5 comments about The Aristocrat (Mira Romance).

1. like other reviewers I'm a Coulter fan, mainly the Historicals but some contemporaries too-this one I couldn't even finish. Maybe it was the football story line-I'm no sports fan-but that's too easy an out. The characters-one dimensional, so trite and formulaic(sp?). I finally gave up the ghost after 80 pages. The storyline-about the marriage or no estate-would have made more sense in a historical, but just seems silly in a contemporary. I agree with another reviewer-this one was NOT up to "Coulter standards" I'm sorry to say..
   
   If you do decide to chuck convention and buy this book anyway-buy it from a used Amazon seller for a penny-that way you won't be out too much dough.



2. Suddenly becoming Viscount Asherwood and the lord of an English manor was enough of a shock for pro quarterback Brent Asherwood. Finding out he could lose it all if he didn't marry the cousin the whole family referred to a an ugly duckling was too much. Brent was damned if some dusty old will was going to control his life. Then he actually met the swan that Daphne had become--and realized that what an eccentric relative had really left him was a legacy of love.



3. The book, though contemporary, is a throwback to both the romance novels of the 1980s and historical romances. The girl is virginal and shy, and the rich, wealthy, powerful male comes to care for her, falls in love, and brings the girl out of his shell.
   
   The book's somewhat realistic, in that the guy sometimes lashes out, and says incredibly stupid or cruel things. Some readers find this provides a less escapist experience though.
   
   Some parts are adorable. The heroine, despite her British heritage, becomes a huge American football expert. More parts are simply dull, or perhaps eyeroll-inducing. The execution is not good enough to rise above the cliches. Examples include the heroine's Cinderella transformation, a case of mistaken identity, and a vamp's attempted seduction of the hero.
   
   The book's not that bad, but it's still not worth one's time.



4. I've read several other Coulter books, and usually she's a great author, but this one was pretty bad. I couldn't even finish it! My recommendation is that if you still want to try this book, at least get it from the library! I was definitely glad I did, so I didn't waste my money! Happy reading!



5. This book was not up to par for Ms. Coulter. It was very dry and slow. There was not much of a plot and was missing much. I would not recommend nor read again.

No comments about Overcoming Patent Infringement Allegations: Key Insights into Patent Licensing & Effective Strategies for Dealing With Alleged Breaches & Extortion.

5 comments about The Rules of Silence.

1. After having been disappointed in David Lindsey's last book, Animosity, I approached The Rules of Silence with at least some trepidation. Was Animosity a fluke or an indicator of a downward trend in Lindsey's writing? The answer was hard to say: on the one hand, The Rules of Silence is a far better book, but it also suffers from some of the same flaws as the earlier book.

   In this novel, Titus Cain, a wealthy software entrepreneur, is targeted for extortion by a vicious and very well-organized thug. While Cain seeks help from a mysterious anti-terrorism expert named Burden, his friends start dying. As Burden takes over, Cain is caught in the middle, manipulated by both sides: even as the extortionist makes him jump through hoops, Burden - a do-gooder willing to kill innocents if it means elimination a major terrorist - has Cain doing things that grate on the businessman's conscience.

   Interestingly, the big problem with this book is exactly the same as in Animosity: the protagonist is not a man of action but rather reaction. Cain rarely takes any initiative but merely reacts to the situation. As a reader, I want to see Cain actually do something; instead, it is Burden who is called in to save the day, and Cain is just along for the ride. In a suspense novel, we may expect the main character to try and depend on an authority figure, but we also anticipate that in the end, it'll be the hero who will succeed or fail, not his substitutes.

   The story itself is pretty exciting although there are very few plot twists. The principal villain is a nasty piece of work, and is probably the most interesting character in the whole novel. The fact that this is a generally fun and fast read goes a long way to offset its critical flaws, and overall, I'd have to rate this as a good, but not great book...a weak four stars. For fans of Lindsey, this is a mixed success, but it is generally an improvement and should encourage readers to try another of his books in the future.




2. I won't bore you with a synopsis of the book, let me just say that as someone who has read all of Lindsey's books this is one if his best. It's fast paced and is taunt. I have read very few writers who can describe places like Lindsey, you can almost smell the dank Mexico City air. If you love thrillers and enjoy great writing then you will love Lindsey and this book. Other books from David Lindsey I recommend: A Cold Mind, In the Lake of the Moon, Body of Truth, and Requiem for a Glass Heart.



3. I enjoyed this book very much. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down until the end. The basic story: Wealthy man is told that he is "kidnapped," and then told that he will lead his life normally, but if money isn't put in investments owned by the kidnappers, the protagonist's friends and family will begin to die, one by one.
   
   This is a truly frightening premise, and is well described. I was at first annoyed because the villains all seemed to be hispanic, but then I noted that one of the really good guys is a man named Garcia who lives in Mexico, who is a sort of "fixer" of these kinds of problems. I enjoyed all the characters and recommend this book for anyone that has an afternoon to kill reading a nice mystery/thriller.



4. Within the confines of its genre, this book is fantastic. It scared the daylights out of me so patiently, so quietly, that I didn't even realize I was gripping it so tightly until I became worried about library fines. We meet a character, get to know enough of him to find him okay and basically likable, and then we watch him react to his life falling apart. His heroic response wins us over. The rest of the book is not as much fast-paced as it is unrelenting, and while this isn't literature, it is an efficient use of language and scene that is admirable in any genre. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to get completely lost in a book, and find it the best of its genre so far. I hope Mr Lindsey hits the bestseller list alongside guys like Michael Connelly and Lee Childs, as both write similar mysteries that are not quite as intense or psychological as this one.



5. A real page-turner, original plot, very suspenseful. But in the end I didn't care much about Titus or Rita. And I found the baseplot of the terrorist intrigue VERY confusing. This is about my fifth David Lindsey novel and wasn't my favorite, but was very good.

5 comments about Death For Dessert.

1. Heroine: plump

   After thirty five years of marriage to her surgeon husband Ted, May Bell List finds herself traded in for a series of silicone sylphs. So after a brief but satisfying vendetta, she sets out across country in Ted's "STUD DOC" '68 Camaro convertible and winds up taking an apartment in a California Active Seniors center.

   And wasn't she sorry that she signed that lease?

   As soon as she moves in, May Bell finds herself surrounded by odd neighbors: inedible-cookie-baking-queen Ida, owl-eyed-walker-wielding Fanny, Mr. and Mrs. "loud-Mariachi-music-in-the-pre-dawn-hours" and their little yapper of a dog Paco, "I've got Viagra" Grady, and senile part-time nudist "Bob 'What What?!'". Not to mention Mrs. Berkowitz, a scary fruitcake of an old hag who seems to have an eerie hold on the other members of the living complex. She stares at May Bell as if she knows all her deepest, darkest secrets; then begins to taunt her with them, naming the unknowable aloud.

   Is Mrs. Berkowitz psychic, psychotic, or both? It's up to May Bell to find out!

   What worked for me:

   I gobbled up "Death for Dessert" in one sitting. It was the funniest thing I've read in a while!

   If nothing else, the messages I took away from this book were a) I'd rather be living alone with 23 cats in my blue-hair days than move into a retirement village and risk having neighbors like Mrs. Berkowitz and Bob What-What, and b) I should invest in Oil of Olay, stock and product.

   Size-wise May Bell was plump, but lost a bit of weight worrying over her life.

   What didn't work for me:

   I've still got images of Bob What-What wearing some of his most revealing attire floating before my eyes.

   Overall:

   Engaging characters, clever prose, and fun surprises make "Death for Dessert" a do-not-miss for fans of quirky cozy mysteries!

   Warning: there is some weight loss in this book.

   If you liked "Death for Dessert" you might also enjoy the Odelia Grey mystery series, "The Southern Sisters" mystery series or "The Gumshoe Girls".




2. Following her husband's desertion her for a younger model after thirty-five years of marriage, May List moves into the Active Senior Living Apartment Complex. She almost immediately runs afoul of her weird new neighbor Mrs. Berkowitz over a typewriter. Still she settles in only to find the place boring except for her nosy neighbor who knows thins about her no one should know.

   When she buys a computer, Mrs. Berkowitz shows her how to use it. May leaves the Berkowitz apartment only to realize she inadvertently took with her some disks belonging to her neighbor. These contain blackmailing information that apparently Mrs. Berkowitz uses to extort money from other seniors. May confronts the other seniors and learns that it is true so she goes to challenge Mrs. Berkowitz only to find the woman dead. Tampering with the crime scene and delaying the calling of the cops, May searches for the identity of a killer when everyone detested the victim.

   Although Mrs. Berkowitz may come across as a lowlife with no redeeming qualities, readers will enjoy this amusing yet intriguing cozy because of her human insight and schemes. The audience will see an assisted living facility from the inside and though well kept, the tedium takes a toll on the residents. Though it is never clear how Mrs. B attains her data even if it is implied that the computer is her source especially to May, fans of amateur sleuth cozies will enjoy this senior citizen investigative tale.

   Harriet Klausner




3. This is The Funniest book I have ever read. Every chapter had me laughing so hard I was gasping not to say of tearing eyes. I am so glad I found T Dawn Richard this world needs more ladies like her the comic relief is priceless. The Best Entertainment Yet. I loved her characters and all the shenanigans of her gang Don't miss this book.
   Nancy



4. Death for Dessert is the first book in a series with her elderly lead character May List. There aren't that many authors prepared to have elderly heroines so what T. Dawn Richard does with this series is quite unique. The other two books so far in this series are of course A Wrinkle in Crime (Five Star Mystery) (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series), and Digging Up Otis (May List Mysteries). No doubt there will be more to come. There are a few other authors out there who fight the stereotype that old people are useless and also have their crafty old and very intersting characters save the day also check out Retirement Homes Are Murder (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series) by Mike Befeler and On the Warpath by Gerald Hammond.
   
   In Death for Dessert May List leaves her husband and moves into a retirement home. Once moved in she finds she can't wait to get out but the manager tells her she will not get a refund so she's got to stick it out for a little while. Inside the complex are an assortment of odd retirees who get up to mischievous and weird acts. Across the hall is a particularly scary old lady who never leaves her apartment but seems to take pleasure in tormenting her from behind the door. Her name is Mrs Berkowitz and the other residents have warned May to avoid and have nothing to do with her. This is easier said than done however as the old lady seems to know details of May's life that even her husband never did. May is not only disturbed by this but determined to work out how this woman knows what she does and why everyone else is so afraid of her. Soon she and her neighbours have an a lot more serious issue to worry about but prove their minds aren't dead with a scheme to make things right and improve all of their lives.
   
   A very entertaining book, is a bit slow in parts to begin with as the scene is being set and we are taken to the main storyline. I didn't see the point to the events in the last few pages which are the only reason I don't rate this five stars. Saying that I can't wait to read the next books in this series.



5. I kept finding myself wanting to add plot lines and twists that the author didn't.
   
   After a life time of marriage, May List flees a philandering doctor-husband and ends up in an "active senior living" complex. Not only has her life ended up this way but she encounters a bizarre group of elderly residents that aren't exactly as they appear. After a bizarre encounter with the erratic Mrs. Berkowitz, May is warned to stay as far away from this woman as possible, but May's curiosity gets the best of her when Mrs. Berkowitz just happens to know the secret details of May's life.
   
   May starts putting the pieces together and finally see this woman as the blackmailer that she really is, the only problem is that it's a little too late when Mrs. Berkowitz is found dead and the plate of brownies that May had found next to her door is now empty on Mrs. Berkowitz's counter.
   
   It's up to the "Active Seniors" to solve the crime and get their secrets back.
   
   Parts of this book are very funny, but with the slow pace and pat ending, this book just didn't work for me.

No comments about Secrets for Sale (Faithgirlz! / Boarding School Mysteries).

1 comments about A Measure of Undoing.

1. This is a powerful and moving book, beautifully written with emotion and grace. The author transports the reader to the heat and humidity and culture of south Viet Nam from first sentence to last. A must read for anyone who has ever been to Viet Nam, who has ever thought of going to Viet Nam or who has ever even heard of Viet Nam.

5 comments about Joseph's Kidnapping: Extortion in Canton.

1. ACE and the boys are at it again! I don't want to give away the surprise (gotta read it yourself!!). Once again, Randy Rawls spins a wonderful Texas tale that includes my two favorite characters, Striker and Sweeper. Ace and the boys have a ball getting to the bottom of the latest mystery. Recommend it for all.



2. If you liked Randy Rawls previous book, you'll love this one.
   Joseph's Kidnapping has more unexpected twists and turns than a sack full of snakes. It's a good mystery with enough clues to make you fell you're working side by side with Dallas private investigator, Ace Edwards.
   Two inept kidnappers with a single-minded greed have grabbed Joseph and are demanding a ransom from rancher Chip Jamison. Chip calls his old college friend Ace to solve the case.
   In the small East Texas town of Canton, Ace is misled, threatened, lied to and loved by a parade of characters including an eccentric rancher, his man-eating sister, a tough female lawyer who hate everything in pants and files lawsuits faster than she talks, quirky servantys and two cats that seem to have the answers.
   You can smell and feel the pinewoods in Rawls' words. Like all his books, this is an easy, satisfying read that exposes the hidden lives in small Texas towns. It's filled with humor and fun.
   Readers looking for an exciting mystery writer with a twisted sense of humor will love Randy Rawls.



3. We're back in another quaint Texas town with my special PI, Ace Edwards. Helping to solve the mystery are my two favorite cats, Sweeper and Striker. The three take us on a roller coaster ride well worth the admission price. Just who is Joseph? You'll have to read the book to find out. And while you're reading you'll be bequiled with humor and characters. Buy Joseph's Kidnapping. You'll be richer for the experience.




4. 
   When private investigator Ace Edwards is roused by the shrill of his phone in the dead of the night, he's not thrilled to hear the voice of an old college buddy on the other end. But his buddy sounds desperate and Edwards is in no position to turn down a paying job. He's also admittedly a little intrigued, and how could he not be? The buddy wants Edwards to save his ...-- literally.

   With that premise, author Randy Rawls spins Edwards on a caper bigger than the Texas landscape on which the story is placed. It's no small adventure, and at times the cowboy P.I. feels a little out of place on the sprawling ranch where he bunks while trying to separate the good guys from the bad guys. But he brings his trusty companions with him -- two cats -- and in short order develops yet another friend, this one with long legs, a husky voice, and amorous intentions as vexing as they are attractive. Her name is Wanda, and between the push-me, pull-me relationship she offers and the increasing complexities of a kidnapping that evolves into murder, Edwards has his hands full.

   Not to worry. Even if Edwards doesn't always know what he's doing, his creator surely does. Rawls skillfully paints his characters in affectionate and humorous terms that makes them as comfortable as family. Put another way: You'll want to take them home with you. By the time you've finished the story, you'll also want to eat. In Rawls' world, meals are the size of Montana, which in context of Texas probably makes sense.

   As for the college buddy...? Rawls might just fool you with that one. Let him. The point isn't to outwit the private eye. It's to enjoy the ride with him.

   "Joseph's Kidnapping" is Rawls' second Ace Edwards mystery. It's a well-crafted story penned by a writer who clearly knows how to tweak the ordinary into something refreshingly new. Buy it, read, then pester Rawls for a third. He could become addictive.




5. Seems like 3AM is the start of the workday for Ace Edwards. Not the time of day, or night, he would choose, but it seems to be the time of the morning when his phone rings with the frantic calls for his PI services. And just like before, when Jake Adams' house burned down, again the phone rings at 3 AM disturbing the sleep of Ace, and his two partners, Striker and Sweeper. Not only that, but also this time it also interrupted Jakes rendezvous with Terri, the love of his life, whom now can only appear in his dreams.

   Oh well...that is to be expected when you become the "super cop from Dallas". The hero who solved the murder case that no one else could.

   This time it wasn't a house that had burned down, nor was it even a murder, yet. But to the caller, Chip Jamison, one of Ace's college football buddies, it was every bit as important. Joseph has been kidnapped, and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom. If they aren't paid immediately they are going to harm, or worse yet, kill Joseph. And since Ace is so good at his job, Chip knows that he can rescue Joseph. Besides Jake was the one who told Chip about Ace to begin with. What better recommendation could there be!

   Ace needs the money; there is no getting around that. When Chip tells him that he will pay enough money to pay off all of his outstanding bills, and set him up for a while, how can Ace turn the guy down. So off to Canton, Ace goes. Just one problem, in the entire wangling and dealing Ace forgot to find out just who in the world Joseph is.

   As Ace arrives at Chip's sprawling ranch he is immediately impressed with the size and grandeur of the place. He is at also both intrigued, and amused, at the way the servants, Frank and Annie, are dressed and act. However, he soon comes to discover many other strange things in Canton. Among these things is the fact that Wanda, Chip's sister has set her eyes on him and isn't going to let go. Of course one look at Wanda and Ace isn't in any hurry to get away anyway.

   JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING is absolutely fantastic. The story is full of fast suspense, humor, and reads smoothly without a confusing plot. All told from Jake's point of view. You soon come to the last pages and don't even realize that you have been reading all that time. JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING as with all of Rusty Rawls books, play like a movie in your head. One that you don't want to miss any of, thus you just sit glued to the pages until that last sentence.

   JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING keeps your attention with action, adventure, love, lust and murder, all wrapped in a huge package of the wittiest humor you can imagine. One minute you will be sitting on the edge of your chair as Ace finds himself facing danger, and the next wiping tears of laughter from your eyes as Ace is trying to rid his home of a very unwelcome visitor. Ace's "partners" are just the topping on the cake. Labeled as "Attack Cat's" these two certainly live up to their name, however it is usually Ace who gets attacked.

   JOSEPH'S KIDNAPPING is Mr.Rawls' second Ace Edwards mystery and I totally recommend it to everyone. It is a story you do not want to miss, by an author that completely draws you in and grabs your attention so fiercely you will only want more. Mr. Rawls is around to stay for a very long time, and I don't plan to miss one word that he writes. Buy it, read, it. And then sit back and wait patiently for another adventure with Ace, and his two partners Striker and Sweeper to receive another 3 AM call, so you can again go on that adventure with the three of them. I am. Randy Rawls has become addictive. And I don't want to be cured of the addiction.

No comments about Double Life: The Shattering Affair Between Chief Judge Sol Wachtler and Socialite Joy Silverman.

No comments about Legal Extortion: The War Against Lincoln Savings and Charlie Keating.

5 comments about Game of Patience (Aristide Ravel Mysteries).

1. In 1796 Paris, undercover police spy, investigator Aristide Ravel and his superior Commissaire Brasseur, investigate the murders of property landlord Jean-Louis Saint-Ange and his former lover, Célie Montereau in a chic apartment owned by the former. Aristide quickly learns that no one misses Jean-Louis with many rejoicing at his death because he was a nasty sort blackmailing aristocrat; the blackguard even extorted money from Celie, who was his lover.
   
   An interrogation of Célie's acrimonious friend Rosalie Clément leads Aristide to Philippe Aubry, a violent man who allegedly loved the female victims, but he has an airtight alibi. At the same time to his chagrin, Aristide begins to fall in love with Rosalie, though he has not totally ruled her out as abetting the killer by hiding much of what she knows from him and Brasseur. Aristide keeps digging as he knows Brasseur plans to send Rosalie ton a date with Madame Guillotine.
   
   This is a tremendous post-revolution but pre Napoleon taut French police procedural starring a hero with a bothered conscience because he knows he sent innocent people to the guillotine. The who-done-it is cleverly devised so that the audience obtains a deep look at 1796 Paris yet never slows down the pace of the investigation. Still this tale belongs to Aristide, who believes his past prevents him from a future filled with love that is if he can figure out who his rancorous beloved protects. Fans will also want to read the delightful homage to Dickens, A FAR BETTER REST
   
   Harriet Klausner



2. Few historical mystery novels I've read have been as painstakingly researched and yet as smoothly written as this gripping and suspenseful tale of 1790s Paris. The reader will find him/herself equally as engaged by the vivid portrayal of the times as the fast-paced and original plot. Game of Patience tries neither one's patience nor one's credulity, managing to keep the guessing game going up until its surprising yet logical ending. Love, murder, blackmail and cross-dressing.. what more could one want? A must-read for mystery lovers, Francophiles and anyone seeking to escape the ordinary for a few hundred pages.



3. 
   Susanne Alleyn's GAME OF PATIENCE is just about the best historical
   mystery I've read in a long time. It's a police procedural set in Paris,
   just a few years after the Revolution. Aristides Ravel, the protagonist,
   is an "agent of the police", a sort of investigator/police spy with a
   troublesome conscience. Called in to help investigate the double
   murder of a man and a young lady in the man's apartment, Ravel
   stalks the decadent post-Revolution society, uncovering secret after
   secret, passion, and revenge. The plot is marvelously devious, the
   writing very good, and full of terrific detail about France between the
   Terror and the rise of Napoleon. Alleyn really captures the atmosphere
   of the time, as well as delivering a damn good mystery. I'm not a
   particular fan of historical mysteries, but this one is as good as they
   come. Time after time, it seems Ravel has the answers, only to discover
   they only lead to more questions. The denouement is fantastic.



4. In Sussanne Alleyn's first Astride Ravel book, she creates a fantastic historical mystery novel. The historical accuracy is amazing, its the first fiction book I've read with a biblography. The mystery is great, the twists keep piling up. Its one of the best books I've read in a long time.



5. "Game of Patience" opens in 1796 post revolutionary Paris. A police "investigator" (as he prefers to be called, rather than an informer or a spy) by the name of Aristide Ravel is called upon to assist in solving a double murder case. The two victims, an extortionist named Saint-Ange, and a respectable young woman, Celie Montereau, at first appear to have no connection. As Ravel begins his investigation; searching for clues and interogating witnesses, he unravels a case far more complicated than what he originally suspected.
   
   The synopsis I just gave barely touches upon the plot of the book, but as is the case with many mysteries, its tough to give an accurate overview without giving away the story. To avoid spoiling the entire book for any potential readers, we'll just leave it at that, and focus on my opinions of the work.
   
   It took me a while to warm up to this story. The language is a bit rough for those of us who don't speak a word of French. Not that there is an overwhelming amount of French vocabulary included in the story, but rather its the foreign names and places that are involved in the plot that I got hung up on. It's hard (for me at least) to envision a place that I can't envision pronouncing accurately. Once I got past that however, I got sucked into a who done it murder mystery that had me pretty baffled until the end.
   
   Alleyn is an expert on French history and culture, that much is blatantly obvious from reading this book. She weaves her knowledge in skillfully, and is able to transport her readers to another place and time as they read. One that to many readers, is completely new and alien, yet they will quickly begin to feel at home there, as I did. There are several characters that we become intimately acquainted with throughout the story; a few are quite endearing, while others are basically revolting.
   
   Without giving much away, I do have to say that the ending of this book is one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a while. All loose ends are wrapped up into a tight bow, and all unanswered questions are at last explained. The reasoning and logic included at the end of the story make the entire book worthwhile...its a perfect ending to an all around good read.