On-the-print

After the superb (and darkly satirical) social commentary of "The Ax" and the intense psychological morality of "The Hook" Donald Westlake has returned to old, familiar and very funny territory for him -- the humorous crime caper novel. Once again we have a likable, non-violent career criminal who finds himself getting in over his head. Francis (not "Frank") Meehan finds himself for the first time in his life in a Federal lockup awaiting trial for an accidental Federal crime (well, how could he have known there was registered mail, for goodness sakes, in that trailer truck supposed to full of computer gear?). And then fate intervenes. Or, more exactly, the political committee for the reelection of the President of the United States intervenes. Wishing to carry out a Watergate-type endeavor without all that unfortunate publicity, the presidential advisors have decided to employ a professional burglar instead of using amateur enthusiasts and spies. Enter (or, rather, exit from jail) Francis Meehan. And he and the reader are off and running. No, "Put a Lid on It" doesn't possess the emotional whallop of "The Ax" or "The Hook" but sometimes it is enough just to have a darned good time. It's fast, it's funny, and it even involves a joint Israeli-Egyptian Intelligence team. How can you go wrong?

This is vintage Westlake and a bitter satire of government.
All of Westlake's characters have runs of bad luck and Franci (not Frank, thank you) Meehan is no exception. Meehan is a non-violent career criminal who has just been incarcerated at the Manhattan Correctional Center awaiting sentencing on a federal charge (how was he to know the truck he was hijacking was carrying registered mail in addition to computer parts). He is approached by Jeffords, obviously a lawyer, who makes him a strange proposition. Jeffords whisks Meehan off to the Outer Banks in a corporate jet. The U.S. president's campaign committee needs a burglary performed, and they've learned a lesson from Watergate: If you need a successful burglary, hire a professional burglar. Amateurs, they are, they pick one in prison. They want Meehan to steal a very incriminating videotape from a supporter of the opposing party. All charges will be dropped if he can pull it off.
Meehan is no fool, however, hates to work with amateurs - that would violate one of the "ten-thousand rules" - and he works his own little sting in the midst of the large one. He enlists his own crew to lift the video from the estate of a wacko millionaire all the while trying to protect himself from incompetent but malicious forces (rent-a-thugs from the rival campaign and some errant Middle-Eastern types) who want the video for their own purposes.
In this humorous crime caper, Westlake is at his cynical and impudent best.

So glad to see more of the witty, stylish Westlake back. The grim stuff (The Axe) is flooding the market; there is no one better at writing the witty mystery than Westlake.

This engaging, fast-paced tale hearkens back to my favorite Dortmunder, What's the Worst That Can Happen?

I am a fan of John Jakes. The North and South series are some of the very best novels I've read. I was very disappointed in On Secret Service and could not get past page 100. The concept of the novel is excellent but the plot surrounding the historical facts is very thin. The characters themselves lack any depth and provoked no emotional response from me as the reader. The story simply did not intrigue me enough to finish it.

With On Secret Service, an educational and often entertaining novel, Jakes has again spun a story of fiction, set against a backdrop of real-life characters and actual events. Somehow though, the story was not as compelling as the North and South trilogy or the Bicentennial series that first drew me to Jakes. It could have been the ratio of fact to fiction, which at times made this seem like non-fiction. Also since the book covered the period from pre-war to post-war, there were often gaps of time where the reader is left wondering what was happening to the various characters. This is not Jakes' best effort, but there is certainly more good than bad. Reading On Secret Service will be worth the time, especially for civil war buffs.

Having devoured John Jakes's American series, the North and South trilogy and The Crown Family Saga, I couldn't wait to read his latest book, On Secret Service. And this furthur illustrated to me why I consider John Jakes to be one of my favorite historical writers as he once again delivered to me a first rate reading experience.

As he has done in his previous books, Jakes introduces us to two fictional characters who are involved with notable and famous people as they embark on adventures and participate in historical events. The book begins in Washington and then we, as readers, witness some of the battles of the Civil War, to the beginnings of the Secret Service. And eventhough we may know the climax of the book, it is getting there that is most fascinating.

This is a large book filled with an unforgettable cast of charatcers, during a momentous time in American history. I suggest you have lots of time to read when you begin this book. You won't be able to put it down.

Big Red
Three Months On Board
A Trident Nuclear
Submarine
By Douglas C. Waller
Harper Collins
Doug Waller is probably the best military writer alive today in the non-fiction category.
His earlier book, "Air Warriors: The Inside Story of the Making of a Navy Pilot," was must reading for anyone who has the slightest interest in military aviation.
Now he's come out with a fascinating 330-page insider's report on another aspect of the military spectrum. It's called "Big Red" because "Red" is the USS Nebraska, SSBN-739, a top secret "boomer," a nuclear-powered, long-range, ICBM-carrying undersea warship which patrols silently and secretly for up to three months at a time.
Somehow, Waller persuaded the Navy brass to let him ride along on a three month patrol and write down what he saw and heard. In this book, you'll find out that the nuclear threat portrayed in the popular film "Crimson Tide" couldn't happen, and why. You'll also learn that boomer sailors may be among the hardest working crews ever to take to sea; in the modern Navy, anyway.
For 90 days, they exist on 18 hours days, of which 12 of those are either standing watch, working their specialty, studying, practicing, eating or reading manuals. In between, there are drills, drills and more drills. From battle stations to man overboard to launching missiles to fire in the torpedo section, sub sailors are constantly called upon to perfect their craft.
All this without even a window to look out of.
What possesses a man to seal himself inside of a metal tube for 90 days, twice a year, out of touch and out of reach of family, friends and loved ones, only to face endless seven-day weeks of training, studying, drilling and worse - with no privacy? Isn't it like being in prison with the possibility of drowning?
After you spent time with Big Red, you'll better understand these modern heroes and feel a lot more secure about whose fingers are on the nuclear buttons.
Waller's writing is fast-paced, conversational and fun to read. An amazing book.

I have found 'Big Red' to be an absolutely fascinating book. I am not a submariner, and I doubt that if I were that I would be so captivated as it is mostly a sociological study of the crewmen and their interactions on a Trident submarine on a three month underwater voyage. I am in a technology intensive profession, and am interested in the technical details of the sub, which is why I initially bought the book, but came to enjoy the complex interactions of the men on the sub more than the actual submarine specific information.

The professionalism of this group of people is one of the great untold (or nearly so) stories of the cold war and modern times. I was impressed with the incredible amount of training and simulations while on a typical cruise. As an airline (and former Air Force) pilot, I am more than aquatinted with training and simulation, but these men really take the concept to a whole new plane (no pun intended).

If you have any interest in submarines, and more specifically, life aboard a modern nuclear missile sub like the 'Nebraska,' you will love this book.

As a member of the USS Nebraska commissioning crew I was excited to find a book about the boat I once called home. I served on the Nebraska as a sonar technician from April of 1993 through the end of my enlistment in 1996. I was there when she first put to sea and submerged for the first time.

You might think- "Why would someone who served on the boat want to read about it?" I served in the USN at an odd time in history: The USSR had collapsed but the US continues to build and deploy missile-boats. The military was being down sized and long time service members were being moved to retirement. When we went on patrol #1 in 1994 there was little if any contact with foreign navies and none with any hostel ones. I was interested in what life on these seemingly obsolete yet devastatingly powerful boats was like in the late '90s. Mr. Waller did a superb job in conveying life on an SSBN. Though I suspect the Navy arranged more perks than is normal (mid-shipmen runs and steel beaches are considered easy duty and were rare events). But despite that I found the book excellent. Other books about submarines like Rising Tide and Blind Man's Bluff offer more "excitement" in terms of daring missions and Cold War drama and while not to lessen those books, Big Red is real life on a submarine and written by a man who met active duty submariners and lived there life with them. The other books seem to be written by wannabes who though fascinated by submarines never bother to convey the human element of the routine and isolation nor understand why the stories they are reciting are inaccurate because they have never served on a submarine. e.g. Rising Tide has an story of Soviet submariners dying for failure to decompress. Submarines are obviously air tight and since they are sealed at sea level the pressure inside is always close (in does change a bit) to sea level so there is never any need to decompress. If the sailors in the story actually had to pressurize to the stated depth- 5000 ft- in order to escape their downed boat they would likely have died anyway as at that pressure the human body would be badly damages- sorry all you Abyss fans.

One criticism however, submarines are referred to as "boats" not "subs". The author constantly uses the later and it drove me nuts. Other books do the same.

I would also recommend Dark Waters about the NR-1. Offers both the exploits of an incredible boat but also is written by a member of her original crew thereby combining both elements.

This is one of the best murder mysteries I have ever read. Hercule Poirot is my favorite detective and Captain Hasting is my favorite side-kick. If you have read a lot of Hercule Poirot books you probably already know who Hastings is going to marry. If not, you find out in this book. I personally am a romantic and this book has romance and murder in one. The plot is very well constructed and you never really know who the murderer is and where he or she will strike next. Even when the murder is revealed or someone claims to be the murderer, it turns out that's not who it really is. Your view of what happened changes with every chapter along with who you think done it. It is a really good book and if you enjoy it I recommend The Big Four, also a Hercule Poirot murder mystery.

I usually love Agatha Christie in general, and Poirot is my favorite detective; well, he's done it again! This is the book that has it all: How Hastings meets his wife and how they move to Argentina, a rival detective, an interlapping story, and as usual - an unpredictable ending. A truly awesome book for any true fan of Agatha Christie!

This is the second Poirot/Hastings mystery and like MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES, Hastings is the narrator and is again speaking from a future time describing past actions (ala Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories).

The action begins with Hastings meeting a young woman while on a train traveling through France to England. When they part at Calais Hastings believes he has seen the last of her. Soon after he and Poirot are traveling back to France at the request of a wealthy man who has made an appeal to Poirot. They arrive too late, the man had been murdered hours before. As they attempt to solve this crime another murder is commited, then a blackmail scheme is discovered that involves a twenty year old crime. To further complicate matters a young love triangle comes to light and one of the points seems to be the young lady Hastings had met on the train. In the end Poirot and Hastings prevail with a typical Christie last minute surprise.

This book, Christie's third novel, was published in 1923. The reader must keep the time frame in mind in order to understand some of the motivations of the characters and the limitations in police methods. Even with these constraints the story has held up well, due perhaps to Christie's trademark of equal parts of mystery and character development.

Hastings fans will particularly enjoy this novel because Hastings meets his future wife and begins his connection with South America.

Although this critique might be viewed by my professors as academic suicide, I shall plunge headfirst and hope that the branches of tolerance break my fall. I do not like A Room of Ones Own. I understand the concept of stylized writing, but the content of the book does nothing to draw in the reader. Certainly, Woolf's mastery in writing should be applauded on its merit; however, I am not progressed far enough in my education to fully appreciate Woolf's subtleties. There is nothing in A Room of One's Own that remains once the book is closed, although the pages are full of wonderful ideas. The presentation of these ideas; however, are uninteresting and handled in a very preachy manner. It is my opinion that such revolutionary ideas should have been shot forth from a canon rather than whispered in a library

When I read this book the first time I was enthralled. We really take for granted the position our mothers and grandmothers worked so hard to ensure for us. I forget how close in time we are to when women couldn't vote or attend male universities.

Virginia Woolf was provided a room of her own to be able to create the work that has become so influential in twentieth century writing. In an ideal world everyone would be allowed to artistically express themselves without having to be in the "real world." I know that since I graduated from college and have been working 40-50 hour work weeks, I am less inclined to read or write. I don't feel like I can let that be my excuse, though, just because it would be easier to write if I could spend all my time doing it. The request that women have money and a room seems very upper-middle-class and out of touch with the way life was even in Woolf's time.

In spite of those criticisms, I am so glad I read this book. It made me feel empowered as a woman and a writer. This is a must read for anyone trying to understand the history of feminism.

In "A Room of One's Own," Virginia Woolf says that in order for a woman to write fiction, she must have money and a room of her own; I believe that to be, or to understand, an intellectual woman in this century, one must read this book. Unlike a sad number of feminist writers, Woolf does not make the mistake of tearing down the accomplishments of men in order to make room for those of women. Indeed, she speaks eloquently against just that danger throughout "A Room of One's Own," which is partly what allows it to stand not only as a feminist classic, but also as a classic piece of both literature and literary criticism. It is not often that an essay reaches creative heights great enough to establish itself equally as a work of art and an intellectual effort, but Woolf has done it here. She does not waste her words or her energy on destructive, angry prattling. She writes with a depth of humanity that challenges us to be better writers, better thinkers, and better people.

Bunts by George F. Will is a collection of works written by Will between the years 1974 and 1997. Throughout this book, Will discusses the major changes in baseball, such as the designated hitter rule, unionization, recent franchise additions, free agency, and more. A long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan, Will, in several funny articles, describes what it is like to be a fan of a tema that hasn't won a pennant since World War II. A skilled political columnist, we are drawn into the argument over free agency and designated hitting. I love baseball, but sometimes find books about the sport to be tedious and overly stuffed with statistics. While this book does contain statistics (Will knows a great deal about the sport he loves), you're not smothered by them. It was a pleasurable read. The only part of the book I disliked was the rehashing (several times) of the strike disputes and how many times Will felt it necessary to prove that the owners were wrong about free agency. But believe me, you can get through that. Besides, this is a compilation of works - it's not like he intentionally meant to repeat himself. Will's reflections on baseball are remarkable considering that the man never played the sport professionally and is just an avid fan - so much of a fan in fact that he once owned stock in the Cubs franchise! The pictures are great, and the things I learned from this book. I thought I knew alot about baseball, but George F. Will proved me wrong in a way that I found to be interesting and alot of fun!

Those who have read Will's "Men at Work" already are aware of the author's knowledge of the game as well as his talent to put it into words. This is a compilation of the author's articles on Baseball that have appeared primarily in his newspaper columns over the years. Mr. Will, a spokesman for the political right, discards his politics for these excursions into his passion. Indeed, one is surprized by how often Mr. Will sides with the players in the labor/management diputes that litter modern Baseball. The author shares his nostalgia for the past and his appreciation of the heros of the present. If he seems a bit caught up in his Cubs and Orioles, he can be forgiven because the reader has his/her own favorites. We know the frustration and joy of the same loyalties he shares with us.

I read the first two thirds of the book one "column" at a time between other books. I did so because I had read "The Best of Jim Murray" some years ago and did so over the course of several days. By the mid-point of that book, I came to the realization that Mr. Murray had written the same column for decades. It was just a matter of changing the name of the subject. You don't catch on to that reading two or three columns a week. Well, I read the last third of the book in the course of several hours. I did not get the same reaction that I got to Murray's book. However, I lost track of the number of times the total season attendance of the 1935 St. Louis Browns (80,922) was compared to the Opening Day attendance of the 1993 Colorado Rockies (80,227). There were other such repetitions of facts and figures that were noticeable when the book is read cover to cover. I suggest you savor the articles and let the book entertain you throughout the course of a summer or a year. However you choose to read it, don't miss this intellectual appreciation of what was once known as "America's Pasttime".

In a non-Orwellian sense, Bunts is a homer. Will combines his great writing skills with his love and knowledge of the game in his second book about baseball. If you enjoyed his first, Men At Work, you will undoubtedly enjoy Bunts.

Bunts, Will's description of small but useful things, is a collection of eighty-one essays spanning the years 1974-1997. All fans, from the most casual to the most serious, will find something in it for them. The broad range of baseball topics includes: history, players, managers, owners, broadcasters, umpires, fans, economics, and techniques. Will also decribes his personal love affair with the game from his childhood and annual visits to Wrigley Field to his present affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles. Perhaps the most salient feature of this book about baseball is that it is written by one of its biggest fans and most serious students.

I heartily recommend this book.

They're like the Patty Duke cousins - 'different in every way'. Anne George's Southern Sisters are opposites, and they're fun to read as Ms. George captures the two sibling personalities superbly. In this book, the sisters (who are 60 and 65 - and it's great to see heroines in this age bracket, instead of the usual 20-30s) get involved in solving two murders of the art crowd in Birmingham. Well written with lots of laughs and nicely crafted, it's time well spent when you're with these fine ladies.

I usually have 2 books going...a more serious read and a light one. Just discovered Anne George this week-end. What a hoot! Two sisters in their sixties who are total opposites (one petite and more mild-mannered and one large and out-spoken). Just imagine the large one playing Mrs. Claus at the local mall (Birmingham, Alabama) with a funky wig and a top with blinking lights. An opening at the local art gallery ends in death. Now the sisters are on a quest to find the murderer. The

dialogue is clever, the situations are rather unique, and the gallery owner has been deemosoed. Read it to find out. I LOVE Joan Hess. Her tales of Maggody have often made me laugh out loud. Now, after reading all of Hess's, I have a new Southern author to seek out. Patricia Anne and Mary Alice (the sisters) are my new "light read." Funny, I finished this one in 2 days while my "serious" book kept calling to me. I'm off to Border's to find more of Anne George.

"Murder on a Bad Hair Day" continues the adventures of siblings Patricia Anne (petite, practical, retired schoolteacher, married for 40 yrs.) and Mary Alice (250+, loud, brassy, has buried 3 husbands and always on the lookout for the 4th).

This series is one of the funniest to come along in years! It is especially great for older individuals who have children and grandchildren (although I have none).

A beautiful former student of Patricia Anne's shows up on her doorstep following the "murder by mousse" of an ill-liked gallery owner. More murders follow and Patricia Anne and Mary Alice along with Detective Bo Peep work to solve the crimes.

The plot is great, but buy this book (buy the whole series!) for the dialogue alone. The sibling banteriong is hilarious!

I decided to try this book because I am a fan of historical fiction in general; naval fiction (O'Brien) and Civil War (Shaara) in particular. I actually picked up "A Country of Our Own" first and was only partway into that book before I went out and purchased this one to start over at the beginning.

I was very pleased. There are several interesting characters, the main ones being Ker Claiborne, the conflicted Southern officer and Elisha Eaker, a young Northern idealist. The setting is superb. We get a real sense of the building anxiety and tension among shipmates as political events unfold. I would say that this book has a little less action and is more character focused than most in the genre. But you get the sense that much more action is set to occur in the next installment. Here the big question was would there or would there not be war. We readers all know that a bloody explosion is coming but the characters in the novel can't quite see the future.

My only complaint about this novel is the whole storyline involving Elisha's fiancee, Araminta. It really doesn't contribute much at all. I get the feeling it was put in as filler to provide a change of scenery, given that the events of the book only cover a couple of weeks' time. There's one scene in particular where she attends an abolitionist meeting that seems so much historical name dropping. I was lost and confused by what she was trying to do at the end of the book and the final revelation involving her character was totally lame and cliché. Good riddance to her.

I decided to try this book because I am a fan of historical fiction in general; naval fiction (O'Brien) and Civil War (Shaara) in particular. I actually picked up a Country of Our Own first and was only partway into that book before I went out and purchased this one to start over at the beginning.

I was very pleased. There are several interesting characters, the main ones being Ker Claiborne, the conflicted Southern officer and Elisha Eaker, a young Northern idealist. The setting is superb. We get a real sense of the building anxiety and tension among shipmates as political events unfold. I would say that this book has a little less action and is more character focused than most in the genre. But you get the sense that much more action is set to occur in the next installment. Here the big question was would there or would there not be war. We readers all know that a bloody explosion is coming but the characters in the novel can't quite see the future.

My only complaint about this novel is the whole storyline involving Elisha's fiancee, Araminta. It really doesn't contribute much at all. I get the feeling it was put in as filler to provide a change of scenery, given that the events of the book only cover a couple of weeks' time. There's one scene in particular where she attends an abolitionist meeting that seems so much historical name dropping. I was lost and confused by what she was trying to do at the end of the book and the final revelation involving her character was totally lame and cliché.

What a wild ride! Although I had a little trouble with the nautical jargon, not being a sailing sailor, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book! I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Civil War. It's a delightful change from the "ground pounders" war. This book was so good I read it in 2 days and that's only because I had to go to work part of that time! It's a page turner that's for sure. I'm now an avid fan of Mr. Poyer!

First off, this book was definitely interesting, and could hold my attention, but it wasn't great.

It took over 160 pages for anyone to get murdered, so you had to read about relationships and romance. Relationships between the main-character (Annie Darling) and her estranged father, Annie and her estranged step-sister, etc. Once someone does get killed it becomes somewhat boring. I knew who the killer was from the beginning. Also, the whole mystery is somewhat cliched. I do think the author is a good writer, and has potential to succeed, just not with this book.

As for the plot, Annie Darling runs Death On Demand, a mystery bookstore. Annie's father (Pudge) and step-sister (Rachel) find her and soon Annie is swept into a spooky mansion filled with murder, hatred and deceit. Once Happy (Rachel's mother) gets murdered, Annie is determined to get her father off the hook, and solve the case.

Overall, this wasn't a horrible book, but if you're looking for a great holiday mystery try some by Valerie Wolzien.

Though unfamiliar with the author's work, I must admit this is a very enjoyable novel. When a friend suggested it, I thought "Oh, why not?" and am very glad I did. The plot follows Annie Darling, who owns a mystery novel shop (Death on Demand) and her husband Max. When Annie's father finally shows after deserting Annie and her mother so many years ago.. the plot thickens. Annie is thrown in the middle of a (somewhat corny, and only slightly suspenseful) mystery with bland clues and very few plot twists. I was a bit surprised by the ending, but looking back, I really wasn't paying much attention. I was trying to be a "filter" and not a "sponge" and in this case, it was a bad decision.

Well worth reading, but more a work of fiction than a murder mystery novel.

Sugarplum Dead is one of the best books in the Death on Demand Series. In this edition, Annie Laurence is reunited with her long-lost father, and discovers her step-sister Rachel. Rachel is living with her mother at the home of her aunt, Marguerite Dumaney, a former movie star. Annie's father, Pudge, is visiting for the holidays. When Pudge's ex-wife is found dead, he and Rachel are the chief suspects. A complicating factor is that Marguerite is in the clutches of an unscrupulous man who is stealing her fortune under the guise of enabling her to communicate with her dead husband. Her immediate heirs are all present for the Christmas season, and all of them want to inherit her money. This is a well-crafted and ingenious mystery which has the added charm of acquainting readers with Annie's long-lost family.

Although I'll still give it three stars for the simple reason that Rita Mae Brown writes with enjoyable style, I can't recommend CAT ON THE SCENT as highly some others in the "Mrs. Murphy" series. Brown's mystery novels have always been more about funny characters than plot, but this particular novel pretty much throws plot completely out the window.

CAT ON THE SCENT finds Mary "Harry" Harristeen (the young postmistress of tiny Crozet, Virginia) and her friends (both human and animal) drawn into a series of mysterious deaths that may or may not have something to do with a proposed reservoir. As usual, the writing is bright and the characters (including the felines Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and canine Tee Tucker) are entertaining... but on this occasion Brown seems to be straining her concept of animal characters, the overall novel seems unfocused, and many readers will find the conclusion frustrating. Mildly enjoyable, but not greatly memorable.

Civil War reenactments, small planes, shady land investments, and boys with expensive toys, plus the usual requisite dead bodies, are the focus of Cat On The Scent, the 7th Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown [and her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown]. Harry Haristeen, postmistress of Crozet, Virginia, and her amazing companion animals Mrs. Murphy, Pewter [the cats], and Tucker [the dog] are on the case as always. The novel starts off well enough, but loses its way towards the end. Reading the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries has always meant an extra measure of suspended disbelief [the animals talk to each other and always solve the mysteries before the humans do], but in this story the animals push the need to suspend disbelief over the edge with behavior that is way beyond what had been established for the animal characters in the previous six novels. The end is muddied in a way that makes me believe that the author never firmly decided whodunit and finally just ended the book. One of the novel's B-stories, involving a relative of Harry's and a dead baby buried in the "bone yard" of a farm, is very interesting and I would have liked to see that story expanded. I did enjoy the novel, but not as much as the earlier ones. This one rates about a 3.6 stars compared to the others. If you're into the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, you should read this one for the continuity, but if you're looking to try one of the novels in the series, I'd recommend that you pick another one to start with.

I have read all of Rita's & Sneaky Pie Brown's Mrs. Murphy tales (or is that tails(?)) "Cat on the Scent" was terrific! Unlike the others I have read, there are moments of great sadness among Harry's friends that makes them even more three-dimensional. I enjoyed this read very much. Thank you Rita and Sneaky!