5 comments about Prince of Lost Places.

1. What a disturbing and haunting novel. The mother flees with her son after there's a killing at his school. She and the son are surviving in a cave when the husband's detective (who doesn't identify himself) finds her. The language is deep and dark to fit the plot which has an O. Henry ending that will surprise any reader. But, aren't the survivors of any tragedy also the victims whether their loved ones live or not! Astonishing!



2. I picked up this book thinking it was going to be the typical Dime-Store fluff... but what I found was a very creative and strange tale. It was a wonderful book and will give you a 'jolt' at the end.



3. After an act of terrorism at her son's school kills one child and wounds nine others, Martha Warden packs her son, Duncan--plus an eclectic assortment of household goods, camping gear, and John Denver CDs--in her station wagon and flees her Ohio home for a secluded cave in Big Bend National Park. But this latter-day act of violence (committed by a school janitor with a bomb and an undisclosed grudge) has done more than destroy Martha's sense of confidence in the civilized world; it's caused both Martha and her husband, David, to question each other's sanity, a question that will hang in the balance for nearly two hundred pages and must ultimately be answered by a private detective with a drinking problem and a wounded past of his own.
   
   Such is the opening premise of Prince of Lost Places, the third novel by Austin writer Kathy Hepinstall. It's a premise that probably rings less absurdly now than it might have before the harsh age of Columbine and 9/11, and Hepinstall no doubt seeks to evoke the same feelings of unease and nervous suspicion that defined the collective mood following both those harrowing events: Martha could be any parent shaken by the constant reports of school shootings throughout the country, and she could also be any American coping with the widespread sense of anxiety (and anger) brought on by September 11th. These things are never mentioned in the novel, of course, but they do provide a convenient context that should allow most readers to sympathize with Martha as she tells her story in a voice that, for several reasons, might otherwise be found unconvincing.
   
   Martha's distraught husband hires Will Travis, a P.I. who seems to have a special knack for tracking down fugitives and assuming whatever guise is necessary to capture them. Travis is also an alcoholic and was, coincidentally, abandoned by his own wife, but these facts are never developed as fully as they ought to have been. The narrative occasionally breaks away from Martha's first-person perspective to follow Will in the more distant third-person, yet throughout the novel Will remains a largely blank presence. He catches up with Martha at her hideout on the Rio Grande and assumes a false identity (using the name of her dead father, Andrew) to win her trust. A predictable relationship develops between the two, but it's not as important as the already established relationships Martha has with her son and husband; these are the real psychological basis of the novel, particularly as neither Will, David, nor Duncan turns out to be what Martha thinks they are. When David arrives for a final confrontation, Martha must answer several hard questions for herself, questions which she's come to the edge of Texas to avoid, such as how does point of view shape our understanding of tragedy, and how far should one person go in order to feel safe in an inherently dangerous world?
   
   Odessa-born Hepinstall has penned two previous psychological dramas, The House of Gentle Men and The Absence of Nectar. The latter novel was a particularly effective suspense yarn in the tradition of Hitchcock, and through its memorable characters and witty language revealed Hepinstall to be a writer of great promise. Here all of the characters, Martha included, aren't half as memorable as the scenery (described with jarring accuracy for a woman who's never been to the desert), and astute readers will likely spot the surprise twist coming a canyon or two away. Still, if Prince of Lost Places isn't everything it should be, it's a quick read and, like the desert, it does yield some small rewards: most notably the interplay between Martha and her son, Duncan, the "prince" of the book's title. And readers who feel slightly cheated when they reach the last page should go back and re-read the opening note, which could have been penned either by Martha or the school janitor; its avowal that "If I could, I would have taken every child with me" will have added meaning once Martha's story has ended.



4. I found myself not quite sure if this was general fiction or fantasy...
   I flipped through the pages so fast to find out the ending to the story. Really liked the story but found this to best suited for a short story or novella.



5. I read Kathy Hepinstall's first novel, "The House of Gentle Men" some years ago. I remember being entranced by the dreamy, fable-like quality of the tale. I thought it was one of the most original novels I had read in quite some time. I read her second novel, "The Absence of Nectar", just a few months ago. Although this novel had less of a dream-like quality, I was captivated by Hepinstall's lyrical writing and appealing protagonist. It was with great anticipation that I sat down to read "The Prince of Lost Places" and unfortunately I could not have been more disappointed. While Hepinstall chose an interesting premise for her book, I just don't think it was very well executed. The prose didn't seem to have the same lyrical quality to it. It was extremely hard for me to relate to the central character. The behavior of the detective was rather bizarre as well and I just couldn't buy into the whole situation that Hepinstall was setting up. This was not a world I was ever drawn into or felt was believable on any level. I just really feel her writing was not of the same quality as her first two novels. Hopefully, Hepinstall's next novel will be a return to the excellence of her first two.

5 comments about Two Little Girls in Blue: A Novel.

1. This is the first book by Mary Higgins Clark that has not "grabbed" me and kept me reading as soon as I could find any spare time. She's a great author, but this one is below average.



2. I have not yet read this book. Someone suggested it as good reading so I ordered it.



3. The Book was good, the plotline a little familiar but not boring, the way the pieces of the mystery were strand together were a little unrealistic but it kept the book exciting;however, the ending of the book just fell flat. The whole book was like 'going up a roller coaster' but the end made it just stop. Overall it was a really good book to pass time, I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery!



4. This book keeps you holding your breath until the last chapter. Truly an amazing read. It is about twin telepathy and a mother's search for her missing children. When Margaret and Steve Frawley come home to Connecticut from a black-tie dinner in New York, their three-year-old twins, Kathy and Kelly, are gone. The police found the babysitter unconscious, and a ransom note from the "Pied Piper" demands eight million dollars. After paying the ransom they go to retrieve the twins but only Kelly is in the car. The dead driver's suicide note says he inadvertently killed Kathy. At the memorial, Kelly tugs Margaret's arm and says: "Mommy, Kathy is very scared of that lady. She wants to come home right now." Only Margaret believes that the twins are communicating and that Kathy is still alive. This book is one you won't want to put down. It is a great thriller,a suspenseful story, and an all around good book.



5. This book was so good!! Not enough words could describe it. It is written in such detail that you absolutely do not want to put the book down!! Highly recommend this book to anyone that loves suspenseful, edge of your seat page turner!! S.L. Chessor author of Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers and My Tongue Fell Out. Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers: A Poetry CollectionMy Tongue Fell Out

1 comments about Spirit Of A Hunter (Harlequin Intrigue Series).

1. This book was very good, it was one that once you start it, it is hard to put down.

5 comments about Held Captive: The Kidnapping and Rescue of Elizabeth Smart.

1. This is a rather boring book...I picked it up after a friend of mine recommended it to me. Although it only took 2-3 to read it, it was boring. It took all I had to actually get through it. The writing is easy enough-but just in a vocabulary and level sense. My younger sisters and brother could read it with no problems. It's just that there's no real good flow.

   What Elizabeth experienced was harrowing, and one of the reason why she's home is because of all the media coverage...




2. I read part of this book when the hardcover version first came out. What a horrific experience for that family and how miraculous that they had a happy ending!! I still remember where I was when I heard that she had been found. I didn't read the whole book because it was too disturbing and I get nightmares easily. It really bothers me when people criticize the family for writing a book and allowing it to be put into a movie. Why shouldn't they share their miracle? I would! Not a whole lot of children/teens come back alive when they are kidnapped and so I think the family are doing right to share their story. I'm sure that it will help other families to have hope. And what is the family doing now? They are presently helping another family who has a missing family member! So many others would want to just forget about it, but instead they are out there trying to help and comfort another family. That's really quite commendable. I did notice when I read what I read, that they do include a bit of information about their belief system. Although I don't agree with their theology at all, I do believe that they have every right to talk about it in their book. All of us would do that if we were in the same situation. They were sharing how they got through the ordeal and of course their faith is going to be mentioned. I was certainly praying too and I even hung light blue ribbons (her favourite colour) in a few places. There are so few miracles in the news nowadays and I'm glad that the Smarts are sharing their story. I really think the point of the book is how good is coming out of such a terrible tragedy.



3. When i got this book i expected it to tell me what exactly happened to elizabeth whilst she was captured, it told me pretty much nothing!! and left me a lot of questions!! all i got what how they tried to get her back and the way they lived on the streets. i had to guess by the insinuations that there had been sexual abuse, but im not sure what else! i assumed that the author researched and interviewed her and was going to tell us things we didnt know but it didnt! maybe that was the intention of the book, as the title shouldve told me that but everything it did tell me was everything the media pretty much told us. i would love to know why she didnt run, other than speculations and what all happened to her when she was gone. if you want to know media info then i suppose this book is good but if u are trying to find out what happened to her you'll be very dissapointed!it was written well though.



4. My hand trembled with each and every page I read.
   With each word my mind went back to when I was kidnapped, beaten, tortured and raped in Moscow in January of 1992 by early Al qeada operatives.
   Maggie, you have written a spine chilling account of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and rescue.
   I applaud you for your writing skills.
   
   -Yvonne Bornstein, Author, Eleven Days Of Hell- My True Story Of Kidnapping, Terror, Torture and Historic FBI and KGB Rescue



5. Living in Utah makes this event too close for comfort which compelled me to read this book. This author's perspective was very interesting and exciting. I found the book to be full of interesting facts some of which I had not heard or read before. It also has reminded me that our society had changed in a frightening direction when we are no longer safe in our own homes.

1 comments about Trouble in Paradise (Hardy Boys: All New Undercover Brothers #12).

1. My 9yo son really likes the series. The books are very age appropreate.

5 comments about The Janson Directive.

1. Except you are interested in a few needless information on how a rifle has to be positioned exactly 25mm below your shoulder line or the velocity of a nickel coated bullet or some other technical information, feel free to skip some pages. Scratch that, not some, a lot of pages.
   I found the plot fantastic and the storyline rather interesting apart from this.



2. Just when you think you know who the villian is, it becomes apparent that you've gotten yourself involved with an international yak milk smuggling ring. But wait, are they really interested in yak milk or is that just a front for their true aim: weasel rustling? Or even weasel wrestling?
   
   Ludlum is truly fiendish. Even the dullest parts of the book can cause you to scream --- if you sit on a hot stove while reading it, or if you set fire to the book.
   
   Hmmm, perhaps I'll read this sometime.



3. This book is laughable and insipid. Mere suspension won't do--you'll need to expel your disbelief altogether. One wonders whether the putative author would have produced anything like it had he actually completed the work himself. I recall that the book started far better than it finished.
   
   On the other hand, mindless pap has its place. (Recommend putting this book there.)



4. it still is very entertaining. The one and only fault that I could find is that the book contained run on which is not characteristic of Ludlum's writing. So I zipped through those parts but they were usually short. An example is how a timed bomb works. Just give me the bottom line and I am happy. All the intricate detail is way above my pay grade.
   
   Now lets put that aside and talk about the enjoyable book. First of all this book contains quite a few twists and turns so buckle up and you will be in for a ride. Our hero, Paul Janson, is a retired operative who is lulled back for a job. A philantropist Peter Novak is kidnapped by rebels from a small country which is close to Sri Lanka. He is to be a mediate between the goverment and the rebels but instead he is captured. Novak's foundation hires Janson to rescue him but alas, everything goes wrong and Novak and Janson's men do not make it. Next thing you know is that his own agency and goverment and guns for hire are after him. It is a long chase for him to get away from the people who are after him and also to find out who and why he is being hunted.
   
   Along the way one of the people who tries to kill him, Jessica Kincaid, eventually becomes an ally and helps to find out what is actually going on. They keep on running into stone walls and sharp turns. As we go along we meet quite an interesting collection of indiviuals with the best being the Russian, Grigori Berman, who since the fall of the Soviet Union has been trying to an Englishman. The way he goes about it is a hoot.
   
   All in all the book is enjoyable from the first to the last page with no stops in between. It may not have been all Ludlum's work but it still comes out as very enjoyable.



5. This book, like other I have read that were issued after the death of Ludlum do not do him justice. I'm surprised his estate would have agreed to using his name on these titles. While his books were over the top and at times stretched your imagination, this book does this at every turn. Additionally, the female character is totally unbelievable. I had a hard time completing this book.

3 comments about The Man She Thought She Knew.

1. Callaway "Cally" Wilde looks forward to exchanging I do with LAPD undercover Detective Evan Paley. However, she becomes upset when he hides a phone call from her. Still naked having come out of her shower, she hears gunshots downstairs. She investigates carrying Evan's gun only to find the corpse of a stranger in her kitchen and Evan missing. She notifies Evan's partner Curtis, who tells her nothing as to why her hunk has been abducted and $3 million seems quite a ransom price for a cop albeit even one she loves.
   
   When she begins receiving clues by email and phone to Evan's whereabouts, Cally decides she must rescue her boyfriend. She follows the clues even as Curtis tells her to stay out of it and let him handle it. Unable to abide by his advice, Cally becomes befuddled when Evan's former girlfriend seems the center of the maelstrom.
   
   As always the latest Cally escapade is LOADED with LETHAL fun as she personally tries to rescue her beloved partly out of guilt because of her thoughts about his secrecy just before he was kidnapped and partly because she cannot help herself. Getting actively involved is the norm for incautious courageous Cally. Shari Shattuck provides a lighthearted amateur sleuth frolic, as Cally takes on her lover, his police peers, thugs, corpses, and the city of Los Angeles in an effort to save THE MAN SHE THOUGHT SHE KNEW.
   
   Harriet Klausner



2. This was a fairly entertaining story with lots of plot twists and red herrings. The plotline was overly complicated with suspicion cast on pretty much everyone in the book at some point. The heroine is unfortunately a whiny, self-centered drama queen and her tough, practical best friend would seem to be the more appropriate main character! And it's easy to see what's important in the author/actress' personal life, what with all the brand-name dropping throughout the book. The action got underway in the first chapter of the book, which I always appreciate, and continued throughout the story. Good beach reading!



3. This is the third in the Callaway series and with each one they got better and better. This one is defintily the best.

2 comments about Secuestrada (Kidnapped): Una historia de la vida real.

1. Hace que uno revalue lo que tiene o lo que no tiene en la vida. Lo que uno piensa que es grabe y lo peor, para otros en diferentes situaciones es solo un juego, o una vanalidad. El libro es muy real, es como estar ahi, viendo todo, sintiendo cosas similares.

   Esa nina es una berraca!




2. El diario de leszli kalli es muy interesante,revelador y a la vez conmovedor. Con solo leerlo puede uno convertirse en un mejor ser humano ya que la autora refleja objetividad, aún en sus circunstancias cuando describe situaciones con sus captores sin reflejar odio pero sí coraje.
   
   Recomiendo que sea leido, para que se conozca la otra Colombia que existe por más de 15 años "gobernada" por el Ejército de Liberación Nacional.

5 comments about Without a Trace: The Disappearance of Amy Billig--A Mother's Search for Justice.

1. I read this book in a few hours. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what would happen next. It was fascinating! Sue Billig simply amazed me. As a mother I was able to feel her pain and frustration. What she went through trying to find her daughter stemmed from pure courage, tenacity and love.

   I was frustrated myself at the end. I was hoping so much it would tell what happened to Amy, but mainly you just have to guess for yourself.

   Mind-blowing read!




2. Horrible and haunting. You want so much to believe she's still alive.



3. Reviewers before me have said it best. Out of all the true crime books I've read, I estimate 10% rate as "can't put down page turners" and this is one of them. That says it all.
   I would put this book in a class of my favorite true crime books including:
   Careless Whispers
   Zodiac
   The Ultimate Evil
   Dreams of Ada
   Minds of Billy Mulligan



4. I am a True Crime addict and I remember watching the story of Amy Billig on "Unsolved Mysteries." Even though I had seen the story, I figured I would learn a lot more if I bought the book, so I did. I am a slow reader and usually it takes me months to read just one book. "Without A Trace" was different. This book kept me interested all the way through and I seemed to breeze through it. It is a very good read. I even read it in the bathtub while I was taking a soak!
   
   Amy Billig was just 17 when she disappeared from Coconut Grove, Florida in 1974. Amy had planned to meet friends for lunch and was going to drop by her dad's art shop on the way. However there were some greasy, tattoed, leather-clad visitors who were also dropping by that fateful day. The forboding rumble of motorcycles going through town told people to heed their caution. It was the annual biker gathering again. When Amy didn't arrive at her dad's shop and never met her friends, Amy's parents, Sue and Ned Billig, knew something terrible must have happened.
   
   Let me say that reading this book made me take a second look at mankind. I was angry as I followed Sue's relentless quest to find her missing daughter only to be taken advantage of by greedy, shallow-minded people such as the Glasser twins, who claimed to have Amy, and Hank Blair who tortured Sue Billig with sexually explicit telephone pranks about Amy for about two decades which lead to a lengthy court battle in the process. But through it all, Sue would do anything to find her daughter from searching into different tips, meeting up with and traveling with bikers such as the infamous Paul Branch who had claimed to have Amy, traveling to prisons to interview bikers who may have a clue, and even frequenting biker bars to search for her daughter.
   
   Some of the images portrayed in this book make your spine shiver. How about picturing a pint-sized, middle-aged woman from a well-to-do life, clinging to a rough and rowdy biker while riding on the back of his motorcycle? How about picturing this woman mingling with dirty, tattoed, chain and leather-clad bikers armed with guns inside scudzy trailors cluttered with rusty auto parts, beer cans and cigarette butts? While these bikers are peeking out of windows fearing any vehicle that drives up, a biker couple can be heard having sex in the other room. Authors Greg Aunapu and Susan Billig do an outstanding job of taking us on the journey over the boundaries of safety and into the world of the bikers who are murderers, drug dealers and woman-beaters. After all, women are considered property and bikers give them away and pass them around to other bikers as such. As a female myself, this was difficult to read about. But I think I can safely say that I would do the same things that Sue did if my daughter went missing.
   
   The most frustrating part (and indeed I feel for Sue and can relate to her frustration), is all the leads that fall dead. Unfortunately with just about every huge case, there are leads that are looked into and nothing comes of it. Therefore you've just wasted precious time. Poor Sue had to go through so much of this. Calls at all hours of the night, plane trips to places like Tulsa, Seattle and New Jersey on tips from bikers such as Paul Branch, investigations into strip bars where bikers usually make their "old ladies" work at; everything seemed endless. But Sue was relentless, taking every call to heart and jotting virtually every call down in her journal. Many leads brought people who said Amy was a biker girl who was drugged up and called "Mute" or "Sunshine." The tips came and came. She was at this particular market with wome Outlaw bikers buying soup and crackers. She was at this store in Seattle looking at health food. And it's truely amazing how many biker names come up in the search for Amy, from Paul Branch, to "Dishrag Harry," to "Creature." It seems endless.
   
   I just have to give the ultimate kudos to Sue Billig for all that she had to go through in her search. She is the real model of strength that many women should strive for. She is inspiring in every sense of the word. When people told Sue to give up, she wouldn't. When people told Sue that Amy may be brainwashed and never the same, Sue didn't care. When there was any little hint that Amy may be in a particular place, Sue would dash there. If she needed to stand up to bikers, she would stand up to bikers and force herself to be unintimidated. Even cancer couldn't keep Sue down, nor her husband's tragic death. She is an obsessed mother determined to bring her daughter home. Some may think being that obsessed is a bad thing, but it is not. It makes you amazed at how the human spirit handles pressures when things get to be dangerous and life seems to crumble.
   
   The description of the bikers and their hangouts and the places that Sue explored were absolutely fantastic. Every detail gets you right into the book and you are automatically sitting there suffering with Sue. You are riding on the back of a biker's motorcycle with nerves pumping through your body and the wind tossing your hair around. You smell the smoky air, the sweat and leather. You hear the rough voices and see the scowls and other facial expressions. You feel the rage and disappointment when pranksters exploit. And the hardest part through it all is that Amy always seems just out of reach somehow. There is always this feeling of not being able to get to her. I personally have had dreams like that and needless to say, it is tough on the emotions. Even in the end, Sue is still taken advantage of from Branch's "old lady," "Tootsie's" so called deathbed story, to British producers ordering Sue to engrave Amy's name on a headstone. The anger of it all!
   
   But the question remains. Is Amy still alive out there? Is she dead? Is she tortured daily? Is she a drugged-up stripper? Is she pregnant? How did Paul Branch really know of Amy's appendix scar, or that she liked folk music? We may never know what ever happened to the carefree 17 year-old who loved life and was truly inspired by it. It was the simple things in life such as a sunset and the wind blowing in the trees that Amy loved. She was indeed special and very insightful. It was also a much different time. It was seemingly a more innocent time; at least away from the underworld of the bikers. But much has changed since 1974, and as the years progressed in this book, I could truly feel that nostalgic emotional feeling of the fact that Amy had been gone for so long as the times changed.
   
   Although Sue spent 25 years searching for Amy, she had eventually found a way to bring that chapter of her life to a close even though she still mourns for her beloved daughter. Now her son Josh has kids of his own and she is able to channel her energy through them and see traces of Amy in them. The ending of the book was very fitting. It is a haunting passage that Amy wrote shortly before she was kidnapped and it shows the very essence of the wonderful young woman she was/is. It will leave you thinking for days after you finally put this book to rest.



5. Amy Billig was a teenage daughter in the 1970s Coral Gables, Florida. She had loving parents and an equally loving brother. One Saturday, she went hitch-hiking to meet some friends for lunch downtown. Hitch-hiking in the 1970s was common, acceptable behavior. Nobody thought it was dangerous. Amy Billig was never heard or seen again! I will always remember reading this book while I did jury duty and I have seen Susan Billig on television searching for her daughter. She would travel the world searching for her. She doesn't know for sure about her fate. That's the tragic part of this book is that she would rather know than not know. I remember reading "Not knowing is worse than knowing." It is because Susan probably has accepted that Amy will never return home. Her daughter would have never stopped contacting her parents or try to get in touch. Susan has researched biker gangs in America and in England. She has spent all her savings in search for her daughter. A mother's love like hers is not rare because Susan is an extraordinary woman who is relentless in her pursuits for the truth no matter how painful that can be. I think deep down that Susan has accepted Amy's fate but as she wrote to not know is worse than knowing. If Amy is dead and it's sure, she can grieve and move on with her life. Until then, I can't imagine Susan not searching or ever giving up hope.

No comments about Unpretty: A Novel of Suspense.