No comments about Deliver Us from Evil: The True Story of Mexico's Most Famous Kidnapping.

3 comments about Damsel in Distress: A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery (Dunn, Carola. Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries.).

1. In 1923 just outside London, Phillip Petrie, the son of an English Lord, stops his car on the side of the road to see what is causing a terrible knocking sound. Gloria Arbuckle, the daughter of an American industrial giant, stops to offer her assistance. The pair begins to see each other and Phillip quickly falls in love with Gloria. Phillip courts Gloria and her poppa as he plans to win them both over and marry her.

   One day, while Phillip and Gloria were driving together, the car breaks down. Phillip tries to fix it, but they are set upon by some thugs. He is tied up and she is abducted. The kidnappers instruct poppa to raise a ransom without involving the police if he wants his beloved daughter back alive. Phillip turns to his childhood chum, Daisy Dalyrmple, to save the life of his beloved.

   DAMSEL IN DISTRESS is a fun to read, who-done-it that ironically laughs at itself as well as high society. Daisy and the support cast (both the recurring and new characters) are all wonderful in a zany way, making this a series worth reading.

   Harriet Klausner




2. Set in 1923 England, this series follows the adventures of the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple, a young woman who has defied convention by choosing to make her own living (as a journalist) rather than let her aristocratic family support her.

   When Phillip Petrieýs American fiancé is kidnapped and held for ransom, Phillip turns to his good friend Daisy for help. Daisyýs penchant for crime-solving insures her willingness to help her old friend, but she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard place when Phillip asks her not to involve the police. Daisyýs romance with Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, a widower with a young daughter, certainly makes this dictate difficult to follow.

   This is the fifth of the series (preceded by ýMurder on the Flying Scotsmaný and followed by ýDead in the Waterý), and although the characters and setting remain as charming as ever, there is not much mystery solving to be had. The perpetrator of the kidnapping is obvious very early on, but the plot revolves more around rescuing the fiancé than solving a crime. The story is best described as a ýcaper,ý with lots of following of suspects, traveling around the countryside, and a climactic shoot-out. Readers who like to decipher clues and try to solve the mystery themselves will be disappointed.




3. Daisy agrees to help introduce Philip Petrie's new love to his family. She is rich and American and he doesn't know how they will react. Daisy decides to kill two birds with one stone and invites Alec Fletcher to meet her mother. The week before the eventful weekend, Gloria is kidnapped. The villians will kill her if her father calls the police, so Petrie asks Daisy to help him find her.

   This was an incredibly quick read (under three hours). I just couldn't put it down. It was nice to see all of the usual characters in a different setting. The author lets us get to know them a little better. Lucy is in every book, but very little time is given to her for example. I am looking forward to the next one.

No comments about Long March to Freedom: The True Story of a Colombian Kidnapping.

No comments about Hot Dog and Bob: Adventure 5: And the Surprisingly Slobbery Attack of the Dog-Wash Doggies (Hot Dog and Bob).

1 comments about Outside Chance.

1. Ben Copperfield is a freelance journalist who writes about horses, but he takes a side job investigating the disappearance of a racehorse, Cajun King, who was kidnapped from a horse van while Ben's younger brother Mikey slept behind the cab. Mikey rides for Cajun King's trainer, Eddie Truman, so when Truman finds out he told a journalist his prize racehorse is missing, he offers Ben an exclusive if he will help find the horse. Ben starts investigating, but while Cajun King stays stubbornly missing, Ben gets pulled into Truman's family dramas and an old family secret.
   
   Meanwhile, Ben follows a group of touring equestrian gypsies from performance to performance in preparation for a story. He befriends a number of them, especially Josef, an older man who senses both Ben's fascination and fear of horses, and encourages Ben to get back in the saddle. Ben also has a few run-ins with some animal rights activists who are against using animals in any kind of sport. Naturally, all three of these elements tie together before it's all said and done, as Ben unravels ugly Truman family secrets.
   
   Lyndon Stacey is falsely touted as the new Dick Francis, but hype is always just hype. Stacey is an engaging writer, and this was a decent mystery with a likeable protagonist who gets knocked around a lot. It's obvious this writer is familiar with all things equine, too. Nobody writes like Dick Francis, but Lyndon Stacey is a good choice for a horsey mystery.

5 comments about Kaya's Escape!: A Survival Story (American Girls Collection).

1. I was surprised that Pleasent Company had finally broken their traditional format for the Kaya series, but now I understand why, it is to show that the Indians, including Kaya's Nez Perce tribe have a very special place in our nation's past, present, and future.

   Kaya's Escape is the 2nd book in the Kaya series and this time Kaya is faced with tremendous challenges as a neighboring tribe attacks while the warriors are away. Told to hide in the forest with her blind sister Speaking Rain, Kaya disobeys because she is worried for the safety of her horse, Steps High, and her one instinctive decision gets both her and her sister captured. Kaya feels very responsible as they are taken away, as slaves, from their homeland and does everything she can to help with the daily chores of her blind sister, to somehow make up for what she did, all the while hoping her father and the rest of the tribe will come and rescue them. When she learns that the people who captured them will soon be moving for the winter Kaya finally realizes she must escape with her sister or they are done for good and will never be able to return home. She befriends anther Indian slave boy and enlists his help in escaping. However, Kaya knows she must make a big decision, can she leave Speaking Rain behind, and go for help, for their is no way a blind girl could make such a journey? This story about Kaya was another success. I recommend all to read it, for it gives a unique experience on Indian life, during the period when the whites had not interfered with their culture.




2. This is another in the American Girls series about Kaya'aton'my', a nine-year-old Native-American girl growing up among the Nez Perce people in 1764. In this book, when Kaya and her adopted sister Speaking Rain are captured by another tribe during a raid on their village, they face a life of slavery among a people whose language they don't understand. Kaya is determined to avoid this fate, but escape during the beginning of winter holds many dangers.

   This is another excellent American Girls book (even better than the first Kaya story). My daughter loves Kaya, and greatly enjoyed this story. I liked the story and the illustrations, but loved the lessons that the book taught. Also, I must say that I was surprised at how alive is Kaya's faith in her religion. Religion is something surprisingly absent from most of the American Girls stories (the only other girl with a noticeable faith is Josefina). My daughter loved this story and so do I. We both recommend this book to you.




3. This story brings many emotions, especially love, and not taking the ones you love for granted.
   
   When Kaya and her blind sister are kidnapped by enemy raiders, and taken to one of their camps, Kaya has no choice but to leave her visually disabled sister behind, and try to find her way back home so that they can return for her. But many things stand in Kaya's way, and part of her is wondering if she'll ever see Toe-ta and Eetsa (Her mother and father) again.
   
   This book definately makes up for the excitement the first book lacked. I enjoyed reading it, as I have all the other Kaya books. My only problem with the series is that they believe in spirits, and some things that happen in the books couldn't happen in real life. But if you look past that, this series is great!



4. This book is definitely more exciting then the first book, and two new characters are introduced, Two Hawks and Swan Circling. Two Hawks is a Salish boy who becomes Kaya's friend, despite his bossy attitude. Swan Circling is a brave woman who is a main character in the third book. This book is the book where Kaya realizes her lack of responsibility, after making a huge mistake that could keep her from seeing her family, and her beautiful horse, Steps High, ever again. My only problem with this book is the "spirit" that Kaya comes across near the end of the book. I don't believe in "spirits" or "ghosts", and I found that part to be very unrealistic. But other than that, I would say this is a good book about struggle, and finding your way home.
   
   I would recommend it to people who read the first Kaya book. If you haven't read the first book, then I suggest that you read it before this one, because it will make this one a little bit more enjoyable.



5. I like this book alot bcause it has good drawings and cool characters the book also gets better when you get to the next capter. What I don't like is when the characters get hurt or get sick. What iI think they should of addedd was how her mom and dad felt when she came home with out her sister.She also should of said why kaya felt bad for the little boy who was there too.

5 comments about Reluctant Runaway (To Catch a Thief Series #2).

1. 
   Part action packed who-done-what and part romantic suspense, I found myself sucked into Reluctant Runaway. I didn't meet the crime fighting duo of Desi and Tony in the Reluctant Burglar but Nelson did a great job at sharing enough details of the first book without oversharing and intruding on the story at hand.
   
   Several amusing scenes interspersed with cliffhangers made the read roller coasty. Forgiveness is a huge spiritual theme as is discernment and the danger of tiny shifts in the Gospel message.
   
   If you enjoyed book one in the series, you're going to want to get your hands on Reluctant Runaway as soon as possible. If you like romantic suspense, strong female leads and sassy talk -- you'll likely enjoy this novel.



2. Security expert Desiree Jacobs' friend and business associate Maxine has a problem. Max's niece is missing. Kidnapping victim or a runaway? No one knows, but it seems everyone has an opinion. The niece also works for a museum that was recently robbed of priceless items. Right before the niece's disappearance. Now things are getting worse. Desi has to step in and help. But wait! She's promised her FBI boyfriend Tony that she won't get involved in such things anymore. But she has to, right? This is her friend we're talking about. And when Desi and Tony's individual cases collide sparks aplenty fly.
   
   If you'll pardon the obvious pun, I was reluctant to read this novel which is book two in the series. See, I'm ashamed to say I hadn't read book one. And Jill Nelson is my pal. Oh I'd read a chapter of book one that was posted to her website once. That was enough to convince me she was a good writer. I knew that. I've been swamped with books that I had to read. It seems there's never an end sometimes. Oh the horrors! :-)
   
   The opportunity came for me to read book two, Reluctant Runaway. As a member of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance we're plugging this novel this week. I received a copy of it to read a review. So glad I did. And the fact that it was the second in a series never tripped me up. Jill's sprinkles enough backstory to set you at ease with the characters, all the while taking you on a thrill ride like no theme park you've ever been to.
   
   It was a pleasure to read this novel. Jill's writing is tight and easy to read. Her characters are engaging and endearing. And the cliff hangers at some of the chapters! Shesh! I was already to put the book down for a while at one point to do some other things and then a gun went off at the end of the chapter. Ack! Who's dead? I couldn't stop reading there. Nuh uh. :-)
   
   Now I'm looking forward to going back in time and reading book one in the To Catch A Thief series, Reluctant Burglar. And then there's the upcoming book three, Reluctant Smuggler.
   
   Can't wait!



3. Okay, cheesy title for this review, I know - but guys, this was a super fun read! I liked it even better than the first in this series, and I didn't think that would happen! Jill Nelson has somehow managed to create a book that is at the same time fun and serious, intense and light, funny and shocking...what a combo! My favorite part of Jill's books are by far the characters - so realistic. They crack me up, yet two pages later, they have me tearing up.
   
   Job well done, Jill.
   
   As for the rest of you - check out this series ASAP! You won't regret it!



4. In this engaging sequel to Reluctant Burglar, museum security expert Desiree Jacobs, once again becomes drawn into a mystery when Max's niece goes missing. Could her disappearance have anything to do with Tony's organized crime case? As their romance heats up, so does the trail that leads to stolen artifacts, leading them both to the New Mexico dessert. They must learn to trust God, not only with their surmounting dangers, but with their romance. Is it possible that this new religious cult, is at the center of these mysteries?
   As in Reluctant Burglar, Jill Nelson has once again masterfully weaved a tale of suspense and drama while demonstrating the power of faith to overcome the worst of our fears and obstacles. As the romance develops between Desiree and Tony, an FBI agent, the reader is shown the hand of God in even this, our most intimate of human relationships. Is it possible for these two, an over-protective cop and an independent, sometimes risk-taker security expert, to find a peaceful coexistence in which their love can blossom?
   Although the plot can be read independently from the book's forerunner, Reluctant Runaway, has achieved the best of sequel writing. Not only has the author improved on her story telling techniques, but has added depth and challenge to an all-ready intriguing story. Very enjoyable read.



5. In her novels Jill Nelson has a way of simplifying some of the most prickly issues Christians face today. One of my favorite scenes in her latest novel, The Reluctant Runaway, involves the heroine, Desiree Jacobs and her Native American kidnapper, Pete Cheama, a member of the Zuni tribe. Pete has made plenty of bad choices in his life, and he ultimately blames his mistakes on Christians, whose system "was forced upon [his] people centuries ago and has made [their] spirits weak and [their] minds confused." No Christian wants to feel her faith has weakened or confused anyone, so sometimes we refrain from even discussing Christianity. But Desiree merely responds, "Jesus is not an oppressor." Right there, concisely--the difference between true Christianity and any faith that demands, rather than invites.
   
   Nelson's novel is a fun read, with plenty of suspense and action (and some clever romance, to boot). You could enjoy the entire reading experience without stopping to focus on the choice tidbits about faith with which she occasionally peppers the story. But those tidbits deepen the novel and make it stay with you well after you finish the last page. I'd recommend Reluctant Runaway for teen-through-adult readers.

5 comments about The Honorary Consul: A Novel (Simon & Schuster Classics).

1. This is what happens when great authors go to seed. It seems like a cruel mockery of a Greene novel, parading the same old themes around, corrupted more than ever by an unjustified excess liberalism. There isn't a single living character here, and even though the prose is generally competent, I think it has to be buried in consideration of the man's memory.



2. Graham Greene presents the story of a half-English medical doctor, Eduardo Plarr, living in a backwater town in Argentina. The title derives from Plarr's relationship with the Honorary Consul, Charley Fortnum, and his adulterous relationship with Fortnum's former-prostitute wife. This work of literature is very well written and has the taste of art.

   Greene's writing expresses the subtlety of his characters - apathetic men who go through life not having been impressed with much. Greene's theme is love and how or whether it is expressed between men and women, and also how it is expressed (if expressed at all) between man and God. Graham puts into the thoughts of Dr. Plarr:

   "`Love' was a claim which he wouldn't meet, a responsibility he would refuse to accept, a demand ... So many times his mother had used the word when he was a child; it was like the threat of an armed robber. `Put up your hands or else ...' Something was always asked in return: obedience, an apology, a kiss which one had no desire to give." And again:

   "That stupid banal word love. It's never meant anything to me. Like the word God."

   Thus, Greene puts these "larger than ourselves" themes on the backs of his self-absorbed characters. The result is masterful. If you are looking to read classic literature - the kind of literature that actually requires the reader to think and ponder the implications of the print - then this book is for you. Highly recommended.




3. At their best, Greene's novels put ordinary men in difficult moral situations. Then, his characters make heroic, but often self-defeating, moral choices. These great novels include THE POWER AND THE GLORY, THE HEART OF THE MATTER, THE QUIET AMERICAN, and THE COMEDIANS. Read them.
   
   In THE HONORARY COUNSUL, Greene also creates difficult moral situations for his primary characters. But, in this novel, the dilemmas of Father Rivas and Dr. Plarr are without Greene's usual deft balance between choice and disaster.
   
   Instead, Greene creates moral situations that appear doomed almost from the book's beginning. As a result, the choices that Rivas and Plarr make don't seem especially heroic. Instead, these characters seem to be caught in a death machine, which is indifferent to their personal dilemmas.
   
   To a large extent, they are like Charley Fortnum, the novel's honorary counsel, who is kidnapped mistakenly by political revolutionaries. Here, Fortnum, despite lots of misery and recrimination, is basically waiting for the denouement, as the death machine grinds forward.
   
   In Greene's great books, there is also the pleasure of seeing characters move through time and place. In contrast, much of this novel is conversation, with Greene making his points. Many of these are about moral responsibility. But others just seem "writerly", with Greene developing endless ironic connections between apparently dissimilar characters.
   
   Nonetheless, this is a good read and a rewarding book, with the best scene the querulous formation of the Anglo-Argentinean Club.



4. "The Honorary Consul" is the first Graham Greene novel I've read, and it is easy to see why Greene has earned so many devoted fans and seemingly over-the-top superlatives over his long career.
   
   Based on this novel, Greene's strength seems to be creating a rich cast of characters, full of different tics, scars, dreams, virtues, and flaws, and dropping them into a plot of balanced tragedy and farce. By stirring great ingredients into a delicious recipe, Greene created a novel to savour and one, I would bet, improves with each reading.
   
   Set in an anonymous border town just on the Argentine side of Paraguay, "The Honorary Consul" focuses on the hapless, accidental kidnapping of Charley Fortnum, the titular honorary consul. A band of revolutionaries, lethally inept, swipe the British Fortnum instead of their target, the American ambassador, whom they wanted to exchange for political prisoners in the Paraguayan dictatorship nearby. Unfortunately for the kidnappers, Fortnum's title is more impressive than his station, and nobody is all that eager to save Fortnum, much less give in to the kidnappers' demands.
   
   Further adding to the travesty of the situation, Fortnum's only connection to the outside world is Dr. Plarr, a half-British, half Argentinian physician who is also having an affair with Fortnum's wife, a former prostitute. Plarr, whose father vanished into the Paraguayan prison system years ago, is a man incapable of emotion -- when it comes to relationships, he's good at the physics but not the chemistry.
   
   Plarr struggles to help the innocent Fortnum escape his looming fate -- if ten political prisoners are not released from Paraguay, the kidnappers will shoot Fortnum. Through his efforts both with the kidnappers and with several possible saviors, Plarr meets and interacts with a host of characters whose range of quirks and passions would be at home in a Casablanca cafe.
   
   Greene writes with an economic, spare prose that is nevertheless powerful, often using dialogue and soliloquies to advance the story rather than long-winded descriptions of setting. Clocking in at under 300 pages, "The Honorary Consul" is a riveting read that probably goes too fast on the first read. I plan on putting it aside for a few months before taking it up again . . . I'm sure I'll catch a bit more meaning the second time around, but there was plenty for the first trip through.
   
   A dark, occasionally depressing novel of lost opportunities, false passions, and the ultimate quest for truth, "The Honorary Consul" is a heck of a read. Check it out.



5. In a provincial town 800 km north of Buenos Aires a group of revolutionaries kidnap by mistake Charly Fortnum, the Honorary Consul, instead of the American Ambassador. They request the liberation of 10 prisoners from Paraguay.
   The characters are brilliantly drawn and the prose is sparse and taught. Fortnum, sixty-one year old, living on whisky and his disputed status as an "Honorary" British Consul marries a young ex-prostitute from Senora Sanchez's brothel. Dr Eduardo Plarr whose deficient emotions form the heart of the novel. Although Plarr is Clara's lover and the father of the child she's expecting, he still envies Fortnum's love for her because it is a feeling he has never been capable of experiencing himself. Even the minor characters of the kidnappers, Aquino, Father Rivas and Marta are sardonically drawn and during the bungled kidnap, plenty is said among them about justice, faith, love and God during the 3-day confine in a dirty mud and tin hut.

5 comments about Billy Phelan's Greatest Game.

1. Billy Phelan is my fave of the great Kennedys' books. Billy is a fun guy to roam about with, listen to, learn from and even be inspired by. He is a great pool shooter, decent poker player, half-ass bookie and lovely raconteur.He takes the world as it comes and dives in to any and all of it with gusto and guts.Kennedy tosses in illustrative examples of the magic in daily life and the importance of being able to bounce back from those inevitable moments of (temporary!) defeat. All this told in Kennedys fine voice, a voice like that of a chain-smoking angel who can tell a snappy joke or a dazzling blue stretcher. What fun.



2. Billy Phelan, son of long gone Francis (Ironweed) has become a "man about town" on the streets of Albany. A snappy dresser, willing to participate in, or bet on, any game in town, has found himself caught up in a kidnapping. This isn't just another game and Billy must play the game of his life for his life.Again Kennedy has the talent to make his wide variety of characters true. My advice is to read this book before Flaming Corsage. The whole cast is there.



3. "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" by William Kennedy is a mesmerizing, hysterical, and suspenseful romp through Depression-era Albany. Read the first chapter, where Billy bowls someone "to death", and I seriously doubt that you will put the book down. Billy is one of the most memorable characters in William Kennedy's galaxy, moreso than Francis Phelan in my book. Billy is a risk-taker, a guy whose heart is in the right place, and a rough-and-tumble sort that relies on his confidence in the midst of trouble. And these are the qualities that make him the inevitable, although unwilling, middle-man in a kidnapping negotiation.

   Billy's world of gamblers, drinkers, sharks, corrupt Albany lackies, and broken families is dark and smoky but never despairing or hopeless. And Billy's moral calculus is a bright spot in this otherwise bleak setting. For my money, "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" is the best of three in the Albany cycle. I found "Legs" to be slow-going and lacking focus. "Ironweed" is a sensational book, a close second to this novel, but its plot of two drinkers going from job to job, joint to joint, drink to drink does begin to wear down. "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" has a good deal of plot tension, moral conflicts, humor, and a wider array of characters. I'm in the minority here, and that's fine, but in my analysis it's
   WIN: (by a nose)"Billy Phelan's Greatest Game"
   PLACE: "Ironweed"
   SHOW: "Legs"




4. Albany, New York, during the Depression, when mobsters, crooked politicians, and fast-buck artists were in control, is the setting of _Billy Phelan's Greatest Game-, the second in William Kennedy's "Albany cycle." With some of the same characters appearing in the earlier _Legs_, and later appearing in the later Pulitzer Prize-winning novel _Ironweed_, this novel is a huge step forward for Kennedy. His ability to define character, create suspense, and explore major themes affecting fathers and sons and their values is far more sophisticated here than in _Legs_, the story of mobster Jack "Legs" Diamond.
   
   In a sensational opening scene young Billy Phelan, part-time bookie and small-time card-player and gambler, is bowling the string of his life--two strikes away from a perfect score. The unexpected conclusion of the match, and its consequences for his opponent, produce a kind of metaphor for life in this era: Everyone lives on the edge, no one knows when disaster will strike, and there's not much anyone can do about it. Billy, whose father disappeared when he was young, is doing the best he can, "honoring" those he must "honor," helping his mother and sister, and acquiring a local reputation as a "good guy," taking bets and paying off, and not straying far from home.
   
   When one of his acquaintances, Charlie MacCall, the son and nephew of two local pols, is kidnapped, Billy is asked to monitor the activities of one of the men with whom he plays cards, a man suspected of involvement in the kidnapping. Not a "stoolie," Billy faces a crisis of conscience. The reappearance of his father, an alcoholic who "helps" people who can help him, adds to his dilemma, since he counsels cooperation. Martin Daugherty, a newspaper columnist, offers a more mature view while commenting on the political and social aspects of the kidnapping of Charlie MacCall.
   
   Whereas _Legs_ is a fairly straightforward biographical novel, this novel is far more complex. Numerous sets of fathers and sons, all of whom have intergenerational problems, reveal the changing morality of Depression-era Albany. Billy's moral code is more stringent than his father's, Martin Daugherty's son is studying for the priesthood (to his dismay), and the kidnapped Charlie MacCall is isolated from the political machine of his father and uncle. An outstanding novel which has not received its due recognition, this is a carefully crafted novel with well developed themes, dramatic dialogue, and grounding in setting that is rare in modern fiction. n Mary Whipple



5. This is the second of the Kennedy books I have read. I liked 'Ironweed' much better. True, this one has a great opening scene in which there is a head- on- head bowling match related with great suspense and pizzazz. Billy takes on a serious cheap character named Streck. Each one has his own backer. Streck's is Charlie McCall a scion of the family that runs Albany political life. Billy Phelan's is Morrie Berman, a small- time Jewish hood who has sympathy for the fatherless Phelan. The bowling match and especially its aftermath takes a surprising and violent turn, in typical Kennedy style.
   At the end of the novel Billy Phelan who has stood by his principles and is not a stoolie finds himself ostracized.
   All in all this is a tough realistic work, with sharp dialect and real humor.
   If I did not go for it as much as I went for the 'Ironweed' book it is I believe because the violence of the whole thing, the world and the people in it, come to finally turn me off. As I see it Kennedy is a kind of more realistic, and serious Damon Runyan. But precisely Runyan's gentleness with his characters, his feeling that the oddballs and screwballs of his gambling, sports , crime world are loveable jerks after all is what greatly appeals to me. This is not to say Kennedy does not do a good job in delineating admirable sides of his characters, but rather only anything which goes so swiftly and casually from violence to violence ( even in language)is not my cup of Schaefer's , Budweiser's , Ballantine's Miller's , Molson's or any other Albany beer.

4 comments about Stolen in the Night: The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived.

1. my only problem is that mr.king wrote word for word from already released info on all the news channel websites. i yahoo'ed the last name of victims in story and was disgusted to find that everything i read in this book was already word for word on many websites. thats very upsetting considering in reading this book I expected to read something different than i had already read about this tragic story on the websites,, Mr.King may I suggest what a disappointment it was to find that you copied websites into a book and rushed for publishing with nothing new to add.. anyone could have written a book just by copying from websites. thats sad..story is excellent with no new info on this crime..
   also there is no BACKGROUNDS AT ALL ON THE FAMILY INVOLVED OR THE KILLER....AGAIN, RUSH TO PUBLISH.. I WONT BUY ANYMORE GARY KING BOOKS KNOWING THAT HE COPIES FROM WEBSITES..I'LL JUST GOOGLE A STORY FROM NOW ON... sorry about mispellings.. have multiple sclerosis and its now effecting my sight and frontal lobe so ...



2. This is the first book that I have read by Gary C. King. I can only hope that this wasn't one of what is considered to be his better works as I found the writing to be only mediocre and barely able to keep my attention.
   
   I disappointed that the background of the victims was only brushed over, and the background information on the convicted, Joseph Duncan III, was little more.
   
   While reading this book, I reached the epilogue thinking that the writer had completed his work and rushed to publishing before we knew the resolution of this particular case. Instead I found that King placed the resolution, along with "editoral" about sex offenders, in the epilogue. This practice is quite unusual for true crime and, quite frankly, was confusing.
   
   Overall, I would choose to read the book when there seemed to be nothing else to read. There are plenty better, but there are just as many worse.



3. The author of this book clearly didn't do his homework. The book seems to be hastily written and it's doubtful that he even left the comfort of his chair. Copy/paste from crime detailed websites, glaring errors and lack of history make this book an easy candidate for the trash can.
   
   Googling some of the phrases used in the book, the reader will find that the author copied a majority of the book.
   
   Apparently the author was too busy copy/pasting to bother to research much in depth. For had he done his homework, he would have known without a doubt that Duncan was born in Fort Bragg, NC. Instead, the author of this book cites three locations where Duncan "might" have been born. Any person with even the slightest knowledge of the Groene/MacKenzie murders knows that Duncan was in fact born at Fort Bragg.
   
   The author could have added several interesting chapters to this book,had he done at least some small fraction of his homework. History on Duncan's involvement with Wacksman over the years as well as Crary, past girlfriends and his childhood would have added a great deal to the interest of the book.
   
   If you're looking for a book that details the life and crimes of Duncan, don't bother with this book... save a tree, save your money and read about it on the internet.



4. I recently started reading more true crime books and this one is the best by far. The details are excellent and it gives the reader a very detailed look inside the life of the killer as well as the lives of all those involved. It is outstanding and will continue to by books by this author. I recommend this to anyone who likes true crime reading.
   
   A++++++ Book