5 comments about The Hostage.

1. Didn't find it very exciting. Just another romance with boy meets girl and falls in love. Not sizzle to it.



2. This was my first Wigg's book, and I absolutely loved it. From the beginning to the end, I was never bored once. She is very romantic, and the sex is not as important, as other romance books. So what you get is more of a STORY to read, not a bunch of sex to take up half the book, so you are wide eyed, involved, to the very end. I even looked up on the internet more information about the great fire of Chicago 1871. It was such a good read, I bought the other two books of this series, and I am snuggled and happy right now. This is romance at it's best.



3. While the character of Deborah is charming, she transforms from a kind-hearted debutane to a kind woman who learns to love the real world beyond her guilded cage. Great charcter development (although not as thorough on the hero, Tom Silver). The major element lacking here is chemisty and sexual tension. I was surprised at this since this is a romance, i'm not used to reading such chaste romance novels! (I've read regency and earler romance novels that had so much romance & sizzle it really put this book to shame.) The character's stll have not even kissed by page 279. If you want more sexual chemistry, i'd look elsewhere.



4. This book had a few things I didn't particularly like about it, but it did make me cry!
   
   Be warned that the characters are a tad stereotypical and the motives for their actions and behavior not very credible. The heroine is the usual delicate flower, indignant to the hero's abuse but nevertheless "strangely attracted" to his blatant masculinity. She is at times irritating. The hero tends to overdo the gruffness bit, overreacting in most situations. Minor characters in this book are likewise one-dimensional stereotypes with little development or drawing power.
   
   The book's saving grace is its plot. *Very* romantic situation on the whole, and you won't want to put down the book until you find out what happens to Tom and Deborah (the hero and heroine) at the end. What Tom does for Deborah and how he professes his love for her are worth all the other book's shortcomings.
   
   It's a good read, not perfect, but still captivating and romantic. The main characters are somewhat more developed towards the end.



5. So beware romance fans...this book reads more like fiction than romance until the last 100 pages or so...but when it FINALLY morphs into a romance novel it is really really good romance.
   
   I'm a sucker for the movie Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Spoiled rich girl is exposed to hard work, family, and true love for the first time and never looks back. The Hostage is like that. Deborah is a wealthy heiress who is supposed to marry a member of the peer in order to give her wealthy dad the "respect" that he desperately wants. When she rides into Chicago to plead with her father to stop the marriage, little does she know that Chicago is in flames...literally. This book takes place during the Great Fire of 1871 when the heart of Chicago burned to the ground. Tom Silver is also on his way to visit Deborah's dad, but for very different reasons. His is for revenge in the form of murder. He doesn't end up killing Deborah's father, but instead takes Deborah as his hostage, hence the title of the book.
   
   That is a synopsis of Part 1 of this book. Part 2 takes place on the island in which Tom lives for a portion of the year. Tom hopes to secure a ransom to repay people who were wronged by Deborah's father, but ends up being sattled with Deborah instead..her father refuses the ransom. During this part of the book I almost gave up and stopped reading. Tom cannot stand Deborah and is distant and somewhat cruel to her, but gradually her willingness to learn, help out, and befriend people on the island begin to thaw his coldness.
   
   Part 3 is the gem of all gems. Read this book if for nothing else just to have the pleasure of this final portion. Through an unfortunate event, these two get holed up together for and entire winter. (I love a good cabin romance)! The romance takes root, buds, and then blooms into a beautiful relationship. I was moved deeply by Tom and his concern and thoughtfullness when it came to Deborah. The romance was believeable, poignant, and very touching. I can recommend this book, despite the slow start, for Part 3 and the epilogue alone.
   
   Stay patient...Wiggs truly saves her best for the end of this book.

No comments about The Frog Band and the Owlnapper.

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.

No comments about The Case of the Missing Melody (East Edge Mysteries, No 4).

5 comments about After Silence.

1. I can't tell you much, because I read this book a long time ago, but I do remember that I loved it. I only give it four stars, however, because (and maybe it's just me...I'm not the brightest person in the world) I had no idea what happened at the end. He totally lost me. If someone can enlighten me, would you please e-mail me. I would appreciate it. Aside from that, I feel Carroll is one of the best four or five authors working today. All of his books are amazing. He writes with such grace and force, that I am often amazed. Read him!



2. After Silence is one of Carroll's most addictive novels. I got sucked into the story and had a hard time putting it down. Like all of his novels, the sudden ending may put some readers off but I felt it summed up the novel perfectly. Definately a good place to start for those new to Carroll.



3. JC has always been very deceptive in his style: simple language, many fantastic elements, and heartwarming moments. However, all these elements are accompanied with severe dark fantasy or even horror.

   I find this book to be the most extreme example of what I just cited. A deceptively simple story starts with the hero falling in love with a single mother, goes on with his discovery and eventual acceptance of the mother's dark secret, and ends with the consequences of such an an acceptance. It is a love story that ends like an ancient greek tragedy: complete devastation.

   In an uncharacteristic manner, this story has very little fantasy in it and all of it crammed at the very end which makes the feeling of devastation strangely real and permanent.

   I highly reccomended it.




4. If you're looking to start on Jonathan Carroll's works, this might be a nice place start because it's easier for the average reader to get into than a number of his better novels, which demand a more open mind and greater suspension of disbelief, but which subsequently yield greater rewards.
   
   "After Silence" is a nice novel but one that feels a bit more dated than most of his other works. I read it 7 years ago, and while it felt somewhat more contemporary, that isn't really the problem. It lacks the strong sense of the author's impossibly dead-on sight with which he views the world and filters those sensibilities through a warped glass back to his readers, as well as more of his trademark flights of fantasy and fancy found elsewhere.
   
   I'm rather shocked the editorial reviews give away so much of the book - that's a shame. But in case it seems like I'm taking a lot of shots at this book, I did give it 4 stars, and I did enjoy it. Ironically, if it were a book from an author I'd never heard of, I'd be heaping more praise on it.
   
   Max Fischer is a Los Angeles cartoonist whose life is missing a little something. He finds it in love of a woman, Lily, who has an interesting and lovable son, Lincoln. She works at a homey, warm restaurant that brings a lot of joy and some interesting characters into their lives.
   
   Max finds out a secret about Lily. He says and does nothing about it virtually.
   
   We move ahead in time. The secret ends up having disastrous effects, but it is not clear at all that Max could've done anything to prevent what happened. That's the rub. Even if he acted on the secret and told the concerned party, the end may have been inevitable.
   
   This book is pervaded by a strong sense of loss. How does a child so bright and wonderful, full of so much curiousity and love, turn into such a cynical, hateful *thing*? How do such relationships go wrong? We see this sense of horrifying loss and the psychological, emotional, and physical beatings life inflicts on people in an interesting scene with one of Lincoln's friends and Max, a scene of what is sometimes called "magical realism" of which Carroll makes more ample use of in other novels.
   
   "After Silence" is a very good book, well-written, but as I said before, it is not Carroll's best. It's a decent place to start out, it's a lot more grounded in reality and straightforward than many of his novels. This one is still one of his better novels though. If I had to do some improvisational ranking, however, I did prefer "The Wooden Sea," "Land of Laughs," "From The Teeth Of Angels," "Sleeping In Flame," the collection "The Panic Hand," and "Outside the Dog Museum" to "After Silence." Just my opinion at this point and time.
   
   Make no mistake about it though - this is a genuinely affecting novel. Recommended.



5. First, I don't think this was as well written as some other of Carroll's books. Second, I don't think I should have liked the story at all. I felt sort of like an accomplice by continuing to turn the pages.
   
   In some respects the Publishers Weekly review above tells you the whole book. If you don't want to wade through the details, stop there. It tells way too much for a review.
   
   The review from School Library Journal says the book is YA. Huh??? Bunni Union either didn't really read the book or her opinion of appropriateness for young adults is far different from mine.
   
   If you have not read Carroll, start with Land of Laughs.

1 comments about Civil War Hostages: Hostage Taking in the Civil War.

1. Every so often a book is published that covers an aspect of the Civil War that is not usually discussed in other works. Such a book is this one, by a well-respected Civil War writer. I must confess that I knew absolutely nothing about hostage-taking during that war, and this work was quite welcome to me, because it informed me in great detail about that situation. A fratricidal war was horrible enough, but when both fighting men, and civilians, were used by the opposing forces as pawns, this war was reduced to one level above barbarism. Thankfully, the good senses of those in charge took control, and there were not tragic consequences of this practice. The writing is clear and concise, and although some of the situations were glossed over when I would have wished for more detail, I found this work as a whole interesting and, definitely, quite informative.

2 comments about Goodbye Sister Disco (Lieutenant George Hastings).

1. In an affluent part of St. Louis, attorney Tom Myers and wealthy Cordelia Penmark attend a Christmas Party thrown by his firm's senior partner Sam Fisher. They leave the gala and go to his BMW5. While she waits in the passenger seat, he puts the key into the driver's side door when she notices two men seemingly come out of nowhere on each side of the car. The one on Tom's side pulls the trigger of his gun twice killing him. They abduct Cordelia.
   
   St. Louis police detective George Hastings is selected to work with the FBI because of his recent work exposing a bad Fed (see THE BETRAYERS) on the homicide-kidnapping case that has very few clues as money is not the prime motivator though Cordelia's dad is wealthy; apparently political posturing is. Hastings investigates family members of both victims hoping to find a clue that will lead him to the culprits and save the life of the young woman, but most are not forthcoming with the truth. Still he prods each of them motivated by knowing how he as a divorced father with custody of his stepdaughter would die if this happened to her.
   
   GOODBYE SISTER DISCO is a fascinating police procedural starring a likable lead character who diligently works the case with a law enforcement team distrusting of one another and two seemingly disinterested families. The story line is fast-paced with plenty of action that grips the audience as the hero begins to slowly out together the true motive. Although the support cast is stereotypically weak, sub-genre fans will enjoy James Patrick Hunt's entertaining tour of St. Louis.
   
   Harriet Klausner



2. This well-crafted mystery, with richly described characters, will keep you on the edge of your seat.
   
   Set in the Midwest, St. Louis and surrounding cities provide the backdrop for Lieutenant Hastings as he experiences the ultimate chase of his law enforcement career. Ordered to investigate a homicide and abduction of a highly visible heiress, Hastings calls upon his intuition and investigative skills to track down ruthless kidnappers.
   
   As you can imagine, local law enforcement is trumped by the FBI in running the big show, and politics and posturing are clearly going to run their course when solving the question of where the heiress is hidden. Will the kidnappers return her even after the ransom is paid by her father at the end of a terrifying and life-threatening "drop?" Is she dead or alive?
   
   Enter into the life of the serious, dedicated and focused homicide Lieutenant Hastings, and you'll definitely be caught up in a riveting, suspenseful, compelling and deadly chase against time.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: If you like police procedurals like this, check out Hunt's other books.

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

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.