GA

While I liked this book for the most part I found it hard to follow her character developments. The employees of House Mouse were wonderfully drawn and Ms. Trocheck starts out by giving terrific descriptions of each. I would have been thrilled with more information about them but the cartoonish 'bad guys' left me feeling cheated. They were so obviously evil the only surprise was how many of them Callahan had slept with!
Also I have a hard time with writers who sum up the Latter Day Saints with a few well placed terms (I was glad to see 'Stake' used instead of church; but why were'nt the terms 'Ward' or 'General Authority' used and explained?). Having lived as a non-Mormon in Utah for many years I know that they are a complex group and I think it was unfair of Ms. Trocheck to give them so little depth.

This is Kathy Hogan Trocheck's first mystery published. Normally, I would be afraid to pick up anyone's first mystery, but Trocheck comes off as a seasoned professional. It is a smooth fast read.

Callahan Garrity, former Atlanta police officer, tried her hand at becoming a personal investigator. After finding out that it was not as lucrative as she had hoped, and nearly at the end of her money, Callahan bought the "House Mouse" cleaning service with her hard talking, chain smoking, blue haired mother Edna Mae Garrity.

Running a cleaning service puts Callahan in touch with an interesting cross section of the population. Her cleaning staff is quite a colorful cast of women. Then there is the other end of the spectrum, her clientele.

Callahan, by an odd twist of fate, has to go clean the home of a new client when she faces a labor shortage one morning. Upon arriving on the premises, who does she find is married to one of the local society big shots, but a sorority sister from her college days. Imagine that, and Callahan wearing an apron.

What starts off as a routine cleaning job turns into a crime investigation. What starts as a crime investigation turns into a series of crimes being investigated, and all of this while trying to keep a business running. In the course of cleaning homes, the members of the House Mouse are in a position to learn the most intimate details about their client's lives. Her cleaning staff learns the finer points of investigating crimes, all the while cleaning house.

Callahan has to tap into her old connection at the police department to solve the heinous crimes. We find out quite a bit about her tenure on the force.

There is a wonderful thread of religious misunderstanding and education as a sub-thread of the tale. Some have criticized that this thread was not as detailed as it could have been, but I would argue that it cleared up quite a few misconceptions, enough to make that plot element work. If a reader wanted to know all of the nitty gritty details of that faith, they could research further on their own.

I despise spoilers, so I will not give any more on the plot, but it is a good fast read with engaging characters.
The gore factor is low, and there are a few salty words, but few and far between. It has a pretty lightweight feel overall.

I plan on reading more of Kathy Hogan Trocheck's books, and hope to see much more of Callahan Garrity and especially Edna Mae Garrity.

A long time ago a friend from work lent me the book Strange Brew, which I immediately loved and I was determined to begin the Callahan Garrity series in chronological order. I breezed through this in 2 days and found it to be a fast, fun read. I definitely plan to continue with the rest of the Callahan Garrity series. The concept of running a housecleaning business while solving murder mysteries is a very good one. The other characters also play a major part in the story, beginning with Callahan's mom Edna as well as the 'girls' that work for their House Mouse cleanup biz, plus Bucky Deaver, a cop that Callahan used to work with when she was a police officer on the Atlanta force. If you like mysteries where the main character has both intelligence and a sense of humor, then you can't go wrong with this series. Very highly recommended.

I never expected a book like this. It was powerful and so real. The story is set in Atlanta and the main character, Sara, has recently gotten out of a bad relationship. But she's rebuilding her life and eventually meets someone new. The sad thing was the part about Sara's mom dying. This was really heart breaking. The other intersting event in the book was the bombing of the Atlanta lesbian bar (which really happened). This book was very good. It's the best one I've read in awhile.

Once again, Laura DeHart Young has proved that she is a masterful storyteller and talented author! This is a gutsy story of the physical and emotional battering that occurs in some lesbian relationships. Most writers would shy away from a story with such serious overtones, but not this author. This is a riveting story that will keep your interest from beginning to end. Excellent!

I am not usually into the romance novels but this one was truely exceptional. I was amazed with the quality, the plot, and the storyboard itself, while also admiring the detailing of the story. I would recommend this book to all lesbian readers.

Mediocre garbage by the same guy who wrote "Driving Miss Daisy". Yet another mediocre play about Southern jews. There is probably a great book or play to be written about jews in the South, but this isn't it

Alfred Uhry's "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" is truly a modern day masterpiece. It resorts back to the classic style of playwriting, which I greatly appreciate, especially among the massive artistic, new age writing we get, which is nice, yet over done. I love this play, and I don't know why. I've never been to Atlanta. I am not Jewish. I have never met anyone exactly like any of the charactetrs. Yet, I feel this strong bond with each and every character. This means that the playwright has succeeded incredibly. To allow someone who is realistically so distant from the play, be so connected with it's material is true genius. Lala, Boo, Adolph, Joe, Sunny, Reba, and Peachy are now apart of my life. I love this play and some day hope to be in it. I cannot get enough of it. I read it all the time, and have only seen one production of it. I want to see multiple productions, because the one i saw was so good. I love this play and suggest everyone to read it and love it as much as i do.

The Last Night of Ballyhoo is a powerful piece of drama. We see this powerful genius in its ability to draw laughter and tears from an audience in a single dizzy breath: who can forget Lala's burst of kleptomania, or Sunny's candle-lit Shabbat prayer in the final scene? I was blessed to take part in a community theater production of this play as Lala Levy; as a result of this opportunity, I and the cast came to know intimately the characters of Ballyhoo, and through them we lived the larger whole. From an actress' point of view I can tell you that the striking beauty, quick wit, and profound themes of this play can scarce be rivaled. However, whether one approaches this play as a reader, audience member, or actor, one will become more sensitized to the prejudices that ever haunt our race - the fear of "the other kind," be they separated from us by "the Elbe" or some less tangible distinction. Along with the characters of Ballyhoo we discover anew that there is no "us" and "them" - only "us."

As a fan of Southern literature, I looked forward to reading "The Dog Star" but was let down by the slow, meandering pace of the book. There is really no plot at all, and to top it off, Blackie Pride is not the least bit likable. His supposed alienation seems like one big whine after another. Windham's overblown, overly descriptive style does nothing but add more confusion into the mix, and the resolution is completely predictable. Other than the fact that it takes place in Atlanta, there is nothing that feels "Southern" about the story, and the positive attention it has received because of this classification mystifies me.

Donald Windham's fame has been elusive over the past half century in comparison to his legendary buddies: Tennessee William, Truman Capote, Gore Vidal, Carson McCullers et al. But that doesn't make him any less of an artist. THE DOG STAR is dark and forboding. Written in amazing eloquence the novel has aquired a nostalgic flavor but in many ways forshadows the current problems of today's teens. So The Dog Star should also appeal to the Dawson's Creek crowd. One day, it will be required reading and Windham's hero will stand along side other American teen anti-heros such as Holden Caufield and Huck Finn and Windham himself will gain the respect and noteriety he so deserves. Donald Windham is one of the great unsung masters of twentieth century American Literature.

This is a wonderful book, too long out of print. Blackie is a complex, dark character who is like so many young people today. Windham's style, at least as compelling as his friends and colleagues Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote, is dense and well crafted. This is a lost classic.

Recently, the gifted class of Washington Wilkes Comprehensive High School read How Curious A Land in order to find out more information about our home and the territory around our home, which is Wilkes County. We are awfully close to Greene County and it was decided that events that happened in Greene County would be mirroring events that occurred in Wilkes County. Many of the students found the book to be highly satisfying and informative. My opinion of the book confirms theirs totally. I feel that How Curious A Land was very informative and that it colorfully and very intellectually describes the institution and escalation of the expansion in our area. It fully describes the lifestyle of both African-Americans and Caucasians who lived in the area before our time. I enjoyed the book to a suprising extent. At times I didn't devote my full attention to the book. That's probably what happened to the other students and it affected their judgment.My conclusion is that How Curious A Land is a good book and I would recommend it to other people.

How Curious a Land, was a book that increased the knowledge of my high school class at Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School. The book taught us about the life of many groups of people before, during, and after the Civil Wa in Greene County, Ga. The book allowed me to feel as if I was a participant of the time in which the book is set The most appealing part of this book is its first hand accounts of the people who either lived through the times described.. If you choose to read this book, be prepared to absorb a great amount of American history.

While working on family history a friend recommended I read this book as some of my family are from Greene County. It was not at all what I expected. The story of how the Civil War changed the county was very well done, but even better was the story of blacks and whites during Reconstruction. This is a very different story from the one I learned 40 years ago in school. The bravery of the blacks and the failure of their struggle is fascinating and very moving. If you are interested in the South read this book!

The best part of the book is the introduction. Otherwise, some of the plants I see most often around Georgia are not listed - daylilies aren't in there! Other than that, it is well organized, but I wouldn't consider it a good list of what to plant in Georgia.

I found Walter's book to be a great resource for someone like myself who is learning to garden in Georgia red clay after planting in New Jersy black soil. I keep this book on my coffee table for a quick reference. The material is well organized and easy to understand.

I thought this was very helpful, being a recent transplant to Georgia. The information not only gives you the exact planting conditions, a brief history, and several ideal selections, I thought the descriptions were on target. Although yes, I find that other books are more detailed in terms of pests and may have larger pictures, this book gives great instructions specific to Georgia and the west piedmont area of the Carolinas and is a constant reference year round. This is a fabulous book for those of us who want to know what is the best choice to plant in that needy section of the garden!

I have to give this book only 4 stars for several reasons. The first is that the beginning is rather tedious until Callahan finds the body of one Jordan Poole, the guy who was going to put a senior citizen hippy, Wuvvy, out of business by turning her adult toy store, YoYos, into a microbrewery called Blind Possum. The book starts out with threatening weather that quickly and viciously turns into a tornado. And Callahan, with her annoying habit of finding dead bodies, goes after her boyfriend's, Mac McAuliffe's, dog, Rufus. So there goes Callahan, running with a flashlight, through the driving rain and hellacious thunderstorm on her way to find Rufus. She finds herself at YoYos, which is right beside her pal's, Hap's, bar, The Yacht Club. The door to YoYos is open, so she goes in and finds Jordan Poole's body.
And that's all you're gettin'!
But I will tell you this: This adventure featuring cleaning whiz Callahan Garrity, ex-cop, sometimes P.I., is a romp that will leave you laughing, possibly crying. But, be forewarned, this does start out a little slow. What the hell am I talking about, it takes about 100 pages to get interesting, but like she always does, Kathy Hogan Trocheck with explain, in the end, why she put us through the boring stuff in the beginning. 'Cause it just might help Callahan save her life.

This author can be relied upon to present wonderful characterisations and excellent plotting. She has succeeded again with this installment in the Callaghan Garrity series. The storyline revolves around the inhabitants of the down and out area of Atlanta near where Callaghan and her mother live. The author depicts the struggle and horror of the lives of these people in a poignant sub-plot. The major plot involves a twenty year old murder and its modern-day consequences. This is something that of course has been done before but this author carries it off with her usual high skill and humour.

This series may be considered as cozies, but they have a distinct edge. The characters are fun, but also well developed, and the plots are decent. The characters and their personalities are complex. The books improve as they go along. I was panting for the last one, "Irish Eyes." I even bought the hardback. Am waiting for the next one. Begin at the beginning if you can, but not necessary.

The first thing I have to say about this book is that I wish it were more comprehensive. I moved to Florida from the north, and find the book an excellent reference. The pictures are wonderful, and only a few plants do not have them. I especially find the sections on "companion planting and design" and "regional advice and care" helpful. The book is well-organized into sections on trees, perennials, tropical plants, vines, etc. The drawback is that the book refers to plants that are not included, which leaves me searching for another reference to find out the appearance and habitat of that plant. Overall, an excellent place to start. Sam's Club has it at a great price.

I am a new homeowner, and I have bought several books on the ins and outs of gardening. This book is the best. If offers simple to read pages on different types of plants to be used in Florida. I consider this my "garden bible." I realize that it is not in-depth, but it certainly highlights the basic information on what type of plant, where to plant, and what to feed it. I have purchased most of my plants for my landscape based on recommendations from this book. I have been more than pleased with the results.

If there is a book you need to help you design your home landscape, this is definately the place to start!

This is absolutely the best book ever for getting plant identifications. If you garden in Florida, this is a 'must have' book for reference.

This book provides more detail on the march to Atlanta than other histories I have read. It also provides maps of the various battles, as well as some pictures.
The major fault is that the author says there are not remnants of the battle. There are many. The Kennesaw Mountain battlefield is a national park. The Resaca and Dalton battlefields are identified. Picketts Mill battlefield is a park complete with re enactors working there. There are hundreds of signs all over Georgia and especially the Atlanta area identifying battle sites, and units engaged at the sites.

Through other reading, I had developed a negative opinion of Gen Hood. This book shows him not only to be stupid and overly agressive, oblivious of the wasting of men his poor generalship accomplished, but also a backstabber, writing negative comments about Johnston's generalship to Jeff Davis, but also in disobeying orders to fight at the critical battles of Resaca, and Tunnel Hill. He also did not obey Jeff Davis's orders to defend a move by Sherman east to the sea. Having been to the battlefield areas, of Resaca and Tunnel Hill,I wondered how the Union Army could penetrate those impregnable positions. Since Hood did not occupy them it made it easy for the Union.
A very good read for one who wants to know more detail about the battle of Atlanta.
A forced evacuation of the city, documented in few other places, is described.

I found this book on the advancement of General Sherman from Tennesse through the state of Georgia very interesting.
The book has a good supply of pictures from beginning to end. Many books of higher prestige are very sparse with photos, this was not. As with most civil war books there are not many maps of key skirmishes, small battles, or important movements. Its like many authors say to the reader, "go ahead and imagine what is going on here".
It is hard to be a real fan of the way the way that Sherman conducted himself in war, yet he was relentless in his pursuit of The Army of Tenn., battering the city of Atlanta, and paralyzing the railroads in Ga.
I am glad I found this book.

After the first review by "A reader from London" and a Sherman apologist, and "One Star", and no review... just diatribe, I will buy this book and see what it says. It must be good.

I enjoyed the Deco Dowager, as I grew up on Miami Beach and am fascinated by the area and the architecture. What disappointed me in this book, is that the author ended her history of the hotel in the early 50's and didn't pick it up until the 80s.

I realize that the area was not in its prime during her "missing years" but something certainly must have occurred. Who owned it? What did it look like? What happened there?

Certainly the book would have been better served with more history of the hotel (and photos) along with the author's "potential realized" with celebrities.

The Life and Times of a Deco Dowager is a slice of American Pie.The interplay between the architecture and the times shows how the history of an area can be impacted by world events.

The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce carries this book in the Miami Beach Visitor Center because it provides insight into the facinating history of Miami Beach.

An easy read for history buffs.

Reading the "Deco Dowager" took me back almost 50 years, It brought back memories of a time of uncertainty, December 1942, with the world at war, there I was 18 years old, taking my military basic training in Miami Beach. The beauty of the Art Deco district somehow detracted from the fact that I was in the army. Having buddies stationed in nearby hotels, including the Edison, coupled with Miami Beach itself, made my training period easy and pleasantly memorable. Reading Dr. Berson's book refreshed my memory of those days. Her story is well written. The "World WarII Years" segment, is a must for the 500,000 airmen who trained there during the period covering 1942-1945