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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 Shadow of a Killer.

No comments about Dr. H.S. Gour's law relating to theft, robbery, and dacoity: Alongwith theft and punishment, extortion, robbery & dacoity, criminal misappropriation of ... breach of trust, receiving stolen property.

No comments about Cry terror (Signet books).

5 comments about 52 Pickup.

1. This was a 5 star thriller that fell apart at the end. 52 Pickup was written in the early 70s, so you have Leonard just as things are really starting to roll for him. Great dialogue, great characters, with crime, adultery, and porn spicing the stew. It's also one of Leonard's most brutal novels. There is one murder that is just shocking, but there is also the suggestion of sodomized rape as part of a kidnapping. You really hate the bad guys in this one. The hero, Harry Mitchell, is standard flawed good guy stuff. He's doing a slow burn while dealing with his problem -- which is his own doing, a twist for Leonard fans. The ramifications of this problem, Harry's adultery, and how it touches (and ends!)so many lives is the effective subtext of the novel. The exchanges between Harry and Barbara, Mitchell's wife, are a good showcase for those that appreciate Leonard's mastery of dialogue. But what makes them a bit different than other Leonard exchanges, is that the topic is adultery, and how a married couple tries to deal with betrayal and damaged love.

   The downside: the ending. It's not just that it's something of a disappointing demise for the main bad guy. (You'd like to see Harry do something with drills and blowtorches.) No, the ending is just clumsy and from a writing view point, and not well executed. And, perhaps worse, just not believable. The exchange (or the obviously ironic "pickup" or payoff), is so clunky, that no bad guy, especially a Leonard bad guy, would of been fooled. But maybe that's the point, there is no neat package of an ending, since Harry's "mistake" was the first domino. He will have to live with the damage he has caused, especially to his wife and his deal lover the rest of his life.




2. Too dark for my tastes. Needlessly exploitive and vulgar. The only redeeming social value was the fact that the protagonist truly suffered the consequences of adultery.



3. 52 PICK UP is, like all of Elmore Leonard's novels, very well written. This book was originally written in the early 1970s, but holds up very well. With a few minor adjustments, it could take place in modern times.
   
   The story essentially deals with a blackmail plot against an adulterous businessman in Detroit. The first half, which is very strong, shows how the businessman is blackmailed, and how he initially responds. The second half, which is far weaker, deals with how the businessman decides to strike back and take justice into his own hands.
   
   The second half of 52-PICK UP is something of a letdown, because it is not particularly believable. Leonard sets up a great, realistic story in the first half, only to resolve the story with an "action movie" type conclusion that requires a major suspension of disbelief.
   
   This novel is further hampered by the absence of any likable characters, with the exception of the wife of the protagonist. Many of the players in this book act in a venal, brutal manner toward one another. I understand that Leonard is trying to be dark and gritty, but the non-stop nastiness does get repetitious and tiresome after a while. This novel lacks the humor of Elmore Leonard's later work.
   
   52 PICK UP is a decent early effort, but I'd recommend trying some of Leonard's later crime books first, or one of his westerns.



4. This novel was definitely entertaining. It served its purpose. It gave me something to read that held my attention. As most Leonard novels, there is plenty of hip lines, drug use, sex, and of course the crime.
   
   I do not generally enjoy Leonard's novels. I enjoy the movies that are made from them. After reading "Unknown Man #89" and being extremely disappointed, it has been a few years since I have even attempted to read one of his novels. I must say that I now know how to read a Leonard novel. Not expecting much!
   
   The story starts off easy enough and runs smoothly. Not a time in the reading did I feel there was anything unnecessary or boring. The plot is not too original, but easy to accept as a possible real situation.
   
   I would suggest this to anyone who is looking for something fun, quick, and easy to read. There is a lot of inappropriate sex and language, so not recommended for anyone under 17.



5. This is the 19th Elmore Leonard novel that I have read and I would class it among the bottom four of those (along with "The Big Bounce", "Pronto" and "Bandits"). This tale of a businessman who is blackmailed after a brief affair and who then turns the tables on the blackmailers is, in many ways, typical Leonard. It has the dumb bad-guys, intelligent females and double-crosses that show up in all of Leonard's books. However, "52 Pickup" lacks the black humour that is what made me love Leonard's novels in the first place. I also found this novel to be way too sleazy for my liking. A lot of this book takes place in strip clubs, nude model studios and dirty movie cinemas, and by page 50, I just wanted the characters to go some place else. Admittedly, even a bad Elmore Leonard novel is better than most books that are out there, but since better Elmore Leonard novels exist ("Touch", "Out of Sight", "Gold Coast", and "Freaky Deaky" are four of the best), why not read one of those instead?

5 comments about The Waterfall.

1. Sometimes when you try a new author you are wonderfully surprised. Sometimes when you try a new author it's a struggle to get through every page and you throw the book away without ever finishing. This book falls into the second category.

   When widow Lucy Swift's family is threatened, she won't go to the local Sheriff. (Sheriffs are usually the ones to see when you find bullet holes in your dining room walls.) Lucy somehow just "knows" the law can't help her. She has a father-in-law who is a senator. She won't go to him for help either. Why you ask. Her indecisive, wishy-washy parenting has brought criticism from the father-in-law in the past. She's too weak to risk more advise from the senator so she has to keep the threats a secret from him.
   
   Lucy takes a little trip to Wyoming to ask for help from Sebastian Redwing, a friend of her deceased husband. Sebastian ran a security company until he killed a bad guy. Later he finds he didn't really kill the bad guy, but just the thought has sent him into a neurotic state of seclusion. Anyway he's a surly, rude, misogamist who's hiding out in a hut without running water or electricity. (Seems like he could have used some of that money he was saving on electricity to see a psychiatrist about his social problems. Maybe going without bathing and wearing dirty underwear is his idea of psychic healing.)

   Turns out Sebastian wasn't such a good choice in the help department. First thing he does while skulking through the woods looking for evildoers is to tumble off a cliff. Of course this requires Lucy to take care of him. Ah, what woman could resist falling for a mean-mouthed guy with poor judgment, serious psychological issues, and a concussion?

   For everyone who thinks rude, uncommunicative macho-men are romantic as heck, get this book. Personally, I like my men with a deep appreciation of the finer things in life like hot showers, electric washing machines, and good reading lamps. Doesn't hurt if they actually want to say a few words to me now and then either.




2. I really enjoyed this book and had never read books from this particular author before. The book was so great, that I have been searching for some of her other titles. I would definitely recommend this book. I couldn't put it down!



3. I enjoyed this book. I get tired of some reviewers who give every book a 5. To me it needs to be the best book you have ever read to be a 5. I really enjoyed this one. Some parts didn't ring true but I really enjoyed reading about parts of the country I know nothing about. Not a whole lot of romance in this book but I am tired of other books that throw in the "sex just to sell" angle. I really liked both leading characters. You leave the book with a good feeling. You really can't ask for more than that.



4. **Disclaimer** My review is of the abridged audio version.
   
   Most of the time I can find something redeeming about a book. But there are exceptions . . .
   
   This book really re-defined "bad" in a whole new way. Histrionic women that give us girls a bad name, completely unbelieveable actions by the characters, phony affairs, odd revenge motives . . . the list is unending.
   
   And let's not forget the dead bat on the bed as an aphrodisiac?????
   
   Suspense is great, but it needs to be based on some plane of reality. (Anyone believe that the Senator wouldn't have requested at least one photo of the supposed "affair" before buying the whole thing, hook, line and sinker?)
   
   Romance is great, but it needs to be believable between the characters. (Barbara and the villain? Even the lead couple - what is the basis?)
   
   Women are emotional (hey, we could even be described as mercurial at times), but most of the time we need some provocation before going stark raving crazy and falling into the arms of the nearest available good-or-evil stud muffin. (Apparently none of the women in this book ever matured past Madison, the 15 year old.)
   
   So, fellow readers . . . pretend this book is a waterfall, pretend it's a psychotic good-guy-gone-bad, pretend it's a dead bat on your bed . . . STAY AWAY!



5. Carla Neggers sometimes writes books that grab you from the first few lines of the first chapter. The Waterfall is one of those books. I am now ordering and looking forward to her next book "The Widow", read an excerpt of it in the back of The Waterfall, can't wait to read the book. I most always would recommend Carla's books to anyone who enjoys her type of writing, romantic suspense.

No comments about For Carson, upheaval is 'normal'.(Carson City): An article from: Los Angeles Business Journal.

No comments about Bribery And Extortion In World Business, A Study Of Corporate.

5 comments about The Magician (Unabridged).

1. "The Magician" allows your eyes to sail through the pages as if there weren't words but actual events and thoughts occurring before you. Entertaining, powerful, emotional, and immensely smooth, Stein's masterpiece will not disappoint.



2. It's hard to believe how few people know of this book. I first heard of it while reading one of Sol Stein's books on writing. From his own descriptions of it my curiosity was piqued and I resolved to find a copy of it if I could. Two years later I was fortunate enough to pick it up at a book sale and read the whole thing during the course of a six hour road journey and two nine hour flights on my way to and from Japan.
   
   I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. Surely more people know of this book?
   
   In a way, dare I say it, this book recalls To Kill a Mockingbird to my mind. They are similar in that they both deal with legal ethics, youngsters and America in the 20th century. The similarity probably stops there.
   
   The premise is that Ed Japhet, aged sixteen, is an ameteur magician, and a pretty good one at that. Not only is he skilled in sleight of hand, he also oozes charisma and intelligence. He is the sort of young man that people can often be jealous of, and this is where the trouble begins.
   
   To speak more of the plot would be to give it away, as I found that part of the pleasure in reading this book was not knowing anything about what was going to happen.
   
   It is part legal thriller, part social commentary, and definitely worth a look at.



3. as a sophmore in high school in 1978. I needed something to read and just happened to check it out. I was floored by the story and to this day still recommend it to my friends. Somehow as a gangly insecure teenager I related to this book which I read around the same time as the film "My Bodyguard" was released; another classic in film form.



4. This book kept me on the couch totally absorbed and turning pages. I don't want to give any of it away but if this was required reading in high school many more students would come to love reading and the history of the book is just as interesting. Go ahead spend the day with these characters, you won't be sorry.



5. It is fascinating tale of adolescent boys set in the suburbs of New York City. After a prom night party, where Ed, a sixteen year old master magician, performs in front of the entire school , he gets beaten by another sixteen year old boy, yurrick, who is a under achiever, a "lower class" slob. Ed's father and his girl friend, who also gets roughed up, are the eye witness to the horrid affair. The case goes to trial. Yurrick even goes to the hospital where Ed is in the intensive care unit, and cuts the oxygen tube. He is caught running away from the room after his dastardly act.
   
   However, the under achiever is represented by a brilliant attorney, Tomassi, who makes a mockery of the judicial system. All he has to do is to convince one out of 12 jurors of his client's innocence and make the whole affair look like a kids brawl. The reader is caught up in the emotions and wants to shout out loudly for justice but then again if we are in the same situation, we would pick up the phone and ask for Tomassi!.
   
   A brilliant commantary on our court system.