5 comments about Darkness on the Edge of Town.

1. Wow can we say Stephen King rip off. Not only was it a bad take on Stephen Kings Under the Dome but the writing wasn't very good either. Hey what can I say though it is free. I suggest you read the much better book by King oh and it does have 'The Mist' feel to it too. He could have done alot better but it was still free so I can't argue with the price.



2. Horror is as much an emotional response as a physical one. Gross detailing does not make something a horror story- especially when said "horror" story is as cliched as the Darkness on the Edge of Town. I just didn't care about the characters, the town or the darkness. And because I had no emotional response my only physical response to this story is to bother giving it two stars. Ugh, and the people actually refereed to the evil darkness as something that, "should not be named". Hellloooo, Voldemort. Oh and here's a news flash- people tend to reveal their ugliest nature when the chips are down. Helllooooo, EVERY story about apocalyptic times. And goodbye, horror.



3. It hooks you from the start and you want to find out what this darkness is, how it happened, and what the fate of this small town will be. The books ends without revealing any of this. Basically, the main plot is how the darkness ends up consuming most of the town by turning them dark inside and giving them impulses to hurt, torture, humiliate, and kill one another in horrific ways. That is not the type of horror I like, people do things like that (and often much worse) to other people in real life and it just doesn't hold my interest. What interested me most was the darkness itself and what it was and how it got there. All we get from it is that the crazy homeless person in town uses witchcraft in the form of a salt ring/ritualistic symbols to circle the town in order to keep it at bay and that if you look at it long enough it will talk to you and show you your greatest fears. That's about all you get about the darkness. You also get a cryptic name of the "force" of the darkness but no explanations on who or what that might be. I reached the end feeling dissatisfied and more questions that when I started the book.So in a nutshell, not a good horror book. I think the book had wonderful potential to be a great paranormal story and people hurting one another should have been a sub plot, not the main plot. I also hate books with no ending and it's so much worse when you get no answers about what's going on. Give me a good ending, give me a bad ending, I don't care but no ending and no explanations sucked.



4. Even without the 182 times that the "F" word was used, the book is virtually without merit. The storyline is stilted and immature. It is impossible to like the characters and you are almost rooting for the "darkness" to crawl over the edge and grab them just to stop the misery of reading any more about them.
   
   This is not a book I could recommend to anyone.



5. Nothing happens, weak dialogue, foul language for minimal impact, pointless for the most part and characters lacking in any depth....what more could one wish for? Is this what writing has evolved into? Don't waste your time.

5 comments about The Accidental Demon Slayer.

1. The moment I heard about a geriatric witch biker gang, I was intrigued. Then I picked up the book and started reading. I couldn't put it down.
   
   Lizzie Brown's life takes a nose-dive when her grandmother shows up in an 'Kiss My Asphalt' T-shirt, shoves her into the bathroom, and a demon appears on Lizzie's toilet. Turns out she isn't the normal, preschool teacher she thought she was, but descendant from a long line of female ass-kicking demon slayers. Never mind that she can't throw a switch star five feet without it going into the dirt. The only problem is she has a fifth level demon, Vald, with an itching to acquire her power and escape from his hell prison.
   
   Throw in her dog, Pirate, who starts talking and a sexy griffin shapeshifter, Dimitri, and you end up with a book not only packed with laughs but tons of sexual heat. I couldn't help but turn the pages.
   
   Lizzie comes off as a smart, although very reluctant heroine, and I can't help but admire her tenacity. She sticks through it, doesn't give up, even when betrayal is hiding in those she puts the most trust in.
   
   A fun, enjoyable read with a lot of laughs. I'll be sure to pick up the next book in this author's new series.



2. I bought the 3rd book of this series by mistake and figured I had to start at the beginning so bought The Accidental Demon Slayer. I wish I'd read even one chapter of the 3rd book before wasting more money. I hate, hate, hate leaving bad reviews, but I'm halfway through this book and can't even bring myself to finish it!
   
   Lizzie spends all of what seems like two pages in disbelief that she's a demon slayer, hopping right to the lemme-attum stage with no training or clear understanding of what she's getting into. (Which I guess is appropriate because the reader is given no clear understanding either.) There's no depth to her. Nothing endearing. I quite dislike Lizzie. And, truth be told, I feel bad for her Grandmother and Dimitri, and pretty much the whole cast of characters, for having to put up with her.
   
   And yes, the book is written in the first person. Normally I don't find this annoying, but she refers to her dog as "doggy", and her grandmother's Harley as a "hog". I found it neither cute nor endearing. As a matter of fact, it gets to a nails-on-a-chalkboard stage fairly quickly.
   
   It truly got to a point where I couldn't turn another page.



3. Reading this book was like a bad dream you have over and over. The main character is thrown into situation after situation with no training or knowledge. This also means the reader has no clue as to what is going on, either. This could have been a good book if the characters and plot were developed. I couldn't finish this book because after ten chapters neither Lizzie nor I knew the rules of this new universe into which we were both thrown.



4. The Accidental Demon Slayer is funny, along the lines of the Betsy, Queen of the Vampires series. Harley riding Grannies, pickle jar spells, a sexy fellow dropped in the mix and you are in for a romping good time. I literally could not put this book down. I devoured it, because I knew there were two more to go and I love series, where I can learn to love (or hate) different characters. Angie Fox gives you many more characters to love. Our poor heroine goes from being a Nursery school teacher to becoming a Demon Slayer in just a few minutes. She has lots to learn, Luckily she has plenty of wonderful characters to help her along the way. If you like having fun when you read, you will love this book. Guaranteed.



5. This is the first book I have felt compelled to write a review about in Amazon, and what I can say is, it is one of the worse books I have read in a long time. I got a bad feeling when I got to page 15 that I wasn't going to like it. I couldn't get into the story, relate to the characters or find any of it interesting. But, I kept reading, hoping that it was going to get better. I stopped reading at page 90, and will delete the book from my reader. I felt nothing but annoyance for Lizzie and her smarmy quips, and kept wondering why she felt so anguished about a gramma she barely even knew. And although she hasn't been taught to use any of her powers, and has complained all the way to page 90 about her new identity, she continued to lament that she has failed as a demon slayer. There was no depth to the characters or storyline. Period.

5 comments about A Little Death In Dixie.

1. In this compelling, suspense novel, A LITTLE DEATH IN DIXIE, set in Memphis. Tennessee, Detective Danny Able searches for the missing socialite, with whom he shares a past. There is wonderful insight into corruption and the world of law enforcement. The characters mysteriously seem to have something to hide. AN ENJOYABLE AND ENTERTAINING READ! Also recommend,RUNNING SCARED, EXPLOSION IN PARIS, THE PASSAGE, and PACKING FOR MARS.



2. Lisa Turner is a great new (at least to me!) author. I can't wait for her next release. I couldn't put it down - there were so many twists and turns. If you like Sandra Brown and Linda Howard, you're gonna like Lisa Turner!



3. Lisa Turner created characters that came alive as the suspense unfolded. She made it easy to really hate the bad guys. Money, sex, violence, deception, despair - A Little Death in Dixie has it all! The plots were deftly woven together with carefully crafted descriptions and conversations. I couldn't put the book down until the last page - and then I wanted more. Keep 'em coming, Lisa!



4. I'm surprised at how kind the reviews at Amazon are. I found this to be a quite average book - certainly not written with the strength or wit of something like, Lush Life which brought New York so vividly to life, or the charm of something like Cross Road's Cafe. Instead it passed the time adequately enough but none of these characters will linger in my head, and I won't reread this. I also found it really hard to place how old these characters were, I thought Sophia was in her 30's but then it said somewhere that she and T Wayne had been married for 25 years. That really surprised me. If I can't figure out the basics of how old all the characters are, then it is not a well written book.
   
   Mercy is coming home to see her sister Sophia and mother Gloria, but her sister isn't there. Instead she's gone missing. But Sophia is an alcoholic who has gone missing before, so Gloria's worries initially seem a bit misplaced. However it turns out that this time something has happened. Billy is looking for Sophia at the same time his long respected partner Lou (also couldn't place his age, none of the timelines really worked for me in this book) is having a meltdown. Shocking things happen.
   
   I didn't really engage with this book, it wasn't well written, it didn't have that great southern gothic atmosphere that some books can create and the characters, (with the notable exception of Lou) were fairly cliche. And Lou, well, we needed to think about him, but I'm not sure how much I believed his story or found him to be a coherent character. I guess we spent so much time looking at him through Billy's eyes, and it turned out that Billy had a lot to learn about Lou...



5. Looking for a quick little mystery on my Kindle I was pulled in by the title but got so much more than I was looking for. Kept me turning the pages even though things kept getting darker and murkier like the water of the Mississippi itself. Good twists in this plot and some seriously twisted characters as well. Well worth reading!

5 comments about Bake Sale Murder.

1. This novel was thoroughly enjoyable and easy, light reading. The mystery is woven thoroughout sub plots that focus on family life and specifically the relationships between mothers and daughters, and to some extent the relationships between neighbors as well.
   
   The novel reads like much of Kensington Books' products: think Shopaholic and Jennifer Crusie novels. It's fun, escapist reading that makes up for its cliches and lack of realism with humor and heartfelt dialogue. The whole novel was read in one evening (about 3 hours) and was a great, free Kindle read.



2. A quick read that fell flat. I did not care for her writing style.



3. I have not read any Leslie Meier before and was pleased to find that I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely read more from this author.



4. I got "Bake Sale Murder" as a free Kindle download two weeks ago. This is a really good, enjoyable book that's a short read, and filled with likable characters. The plot moves quickly, so no long boring page fillers.



5. I purchased this book because it reminded me of cupcake wars, and it looked like it would be easy reading. I expected a fun, frothy girly novel with not much substance...but was pleasantly shocked. The book was well written, easy to follow and get pulled into, and it had murder and intrigue. It was a great who-done-it, and I love the way the story comes together as a whole. Good red herrings, fast paced, and I swear I put on 5 pounds just reading the recipes. I also appreciated the modern approach of the book, with low carb diets and a great shout out to Atkins with the eat all the meat you can consume motto. I loved it, and now will have to go buy all the other books in this storyline!

5 comments about Divorced, Desperate and Dating (Romantic Mysteries).

1. This is the second book of the Divorced and Desperate series, Sue's story. I read all 3 of the books in the trilogy, but this was BY FAR the best one as far as I'm concerned. I really felt for the characters and could relate to their story. You could really root for this couple, and feel very satisfied when everything worked out in the end. Highly recommended!



2. Sue Finley kills people all the time, and yes, a tampon is a perfectly fine substitute for a gun. She plots out her life with all the attention to detail of a military siege, but plotting is something she excels in, so who can blame her? She's got a cat and an odd propensity to seek therapeutic resolve via deep discourse with her failing ficus, and her mother shows too much cleavage and is dating a produce-selling Elvis wannabe. Her ex-husband is a lesbian trapped in a man's body and he looks better in her skirts than she does. Most important, four months ago she kissed a man and he never called her like he said he would. And it was a hell of a kiss. Added all together, Sue's life is anything but normal, and really, the fact that she kills people for a living is the least bizarre aspect of her whole existence. She is a suspense novelist, after all. But what's really got Sue in a tizzy at the moment is the dead rat that showed up in a Godiva box...talk about disappointing - and terrifying...with the words 'Die, Sue, Die' written in red on the rodent's corpse. Just like she'd written in her latest book. Publicity stunt by an agent who knows no bounds? Sue doesn't think so.
   
   Someone is stalking her. Someone is intent on terrorizing her. Someone is going to kill her.
   
   Jason Dodd, a narcotics cop with the Houston PD and partners with Sue's best friend's husband...not to mention the one who gave Sue that devastating kiss four months ago...has no intention of letting that happen. Sure, he didn't call after saying he would, but he'd never kissed anyone that made him WANT as much as Sue did, and as a foster kid with huge abandonment issues that got tossed around a lot, he's well schooled in how wanting something just leads to pain. But when Sue needs him, Jason drops everything and forces his way into her life to keep her safe, regardless of the foot doctor boyfriend (Jason can pound on him awhile, anyway), the critique group writer with the hots for her (Jason's pretty sure no one would miss him, either), and the other cop who lives a few minutes away and has offered to be there whenever Sue needs him (but he's a major dog with the ladies *cough*jackass*cough* and won't be touching Sue without losing a few precious body parts). Besides, Sue won't need to call him when Jason's sleeping insi...er...beside her.
   
   Now, if he can just convince Sue to let him in.
   
   Divorced, Desperate and Dating is my second Christie Craig book and it's even better than the one I previously read (the more recently published Shut Up and Kiss Me). I can't get enough of Craig's blend of humor, suspense, simmering sexuality, and tug-at-your-heartstrings romance. I loved the depth of the characters, and admired the way Craig portrayed these two flawed and damaged people while focusing on the fun instead of the angst even as she maintained the importance of the past wounds on their hearts and lives - because she certainly could have gone the way of pathos and angst, given the lives Sue and Jason have lived.
   
   I also enjoyed the mystery even more than the one in Shut Up and Kiss Me, as in this book it felt a bit more personal and threatening to Sue. It seemed to focus the danger a bit more than it was in the other book and kept the storyline tighter. Actually, I just flat out enjoyed Divorced, Desperate and Dating more on every level, but that's no criticism of Shut Up and Kiss Me, because that was a great book, too. I think I just enjoyed Sue's and Jason's journey a bit more, and think that the baggage they'd been carting around was more clearly defined and given a bit more room to be explored and that was very appealing to me for the romance aspects of the novel. It made the conclusion feel that much more hopeful and resolved.
   
   There were a couple of issues that I had with this book, though. I have to admit, I love a romance that slow builds to incendiary as much as the next gal, but even I had more than one moment of wanting to pitch Sue through a window if she denied Jason one more time. Poor guy. I know he's clueless about things, but sheesh, cut a guy some slack. It's not like she was all emotionally healthy and mature, either. In fact, that's another issue I had - too much of the book portrayed Jason as the guy with issues that he needed to get over and not enough focused on Sue's own very large issues. They were addressed, but not as comprehensively as Jason's were. And I know this is gonna sound a bit picky...but Sue's a bit of a girly girl, crying not only at the drop of a hat, but at the drop of every hat, and too scatterbrained to remember she bought a gun to protect herself when the chips really start going down. Strictly personal preference here, but I like my female leads to have a bit more confidence under pressure and a bit more spine.
   
   Also, I think reading Shut Up and Kiss Me a couple of days ago was rather a detriment to me when it came to this book, because there were a lot of similarities between Jason Dodd and Sky Gomez from that one. Both were foster kids. Both are cops. Both had traumatic childhoods that left them both with love-'em-and-leave-'em issues. Of course, there were differences, too, but because so much definition of the characters of both of those men revolved around those points, it was a little odd reading about them almost back-to-back.
   
   One other complaint that has nothing to do with how the story was told and everything to do with the formatting of the book on Kindle: it sucks. I don't have a hard copy of the book handy, but on Kindle, I got very fed up with seeing 'to night,' 'in de pen dent,' and 'plea sure,' just to name a few. I don't normally comment on formatting issues...heck, most of the time they're not significant enough to jar me out of the story because I get very absorbed when I'm reading. Unfortunately, in this book they not only jarred me out of the story in several places, but they made me have to stop and concentrate on what was being written because some of the words that were split like that (i.e. 'plea sure') form two complete words on their own ('plea' & 'sure') - not that they made sense as such in the narrative, but that's sort of the point. I don't consider that a flaw in the story and it hasn't affected my rating, but it was very annoying and I'm all about the warnings.
   
   Still, Divorced, Desperate and Dating gave me the most satisfying non-paranormal type romance read I've had in a really long time, and when combined with the humor and the suspense, it has really catapulted Christie Craig onto my "download everything she writes as soon as it's available" list. And yes, I really have a "download everything she writes as soon as it's available" list - slightly better titled in reality, but that's the gist of it.
   
   Take a chance on Christie Craig if you're fond of romantic suspense, don't mind that suspense being quite a bit lighter than others in the genre, like humor mixed in with your romance, and enjoy having a good time with characters and a plot that aren't the most complex in the universe, but make you feel good darn good anyway. Divorced, Desperate and Dating is pure fun. 4.5 Stars.
   
   Oh! I almost forgot!! Check out Christie Craig's website for a non-published epilogue to Divorced, Desperate, and Dating that will warm your heart and strengthen your admiration of the romance between Jason and Sue.



3. I downloaded this recently as a Kindle freebie and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The plot idea and pacing were great. The characters were well-developed, and the author has a real talent for writing humor. The main problem with the book was the constant use of lack of communication as a plot device. It usually doesn't hold up well in books I've read. She made it work, for the most part, but strained it almost to the breaking point several times. Also, the yes-I-will, no-I-won't waffling by the heroine about having sex with the hero was drawn out too long. Even with these two negatives, the book was a good read overall, and I look forward to reading more books by this author.



4. Really enjoyed this book. It had wonderfully funny, laugh out loud moments. The mystery was good, not always great but good. The romance was good. Nice happy ever after ending. But one of the best things was that the characters were honest, good, nice, and funny people. People I would like to know. Christie Craig has a unique way of writing, that made me feel like I was seeing and listening to what was being said...and it was all said and done quickly. It was just a nice 'feel good' kind of romantic mystery. And the fact that it was FREE just added to the enjoyment. I will be looking for other books by this author.



5. This was a great quick read. She not only satisfied my need for romance but also gave a glimps into the world of a writer.

5 comments about The Girl Who Played with Fire.

1. The initial offering in this series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was barely good enough to goad me into buying this sequel, but this will not happen for the third book.
   Other negative reviews touch on many of the things that I had problems with, but I'll name the things that bothered me off of the top of my head.
   The plot was slow developing; it took 250 pages just to get to the point described by the premise on the back cover of the paperback edition. WAY TOO MUCH DETAIL; definitive descriptions of shopping trips to IKEA and convenience stores with a plethora of product placement. Lisbeth Salander, an interesting character from the first book, is now a superwoman, who I never felt was in any danger whatsoever. Blomqvist the male lead is almost as invulnerable, but dull and uninteresting.
   All other male characters are either 'good guys' or 'bad guys' depending on their opinion of Salander. The female characters are completely interchangeable(with the exception of over-the-top lesbian Miriam Wu) and I often became confused; often I was thinking that character Erica Berger was Malin Errikson and vice versa.
   The bad guys are extremely one dimensional and have no chance against the likes of Salander; when they had her in their clutches with a chance of putting her out of the way permanently, I couldn't help but think of Dr Evil's son in Austin Powers, imploring his dad to just shoot him; if the evil dudes in this book had just shot Salander then, I would boost this rating 1 star.



2. I want to let you know how pleased I am with Lilly Street Books. They are a small business out of their home and they got the book The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson to me amazingly fast. I heard from them the day after I placed the order and they had already mailed the book to me. Considering there was a weekend and a holiday, they still got the book to me in less than a week! A five star experience.



3. I bought this as an airport novel, and I think it turned out to be a moderately entertaining one. The first third of the novel was quite dull, but eventually it became interesting enough to finish - not a classic by any means, just the sort of book that is a nice diversion if you have nothing better to read.
   
   Basically, this is a kind of superhero novel; Salander uses her brainpower, her computer skills, and her skill with weapons to defeat any enemy, including one who is basically a supervillian- a giant who feels no pain. When Salander is not part of the action, the novel drags; most of the supporting characters are not particularly memorable.



4. I could hardly wait to get my hands on this after devouring "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" in a 24-hour period. The characters are picked up where they left off, with Salander now a world-traveling billionaire and Blomkvist back at his beloved Millennium newspaper. The story this time around revolves around a journalist and his girlfriend who are murdered on the eve of exposing many high-ranking and public Swedish officials in a sex trafficking scandal. They are murdered and Lisbeth Salander is the main suspect. Blomkvist and her mentor Dragan Armansky are convinced of her innocence and set about proving so.
   
   This book delves further into Lisbeth Salander's mysterious and damaged psyche. We learn the root of "all the Evil" that was referenced in the first book as well as the mystery of her family. It's all delicious and makes for one hell of a ride!



5. Really takes the reader into the action. So many book clubs and friends read this book that I felt i "had" to read it. Worth the time. I'm ready to read the next in the series.

5 comments about Triple Exposure.

1. That is the only way I can explain Colleen's ability to create characters. I love her books, but she exceeded my expectations with Triple Exposure. You'll love Rachel Copeland.



2. Colleen Thompson is one of the truely great story tellers of our time. I enjoy reading all of her books. I believe you will too.



3. I read everything from the back of cereal boxes to Nietzsche. Let me tell you, this author is a keeper. Easy to read, easy to love, but you won't be able to quit thinking about what she's written.
   Jody



4. TRIPLE EXPOSURE
   COLLEEN THOMPSON
   Romantic Suspense
   
   Rating: 4.5 Enchantments
   
   Killing her would-be attacker did not save Rachel Copeland from terror. She left Boston to return home Marfa, Texas, hoping to escape the media and a stalker, who believes Rachel didn't act in self-defense, but as a seductress and murderer. Believing if she left it all behind, she could start over.
   
   Zeke Pike is a loner. He is perfectly happy not having to deal with people on a daily basis. He'd rather work with his hands, creating wood furniture, or ride out into the desert, alone. He has left his past far behind, missing it, but never to seeking to repair it.
   Rachel and Zeke strike and unlikely friendship that quickly leads to passion. But the past is not ready to be buried. Who seeks to hurt Rachel, and why the animosity? Can Zeke and Rachel find happiness, if the killer doesn't get to them first?
   
   TRIPLE EXPOSURE is a masterfully spun tale of romantic suspense. I was not able to correctly guess the true villain, though I had many suspects in mind. I was completely absorbed into this gripping story. While the thrilling suspense kept me glued to my seat, the compelling tenderness Zeke felt for Rachel, and her returned passion was wonderfully captured into words. I felt as if these two were perfect for each other. Though they had to work at realizing they were meant to have a future together. I was highly amused when the high school classmate of Rachel's was humiliated by her own actions, I always enjoy seeing a "mean girl" get a shot of her own medicine.
   
   I look forward to reading more books by Colleen Thompson, who, prior to writing suspense wrote historical books as Gwyneth Atlee and Colleen Easton. She currently lives in Texas with her family. When she's not writing you can find her with her family or with a book in her face. You can learn more about her on the web at: [...]
   
   Aemelia
   Enchanting Reviews
   October 2009
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   



5. ***This review may contain a spoiler***
   There is something that is seen fairly commonly in science fiction, horror and urban fantasy fictions, and that is the pocket universe. This is when writers create their own little universe, and then continue to explore it in their fictions. This is not the same as having a continuing character; these pocket universes rarely have continuing characters. Thompson seems to have created her own little pocket universe in her Texas regionalism writings. A main character here comes from Bone Lake (see below) which will be the setting for Thompson's next novel (Beneath Bone Lake), all though I don't recall if the character here is mentioned in "Beneath Bone Lake", a novel which itself would give birth to a minor character that will star in her own novel due sometime this year. "Triple Exposure" and "Bone Lake" are the only two Thompson novels that I've read so far, so I don't know if her earlier novels are also set in this pocket universe. Investigation is needed.
   
   In "Triple Exposure", Rachel Copeland is coming home. See, she's been on vacation at the state of Texas' expense for a year after killing Kyle Underwood, an unstable sociopath who had stalked her, terrorized her, and it turns out, had drugged and raped her. It's not a smooth homecoming as some members of her family, blood and extended, have issues with her. Not the least of who is Patsy, Rachel's stepmother, with whom Rachel has never managed to bond with after Patsy's marriage to Rachel's Dad soon after Rachel's mother had died. There is also the small matter that Rachel has a nasty stalker who blames Rachel for Kyle's behavior, and Rachel believes the stalker to be Kyle's mother, who had managed to terrorize her, even during Rachel's time in the Big House.
   
   Once a promising and respected photographer, Rachel's career was sidelined by her stay at the hoosegow, and its subsequent scandal; now home in Marfa, and trying to put her life back in order, Rachel is approached by local social matron and queen-bee Antoinette Gallinardi. Gallinardi now wants Rachel to do some work for her and her committee, needing the money, she decides to take the job, during which she meets the hot Zeke Pike, and man with his own problems, and who is a man (from Bone Lake) on the run from his own past. And who seems to have his own (deadly) stalker.
   
   A firm believer in multi-perspective storytelling, the novel drifts between the viewpoints of almost all of the major female characters, and Zeke. Through this procedure we able to see, feel, and understand the pressure that Rachel's problems, through no fault of her own, has put upon her family, we get to feel the effects of the growing passion between Rachel and Zeke, and feel the pressure of the effects of the stalking on Rachel and Zeke as they find that they will have to confront the unpleasantness of their past. We also get to see through the stalkers/stalker's eyes and we get to know what they are doing, feeling, and planning, thus ratcheting up the Hitchcockian-style suspense.
   
   Thompson has several great things going in this novel. The first is the whole airplane thing; this is a nice change of pace, as it puts a slightly different spin on the storyline. One of the ways this is seen is how Rachel, almost against (well, not really) her will, is drawn back into her father's chartered airplane business.
   
   Another good thing is this novel's plot, which may have one of the most convoluted plotlines that I've read in many a year. Unlike many who find such things unbelievable, I'm just happy Thompson's taking me along for the ride, and it manages to keep the book interesting, and to keep me reading.
   
   There is also the likeability of the major characters, like the feisty and hurt Rachel, who seems to having the type of problems that even Dr. Phil couldn't solve, or of Patsy, who seems hurt and confused by Rachel's attitude, and is unsure as how to handle her. I also liked the way that Thompson will keep you guessing as to what the stalkers are doing, who they are, and what their next moves will be.
   
   A negative is that after bending the storyline into a proverbial and convoluted pretzel, Thompson gives us a too neat of an ending to Rachel's problems, one of which comes dangerously close to that of a deux ex machina. This is especially clear when we find out the identity of one of the novel's antagonists, and of all of Rachel's personal, business, and social problems.
   
   "Triple Exposure" also has a neat cover, which is explained within the book, and the novel even has a touch of the supernatural to it, as the infamous Marfa Lights keep becoming part of the plotline, right up to a time when they almost get a major character killed. However much I liked this Hitchockian novel, it's the too neat ending, though, which knocks the rating down a star. The quote that gives this review its title is Thompson's take on the Marfa Lights.

5 comments about The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

1. I did not want "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" to come to an end. How sad that the author Stieg Larsson, is not around so that we could anticipate his next novel.
   Edith



2. This book followed in an excellent series! I thought it was a bit dryer than the first two, but still a great read!



3. Great series beginning to end. I loved each book individually but this one was by far my favorite. It picks up immediatly after the last book ends and it dives right into the action, where as the first 2 books seemed to take a while longer to get going. This book follows multiple investigations of the same crime from all the different sides simutaneously. Constantly going back and forth from all the points of view. Which can sometimes be confusing but I felt it was done really well. I hated Dr Teleboria just as much as Lisbeth and I absoultely loved the scene in court when he finally gets whats coming to him! Great stuff.
   
   The ending was only ok in my book... but maybe thats because I would rather the story didn't end :) I just felt that most of the action finished up a few chapters before the ending... so those last few pages just seemd to drag on for me.
   
   There are rumors that Stieg's live in girlfreind is still writting the 4th and final book... not sure how much truth their is to that, but I really hope it is true. Only thing is, unlike the other 2 books, I didn't feel like much was left unresolved for a 4th story to continue on. The only thing that was never explained... and I would love to know more about was Lisbeth's twin sister. If a 4th book ever does coem out I hope to finally meet the mysterious twin.



4. Great set of books. Loved them all. What more can I say that hasn't already been covered, NOTHING. These are a great read.



5. This last book in the Millenium series got off to a decent start, a very slow middle, with a terrific courtroom finish. Reading through the mid-section can be something of a trial, however, if one is determined, the reader will be rewarded with a satisfying conclusion. I must state, that I found the first book in series to be the best, that being established, the reader will be enticed to continue to the finish.
   Like many readers, I found the sections relating to Blomkvist to be somewhat dull, & those dealing with Salander much more interesting. As many readers & reviewers have noted, you will either love this series, or hate it. True... I can appreciate how both sides of this debate are valid.
   On a lighter note, it indeed humorous how much coffee is consumed by the characters. In each book, this consumption of the beverage is more pronounced. I found this rather amusing, & it's impossible to get through a page of the 3rd book without at least one mention of... coffee... Readers! Hoist your coffee cups to a fine finish, it is indeed a pity that we must bid Lizbeth Salander farewell.

5 comments about The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

1. I had finished reading this edition before I realized it was incomplete. The Bedford Park edition The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection, with attractive cover illustration of London Bridge, is a much better edition overall, with proper formatting of numbers, and contains all of the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels.
   It was extremely annoying to encounter strange symbols every time a number is mentioned, and to be forced to decipher badly-formatted html to figure out what number was being stated. Also, a variety of line breaks in the wrong places were very frustrating.
   This edition is simply not worth trying to save $0.99.



2. This Kindle freebie is great for readers who are only keen to read the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The stories contained within this title are:
   
   A Scandal in Bohemia
   The Red-Headed League
   A Case of Identity
   The Boscombe Valley Mystery
   The Five Orange Pips
   The Man with the Twisted Lip
   The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
   The Adventure of the Speckled Band
   The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
   The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
   The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
   The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
   
   
   This Kindle freebie does NOT include "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", "His Last Bow", "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes", or the novels, i.e. "A Study in Scarlet", "The Sign of Four", "The Hound of the Baskervilles", and "The Valley of Fear".
   
   It is an excellent "purchase" for readers who would like to enjoy reading about the intrepid Holmes and Watson on their adventures. The formatting is okay, i.e. not excellent but not overly annoying either. As is the case with many other Kindle titles, the Table of Contents is not one which is reader-friendly - one cannot simply click on a particular story to get to it, but has to manually scroll through. I hope this is addressed as more books become available as Kindle titles. On the whole, I have little to complain about, except for the lamentable lack of illustrations. To those who love Sherlock Holmes, I would recommend getting not just the complete stories and if you don't mind a truly bulky (yet beautiful set), I would suggest the annotated set by Leslie S. Klinger,The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories (2 Vol. Set) and The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Volume 3: The Novels (A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear) (non-slipcased edition).



3. Bonus points to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for being a free kindle book and for being one of the greatest firsts of its kind. That being said, the quality of the book is not quiet as "timeless" as I had hoped. I read Sherlock Holmes right after finishing Treasure Island and before that, Around the World in 80 Days. Needless to say, these other "classics" I had picked up were more impressive than I could have imagined and easily hold their own to anything written in modern adventure/thriller novels. I wish the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes gave the readers a little more freedom to venture other possible solutions and to really stir the imagination but, sadly, it does not.



4. Numerical corruption and 140 year old english aside, this is a pretty good book, but I prefer my crime mysteries to present the facts so that I might be able to solve it as well. Sherlock Holmes would be much more a hero in my mind if all of the evidence was presented, and yet it was still difficult to solve the issue at hand.
   
   An entertaining read, nonetheless.



5. I love the stories, and will read the others, but I found them a little too simple for an adult. Maybe it's because I'm used to something more intricate, maybe I read these as a child and I just don't rememberit - and the answers are already in my head. While I wasn't as smart as Holmes, it was close. I guess I expected something more challenging. Besides what seems like obvious outcomes, even for me (i.e. I don't like to try to solve the ending, I like the ride), I did find the reader and the writing/stories entertaining. Essentially, I gave it a 5 for that, and a 3 for story depth.

5 comments about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

1. Not even in the league with other Scandinavian mysteries. I'm thinking of the Wallender series and, even more, of Joe Nesbo's Harry Hole adventures. This is just a collage of adolescent clichés, post-modern pseudo intellectual rubbish that is eventually saved by a compelling set of good guys who do very little work to solve the mystery. To really get into the book you need to believe that justice ='s a female Scandinavian superhero and a lot of bumbling and totally unbelievable Swedish folk who are just too good to be true.



2. Larsson's ability to captivate the reader with wonderful character development and a dynamite story add up to a fantastic novel. Too bad he's not around to write more. Pulitzer Prize material.



3. I really thought I would like this book, since everyone I talked to loved it and couldn't wait to run out and buy the next ones to read. Not me, I found very little interesting in the book and don't understand what all the fuss is about. We read the book for our next book club meeting; it should an interesting book to discuss since people either like it or found it lacking.



4. I admit I was late coming into the "girl" series from Stieg Larsson. I decided to give it a shot and finished within 24 hours. It was completely un-putdownable. The story and characters are both complex and layered but handled masterfully. Lisbeth Salander is and utterly fascinating leading lady, absolutely riveting and completely unapologetic. She is the kind of character that none of us know in real life, and we're not sure we would want to. She is brash, moral, complex, angry, flawed, and brilliant. Blomkvist is the perfect complement. He is also flawed and brilliant, and the forces that conspire to bring these two together are awesome.
   
   Blomkvist is hired by an eccentric millionaire to write his family's complex biography, but with the secret mission of finding the man's niece, lost to him 40 years ago. Blomkvist is a fallen and disgraced journalist, having written an unsubstantiated article about the financial corruption of a billionaire. He decides to leave his newspaper for a sabbatical of sorts to give the scandal a chance to die down. He accepts the offer from Henrik Vanger, thinking the whole time that he will be able to make no headway. What he finds will change him and everyone around him forever.



5. This was a great book. The first few pages seemed to drag a bit to me, but then it really took off. I couldn't put it down. And then to my delight, my book clube selected it for this month's book. Now I'm already ahead of the game! I've read the second in the series and am anxiously awaiting the third to arrive in the mail!