Mystery Crime Books

Buy it already, actually maybe u should go for the pack instead, where u get them all. WORTH IT REALLY. Can't go wrong with frank miller's sin city series, he is an incredible artist.

The sixth Sin City volume is a series of short stories, if you can call comics that. You get pieces that star Marv, for example, and one of those even has no talking.

Miller uses color a little more here, to emphasis who is who. For example, in the tales of an assassin, she appears in a different color to the rest of the book. A similar technique is used for 'The Babe Wore Red'.

Unlike the start of Miller's masterwork, volume 6 is more a series of vignettes, but it's just as powerful as anything else. We see some familiar characters like Marv and the ever present Nancy and some new ones are thrown in for good measure. As always, there are previous (and likely future) stories entwined throughout for careful readers of the full series.

Frank Miller's Sin City is still dead-on as the the most violent, dark and most noir comic of our time. Book 6 of 7, Booze, Broads, & Bullets is a combination of stories about the people of Basin City. These tales are funny, perverted and emotional, "Silent Night", "The Customer is Always Right", "The Babe Wore Red" "And Behind Door Number Three... are my favorite of the bunch. I hope you enjoy this book!

BOOZE, BROADS, & BULLETS gets the Sin City series back on track after the unfortunate swing and miss of Vol. 5, FAMILY VALUES. A collection of short stories, it intermixes familiar faces while introducing some new ones. Marv, the old favorite from THE HARD GOODBYE, is in a couple of stories and we see his two-fisted philosophy of protecting the unprotected in action. Dwight from THE BIG FAT KILL also helps out a damsel-in-distress de jour. While Miho and the girls of Old Town dispense their own rough justice to the deserving saps who ask for it.

As for the new faces, the most interesting is the female killer Delia, the subject of three stories here. She provides the quote which constitutes the title of this review and she means what she says. Delia does enjoy killing and she is awfully good at it. Delia represents exactly what I like about the Sin City books - female characters that can be not only the source of solace and comfort to men, but the exact opposite as well. Besides Delia, we also meet Amy, aka Daddy's Little Girl. Amy may not kill people directly like Delia, but she sure is a catalyst for their deaths. Although these characters might be new, the hard stories and noir edge are exactly what we have come to expect from the residents of Basin City.

All in all, BOOZE, BROADS, & BULLETS is a solid addition to the Sin City catalogue. Everyone will have their favorite stories in this volume and everyone will see some of the stories as not quite as good. But looked at as a whole, if you have made it this far into the series, you probably will not be disappointed with this book.

all the agatha raisin books are a delight to read. you just want to take a break with a cup of tea, and see what trouble she gets herself into with each new book in the series. buy them all. and now they are on CD's - of course only get unabrdiged - they are mysteries, you know

I found Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley to be a much less successful book than the earlier three books in the series. The mystery can barely qualify as one. Agatha is an unpleasant terror for much of the book (which makes for less than happy reading). The new characters are unsympathetic. The victim is particularly so.

So should you read the book? Yes, you're stuck. The book contains a lot of development in the Agatha Raisin-James Lacey relationship that will leave you high and dry if you skip Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley. Sorry.

During Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, Agatha agreed to work in PR again in London in exchange for surreptitious help with her ruined garden. As this book opens, Agatha is finishing up her six-month stint in London at Pedmans, the firm that bought out her PR old firm. It's been an unpleasant experience and her final dinner leaves a bad taste for everyone but the client.

In Dembley (part of Gloucestershire), the cause-devoted, militant Jessica Tartinck is organizing the Dembley Walkers (a ramblers society) into another planned confrontation with a landowner who has blocked the public way while armed with a shotgun. Jessica savors the chance to make a splash. The others aren't so enthusiastic. After that meeting, her written challenge to Sir Charles Fraith is returned with an invitation to tea if the ramblers will avoid one of his fields that has been planted. Jessica's friend Deborah Camden is sent to check out the path. Jessica decides to ask permission first and captures the attention of Sir Charles who asks for her telephone number. Thoroughly charmed, Deborah recommends that they go along with Sir Charles and the other ramblers agree . . . except for Jessica who decides to challenge him on her own.

Meanwhile, Agatha returns to Carsely and finds that her handsome next-door neighbor, middle-aged bachelor James Lacey, has also been leading walks. She immediately joins the group and irritates him again by trying to organize things.

Soon thereafter, Jessica is found murdered in Sir Charles' field and a witness places Sir Charles in the vicinity. Concerned for her new friend, Deborah calls on her friendship with Mrs. Mason, head of the Carsely Ladies Society, seeks to engage Agatha to find the killer. Before long, Agatha and James are operating undercover, posing as a married couple, to penetrate the Dembley Walkers.

In the process, Agatha finds it frustrating to be pretending what she so desperately wants . . . to be Mrs. James Lacey. James, in turn, finds the whole matter even more annoying for different reasons.

Before the book ends, Agatha finds herself in a race to stop a murder.

Those who like romantic mysteries with an emphasis on "romantic" may find this book to be a four-star effort.

"Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley" is one of my favorite Agatha Raisin books. It is in this book that Agatha first meets Sir Charles, who becomes her companion and works with her on cases in later books. Agatha's roots were in working-class Birmingham, and she brought herself up by her bootstraps to own a successful PR firm in London. As a child, she had a dream that she would someday leave the grimy city and live in a Cotswold village, and that no one would know she had ever been poor and desperate. Now middle-aged, Agatha has sold her firm and bought a charming cottage, just as she dreamed. She never had friends in London, and for the first time she is making friends. She would really like her handsome, aloof next-door neighbor to be more than a friend, but he's alarmed by Agatha's prickly personality and man-hunting ways. A group of ramblers, comprised of assorted bohemians, rebels, and troublemakers, has decided to hike across some cultivated farmland belonging to Sir Charles. This is a political statement against landowners who do not honor the right for foot traffic to use ancient right-of-ways. When the strident leader of the "Walkers of Dembley" is killed in his field, Sir Charles becomes a suspect and Agatha and her neighbor James go undercover as a married couple to infiltrate the walking group. There is a lot of humor in Agatha living under the same roof as the hard-to-get James, and the new man in Agatha's life, Sir Charles, is absolutely hilarious. If you have never read an Agatha Raisin mystery before, you are in for a real treat!

I am new to the Agatha Raisin series. I have not been reading them in sequence and I am really glad I did not read this one first. I did not find this story as interesting as the others in the series that I have read. This story lacked the humor that I am accustomed to from M. C. Beaton's other books.

This story deals with class prejudice.

It is about a group of Walkers from Dembley, England more often called Ramblers in this story. This is no ordinary group of ramblers that like to ramble in the countryside. This group is described as an odd bunch of leftists who like to demand their walking rights and aggravate aristocratic landowners by trespassing on their private property. In the group are teachers, waiters, an IRA sympathizer, and a male chauvinist.

The group has a major falling out with the leader, Jessica. Jessica is a bully and Marxist sympathizer. Jessica wants the group to trespass on Sir Charles' property. The others refuse so Jessica decides to walk by herself and is found murdered. Agatha Raisin and James Lacey go undercover and discover by accident the real murderer. Unfortunately, this happens after a second member of the group is found murdered.

All the members of the walking group plus Sir Charles are prime suspects. Sir Charles is a ladies' man and has an interest in one of the ramblers, Deborah.

It is Deborah who convinces Agatha to help Sir Charles by finding the real killer so that Sir Charles would no longer be a prime suspect.

Agatha is a middle aged PR professional and amateur detective. Throughout most of the book she creates a fantasy romantic life with her neighbor James Lacey. She eagerly suggested that she and James should pose as husband and wife and infiltrate the Dembley Ramblers so they could learn more about the characters involved.

James for most of the story is indifferent towards Agatha. He likes being a bachelor. By the end of the story he draws closer to Agatha.

The walkers referred to in the title are a rather eclectic and somewhat pathetic bunch who traipse around with a chip on their shoulders just spoiling for a fight with area landowners. They seldom have any trouble finding conflict especially with their pushy, outspoken and obnoxious leader Jessica Tartinc leading the charge. As this book begins Jessica has gone too far even for her followers and she heads off to confront a local aristocrat on her own. When her body is found on said aristocrat's land the suspect list includes not only the gentry but also the walkers themselves. Because one of the walkers is the niece of Mrs. Mason, the President of the Carsely Ladies Society, and has therefore heard of Agatha and her amateur sleuthing Agatha's assistance is requested. Needless to say, this gives a big boost to Agatha's ego but by the end of the book she finds out that maybe the reference that she received wasn't nearly as complimentary as she had thought.

Much to Agatha's delight, the strategy decided upon requires her and her neighbor James Lacey to move into a flat in Dembley and pose as husband and wife in order to infiltrate the group of walkers. Agatha, who has been chasing Lacey since the first book of the series is soon dejected however because her pretend marriage just doesn't work out at all like she had planned. Unknown to her however she is much more attractive to James when she isn't trying to get her claws into him and he becomes more and more fond of her as the book progresses. This part of the plot in fact leads to a bombshell of sorts at the end of this book, which will leave the reader very anxious to get their hands on the next entry in the series.

Despite the bombshell however this is probably the least enjoyable of the first four books in this series. The mystery itself plays a much larger part in this story than in the previous books, which would at first glance appear to be a good thing. Unfortunately the mystery is not suspenseful or for that matter interesting enough to carry the plot on it's own and all of the little side plots that involve the other characters in the book fall very flat. The problem may well be that for the most part the old comfortable characters in Carsely are basically absent from this book leaving only the new characters introduced for this book and quite frankly most of these new characters are fairly wretched creatures. It is really hard to get involved in a story when most every person involved makes your skin crawl. The whole notion of a cozy mystery is sort left by the wayside when there is absolutely nothing cozy about the story or it's characters.

I am a great fan of this series and if you intend to read any of the books following this one then this is a must read because of the interaction between Agatha and James. Just don't be at all surprised if after reading this book you find that instead of feeling all warm and fuzzy, like your supposed to feel after reading a cozy mystery, you just feel numb.

I enjoyed this book, but unfortunately it lacked what was most interesting about the first book--the bad guys. I got tired of constantly being told how good Cadel was, and how perfect his girlfriend was, and frankly, all the details of the project he was working on in the story bored me out of my skull.

Nonetheless, as a whole the book is still a decent read, and I honestly didn't predict a couple of the twists towards the end.

i was very happy with this second book.it was every thing i hope it to be and more. i just can't wait until the next book.

Book Lover

This book is definitely for anyone who's a fan of the original Evil Genius. Interesting plot but the book lacked some of the better twist and turns of the original. The characters also feel a little less convincing / powerful when compared to the original. Not to give anything away but I felt Cadel really got turned into shadow of his old self and have none of the cunnings we saw earlier. (Uh oh, found myself agreeing with English on that front...)

Overall, interesting read. Well worth the time and effort. I am looking forward to the next one.

The first book in the series was pretty good.
I would recommend it to people who like crime,technology.
I ordered this book and it arrived on time

Cadel Piggott returns in this action-filled sequel to EVIL GENIUS, but he's not the same teen. The Cadel readers knew in the first book loved to create havoc just for the fun of it. However, after his life-threatening experiences at the Axis Institute with his father, Prosper English, he just wants to be a good person --- and even happy. He is helped in this change of conscience by his best friend, the paraplegic math genius, Sonja. In GENIUS SQUAD, other allies help fight Prosper and his evil, but he also finds more layers of enemies and surprises.

Cadel has an earnest social worker named Fiona who tries to protect him in a new foster home. He can go nowhere without police protection, though, as authorities are aware that Prosper once tried to kill him. He is now a key witness to the evils that went on at the Axis Institute and to Prosper's many illegal activities. Prosper is behind bars, though Cadel knows that barrier is nothing to another genius like himself and has seen the lengths to which Prosper will go. But he still feels that he's safe; after all, Prosper did not kill him when he had the chance before.

Prosper is always good at making trouble, and he is now denying that he's Cadel's father. This means that Cadel has no father on record, and with a dead mother, no citizenship in any country. So he cannot leave Australia, though the country will not recognize him. He is not allowed to take classes of any kind and is desperately bored. The foster home is run by well-meaning parents, but they are also the caretakers for a couple of other children, including the bully Mace. While Cadel tries hard to stay on the path of good, Mace pushes his buttons too far, and he develops a strategy to hurt him while still looking innocent. Mace promises revenge.

In the meantime, the very smart and stubborn Detective Saul Greeniaus has been assigned to Cadel's case and stops by frequently to give him updates on Prosper's situation and how it may affect him. When visiting Sonja one day, Cadel is approached by some adults who run the new Clearview House, a cover for Genius Squad, a group of gifted teens who will work to bring down GenonMe, a company linked to the deceased P. Drakkon and his minions, which included Prosper. They offer Sonja and Cadel $50,000 each and a home while they work on the computer hacking and coding with the other teens to find out what happens at GenonMe and who is behind it. The money and offer of living with Sonja are too good to pass up; the cash would buy Sonja good care well into the future. The problem is that they cannot tell Fiona or the detective. So Cadel begins a secret life again, but this time he seems to be working for good.

As the team works to bring down GenonMe, Prosper gets more active, even from prison. Cadel has to stay on his guard and trust his new allies to keep himself and Sonja safe.

GENIUS SQUAD is even more fun than EVIL GENIUS as Cadel Piggott is more likable when he is working for good. His new allies and friends add another layer of good guys to root for as well. The evil of Prosper English knows no bounds, even with the Axis Institute demolished. Without that school, it is harder to identify his helpers, despite clues throughout the book. The spy games and suspense are complicated at times, but the surprises will inspire readers to keep turning pages right until the end, when the next installment in the series is unveiled.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

When Hank Thompson was in High School he was the boy wonder of baseball. But like many a prospect, he got damaged and would never play again. Because of this Henry ended up involved first in a robbery of a Russian Mafia Don (he didn't do the robbing), a flight to Mexico, a murder in Mexico, a flight to the US and a reconciliation (of sorts) with the Russian mobster.

It's two years later and Hank is working as a 'cleaner' for the mob. He breaks bones and kills those who need to 'learn a lesson'. He's fighting the pain of a botched plastic surgery, addicted to more pills than he can count and his waist has grown from 34 to 40. He is not a happy camper (but as long as he does his job, his parents are safe).

The Don wants him to keep an eye on a baseball prospect (gee that sounds familiar) for one night in Vegas. Thus begins a whirlwind of events that will bring this trilogy to a end. In between the visit to Vegas and an anti-denouement (did you expect any other) our boy goes through hell and hell, a gigantic murder spree and finally the curtain comes down on everything.

This is the kind of story that could have turned out to be very 'canned' and unsatisfactory for writer and reader, but Huston has done a fine job in sidestepping as man cliches as possible though leaving in enough to have the pathos of the characters come through. Great job.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Hank Thompson has come full circle!

Along with the evolution of the series, we have seen the character of "Hank Thompson" grow and develop into a character that we can all cheer for, sympathize with and love. We all embrace the belief that Hank is just a man caught up in the circumstances of a life that he didn't necessarily want. We have seen him evolve from a promising baseball player (Caught Stealing), to a man on the run (Six Bad Things), to a pill popping Mob enforcer with poorly done facial reconstruction (A Dangerous Man), and now he is back in New York where it all started with his babysitting a friend's cat. Asked by his employer to protect a new investment (an up and coming baseball star, Miguel, who reminds Hank of himself), he finds his ugly past and $4 million dollar mistake coming back to haunt him. While Hank is doing everything possible to protect his newly relocated parents from harm, he also realizes that he is in yet again another "damned if he does, damned if he doesn't situation". He can either protect his family by doing what his employer wants or he can buck the system and do the right thing (by showing Miguel, who has so much potential and promise, how his gambling will become his downfall and endear him to people who aren't necessarily looking out for his best interest). And oh, there is still that problem of the missing $4 million dollars.

I thought that this was a wonderfully poignant conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. The epilogue was so well written that I found myself torn, that although I found peace with Hank's fate, I wanted so much more for him. Hank, was never truly bad, just caught up in circumstances beyond his control, making him perhaps the biggest victim of all. What I really enjoy about Hurston's writing style is his ability to weave in tragedy with hope and triumph, while investing the reader in the outcome and making them feel ok with whatever it is.

Although I would have preferred another ending for Hank, it was the most realistic. I hate to see the series end, but with other potential stories trapped in Hurston's head, this will definitely not be the last word from this very talented author. I can't wait to read his next body of work. And if you enjoyed this series, try Shotgun Rule and the Joe Pitt series. They are all a tall glass of refreshing water!

Henry (Hank) Thompson from Huston's sensational debut novel Caught Stealing returns in this even more violent, final volume of this rollercoaster thrill ride of a series that will have you saying a definite no, next time someone asks you to mind their cat. If you have not yet started reading this book and haven't actually read Caught Stealing you should put this novel aside, find a copy of Caught Stealing, also grab the second novel Six Bad Things: A Novel while your at and start reading where this great journey in order. A Dangerous Man gives away substantial chunks of both those former novel's plots. You will still be able to read this as a standalone but believe me you're going to want to enjoy the thrill ride of the first masterpiece and its sequel to their full extend and you certainly can't do so when you know what's going to happen!

If you were reading A Dangerous Man as a standalone it would be understandable as you read the initial Las Vegas chapters of this book that you feel no empathy for Henry at all and think he is a bit of a loser as drug addicted, he constantly contemplates ending it all with a shard of glass from his broken mirror, the mirror in the state it is as he doesn't want to have to look at the reconstructed face of the man he has become. Hank's life consists of putting bullets into the back of the heads of those who have gotten on the wrong side of his Russian keeper David Dolokhov after those victims are beaten unconscious by Branko, his minder. The only thing that keeps Hank from doing so is the knowledge that his parents will be killed the second he stops being useful. However a new assignment for Henry, baby sitting a new baseball prodigy who will dub him Scarface, will awaken Henry from his slumber and end the madness once and for all!

As a standalone A dangerous Man wraps up the series very realistically, although the action and thrill ride isn't as great as the initial Caught Stealing and slightly less than Six bad Things, but if you've read the first two, you've got to read this!

If you're looking for some fast-paced, relatively believable, hard-boiled fiction, look no further than ANY of the Charlie Huston novels. WOW!

This was the perfect final book in the trilogy. Each book had a life of its own, building on one another to reach an inevitable end. Charlie Houston does a masterful job in making you empathize with this mass murderer who loves baseball and his parents. Beneath all the carnage, Hank just wants to do the right thing. Problem is, to get there the body count just keeps climbing.

In this iteration, Hank is haunted by a character that represents what he could have been...a baseball hero. It adds even more angst to Hank's massive list of problems, and forces him to make some tough decisions before the books end.

I tried to get my wife to read Caught Stealing, and while she loved the way it was written, she couldn't take the gore, so a bit of caution there. I saw an almost dark humor in the violence of all three books..maybe I'm just sick...

I read "Looking for Rachel Wallace" years ago, but I don't have a great memory for all of the plot details so I am re-enjoying the Spenser books as audiobooks. In this case, Spenser and Rachel Wallace kept me company while I wrapped presents and fed my one-year old. And they were quite good company.

My audiobook was read by Michael Prichard who does a decent Spenser but a great near-humorless Rachel Wallace.

What can I say about the Spenser books that has not already been said. They're a bit formulaic (wisecracks, meet Susan for some snuggling, fistfights, cooking, etc.) but I love the formula so I enjoyed this one thoroughly. I consider it to be one of the stronger books, despite the fact that the protestations against feminism and lesbianism seem outdated in the year 2006. It almost makes it seem like a period piece. Interesting how the world changes, isn't it?

My grade: A-

LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE is the sixth Spenser novel, and it's one of the best ones. Spenser is hired as a bodyguard for Rachel Wallace, a lesbian writer and activist, and eventually has to rescue her from kidnappers.

I love Parker's prose, and in this novel he has a good, exciting story to boot, filled with lots of action, humor and pathos. Rachel Wallace is an interesting character -- not entirely likable, but an honorable person who sticks by her belief system no matter what. The gay rights theme of this novel is a bit heavy-handed, but it was probably very cutting edge for the year 1980, when this novel was first written.

This is one of my favorite Spenser novels, and I've read almost all of them. Highly recommended.

Undoubtedly, this was more than a little controversial when it first came out - in fact, feminists and lesbians face the same sorts of problems in this day and age. I was a bit disappointed that Parker went the route of making Rachel Wallace attractive and made the one woman she was seen spending an evening with attractive - although there are plenty of attractive women who are lesbians, the concept of "hot girl on girl action" is mostly just a prurient notion designed more for titillation than anything else. That said, the issues were handled quite well overall - I was amused by Rachel's ongoing declarations at the beginning that she had no sense of humor and the fact that Spenser eventually wore her down to where she almost lost it enough to make her mouth twitch once . . . It was nice to see more of Susan in this outing - a personage sadly missing for most of the last book. The writing was such that the reader was drawn in and felt Spenser's frustration over his inability to protect Rachel and his need to find her and make sure she was OK.

All-in-all, the progression of these books is proceeding apace and watching the writing style progress has been a fascinating experience. I think it will be interesting - once I read the final one - to go back and read the first one and compare the differences in style, just for the fun of it. A must-read for sleuth buffs, PI addicts and anyone who likes suspense.

Hired as a bodyguard, Spenser opened a significant chapter in The Cultural Conversation, in an Ongoing Dialogue with a gay feminist author who had dedicated her life, and possibly her death, to her cause. The first half of this book had a tight focus and that was it. In Parker's hands, that simplicity of plot read out as mesmerizing, and sped along at a good clip.

The contrast was striking between THE JUDAS GOAT (fifth book in the Spenser series), and LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE (sixth book). The literary style, mood, and content in these novels was dramatically different. Parker seems to possess an endless versatility of adapting his writing style to demands of theme and content.

Since this plot revolved around the antithetical anomaly of a feminist needing a bodyguard, especially with that bodyguard being Spenser; this woman, Rachel Wallace, had to come across as a full-blooded, intriguing character to carry her huge amount of plot space. Not to worry. Intriguing she was. Parker drew her in a touchingly human manner, dramatizing a sensitive underbelly barely protected by her not-as-hard-as-might-be-expected shell.

Given the serious sensitivity of the theme, I shouldn't have been surprised at the amount of funny wit Parker easily interjected into it. An especially hilarious scene was Spenser waiting/guarding outside the hotel room of his "charge" while she was inside the room, engaged with a gay partner. The humor was employed in Spenser's thoughts as he squirmed to avoid imagining precisely what events might have been unfolding behind the closed door. His obvious attraction to Rachel's partner added to the grin worthy mix.

However, the humor halted abruptly in the second half of the plot, when a seething Spenser was forced to began looking for Rachel Wallace. At first it was hard to discern whether Spenser's boiling anger was steamed from getting himself fired; from feeling he'd failed; from protective needs surged out of respect for a few of Rachel's character traits (honest dedication to pacifism coupled with not scaring easily) which had gotten under his skin; or because he believed so strongly in free speech, because he held sacred all the freedoms the US had fought for and held dearly. I was compelled to pause between the lines, looking for those answers.

The contrasting parts here, almost in a reverse order from JUDAS GOAT, had the Spenser/Rachel dialog flowing through the first half of the book, whereas Spenser set out on rampage, alone, in the second half. In that highly skilled spree of bashing bodies, Spenser came close to losing the cheering surges from my end of the grandstand. My first take on his red streak of anger was that he was going too brutally far with his fistful means of getting people to talk.

Pausing to contemplate that picture and plot, I settled with a couple achievements of awareness:

-- Realistically (as a few interjected comments made by Belson kept to the fore), Spenser would not have been able to get Rachel back by being a nice guy, nor by means other than those applied. And he managed his physical pushes with restraint, taking them only as far as each situation demanded, to get results quickly enough to find Rachel before she was destroyed.

-- The characters which had been heatedly convinced to talk had earned Spenser's tactics, many times and in multiple ways. I had to remind myself what these people had designed themselves to be, what they had done to others, with true brutality repeatedly applied. They had habitually gone beyond what Spenser's ever present code (and sense of humanity) would have allowed him to do. This was not a matter of politics, a matter of Right Vs. Left. It was a matter of pure-and-simple, ongoing cruelty, halted only by the amount and type of force Spenser used, forced by an established history and present danger of unjustified prejudice and harmful acts done to innocent people.

I was curious to discover Spenser's reason for not seeking Hawk this time. I'll be interested to see when, why, and how he brings him back in. Spenser gave his reason in response to a question from Susan, though his explanation made me want to dig into that "why."

At least two drool-worthy cooking scenes sauced up the plot, and relieved tension. Just as I noticed I had been missing Spenser's nurturing sprees, as he connected counter-tops, cupboards, stove, and refrigerator; he brought out the pasta pot, and parleyed serviceable left-overs into a simple, luscious concoction, one step better than Pesto (I reread the short list of ingredients a few times to memorize). The way he came to have and use a Cuisinart was endearing, and I recalled that those slice-n-dice devices must have been peaking in popularity in the late 70's when this plot was probably written.

The ending scenes with Rachel were quite sensitive, the most touching ones I remember, so far in the series.

Overall this was a fast reading exposition of several dilemmas and a true dichotomy. Did Spenser construct a bridge between the honorable side of Machismo and the hardcore edge of Feminism? You decide.

This story felt like Spenser was sweating up all his strength, wise-cracking the to extent of his wit, to pull two ropes together (to begin construction on the bridge mentioned above). Yet, the ropes were simply not long enough to connect. If anyone could accomplish that impossible task, Spenser should be able to do it. Right?

I particularly liked the alternate angles from which Spenser and Rachel defined Machismo.

Okay. I'm almost ready to order EARLY AUTUMN and A SAVAGE PLACE, after catching up with a few unread novels on my shelves, collecting dust when they deserve to shine.

I'm glad to have put up a 2 part Listmania on this series. Using that and the lists included in most of the Parker books I own, I'm easily sailing through Spenser seas, mostly in sequence now, though I'm pleased to have read a few of the middle and later books, in order to maintain a sense of style evolution, and to feel the changes more acutely, possibly to see some of the causes for shifts in stream.

Macho rocks, and dirty socks dream ... of cleaner days. We each have our ways ... and means ... of dining on dreams.

Linda Shelnutt

Take one testosterone-laden private eye with and admirable world view but who knows that his code of honor is the backbone of everything he believes in (Spenser). Add one fiesty lesbian feminist out to point out the faults and foibles of a male-dominated society (Rachel Wallace). Shake vigorously to mix the two together so they become combatants. Season with vicious hired gunmen. It all adds up to one of the most delicious dishes ever served by Robert B. Parker.

Hired by a book publisher to protect Rachel Wallace, one of their hottest properties, Spenser finds himself at odds again and again with the woman he's supposed to take care of. Both of them have their own ways of doing things, and both are intractable. Eventually their differences outweigh the reasons they should stay together and Spenser gets fired. However, someone kidnaps Rachel Wallace and Boston's toughest private eye makes things personal when he goes looking for her. Through the bluebloods and the hired street muscle, through a snowstorm that shuts the city down, Spenser goes on the hunt, mowing over everyone that gets in his path.

Robert B. Parker is the author of the Spenser novels, the Jesse Stone novels and the Sunny Randall novels as well as others.

This book, along with EARLY AUTUMN and MORTAL STAKES, is the best to define Spenser's character and Robert B. Parker's thoughts on the world and his place in it. In the course of this short novel, Parker explores the differences between the male and female of the human species, and the struggle that each undertakes to understand the other. This isn't a societal diatribe. It's a great novel that's larger than the sum of its parts. Not only does the suspenseful action and great dialogue keep a reader turning pages, but it serves up a healthy does of thought-provoking commentary as well.

Readers who have never read a Spenser novel before would find this a good starting place. This is one of the foundation novels that spins completely out of the character, up against others and up against the world. Readers looking for a a great private eye novel with heart need to look no farther.

When comic Richard Belzer's friend, New York City assistant medical examiner Rudy Markovich disappears without a trace, the comic actor becomes concerned especially when his pal fails to meet him at MSG for the heavyweight title fight as they planned. The more he learns of the vanishing, the more worried he becomes. Unable to remain idle, Richard decides to investigate even as he keeps reminding himself that "I AM NOT A COP"; only an actor who has seen many TV corpses in NYC and Baltimore..

He understands his experience as a sleuth is based on his role as role as Detective John Munch in Law & Order, but he believes how hard is it for real life to imitate Hollywood. He affirms his belief when Belzer finds a clue that ties four deaths to his case. Meanwhile Belzer's producer worries about his actor getting hurt while on the mean streets of New York so Kalisha Carter is assigned to accompany him as he makes inquiries into the four deaths and their ties to Rudy.

The fun story line rotates action with detective musing as Beltzer investigates the disappearance starting at MSG and continuing on the mean streets of New York. Although Beltzer the literary amateur sleuth is no Munch, fans will appreciate his efforts especially his stand up comic Noir-Lit aside commentary.

Harriet Klausner

I have read another of Randy Alcorn's fiction books and loved it (Safely Home) but was very disappointed with this book. I work as a college minister and am very familiar with what young people are into these days but I found Alcorn's scenarios sensational and overblown.

Within the book a handful of high school students are involved in every 'evil' practice imaginable: witchcraft, drunk driving, drugs, abortion, pregnancy, bringing a gun to school, suicide, death by alcohol poisoning, etc. It's a parent-of-a-teen's worst nightmare. I'm sure the author's intent was to scare parents into being involved in their kids' lives and to warn teens of the dangers out there. But if I was a parent of a teen reading this, I would be scared to death that one misstep (like letting them listen to Metallica or watch Pleasantville) and my son/daughter would be strung out on drugs, channeling spirits, and on the brink of suicide. I think the resulting life/parenting would be a cloistered, fear-filled Christianity that is nothing like the bold, in-the-world life of Jesus.

Beyond that, I found the dialogue stilted & cheesy and the plot lumbering. Not one of Randy Alcorn's best (though I remain a big fan). Read Safely Home or Heaven instead.

Love it, Love it, Love it....Great book and I love how Randy Alcorn has the demons banter back and forth. They don't interrupt at all. I agree that every teenager and anyone involved with youth should read this book.
EXCELLENT READ!

Any book can tell the story of four imperfect students. But this book is different.

Jillian may seem like a good Christian girl, but she's struggling. Brittany may seem like just another of those pretty girls that got in with the wrong crowd, but she's dissatisfied. Ian may seem content with his drinking, interest in witchcraft, and girlfriends, but he's afraid. And Rob may seem like a happy, moral guy, but he's hiding something.

Only God can help them. But this is Lord Foulgrin's greatest fear.

Every other chapter is a letter from the correspondence of the Devil's servants as they discuss how to ruin the four main characters. But through these letters clearly shine numerous messages to the readers. So while the evil tries in vain to destroy the good, readers are challenged to persevere for the good. To flee from evil. To see through deception. To comfort those who are struggling. To stand up to what is wrong. To encourage others to do right. To treasure God's Word. To be continually praying and to understand the power of prayer. To value one's family. To put others first. And to imitate Christ's forgiveness.

It causes you to think of life through the eyes of God. It's a glimpse of the big picture. And all the while, it's one of those books you don't want to put down.

For teenagers or parents, this book is worth your time. All the way.

Alcorn is a C.S. Lewis fan and it definitely reads in this book! It is a great book that will open your eyes to the spirit realm. It is a mix between Peretti's This Present Darkness and Lewis's Screwtape Letters. It does have scenes and topics that aren't appropriate for younger audiences. I would love to see this one at the movies!

I liked this book, but was disturbed by it. By that I mean, the "letters" between Ishbane and Foulgrin made me really start to think at how Satan works on us.

It is a good book for parents to read.

MORTAL STAKES is the third Spenser novel, and is one of the best ones. The plot involves Spenser being hired by the Boston Red Sox to determine whether one of their pitchers is throwing games. Spenser's investigation leads him to look deep into the personal history of the pitcher's wife, which reveals quite a few skeletons.

I really enjoy reading Parker's prose. The writing in MORTAL STAKES is lean, funny, and always entertaining. His early Spenser books are the best, because the character is still young, fresh and unsure of himself. In the later books, he becomes a bit too much of a self-satisfied superhero for my tastes. My advice is to read the first ten Spenser novels first -- they are some of the best private eye fiction you will ever read.

In short, MORTAL STAKES is a classic novel by one of the most important American crime writers working today. If you've never read Parker, this novel is certainly worth your time, although you might want to read GOD SAVE THE CHILD first to get a bit more background on who Spenser is.

Spenser is summoned by the general manager of the Boston Red Sox and asked to investigate their start pitcher, Marty Rabb. There are some whispers that Rabb may be throwing games and Spenser is asked to provide a definitive answer one way or another. Spenser starts poking around and is soon on a trail that leads him to Illinois, New York, and back to Boston. What he learns only creates new problems and it's up to Spenser to figure out how to help Rabb and the Sox while keeping himself alive and healthy.

Spenser is a smart mouth P.I. who does his best to do the right thing. This may not make him the most original creation in modern fiction, but he's an enjoyable character. The banter is pretty solid and Spenser gets some pretty good lines. Most of the supporting characters were solid and had distinct personalities. The story moved along at a good clip and definitely held my interest.

Mortal Stakes is the third in the Spenser series with thirty-five published to date. This was my first experience with Robert B Parker as an author, let alone this character. It didn't immediately launch itself onto my list of all-time favorites, but I'm interested enough to try another Spenser book. Having said that, I would obviously recommend this novel to either first time readers or established Parker fans.

In the 3rd Spenser outing, he is hired to investigate the Boston Red Sox to see if one of the team is being paid to throw some of the games. His investigations take him to some strange places and he digs up some dirt he wasn't expecting - as well as some serious trouble for himself.

Oddly enough, this book left me a bit cold - I can't quite place my finger on why I didn't find this book as enjoyable as the first two. Perhaps it is due to the many places where Spenser waxes philosophical for no particular reason. Perhaps it is the way that clues seem to just fall into his lap. Maybe it is just because I'm reading it at work and work leaves me in a foul mood. Whatever the reason, don't let me cause you to pass up this book; Spenser fans will want to read it so they don't miss out on a minute of this series.

Mortal Stakes, the third in the Spenser series, is wonderful on many levels. It is more than just about baseball and blackmail and a lone wolf PI taking on underworld thugs. It is also about relationships: between couples, between business partners, between a sports idol and his fans and also his teammates. Parker handles all of these relationships well, with the plot twisting down to a somewhat surprising end: the hero is not who you think! Excellent read - I highly recommend.

Loved the reality/fiction twist of Spenser going undercover as a writer to get into baseball back rooms and detect from inside the game. The poem introducing this heavenly concept of work overlapping play was a perfect preface. Of course the meaning in those lines from Robert Frost descend into deadly seriousness, beyond a person's job taking him into his most passionate pastime.

It appears that, for Robert B. Parker, the heart of Boston's commerce and culture is baseball at Fenway Park. That is where this author appears to live. And where Spenser opens gateways for Parker's dreams... and nightmares.

To me, Parker seemed happy to be writing this book within this setting with mirrors reflecting mirrors of "plays" within plays that Spenser's opening interviews didn't feature suspects/clients offering delicatessen varieties of The Limburger Reek. The beauty of the baseball scene was captured perfectly, from the spectators in the stands, to the clean locker room banter, to the management organizational structure and press picture, to the sharks feeding among the sacred roots of the game. Even though I'm not into baseball, by page 4 Parker had me hooked into his ambiance. I felt the realism in the levels of the game, felt Spenser's joy (at the outset) to be doing this case.

It seemed to me as if, by this third Spenser novel, copyright 1975, Parker was feeling his oats as an author, had established his commercial appeal, and was really stepping out to write what and how he'd always wanted: Baseball, within the classic framework of detective fiction.

Loved the joked-up titles for his fictional book, off-colored ditties which lead to an appropriate one. I was curious what Spenser would come up with, contrasted to his hokey (as he meant them to be) jokes, and he dropped the head-liner at the precise time and place for effect.

It was nice, as a change of pace, to see Spenser as slightly less of a wise guy and more of a vulnerably happy man eating up the perks of his profession (though his artfully acerbic wit, which I relish, certainly wasn't lacking).

I'm happy to report that this third novel was written in the meaty narrative style of the prior two novels, rather than in the pared down dialogue dance of his later works, though I do not mean to disparage the honed beauty of his later work. Just wanted to enjoy his early, classic P.I. style (with its sensual gourmet touches), wanted to stretch out for a while prior to the sophisticated-dialogue-rap condensing narrative complexity into Parker's signature syntax dance.

I wonder how many novels Parker wrote with the setting and location detail riding equal to or above the dialogue and interview process. I'm going to enjoy the heck out of finding out where/how his style evolved. Would like to also unearth the whys, but I'd have to interview the man to get to that groundwork.

Though writing fictional works is my favorite outlet for my talent (making work into play), when I've despaired of being published right in that venue, I've sometimes toyed with the idea of writing a novel based on facts featuring the development and expression of a talent like Parker's, a full, meaty story showing how his talent was guided and manipulated by whatever factors. Sidney Sheldon's memoirs, THE OTHER SIDE OF ME (See my review posted 1/14/06), does a great job of exposing how his expression was hammered by those jealous of ability expressed well, developed by ungodly hard work with good luck mixed into the bad, endured torture to arrive at a success few could fully comprehend, though his memoirs explain a lot.

Another amazing example of how life's events mold talent is Stephen King's ON WRITING (my review dated 10/13/06). Apparently King is frightening enough that many people seem to pause at least twice before tarnishing his talent in public venues which King might read.

But King and Sheldon's books (those mentioned above) are nonfiction. If I wanted to (or even could) take time away from writing pure fiction (I'm ambivalent about alternate routes for expression, because I'm better with fiction than with fact), I'd like to write factual information into novel form, with a focus on what manipulated an auspicious author's talent into the types of books published under his name, an author like Robert B. Parker.

And, I've wondered if the stalking incidents in HUSH MONEY and WALKING SHADOW (my reviews dated 4/11 & 13/06) were based on actual incidents in Parker's life. I've also wondered if his wife, Joan, is as feisty as Susan was in HUSH MONEY. In the real world, Joan probably wouldn't (for understandable reasons) act out the drama quite as Susan did. But, I'll bet RB and Joan enjoyed the heck out of Susan's scenes taking care of the "lady" stalker. Readers aren't the only ones who live vicariously in novels.

What's fiction for if not to write or read about what we'd love (and sometimes fear) to be able to do in life but, for various reasons of cowardliness, courage, or consequences, cannot.

Returning to the issues and joys of MORTAL STAKES, the above tangent subtly explains why I enjoyed so much reading about Parker (via Spenser) wallowing in his passion of Fenway Park baseball. The above tangent also backs up my reasons for appreciating Parker's inclusion of detail of Spenser's personal and professional daily routines. When an author writes when, how, and what his main character eats his daily bread, that author not only draws that character from its essence, the author draws the reader in from the seat of where we all live at base reality.

Spenser's daily routine actions spread like gourmet-peanut-butter and homemade jam over Parker's pages, following Spenser's exit from the ball park, through the following day. Those scenes were a premium use of narrative space lush with syntax ambiance, all of which effected a perfect set up for the riveting scene of mob-type intrusion into Parker's office by Frank Doerr and back up guy. This type of narrative contrast makes high art, the contrast between a heavy risk scene holding "mortal stakes," coming on after the reader has gotten comfortable wallowing in a character's simple, daily human machinations, a character running through "at home" routines, meandering through "at play" situations involving his greatest passions (especially when the pleasurable addictions overlap his livelihood necessities).

After that stirring of contrasting scenes, the comfy/schmoozing Vs. the risky/riveting elements had welded into a novel I wasn't wanting to end. And, in essence, it wouldn't end until I rolled through over 20 more Spenser novels after this one. Yeah!

(I wonder, how Parker felt chained to this venue for a lifetime. He did successfully manipulate it to express various angles of his literary creativity and ethics development process. Maybe he loved every day of his work as an author. Or did he sometimes want to pull his hair out, scream primal howls, to get out of the detective novel constraints? He did develop other series characters and accomplished those Spenser sidelines well.)

Who would have thought a reader like me, who has absolutely zilch natural interest in spectator sports, would have become cozily enchanted, actually entranced by a novel worked around and within baseball. To be able to accomplish this, heavy-duty talent is required to be firing on all cylinders.

V-rrrrooooooooommmmmmmm.

This is what happens when work is play for an author. Yet reading the Frost poetry more closely, it says, "when work is play for mortal stakes." This play is serious. The work of an author, no matter how glamorous or how fun it may seem, is serious. Should editors open the gateway, then get out of the way? (Until the creation is complete, then offer assistance if/as requested?) I don't know. I'm just a fool full of brain sparks. And, with second thoughts having fizzled, I realize Parker, like Sheldon and King, should write his own memoirs. I couldn't EVEN do justice to a biography on Parker's authorship evolution. I live so far into the ozone of fiction, I too often get my facts wrong.

But, a few questions remain.

How would Brenda and Susan contrast, in fitting into baseball and the P.I.'s life, into the life which is played with mortal stakes? The sparing scenes with each of these female sidekicks were beautifully, sensitively, and thougtfully drawn.

And what of the economic/cultural contrasts dramatized so crushingly clearly here, of lives varying from the clean health of Spenser's personal ablutions and ruminations, to the varieties of physical deterioration and downtrodden, deathly drudgery; from urban renewal edging against City Pimp-ery, to a Heartland Hero protecting the sad sanctuary of "his people" lost to an exhausting poverty of mud and swill?

Of course Parker dealt with those situations with his usual finesse, largesse, and an abundance of duress. Earthy wisdom was also applied with Biblical eyes and teeth, gusto and grace.

Before leaving this book, I felt a need to study the sophisticated symbolism of the "setup" location and situation.

What does contemplation of the scene's description bring to mind?

As did the caring, relishing (reader drool inducing) way Spenser took time to cook for himself, the "setup" setting symbolized what Spenser was defending in a battle no less than a full out war, which involved defending the continued existence of everything he held dear, including his life and the sacred people and parts in a way of life hard won in the US. The setting Spenser chose for his showdown scene also symbolized what was sea creature, at the center of that life, ripping its flesh and eating the people and parts.

In MORTAL STAKES, Parker stepped into the storms of life as we're growing it. He stuck his thick neck out and really said something. Go beyond thought spaces between sentences. This work is such a cohesive whole the undercurrents might be best seen after the last page has been turned. Slowly.

Linda G. Shelnutt

I had never heard of Randy Wayne White until a few months ago when I found one of his later novels (Dark Light) in a box at a yard sale for a quarter. I enjoyed it so much, I started at the beginning with Sanibel Flats and am working my way through all of them. I read a good bit, and he is so talented, I'm still surprised I had never heard of him.

The back of this book describes an adventure in Columbia and Panama, and while it is true that it takes our hero two thirds of the way through the story to get started on that trip, the ending does make it worthwhile. Another satisfying read from an author who has yet to let me down.

books are always a delight to order from amazon. this is a great series on SW Florida. I recommend reading them in order they were written.

It's a good thing for me that this wasn't my first Doc Ford novel. It surely would be my last. The plot took forever to take off and by the time it did, I pretty much didn't care about the book anymore. This book is like a string of musings strung loosely with a plot line. It's notes shoved into a binding in order to thicken up a short story. I'm a big fan of Mr. White and the series but this book is not worth the effort. Skip this one and move on to Ten Thousand Islands.

Love these Doc Ford stories-RWW gets better and better,but the older novels are every bit as good as the new.

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my negative reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks

In this novel, Doc Ford is up to more adventures and a lifestyle that appeals to men. I mean, he's not married, he lives in the stilt house in Florida, has a lot of friends (some quirky like Tomlinson, a wonderful character), and he has a lot of lady friends. Doc Ford's background is mirky, a lot of it spent on secret missions for a CIA type of organization.

The average man will get lost most of White's novels, sailing away with him on some grand adventure.

I've enjoyed all of Randy Wayne White's novels. If you're not in the mood to read, then get them on CD. Ron McLarty does a super job with Tomlinson's voice! He makes him sound like Jack Nicholson--very funny. Tomlinson is a strung-out hippy type, whose ramblings contain surprising bits of wisdom. A very compelling character and friend of Doc Ford.