More Recent Books (3)

May 06
"Transfer of Power" Vince Flynn (1)
Terrorists have taken over the White House, some 70 people are hostage, the President is in a bunker but communication has been cut off. Very bad people are killing hostages and making demands. Unfortunately, the Vice President now in charge is weak and indecisive and the leader of the terrorists knows it. Author Flynn gives "Clancy like" detail of strategy, weapons and the special forces involved in the effort to rescue the hostages. Lots of action, plenty of political maneuvering and a solid story. This is my first Flynn novel; I want to read more.


"Tomb of The Golden Bird" Elizabeth Peters (2)
Amelia Peabody and her family are back in Egypt and Howard Carter has just uncovered the first stone steps to Tutankhamon’s tomb much to the chagrin of Emerson who suspected all along that a tomb was there but he could not get the firman (permit to excavate) from Lord Carnarvon - This was a fun read; The Emersons were envious of Carter and Carnarvon and it showed. The novel followed the Carter exploits of discovering the stairs and opening the tomb and sometimes it is as if we were reading quotes from the Carter Diary. Emerson managed to insult Carnarvon early in the opening of the tomb and was excluded from any further participation. I was a little disappointed in the story; Mz Peters had to reach very far to find a companion plot that revolved around the family - rather weak. Oh well, I am a fan and she will do better next time


"A Distant Trumpet" Paul Horgan
An epic novel about the settlement of the "Old West. Too long!


"The Tell-Tale Corpse" Harold Schecter
Author, Schecter, Uses Edgar Alan Poe as his protagonist and solver of Poe like mysteries with Poe like titles. Plowed through it!


"Death of a Charming Man" M. C. Beaton
An audio book; Hamish MacBeth is on the "murder trail" again. Beaton uses his characters to entertain and charm his readers. I find that I want to read more about Hamish and the town characters.


"The Cat Who Dropped a Bomb" Lilian Jackson Braun
A So So tale of Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats. I think that I am getting tired of Pickax and Moose County. Maybe Lillian Jackson Brown should put down her pen.


"The Search for Maggie Ward" Andrew Greeley
Good Greeley story! He has a way of creating likeable and interesting characters. This was, boy meets girl, loses her, hunts for her finds her, and solves a mystery. Just an easy story to read.


The Lost Gospel" Herbert Krosney
An interesting and well researched story about the Gospel of Judas Iscariot; was it hidden or lost and what are the ramifications of the discovery? Judas claims, in his gospel, that he was beloved by Jesus and was instructed by Jesus to betray him. Gives a new meaning to the word "Judas".


"The Brass Cupcake" John D. Mac Donald
This is a 1950 classic mystery written by a wonderfully prolific writer. Mac Donald may be best known for his Travis MC Gee series: a tough private investigator who lived on a houseboat in Florida called "The Busted Flush" and hired himself out to solve problems and find things. This story is set in Florida and the protagonist is an ex cop who is trying to recover a fortune in jewels that belonged to a woman who was brutally murdered. We have gorgeous girls, mean and sadistic cops ,romance and action. It is really good to read Mac Donald again.


"Orbit" John J. Nance (3)
A man has won a trip on a commercial space shuttle; he will be one of five passengers that will leave earth’s gravity make two orbits and return. The man’s wife is totally against the trip and threatens to leave him; a series of circumstances cause four of the other passengers to cancel the trip. A micro meteor hits the spacecraft and knocks out all communication systems and the meteor, also, kills the pilot. The passenger finds himself alone and in orbit but without the means to communicate. After initial panic he tries it manipulate the controls; looks for manuals that would instruct him and experiments with the working systems. Folks on earth are well aware of the predicament but since this is a commercial venture, they do not have the resources to send up a rescue team. The government disdainfully, refuses to help; finally the Russians agree, for a price, to help. The lone passenger knows that the ship was programed for only two orbits and then is supposed to re enter but with systems out he is not sure what will happen. He figures that he is a "dead man"; he finds a lap top computer and decides to write a life history that some one might find in the future if the ship is discovered. He writes and writes, in great detail, everything he did as a youth and as a man naming times and specific people - real personal stuff. A hacker in Australia manages to pick up the notebook transmissions and before long, everyone on earth is tuned into this biography. Public opinion causes a change in attitude towards the rescue; even the Russians agree to do the job for free. Interesting twist on how he gets back to earth and what he decides to do with his life after his experience. An easy read with some humor.


"The Lady Lies" Samantha Saxon
A playful, tongue in cheek, story about a seductive "Scarlet Pimpernel" like woman who uses her charms - boy does she ever; all of them!! To rescue British prisoners during the days of the Napoleonic Wars. A lot of action; but most takes place in the bedroom.


"The Girl Of The Sea Of Cortez" Peter Benchley
A great "summer read"; a young girl spends her time diving on sea mounts in the Sea of Cortez. Wonderful descriptions of the ocean and the sea life it supports. Exciting encounter with a giant Manta Ray and other sea creatures. A beautiful fantasy.


"Life of PI" Yann Martel(4)
Martel is a Spanish writer; his story is about a Hindu boy growing up in a small town in India where his father was a zoo keeper. While his real name was Piscine Molltor Patel, he changed it very early to Pi Patel and to make sure everyone would know how to pronounce it he added 3.14 and a circle which was sliced in two with a diameter to evoke the basic lesson in geometry. The reason for the name change was, in his early school days he was plagued by school mates messing up his name and using "pissing terms". Pi is a very curious boy and finds himself drawn to Christianity, and Judaism as well as his native Hundustani. There are some interesting and funny passages in the book where Pi is having discussions with his three teachers at the same time and asking why he can not embrace all three. Pi is also very much interested in animals; as the zoo keepers son, he spends a lot of time studying animals and formulating views on the relationship of animals to humans and the pros and cons of zoos(Pi is against them). The beginning of the story as Pi is learning and developing philosophies is the most interesting part for me; the family decides to go to Canada and on the trip, the boat sinks with all of the passengers, his family and the zoo animals. Pi finds himself on a large raft with a wounded Zebra, a hyena, an Orangutan and a 450 pound Bengal tiger(called Richard Parker). A story of survival begins; Pi’s faith is tested, the description of the animal action is tedious and disturbing and as Pi’s state of mind deteriorates the narrative become rather gross. I am not sure where I want to place this book. I want to read it again and read it with Claudia and Mickie and do the "Reading Group Guide" with them.


"The Cold Moon" Jeffery Deaver
This is the latest "Lincoln Rhyme" crime story. Amelia Sachs is still with NYPD and has been given her first opportunity to be lead detective on a homicide of her own. At the same time Lincoln has a new, grizzly, serial murderer to deal with and he needs Amelia; obviously, there is some conflict. Jeffery Deaver builds great characters and we discover corruption in the NYPD . As the story unfolds, it takes an almost unbelievable turn that makes me think that Deaver may have been toying with us in this novel. It was not one of his best.


"Telegraph Days" Larry McMurtry
The author of "Lonesome Dove" and related stories has tried, without real success, to create a story about a couple of western towns and the characters that inhabit them. The story is narrated by a young woman named Nellie Courtright. Nellie and her brother come to town with a flourish; The local sheriff who wants to marry her has appointed her brother deputy and by sheer accident he shoots down six menacing bandits that were harassing the town (actually, he can not hit the side of a barn ith a gun) and becomes a hero. Nellie becomes the town telegraph clerk and later mayor. Nellie is a tough girl; horny as a goat and seems to have sex on her mind all the time. Every man she meets she views as a potential bed mate. Her friend are many, including George Custer, Wild Bill Hickock, the Earp brothers and other sundry characters of the town. Nothing notable about the novel; a kind of fun story the does not take itself seriously. It does not have the depth and story line of his classic Westerns.
July, 3rd. The postman just delivered the latest Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child novel "The Book of The Dead". Claudia and I have been waiting for this one. Also got another copy of Alessandro Baricco’s "Silk"; love that story - gave a copy to Doctor Farrell. Also got a paperback of Raphael Sabatini’s "Scaramouche" to reread and place in my library.
July 28-06


"The Minotaur" Barbara Vine
A splendid novel; a mystery, a murder, a dysfunctional family and some wonderfully crafted characters living in an old English mansion that has many many rooms and a maze built into the library which houses thousands of books and is locked.
The story is narrated told by a young Swedish woman who is hired by this strange family to "look after" a thirty-nine year old man who is considered "mad" by his widowed mother and his four unmarried sisters who live in this rambling house. The reasons for the brother’s "madness" and the relationship between the dominating mother and her son and her daughters create a fascinating story.
It becomes known through discovery by the narrator that the son, while very strange, is being drugged by the mother and the family doctor (the mother’s lover and actually the father of one of the daughters) to keep him docile. The "mad" son was left control of the estate and the money by his father’s will.
We finally learn that the son is an autistic savant and after the mother has and accident that puts her in hospital for a while the son begins to refuse his medication and begins to gain better control of his actions; certainly not cured - never will be but he manages to get out of the total domination of his mother. The stories about the sisters and their attempts to get husbands are critical to the story. One of the sisters is murdered and the mother accuses her son.
As the son gets further from drugs, he spends all of his time in the library hence the reference to the labyrinth and the Minotaur


"Mojave Crossing" Louis L’Amour(8)
Great western! Tel Sacket, on his way to San Francisco from the gold fields with 30 pounds of gold which he intends to sell for trade goods and return to the gold fields finds trouble; a "black haired witch" of a beautiful woman and scheming men who want his gold draw him into a hard riding and hard shooting and lively adventure. L’Amour writes an easy, very descriptive fun story.


"Blackbeard" Angus Konstan
A history of the pirate Edward Teach; "Blackbeard the Pirate". Really a chronicle of piracy and the times and places of pirates. I was expecting a novel. This is a well researched history but rather dry.


"At Risk" Patricia Cornwell
Well, she did it again to me. A piece of fluff; some interesting characters but she does not craft the hard hitting, fast moving forensic novels she did when she first started writing.


"The Book of The Dead" Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
The last in the trilogy ( "Dance of Death", "Brimstone" ) which deals with Special agent Pendergast and his brother Diogenes. The first two were cliff hangers and this last one is very exciting. All of the characters, Vincent D’Agusta, Constance Green, Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback, and Laura Hayward are playing their roles. The museum, as a publicity and fund raising stunt is reopening an Egyptian tomb for the first time in 70 years. The tomb was closed and put away in the bowels of the museum; of course there is supposed to be a curse.
Agent Pendergast is locked up in a Federal prison and his friends are working on a plan to get him out. Diogenes is as warped and evil as they come and Pendergast, finally, learns why his brother hates him so. A fast moving and complicated story but very satisfactory. I recommend the novels be read in sequence. More about Constance, Pendergast’s ward, in the next novel.


"Riptide" Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
A pirate treasure is buried on an Island off the coast of Main. The actual location of the treasure is several hundred feet below the ground in an engineered pit with traps that flood with sea water; it is called "The Money Pit". The idea for the story is based on an actual presumed treasure pit located on Oak Island where millions of dollars and many lives went into trying to solve the puzzle and find the treasure. To date, no one has been successful. This is a great yarn; pirates, treasure, greed, and a seemingly impossible puzzle. As the recovery team searches the island they find a mass grave of pirates; why did they die? why were they buried in such seeming haste. This was my fourth reading and I am still intrigued.


"The Key-Lock Man" Louis L’Amour
Matt Keelock shoots a man in self defense while in the town of "Freedom" buying supplies. The town folk, who did not see the fight, think Matt shot the man in the back and have put up a posse to catch him and hang him for murder. All the neat ingredients of a L’Amour adventure; mean, vindictive men, a pretty woman, splendid horses, a hard trail ride in the mountains, a shoot out, a legend about a huge stash of gold and a strong protagonist.


"Barbara" "The Way She Is" Christopher Anderson
Biography of Barbra Streisand; all anyone might want to know about this extra ordinary singer and perfectly horrible person. Do not know why I picked it up; I have a lot of her music and I really admire her voice but as a person........................


"Peter and The Starcatchers" Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Dave Barry was a Chicago columnist; he writes novels and now works for the Miami Herald.
This is a charming story about a boy named Peter of unknown age who leads a group of orphans away from the home for wayward boys to a ship bound for a strange country called Rundoon. The ship is "The Neverland". He meets a girl named Molly and discovers a strange cargo in the hold of the ship (it is the dust that makes one fly!). Pirates and other bad guys are after this secret cargo. The pirates capture the ship, the cargo is lost and found again, the ship is wrecked on a mysterious island inhabited by strange natives, and stranger fish and animals. A fun fantasy that is kind of a prequel to James Berrie’s "Peter Pan"
I recently viewed the Movie "Finding Neverland" with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet; what a lovely story, I always get tears in my eyes at the ending, it caused me to locate this novel that Claudia and Rebecca gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago; this is a second reading.


"A Necessary Evil" Alex Kava
She is a favorite author; her first novel was "A perfect Evil" written five years ago. Since then she has done five more including this. She goes full circle by reprising the evil antagonist she created in her first novel; Father Michael Keller.
FBI Special Agent Maggie O’Dell is called in to profile a case involving a Catholic monsignor who was found knifed to death in an airport restroom. There have been other ritualistic deaths of Catholic priests in other cities and among the things in common to all of victims is a history of child abuse. There also have been a number murders of young women whose decapitated heads have been found in various locations. O’Dell and the local police must try to the connections. A tense, tight story with detailed forensic work; strong and understandable characters and some real surprises. Father Keller killed and mutilated young boys that had been abused. He managed to fix the evidence and place the blame on two other people and left the country. Now, four years later, he find himself on "a list" of priests that are to be murdered. This novel is a winner!!


"The Riders of High Rock" Louis L’Amour(13)
A Hopalong Casidy novel; Author Clarence Mulford created the Hopalong character in the ‘30s; he became very popular. Mulford retired in 1941 and asked L’Amour to continue the character. Actor William "Bill" Boyd portrayed Hopalong in the movies; I remember his white horse, two six guns and a nifty slide on his bandana; a miniature long horn cow skull . Always a cool and fair minded hero but a hard shooter and tough fighter.
"Hoppy" has to deal with cattle rustlers and some pretty bad characters, he is helped by loyal friends. Plenty of trail riding, shooting and fighting; fun to read. L’Amour’s stories are kind of morality tales.


"Death of A Prankster" M. C. Beaton
Hamish Macbeth, our charming, amorous and very laid back Scottish police constable investigates the murder of a very wealthy eccentric who might have been murdered by his greedy relatives. Not a very original plot but Beaton draws some interesting characters and the novel moves along at a good pace and if one enjoys Hamish it is a nice read.


"Hondo" Louis L’Amour(14)
This was one of L’Amour’s early novels; published in 1953 and made into a movie staring John Wayne ( I found a DVD of that movie). Hondo Lane is a scout for the U.S. Army during the time of the Apache uprising. He had lived among the Apache and "Knew their Ways"; matter of fact, he was more comfortable among the Indians than the white man. He meets a woman and her young son who was deserted by her husband on a ranch that is in the path of the Indians. The chief of the Indians is aware of the woman and respects her courage and wants to bring them into his tribe; the boy likes the idea but the woman who has already met Hondo has no interest in becoming the "wife" of an Indian brave. There is another Indian who is interested in the woman. Hondo, also, has strong feelings for the woman, Angie Lowe. This is a splendid story; we learn a lot about the land and the people and the relationship between the white men and the Apache. This is a Western novel that rivals, in my mind, Zane Grey’s "Riders of The Purple Sage" as a favorite.


"Star Wars" Legacy of the Force "Betrayal" Aaron Allston
Luke Skywalker is, now, a "Master Jedi" married with grown children and is loyal to the Galactic Alliance, Hans Solo and Lea are living on a planet called Corellia, a highly independent group of people who seem to be at odds with the rather strict regulations that the Galactic Alliance imposes on its members. C3Po and RTD2 are still around but Chewbacca has been dead for many years. Kind of an interesting story of the conflict between Luke and Hans: there is a mighty war machine ,capable of destroying planets there is political intrigue and division that might result in a full scale war between Corellia the other defiant planets and the Galactic Alliance. The winner of such a war which could, possibly become another "Empire".


"Lonely On The Mountain" Louis L’Amour
At the rate I am going, I might just read all of his 100 novels. Great fun; this tells the story of how the "Sacketts" will go to any lengths to aid any member of their extended family if they are in trouble. The Sacketts are originally from Tennessee; the family has a 200 year history. They are spread all over now and the Sacketts in this story are in the North West territory. Tell Sackett gets a letter from his cousin Logan that he is in trouble and he needs supplies and cattle to be delivered to a mining town located in British Columbia before winter. The task is close to impossible but Tell and His brothers Tye and Owen get together a small band of cowboys and some 1300 head of cattle and start the journey. Indians who want to grab the heard and just kill the white men and bad white men who do not want the Sackettes to succeed and difficult terrain, the weather and the foibles of brave, plain hard working men are all wonderfully described by this master story teller. Another great reading pleasure.


"The Messenger" Daniel Silva
His ninth novel about Gabriel Allon; art restorer and spy for the Israeli secret service. Daniel Silva has created a very fascinating character in Gabriel Allon; he is dark, and sensitive, a world weary trained killer who faces up to his role as a protector of Israel against terrorism with doubts and challenges but as long as there are terrorists, he must live the role. Each succeeding novel brings new characters and contemporary situations. In this novel the plots are multiple and they take many twists; we have assignation attempts against the Pope and the President of the United States ,we go from the Vatican to the Carribean and back with interplay between Israeli special service, Swiss security, CIA and some very dangerous terrorists who are heavily financed by the Saudis. Silva really puts it together in a thrilling story that I did not want to put down; I read well into the night. If possible, one should get the first novel "The Unlikely Spy" and then read the succeeding novels.


"Treasure Mountain" Louis L’Amour
Two of the Sackette brothers ,Owen and Tye, are down in New Orleans trying to learn what happened to their "Pa" who disappeared and presumably died some twenty years ago while guiding a small group of treasure hunters. They meet a notorious family who seem to have something to hide and the adventure begins. The original party that set out on the treasure hunt was six but only three came back and this New Orleans family isn’t very happy to see the Sackettes digging around. Based on things they learned in the city, the Sackettes begin a journey to retrace the route that their ‘Pa’ and the others took. They meet great characters; good ones and some very bad ones and there is plenty of shooting and riding and "trail reading". The novel is not only a great yarn but it is poetry; L’Amour’s imagery is wonderful, he shows a love for the wilderness and the mountains and the life that the "mountain people" lived and has the ability to put it all into wonderful words.


"The Expected One" Kathleen McGowan
The author, who claims to be a descendant of Mary Magdalene ,has written an interesting but somewhat tedious novel about a woman who has visions and dreams of Mary Magdalene and is, according to an ancient prophecy, "The Expected One" who is destined to bring Mary Magdalene’s hidden gospel to the world. (It should be noted that, at the time she wrote the novel, the "Judas gospel" had just been discovered.) Most of the action takes place in Southern France and we get a grand tour of monuments ,tombs and castles in the area. The woman, Maureen and her brother who is a priest, search and study legends and stories about The Cathars and the Visigoths and the Templars. They learn stories about and view and discuss paintings, particularly those of Sandro Botticelli who seems to have devoted a lot of art to Mary Magdalene; apparently, he was a member of an organization dedicated to preserving her name and memory. It is interesting that this group in Southern France detest Leonardo Da Vinci for reasons explained in the novel.
Maureen does, indeed, find the scroll and many chapters of the novel are devoted to the"Writings of Mary". Mary relates how her brother Lazarus educated her as the only daughter of Benjamin and how her future had been carved out since birth. Of royal blood, she was destined for a prophetic marriage to the "anointed one". The "Gospel" talks about Paul and Judas and other disciples; their strengths and their weakness and their jealousy towards Mary. The "gospel" tells how, instead of marrying the man she loved, a man called Yesha whom she called Easa, she married John the Baptist because the Pharisees had determined that Yesha was not suitable to take on the role of the anointed one and although John was a zealot, his marriage to Mary would somehow legitimize John’s appointed role as "the anointed one". It was not until after John was beheaded that Mary finally married Yesha. She had a child by John and at least one by Yesha. At the time of the resurrection, Yesha made it clear according to this "gospel" that he left the destiny of the movement in Mary’s hands.
With all of these "gospels" being discovered, I wonder when they will find "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ". Surely he must have left some written documents. The author uses a quote in her novel "History is not what happened. History is what was written down. This is a thoughtful novel and it should be read.


"Attack" Yasmina Khadra
The author is Algerian writing under a pen name; his real name is Mohammed Moulesshoul. This powerful story is about an Arab Israeli who works as a surgeon at a hospital in Tel Aviv. Amin Jaafari certainly experienced ethnic prejudice but his way of dealing with it was to be the very best he could be in his selected endeavors. He was very successful and there were those who were jealous of his accomplishments. Amin is very much separated from his Arab Palestinian brethren in many ways. This will change.
A terrorist bomb is exploded in a nearby restaurant and Amin goes to the site and we get a terribly graphic description of the torn bodies and carnage. Amin is called to the hospital to operate where he spends many hours trying to repair bodies. When he leaves the hospital he stopped three times for identification (driving while Arab). Once home, he is called back and at the hospital the police come to him and tell him that his wife’s body was found in the wreckage and her wounds indicate that she was the bomber. The police take him to his home in a state of shock and tear the place apart and begin a brutal interrogation which lasts three days and nights. He is finally released; he still does not believe that his gentle wife was capable of such horror. His neighbors beat him and kick him as a "dirty Arab" so badly the he has to go to a clinic. The people at the hospital will have nothing to do with him. When he goes home again, he finds a letter from his wife postmarked Bethlehem. The letter seems to indicate that his wife was, indeed, the suicide bomber. Amin must go to Bethlehem to find out how and why and who turned his wife. He undertakes this very dangerous journey and is rebuffed and beaten by the Palestinian zealots but he finally learns and gains a better understanding of why the Arab Palestinians are without hope and why they fight with so much anger.
It is a sad tale of human suffering but, certainly, appropriate to our times. Read this one! I am going to locate another of his novels; "The Swallows of Kabul".


At this point, I will print and distribute "More Recent". I hope I get some feedback.
Distribution is now:
Claudia G.
Rebecca G. W.
Glenda B.
Kathy LeScure
Mickie A.
Susan H.
While this thing of mine is primarily devoted to books, I want to include some additions to my DVD library; hopefully, there are folks that would like to borrow some of the titles:
"Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess" The complete opera
Peter Jackson’s "King Kong"
"Original Sin" Bandaras & Jolie (Very much "R")
"Pride & Prejudice" Keira Knightley
"De-Lovely" Kevin Kline & Ashley Judd (listen to Elvis Costello belt out jazz)
"Quills" Geoffrey Rush & Kate Winslet (the Marquis de Sadd in a mad house writing his highly sexually charged novels)
"Hondo" John Wayne classic
Matthew Bourne’s "Swan Lake" beautiful piece of work! Must See!!
"The Red Shoes" classic early ballet dancers
"The Tales of Hoffman" a classic opera/ballet
"Rent" a perfectly splendid rock opera
"Aviator" Leonardo DiCaprio
"The Chronicles of Narnia" The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
"Finding Neverland" Johnny Depp & Kate Winslet
"goodnight & good luck" Robert Downey as Edward R. Murrow
"The Forgotten" Juliana Moore (strange and dark)
"American Pie" (now why, on earth did I get this one?? - not rated)
"The Inspector Lynley Mystery " Series (5 DVDs; waiting for the 2006 series.


AUGUST 06 More Books

"Night Of Sorrows" Frances Sherwood
A fascinating history and novel about the downfall of the Emperor "Moctezuma". It tells the story of Hernan Cortez as he established a colony on the East coast of Mexico and his march to Mexico City. There are both historical and fictional characters coloring the adventure and a love story about an Aztec princess who was sold as a slave and ended up as the mistress of Cortez. The novel is replete with descriptions of social and religious rites and customs of the Aztec people including human sacrifices and the origins of many of the Aztec gods. Quetzalcoatl was the chief god and later, Cortez would convince the conquered Aztecs that he was Quetzalcoatl. When the people first heard about the conquerors, they were described as "humanlike creatures that grew out of the backs of two headed creatures merged with legs as long as young trees. Their faces were hidden by thick hair and they wore head pieces in the shape of two plates and their upper bodies were encased in carapaces." They described the firearms as "sticks that made fire". At the same time we learn a lot about the lives and ambitions of Cortez and his followers. The Spaniards were, clearly, motivated by gold with the secondary mission to "claim land for the Spanish Majesties to convert the heathen to the Holy Church" Cotrez, saw himself as the supreme leader of all of the land , the riches and the thousands of people. Cortez has the sad distinction of being responsible for the elimination of an entire race of people.


"Crisis" Robin Cook
Robin Cook’s medical thrillers are well known; he also wrote a very favorite of mine, "Sphinx".
This novel addresses a relatively new concept in health care "Concierge medicine", also called retainer medicine or boutique medicine or luxury medicine. A person pays a retainer of $1,500 to $20,000 as an annual fee and in return, he/she receives very special attention, long visits, house calls at any time and a very personal doctor-patient relationship.
The doctor in the novel is in his tuxedo and is getting ready to go to a concert with his girl friend (not his wife) when he gets a call from a patient’s husband who says his wife is very ill and is having chest pains. The doctor has already seen the woman earlier in the day; she is a hypochondriac with a history of false pains. The husband wants the doctor to meet him at the hospital but the doctor wants to go to the home and see the symptoms himself (the home is closer to the concert hall). When he get there he finds the wife in a very bad state, calls an ambulance and rides with her to the hospital. The woman dies shortly after she gets to the emergency room. The doctor is sued for malpractice and a trial commences. The trial is main part of the story; Robin Cook keeps you in suspense throughout the trial and the ending is rather a surprise. Good Cook novel!!


"Zorro" Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a Spanish writer who tells the story of the hero "Zorro" (the fox), Diego de la Vega and his "milk brother" an Indian, "Bernado" who was born the same day as Diego, growing up together in California as inseparable friends going to Barcelona as youngsters and returning to Mexico as young men. There are many adventures on the trip to Spain where Diego learns magic tricks and the ways of men and the sea. In Spain, Diego is introduced to a secret society created for the protection of the poor and oppressed wherein Diego takes the name of "Zorro". We learn about Diego’s extensive studies and fencing lessons from a master swordsman and his infatuation for several ladies, all of which form Diego’s character. At the time,Spain was having serious troubles with France and the Inquisition was gaining strength again. These troubled times caused Diego’s sponsor and family friend to be sent to prison and subsequently shot and Diego makes an enemy of a powerful official, Raphael Moncanda. Diego and his dead friends two daughters were forced to secretly leave the country. An exciting trip back to America includes an encounter with the pirate Jean Lafitte and a stay at his stronghold Barataria . Finally back in California he has to assume his role as "Zorro" to right the many wrongs that his old enemy Raphael ,who has established himself in California, has created. This was a neat adventure; the first I ever read about "Zorro"; I have seen all of the "Zorro movies and the TV series; the last movie with Banderas and Anthony Hopkins most closely follows this novel but the one with Tyrone Power as Zorro and Basel Rathbone as the villain was the best.


""The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" Paul Malmont
The best thing about this novel is the story of the history of the "pulp" magazines and the writers that contributed to them once a month for two to five cents a word. This novel tells of the competition between Lester Dent the creator of the very popular "Doc Savage" and Walter Gibson who wrote "The Shadow". The story also includes the haunting writer H.P. Lovecraft and talks about many of the other popular "pulp magazines" of the times. The magazines were called "pulp" because they were printed on the cheapest paper available; "The Spider", "Thrilling Detective", "Amazing Stories","Weird Tales" and on to the cruddy ones like "Spicy Mystery Stories" and "Spicy Detective". Lovecraft wrote for "Terror Tales" and "Erie Stories". Author Malmont weaves a Chinese mystery into the story of the lives of Dent and Gibson and there is considerable danger and adventure. An OK story but I labored through it.


"Death of a Travelling Man M. C. Beaton
Hamish Macbeth, our laid back (lazy) constable recently promoted to Sergeant (much to his chagrin he did not want the job) has another murder to solve, a pesky constable assistant who is a house keeping freak and he continues to have "women troubles".
The Highland village of Lachdub has new residences ; a beatnik, foul mouth couple living in an old bus. The man is extraordinarily handsome and he attracts the ladies. Hamish dislikes the fellow immediately. Soon there are petty thefts in the village and the people, especially some of the women start to act strangely. The handsome stranger is found brutally murdered and Hamish while investigating, discovers that several of the prominent ladies in the village have been involved with the man and Hamish found compromising videos which were used for blackmail. Hamish must try to solve the murder without disclosing any of this embarrassing evidence. A good story with a happy ending.


"The Pale Blue Eye" Louis Bayard
Claudia steered me on to this author; while I was looking for this particular novel, I read another of Bayard’s works "Mr. Timothy", an interesting story and idea based on the life of a grown up Tim Cratchet ( who, as we remember as "Tiny Tim"from Dicken’s Christmas story. Tim is grown up now, walks with a slight limp and lives a rather useless life and although he gets an allowance from "Uncle Scrooge", he wastes it and hangs around with unsavory characters that among other things, sneak around the river at night looking for floating bodies that can be robbed for a few coins or valuables. Tim, somehow resents his dependance on Scrooge but doesn’t know how to break free. He meets a girl that he strongly attracted to and together they start him on a better path. Kind of a strange tale but it turns into a good, well written mystery.
Now! To "The Pale Blue Eye", a splendid story of mystery and intrigue beautifully written. Louis Bayard uses magnificent imagery, the sentences and phrases will captivate you. "The first snow, rare bliss it was to awaken and find every tree and rock over run with snow, to find snowflakes still spilling like hoarded coins from the sky’s cloud-purses."
The story is about a retired New York City detective, Gus Landor who lost his wife through illness and whose only daughter "left him" under unexplained, until the final pages, circumstances. The authorities at the military academy, West Point have come to him to ask him to look into a very sanative problem that they fear could have adverse effect on the academy if the police and the public learned of it. A cadet was found hanged and his body had been mutilated. Landor agrees to take the case and as he begins his investigation he meets the young Edgar Allan Poe, a first year student at the academy. Poe, while rather strange and not yet the well known poet he will become, impresses Landor with his powers of observation and his intellect so he asks Poe to assist. Poe becomes an "inside man" and gives verbal and marvelous written reports to Landor.
There is a lively search with many colorful characters and suspects, another hanging and mutilated cadet, many twists and turns, poems that have acrostics and some love poems that Poe writes when he becomes enamored with a certain young lady. There is some real danger to Landor and Poe and a very surprising turn at the end. This is a good read! I hope that others will find it so.


"The Reef Girl" Zane Grey
I found this old paperback in a used book store. While Zane Grey is famous for his Western novels (among them, "Riders of The Purple Sage" my favorite Western), he wrote this novel about Tahiti in the 30's. The novel was presented for publication after Zane Grey’s death in 1939 but it was rejected as being too "daring" for a Zane Grey Novel. The novel was finally published in 1977. Zane Grey spent some time in Tahiti and from the beautiful descriptions of the land, the flowers, the sea and the mountains and the people, he must have really cared for the place. When you read the story, you are caught up in the beauty of Tahiti; it is like a storybook tour of the Island.
The novel is a love story; an American writer who comes to Tahiti and is mesmerized and obsessed by the beautiful Faaone, the reef girl. Donald Perth, the American is accompanied by his fiancé , Winifred, and her mother and both are caught up with the beauty of the Island to the extent that Winifred begins to go "native". Donald spends his time writing his first real novel and sends it off to the publisher. Winifred, seemingly neglected by Donald, secretly takes up with a Tahitian man and Donald meets and is very much attracted to the native girl Faaone. The story is complicated; Donald wants Faaone but he knows that marriage between a "native and a white man is taboo. When Donald finds out about Winifred’s affair with the Tahitian, he gets into a fight with him and in the in suing fight he kills him and flees to the jungle. After arduous walking and climbing for days and a meeting with a strange group of naked white "nature men"; men who have given up on civilization, who live in huts and off the land, he finally comes to Faaone’s home. She nurses him back to health and convinces him to stay with her even though her people are very much against it. Zane Grey keeps you guessing as to what will happen next and it is not until the very last do you find out if Donald Perth, whose novel was accepted and is a big success ever goes back to the states with or without Faaone. Good story; it was refreshing to see how Zane Grey handled his love passages.


"Einstein’s Dreams" Alan Lightman
An extraordinary fantasy of people living in worlds where time is radically different in each world. In one world, time goes backward, in another, time is circular where everything happens over and over again and again, in another, time is such that one lives their entire like in one day and still another one lives forever. There is a world where the end of the world will happen the next day.- Author Alan Lightman, a teacher of Physics and writer of books on time travel and time, surmises (with tongue in cheek)the thoughts of Albert Einstein as he was working on his theory of time and has created many interesting, fearful, funny , sorrowful and dangerous worlds where time is so very different from that which we know. Take your pick!
This was a delight to read and think about.


"Lost in Translation" Nicole Mones
This is from Claudia’s library; she reads some fascinating stuff!
An intelligent, interesting, and erotic adventure set in modern day China. Archaeologists have hired an American woman who, for personal reasons, has lived in China for many years as an interpreter. She spends her evenings going to bars and picking up Chinese men for sexual pleasure; she prefers one night stands.
The bones of Peking Man were lost during World War II taken, presumably by the Japanese. The archaeologists think they know where the remains are hidden and the Government has, reluctantly, given permission to travel in certain provinces but the Chinese follow them, report every contact and record their every phone call. We learn, from the novel ,Chinese phrases and customs and how the Chinese view the "outsiders" or foreigners. There is a love story; our protagonist falls for one of the Chinese Doctors and the hunt for the lost bones and the follow up on clues makes an interesting adventure. The relationship between the girl and her father who is a U.S. Senator in explored. Good story!


"The Dress Lodger" Sheri Holman
From Claudia’s library
This novel takes place in a city in England that is quarantined by the cholera epidemic of 1831.We are introduced to the squalid poverty and the inhabitants of the poorer parts of town where the people fear the medical Doctors and believe that they are responsible for the epidemic as a way of doing away with the lower class. The Malthus Theory is quoted by the more vocal. In addition, the Doctors are stealing or buying the dead for autopsy and medical training purposes.
The dress lodger is a young girl who works as a potters assistant all day and walks the streets at night in a fancy blue gown that she rents from her landlord she is followed by an old hag who makes sure that she does not sell the gown. She sells her body so she can take care of her deformed baby who was born with his heart outside of his body. She meets a Doctor one night and decides that he might be the one who could cure her baby. The Doctor is a disillusioned person; he teaches anatomy class and despairs the lack of bodies available for teaching and dislikes the need (his need)for stealing bodies. The Doctor’s naive fiancé is a do gooder she goes to the slums where she gives blankets and the like. She meets the rough group that surround the young dress lodger and learns about the deformed baby. She also learns about the attitude of the people towards Doctors and about the theft of bodies. The novel brings these people and many other characters into a very compelling story with a rather sad ending
This is a dark tale; we learn a lot about anatomy and the dissection of bodies as the Doctor teaches his students and fears that the students are not getting enough training and will end up butchering their patients, we learn of the fear and hopelessness of people living in poverty and what they must do to survive. It also addresses some medical ethic problems which do not seem to have answers. A good read.


"The Righteous Men" Sam Bourne
"The end of the world is coming one body at a time"
I struggled through 197 pages waiting for this thing to come together and tossed the book aside. The author tried very hard to create a sense of pending disaster but it was so esoteric and tedious that I lost interest. A "blockbuster" it is not!!


"Dead Watch" John Sandford
John Sandford is best known for his "Prey" series and I have read most of them but this is a bit different and, I think, better than his usual. His hero, Jake Winter, is a tough Army Intelligence veteran who works for the White House as a special investigator. This is a political drama; a heated election is coming up, a wealthy, ex Senator is missing and turns up dead, looks like murder, his head is missing. There is secret conversation about a "package of evidence" that would severely compromise the Vice President and the coming election. Both political parties have an interest in this. There is a corrupt Governor with Presidential ambitions who has established a group called "Watchmen" who, sometimes, use muscle to aid the Governor’s causes. Some people called the "Watchmen" Nazis. The Governor would benefit if "the package" were made public. The missing ex Senator, Lincoln Bowe, is a bitter political enemy of the Governor.
Sanford has built a tight, tension filled thriller that moves fast and keeps you guessing. I read it in one sitting.


"An Iliad" Alessandro Baricco
Author Baricco chose this "memorial to war" as a piece for a public reading. He modified the text slightly; he removed some of the repetitions (this may have been hard for him since he uses a lot of repetition in his earlier novels but we know what he was trying to do) and made the language more modern and he made the narrative more subjective by telling the tale through the eyes of several characters, including Helen. The characters are all there, the Acheans and the Trojans, the great city of Priam, Agamemmon, Achilles, Odysseus, Calchas, Paris and Thersites. The battles and the intrigue are fought and played out. The story of the Trojan horse and the battle between Paris, who stole Helen and Meneles her husband which was supposed to decide the war. All in all another winning novel by Alessandro Baricco, the author of "Silk" and "Beyond Blood", "Ocean Sea", and "City"


"The Prisoner of Zenda" Anthony Hope
Originally published in 1894 this wonderful and exciting adventure still ranks as a most intelligent, readable and well written novel. Authors do not write like this any longer. Hollywood made a movie in 1937 staring Ronald Colman in the dual role of Rudolph Rassendyll and the King of Ruritania, Raymond Massey as "Black" Michael and Madeline Carroll as the Princess Flavia. Great sword fighting, action and drama!
Rudolph Rassendyll had the flaming red hair and the long straight nose of the Elphbergs of Ruritania; a trait that came about every couple of generations (there is a scandal in connection with this family trait). As a matter of fact he was a stunning "look alike" to the young prince and future King of Ruritania. Rudolph decides to go to Ruritania for the king’s coronation and becomes involved in a deadly plot masterminded by the kings brother, Michael, to kidnap the king and thus foil the coronation and lead the people to believe that the young king, who is known to be rather irresponsible, was out drinking and missed his own coronation. Michael, who was popular with the people would press his own case to be crowned king. The king is held in the castle at Zenda, Rudolph takes the king’s place at the coronation, he falls in love with the Princess Flavia who thinks he is the king (but a different and much nicer person) and she loves him back. Rudolph and those who got him into the predicament, make a plan to rescue the king from Zenda before Michael kills him. Rudolph’s life is also at stake because Michael is, obviously, on to the ruse.
I bought a "Bantam BooK" paper back from our library; the book was printed in 1946. The original price was 25 cents. I will send it to Parker Alan one day and hope that he will read it. I love these old books!


"Sense and Sensibility" Jane Austin
Published in 1911, this was Jane Austin’s first novel to be published although she had written four other prior to 1911.
Jane Austin is, indeed, a "wordsmith" her vocabulary and phrases are amazing. The characters that people her novels are so believable and interesting that they just leap out of the pages. She writes of early 19th century England when class, snobbery, gossip and people of both high and low character interact. It is a time when young women without much money are hoping for a favorable marriage with a man with "an adequate yearly income" rather than becoming a burden on her family. Much like "Pride and Prejudice", this is the story of a family of modest circumstances and their relationship with more well to do relatives and friends. It is the story of the Widow Dashwood’s family, particularly the two daughters, Elinor and Marianne both very young and romantic in nature and their loves and hopes and disappointments as they live a life in the country. Both of the young ladies meet acceptable men and believe that their affection is returned but the plot turns and twists and circumstances change. The author carries her reader into and through complex narrations and conversations with ease and understanding and makes the novel thoroughly enjoyable. I recommend that a dictionary be readily available.


"Sacred Stone" Clive Cussler & Craig Dirgo
This is about another group of adventurers that Cussler has created; Juan Cabrillo, the "chairman" of a network of specialists that call themselves The Corporation, is a strong leader like Cussler’s Dirk Pitt and while fully in charge, he is also always in the forefront of the action. The Corporation does "contract work" for the President of the United States when delicate situations arise.
Archaeologists in Iceland have discovered a meteorite in an ancient cave. The artifact, is highly radioactive and was probably used as a religious icon. The long dead worshipers built an elaborate shrine in the cave. The discoverer relates his news to his sponsor, a multi billionaire who has a particular agenda and the message is intercepted by other parties including Arab terrorists who would, very much like to get their hands on the radio active sphere. Intelligence reports have indicated that a group has a nuclear device that may be used in England and there is a fear that terrorists might try to combine the radioactive meteor with the device to make it dirty. Further, scientists have a theory that the meteor could have a virus inside that, if exploded, could spread and destroy life. There is a race between The Corporation, the terrorists and the fanatical billionaire for possession of both the nuclear device and the meteorite. Lots of action, neat technical devices, a long and involved chase and a satisfactory ending. Cussler makes his usual appearance in the novel as a helpful "old character".


"Water for Elephants" Sara Gruen
It is the late 20s and early 30s; the depression is on and the story is about a struggling traveling circus. Ninety-three year old Jacob Jankowski remembers his days as he worked in the animal menagerie as a veterinary and general keeper of the circus animals. The circus, billed as Binzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, was tenth rate at best with seedy characters and old sick animals. Money was always in short supply; the animals were not always fed and once, when one of the star show horses had to be put down due to an injury, it was butchered just in time to keep the big cats from starving. The owner traveled around trying to buy up the people, animals and equipment from circuses that went broke during the depression but he generally got there last and got only the dregs. It was a living for Jacob but not much more; he was at the end of his final term of Veterinary school when he got news that both of his parents were killed in an auto accident and he learned that they had mortgaged everything they had to put him through school. His depression was great and he joined the circus as an escape. Through the novel, we learn a lot about circus life back then; the freaks, the clowns, the Dwarfs, the animal acts (they finally got an old elephant, "Rosie", but no one could make it do anything until, by accident, Jacob learned that the beast only understood Polish), the circus had a caste system where "workers" and "performers" would not mingle. Of course, Jacob fell in love with the beautiful horse trainer who was married to Jacob’s mean bi polar boss. The book has old pictures from the Barnum and Baily museum and was well researched. We, once, saw a circus train in Arlington Heights, Illinois. This was a neat story about a very rough life but it has an interesting ending.


"Renfield" Barbara Hambly
"RMR’s Notes
20 May
7 flies, 3 spiders"...
and so begins the story of Ryland Renfield . Was he a deranged mad man? A pitiful, godless soul who at one time was a cultured business man with a serious problem? Was he a murderer? How did he end up in Doctor John Seward’s asylum for the insane at Rushbrook House which borders on the grounds of Carfax Abbey?
This retelling of Brahm Stokers "Dracula"is true to the original tale in many aspects but it also fleshes out the character of Renfield. He writes letter after letter to his wife and daughter who he has hidden away from his wife’s greedy and haughty mother who, now that Renfield is in the Asylum, wants claim to his money and daughter. He has strange dreams about the people around him, Lucy Westenra, Arthur Holmwood, Dr. Seward, Quincy Morris and all of the characters that people the "Dracula" novel. In these dreams he sees what is actually happening; even Jonathon Harker’s experience at Dracula’s castle with Dracula’s three wives. He has visions about "The Master" who is at first depicted as the Norse god "Wotan" but later recognized as Dracula. The story tells of Renfield’s experiences in India when he was a tradesman and some of his strange practices. it also brings Dracula’s wives to England where they ultimately make Renfield a vampire.
I thought it was a fascinating story; one that Claudia and Becca will want to read, I am sure. Very intriguing ending; they kill the Count, of course, and poor Quincy is dead but our author carries the story beyond the original ending.


"The Desert Crucible" Zane Grey
After the wild success of "Riders of The Purple Sage", Zane Grey was asked to write a sequel. He did so in 1915 but his publishers edited the story and removed parts that they thought would offend certain readers or, perhaps, outside groups put pressure on them. (Political correctness in 1915?) Zane Grey had some extremely harsh things to say about the Mormon religion which showed in "Riders". The idea of the Mormons kidnaping young girls and hiding them away as "sealed wives" was an abomination to Grey and he was equally opinioned about the way missionaries and priests tried to take away the religion of the Indians and replace it with something completely foreign to them.
This book was published several years later ; exactly as Zane Grey wrote the original.
We left "Riders" after the wonderful ride through the plain and after Lassiter push the huge rock that sealed him and Jane Withersteen and the young child Fay Larkin in "Surprise Valley". Bern Venters, Jane’s hand at her ranch and his wife Bess moved on to Illinois and met a man called Sheffield. Sheffield was a troubled minister who lost his faith in the traditional religion and was kicked out of his church. He was befriended by Venters who told Sheffield the story of Lassiter, Jane and Fay. Sheffield became intrigued with the story and made his mind up to find "Surprise Valley" In his travels he heard another story that chilled him; the Mormons who Lassiter and Jane were escaping from never gave up their hunt for them and years after they sealed themselves in "Surprise Valley" the Mormons found a way into the valley and they forced young Fay to go with them, become a Mormon and a "sealed wife" on the threat that they would hang Lassiter and kill Jane who they called an atheist. Sheffield vowed to rescue them. The adventures were many; hardships on the trail and mixed joy when he finally found Fay. He met many people and made good friends among them an old Indian and he made enemies. He found a religion.
Zane Greys wonderful descriptions of the land, the mountains and colorful valleys, his imagery of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River and the "Rainbow Bridge" surely indicate his love for the West. This is another great story; a moral play without preaching.


"Mercy" Jodi Picoult
An essay on love. The love of a man who kills his suffering, terminally ill wife who pleads for escape from pain. The love of a man and his wife and how it bears up under infidelity. The love and support and care that is given to these people by friends, relatives and town people.
The town of Wheelock, Massachsetts settled by Scots has a Chief of Police and "clan leader" Cameron MacDonald married to Allie. A kinsman, James MacDonald, from another town comes to him and confesses that he has killed his wife and why. Cam, as an officer of the law, must arrest James for murder. For reasons best known to himself, Cam does not let the circumstances of the crime affect him while his wife, Allie, is very sympathetic and wants to help James even to the extent of going out of town to get "character witnesses" and find people who might shed light on the relationship between James and Maggie. Allie runs a flower shop and the same day James comes to town with his confession, a young woman named Mia finds her way to the flower shop and although Allie is absent, makes herself to home and starts making up flower arrangements. When Allie gets to her place of business and meet Mia, she likes the woman and invites her to her home until Mia can find lodging. Cam and Mia meet and eventually have an affair. Allie, after a time, finds out about it
James is indicted and there is a very interesting trial drama. The Judge, specifically proscribed the use of the words "mercy killing" and that made the defending lawyer’s job more difficult. Author Picoult uses strong characters and puts them in very realistic situations. You find that you care for each one and the tension and suspense continues until the end.
"If you forgive people enough, you belong to them
and they to you, whether either person likes it or not-
squatter’s rights of the heart"
James Hilton

October ‘06

"Flood Tide" Clive Cussler
A Dirk Pitt adventure; NUMA, National Underwater Marine Agency, is called upon to look into the trafficking of illegal aliens from China. There is a nasty, corrupt, extremely wealthy Chinese businessman with many varied interests who is working with the Chinese government to help reduce the growing population problem in China by taking thousands of people out of the country and either selling them into bondage in another country or dropping them into the ocean to drown. While this is bad enough, another insidious plot relating to the construction of a huge shipping port in the middle of nowhere is growing. The bad guys are going to cause a flood of momentous proportions and Dirk Pitt and his crew have only a short time to stop the process. The adventure starts on the coast of the state of Washington where Pitt discovers thousands of dead bodies on the sea bottom. Other clues lead them to the state of Louisiana where a huge decommissioned war ship purchased and renovated by this same Chinese businessman is making it’s way up the Mississippi River. A good NUMA adventure, lots of heroics both underwater and on the sea.


"Persuasion" Jane Austin
Jane Austin’s last novel, published after her death in 1817.
Love, marriage, jealousy, pride and the undue emphasis on wealth and class distinction as usual but there is, also, an intriguing story of how the lives of two people are altered; one because she was persuaded to decline a suitor’s proposal "for her own good" because the gentleman in question did not have an adequate fortune or prospects and the other, because of hurt and pride (because of his rejection)which lingered even after he obtained wealth and position. Ironically, each still cared for each other. Jane Austin, meticulously, details the lives of several families caught up in the false values of the times and so filled with pride and envy that their world has shrunk to acquaintances of the same ilk. The story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth matches in poignancy that of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy of "Pride and Prejudice. I have, now, read three of Jane Austin’s novels, enjoyed them all but I warn those that are "unromantic" to veer away unless one wants to read the novels for the withering satire she uses in describing the characters that people her novels and the irony of their situations.


"Phantom of the Opera" Gaston Leroux
This is the novel that launched several movies and the popular musical. The action takes place in the Paris Opera, on a lake and on an island. As the story begins, the "OG" (Opera Ghost) is ensconced in his private box and making demands on the managers of the Opera for money and favors. He is also known as "The Angel of Music" who visits a young singer, Christine and teaches her while demanding her total devotion. Everyone knows about the ghost and some have claimed to have seen him; he is benevolent to some and terrifying to others. New management takes over the Opera and think the idea of the "OG" is a joke; they learn differently. The tale is a bit hard to follow and one should, first, clear their mind of movie and play versions of the story.


"The Lincoln Lawyer" Michael Connelly
This is a good mystery and a departure from the "Harry Boch" series that Connelly is known for.
A criminal attorney, Mickey Haller, who operates out of a Lincoln automobile as he travels from client to client and court house to courthouse. He is successful but cops and prosecuting attorneys dislike his kind because he wins a lot on technicalities and as a result, the bad guys get off.
A wealthy real estate person is accused of severely beating and threatening the life of a woman he picked up in a bar and asks Heller to defend him. As Heller collects evidence he learns things about the victim and about his client that cause him to pause. His best friend and private investigator is found murdered, his life and that of his family is threatened. Heller becomes a suspect, because evidence is planted; a couple of tough homicide cops investigate and follow him. Heller’s feelings towards his client change drastically. Fast moving action, tense court room scenes and dialogue and a surprise ending. Connelly wrote a good one!!


"What Angels Fear" C.S. Harris
Beautifully written historical mystery. The year is 1811. "Mad" King George is on the throne, there is unrest among the people, the Tories are in power and the folks in England are taking note of the revolution that is taking place in France. Parliament is considering a Regent to take King George’s place if his mind deteriorates further and they want to keep the status quo.
In this political climate, a beautiful young prostitute is found brutally murdered, raped and dismembered in a church. Evidence and witnesses indicate that a nobleman, Sebastian St. Cyr. Devlin, was at the scene and Sebastian is arrested for murder. He escapes and during the escape, an in adept policeman is accidentally stabbed by another policeman and the blame is placed on Devlin. Devlin attempts to discover who really killed the young woman. Who was she? Did the powerful confidant of the Regent have anything to do with this? Were the more liberal Whigs who want to form a new government responsible?
This novel was very well researched; the intrigue, the suspense and the twisting plots auger well with the historical events of the period. Read this one!!!


"Blue Gold" Clive Cussler
NUMA again but Kurt Austin is in charge this time. A woman scientist has developed a method of converting sea water to fresh water at very low cost and she intends to give the process to the world. She is kidnaped and disappears along with her prototype. Wealthy business interests have other ideas regarding water and are working on a scheme to control the world water supply. NUMA is charged to find the woman scientist and foil the plans of the bad guys. Good Cussler drama; action, technology and the whole NUMA cast doing their specialty.


"Death of a Perfect Wife" M.C. Beaton
Our Scottish policeman has another mystery to solve. A new couple has purchased an old house and will turn it into a Bread & Breakfast. The woman, Trixie Thomas claims that they are "on the dole" and are looking for donations of old furnishings from the people of Lochdubh. Actually, she has a good eye for pricy antiques which she takes to out of town auctions. She is a dynamic personality and soon has the women of the town involved in anti smoking and conservation rallies and ways to improve the health and welfare of their husbands. She is also a bit of a flirt and a moocher. Many of the husbands dislike her intensely as do some of the wives. Trixie is found dead of arsenic poisoning; Hamish Macbeth will solve the crime much to the chagrin of his nemesis and superior who always tries to claim credit for Hamish’s accomplishments. A fun story with interesting characters and lots of twists to keep you interested. In the background, the on again off again romance of Hamish and Priscilla continues


"Captain Blood" Raphael Sabatini
This is a reread of a favorite novel. I recently bought this copy and "The Black Swan",also written by Sabatini, to send on to Parker Alan. These are classic adventures that all boys and girls should sample. I have an old VCR tape of Captain Blood the movie that was made in 1935 (I saw it on the screen when it came out) and while it was a marvelous action story, the film changed, significantly, several parts of the story.


"Phantom Nights" John Farris
An extraordinary and spellbinding story with beautifully structured characters who live in Eastern Tennessee in the early 1950's. There is a mute boy, Alex who witnesses the rape of a black nurse named Mally by a prominent politician, Alex’s brother, Bobby, is a Deputy Sheriff who must try to deal with the subsequent murder of Mally, and there is Bobby’s wife and mother in law who dislike Alex and want him out of Bobby’s house.
Harsh language and racial slurs abound in this 1950 Southern town of Evening Shade. The interaction between the characters is typical of the times.
A swaggering, popular politician, Leland, running for the U.S. Senate, has a dark secret and is fearful that the nurse, Mally, learned about the deed while she nursed his dying father. Leland and another man go to her house to find out what she knows, he rapes Mally (young Alex was in the house at the time ,hidden) and then takes her on to his own farm to question her. She escapes and runs away but the fool lets his vicious dogs loose on her. The dogs maim and kill her and he tries to cover up the crime by moving her remains to another location where wild dogs have been known to roam. Mally’s father, a medical doctor experienced in forensic investigation, convinces the Deputy Sheriff that the girl was killed elsewhere. Bobby must try to find enough evidence to convict the powerful politician. As he gets closer to learning the truth the life of his brother and others are endangered. There is a preternatural aspect to the story which, I think, detracts from it; Mally comes back as ..a ghost?? and she and Alex speak to each other at an abandoned train station that is used frequently by dead folk on their way to wherever. Over all, however, it was a good, entertaining yarn that reflected, in many ways ,the way people thought and talked back in the 1950's.


"One Thousand White Women" Jim Fergus
In 1874, a Cheyenne Chief named Little Wolf and several other Chiefs met with President Grant and other officials and the Press to discuss a peace proposal. The Chief began by explaining that, among his tribe, it is tradition that every newborn baby belongs to the tribe of his mother. This is a good thing, he said, because the child will be brought up understanding the customs of the mother’s tribe but will be welcome in the tribe of his father. Little Wolf asked that the President give to the Cheyenne one thousand white women who would marry Cheyenne men and whose children would be brought up in the white man culture and thus creating an understanding and peace between the two peoples. The Cheyenne, in return, would pay one thousand horses for the women. The proposal which was an historical fact, was rejected and the press pandered to the outrage that Little Wolf’s proposal caused.
Our author, Jim Fergus, seized on the idea and created a fascinating historical, imaginative novel about what happened after the proposal was made:
When the public read about the outrageous proposal, the President started to receive thousands of letters from women from all walks of life stating that they would be willing to participate in the "Brides for Indians" program. So many, that President Grant finally decided that the program might just help the peace effort which was not going very well (the Cheyenne were attacking settlers going West) but the Government, in their wisdom, made it a secret project. There were many reasons that the women were willing to go and live with the Indians and the agency set out to interview the candidates. They were also willing to give the selected candidates release from jail and release from mental institutions (if the candidates were not too crazy.
The story is narrated through the journal of a woman named May Dodd who was wrongly placed in a mental institution by her parents because May left home to live with a man she loved and had two children out of wedlock causing her socialite parents much scandal. May was abandoned by her family, she lost her children and thought that she was destined to spend the rest of her life in asylum; she applied and was selected for the "BFI" program. The journal describes the very colorful collection of women that accompany her as the first group of brides and we learn the various reasons both sad and humorous as to why the women volunteered . The journal begins with May’s release from the asylum and tells the story of the initial journey to an outpost in Kansas Territory and on to the Indian village where the women take up their lives in the Indian village as wives of Cheyenne braves.
Entertaining and funny descriptions of the women, their backgrounds, their strengths and their weaknesses, their hardships, intimate details of the lives they lead as wives in a communal lodge with their husbands’s other wives and the dishonesty and deception of the Government and the Army as they cheat the Indians out of their promised land and possessions in total disregard of their treaties. They even lie about the "BFI" program. The journal includes the hypocrisy of the clergy assigned to the project by the Government. While the clergy was supposed to support the women, they looked down upon the women and felt that their prime mission was to teach Christianity to the "heathen savages". They also had "special" and secret instructions from the Government.
The project, of course, was doomed to failure because the two races were too far apart; the situation in the Black Hills, the discovery of gold and the mad rush into Indian Territory resulted in a public outcry for the Army to protect the settlers and a massacre and rounding up of all Indians to a reservation resulted. The peaceful "BFI " village was invaded and devastated by a huge contingent of U.S. troops. May was fatally wounded while trying to escape but her journal is finally passed on to her children.


"The Temple Dancer" John Speed
An ambitious undertaking by author Speed, the first of three novels about India who was conquered by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English. The story takes place in "The Deccan", central and Southern India in 1657 and tells the journey of several travelers who caravan from the sea port of Goa to Bijapur, a capital city. The travelers include a young titled Portuguese woman who is called "Farange" foreigner (Star Treck used this Indian term for the "Faranges"), a merchant, a soldier Prince, a young temple dancer who has been sold and is being delivered to the Visier of Bijapur as a bribe and a eunuch. The caravan is beset by bandits and we learn more of the personalities of the individuals. Finally, in the capital city, the travelers are faced with the conflict between Hindis and Islam and a bizarre hierarchy dominated by perverted eunuches. It was a strange story with erotic passages, compelling characters and vivid descriptions of the place and culture. I do not think I will bother with the sequel novels.


"Frankenstein" Book Two "City of Night" Dean Koontz & Ed Gorman
Claudia and Rick have read both books of this reworking of the classic tale by Mary Shelly and "Jill Baby" is deep into the first book. I have not yet read Book One but after reading this one, I will certainly do so. There will be a third volume, there has to be because this one had no ending, it just fades away at what should be a very important stage of the story. The time is 240 years since Victor Frankenstein who now calls himself Victor Helios created his first "monster". The creature still lives and calls himself Deucalion (the son of Prometheus). Apparently, Deucalion has learned to control his rage through years of study at a monastery and he has learned that his creator has managed to keep himself alive for over 200 years and has created a special race of non humans to serve him. Deucalion has vowed to kill his maker. Victor Helios is one bad guy!! He has managed to make duplicates of major figures in the city of New Orleans this includes the Mayor, the Police Chief and many others in authority. These non humans are programed for special duties; they are stronger and faster and eventually, Victor Helios will turn them loose to kill all humans. Frankenstein continues to perform bizarre experiments some of which turn out very badly; he destroys them and buries them in a special dump that is used for both human and non human bodies and is run by disgusting low class non human people who hate humans and savor the opportunity to perform evil deeds and mutilation on the human bodies that are sent to them.
There is a man and woman detective team who know about Frankenstein and are intent on destroying him with the help of Deucalion. The team is followed by an assassination couple who bring very dark humor and brutal conversation to their characters. Frequently, the dialogue in this novel is repugnant especially when it gets into descriptions of killing and burial rituals by the non humans.
Victor is mad; he is looking for perfection but he can not find it in the culture or makeup of the human race. He has made five wives, none of which are good enough for him. It is, not yet, clear how he expects things to be when he has killed off all humans because one of the prime motivations of his non humans is to kill humans and when humans are gone how will the monsters fare?


"The Hot Kid" Elmore Leonard
It is the 1930's, action takes place in Oklahoma and Kansas City; prohibition, road houses, whorehouses, night clubs, gangsters like John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Machine Gun Kelly, bank robbers, Gun Molls and a U.S. Marshall combine with Elmore Leonard’s snappy dialogue into a fast moving and totally enjoyable story.
U.S. Marshall, Carl Webster (The Cool Kid) is becoming legendary due to his shoot outs with gangsters. His exploits are recorded in the pulp magazine "True Detective" by a writer who keeps turning up as Carl goes about his business. One particular bad guy, Jack Belmount , son of a wealthy oil tycoon becomes involved in more and more serious crimes. Jack is mean and crafty and a cold blooded killer. Carl and Jack have many encounters which finally result in an exciting showdown. Wonderful Elmore Leonard characters; a fun read.


"Imperium" a novel of Ancient Rome Robert Harris
Author Robert Harris takes us into the world of Roman politics, corruption and intrigues; he introduces us to the powerful senator, Marcus Cicero as he grows from a stammering young lawyer to a superb orator. The story is narrated by his slave and secretary, Tiro, Tullius. It is documented that Tiro invented shorthand so he could keep up with the rapid speech of Cicero. Tiro gives fascinating descriptions of those that Cicero defended and offended including Pompey, Crassus, Cato, and even Caesar. His rivals Hortensius, Crassus, old Metellus Pius and of course Sergius Catilina who we read about in Steven Saylors novel "Catilina’s Revenge". The novel begins with an interesting plot; a citizen of Sicily has been victimized by the corrupt governor. Not only has his property been stolen but the governor has tried him in abstentia and found him guilty of treason. The man, Sthenius, goes to Cicero for help and after due consideration, Cicero takes the problem to the senate where he is filibustered and loses the first round. Lively, entertaining and mean dialogue between members of the senate quickly shows who Cicero’s enemies are. Cicero is ambitious and dislikes defeat; as he pursues Sthenius’ problem, Cicero gets involved in the political fight for "The Imperium" (top dog in the senate) between Pompey and Crassus. Politicians never change. There is a lot of history and this novel may not be interesting to many folks.


There are several books that I have on my reading list that I will take up in December: "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham
"Thirteen Moons" By Charles Frazier (author of "Cold Mountain)
"Frankenstein" Book One, Prodigal Son by Dean Koontzs
"The Mission Song" by John LeCarre (Smiley’s People)
"I Mona Lisa" by Jeanne Kalogridis
"The Girl with The Long Green Heart" (hopefully not "hard hearted") by Lawrence Block (mystery and detective fiction)