they all feel the same way. This man is OUR FLORIDA AUTHOR and in my opinion has John MacDonald beat by a mile.
Keep on writing Randy.

A sound follow up to White's "Sanibel Flats". Interestingly, White chooses to change his style and still makes it work. He adds an environmental flavor and again comes up with a thoroughly interesting story and a great read.

Love the "Doc Ford" adventures, especially all the references to Florida. Author makes each page an easy read and very hard to put down in the middle of the adventures. Just discovered Randy Wayne White and want more, more, more!!!

I enjoyed the early books in this series, but like many other reviewers, am getting tired of the politics involved. Also, while I appreciate the descriptions of life in rural Virginia, is it necessary for Ms. Brown to trash people from other areas?

I'm also noticing inconsistencies, some of which have already been pointed out by others. One that I noticed that hasn't been brought up yet is that Big Mim states to Little Mim that she never had an abortion, but in an earlier book in which a doctor is poring through old medical records, it is revealed that Big Mim did, in fact, have an illegal abortion. Either Ms. Brown is getting sloppy or Big Mim lied to her daughter. Hmmm....

Please, RMB, be more thorough and get back to the plain old mystery telling and animal banter that got you your fans in the first place.

(More like 3.75 stars compared to other books in the series.) Some of the reviews actually discouraged me from going to this latest Mrs. Murphy mystery as soon as it arrived. I thought, hmmm, so series fatigue must have got it. In fact, it is not bad; not the best, but it should not disappoint most regular readers. I like the world Rita Mae Brown has realized through this series, a rural western Virginia town (the very real Crozet) that over the years has grown urbanized rural. RMB uses the excuse of murder and detection fiction to explore how its Southern heart remains stolid as it absorbs newcomers and the challenges of living in the 21st century. In this outing, a popular OB/GYN who has performed some terminations is killed, but after a militant antiabortionist confesses and is jailed, past patients are blackmailed, seemingly by the same culprit. This gives RMB a chance to look at the impact of one of the most divisive issues of modern times in a place where opinions clash but people need to stick together. Her regular crew of characters falls on both sides. RMB treats both sides gently.

As usual, the human characters' pets have their own conversations which the adults never get and if they did, the mysteries would be solved long before they are. In light of how the ubiquitous CSI television shows have educated the populace, the human characters, including the actual law enforcement officers, seem to ignore key evidence or lack thereof until it is almost too late. It doesn't really matter that much to me; I value this series for its social observations and wit, and it has both.

Aside from the preaching, I found the errors in the book to be so glaringly obvious that they were distracting (not to mention repeated over and over). I very strongly suggest that Ms. Brown research more carefully in the future, starting with the difference between veins and arteries and carotid artery v. jugular vein.

Sadly, I'm finding this more and more commonly among mystery authors or their editors.

I've read all the books from the beginning and at first liked them a lot, but this one'll be the last for me.

It's not even the soapboxing that drives me crazy, but the product placement. It's always designer this and brand that from her tractor to her work boots. I suspect the author makes more money from advertising than from writing.

And then people sitting on some million dollars worth of land going on, "Oh, no, I'm not rich at all, see me re-using my old socks for catnip toys!" LOLcats says, "Your white privilege it's showing!"

And you know what RMB? I can follow my family line to the early elevenhundreds, so, a family history of twohundredsomething years is really nothing special. Please stop bothering me with harping on about it. Cheers!

First, I have read every book in this series. But the more recent ones are just not as good as the first ones (though this one was 100% better than the last one--at least we're back in Crozet!). But this is a cute murder mystery series where all the animals (rats, snakes, owls, etc.) talk to one another. Not a platform for political views. If I wanted that, I turn on CNN. Sure, people can have an opinion, but some of the things said by the characters are straight out of a book. People I know just don't talk like these characters--and I live in a very big city!

Second, the ending was incomplete. OK, now is Tazio off the hook? The ending never mentioned that. Will this continue in the next book? I assume we will have something about her marriage to Paul. Did we absolutely prove the Kylie was the killer? No. She took off. So you have a supposed double-murderer on the run. And really, were you supposed to believe, considering how Kylie's character was described, that she was a murderer of this kind. No, to me, she was written as a guy-crazy young woman who liked to shop. Maybe that was her disguise. And did Harry simply forget about seeing her buy the $19,000 watch? That tidbit was never mentioned again. As in the previous book, the ending was over in the last two pages. Boom, story over.

Third, Harry. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Harry should have been arrested for illegal trespassing or breaking and entering. You simply can't break into someone's house because you think they are guilty of something unless you are the law and even they need probable cause. She should be dead, and that would be the end of the series.

Now, I realize these books are fiction and cute, light-hearted mystery. Or at least the first ones were. Ms. Brown is turning out these books in an assembly-line fashion. It seems that not much thought is going into the characters (and way too many new ones--bring the old ones back like Miranda and Boom-Boom) and way too much thought goes into what is Ms. Brown's view of the world. I still love the banter between Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, plus all the other animals (even the rats). Their conversations are more enjoyable than the human conversations (and more understandable).

Hopefully, the next one will improve. Yes, I will continue to read the books (I also get them from my public library and do not waste money buying them), but it's getting more and more disappointing to read. I hope Ms. Brown spends some time reading her loyal readers' reviews and takes the hint.

Signed, A real Mrs. Murphy

This would be a great book for a Christmas present for those who love cozy mysteries. It's a collection of three short novellas by three well-known cozy writers and the stories are all about Christmas. I read this mostly because I absolutely love Joanne Fluke and her Hannah Swenson mysteries, and this story called Candy Cane Murder is a good one. We have all our favourites here - Hannah and her sisters, Norman and Mike and of course, Hannah's mother. Like all her stories this one is a page-turner. The story is all about when a local guy dressed as Santa is found dead outside the inn with candy canes everywhere. Of course, Hannah needs to find the killer. The second story is called The Dangers of Candy Canes and is written by Laura Levine. I have not read Laura Levine before, and I don't think I'll make the attempt after reading this book. I found it silly and Jaine Austin (her heroine) is too ditzy for my liking. I did enjoy Ms. Leslie Meier's Candy Canes of Christmas Past though, and I think I will read more about her heroine Lucy Stone. In this book, set at Christmas in 1983, Lucy is trying to solve a decades old murder for a friend of hers in her new home of Tinker's Cove, Maine. I really liked this, and I will definitely add Ms. Meier's name to my to-be read-list.

Under normal circumstances, this book would probably warrant a 1-star review, but I'm feeling in the holiday spirit.

UGH! I cannot believe Fluke's writing. How on earth do her editors let her get away with these totally unbelievable plot lines? I feel like she wrote herself into a corner on this one and came up with the double Santa explanation to get herself out of a hard spot. It just does not hold up at all. And why don't Mike and the Sheriff just retire and let Hannah, Andrea, et al, take over fighting crime? The way the medical examiner would provide info to them at the drop of a hat??? Whatever.

The other two stories weren't bad. The Lucy Stone one was actually kind of cute, seeing some of the regular characters in their early days of meeting each other. But that story was pretty lame, as well.

The middle one -- whew. What can I say except it rivals Fluke's for sheer unbelievability? (If I were arrested for suspicion of murder, my first call would be to an attorney, not to the chick who wrote my Yellow Pages ad).

Read this if you are desperate for some Christmassy murder. But don't expect too much.

To begin with, the badge name is incorrect,I am Laura Larkin.
I have read all of Ms Fluke's cookie mysteries and enjoyed them - I even tried some of the recipes and a couple became part of my holiday cookie baking. BUT this book was disappointing, the brevity of the story was the first disappointment, secondly, in the Chocolate Candy Cane Cookie recipe, Ms Fluke explains how to melt the chocolate and butter then never says to add it. The story seemed rushed, and not well thought out. The second story by Ms Levine was trite and annoying-especially the "comments" by her cat. One gets the feeling Ms Levine never owned a cat and blended the personality traits from Garfield and Heathcliff comics. The last story by Ms Meier was well constructed and an enjoyable read. The publisher should have proofread the manuscripts and advertised the book as being three short Christmas mysteries rather than another Fluke mystery novel with other authors.

I didn't realize - even after I started reading it - that this was three stories in one book! I simple saw `Joanne Fluke' and snatched up the book. Hence I was a little shocked when her mystery - the first one - came to a rather abrupt halt. While the first three-quarters of the story was intriguing and well written, with all the characters fans of the series know and love (or hate), the end seemed so fast and unsatisfying. Like a sitcom 30-second wrap-up. The recipe for making cookies out of cake mix and cool whip, on the other hand, is incredible.

I actually enjoyed the other stories more than Fluke's. They seemed more balanced and well-paced for short stories. I particularly enjoyed the heroine (Jaine) in "The Dangers of Candy Canes". She was likeable for her imperfections and had a great attitude. The mystery was simple enough, straightforward and enjoyable. The final story was much slower, told as a flashback, and there was no real sense of tension or doom - still, it was interesting and well-written.

Overall, each of the stories was very different in atmosphere and pacing, and all of them were good in their own way. Even if you're not a huge fan of Fluke, I'd suggest reading the other two if you're a fan of simple, light mysteries and good characters.

This is one of the most wonderful, charming, interesting, and fun books that I have ever read. I was very satisfied when I finished it. This book is three books in one, by three different authors. All three books are fun, very well-written, clever, and entertaining.

"Candy Cane Murder" by Joanne Fluke:

The first book is by Joanne Fluke. Anybody who reads my reviews knows how crazy I am over the Hannah Swensen series, and this book is no exception.

This book starts out with Hannah at the Christmas party, dressed up as an elf. They are having a dinner and invited the children at the children's home. Hannah has a bucket of miniature candy canes for the children, and is looking forward to making candy cane cookies with the leftovers. When leaving the party, Hannah and her sisters find a miniature candy cane. . . Hannah also finds a body. I will not say more about the candy cane because I do not want to ruin the book.

There are lots of clever clues and fun adventures. The final solving of the mystery is very interesting and clever. And the recipes really look good. On a scale of 1 to 5, a hundred stars would not be enough for Joanne Fluke's part.

"The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine:

While putting a huge, decorative neon candy cane on a roof, the person falls off because a shingle is loose. Was the roofer negligant in making sure the shingle was in place, or did someone deliberately loosen the shingle? Jaine is determined to find out. She goes on some interesting investigative adventures until she finds out who did it. The mystery solving was interesting.

This book was fun and funny. I had never read anything by this author before. By itself, this book would definitely have been 5 stars. Actually, a lot more than that. Five stars would not have been enough.

"Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier:

Lucy, the main character, reflects on her first Christmas in Tinkers Cove, Maine as a young wife and mother. She makes friends with Miss Tilley and Sue Finch (and others). A glass candy cane makes Miss Tilley remember the death of her mother, which was many years ago. I will not say how the candy cane makes her remember, because I do not want to ruin the book for those who haven't read it. Lucy solves her first mystery that year: she solves the mystery of Miss Tilley's mother's death, even though it was many years ago. I enjoyed the mystery solving; it was really clever.

I love the atmosphere of this book. Lucy is taken back in time when she was a struggling new wife and mother. Her little boy, Toby, is sweet and adorable. Their house needs a lot of costly repairs. Even though those times seem hard and bad, those were actually the "good ole days". I know this because I have been reading the Lucy Stone series, and as the series progresses, and the kids get older, and Lucy and her husband are doing better financially, the atmosphere isn't quite as good and sentimental. But this story is more like one of the original books of the series, back when it was one of my favorite series.

On a scale of 1 to 5, a hundred stars are not enough.

This entire book as a whole:

This is one of the best books I've ever read. All 3 novellas were wonderful, clever, fun, interesting, and entertaining. If you like fun, warm, comfortable cozy mysteries, I highly recommend this book.

Wow! This was my first introduction to Robert B. Parker. Verdict: Wonderful Writer! The characters are engaging and multifaceted. Parker does a great job weaving in complex relationships, and allows his characters (and readers) to struggle with tough emotional, moral, and social issues.

It was also my first dip into the Western genre. Thanks to Parker, I'm hooked. Just bought Resolution and have a few other Westerns on my wishlist!

This book is a classic western built on a story that we've heard before. A unscrupulous man wants to own a western town. The marshal tries to stop him and is murdered by him. The town asks for help, and a gunfighter and his second come to clean up the town. Virgil Cole, the gunfighter, is an interesting character who appears to have no feelings but then, of course, a women comes into town who catches his interest. The book continues from there, with the man who wants to own the town hiring three gunfighters to help him. There are some interesting twists in the story, but the ending(s) (there are two for the price of one) are predictable. In spite of this, this is an entertaining book especially for the reader who misses the Louis L'Amour western. A movie based upon this book should be interesting also.

Robert B. Parker's prolific writing career is absolutely amazing. Appaloosa is one more star in Parker's crown. His main characters of Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are lawmen hired to clean up a western town. Of course there is a woman involved in the story to make it more interesting. A traditional western theme of good guys vs. bad guy holds the reader's interest because the twist Parker puts into this story is pure Parker and pure enjoyment. I hope the movie is as good as the book.

Appaloosa was not written as a historical biography - it's a novel, very readable, has memorable characters and I enjoyed it. It's a fast read, but I'm reviewing it because it deserves this review: "A FUN BOOK TO READ". I bought Appaloosa and it sat on the shelf while I read other books because I was hesitant to get into a Western. Once I cracked the cover I didn't put it down. Those who didn't like this book said it was like other books by Robert Parker. I never read his other books so I can't say. I read this one and enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the ending.

It gets two thumbs up from me and I'd give it three if I had a third thumb.

I didn't realize when I purchased Retribution that there was another book in the Virgil/Everett 'series' so I read Retribution first. I loved that book but would have had a lot better context if I'd started with Appaloosa...plus the book is just terrific...enjoyed it even more than Retribution. I truly hope Robert B. Parker continues this series and develops these characters more fully.

I must admit I have been a big fan of J.A. Jance and her detective JP Beaumont for quite some time now. Not only are her mysteries top rate but her realistic setting in parts of Seattle are amazing. If you are from Seattle you have to read all of the books in the Beaumont series. I'm especially proud of the way she has memorialized the Doghouse, a popular Seattle restaurant that has since been closed.

This specific book is the 10th in the Beaumont series. It involves the murder of a fellow SPD officer and his family. Detective Beaumont teams up with Junior, the only family survivor, as well as Internal Affairs in an effort to get to the bottom of the murders. In this book Jance also gives a special recognition to local Seattle Radio Station KLSY and the Teddy Bear Patrol. Two fantastic organizations who have done a lot of good in the greater Seattle Community.

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!

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.

Detective Beaumont must clear the name of a fellow police officer and protect the officer's son from the sadistic killers who mudered the boy's family.

In the process of doing this he finds that the "brotherhood of the badge" might not hold for all officers.

J.A. Jance is a teriffic writer and you should enjoy this page turner.

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.

MURDER MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH
NANCY MARTIN
Contemporary Mystery

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Nora Blackbird doesn't need any more complications. First, her best friend Lexie Paine is suspected of pushing her business partner Hoyt Cavendish off the balcony of her office, after he ruined one of her near priceless paintings. While lurking about the office moments after witnessing Hoyt's downward spiral, Nora finds herself face to face with none other than her on-the-run father hidden inside a closet, who is only too happy to inform her that both he and her mother are back in town, with no real plans of leaving any time soon. Add in her suddenly pregnant younger sister, the fact that she's stuck babysitting her older sister's children yet again and suddenly her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Mick Abruzzo, son of a notorious New Jersey gangster is suddenly back in her life. All adds up to almost total chaos as she's out to prove Lexie's innocence.

My favorite scene is when Nora returns home to the Blackbird farm to find someone holding the family hostage with a gun. In a scene that made me literally laugh out loud, she soon finds herself on the run with the `kidnapper' as family secrets become exposed, including something that might help finally solve the mystery of who really killed Hoyt.

Filled with a great mystery, a few shocking family secrets revealed and numerous laugh out loud moments, especially in the second half of the book, MURDER MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH is one cozy mystery that won't disappoint. [...]

Ms. Martin creates a world of enjoyable characters and several laugh out loud moments in MURDER MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH, the seventh book in her popular BLACKBIRD SISTERS series. Ms. Martin also blogs at TheLipstickChronicles check it out for the latest news on Blackbird books and what's happening in Nancy's life.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
July 2008

Nora Blackbird must contend not only with her usual sister problems, but now her parents are back from parts unknown and ready to pick up where they left off. Unfortunately, Dad finds himself in the middle of a murder which Nora is determined to solved, with unexpected results. This book will take Nora in a different direction next time, with her man going to prison and her parents happily at home in Nora's house leading her to move out. A new twist in this socalite's life.

I greatly enjoy all the Nancy Martin blackbird sisters mysteries; this latest is no exception.

'MURDER MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH' really IS the best Blackbird sisters mystery yet!! If you are a fan of this series you will be more than pleased with the direction Nancy Martin has taken our favorite heroine and her kooky gang in this seventh installment. All of our favorites have returned, Emma, Libby & kids & Mick with a focus on some of the more minor characters that we love such as Lexie and Crewe but one of the highlights of the story was finally getting to meet the eccentric characters that are Nora's parents! They cast a hilariously whimsical air over the entire book and I hope to see much more of the senior Blackbirds in the future!

Readers will be pleased to finally see so many aspects of the Blackbird sister's story come together after all of these years. Fan's of this series will finally get all that they have been asking for and more! Nora and Mick finally come to an understanding, there is potential for more of a story involving the ever mysterious yet lovable sister Emma and Libby is...well, she is still the same Libby we've grown to know and love. Also, this novel's mystery involving the death of Lexie Paine's partner Hoyt Cavendish, who is seemingly pushed from his office window after being accused of stealing millions from clients is by far the best mystery to date.

Nancy has set the tone in this novel for big things to come down the line and I officially cannot wait for the eighth installment in this series which is sure to be fantastic!

Seventh in the series, Nora's character still does not stand up to the people in her life. Friends, parents, and, mostly, her sisters continually take advantage of her.

The character dynamics are beginning to get stale. How many times will the author have Mick & Nora get together and break up, get together and break up, get together and break up? It happens in every book and sometimes more than once in the same story.

Other authors have had female characters who are not strong in standing up for themselves, but this usually works itself out by the 3rd or 4th book in the series. But here we are, seven books into this series, and Nora is still a wimp of a character.

Everyone is a caricature. I expected that by now the author would be comfortable enough with her characters to allow them to change a little. But no -- Emma is always after every man in sight & continues to drink to excess. Libby is sexually on the prowl & foists her 5 children off on to Nora as often as possible. Nora's job continues to be in jeopardy, murders still comes her way, and retro designer clothing still stars. I can't suspend my disbelief any more.

For me, this will be the last book I read in this series. They're boring. They're predictable. They're not even light reading fun anymore.

This was a well written, fast, enjoyable read, with a good dose of humor. Hopefully I'll be reading more on Andy and his team.

The bitting humor and self-depreciation of the main character remind me of Isaac Asimov. If you like strong plots, great characters and dogs, David Rosenfelt mysteries are probably going to become part of the dog-eared selections of your library.

I cannot believe I have missed such a wonderful writer until now. This is David Rosenfelt's first book but he writes like a seasoned writer. It has a lot of humorous remarks and the story has an unexpected ending.

He is definitely another writer I will continue to follow his works.

This book was outstanding. Wonderful pacing and some of the best dialogue I have read in years. The Publishers Weekly review was way off and with regards to Harlan Coben, I can easily say Rosenfelt is 5 times the writer that Coben is.

I bought this book because it was in my Amazon recommendations
as a "legal thriller/mystery".
Don't believe it! This book is very juvenile and the main
character could be Frank & Joe Hardy's sleuthing buddy.
Stick with John Grisham and David Baldacci. I also recommend
Greg Iles, but I won't read any more books in this series.

This was disappointing, but entertaining enough to read (especially since it is so quick). Unfortunately, this story has an extremely thin plot, and the backstory is crammed in right before the climax (part of which is predictable). There is no real reason to care about the characters or what they are doing, except for the fact that they have appeared earlier in the Sin City series.
The artwork also leaves something to be desired. Compared to The Big Fat Kill (where the main characters here are introduced) the art is not nearly as striking. The characters are depicted somewhat differently (notably Miho) which is off-putting. Also, although Miller doesn't exactly use gray-scale, he uses a lot more shading techniques (crosshatching, etc.) which takes away from the bold, noir look. He also leaves many images just outlined (see Miho, cars, etc.) which seems unfinished, especially in contrast to what is fully shaded.
Overall, this is not a great book to start with, but worth reading just to be complete with the series. I recommend borrowing this or checking from the library (which I did) rather than purchase.

Miller keeps pushing the devil of darkness and brutality found in the Sin City stories, and there is plenty of that to be found here.

A dead hooker, some revenge, and a mission for Dwight and the little white ninja of old town. She has plenty of people to try and blunt her sword and other tools on.

A struggle between the women and the mafia for control of the turf, after earlier events.

Frank Miller's Sin City will always stand as the most full-steam, no-holds-barred series out there. Book 5 of 7, Family Values is a tale of justice. Miller's stories of Basin city always deliver, with hardcore violence and gritty dialogue. Don't get me wrong Family Values isn't as nearly as The Hard Goodbye, or That Yellow Bastard, but it is still good. It's the weakest of the Sin City graphic novels, but I enjoyed it, I you do too!

After the fast start of THE HARD GOODBYE, the Sin City series seemed mostly able to keep its steam. Although THE BIG FAT KILL was not up to snuff, both A DAME TO KILL FOR and THAT YELLOW BASTARD were solid entries that kept the momentum rolling. Alas, every series hits a dry spell and for Sin City, that dry spell is entitled FAMILY VALUES. Both the story as well as the art work is below the par we have come to expect.

The story is the type of revenge plot that is familiar in the Sin City catalogue. Yet it is not as well developed as others and the characters themselves simply are not as interesting, largely because they are not as fleshed out as they should be. Sure, some of the artwork here is good. But it should be. Frank Miller did not become successful by giving the reader junk. The problem is that, while some of the artwork is solid, some is not only below par but, hate to say it, rather amateurish. This is especially so with respect to some of the portrayals of Miho.

One cannot help but think that Frank Miller was simply going through the motions here and needed a break to regain some fresh ideas. If you plan on reading the whole series, well then of course you will include this book. But if you are only interested in picking the best to spend some time with, pass this one by.

As opposed to his otherwise serialized Sin City stories, Family Values finds Frank Miller taking a continuous approach. Dwight McCarthy, the shady photographer with a new face, is back again and teaming up with deadly, little Miho on a mission of, what else, revenge. Without ruining the story, which offers up some surprises, Dwight and Miho run afoul of the crooked cops of the city as well as the blood thirsty mob behind them. As one would come to expect from Sin City, Family Values is packed with enough bloody action and even some dark humor to satisfy the biggest fan of Miller's books, but the book also goes into a breakneck pace as well, which doesn't work out well. Miller's best Sin City books, most notably Hard Goodbye and That Yellow Bastard, worked so well because of the deliberate pacing. That's not the case with Family Values, and that really hurts the graphic novel overall. Negatives aside though, Family Values is still a pretty solid Sin City story regardless. It's definitely worth picking up, but it can be best saved for last after the other books in the series.

One of her best works. I bought this for $ .50@ a garage sale. I now buy anything she has written whenever I can .You will not be dissappointed w/this one.

I TRY TO GET EVERY BOOK SHE HAS WRITTEN. I LOVE HER BOOKS.

I am not quite finished with this book, but every time I come across another EXPLICIT love scene, (which get more frequent toward the end of the book)I want to scream. This book is a good mystery/family-saga kind of story, BUT be forewarned that the sex scenes are on a par with unwillingly watching a pornographic movie. It's pure garbage...and goes on & on. I cannot imagine an author sitting there writing about a woman's extremely private body parts, or how many times the men have erections (quite often, I might add).
Any little thought leads to an erection. Weston, on the phone, Kane at his desk......etc, etc, etc......... After awhile, it gets to be laughable.....
This book could have easily been 220 pages long & interesting, not 440 pages with repetitions and repeated encounters.
This is the first & last book I will ever read by this author. There are too many wonderful books out there & too little time to waste on this stuff. Ugh! This book deserves the Bulwer-Lytton Award for the worst phrasing & writing.

This book has everything to make a great book, love, hate, murder, and deceit.
The story begins with two families that are fueding, the Taggert's and the Holland's.
Dutch Holland has three daughters, Miranda, Claire, and Tessa.
Neal Taggert has two son, Weston, Harley, and a daughter Paige.
Harley want's to marry Claire, but the families are against it, and Claire thinks that Harley is still seeing his ex-girfriend Kendall.
Weston is the wild son, the athlete, popular, great at the comapny they own, but nothing pleases him.
The story starts with Harley's death after Claire breaks their engagement, and the cover-up of who killed him, or was it really suicide.
The story goes to the past and then back to the present.
Dutch Holland wants to run for mayor, but he is afraid his daughters may have been involved with the murder 16 yrs. ago.
This was such a great book, and there is so much more than I could put in a review.
The love affairs when they were all teenagers, the people that disappeared, the ones's who fought against their family's name to have love.
I liked the part when Lisa Jackson takes the story back 16 years, I think that could have been the whole book in itself.
I liked the book, hated for it to end.
Was really one of the better books that I have read lately, but Lisa Jackson always writes good books.

Lisa Jackson's romantic suspense `Whispers', is the kind of book I most enjoy taking on a holiday. It is filled with suspense, an easy read, hard to put down but if I have to, I can get back into it easily. Jackson knows how to write the perfect `getaway' novel. She is in my personal top 10, of female authors I read.

As the letter in the beginning of the novel states, `Whispers' is a reprint of an earlier 1996 edition that has been revised and includes "new twists and turns". I believe I read the earlier version as I've read almost all of Jackson's books, but since I'm an avid reader I don't recall for sure. All I do know is that when I want a good read, I pick one of Lisa Jackson's suspenseful novels.

`Whispers' is the story of three Holland sisters, one of whom may be responsible for murdering Harley Taggert, their father's rival's son. Claire Holland returns to her family lake house after sixteen years and struggles to keep a secret that has haunted her. Kane Moran, journalist-turned-writer from the `wrong side of the tracks' (or lake) has also returned. With one purpose in mind. To write the book by getting to the truth and exposing the murderer of Harley Taggert.

In a modern day Romeo and Juliet-like plot, Kane and Claire may come from opposite sides of the bank, but their attraction is raw, appealing and undeniable. In fact, all the characters are developed expertly, the pacing is taut and the revelations make sense. That is what makes a great suspense novel. If you're looking for a solid read with crisp characters and dialogue, check out `Whispers'. You won't be disappointed. Kudos, Lisa!

~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Divine Intervention