Away

Fans of Kinky Friedman's humorous detective fiction will no doubt enjoy this one as well, with many of the characters in place from his first two novels. This time around, the mystery revolves around cats, books and cocaine. Kinky always sticks with familiar territory, and it's like a comfortable shoe for the reader.

A couple of ugly tendencies start poking around in this one, however. Friedman's novels are always filled with people he knows in the real world...from his publishing company, the country music world or just plain old friends. That's sort of charming and folksy, but when he name-drops just for the sake of name-dropping - and the reader has no clue who he's talking about because it's some guy that he went to college with - it gets a little annoying. Several times there are entire pages describing events that seem to advance the story not one bit, only to find out that the mini-story is about his real-life publicist or assistant. I hope his assistant appreciated, because I didn't.

Not to mention that some of Kinky's un-PC rambling (hilarious in the first two books) start to get a little out of hand here. It grows old to hear the same "I'm a Jew so it's okay to drop asides about tar babies, watermelons, and spics," stuff over and over.

That said, it's an average mystery that doesn't pay off the way Kinky's first two books did. I'm not giving up on him, though. Vandam Street, Kinky's cat, the espresso machine, the head and parachute door-opening system and the entire crew that hangs with this Jewish cowboy in the Village keep calling me back for more tales. Although it's a lull in the series, the premise is far from played out.

I am a new fan of the politically incorrect, fast-paced detective novels of Kinky Friedman, having previously read The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover. These books are an easy read, with short chapters and constant movement, and Kinky (both narrator and author) occasionally summarizes what the protagonist has learned just to help the reader keep up with the storyline in the unlikely event you become confused.

This time Kinky gets wrapped up in the case of a cat who disappeared from a cat show at New York's Madison Square Garden. This seemingly harmless case soon leads him down the path to murder, warring Columbian drug cartels, and perhaps an ancient sect of dangerous Cat worshippers who are believed by anthropologists to be in the New York/ New England area.

However, none of this really matters all that much. The joy of reading a Friedman novel is simply to come along for the ride as Kinky, his sidekick Ratso, and other "Village Irregulars" like McGovern and Rambam converge in his Greenwich Village apartment (below the ever-present Winnie Katz and her lesbian dance class) or at Carnegie Deli to piece together information and make everything turn out happily ever after. Kinky pokes fun at hockey, golf, publishers, Columbian drug lords, authors, police and virtually everyone else who enters his path with a self-deprecating humor and a knowledge of history. His numerous historical references include such diverse characters as Vincent Van Gogh and Franz Shubert. Clearly the guy has read a few books in his day before he started writing them.

Ultimately, while the novel held my interest and I read it in a single weekend, I didn't think this one was as laugh-out-loud funny as J. Edgar Hoover. Written in 1988, it was Friedman's third novel, and I suspect he was still polishing his style. However, fans of Kinky's offbeat style, (and there are many of them), will find much here to enjoy.

I have read all the Kinky books, but this one is still my favorite. Since all his books have a "cat theme," this one is really carries it through with a cat show at Madison Square Garden. Great fun.

Having brought along two guide books on several weekend trips throughout New Jersey this summer, I found "New Jersey Day Trips" by Barbara Hudgins to be a much more comprehensive guide to the Garden State's main attractions and hidden treasures than "Away for the Weekend."

This book contains great ideas for weekend trips located through the mid-atlantic region. The book is arranged seasonally, recommending visits when a particular site is at its best, or when an event for festival is taking place.

The book is not meant to be a travel book for a particular state, but rather as an idea generator for finding interesting ways to spend a weekend.

The descriptions of the trips are well written, interesting reading on their own.

I really wanted to like this book. I saw A.E Hotchner on TV talking about Doris Day, and he just struck me as a likeable, earnest sort of guy. Unfortunately he didn't live up to his Tv-self in print. Most of the book is comprised of large chunks of interview material, both from Hotchner's own research and Rolling Stone magazine interviews you've probably already read. The rest is made up of highly subjective meanderings and vain attempts to link two ideas together.
It's hard to make this story dull, and some of the Marianne Faithfull stuff is good, but there are better books with less academic-sounding titles about the same subject. Or you could just watch "Gimme Shelter" for the condensed version.

This is an outstanding book that provides excellently written information on the world's greatest rock and roll band. Although i question some of the accuracy of the information, it is one of my favorite books.
Mick jagger ROX!!!!!

Not a bad book to read on a bus ride home. Easy to come back to at any time. I think most people would enjoy it.

These two stories consist of Father and Son -- the son, Logan Callahan had come to Allentown to check out a construction site and of course Ashley Dawson objected to the destruction of an old house her historical committee was trying to save.
Love developed over a week of consultations? and powerful attraction. The exchange between Ashley's sister, Mary and her mother was great in exploring the closeness of these 3 women. The contacts between Logan and his father kind of left you grinning. Poor pops couldn't understand this lethal attraction --- until he met Lindsay Dawson in the second story and he accidentally fell into the same trap.
His seduction turned courtship lasted a bit over a week -- kind of fast for a confirmed bachelor turned 47 - or so he thought and all because Lindsay wanted to plan a belated reception for his son and her daughter! The story left one grinning and enjoying a fast and easy read.

A very silly book that tells you how to get away with murder in New York without telling you how to get away with murder in New York.

It's good natured, I suppose, but the book has been so poorly edited and copyedited, that its publication makes a mockery of publishing. The publisher ought to clean up any further editions or printings; it would be pretty easy and would make this book more credible, if that's possible.

This book is a hilarious look at the justice system in NY. The writer is very witty but also has a twisted sense of humour. This is a very funny book that at times will have you laughing out loud. I was also laughing at some things I never though I would find funny. Pick up this book and you will see what I mean by that!

Great stocking stuffer! *****

This is a presentation of the possible events that will usher in the reign of the Antichrist. Key event is a worldwide financial crisis and desperate people in need of a solution. The solution will be offered by a group of conspirators, or "money masters." Countries will no longer have individual currencies, but a one-world currency will be initiated. Some of the theories presented involve timelines which have about expired, there is repetition in thought and ideas, and some of the ideas presented seem extreme. Still, it is not possible to dismiss all of the book as lunacy, and a few of the ideas stick in the mind and raise questions about what is happening in the world of today and in the United States.

His critics dismiss Texe Marrs with the label "Fundamentalist Christian." So be it. But at least he takes a stand. At least he reads the Bible of his faith. At least he applies it to the world around him.

I like Marrs' books. They have the excitement of conspiracy theory. But grounded in Bible study. If you don't believe in the Bible (or are afraid your friends will think you're a nut if you do) you probably won't like his books. But if you're into Bible prophecy, and use the Christian Bible to guide your life, then I think you'll appreciate Marrs' perspective.

I'll admit, I try not to put any Christian writer on a pedestal. God is still the definitive Author. But there's a place for writers who use the Bible to comment on current events. I appreciate the work they do. Especially when it prompts me to go back and read Bible passages they've pointed out.

So, Mr. Marrs: I thank you for taking so much flak, yet still keeping the faith. And I eagerly await your next book.

Only a Memory Away is a good read for anyone who loves amnesia stories. The prose is smooth and so is the pace. While I found some minor logic questions, I had no trouble following the story. St. Clair does a good job with her setting, and I could easily see all her scenes and characters. She really keeps you hanging right to the very end.

A small-town social worker is called in to help with an amnesiac patient at the local hospital. As the two try to discover his past, he fears that his life as a murderer is ONLY A MEMORY AWAY . With a skill for building tension, Madeline St. Claire will thrill.

An excellent and important story that needs to be told over and over again. But for those of us who use non-fiction books such as this for research as well, this book lacks a crucial element--an index. I could not recommend this book to someone researching information on the Holocaust because there is no way for someone to retrieve important information without laboriously searching page by page through the book. When will publishers learn what researchers and librarians know, a non-fiction book without an index is not complete?

This is a compelling and frequently moving account of the author's grandparents' lives from the turn of the century in Vienna to the middle years of the twentieth century. The grandparents, David and Amalie Oppenheim, had both the good and bad fortune to live through some of the most interesting and tragic times of the last century. As young, educated, middle-class Jews living in Vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century, they experienced the last days of the Hapsburg empire, the intellectual currents of the time and place (including being part of Freud's circle), the first world war, the depression, anti-semitism, Nazism and the Holocaust, as well as the great intellectual achievements of Austro-German culture.

The book is a fascinating account of the period, as well as the curious relationship between David and Amalie, whose homosexual feelings towards others seem to lead them into marriage and children of their own. The final chapters, describing post-Anschluss Vienna, the ghetto conditions in which they were forced to live, and finally Theresienstadt concentration camp are harrowing and moving. As a memoir rather than a history, the book is written well and reads easily; though there are references to other works, it is not in any way dull or academic. The author's frequent comparisons between his grandfather's way of thinking and his own are I feel a little forced, but this is only a minor quibble, especially when the humanity of both the author and the grandparents about whom he is writing is evident. Highly recommended.

One book which Singer refers to frequently is Stefan Zweig's "The World of Yesterday", which I would also highly recommend to anyone interested in the period or subject matter.

Well-written with good prose style, but... 1. The two stories the author tells (a thwarted adoption in Connecticut; removal of 19 children from a group of sisters in Chicago) just don't hang together. These two stories have little in common, and the author is awkwadly trying to force them together. 2. The rest of the book is too cosmic -- trying to pigeonhole everything from the feudal system to the Catholic church, and move back and forth between those generalities and the two unrelated stories. 3. Political bias. Well, what can you expect from an author who teaches at Columbia Journalism School (I know, I graduated from there in 1966)? What you get is someone who accepts what Bernardine Dohrn (a convicted criminal) says and then sneers at Newt Gingrich (without, obviously, having ever read anything Mr. Gingrich has had to say on the topic the author writes about). So what we have here is coverage of the spectrum from slightly left of center to way out there in left field. 4. The author WILL NOT come to a conclusion. It's all "on the one hand this, on the other hand that" which gives a surface impression of evenhandedness but in the end is very frustrating. Still, parts of the story are well done -- the Connecticul couple's story is the better written of the two. All in all, worth a look, especially if you're new to this field.

Shapiro applies his first-rate reporting skills to the issue of child neglect and delivers a book full of uncommon insights.

This is a light sci-fi fairy tale to while away some free time. Not a Koontz masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but an entertaining read none-the-less. It lacks the usual creeps and shivers that are the Koontz trademarks in his other books.

The main players seem based on comic book and "B" movie characters, like the pistol packing theatrical sisters, the super-intelligent (and radiant) disabled girl, the spaced out drug addict mother, the recovering drunk heroine with the heart of gold, the addled aunt, the extra-terrestrial child lost on earth, the clever pet dog, the detective with personal problems, and of course the psychopathic bad guy with the spotless public record. It's also got your standard Government cover-ups, invading aliens and truck stop and trailer park folk.

The ending is soft, way too soft, after you've read through the whole book leading you up to it, it's a disappointing anticlimax

Read it, but you'll probably read it only once.

When Koontz is good, he's good. When he's bad...He's bad. This Koontz book was just more the the latter than the former. Mostly because NOTHING EVER HAPPENS. Also, The book is split with two separate storylines that never seem to merge until the end.

Mickey, an ex-con, lives in a trailer park with her braindamaged aunt. She becomes concerned about a young neighbor girl whose stepdad is a serial killer. Can Mickey rouse herself out of her alcoholic self pity to help the child before its too late?

Like most Koontz books, this book has promise, and started off pretty well. I liked the characters of Mickey, and Leilani. If Koontz had merely stuck with these two characters it would've been a great book. Does he do this? No. Next we are introduced to two totally different characters, an Alcoholic P.I. and a runaway kid with the obligatory semi-sentinent pooch. Soon these two characters are having their own adventures and we are stuck in chapter hopping mode with every other chapter featuring different characters. Annoying.

Second, you'll find tons of rehash from earlier works. Two mentions of books by Nora Roberts...Intelligent 'psychic' dogs (I actually don't mind this premise as I LOVE dogs, but they always seem to be big dogs. How about a Psychic Pekingnese or Chihuahua?) Sexual Predator villains. Child abuse. Mistrust of the government and academia. Evil Scientists. Valiant disabled people. Good Christians. Bad Academics. And hero/oines who wallow in self pity. Need I continue?

3 Stars for a great premise, excellent start, and some engaging characters. Two stars off for the head-hopping and multiple character perspective, and the boy and dog story which was just plain dull and silly instead of cute.

Twenty-eight-year-old Michelina Bellsong, Micky, lives in a less than upscale California trailer park. She's seen her share of trouble.
Micky doesn't think too much of it when a new family appears until she meets 9-year-old Leilani Klonk who has not only a withered hand but must wear a brace on her deformed leg. The girl's body may be misshapen, but her spirit is not. She is upbeat and hopeful, an inspiration to Micky.

However, there is more to Leilani than Micky realized at first. Fear seems to be embedded deep within the child. Leilani's mother is young, unsure; her father, Preston Maddoc, is an enigma, almost baleful, daunting. Moreover, Micky discovers that Leilani once had an older brother who was also handicapped. The boy disappeared after time spent in the woods with Maddoc.

It is not long before Micky becomes convinced that Leilani is also in danger. Help from child protective agencies is not forthcoming, and while Micky tries to find her way through a tangled bureaucracy the Maddoc family vanishes. Despite the dangers she may face Micky sets out to find them.

Ever a spellbinder, Koontz laces his tale with suspense, pathos, humor, and amazement.