The Bad Place

Book Description

Frank Pollard is afraid to fall asleep. Every morning when he awakes, he discovers something strange--like blood on his hands--a bizarre mystery that tortures his soul. Two investigators have been hired to follow the haunted man. But only one person--a young man with Down's Syndrome--can imagine where their journeys might end. That terrible place from which no one ever returns.

Customer Reviews:

Very good sci-fi/horror/detective/family life novel.......2007-09-12

I'm sure the Messrs Koontz and King hate to hear this, but their novels do read alike. I mean that as a high compliment, since King's been a favorite of mine for years, while I've just started reading Koontz.

This novel's a great mix (see title above), and keeps you engaged to the end.

My only niggle is that the good guys are mostly just a bit too good - almost more like GI Joe cutouts than real people. IMHO, the bad guys are more believable bad guys than good guys are believable good guys. But maybe that's old age and cynicism talking.

What a concept - couldn't put it down!.......2007-09-08

Koontz shows again why he is one of the masters of the horror/thriller genre with "The Bad Place." When a man wakes up face-down in an alley with nothing but a flight bag, he has no memory of where he came from, why he is there or why he feels that he is running from someone. He can only remember his name - Frank Pollard - and a haunting phrase: Fireflies in a windstorm. And he knows that there is someone near from whom he must escape. When he does escape and find a place to hide, he discovers the bag is full of money. He discovers that any time he sleeps, he wakes up with evidence that he has been somewhere in his sleep - clenching sand in his hands; blood all over himself; bags of money or gems. Finally he hires detectives Bobby and Julie Dakota to watch over him and discover who he is and where he goes while he is sleeping, as well as figure out why he has two different sets of identification - neither of them with his real name.

That is where things get weird. But I don't want to spoil the book for you! I'll just tell you that the plot outlined above is only part of the story - there is a sub-plot involving a serial killer that apparently bites the victims and drinks their blood.

Always creepy, sometimes scary, and often quite moving, Koontz is a master with using the English language to create a sense of excitement in his readers. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy a good horror novel or a good thriller.

Way off the mark.......2007-07-28

We found this book long and hard to get through. There is a lot of graphic and pointless gore the main characters teleport all around but then the book tries to make them normal in most other respects. This was just too much of a stretch for our feeble minds.

The best Koontz book ever. .......2007-07-16

This book will make all who read it become an instant Koontz fan. It will let you in on Dean's style of writing. He uses reality with a twist to draw you into his world, leaving his readers wanting more Koontz style of writing. This is an outstanding book that the reader will want to read more than once. Enjoy this book and look forward to the next Koontz book that you will excited to read.

Jim Z.

TOTALLY CREEPY WITH TIME TRAVEL & ENDEARING CHARACTERS.......2007-07-09

I was very pleased with this Dean Koontz book. I'm an avid Dean Koontz fan and I love stories about vampires and other supernatural beings. I had a hard time putting this book down. The actual hero of this book, in my opinion, is a down-syndrome young man. The main characters are a married couple working to save up money their "dream". The bad guy is truly horrifying and his sick, sick, sick family (their mother is to blame) is just as horrifying. I'm a cat lover though and didn't like the cats thrown in as psychic monsters. There's a lot of violence and sexual perversity thrown in, so it's not suitable for younger readers. It was a great read for me though. I highly recommend this book if you can handle the violence.

A Great Place to Work: What Makes Some Employers So Good--And Most So Bad

Average customer rating:

Excellent insights into what makes a great employer

A Great Place to Work: What Makes Some Employers So Good--And Most So Bad
Robert Levering
Manufacturer: Avon Books (P)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0380711036

Book Description

"Good workplaces are worth examining if for no other reason than that they enrich the lives of the people working there. Everyone, after all, would prefer working in a pleasant environment to an unpleasant one. Since most of us spend the greater part of our waking hours at work, this is no small matter."

With this idea in mind, Robert Levering decided to depart from the usual approach - looking at what's wrong with bad workplaces and how to fix it - and instead sought to discover what is right with truly great workplaces. To do so, Levering interviewed employees and managers at every level of "the best of the best" - the top 20 from his best-selling book, The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.

In this groundbreaking book, Levering uses interviews and anecdotes from the best employers to:

- Show why the most essential ingredient of a great place to work is trust between employees and management

- Explain why conventional management practices make it difficult to create a good workplace environment

- Provide case studies of positive and negative transformations of workplaces

The inspiring message of this book is that any company can become a great place to work. A Great Place to Work helps employees interpret daily experiences at work and determine what it is possible to expect. But it also informs well-meaning employers with ideas and tips about how to improve the quality of a working environment.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent insights into what makes a great employer.......2000-03-06

Although some of the examples used are a bit dated, the insights and conclusions about what makes a good or bad employers are still valid. This is a well-written book that shows how some employers actively strive to generate trust between the company and employees. If you don't like the company for which you work, this book will illustrate some of the practices of companies that truly value employees as their most important resource instead of just paying lip service.

Bad Dog!: A Memoir of Love, Beauty, and Redemption in Dark Places

Average customer rating:

One of the most beautiful books I've read
Brilliant.
Redemption redux
Life's lessons are all around us

Bad Dog!: A Memoir of Love, Beauty, and Redemption in Dark Places
Lin Jensen
Manufacturer: Wisdom Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Zen | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0861714865

Book Description

Today, Lin Jensen is a Zen master. But before that, he had to get through a difficult childhood and a difficult life. Bad Dog! is Jensen's sometimes quirky, sometimes poignant telling of the long path he took to inner peace. In over 40 short, interlocking pieces, Jensen uncovers his personal history, starting with his early life on a struggling farm in the dusty, quiet Midwest. Jensen eventually reaches college where he encounters a new world and a new passion, poetry, before entering into a marriage that is destined to fail. The one constant throughout Jensen's life is the search for meaning, — a search that leads him to finally awaken to his calling in Zen. Always engaging, Jensen's quiet stories subtly reflect on the currents of love, beauty, and redemption that run through all lives. His simple prose rings with insight at just the right moments, making Bad Dog! a book that will appeal to anyone who's ever looked for life's little bright spots.

Customer Reviews:

One of the most beautiful books I've read.......2006-07-30

I'm a fan of really good writing as well as Buddhism. I read this book several months ago and always meant to write a review about it. So today I finally got around to it and browsed the reviews written before me to see that all the superlatives had been already taken.

Gut-wrenching, beautiful,powerful.

This book touched me as very few have. It is a must-read regardless of its subject matter because of the quality of the writing alone. I could feel this kid's life. His loneliness, alienation and neediness.

Like many great books it can be read on different levels. As a personal memoir of growing up in a particular time and place with a particular type of upbringing. As a lay Buddhist book; essentially a primer of how to step away from a world of samsara and build for yourself, step by step, act by act, a life of peace, love and compassion.

What a journey he's had. How amazing that he shared it with us.

It's an elegant, lyrical, deceptively "deep" book which really deserves a much wider audience.(Read it and imagine that it's Number One on the N.Y. Times bestseller list and see if you feel just a little more hopeful).

Brilliant........2006-06-09

Stark, and beautiful.
Many people, like the author's father, assert that the best response to tough times is to be cold and tough in our actions. But throughout his lifetime, in the shadow of the Great Depression and his cruel father, the author stayed true to his own inner desire for compassion.
And he has lived to tell us about it.

Redemption redux.......2006-01-15

The first story "Bad Dog" evokes the recurring theme of the entire collection: Redemption in a world of sorrow. It spans the author's life through more than fifty years in a mere six pages. An essence of humilty is evident as you try and understand the hardness of his father's will. The adage of he did the best he knew how plays a familiar tune to most of us raised by depression era parents. The resentment melts away with Jensen's tender acts of mercy towards his father nearing the end of his life. A tender act few if any of us would be able to muster up...
It's a recommended read for everyone hoping to understand how to see into the darkness and not be afraid.

Life's lessons are all around us.......2005-09-21

Lin Jenson has the grace to reflect on profound moments in his life in a non-judgemental way, regardless of the circumstances. It is refreshing to read the work of a person that has the gift of self reflection and can communicate the experience as well as this Zen teacher has been able to do. One can only hope to be able to learn as much from their own life's experiences.

The Best Bad Thing (Aladdin Historical Fiction)

Average customer rating:

Abu
Japanese immigrants in America
Great Story For Growing Up
Fantastic Book
Fantastic Book

The Best Bad Thing (Aladdin Historical Fiction)
Yoshiko Uchida
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689717458

Customer Reviews:

Abu.......2007-09-12

Continuation after "Jar of Dreams". Rinko, Abu, and Zenny break Aunt Hata's rules and hitch a ride with the train. The old man defends the kids against a bully. The old man lives in the barn and paints kites. Aunt Hata says he came upon bad luck and hard times. Abu'a arm is run over by the train. Rinko screams. Aunt Hata drives abu to the hospital where he slowly recovers. Abu experiences nerve damage and he can't move his arm. Aunt Hata truck is stolen. Rinko's papa and mamma arrive but the truck is not found.

The old man goes back to Japan. He leaves kites for the kids and tells Mrs. Hata, "Be Strong" and not to accept welfare because it will impoverish the family. The bad thing the old man feared was confronted and he learned to have pride in himself and return home to Japan. The bad things were not so bad.
Aunt Hata can only think about Abu and him getting better. In the meantime the cucumbers rot in the fields. The cucumbers provide income for the family. Aunt Hata sells fresh cucumbers to the factory. Rinko and Zenny try to sell the cumbers by the road earning 10 cents for the day. The old man brings out two kites and lets Rinko and Zenny fly them and provides a distraction from their concerns about Abu.

The welfare lady becomes aware of the Hata from hospital reports. The welfare lady visits the home and reports no bath room and wants Aunt Hata to relocate into town and work a job.

The old tells Rinko and Zenny his secret. The old man is an illegal alien. The old man stole away on a ship, became a cook, and jumped ship in San Franciso, worked the copper mines in Utah, and ended up in Oakland. The old man is afraid he will be sent back to Japan or imprison.

Rinko believes bad things come in threes. How will the bad thing become the best thing?

Japanese immigrants in America.......2005-04-09

It's a typical story about the Japanese immigration in the American Continent, in the first decades of 20th century. At that time, many Japanese dreamed to work in America, with intention to "make fortune" there and return to Japan. This didn't happen only in the United States or Canada. Many Japanese families had immigrated for other Latin-American countries, all with the same dream.

The story happens in the 30's and shows basically how the Japanese lived in the new country, and the problems that they had faced, such as cultural differences, language, discrimination etc. Rinko is a 'Nipo-American' girl who lives in the city, and has to pass the summer vacations helping her cousins and her aunt, Mrs. Hata, in a small-cucumber-farm. It would have to be a boring vacation for Rinko but, in the end, she will learn important things about japanese culture and about her origins... EXCELLENT BOOK!!!

Great Story For Growing Up.......2003-11-23

I love a book that makes you think about "why" we should be righteous people. Rinko was just a typical American girl and to be ripped out of her daily life and get a taste of another culture is what every mother would love for her kids! As a mother of 4 sons, I can see my boys doing the things these boys did - and I can understand their adventureous souls! To see how Rinko changes from a self-centered girl to a caring girl is something that I would wish on all children.
Having lived in Japan while I was in Junior High School, I have always loved books with Japanese themes.
This is a good book and I loved the movie too!

Fantastic Book.......2003-05-16

If you like realistic stories and something which you can compare to yourself, you would love the Best Bad Thing. Once you read a chapter you will not want to stop. Why I loved this book is because I could relate to it. This book has some very funny humor in it.
Now it is hard to sum up the story without giving it away, but I can give you a brief review.
This story is about a girl named Rinko who is going to have to go to Mrs. Hata's for the summer. Why will she have to go? Because Mr. Hata has died (Mrs. Hata's husband). Everybody thinks that Mrs. Hata is crazy. Rinko does not want to go, she thinks it is bad, but then something makes this one of the best summers ever.
One last thing. In this story there are many suprises. So if you would like to read a great, humorous, realistic, and suprising story, you should read: The Best Bad Thing.

Fantastic Book.......2003-05-16

Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village 1868

Average customer rating:

Fantastic resource
A Wonderful Resource for Plains Indian Information Seekers!
An Excellent Book for Children or Craftworkers
Beautiful! Very discriptive! Excellent for all!

Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village 1868
Michael Terry , and Michael Bad Hand Terry
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0395974992

Book Description

More than 130 full-color photographs adorn this handsome re-creation of daily life in a Plains Indian village in 1868. Readers will meet Real Bird and his family, part of a Northern Cheyenne tribe in southeastern Montana. Each member has an important role: Men prepare to become warriors and hunters, while women learn to raise crops and build a home-a tipi-from poles and buffalo hides. The clothes the family wears, from elaborate ceremonial headdresses to colorful beaded moccasins; the foods they eat; the games they play; the crafts and jewelry they make; and the spiritual rituals they perform are among the many topics included. This large-format book, with clear text and informative sidebars, provides a detailed pictorial account of the Plains Indian life more than a century ago.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic resource.......2003-08-04

Even though this book is geared to the older elementary student, I used it to supplement my instruction for third graders. It has a wealth of strong information and contains clear and interesting illustrations.

A Wonderful Resource for Plains Indian Information Seekers!.......2003-02-17

At first glance this book looks like it is simply another children's book but once you open it the beautiful, full color photos speak for themselves! The book is 100% full color and shows a variety of men and women of different Plains tribal affiliations and their routines of daily life. Everything from styles of clothing to weapons, to men's and women's roles is covered in accurate, deatiled photography accompanied by brief commentary. Each subject is attired in meticulously replicated regalia done by the author who is a well known and respected Plains Indian authority. Another nice feature is the addition of a resource page listing historical sites of the Great Plains region. For such a small price tag this is one book that should be on every American history buff's bookshelf! You will not be disappointed!

An Excellent Book for Children or Craftworkers.......2002-03-31

Michael Terry's "Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village, 1868" is a wonderful book that, although geared toward children and adolescents, provides a colorful overview of the ways of life of the Plains Indian peoples for all readers. The full color, large photograaphs on every page are incredible. Northern Palins replica makers and craftworkers will also find a wealth of close-up photos and descriptions of tools, weapons, and art to which they can refer in their work. If you wish you could see the Plains Indians in the full color splendor for which they are known then this is the book for you!

Beautiful! Very discriptive! Excellent for all!.......1999-10-04

A very well done, beautifully illustrated book for all ages, highly recommend it.

That's Good! That's Bad! in the Grand Canyon

Average customer rating:

Your kids will love this!
Big Hit!
It's ALL good!

That's Good! That's Bad! in the Grand Canyon
Margery Cuyler
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 080505975X

Book Description

"He landed on a waterfall, SPLISH-SPLOSH! Then he slid down the slippery falls, WHEE-EEE!, to the beautiful pool below, WHAT FUN!"The little boy from That's Good! That's Bad! is back for another incredible adventure, this time on a trip through the Grand Canyon.Oh, that's good.No, that's BAD!On this raucous tour of the canyon the little boy is clippity-clopped, swish-swished, and oopsy-daisied over land and water.Oh, that's bad.No, that's GOOD!Well, don't take our word for it-have a look and see for yourself!

Customer Reviews:

Your kids will love this!.......2004-04-22

This book is a clever story full of energy, it's fun to read-along, the illustrations are colorful and exciting and it's funny too. It's got everything you and your child could ask for in a book - BUY THIS!

Big Hit!.......2004-04-03

I read this book to my class today. I thought they would enjoy it but I had no idea it would such a big hit! The children loved the story and illustrations. The story is cute and becomes predictable, encouraging children to join in. The detailed, quirky illustrations brought lots of laughter. I left the book out afterward for the children to read. It was wonderful to watch their facial expressions as they read the book silently. I borrowed this book from the library but will be ordering one of my own right away. Don't miss this one.

It's ALL good!.......2004-03-08

If you've read the original "That's good, that's bad" then you know exactly what you're in for with the "Grand Canyon" edition. The same wacky misadventures that go from good to bad and back to good in the blink of an eye and still manage to turn out fine in the end, with delightfully detailed illustrations by my son's favorite, David Catrow. If you haven't discovered the first one, you can start just fine with this one but then RUN out and get the first. I hope this series continues, because we are wearing these two out!

Bad River Boys: A Meeting of the Lakota Sioux with Lewis and Clark

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Bad River Boys: A Meeting of the Lakota Sioux with Lewis and Clark
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
Manufacturer: Holiday House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0823418561

Book Description

Much has been written about the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, but few authors have considered the effect it had on the Native Americans already inhabiting the "uncharted" territory it explored. Basing her story on actual events noted by William Clark, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve tells a fictional account of an encounter from the point of view of three young Lakota boys. Her Story explores the wariness and misunderstanding each side met and the trouble that ensued. Historical notes and a glossary are included.

The BIG BAD CITY (87th Precinct Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

A late arrival to McBain finds hims wonderful
more of the same from the 87th precinct
This is a read that I would recommend, might be 4 stars
A Very Entertaining Mystery/Dark Comedy
A book to be proud of, by an ashamed author

The BIG BAD CITY (87th Precinct Mysteries)
Ed McBain
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0684855127

Amazon.com

Ed McBain is the only American winner of the coveted Diamond Dagger Award, and he is also a past recipient of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award. So, when a reader picks up the latest installment of McBain's 87th Precinct series, the bar is set pretty high. But with The Big Bad City, McBain meets expectations.

In the opening pages, Steve Carella and Artie Brown return to the department with 9 basketball players (the 10th player was murdered) only to discover a knife fight erupting in a holding cell. It's a steamy August night, and Carella and Detective Parker end up having to shoot one of the fighters to cool things down. Then Meyer and Kling enter the scene; they're hot in pursuit of the Cookie Boy, a thief who leaves chocolate-chip cookies at every crime sight. Before the interminable day is done, Carella and Brown are called out to Grover Park to investigate a homicide. A nun has been strangled to death, but she's no ordinary Sister. She's got signs of a breast augmentation operation that hint at a sordid past. Finally, readers are privy to a conversation between Juju and Sonny. Sonny killed a cop's dad, and Juju is convinced that the police will bend the rules to see that Sonny winds up dead. Juju insists that the only way out of the death trap is to kill the cop first. The officer's name is Steve Carella. And all of this happens in the first 15 pages.

McBain is one of the artists of the police procedural. Though his city is fictional, it breathes with the darkness and gritty reality of many American cities. He enters the minds and hearts of his characters to uncover the daily insecurities that accompany the work of policemen. Readers new to the 87th Precinct will want to venture back to such tales as 1956's Cop Hater, 1964's Ax, and 1965's Doll, among the 47 installments in this series. Those who've been along for the ride will be happy they did not give up their seat. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

The first thing you need to know about this city is that it is big. It is difficult to explain to someone who has never seen it. You can fold his town into a corner of one of the city's five separate sectors and still have room for more. The next thing you need to know is that it's dangerous. Never mind the reassuring bulletins from the mayor's office; just watch the first ten minutes of the eleven o'clock news and you'll learn exactly what the people of this city are capable of doing to other people in this city. So, if you came here thinking, Gee, there's going to be a neat little murder that takes place in a town house and some blue-haired lady will solve it, then you came to the wrong city at the wrong time of year. In this city, you have to pay attention. In this city, things are happening all the time, all over the place, and you don't have to be a detective to smell evil in the wind.

This week's city tabloids depict the face of a pretty, dead girl who lay sprawled near a park bench not seven blocks from the 87th precinct house, while the late night news reports on the latest exploits of The Cookie Boy, a professional thief who leaves a box of chocolate chip cookies behind after a score. Behind the scenes, detectives Carella and Brown soon discover that this is not your average dead girl, but one with an unusual past. As they piece together her secrets, detectives Meyer and Kling search Isola's pawnshops for items stolen by The Cookie Boy. While the detectives are investigating their cases, one of them is being stalked by the man who killed his father.

Like the city itself, this novel is wonderfully complex and filled with memorable characters, honest dialogue, and breathtaking violence.

Customer Reviews:

A late arrival to McBain finds hims wonderful.......2005-10-12

I've arrived late to Ed McBain. The first work of his I read was his last (unless, like the late Ludlum, his estate decides to keep him alive through badly written and truly "ghost" novels).

McBain wrote, I think, 55 87th Precinct police procedurals. "The Big Bad City" was published in 1999. Structurally, McBain seems to have found a forumula and stuck with it - and that's a good thing, because his forumula works.

In a city that stands in as a thinly veiled New York city, the 87th Precinct bustles with activity. The precinct's detectives juggle many cases at a time, some propelled by political pressure, others by the personal involvement of the detectives, some because of happenstance and lucky tips or breaks.

In "The Big Bad City," a burglar dubbed The Cookie Boy by the press because he leaves chocolate cookies behind is on the loose; the man who killed Detective Cardella's father decides to wrap up loose ends by killing the Detective is on the prowl and a woman is found strangled in the park. The latter case rises from the routine when the woman is discovered to be a young nun - with breast implants.

McBain is in flawless. His characters have enough depth to be believable; just enough depth. His police officers run the range from the competent to slovenly and not quite-as-competent. Some are fair-minded, some are bigots. They solve their crimes through good, tedious police work. They don't get miraculous breaks: just those that they develop through their own persistence , diligence, experience and hard-work, aided by the occasional walk-in or phone-in tip. McBain is terrific at describing this often boring, often discouraging work without himself becoming tedious.

The unravelling of the murder of the nun is great storytelling as is the story of the guy plotting to kill the cop. The burglar story is a delight that could easily stand alone as a short story.

I regret having discovred McBain after his death, but he left one hell of a legacy.

Jerry

more of the same from the 87th precinct.......2004-10-03

If you have read McBain before, you will find more of the same in this novel. As usual in his 87th precinct works that I have read, McBain (pen name of the author) sets out what are basically three short stories that interlink and form into a short novel. All three of these stories are slick no nonsense to the point Dragnet style pieces. They are very readable and enjoyable. If you are a fan as I am and are looking for more of the same from McBain this book will not let you down. If you have not read McBain before, I would suggest that you start towards the beginning of his series even though you could jump in here and it would not effect the enjoyment this work offers in any way. That aside, I am only rating this work as a three star read because it is so formulaic. I can't bring myself to rate it any higher because I feel that the author is just churning this out without much thought (even though he does this quite well). This book is not high literature. It is just something, as are all of the books in this series, to pick up and enjoy for what it is, a mass produced work by a master in familiar surroundings.

This is a read that I would recommend, might be 4 stars.......2004-09-29

The only reason I am being a little hard on McBain here is that one of his numerous Isola city crime novels melds into another with little to make any particular work stand out from the rest. As usual, this book is taught with fine prose and a couple different plots that weave past each other and develop without pain to the reader. As usual the plots are distinct and well scripted while being laced with tidbits of philosophical rumblings by the protagonists. McBain is in my opinion one of the more gifted writers of the last five decades, churning out enough material to encompass several careers. Only I don't think McBain is taking any risks here, he plays it safe and we get more of the same. So that is why I am knocking this book down a couple of notches. Its totally worth reading and I would say that you will not be disapointed by purcasing this book. Its just not ground breaking and I am being hard on the old guy because I think he has it in him to churn out a magnificent read if he desired.

Lastly I would reccomend early Dick Francis novels or Johng MacDonald if you are looking for authors on par with McBain. They are different but similar in approach to their craft.

A Very Entertaining Mystery/Dark Comedy.......2003-01-01

The Big Bad City is the 49th Novel of the 87th Precinct, and those that are familiar with Ed McBain's previous works won't dispute the fact that he's a great mystery writer, but the thing that I enjoy most is his sense of humor. While it's never over-the-top and won't get you laughing out loud, you are guaranteed to have a grin on your face as you read this book.

In this particular novel, Detectives Brown and Carella are investigating a homicide in which the victim is a young nun with breast implants. There are also several subplots, one involving a burglar called the Cookie Boy who leaves home made chocolate chip cookies at the homes that he burglarizes. Also, Detective Carella is being stalked by the man who killed is father.

While the details of the story's plot may slip from the reader's memory soon after the book is completed, the nonsensically comical banter between the two detectives is quite memorable. I especially liked the nun jokes that they crack throughout the story.

The only pitfall that I can find in this story is in Ed McBain's writing style. He uses small words and short sentences, and while the story is easy to follow, it's also very dry at times. Though the book was written just a few years ago, it reads like a detective novel written in the 1950s. However, if you like detective novels, and if you like movies like "L.A. Confidential", you're going to like this book.

A book to be proud of, by an ashamed author.......2002-08-03

This very effective thriller may rank among the best McBain's. Those of us who know the series could begin noticing the clever devices McBain employs to deliver his punches, but they do not detract from the final pleasure.
Mi point is, however, to stress my discomfort with the matter of McBain's real name. I am dissapointed by what seems to be McBain's refusal to acknowledge his Italian-American origin. Until some twenty years ago, it was generally accepted that the name Evan Hunter was a pen-name taken from the high school and college he attended and that his real birth name is Salvatore Lombino.
More recently, editors began telling the readers that Evan Hunter IS his real name. The fact that his wife's name is Dragica Dimitrijevic-Hunter strongly suggests that Mr. Mc Bain has effectively CHANGED his name. As an person of Italian descent, I feel ashamed of the fact that Mr. McBain seems to be ashamed of his origins.
This rather hollow protest of mine, of course, should not stop any reader from reading this very entertaining book.

That's Good! That's Bad! In Washington, DC

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That's Good! That's Bad! In Washington, DC
Margery Cuyler
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805077278
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Book Description

It's class trip time and a little boy and his friends are visiting Washington, DC. But this little boy has trouble keeping his feet on the ground. A series of mishaps-sometimes good and sometimes bad-sweep him from the White House and Lincoln Memorial to the National Zoo and many other national landmarks.Adventures abound in this wild tour through Washington, D.C. Children will enjoy this exciting and funny introduction to our nation's capital city.

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THE BAD PLACE & MIDNIGHT
DEAN R KOONTZ
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GKX99I

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