1 comments about Ghetto Girls, Special Edition.

1. Ghetto Girls is such a good book to read. It talks about real things that happens in the real world to young people who are unfortunate.I really enjoy this book because these things really happens to people today.This book shows how young people can lose their lives so fast over silly things.
   In reading this book I cant believe situations that young grls go through.It touched in a way that I would not judge anyone from where they been brought up.This book would be available to anyone in which does'nt cost much. Therfore, I believe that young people should this book because it gives an insght on how life can be.
   Sasha

5 comments about Fire and Ice.

1. One thing's for sure. Paul Garrison knows his sailing, and his oceanography/geography. In this, his debut novel, Garrison weaves a story about an unusual kidnapping that takes place aboard a natural gas carrier. Dr. Michael Stone's wife and daughter, Sarah and Ronnie, are held hostage by a madman named Mr. Jack, who has some devastating plans for his old enemies, the "Japs" as he calls them. His henchman, Moss, is a despicable muscle-bound moron, who takes pleasure in beating up women and perhaps even children?

   "Fire and Ice" is a good read, a little technical in spots, that tends to slow down the action and the pacing. However, the story holds your interest and even if the slam-bang ending seems a trifle far-fetched, it delivers.

   My biggest complaint is that the novel ends so abruptly; there is one villain we don't know what happens to him, and the heroes future seems up in the air as well.

   If the ending had a stronger resolution, I would have gone with five stars. Worth the read, though.




2. As an avid sailor, I appreciate the accuracy of Garrison's portrayal. However, it certainly appears to me that this book is all but a sequel to Justin Scott's excellent sailing suspense novel The Shipkiller. Same boat (Swan 38), same characters (white Dr. inventor, black Doctor wife) whose background matches those of the characters from The Shipkiller. I think The Shipkiller is one of the best novels I've ever read. Fire and Ice is an excellent follow on. I am just surprised that there is no credit or mention of Shipkiller given.



3. This was a really good book and a true adventure story! It was hard to put it down. I didn't find it too technical as some of the previous reviewers mentioned. The only bad thing I could say about this book was that it was so suspenseful and the suspense went on and on for so long, that I got tired of being stressed out about it. It was like the author didn't know when to end the book, but just kept having bad things happen to the family. But overall, it was a great story and I recommend it!



4. This is the story of a doctor and his family living on a boat sailing the high seas and going wherever their services are needed. Adventurous and romantic, full of thrills and chills will guarantee a good time.
   
   The main characters in this book live the type of life some of us will hope to live, having the world as your office!, if you are such person you will enjoy this book.



5. The book is good, however, Garrison obviously read and enjoyed Justin Scott's The Shipkiller. There are too many similarities, the make of sailboat boat, the African doctor married to an Americam doctor who is more engineer than doctor. He even made his money from an "electronic probe".
   
   The storm scene was well done. However, the way the cargo ship responded to the helm during the final scenes is far from accurate for a ship that size.
   
   On the whole it was enjoyable and I'll look for more of his books.

5 comments about The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case.

1. This book is that rare treat - a children's book that is so multi-faceted and well told that it will capture any adult reader as well.

   I found this book looking for something good for my daughter to read, then couldn't give it up to her until I had finished it! A tense, realistic, and heartwarming tale.




2. I liked this book a lot. This story has action to it and a regular story line to it as well. It was very good. This book had a lot of sense to it and good detail as well as plot. I recommend this book highly! It's most enjoyable.



3. as a kid i read the headless cupid many times. i remeber eading this and never finishing it for some reason now i ddi finish it. it was very good. i t is an exciting kidnapping story. if you look for something with a supernatraul twist like cupid this dosent have as much execept for blair,s vison however it still enjoyable.



4. THE FAMOUS STANLEY KIDNAPPING CASE finds the same characters from Snyder's classic THE HEADLESS CUPID in Italy. Molly has inherited a little money from an uncle and they decide to spend the year in Italy so she can explore art. The story is told from the children's point of view, mainly David's. Tesser, Blair and Janey act exactly as before, almost stereotypically so. However, there is no recurrence of the spooky happenings from Blair that made CUPID so wonderful. Amanda has reverted to teenage surliness after her about-face at the end of CUPID and is (again stereotypically) a real pain about the move she doesn't want to make.
   
   The kidnapping takes place after Amanda brags that her father is a rich movie-maker in California to impress the Italian kids in school. Instead of just Amanda, the kidnappers end up with all five Stanley children and find it is much more than they can handle. The children finally free themselves mostly by frustrating the kidnappers to no end. An enjoyable read, but not as good or memorable as THE HEADLESS CUPID.



5. I have to admit that I liked "TFSKC" best of the three Stanley books. I thought Blair's visions of the Virgin Mary were perfectly in keeping with the tone of the story, being set in Italy (seat of the Roman Catholic church and all).
   The characters were very *real*. I too came from a blended family and I could identify with both David and Amanda. I recently re-read the books and found them just as enjoyable this time around.
   (And yes, I had to sleep with the lights on again after reading "The Headless Cupid".)
   :o)

2 comments about Chillwater Cove.

1. FBI Special Agent Peggy Weaver works in the Crimes Against Children Unit of the Philadelphia office. However, she received a bitter reminder of why she became a specialized agent when she receives an email containing porn photos. Over two decades ago when she was ten years old, Peggy and her best friend Samantha Stallworth were abducted. Peggy escaped, but Samantha was sexually molested and further abused by her kidnapper.
   
   Now a college professor Samantha calls Peggy informing her she received the same email. Stunned Peggy goes to her college hometown Avalon, Tennessee where her father is police chief and racial strife is boiling over. When Samantha vanishes, Peggy vows to save her friend and catch the culprit who is toying with her.
   
   The key to this interesting regional police procedural is how many people including her father and his department and Samantha's relatives hinder Peggy on her desperate search to save her friend's life. Readers will feel the pain and guilt that Peggy feels as she not only needs to save her friend's life, but sees it as redemption for her failure to be able to provide her father with expert witnessing when Samantha was snatched as a child. Readers will appreciate this character driven investigative tale and seek out Thomas Lakeman's previous gripping FBI thriller (see THE SHADOW CATCHERS).
   
   Harriet Klausner



2. 
   Lakeman's newest thriller focuses on Peggy Weaver, an FBI Special Agent who has recently begun working the Crimes against Children Unit in Pennsylvania. After the violent takedown of a horrible husband/wife team who were trafficking children, Peggy and her team find pictures of child pornography on the computers in the crime scene. Horrified, Peggy's partner Mike (protagonist in Lakeman's first book) immediately wants to follow the lead - but Peggy locks down the photos and everything in the file - under her personal password - until further notice. Mystified, Mike follows orders but not without wondering what it was in Peggy's private life that would cause her to disobey FBI policies so blatantly?
   
   When Peggy sees the 25 year old photos on the current crime scene, she knows that her life has been turned upside down. Trying to salvage the privacy of her best friend before the pictures are processed, she heads to her childhood home in rural Tennessee, but not before Sammie, the girl in the pictures, lets her know that she has gotten the pictures via email, as well. As children, Sammie and Peggy suffered a tragic event together - Samantha's kidnapping. While Sammie was recovered - barely alive and left for dead - Peggy's memories of the time have never entirely returned. This heartbreaking event managed to bring the girls closer together, but they never spoke of what happened. Now the two women - Peggy an FBI agent and Sammie a respected professor at the local university - must face their fears and memories to find out who was behind the cause of their terror.
   
   When Sammie once again goes missing, Peggy is determined to find her at all costs - even if it means her relationship with her father - the local sheriff. Never ideal, Peggy and her father's rapport was rocky at the best of times, but now this stressful event seems to bring it to it's head, and Peggy's not dodging his verbal hits just to keep the peace anymore.
   
   I was looking forward to this unusual thriller even though I hadn't read The Shadow Catchers, mostly because of the idea of the Melungeon community that is presented as part of the background. There are a lot of sub-plots to the main storyline and they are a part of most all of them, but they rarely take the spotlight. The history and prejudices of the area are almost overwhelming, and are frequently confusing. I still enjoyed the read, but after finishing the novel I still didn't quite understand everything that went on and felt like many of the questions had never been answered. While this may be something that I simply didn't compute, it made enjoying it more difficult. I would recommend this to mystery fans, with the hope that maybe someone could help end my confusion.

5 comments about A Stranger is Watching.

1. I read this book this year and I couldn't put it down! I'm in seventh grade. This book isn't a good book for people that get nervous or scared easily. But it's great for people that love Scary Mysteries!
   
   This book is a true Scary Mystery classic.
   
   This book has romance, which leads to a huge mystery that has people's lives at stake.



2. Her boyfriends wife was killed, the murderer, a seventeen year old with a hard background, was arrested and sentenced to the electric chair. But still Sharon felt very strongly about capital punishment and that it should not be used in the federal government's punishment system. She felt that although he was guilty (in her opinion) of murder that life in prison was a more appropriate punishment. Death she felt was cruel and unnecessary. Susan fought for months to get a clemency on Ronald Thompson's case. Her boyfriend, Steven Peterson, whose wife Thompson was accused killing, supported capital punishment even before his wife had been killed. Although he and his new girlfriend, who he met about two years after his wife's death, had different views on the subject they both stayed desperately in love with each other. Sharon failed at her attempts to get the judge to change Thompson's sentence. But still even in his last two days of life Thompson's closest friends tried to find something they had missed to prove his innocence. Another man was watching the case very closely, he planned to kidnap Peterson's son along with Sharon and return them once he had collected $[...] in ransom fees. But a hoax for delivering the money was setup and the kidnapper was caught. Along with him being caught, police also solved the murder of Peterson's wife and proved Thompson's innocence. This was an ok book but it was very confusing. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a mystery and can easily understand confusing stories.
   
   The characters in the story are outstandingly smart and realistic. The kidnapper watches Sharon an extended period of time without being noticed or thought suspicious. He also managed to get out of the neighborhood without being identified, but some of Peterson's close friends were looking out the window and noticed him pulling out of the driveway. Sharon and Steve (Peterson) both appeared on the Today show three days before Thompson's scheduled execution, the couple had very different views on the same subject and while they both stuck strongly to their opinions, after the show they made plans to see each other the next day. Thompson's mother, Kate, fought very hard to get a petition filled with the names of the people who knew her son best, so that she could try and get a clemency on his sentence, but she felt very betrayed when she found out that Sharon did not believe her son was innocent instead she felt that he should not be punished so brutally.
   
   
   This story was quite confusing. New characters were introduced so frequently that it was hard to keep track of everything going on. In the beginning of the novel the kidnapper/murderer is what seems to be the main character, then after a chapter or two Sharon and Steve are introduced and the story bounces back and forth between the two of them. But after only about three or four chapters characters are introduced so quickly that the reader is easily confused. A few characters that are introduced within the first ten chapters include: Roger Perry, Glenda Perry, Neil, Mrs. Thompson, Ronald Thompson, Mr. Lufts, Mrs. Lufts, and Sandy.
   
   
   Although confusing this book is a true thriller. The climax of the book is awaited desperately by the reader. Aside from the fact that it can be confusing because of the bouncing back and forth between characters and stories, the book has an immense amount of suspenseful thrill. For example, Sharon was watching Neil, Steve's son, until Steve got home and from there they had planned to go out to eat or to a movie, but when a knock came at the door and was answered it was the kidnapper. The reader holds on to every word as the author describes how the kidnapper stuffed Neil into a duffel bag with his hands and feet tied, and his mouth gagged. The author implies to the reader that Thompson could be guilty but at other times reassures the reader that he is completely innocent.
   
   The novel was not great but would be an adequate time filler that is certainly filled with a good thrill for the reader throughout the book. The characters are smart, realistic, and the book is thrilling. Once again I recommend this to those readers who do not get confused easily and who love the mystery/thriller book genre.
   
   
   K. Dixon



3. A Stranger Is Watching?
   
   In the novel A Stranger is watching, by Mary Higgins Clark, a drama novel; was about a murder that took place two years ago, in which a six year old child witnessed the murder. The novel opens as Steve and Shawn debate capital punishment. A young man named Ronald Thompson has been sentenced to death for Nina's murder. Throughout the novel they give clues on who could be the killer. At the end of the novel the last person you would think was accused of the murder. The main character was Ronald. I personally liked the novel because I like suspense novels and movies. I would recommend this book to anyone because it is so dramatic and detailed. Also it's full of thrill.
   
   Jessica Acosta



4. Classic MHC. A teenager wrongly convicted of a woman's murder, waiting on death row for his execution in a few days. A grieving widower and son, seeking closure and healing. A psychotic killer who has never been traced to five unsolved murders. Well-written, entertaining, nail-biting.



5. Reading this book I was struck by how dated it was. Although the book I was reading appeared new the copyright was 1977.
   
   Despite being dated, it is still an enjoyable read. I read the last half in about two days as I didn't want to wait to see what happened next. I fought sleep the last night to finally finish the book at midnight. This is a typical Mary Higgins Clark but does not seam cookie cutter so you won't feel like you have read this already. Some of the characters (the police) I found a little irritating and hopefully not true to life. Maybe I'm too used to the police being the heros in suspense novels.
   
   Overall this is an enjoyable book weaving together a couple different story lines.

4 comments about Budgie the Little Helicopter.

1. Budgie: The Little Helicopter is wonderfully illustrated and catches the child's eye with all it's bright colors. The story is intriguing and my two children, 5 & 6 at the time (now 7 & 8) were totally absorbed by it. My son slept with the book for weeks.



2. My Granddaughter received this book for Christmas two years ago when she was two. She still enjoys hearing the stories about Budgie. It is a throughly enjoyable book for children. The video is great too. Wish there were more of them.



3. This was the first book I can remember loving. I'm not sure whether I memorised it from hearing it so much and went from there, but Budgie taught me how to read at the age of 3. Sadly I haven't read it since, but I highly recommend it to children as the characters are so easy to love!



4. I bought this book because my 2 year old is in love with helicopters. I didn't bother reading past the first couple pages because I figured it had to be tame since the Duchess of York wrote it. I was wrong. The first few pages are fine, and then I found out what the story is about. A little girl is kidnapped and Budgie needs to help rescue her. There is even a picture of two men chasing after a little girl in pigtails. I stopped reading as soon as I realized what the story was about and deposited it straight in the trash. This book is inappropriate for children. Based on the pictures I just can't figure out what age group this would be appropriate for. I personally don't want to send my son to bed with nightmares.

5 comments about Baby Be Mine: The Shocking True Story of a Woman Who Murdered a Pregnant Mother to Steal Her Child.

1. I can't stand these ambulance chaser true crime books. Way too soon with no trial and very little information. The author barely squeaks out enough pages for this to be called a book and instead pads it with all sorts of filler from other unrelated cases. Poor writing and worst of all it's boring. Stay far away from this terrible stinker.



2. It was obvious the author went to great lengths to conduct interviews and put a great deal of research into this book. I had no idea there were so many c-section abductions which was a plus through the research Ms. Fanning included in the back of the book. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a well researched book.



3. I enjoy the writing style of Diane Fanning. I feel as though I know the people involved by the time I finish the book. I feel their anguish and pain of losing a loved one in such a horrendous way. The crime is what most true crime readers want to read about. With this case, anyone can probably guess the outcome of the trial. In my opinion there is obviously mental issues as with Andrea Yates in cases like this. I had no idea there were so many caesarian abductions so that information was a plus.



4. Diane Fanning, in my opinion, should either return to penning novels or enter the news or magazine writing arena.
   
   Most of her books appear to be written too soon and be woefully lacking in detail. I see people writing about her 'research' for this particular book; but I don't see the results in the book itself, at least with regard to this specific case.
   
   The book includes more research on this 'type' of crime; which appears to be prevalent, but the seemingly endless detours into other cases, coupled with the lack of information about this specific tragedy, are very distracting to the reader trying to glean information about the crime committed by Lisa Montgomery against Bobbie Jo Stinnett and her family.
   
   'Baby Be Mine' is an example of another incident becoming much too prevalent; rush-to-the-press, poorly-written, underdeveloped true-crime books that do not do justice to the victim's lives or to the genre.
   
   Thankfully the outcome of the crime was completely just, even if this book was not. Montgomery was found guilty and given the death sentence by the jury. At least there will be legal justice for Bobbie Jo's memory and family. A better-written book would have included the trial and its outcome.
   
   I would not recommend the purchase of this book as it leaves the reader entirely unsatisfied and feeling as though the entire exercise of the writing and reading was a waste of time. Bobbie Jo's story is not justly told in 'Baby Be Mine'.



5. While this book was interesting, I agree with the other reviewers who felt it was written too soon. If the author had waited for a trial, perhaps it wouldn't have been necessary to fill the book with pages upon pages of other unrelated crimes. While the "bully of Skidmore" story is interesting, it really has nothing to do with this case. Likewise, the death/disappearance of Bobbi Jo's relatives don't have anything to do with this case. All of the paragraphs detailing other women who had babies cut from their wombs, while at least similar to this case, really seemed to be added just to fill up space to make enough pages for a whole book.

5 comments about Salty: A Novel.

1. More fun than a frozen margarita on the beach! Salty is hilarious, raunchy, and continuously entertaining! I read it all in one sitting, and couldn't put it down. Take a fun trip to Thailand with an aging rock star, oh and be careful of pirates and FBI agents along the way. Seriously, what could be more fun than that?



2. Could not put book down. Aging rock star implants himself in your heart. Evil kidnapper evolves into sensitive caring man thanks to powers of love. Sexy, spicy and constantly drawing you in. Read it on plane trip to Hawaii, and read it again on trip home to JFK, NYC. This guy Smith really knows how to write a tantalizing story!



3. Great setting, great on the details, and a great read. You'll be happy with the love angles and triangles, the premise and the plot. For some reason I'm reminded of "Sick Puppy" by Hiaasen, in the very best way.
   
   Light and satisfying. Enjoy!



4. I hadn't enjoyed a book this much in a really long time. It may sound trite, but I couldn't put it down. It was hilarious and as soon as I finished it I went online to see what other books by this author were available. Like others have mentioned, it reminded me of a Carl Hiaasen novel and maybe a little of Maarten Troost thrown in.



5. I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It was just an OK read. I hated the main character so that made it hard for me to really enjoy it.

5 comments about Safe and Sound (Jack Keller Series).

1. I haven't read any of J.D. Rhoades' other novels so when I started this one I felt like I had walked into an old-time, Saturday afternoon serial thriller at the beginning of episode three. A lot of things are going on and they all seem to have started in episode two, or maybe even one. A lot of different characters make brief appearances on the screen, some of them doing cruel and dastardly things to helpless victims. Other characters are in the midst of some kind of inner or outer turmoil of their own, turmoil that also started sometime in the past.
   
   Into this mix strides Jack Keller, a tough and mysterious man with a tough and mysterious past. He knows about guns, explosives, and war. Most of all, he knows and understands the cruelties that Mankind so casually and callously inflicts upon itself. And from the very first page of this novel, the puzzle that is Jack Keller, and the puzzle that is Life itself, begins to take shape before the viewer's eyes, slowly at first. Before long, however, the tempo begins to pick up. Soon the reader is being propelled forward at breakneck speed.
   
   Rhoades' descriptions of his characters, both major and minor, are sharply drawn and clearly delineated. They also have the feel of being dead-on accurate. His descriptions of settings are also sound and solid. Whether it's a Middle East desert or the Blue Ridge Mountains of the American South, the reader can taste the air, feel the grit, maybe even tap into memories from his own past.
   
   But regardless of the geography, Jack Keller's presence is always close at hand. His strength never falters, despite the stress (and there is lots of that in this story, as well as lots of action). And the confrontations between Keller and his nemesis, in this case a cruel and savage monster by the name of DeGroot, are always tense if not explosive.
   
   And like those old Saturday serials, once the climax is reached, once the crises have all been dealt with, Keller leaves the screen as he came on: a resolute loner, now returning to his own solitude. But you also know that he will soon resume his ready position, like a coiled rattlesnake, waiting for the next chapter, waiting for the next set of crises.
   
   If you like J.D. Rhoades, you'll want to grab this one quick!
   
   Russ Heitz
   russheitz.com
   MySpace.com/russheitz



2. Anyone who can do basic math knows that Harriet Klausner can't possibly read all the books she "reviews." But for this one, she gets plot points wrong that are settled in chapter TWO, so there is no spoiler alert reason to give a red herring. She says Keller must rescue a little girl from her father, but the Delta Force dad is dead early in the book, in fact we see him being tortured by the bad guy in chapter ONE, so she couldn't have read much. She completely mischaracterizes his partners, too. And as for the political agenda she tries to impose on the story she doesn't know...
   
   At least she got the star rating right. Dusty Rhoades is better than Lee Child, and could be as good as Stephen Hunter if he keeps this up. This is a can't catch your breath thriller with really good characters, so good in fact, that most of the good guys-- and guys trying to be good guys again-- are more interesting than the bloodthirsty killer.



3. I've been looking for a decent series since I stopped reading Spenser, and this is it. Read the first Keller, and was hesitant about the 2nd and now the 3rd, but in every one Rhoades has kept it up, kept Keller interesting, kept the past story as fascinating as the present, and moves everything along at a pace that won't let me put the book down. I've got my husband hooked on them, as well as my grandfather, and everyone I get to read them thanks me.
   
   I am ready for the 4th; bring it on, Rhoades!



4. Good book, thrilling, lots of adventure, and seemingly more intelligent then the character of John Rambo, but their was too much similarity between the characters, to be truly original. However, if you like the action packed bravado that their characters offer (and I do) then this is another book to add to the list.



5. SAFE AND SOUND, J.D. Rhoades's third Jack Keller novel, begins with a nightmare scenario. Remember that beginning. It's but a premonition of what is to come in one of the darkest --- and best --- novels of 2007.
   
   Keller's emotions have always trolled out where the buses don't run, and he finds himself slipping deeper and deeper into dark territory in SAFE AND SOUND. He is in the process of attempting to put a relationship together with ex-policewoman Marie Jones. Running a private investigation agency, Jones accepts a case that will have implications reaching far beyond its expected boundaries. She agrees to trace the whereabouts of David Lundgren, an Army sergeant who has absconded with his young daughter.
   
   Keller becomes involved in the search, quickly surmising that Lundgren has ties to the special ops community. Not even the Army, however, knows where Lundgren is; he has, in fact, fallen afoul of DeGroot, a dark force of nature skilled in the ways of the arts of interrogation and murder. DeGroot is on a trail that began in the mountains of Afghanistan and will end in the mountains of North Carolina. His trail will intersect with Keller's, with both men leaving --- and bringing --- death and destruction upon friend and foe alike with steel-edged certainty.
   
   More than Keller's happiness hangs in the balance; his sanity, already teetering on a fine edge, may well be lost to the abyss. And Jones, heretofore the shelter in the storm of Keller's emotions, is in the path of both men.
   
   Rhoades has a fine sense of irony that runs deep and true through SAFE AND SOUND, beginning with the title and continuing all the way to the very last page. The author's narrative, which reads much like that of Dashiell Hammett, is strong, stark and sure, just like his plot. One never gets lost, but one is never safe, either. This is a work of quality that hints of even greater things to come.
   
   --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

1 comments about BONE BREATH AND THE VANDALS (FRIGHTMARES 2): BONE BREATH AND THE VANDALS (Frightmares (Econo-Clad)).

1. My aunt gave me this book when I was in the hospital. Bless her heart, I loved it. Bone Breath is a dog. His owner Rosie and her friend Kayo's school is being tormented by vandels. I don't want to blow it for ya, but this is a great book for kids looking for a thrill.