Customer Reviews:
Spooky.......2007-08-14
This book will get you hooked from the start till the end.I enjoyed it very much.If you love true ghost stories then this is your book.
Worthless!!.......2007-08-06
Honestly giving this book even one star is a stretch. I actually had to force myself to finish this book. The author spends most of the book desperately trying to convince the reader of her abilities & knowledge, the grammer/structure of the book itself is terrible, and the most disturbing thing of the whole book is how the author treated and exploited this poor family.
This book is truly a worthless waste of time & money, and like others have said should this "author" ever decide to write another book, I will be running far & fast.
Bumps in the Night.......2007-07-02
This is another story I first saw on the discovery channel on a show called a haunting. the book is very good.This story will give you the creeps because it is a true story of a real haunted house.
A lot of strange sounds can be heard in this house that have never been explained to this day. I am glad the family got out.
this book will keep you up at night reading good job Dusty!
Very scary story, even if self-edited.......2007-06-21
Okay, this book is not slickly written. In fact, it has a certain amateurish tone, as in,where's an editor. But it WAS written by an amateur who, for reasons she does not state, shunned the normal route via publishers and editors. The result-- a damn scary story told in a very non-professionally written piece. Compare with House of Secrets and Whispers or whatever -- very professionally written, but not a scary or really even very interesting moment in the whole book. Of the two, and given my interest, I'd take Dread and the Dead anyday. My only concern--this is so authentic sounding and so scary, that I legitimately wonder why the house is still allowed to stand and have inhabitants--it should be declared a superfund site or something and taken off the market. Wish there was something about this in the book.
Good & Scary.......2007-06-13
I recently finished reading this book, and found it to be very good and also very scary. In fact, I found it to be one of the scariest true ghost stories that I have ever read, with the ghost actually harming the author and attacking the young child in the story. I for one would not want to go into that house! It held my interest, and I finished reading it in one day. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in reading about real-life hauntings.
Customer Reviews:
The Bone House.......2007-05-14
I was very happy with both the availability and shipping of "The Bone House" by Joel Peter Witkin. I will definately shop again, and recomend to others. This was a title I'd been hoping to find for years ...
witkin.......2005-01-24
this Witkin book is an ecxellent illustration of his work. A wonderful collection of macabre. high quality images.
Brilliant........2003-10-30
Joel-Peter Witkin, The Bone House (Twin Palms, 2000)
Witkin is best known outside the world of avant-garde art for being one of those whose work was scrutinized during the whole "art or pedophilia?" craze that followed the hullabaloo surrounding Robert Mapplethorpe getting an NEA grant (not that those two things are related, except in the diseased minds of those who decided that all "deviance" is necessarily related.) Which is too bad, because Witkin creates photographs of a singularly disturbing atmosphere, a combination of beauty and brutality perhaps last imagined by Bosch and Bruegel hundreds of years ago.
Witkin is (and he admits this readily in his introduction to this collection) thoroughly obsessed with death, mutilation, violence, the erotic, and how they all intertwine. His photographs, which he calls portraits, do not capture the portrait per se but what Witkin sees as the true soul, the symbol of the person or people involved; the photographic equivalent of Bacon's famous study of Velasquez' Pope Innocent X. His photos are not for the faint of heart, but it seems to me that even the most squeamish will find a rare attractive power in Witkin's work. I strongly suggest, however, that the more squeamish not read the end essay (which starts with a description of how Witkin composed and photographed the photo "Feast of Fools," a description which may cause even less sensitive stomachs to roll).
These photographs are disturbing, repulsive, above all beautiful; one thinks, though, it would take a truly diseased mind to find anything of the pedophilic in the photographs presented here. With all the many layers to be studied in these compositions, it seems like the work of a revisionist historian, or someone with the Jesse Helms "I don't know how to define pornography, but I know it when I see it" mentality, to overlay something onto them that simplifies and erroneously categorizes them. We see what's there through our own filters; photography, especially of this sort, is interpreted by what we bring to the table ourselves. Those who crow most loudly about such things in the future may want to remember this. "Do not gaze long into the abyss..." **** ½
The Magical Image.......2001-02-17
Aptly named, THE BONE HOUSE is a collection of Witkin's images covering the period from 1950 to 1998. Witkin himself made the selection of his images. This is the first time I have seen some of these photographs, but many others are drawn from Witkin's better known images. The collection is remarkable.
Witkin is not an easy photographer/artist to get next to. He uses death, morbidity, deformity and sexual diversity to continually push at aesthetic boundaries. His work changes the viewer in it's search for beauty among the artifacts of the grotesque.
Yet it is not Witkin's intent to shock. Few viewers realize the amount of planning and control that goes into these images. Witken's own writings often depict himself as an aesthetic primitive or pagan, but this is far from the truth. This volume, and the Celant collaboration with Witkin contain preliminary sketches that are worth the price of admission. The artist's unearthly compositions, often composed with human and animal fragments are often drawn from images that come to us from the 16th and 17th century.
The book itself is beautifully bound and printed. Twin Palms has done their best to capture the quality of the Witkin prints. Unfortunately, this is a hopeless task. He tears, scratches, paints and waxes a print until it is far more than a simple photographic print. But the reproduction in the book is as good as I've seen.
I'm one of the fortunate few where was able to by the edition with the signed etching at it's earlier, pre-issue price. Now that edition is quite dear. If you can afford it, the etching is delightful, and well worth the expense. If not, there is also a less expensive, unsigned version, now in it's second printing, for considerably less.
This is unnerving, thoughtful photography. Consider this:
"I have consecrated my life to changing matter into spirit in the hope of someday seeing it all. Seeing its total form, while wearing the mask, from the distance of death. And there, in the eternal destiny, to seek the face I had before the world was made." (Joel-Peter Witkin)
An extraordinary book from an extraordinary artist.......1999-09-18
This book is fantastic as far as photo books go. There is a important quality attached to having good reproductions in a printed book. The Bone House has some of the best reproductions of the original prints availiable, aside from appropriate information about the author and artist himself.
Average customer rating:
- Good for slower readers
- A journey into madness
- Outstaning
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Goosebumps House of Horrors Boxed Set
R.L. Stine
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0439561302 |
Book Description
A collection of four of the most chilling tales ever written about Houses of Horror:THE GHOST NEXT DOOR: Hannah's neighborhood has gotten a little -- weird. Is she being haunted by . . . the ghost next door?IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SINK: Kat and Daniel just moved into a great new house, but something evil already lives there!STAY OUT OF THE BASEMENT: Margaret and Casey's dad is growing creepy plants in their basement -- and now their dad is becoming weedy and seedy himself!WELCOME TO DEAD HOUSE: A new house means new friends for Amanda and Josh . . . but these friends are creepy!
Customer Reviews:
Good for slower readers.......2006-01-23
Haven't read this set yet but looking forward to it, still working on the Scary Stories box set which I recommend too!
A journey into madness.......2005-03-19
Everyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE horror fanatic, and this box set is just what I need to scratch that itch. Don't worry, it's a figurative itch. The Goosebumps series is FRIGHTfully good, and the TV show was even better, even if it did come on BEFORE Big Bad Beetle-Borgs and not after, which would have been the place of honor that it deserved. If only the TV studios weren't under the thumbs of certain political and religious groups which shall remain nameless. Anyway, this box set is SPOOKtacular, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a FRIGHTfully good time. Oops...I already did that one.
Outstaning.......2001-11-30
This is definately a collecters edal, sure its a little bit pricy , but, anyone who loves to read goosebumps books this is for you.
Book Description
Accused of political subversion as a young man, Dostoyevsky was sentenced to 4 years of hard labor at a Siberian prison camp. Years later, he developed this semi-autobiographical memoir of a man condemned to penal servitude for murdering his wife. This haunting and remarkable work ranks amoung Dostoyevsky's greatest masterpieces.
Customer Reviews:
Surviving the House of the Dead.......2007-06-20
The "House of the Dead" is an early semi autobiographical work of Fyodor Dostoevsky, telling the tale of a nobleman who is imprisoned in a labour camp in Siberia for a crime of passion. The tale is semi-autobiographical because Dostoevsky as a young man was also imprisoned in Siberia for being a member of a radical political organisation an experience which was to form and influence his amazing insights and understanding of human nature.
Although not Dostoevsky greatest work "House of the Dead" is still a fascinating portrait of life in the Tsarist gulags system - a life of great hardship and deprivation yet filled with simple moments of humanity showing mankinds ability to adapt and survive in the most extreme of circumstances. Dostoevsky tells his story in a chronological order from his characters arrival as a new alienated and withdrawn noble to his gradual adjustment to prison and the return of hope as he realises that he can survive and will have a life after the completion of his term.
It is also interesting to read House of the Dead in conjunction with later works such as One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dealing with the gulag system in communist times to see the continuation of the institution despite the changing of social regimes.
Great Cultural Perspective.......2006-12-07
Mr Dostoyevsky spent four years in prison under the most horrific of conditions, with inadequate food and shelter, and little or no privacy. He treats each prisoner he meets with respect and even though they have committed heinous crimes he recognizes that people are capable of redemption and are entitled to live with dignity. The book reflects upon his powers of observation and his fellow men who have slipped into misfortune. As usual much humor and insight into the human condition, a wonderful book.
Days of fear and hope.......2006-05-19
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "The House of the Dead" is one of the most powerful narratives about life in prison. A quasi-autobiographical work, the writer used the days he spent in Siberia prison to create powerful moments of sadness, fear and hope. Not many were able to be released from there, but he was one of them, and with this work he reminds everyone what it is about to be a political prisoner.
"The House of the Dead" may not be one of best works from this Russian writer, who produced masterpieces such as "Crime an Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov", but still it is a vivid account of hard times. Many scenes are unforgettable, and resonate to the condition that many people live today around the world - think of the soup that the prisoners have in the first part of the book, for instance.
Dostoyevsky manages to create a living portray of many people who are forced to share the same place at the same time, however much they can't stand each other. He is able to bring to life both human beings and animals. His description of his meeting with a dog can bring tears to the eyes of the most tough reader.
David McDuff's translation is superb, and so is Penguin Classics edition. The book is complemented by notes on the text and a excellent introduction. However, as happens to many books in this collection, it is advisable to read the introduction after reading the novel, because it may have spoilers.
"... a life like none other upon earth"- Dostoevsky.......2006-05-11
In this book, the narrator shares a part of his imprisonment experience in Siberia in the 1850s.
He describes the inmates in his barrack with remarkable perception and insight. Most importantly, he rises above the question of moral and character, resulting in a broader implication of his discoveries in the prison. There is a preoccupation with what it means to be human in conditions that constrict the full potential of man. The lack of homogeneity among the convicts, much less humankind in general, is paradoxical to the fact the man everywhere is essentially the same regardless of what social fetters are set on him. The destitute and the tender circumstances that mark a man's life only make him stronger and more desperate in violently reign in life to make it his own.
Although the narrator's own moral framework is present, it is often overshadowed by his own curiosity to learn about the forces that make man who he is. His characters are without categories, without good or evil but they make you laugh bitterly, smile sardonically and hang on askance. Everyone's life has its complications but the most elusive kinds are those about human nature, the choices one takes, the unexplainable behaviors in man. While situations always resolve itself with time, human is quite an irresolvable puzzle. And all these you can find in a typical Dostoevsky's works, The House of the Dead is second only to Crime and Punishment.
For these reasons, this book is worth your time and money.
The House of the Dead.......2005-09-03
The House of the Dead is a somewhat autobiographical account of Dostoevsky's time in a Siberian labor camp. It was written after Dostoevsky spent 4 years in a labor camp for belonging to a political group that Czar Nicolas I decided to make an example of. While the book is narrated from the point of view of a 3rd party, incarcerated for the murder of his wife, it is widely accepted that the stories and characters are based on events and people that Dostoevsky encountered while in Siberia.
It is similarly noted that much of Dostoevsky's later works, including Crime and Punishment, deal with aspects of the human condition that he witnessed while in Siberia. The depths of depravity to which a man can sink, the evil he can commit, and the rationality that can exist in such an irrational place all play a part in the development of Dostoevsky's later characters and topics. An interesting thing to note is that he concerns himself not only with his fellow prisoners, but also with the guards, and the governor of the prison, and that oftentimes it is these characters that are more evil than the men they are guarding.
I found the book interesting, if a bit bland at times. The biggest challenge for me was keeping track of all the characters, and trying to remember their stories as sometimes Dostoevsky would mention a character in passing, give a few details about this person, and then say something like "but I will speak of him more later" and leave you hanging for a few hundred pages before getting back to him. The characters were very well developed, and great detail is given on all of them.
If you enjoyed any of Dostoevsky's later works, then you will most likely enjoy this as well, and I can recommend it easily. It reads more like a diary than a novel, but I found that this format suited the stories nicely. Readers who are new to Dostoevsky, will also find this a good place to start as it is very straightforward, and acts as an excellent backdrop for the rest of his work.
Book Description
Arrested in 1849 for belonging to a secret group of radical utopians,
Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to four years in a Siberian labor camp—a terrible mental, spiritual, and physical ordeal that inspired him to write the novel The House of the Dead.
Told from the point of view of a fictitious narrator—a convict serving a ten-year sentence for murdering his wife—The House of the Dead describes in vivid detail the horrors that Dostoevsky himself witnessed while in prison: the brutality of guards who relish cruelty for its own sake; the evil of criminals who enjoy murdering children; and the existence of decent souls amid filth and degradation. More than just a work of documentary realism, The House of the Dead also describes the spiritual death and gradual resurrection from despair experienced by the novel’s central character—a reawakening that culminates in his final reconciliation with himself and humanity.
Also included in this volume is Dostoevsky’s first published work, Poor Folk, a novel written in the form of letters that brought Dostoevsky immediate critical and public recognition.
Average customer rating:
- Not that great...
- Welcome to the Dead House, by R.L Stine
- A great start to the goosebumps series!!!!!
- Welcome to Dead House
- Fiendishly Good!
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Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps Series)
R.L. Stine
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ASIN: 0439568471 |
Book Description
Just when you thought it was safe....the 25 top-selling titles in the series that revolutionized horror for kids are back w/ a fresh new look. The updated design will make you scream. The original artwork will give you nightmares. And the classic bone-chilling stories from the master of horror will just kill you. This spine-tingling series sparked a licensing phenomenon & made R.L. the #1 author in the U.S.--and it's STILL the "must have" collection for true horror fans. Now a whole new generation will discover the thrill of reading ...and they'll never be the same again.
Customer Reviews:
Not that great..........2007-08-01
Okay, it's better to have your kids read this than not to read at all. That being said, this books are the equivilent of greasy junk food. I enjoyed RL Stine's Fear Street series when I was in junior high, and I even like reading through my old ones even now. But these, are just dummed down versions. Also, who in the world thought these would be apprpropriate for 4-6 year olds is beyond me. There are much better books, even horror/scary books on the market for your kids. Find some of those and don't let them waste their precious time on these.
Welcome to the Dead House, by R.L Stine .......2007-06-12
Have you ever wanted to live in a creepy place where everyone's dead? Well the book I've just finished reading was "Welcome to the Dead House." It's about two kids and their parents who move to Dark Falls. There, they start to see that creepy things are happening.They find out that all of their freinds are really dead, but ghosts. And their freinds need fresh blood to live. So, they capture the kids parents. What happens next? Well you'll have to read the book to find out. I really liked this book because it was filled with moiments of suspense. Another reason why I liked this book was because whenever I stopped reading it, I always wondered what would happen next. This book would be great for you if you love thrills and chills.
A great start to the goosebumps series!!!!!.......2007-01-29
When I first saw this book and the series I thought it would be something I would love to read, because I love scary books. This book was definetely great and probably one of the best books in the goosebumps series. After reading this book I will for sure read the other r.l. stine books. This book is about a family that moves into a creepy new house in the town of dark falls. When the two kids Josh and Amanda move into their new house they hate it and find a lot to complain about. Everybody in dark falls is so pale and they never go in the sun. Weird things also start to happen in their new house. To find out more about this book you have to read it. Its wonderful!!
Welcome to Dead House.......2006-11-20
If you like scary action this book is right for you. I like the part when Mr. Dawes, one of the living dead, dropped the kids off at the cemetery. Adam
Fiendishly Good!.......2006-10-07
Amazon lists the age range for this series at 4-8, but I cannot imagine a 4-6 year old who would really be able to enjoy this on their own...or would really want this read to them, this stories are more involved and require a slightly higher level of sophistication on the part of the reader. I'm thinking the best age range for this book (and probably the series) is 8-14, with the 10-12 age range being ideal.
This is our first encounter with the Goosebumps series (my daughter is 8) and I'll probably hold off for another year (ish) before I hand these over to read. I understand that Welcome to Dead House is one of the better (and more creepy) books in the series, and while I think it's a fine kick off for a series of horror stories aimed at 3rd-6th graders, this is a little much for my child this year. She's reading her way through the Mostly Ghostly series, which is slightly simpler in presentation while still maintaining the same horror flavor that Stein seems to be famous for.
This particular volume, we meet Amanda and Josh (and their parents of course) who have just inherited a big old house in Dark Falls (love the town name), from an Uncle they didn't know they had. Dark Falls is a town that where no one ever seems to be out and about in the day and where there always seems to be lingering shadows. Right from the start Amanda notices things that seem off about the house and the town, but no one else seems to notice. Slowly over the summer, they make friends with the local kids...or so they believe. As the summer draws near Amanda and Josh learn something quite gruesome about the other residents of Dark Falls and just how they came to live in the dead house!
This is quite creepy and does contain a few genuine thrills and chills, I found myself wanting to keep turning pages, hooked on finding out what happened next (and I'm 35). It's not as well written as some other horror I've read, but Steins style is certainly not the worst either. I think Welcome to Dead house is a promising start to this series and I'm looking forward to reading through it! Next year, when the Girl's reading level increases, we'll definitely be adding this series to her list!
Book Description
Private Detective Art Hardin's caseload does not usually involve AK47s, but when an Islamic terrorist group uses an unsuspecting family friend to smuggle money into the country and the money disappears, Art gets in deeper than ever before.
Customer Reviews:
Dead Bang is especially recommended for fans of two-fisted intrigue........2007-08-05
Retired private detective and Shamus-nominated author Robert E. Bailey presents Dead Bang: An Art Hardin Mystery, featuring the return of hard-boiled gumshoe Art Hardin. When an Islamic terrorist group manipulates and unsuspecting friend of the family to smuggle money into the country - and the money vanishes - Art becomes involved in a murderous, terrorist plot of violence and revenge. An nonstop rush of excitement from cover to cover, Dead Bang is especially recommended for fans of two-fisted intrigue.
You will never need a bookmark.......2007-04-30
When you start reading Dead Bang, you won't stop until the smoke clears on the final page. Robert Bailey's talent for blending non-stop action with interesting plot twists and intriguing characters places him at the top of his craft. Art Hardin is a mystery lover's detective. He's no superman, but he always gets the job done. Bailey's career as a PI guarantees accuracy and detail that other authors just can't deliver. If you like a dose of reality with your thrillers then this is the book for you!
A Must Read!.......2007-03-22
Keeps you on your toes from start to finish. I love the characters and cannot wait for their next adventure. If you like the TV show 24 you will LOVE this book. I could not believe how Art never stopped. If he tried, there was always something around every corner trying to derail him.
Dead Bang.......2007-03-07
Robert Bailey does it again! What a good read. I certainly enjoy the adventures that Art and Wendy find themselves in as they try to have a "normal" family life. I love the humor along with the mystery in Mr. Bailey's books. I am looking forward to more Art Hardin adventures.
This book has it all!.......2007-02-02
This book is a terrific read: It has mystery, action, humor, page-turning pacing, complex interwoven plotlines, and an honest-to-God likeable hero who really could be the father of the boys next door, if said father was this smart, funny, cool, and down-to-earth Midwestern. If you like characters such as Lucas Davenport, Jack Reacher, Elvis Cole, and Joe Pike, I think you'll like Art Hardin.
Book Description
In this almost documentary account of his own experiences of penal servitude in Serbia, Dostoevsky describes the physical and mental suffering of the convicts, the squalor and the degradation, in relentless detail. The inticate procedure whereby the men strip for the bath without removing their ten-pound leg-fetters is an extraordinary tour de force, compared by Turgenev to passages from Dante's Inferno. Terror and resignation - the rampages of a pyschopath, the brief serence interlude of Christmas Day - are evoked by Dostoevsky, writing several years after his release, with a strikingly uncharacteristic detachment. For this reason, House of the Dead is certainly the least Dostoevskian of his works, yet, paradoxically, it ranks among his great masterpieces.
Customer Reviews:
a note on the translation.......2007-08-10
I wanted to say that the edition published by Oxford Press called "Memoirs from the House of the Dead" is translated by Jessie Coulson. I have no idea who Coulson was but he is an underrated Dostoevsky translator. I have read this and his "Crime and Punishment" (which is the Norton Critical edition) and I think he was much better than most of the transltors like Garnett, Ginzburg, McDuff and the rest. There are many traslations of this book available and I think this one gets left off bookstore shelves without reason. It is a very passionate translation.
Surviving the House of the Dead.......2007-06-20
The "House of the Dead" is an early semi autobiographical work of Fyodor Dostoevsky, telling the tale of a nobleman who is imprisoned in a labour camp in Siberia for a crime of passion. The tale is semi-autobiographical because Dostoevsky as a young man was also imprisoned in Siberia for being a member of a radical political organisation an experience which was to form and influence his amazing insights and understanding of human nature.
Although not Dostoevsky greatest work "House of the Dead" is still a fascinating portrait of life in the Tsarist gulags system - a life of great hardship and deprivation yet filled with simple moments of humanity showing mankinds ability to adapt and survive in the most extreme of circumstances. Dostoevsky tells his story in a chronological order from his characters arrival as a new alienated and withdrawn noble to his gradual adjustment to prison and the return of hope as he realises that he can survive and will have a life after the completion of his term.
It is also interesting to read House of the Dead in conjunction with later works such as One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dealing with the gulag system in communist times to see the continuation of the institution despite the changing of social regimes.
From Siberia with Love: A memoir of a frozen prison hell by the great psychological novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky.......2007-05-10
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) wrote "From the House of the Dead" in 1860. It is a fictionalized account of the four years (1850-54) he spent in a penal colony in distant Siberia. Dostoyevsky had been sentenced due to his involvement in a plot to assasinate the Tsar. Following his imprisonment he served in the Russian army; returned to European Russia writing such classics as "The Brothers Karamazov" and "Crime and Punishment."
"From the House of the Dead" is a lesser known but still classic account of the torment of the prisoner's life in a totalitarian state.
We learn the horror of labor in the subzero work camp; the stories of several of the prisoners; animals who lived in the area and the freezing isolation and pain of countless days of misery. Dostoyevsky was a young intellectual forced to live, eat and sleep with men who came from a peasant background of cruelty, coarseness and brutality. Many of the camp's officials were sadistic and cruel in their treatment of the wretches whose lives they ruled with an iron fist.
Dostoyevsky is able to look through the keyhole of the human soul in all its multifaceted complexity. His descriptions of the bleak landscape is journalistic in its detail.
I have always loved Dostoyevsky's major novels. This was a new one for me and I am glad I read it. I consider it imperative perusing for anyone who wants to know what kind of man Dostoevsky was. In the last lines of the book he reports the main character's release from prison with the promise of a return to urban life in a resurrection of the spirit.
The book is not to be read with haste; it is to be savored with the many insights into life in the far north which are to be pondered to be appreciated. Long before the "Gulag Archipeligo" hit the bestseller list this great novel had told the sad and suffering tale of men trapped like mice in a mousetrip of pain.
a great book.......2001-03-11
I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book. It's not the sort of book that you enjoy. I can only say that I'm very glad that I read it. I found it to be both disturbing and compelling.
I can only agree with the other reviewers. This is not a book for everyone. It's not the sort of book that you read for entertainment, for something to do, for the sake of it. But if you want to be challenged and you want to be made to think, you will gain a lot by reading this book.
Not the best of Dostoyevsky's works.......2000-03-07
"Memoirs from the House of the Dead" is the story of Alexander Petrovich, a convict, and it is based on the author's own experiences in 19th century Siberia. Warning: This book was meant to be gloomy, and so it certainly is. The novel is not for those who are looking for entertainment; it is depressing, and, at least in my fancy, the scenery seemed to be grey-tinted at all times... Dialogue is almost non-existent, which makes the book a bit of a difficult read, slow-pacing, sometimes even monotonous.
However, the story does make you think, and Dostoyevsky's books can never be bad - I gave this one only three stars because I am comparing it to his other works and because I think it lacks that certain 'something' that can make even the gloomiest stories curiously captivating - such as "Crime and Punishment," one of Dostoyevsky's best works, which is far from cheerful! "The House of the Dead" is worth reading, but I would not recommend it to someone to whom Dostoyevsky is a fresh acquaintance.
Book Description
Weird things tend to happen when you live in a haunted house - not that author/ghost-hunter Alice Carpenter has a problem with the resident ghosts in her lakeside cabin near Six Gun, Texas. When her cousin Katy calls for help with the resident ghost at their family mansion, Alice agrees to come to the rescue. Then Katy discovers a headless corpse in her swimming pool. Alice must somehow uncover the identity of the murderer, or else Katy will be charged with the crime. Alice calls her ghost-hunting mentor, Twila, and her elderly neighbor, Granny, to assist in the investigation. Together the unlikely team of sleuths joins forces to track down the real killer and set Katy free.
T. M. Simmons lives in a haunted house on the edge of the East Texas Piney Woods.
Customer Reviews:
Good Read.......2006-07-12
This is a great book, especially if you love ghost stories and mysteries but don't like to be scared too much. =)
A fabulous holiday investigative tale .......2004-11-01
In Six Gun, Texas, author Alice Carpenter has worked out the rules of sharing her home with ghosts. However, her cousin Katy Gueydon is not doing quite as well dealing with spirits and begs Alice to help her with Sir Gary Gavin. Katy's plea changes when she finds a corpse in her swimming pool at Esprit d'Chene estate. Alice calls her former spouse Detective Jack Carpenter, who works near her cousin's home, while she drives the two hours to help Katy.
Alice quickly learns that the victim is Bucky Wilson-Jones, son of a state senator. Though Bucky was a reprobate, Alice realizes that the prime suspect is her cousin, a steal magnolia who has lost her metallic backbone. As Alice investigates the current killing, tries to solve Gary's two century old "undeliberate" murder, and works with settling down a bewildered and angry Bucky, she needs help. Jack don't believe in ghosts so she turns to her mentor Twila Brown and their neighbor Granny to form the ghosthunter amateur sleuth team trying to resolve the three related scenarios.
This is a fabulous holiday investigative tale that hooks the audience the moment that readers learn of The Alice and the Howard Ghost Agreement of co-living rules. The women especially Alice and the ghosts own the plot, but readers will commiserate more with Jack the non-believer; he copes with ghost hunting females, a real murder with political implications, and some paranormal phenomena that makes him wonder what to accept as truth. Even without the Ghostbusters, readers will believe in ghosts as Alice and company act like it is a normal phenomenon, all this supernatural phenomena resides inside a delightful who-done-it.
Harriet Klausner
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