On-the-print

After just picking up the book and starting to read (not knowing about the series) I was quite suprised. The story was almost like a Nancy Drew mystery in a way. The characters each had their own little quirks and were likeable in their own ways. I fell in love with Death on Demand Bookstore (something I would love to have being a seller myself). This isn't a series for the serious mystery reader (like the ones with quite a bit of blood and bodies laying everywhere with cops or detectives). It's a light mystery that can pass a summer day away. I can't wait to work on the rest of the series.

Brigadier General (R) Charleton "Bud" Hatch moves to the resort town of Broward's Rock, South Carolina. The brusque general is immediately unpopular among the laidback islanders, who refuse to kowtow to his constant orders and demands. Someone resented the retired officer more stongly than anyone else because Bud is murdered during the Fourth of July celebration.

Annie Laurence Darling, owner of the Death on Demand Mystery Bookstore, is looking forward to spending some time with her beloved spouse Max. However, solving the case of who killed the extremely disliked Bud becomes priority number one for the couple. Gently, they ask questions of the seemingly unlimited number of natives, who wanted the general dead, to ascertain who will actually committed the deed.

Yankee Doodle Dead, the tenth novel in the "Death on Demand" mystery cozy series, is a splendid regional who-done-it that will be totally adored by fans of Southern atmospheric murder tales. The atmosphere of the Carolina barrier island feels genuine, almost as if readers are on a vacation there. The characters, especially the dynamic lead duo, add depth and charm to an entertaining story. Placing all that in a well structured mystery leaves readers with a great treat, compliments of Carolyn Hart.

Harriet Klausner

Brigadier General (R) Charleton "Bud" Hatch moves to the resort town of Broward's Rock, South Carolina. The brusque general is immediately unpopular among the laidback islanders, who refuse to kowtow to his constant orders and demands. Someone resented the retired officer more stongly than anyone else because Bud is murdered during the Fourth of July celebration.

Annie Laurence Darling, owner of the Death on Demand Mystery Bookstore, is looking forward to spending some time with her beloved spouse Max. However, solving the case of who killed the extremely disliked Bud becomes priority number one for the couple. Gently, they ask questions of the seemingly unlimited number of natives, who wanted the general dead, to ascertain who will actually committed the deed.

Yankee Doodle Dead, the tenth novel in the "Death on Demand" mystery cozy series, is a splendid regional who-done-it that will be totally adored by fans of Southern atmospheric murder tales. The atmosphere of the Carolina barrier island feels genuine, almost as if readers are on a vacation there. The characters, especially the dynamic lead duo, add depth and charm to an entertaining story. Placing all that in a well structured mystery leaves readers with a great treat, compliments of Carolyn Hart.

Harriet Klausner

This is the first book in this series that I have read. It flowed very smoothly and was a fun read. The tight knit group of characters is very believable considering the small town in which the story takes place. The author kept you wondering what was going to happen next. If you are looking for a quick read, this is a good place to start.

I haven't finished this book yet, but it hasn't been very interesting so far. I have liked a lot of other works by Adamson, but this one just doesn't have that edge. Sure, someone gets killed but isn't someone always getting killed? It wasn't as creative as the other books.

I didn't like this Alice Nestleton mystery as well as I have the others because she is not in NYC with her friends Tony and Nora. She has to solve this mystery on her own. The tone of the book seems more lonely. At one point I was hoping that Alice would go back to NYC, but it didn't happen. Nonetheless, it is a quick read and enjoyable.

A class on mysteries being taught in a journalism dept.? This absurdity strained my credibility past the point of being able to enjoy anything about the book.

Annie Laurance Darling, owner of the mystery book store Death on Demand, is invited to teach a class on "Three Great Ladies of Mystery" at a local college. She looks forward to the challenge until she discovers that three of her students are her mother-in-law Laurel and two of her cronies. This is only the beginning of her troubles, however, because she soon discerns serious jealousy and in-fighting among faculty members. Before it's all over, there is a suicide, a murder and a bombing. There are lots of suspects and everyone seems to have a motive, so Annie is puzzled as to who's behind all the chaos. This is one of the better books of the series and it contains a lot of humor, and an interesting resolution to the mystery.

This is one of the best Death on Demand mysteries.
One of the things that Carolyn does best is combine a little bit of humor with a little bit of mystery. She does that well in this book.

Annie is teaching a class about three great mystery writers only to have her plans upset by three ladies of mystery. One is Annie's mother in law, as always, is delightful. Slightly off kilter and yet she is on the mark with most things. The other two are fans of mysteries and known for causing problesm where they go. Very good.

Although it is usually easy to figure out who did it by the end of Carolyn Hart's books, it doesn't make it any less of an enjoyable read. THis is one of my favorite Death on Demand mysteries.

As an added bonus, you get a lot of references to other mysteries that are good reads as well.

While I much admire Ms. Michaels writing, I really don't think that this is one of her best. It seemed rather messy and unresolved. The ending was just not really up to her usual mind-boggling style. All in all though, it was an entertaining read for a gloomy afternoon.

This book is not the best by Barbara Michaels, but it's still better than 95% percent of the books in print. Though it lacks the wry humor of some of her books, it nevertheless has a nice storyline and some truly spinechilling moments.

A young writer named Michael Collins (I wonder, did Ms. Michaels deliberately give this guy the same name as the Irish rebel? Or a coincidence?) arrives as the home or wealthy intelligent philanthropist millionaire Randolph. Collins is immediately attracted to Randolph's beautiful younger wife Linda, but can't help noticing that Linda is dulling her pain with alcohol, seems to be both hateful toward her husband and terrified of something she can't name. The sight of large dogs, for example, throws her into fainting fits.

Collins also senses something strange and sinister about Randolph, despite the latter's charming and hearty manner. He checks into the backgrounds of people who knew Randolph before he married his wife, and finds disturbing but nebulous results. Then Linda, whom her husband claims is insane, runs away and keeps running, with a bizarre old witch as her only solid ally. But Linda has a counter-claim about Randolph, that implies something far darker and more horrifying than mere insanity.

This book has amazing atmosphere, especially in the first chapter where Linda is clearly terrified and emotionally threadbare, but there is no sign as to why. The creepiness pervades virtually every scene with and about Randolph. Collins himself is a nice, sympathetic character with a great balance of sensitivity and "macho"; as for Linda, it's a little difficult to determine whether she's correct, insane, or a bit of both. As for Randolph--he WILL give you goosebumps.

The book is hardly flawless - Ms. Michaels's brilliant humor is often missing (though I loved Collins' buddy coming in and finding Linda tied down to the bed); there is a large "dead" section in the middle of the book where the characters do little but talk; also, the ending seems to be a bit rushed and hastily written. I also found the smallness of the cast disconcerting, and the character of the witch rather badly drawn.

However, if you're in the mood for a good ol' fashioned thriller with appropriate chills, and no sex or vulgarity, then this is for you!

The Dark on the Other Side is probably my favorite Barbara Michaels. It isn't just about being 'spooky'. It's about basic issues of trust, whether in other people or in your own perceptions. It is about how people use one another to achieve gain or safety. It is about the power of love, both to heal and destroy. There are no chain-saw killers jumping out of the closet, no menacing ghosts. Most of the action takes place in the minds of the characters and you must decide whether their POV is valid. A superficial read won't give you much; but if you really think about Linda Randolph's predicament and the risks both she and Michael Collins take to save her, you will have chills that will keep you up late. (I do wish Barbara Michaels had made Galen a series character. I just love his sang froid.)

Aside from milking Vineyard popularity in his rather dull series of mysteries, Craig does not fail to disappoint in this weakest of his offerings. Nothing much happens in this book, the murderer is fairly obvious, and Craig spoon-feeds us dribs and drabs of drama about as riveting as a bowl of mush. Cold mush. As one reviewer noted, there's just too much Zee adoration and Joshua junk. There is very little excitement. Like Martha's Vineyard after the tourists (finally!) go home. I gave this book two stars for the recipes that Craig thoughtfully includes with his stories. Now, if he would only publish his cookbook...

The reviews of this simple little book are all over the map. The comments about "too much Zee / Joshua" are fair and I agree with them. This edition had a lot less fishing too, thank you very much. The plot was easy to follow and you probably won't be "guessing" until the end. But this series is designed for summer reading - a time when your mind should be on autopilot. That means, it should be easy. also, it should be fun and it should be atmospheric. I think Mr. Craig knows that and he has hit on a decent formula that he can use (milk?) until he runs completely out of ideas. I'm reading the series now because it's April and it's still snowing here in the NE. I could use a little Vineyard summer right now and the series continues to bring me back to one of the most beautiful places in the USA. I'll keep reading if he keeps writing because I know what I'm getting.

I have devoured each of Philip Craig's Vineyard mysteries with great enthusiasm, and this one was no exception. His folksy description of Vineyard life is as enjoyable as the story itself, as is his ongoing update of his character's family life. His writing is as refreshing as an offshore breeze, and I look forward to each new book with pleasure.

Annie Darling is sponsoring a book signing by Broward's Rock's most illustrious author, Emma Clyde, at her bookstore, Death on Demand. She creates brochures with clues to different mysteries to advertise the event and to entice readers to enter the contest to discover which books are referred to by the clues. Meanwhile someone else distributes bogus flyers which refer to unsolved mysteries which have occurred on the island in the past. Things become even more complicated when murders begin to occur. Annie and Max try to solve the murders and determine who has distributed the muckraking flyers. It is somewhat distracting as a reader to have 5 mysteries hanging in the air along with the murders. The solution at the end seems quite abrupt and incomplete as there is never a good explanation as to who distributed the flyers and why they were ever created in the first place. This is not typical of author Hart, which causes this book to be one of the lesser lights of the series.

Having plastered teensy Broward Rock, South Carolina, with flyers announcing local super-author Emma Clyde's upcoming book signing at Death on Demand, proprietor Annie Darling is extremely agitated when someone cribs her style and issues similar-looking flyers that accuse locals of hit-and-run driving, adultery, the wrongful incarceration of wife-killer Jud Hamilton, the inappropriately accidental verdict assigned to Emma's second husband's drowning, and the fatal mishap of a tipsy heiress aboard a yacht. Swinging into full amateur detective mode, Annie and her husband Max, stalwart of the newly opened Confidential Commissions, scour the island in search of the mysterious flyer-writer. Max's wacky mom Laurel, on the trail of drug-runners, is shot at and goes to ground; a teacher who lives near where Laurel was sniped at is shot and killed; and a beautiful, worried student, who recently dumped her boyfriend for the lure of an older man, is found drowned in unfriendly waters. Still, the Darlings, their friend Henny, and mystery writer Clyde continue to play detective-interrogating, prying, entrapping, alternately aiding and impeding the local coppers. But not to worry: it all comes out fine, if you discount a few murders, in time for Emma Clyde to hold forth at a packed book signing. Silly, illogical, and increasingly mannered. But devotees of the Death on Demand series (Sugar Plum Dead, 2000, etc.) will probably adore the mystery quizzes, the suggested reading titles, and the serene hubris that lets amateurs believe they can outsolve the pros.

I have to say that Carolyn G. Hart is one of the few authors writing two series, almost concurrently, about which I would be hard pressed to say which I enjoy more. Usually, I have a clear preference. Her other series, the Henry O. books, has a main character that is tougher than either of the stars of these, the Death On Demand mysteries - Annie & Max Darling, but these books tend to have more humor and light heartedness that I find enjoyable.
In this entry, Annie is preparing her store for a signing party for the new book by local author, Emma Clyde. Someone uses her technique of advertising the signing, however, to drudge up some old mysteries on the island and creates some hard feelings in the villagers. When a teacher is killed and is implicated as the person behind the fake flyers, Annie and Max attempt to straighten the situation out.
All in all, a great book, just what you expect from Ms. Hart.

While Wills begins this book by saying that he does not want to disparage Thomas Jefferson or cause people not to admire him, it was impossible not to see him and other Southern presidents like James Madison and James Monroe in a more tarnished light after finishing the book. NEGRO PRESIDENT presents a much clearer picture of how the Three-Fifths Compromise continued the appalling practice of slavery in this country and led the United States inevitably toward the Civil War. Readers learn, too, of the unsung hero of the anti-slavery movement, Thomas Pickering, whose death seems to have finally transformed John Quincy Adams into an unflinching opponent of slavery towards the end of his career. This is a very interesting book that everyone should read. There should be more done to counter the mythology of slavery and the South that has developed in this country since the end of Reconstruction. It's good to know that the Founding Fathers were not "supermen." They were simply the same flawed people that we all are.

Garry Wills returns again to Thomas Jefferson, sort of. The title of the book is "Negro President", Jefferson and the Slave Power, but that can be somewhat misleading. The historical personage who sits front and centre in this discussion of the slave power is New England's own Timothy Pickering. The author provides a different take on this often maligned character. It is shown how Pickering doggedly fought againt the 3/5 federal ratio that allowed the Southern slave states to count their slaves (partially) in order to increase their place in the houses and, in the case of Jefferson, help elect a President of the United States. Jefferson's role in this extension of slave power is examined. Particularly enlightening is a new look at the selection of Washington as the site of the new capital. When focused must directly on these aspects, the book is strongest. The text does, on occasion, wander a little farther afield though. The sections on John Quincy Adams feel undeveloped in an appendix sort of fashion, although interesting in their own right. It is nice to see a reexamination of Pickering, particularly as a way to view Jefferson in a fresher light.

Gary Wills has done a great service to the search for truth in American history. Thomas Jefferson's involvement in the slavery issue has recently been trapped in the dull and irrelevant arguement concerning whether TJ romped with his slave girls or not (practically all slave owners did, it was one of the perks of the institution that Jeff and his fellows loved so much.) What has been obscured was that Jefferson was the architect of the monstrous defense of slavery, disquised as states rights, which Calhoun and the others used to justify succession. One of the tired excuses always marched out in defense of Jefferson is that he was a man of his times, everyone owned slaves, we can't judge him by our standards, blah, blah, blah. By putting the brave and noble abolitionist Thomas Pickering center stage, Wills has given a human face to the struggle against one of history's terrible abominations. We Americans will never really have a mature understanding of our history until we stop idolizing the defenders of slavery (Jefferson, Lee etc.) and begin celebrating the brave men and women who oppossed it from day one. Thank you, Gary Wills. What a wonderful step in the right direction.

This is the first of Block's books featuring Evan Tanner that I have read, probably because I hadn't discovered Block twenty-five years ago. Tanner is a very unusual protagonist although some of Block's other characters make strange heroes. Tanner has been frozen for twenty-five years when this story begins. He comes round in a hospital bed looking and feeling the same as he did when he was frozen by a foreign agent. So at sixty-three he has to catch up on a lot of history including the impeachment of Richard Nixon and the presidential terms of Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush senior, and Clinton. Evan spends some time catching up on the missed years, fortunately his adopted daughter Minna has kept his apartment and the only difference in it are due to new technology such as Video and DVD players, and a personal computer. It is some months later that Tanner receives a call from his former boss and an assignment is offered to, and accepted by, him. And a new adventure begins.

The return of Lawrence Block's Evan Tanner, sleepless free-lance adventurer and defender of lost causes, is a welcome sight for fans of Block's more light hearted novels. Block's first challenge is to transport his Korean war veteran into the 90's after a hiatus of some twenty-five years. Rather than ignore the passage of time, Block maintains series continuity by an amusing contrivance. Not to spoil the fun, suffice it to say that the title suggests the reason for Tanner's absence all these years. Re-ensconced in his Manhattan apartment with his now fully grown ward, Minna, it isn't long before Tanner sets out on a new globe trotting adventure, this time to destabilize the illegitimate SLORC regime in Burma. Of course, nothing goes even remotely as planned, and as soon as Tanner sets foot in Rangoon he finds himself immersed in a cacaphony of intrigues. Along the way, he is chased, framed for murder and drug smuggling, arrested, allowed (?) to escape and abetted by an alcoholic young woman as they make their way on foot across the Burmese interior disguised as Buddist monks. Though a fan of Block's work for many years, I think his better known Matt Scudder series lost most of its quirky edge as its lead character sobered up and settled down over the years. (In fairness, a new, supposedly "dark" Scudder novel is due to be released this autumn. We'll see.) But all of Block's ligher works, both the Tanner books and the popular Bernie Rhodenbarr (Burglar) mysteries, continue to hit the mark. Like the previous Tanner novels (soon to be republished), Tanner On Ice is a romp. It requires a robust suspension of disbelief, but readers who enjoy the caper sub-genre will be well rewarded.

Evan Tanner is back. "Tanner on Ice: is Lawrence Block's first Evan Tanner novel in twenty-five years. (There are seven others, all out of print.) Tanner is the spy who never sleeps. He was placed in cold storage, hence Tanner on ice; a quarter of a century before this latest adventure takes place. Tanner's reentry into the 1990s finds him catching up with all things modern such as computers, the Internet and E-Mail. He does some quick research to catch up on world events he has missed. Tanner goes to Burma and stirs up the county's regime. Here he meets a beautiful Russian/French/Vietnamese woman who travels with him. The story is an interesting quick read but the characters are not as sold as we meet in the Matt Scudder series or Block's books about Bernie Rhodenbarr. I enjoyed it and will search out the other books in the series.

This was such a disappointing book for a Simon Brett fan like myself I was left wondering why he'd put his name on it. The likeable, if flawed, characters of Mrs. Partager and Charles Paris are what makes those books so winning. Here, the characters are not only unlikeable, they are shallow, wooden and one-dimensional. Instead of showing us personalities by "action", he "describes" what people are like. These are not direct quotes, but examples of writing style--"Jude is a very outgoing person who is attractive to many people, including most men" or "Carole is a rather shy, diffident person who likes to be around Jude and is curious about her free and easy lifestyle"). Thank you for telling me, but I'd rather figure that out myself from the character's behavior.

Usually, Brett's writing is witty and urbane. It was hard to swallow stuff like..."Jude was thinking about the man in London she'd had a relationship with"...hmm. Wouldn't she be thinking about him by name? Or, after a description of Brian Helling..."He was very dangerous." Show me.

Also, the book was very poorly edited. In the copy I read, at the climax of the action Brian Helling was called "Nick Helling".
So, I guess you can see I was disappointed! I hope if this series continues Brett will try a lot harder to make it worthy of his talent.

I'm a huge fan of Simon Brett's "Charles Paris" series, a moderate fan of his "Mrs.Pargeter" series. In his mysteries I always enjoy his wit and sense of irony particularly as regards his characters' (both principal and minor) lack of self-knowledge. In "Death on the Downs" Carol Seddons inadvertantly discovers a dismembered skeleton in a village near her town. Carol, a button-down (or at least a Burberry raincoat) type teams up with her free-spirited neighbor Jude to solve the case. What ensues is an exploration of the village's history and the interdynamics of its residents. Brett describes the gentrifying of the village, including the takeover of the local pub by a countrywide hospitality chain. Humble cottages become yuppie showplaces and skyrocketing property values make living in the village out of reach for working class people who were born and raised there. This class distinction is one of the causes of the action that follows and makes for amusing moments. Of one of the new homes Brett wonders whether it really needed both a turret and a belltower.

The situation is ripe for satire and yet Brett's storyline is grim, quite possibly due to the focus on Carol who really is quite dour. My sense is that Brett relishes characters with quirks and neither Jude nor Carol have many. I found the mystery itself dissatisfying and can only recommend it for Brett's talent for description of the village and some of the peripheral characters.

I ENJOYED BOTH OF THIS NEW SERIES, AND WAIT FOR BRETTS NEXT BOOK TO COME OUT ESPECIALLY THE CHARLES PARIS, AND MRS PARGETER, I FIND HIM TO BE A PLEASENT WRITER WITH LOTS OF WIT, I HAVE READ ABOUT EVERY THING HE HAS OUT NOW, WHATS COMING UP? HOPE ITS SOON . A GA READER

After 40 years in the securities business (minus a few years running a political newsletter), Levitt apparently realized the entire game was rotten and he needed the catharis of telling us about it. This is a good book, if you are looking for a guide to investments and markets. It is written for the novice investor, so more experienced investors will probably skip some sections, such as the last chapter on 401k's. However, there are real insights here for everyone. I have a master's degree in finance and I picked up a few things as well. Levitt also tells his autobiographical story in some detail, with especially interesting sections on his long relationship with his former partner and boss, Sandy Weill, now Chairman of Citicorp. Levitt likes to exaggerate his common-man rags-to-riches lifestory, only occasionally mentioning that his father was NY State Controller for 30 years, while prefering stories of his school-teacher mother and immigrant grandparents. Levitt is also cagey about how he became SEC chairman, only mentioning that he played a minor role in raising money for Clinton in 1992.

The topics discussed in each chapter exudes the experience of the author. The down-to-earth narrative style used in the book makes it readable to even absolute novices in the investment domain. For the individual investor, three specific chapters are of utmost importance - the one on mutual funds, one on reading financial companies, and the one on 401 (k) plans. The rest of the chapters explain very convincingly the author's views on what is 'wrong' with the ways in which corporates and brokers make money. Arguably, there is nothing wrong with them trying to make a profit for their services, but the author questions the not-so-ethical ways in which it is done.

The book also provides some insights as to who are the most "vocal", if not influential, U.S. Senators/Representatives for legislation concerning the problems identified by the author.

At various chapters, the author also provides some interesting websites that can aid any individual investor to know more about the ways in which corporates publish their earnings and income statements, and the ways in which brokers go about their business.

A must-read for anyone who has a single dollar in the financial market.

This book shows a lot of tricks your broker is probably using
to take advantage of you.
Your broker may act like you best friend but he may just be
really interested in gaining your trust so he can get away with
a lot of hidden fees in those ridiculously statesments they
send you.

It's well know that Mogan Stanley and Merrill Lynch have been
fined repeatly for "not acting in the best interest of their
clients"

But this but revals some of the methods these full service
brokers use to rip off their client's money.<.....

The book gives plenty . examples of how a ruthless brokers
takes your money. ....

Read this book and his new book too,it's your money don't be a sucker.