The Stanislaski Brothers (Two Complete Novels: Mikhail and Alex)

Book Description

A New York Times Bestseller

"Roberts creates exceptional characters who . . . live on in the reader's imagination and heart." - Publishers Weekly

These two complete novels introduce the loyal and loving, tempestuous and tantalizing Stanislaski family. Their immigrant roots had made Mikhail and Alex Stanislaski both strong and passionate. Their charm made them irresistible. . . . Mikhail's work-hardened hands were not what wealthy ice princess Sydney Hayward was accustomed to, but the classy beauty soon discovered this earthy stranger's rare talent for Luring a Lady. . . . When Alex mistakenly arrests headstrong Bess McNee for siliciting, she decides the sexy detective is perfect - for her research . . . and for herself. Now all that's left is Convincing Alex.

Customer Reviews:

Heart warming.......2007-03-12

This is a wonderful book. Another great series from Nora Roberts. One word of advise....you have to read Taming Natasha then switch to Luring a Lady and Convincing Alex then read Falling for Rachel to get the stories in order. Afterward, there are 2 more books related to these...Waiting for Nick (Rachel's brother-in-law) and Considering Kate (Natasha's daughter. Reflections and Dreams (Dance of Dreams in particular) is yet another related book with Nickolai Davidov from Considering Kate. Dance to the Piper as well as the O'Hurley's books connect through as well. This is quite a confusing but fun set of books.

Five Stars .......2006-10-01

Great book both stories were really good. Mikhail and Sydney made a great couple as did Alexi and Bess. All four charactors were very well written. The women were strong, funny and very different. Sydney was trying hard to fill her grandfather's shoes even though no one thinks she can do it. Mikhail's been living in a SOHO apartment building that's falling a part.
Bess was a soap opera writer who went the extra mile in researching her stories including pretting to be a hooker in which she was arrested by Alexi who was a cop. I loved how she saw the good in everything. Mikhail and Alexi were very great strong but different brothers. The romance in each story was perfect.

DANG...! steamy, hot and just wow.......2006-02-10

Wonderful
I just read about the Stanislaski Brothers and loved it. Nora Roberts is a very talented writer. You come away from the book wishing you had these two either as a brother or husband. Great details and wonderful humor. Can't wait to read the next books about the Stanislaski family. And i must say don't they have a beautiful family....

Also recommended: The Stanislaski Sisters, Relections and Dreams,

GOTTA LOVE THESE BROTHERS.......2004-07-15

BOTH MEN SEXY, SET IN THEIR WAYS, AND TELLS PEOPLE HOW IT IS. THE WOMEN THEY MEET ARE TOTALLY THEIR MATCH AND MORE.
MIK AND SYDNEY ARE SO SIMULAR YET SO DIFFERENT. SYDNEY IS A STRONG WOMAN WHO WILL NOT TAKE CRAP FROM ANYONE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO HER NEW INHERITED BUSINESS. EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO MIK. SHE TRIES TO STAND HER GROUND BUT GETS LURED IN MORE WHEN SHE TRIES. MIK IS A MAN THAT IS STRONG, SEXY AND CAPABLE OF SO MUCH MORE. HE WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET UNDER SYDNEY SKIN. THEY HAVE A FEW ROUNDS OF MENTAL AND SEXUAL BATTLES BUT IN THE END THEY BOTH FIND TRUE LOVE.

ALEX AND BESS ARE A VERY LAID BACK COUPLE. SHE SEEMS TO JUST GO FOR A RIDE WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP. YET AT THE SAME TIME FALLS MADLY IN LOVE WITH ALEX. SHE HAS A VERY COLORFUL PAST AND ALEX WILL NEED SOME CONVIENCING. HE'LL REALIZE SOON ENOUGH WHY SHE IS HOW SHE IS.

AN AMAZING LOVE STORY THAT YOU CAN REREAD! MAKE SURE TO READ ABOUT THEIR SISTERS.

WHO COULD RESIST THE BROTHERS?.......2004-07-14

Book Description

People magazine declared that "[Nora Roberts] is at the top of her game," and there's no greater evidence of that than these three novels. From the horse farms of Virginia to the rugged beauty of Montana to an island off the coast of Georgia, these novels showcase Nora Roberts's talents for intense drama, vivid characters, and fast-paced suspense.

Customer Reviews:

Love all of Nora's romance books.......2007-02-25

You can never go wrong with a Nora Roberts romance novel and this is just one more great one in the list.

beware small type.......2007-01-15

i haven't finished reading even the first of these three books, but I am struggling to read the small, serifed type. I don't usually have any problems reading normal type, but something about the font and size of the type, combined with the large book is making this read a bit of a struggle for me.

So far, really like the characters and very typical Nora Roberts writing.

Very Good Reads.......2007-01-14

If you are an avid reader as I aa and a Nora Roberts fan too, you can't beat these three great books combined in one volume.
I am certain that you will enjoy these three earlier works by Nora Roberts.

Great vendor.......2006-11-14

This book was in great condition. The delivery was fast. Thank you for your prompt attention.

True Betrayals/Montana Sky/Sanctuary.......2006-08-31

Truly a great grouping of three story lines. Each one kept me on the edge of my seat and reluctant to put down until I completed it. Descriptions of location and events put you right there. I can't wait to read more of this author.

Average customer rating:

A splendid novel
Emotionally satisfying--Intellectually stimulating
Meh...
praise for Changing Light
Truly craftswomanlike

Changing Light: A Novel
Nora Gallagher
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0375424512
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Book Description

Nora Gallagher’s elegant debut novel, Changing Light, is a love story set in Los Alamos during the summer of 1945, in the shadow of the creation of the first atomic bomb.

During the last summer of the war, in the beautiful New Mexico desert, a man and a woman come together: Eleanor Garrigue, a young painter from New York, and Leo Kavan, a neutron physicist. The story begins when Eleanor finds a delirious man lying by the river near her house. She takes him in and cares for him. In this novel of secrets, we learn before Eleanor does that Leo is AWOL from Los Alamos after witnessing a fatal radiation accident that has forced him to confront the moral implications of his work on the bomb. And we know, too, what Leo does not know: Eleanor is married, and has fled to New Mexico to escape her husband.

As Eleanor and Leo slowly reveal themselves to each other, their pasts and the present unfold in tandem, taking us from the heady art world in New York to Einstein’s Berlin, from the bomb labs in the English countryside to the hidden city of Los Alamos. Nora Gallagher perfectly evokes the veil of secrecy and tension surrounding the Manhattan Project, the constant hum of fear alongside the remarkable fearlessness of the scientists in the laboratories.

As Leo and Eleanor privately struggle with the losses the war has pitched into their lives, the two find unexpected solace in each other. Their story is all the more poignant because it can only flourish in a brief interlude–an interlude of brilliant madness and irrevocable change. As the scientists engage in literally “changing light,” Leo and Eleanor are connected and changed in unexpected ways by the brutal radiance of the war and their fierce love.

Customer Reviews:

A splendid novel.......2007-07-16

Nora Gallagher's debut novel was a great pleasure to read. Written with the precision of poetry, but with a novel's heft, momentum, and narrative complexity, Changing Light drew me into its vivid New Mexico landscape and launched me on a journey that I found intellectually and emotionally absorbing every step of the way. What sets this book apart from so many other contemporary novels is both its witness to beauty (of nature, of art, of well-chosen words) and its depth of moral imagination. The novel's pages are lit up by an authorial intelligence that is both compassionate and unflinchingly clear. A wonderful love story and a luminous, nuanced portrayal of moral decision-making.

Emotionally satisfying--Intellectually stimulating.......2007-07-16

"Changing Light" by Nora Gallagher was a delightfully surprising debut novel--a richly satisfying story, artfully and lyrically told, with profound emotional and intellectual overtones. Tangentially, this is a love story. But more directly, it tells the tales of different life-changing moral dilemmas that three characters must resolve as their lives intertwine during the spring and summer of 1945 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

At the center are two polar opposites: Eleanor Garrigue and Leo Kavan--an artist and a nuclear physicist. Off to the side and pulling each of the other two main characters into a curious triangle is Bill Taylor, the local priest. Eleanor is a woman who has temporarily fled an over-bearing husband and promising art career in New York City to find personal freedom and artistic inspiration living in the solitude and grandeur of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just over the hill from Los Alamos. Leo Kavan is a world-renowned Czechoslovakian physicist who is brought to Los Alamos by the United States government to work as a top scientist on the Manhattan Project developing the first atomic bomb. As the local Episcopal priest, Bill Taylor is duty-bound to be Eleanor's spiritual confessor and advisor, but he is also strongly attracted to her as a woman.

This is a short novel. Gallagher does not waste time developing each main character completely as an author would have to do if this were nothing more than a love story. She gives us just enough information so that the reader feels comfortable filling in the rest. Gallagher expects intelligent readers--readers who are happy to participate in the storytelling by creating their own plausible back-stories and plot resolutions from tidbits of information thrown in to the text to spark the imagination. Don't we all do exactly this in real life whenever we meet someone new? This technique helps focus the reader's attention away from the love story, toward the true purpose of the work. But don't get me wrong--the love story here is completely believable, satisfying, mature, and enchanting--it is just not the focus of this book.

The "changing light" at the core of this novel is more than merely the beautiful artistic light that saturates the Los Alamos countryside, providing Eleanor with inspiration for her paintings. Gallagher wants us to focus on the far subtler inner light--the guiding moral compass--at the core of each character's being that changes during the course of the novel. Thus the title is apt and points toward the message of the work as a whole.

I look forward to reading more novels by this talented author.

Meh..........2007-07-09

I was unimpressed with the novel as a whole. There is some interesting information on the A-bomb development and history but the characters are rather bland. We never really understand the fascination the husband, priest and Kavan all have with Eleanor b/c the description of her is so weak. She is just a generic heroine/female protagonist that we are supposed to care about b/c she paints presumably yet the paintings themselves, as another reviewer writes, are never adequately described for the reader to appreciate or understand. The characterization of Kavan is better but having all these famous incidental people in the background of the story, doing nothing, kind of reminds me of pointless cameos in movies.

praise for Changing Light.......2007-07-01

About page 40 something into the book I had fallen over that beloved cliff in novel reading where you pass the point of no return...when work gets abandoned, dishes pile in the sink, and at 3am when you're aren't really sleeping anyway, you might as well read for awhile...Thant's the time I reread the beginning, just to be sure I'd absorbed the background. Changing light is a sensitive and insightful story about love, scince, an artist and and the making of the atomic bomb set in Los Alamos at the end of WW2.

Truly craftswomanlike.......2007-06-05

Gallagher's first novel is not only a fine love story. It is truly craftswomanlike, in the construction of an intricate plot with many characters, many scenes, much detailed research, and elements of mystery and suspense throughout. Gallagher has taken the episodic technique of her memoirs and skillfully transformed it into a complicated and coherent and lucid (not to mention luminous) whole.

The Stanislaski Sisters: Natasha and Rachel (Silhouette Romance 2-novel book: Taming Natasha, Falling For Rachel)

Average customer rating:

Heart warming
Wonderful tale of two sisters
THE MATCH IS PERFECT FOR BOTH SISTERS
Extraordinary Book!
Heartwarming Stories of an Immigrant Family

The Stanislaski Sisters: Natasha and Rachel (Silhouette Romance 2-novel book: Taming Natasha, Falling For Rachel)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

Silhouette Romance | Series | Romance | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0373484232

Customer Reviews:

Heart warming.......2007-03-12

Wonderful tale of two sisters.......2006-05-18

Nora Roberts' tale of two sisters will keep you turning the pages. Natasha and Rachel are different and unique in their thoughts, passion, and men. Readers will enjoy reading their stories.

THE MATCH IS PERFECT FOR BOTH SISTERS.......2004-07-14

TAMING NATASHA-SPENCE IS A GOOD MAN WITH A BIG HEART AND WANTS TO SHARE IT WITH NATASHA. SHE'S BEEN HURT BEFORE AND DOES NOT WANT TO RISK IT. SHE DECIDES THAT SHE NEEDS TO FACE HER FEARS HEAD ON.

FALLING FOR RACHEL-WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE TWO MEN WHO BOTH WANT YOU? ONE YOU SEE AS A CHILD AND THE OTHER YOU COULD TAKE TO BED. WHAT WILL SHE DO?

Extraordinary Book!.......2004-05-14

This is the first book that I have read in a while that has been a wonderful book, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Natasha and Rachel are two of my favorite characters in the Stanislaski saga.

Heartwarming Stories of an Immigrant Family.......2004-05-01

This book contains two full-length novels both written by Nora Roberts, and originally published in the early 90's as Silhouette Special Editions.

TAMING NATASHA: Natasha Stanislaski is one of four children born to immigrant parents, who escaped from the Ukraine into America, for a chance at a better life. Previously a ballerina for a New York Dance Company, Natasha now owns and runs a toy store in the small town where she resides in West Virginia. Spencer Kimball, widower and father to a little girl named Freddie, has just moved from New York to this same small town. Spencer is a music composer as well as the new professor at the local college. When Natasha and Spencer meet, they get off on the wrong foot, but when Natasha decides to take a college class in music history, she's surprised to find Spencer is the teacher. They embark on a relationship, but will Natasha be able to move beyond the pain of her past which still haunts her, and offer this man her heart?

FALLING FOR RACHEL: Rachel Stanislaski is the sister of Natasha from the previous story. She is an attorney with a strong sense of justice who works as a public defender in New York. Her latest case is representing nineteen-year-old Nick LeBeck, a frightened tough guy whose parents have both died. Now Nick is mixed up with a gang, and taking the rap for an interrupted burglary. Zack Muldoon is Nick's stepbrother, and the only family Nick has left. Two years ago, Zack returned after a stint in the Navy, and will now do whatever he needs to insure Nick doesn't get prison time. Nick is sentenced to a provisionary time period where he will live with Zack, while Rachel keeps contact with Nick, and reports on his behavior. The chemistry between Zack and Rachel is undeniable, but will problems with Nick keep them apart?

Amazon.com

With its blend of evil killers, handsome heroes, and feisty, sensitive heroines, Nora Roberts's latest thriller meets the same standards of terror and romance that made last year's River's End a bestseller. This time, our heroine Tory Bodeen has returned to her hometown of Progress, South Carolina, to face the fearsome memories of her childhood friend Hope's death and rebuild her life in a town that once betrayed her.

Struggling to balance the disturbing recollections, Tory finds comfort in the arms of Hope's older brother, Cade Lavelle. Though she sets about developing relationships with old friends and establishing her own business, Tory's worst fears come true and her past catches up to her: Tory's unique role in Hope's death makes her not only the focus of the Lavelle family's hatred, but the next choice for Hope's killer, who is still at large.

With the same skills that earned her the honor of being the first Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame inductee, Roberts weaves a winning blend of mystery, terror, and romance that loyal followers and new fans will enjoy immensely. Sure to be another bestseller, Carolina Moon will keep your heart beating in triple time. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

Book Description

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author-a spellbinding tale about a woman who, though battered in both body and spirit, never loses hope...

Customer Reviews:

A Good Read.......2007-06-07

In May I saw the movie of this book and had not read the book so decided to purchase it and read it. H-m-m-m! All I can say is the movie does not begin to feel the essence of the book. IT is a dark plot in some ways as it deals with child abuse, rape and murder but yet there is so much humor scattered through out the book which the movie completely missed. Tory's grandma is a gem and Aunt Rosie is hilarious as well as Faith is delightful. There is more to her than you first see. Wade's mother (Tory's aunt) is delightful also. Having seen the movie, I of course was not surprised by the murderer and in the movie had him picked out almost from the beginning. I think if you only read the book, it wouldn't be as easy to figure him out. Cade was great for Tory and understanding of her "gift". An Epilogue would have been nice a few years down the road to see what happened with Wade and Faith and to see if there were babies and etc. However, we can use our imaginations for that. THere were just os many interesting characters in this story that kept me interested to the end.

The Ending is Unbelievable!.......2007-05-12

The Southern setting of this book was beautiful as was the heroine Tory. I loved the friendship between her and Hope, and I was heart broken by her mother's resentment at the end. It was written so well that I just got lost in it emotionally. I also would've never guessed the murderer. All I can say is "Wow...amazing!"

A good way to relax.......2007-02-10

Many years after leaving the small town of Progress, Tory Bodeen returned home to the Lavelle family who held her responsible for her best friend's, Hope Lavelle, murder; the father who loved raising his hands to women and inducing violence; Cade, the only Lavelle who sees her innocence; And the killer who took her friend's life and is now awaiting to take hers.

Carolina Moon is a nice, sweet love story with not much conflict or intrigue, but full of entertaining characters and a nice plot. It's not a story that will leave a lasting impression, but it's a nice way to escape everyday life, and after all, isn't that why people read?

Very Good Book.......2007-01-24

Very Good Book. It has romance and mystery. It is one of Nora Roberts best books. I have read this book over and over again. The characters are well developed. The relationship between the charcaters are fun and meaningful. Again this is one of Nora Roberts best.

A perfect balance of suspense, sensuality and genuine romance.......2006-09-08

Riveting! I hated that it had to end. Marvelous characters, a haunting tragedy and one of those "meant for each other" relationships that are a hallmark of Nora Roberts at her best. Carolina Moon is a richly layered, dark and dangerous variation on the Cinderella theme. It's also a fine whodunnit with a plot twist worthy of its twisted villain.

Heroine Faith, the ragged little girl destined to capture the attention of her small town's handsome prince, has an abusive father instead of a wicked stepmother. Her one escape from a relentlessly grim childhood is friendship with the daughter of the wealthy family who employ her father as a laborer on their farm.

When the girl is brutally killed - after sneaking out of the house to meet Faith at their 'secret place' in the woods - Faith has a psychic vision of the murder as it's happening. She leads the police to the body but can't give a rational explanation for what she knows. The victim's traumatized family pay Faith's father to leave town with his wife and child. It's the end of innocence and the beginning of a terrible exile, both real and self-imposed. Faith's guilt and sense of isolation will haunt her into adulthood.

The current-day story begins with Faith returning to the house of her childhood, intending to face her private demons and search for her friend's killer. The dead girl's brother, who was an adolescent boy when Faith left town, has grown into a compelling, determined and oh-so-sexy man.

He's attracted to Faith, but suspicious of her. She's wary of men after a painful rejection by the man she loved, a cop who used Faith's psychic skills to further his career - and blamed her when she was unable to prevent the death of a kidnapped child.

Meanwhile, others are displeased with Faith's unexpected homecoming. Among them are the murdered girl's mother, who disapproved of Faith's friendship with her favorite child and has never forgiven her for her role in the tragedy; the sister who was jealous of their closeness; and the killer himself, who risks exposure if Faith's psychic ability turns out to be authentic.

The stage is set for a reluctant but inevitable seduction, a love affair held together by a fragile thread of trust, the reopening of old wounds among those whose lives were altered by the tragedy - and the reawakening of a monster who might be hiding in plain sight.

Average customer rating:

hidden riches
Need a serious laugh?
Not the usual NR great read...
Richly Rewarding
I was pleased

Hidden Riches
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0399139486

Book Description

Antiques dealer Dora Conroy and her tenant, former cop Jed Skimmerhorn, discover that the painting she purchased at auction is a magnet for an international smuggler who will stop at nothing to reclaim his hidden riches.

In this "suspenseful romance" (Kirkus Reviews), Nora Roberts unveils the intriguing world of antiques dealing-where an independent woman discovers the schemes of a ruthless killer.

"A sure winner." (Library Journal)

Download Description

In Hidden Riches, Nora Roberts unveils the intriguing world of antiques dealing, where a independent woman discovers the price of breathless desire-- and the schemes of an obsessed killer.

Customer Reviews:

hidden riches.......2007-05-14

true betrayals
High NoonAngels FallValley of Silence (The Circle Trilogy, Book 3)

Need a serious laugh?.......2006-07-11

Of all of Nora Roberts' books--and yes, I've read them all--this is my favorite. It is undoubtedly her funniest. I first read it six years ago. I loaned it to a friend who forgot to return it, so I had to buy it again. I'm on my fourth copy now, I've read it probably ten times, but I keep on loaning it out and reordering and re-reading.

The characters are lovingly developed, and the dialogue quick and genuine.

Dora, our heroine, is a gutsy gal who takes no gruff off anyone, especially her new tenant, ex-cop Jeb Skimmerhorn. They're a recipe for great romantic sparks and hot sexual tension.

This is truly Nora at her very finest. I wish she'd write another just like it. Or almost like it!

Not the usual NR great read..........2006-04-14

I love library sales where I can go and scarf up the older hardback books by my favorite authors, which by the way, Nora Roberts happens to be just that...one of my favorites. But Nora sort of let me down on this one. And there are enough reviews about this book that I don't need to go into more plot description. Let me just say the first two chapters were a total bore to me because I don't need all the fancy description of antiques and paintings and jewelry. Actually, I could care less. So I felt a lot of the pages were filled with words that could have been left out, allowing the reader to get to the heart of the story. And if that had been the case, then I think this would have been a wonderful story. HOWEVER, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Roberts created a certain style of writing from the very beginning that set her apart from the rest as a great romance writer. And to those who've read enough of her earlier romance novels, then they know exactly what I'm talking about. This book didn't come across with that great Nora Roberts style of writing to me. Guess every book with this author's name on it can't be a 5-star, but she's still doing great.

Richly Rewarding.......2006-04-03

Actually, I would give this book 4-1/2 stars. Being a Nora-addict, I spend most of my reading time enjoying her many novels. This story brought me back to the Dream Trilogy where the girls opened the shop "Pretenses." Isadora Conroy is a young lady from a family of actors who decides that while acting is in her blood and enjoyable, she much rather run her antique shop. She and her sister partake on an buying trip, puchasing, unbeknownst to them, items that are a cover-up to several extremely valuable and very expensive original antiques, including an original Monet painting. Enter Jeddiah Skimmerhorn, rich, good looking and an ex-captain of the police force who is trying to sort out his own tragic loss of his sister while on the job; this event being the cause of his resignation from the force. Jed decides to leave the mansion he was raised in and go to a no-frills, comfortable apartment way of life where he plans on being able to live the life of a hermit. Dora, happy with life and very much the extravert, happens to be the landlord of the apartment he rents and this is where our story takes off. The characters are very entertaining and the story never lets your down. Dora's family, mom, dad, sister and kids are a very enjoyable and entertaining group. There is comedy, romance, intrigue and espionage. "Hidden Riches" is certainly a story worthy of reading.

I was pleased.......2005-06-14

I enjoyed this book. I enjoy romance books, but I cant stand to have them cheesy. I like a little romantic suspense, i don't like having everything a girl wants to read about being in one book all together and having it all predictable. If that makes any sense... But this book didn't have that as much, so I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed Dora and Jeds "words" between them. Sarcastic smart-assy remarks, I really enjoyed. They made me laugh and think how real life they could be.

Average customer rating:

Forget the book... watch the movie
Well written book makes excellent listen.
The Thin Man
The Thin Man
The Thin Man

The Thin Man
Dashiell Hammett
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Hard-Boiled | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0679722637
Release Date: 1989-07-17

Amazon.com

The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett's classic tale of murder in Manhattan, became the popular movie series with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and both the movies and the novel continue to captivate new generations of fans.

Nick and Nora Charles, accompanied by their schnauzer, Asta, are lounging in their suite at the Normandie in New York City for the Christmas holiday, enjoying the prerogatives of wealth: meals delivered at any hour, theater openings, taxi rides at dawn, rubbing elbows with the gangster element in speakeasies. They should be annoyingly affected, but they charm. Mad about each other, sardonic, observant, kind to those in need, and cool in a fight, Nick and Nora are graceful together, and their home life provides a sanctuary from the rough world of gangsters, hoodlums, and police investigations into which Nick is immediately plunged.

A lawyer-friend asks Nick to help find a killer and reintroduces him to the family of Richard Wynant, a more-than-eccentric inventor who disappeared from society 10 years before. His former wife, the lush and manipulative Mimi, has remarried a European fortune hunter who turns out to be a vindictive former associate of her first husband and is bent on the ruin of Wynant's family fortune. Wynant's children, Dorothy and Gilbert, seem to have inherited the family aversion to straight talk. Dorothy, who has matured into a beautiful young woman, has a crush on Nick, and so, in a hero-worshipping way, does mama's boy Gilbert. Nick and Nora respond kindly to their neediness as Nick tries to make sense of misinformation, false identities, far-fetched alibis, and, at the center of the confusion, the mystery of The Thin Man, Richard Wynant. Is he mad? Is he a killer? Or is he really an eccentric inventor protecting his discovery from intellectual theft?

The dialogue is spare, the locales lively, and Nick, the narrator, shows us the players as they are, while giving away little of his own thoughts. No one is telling the whole truth, but Nick remains mostly patient as he doggedly tries to backtrack the lies. Hammett's New York is a cross between Damon Runyon and Scott Fitzgerald--more glamorous than real, but compelling when visited in the company of these two charmers. The lives of the rich and famous don't get any better than this! --Barbara Schlieper

Book Description

Nick and Nora Charles are Hammett's most enchanting creations, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, The Thin Man is a murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.

Customer Reviews:

Forget the book... watch the movie.......2007-08-09

If you ever saw the movie The Thin Man starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, then you already know the basic story. It's the worst part of the Depression and Nick and Nora are a fabulously wealthy couple living in San Francisco. For business reasons, they are spending Christmas in New York City where Nick was once a first-class detective. Clyde Wynant, a man that Nick once helped, is missing and his daughter Dorothy (played by Maureen O'Sullivan in the movie) asks Nick to help find him. Nick isn't anxious to get back in the detective game (although Nora wants to see him in action) but when Clyde Wynant's secretary (who is also his lover) is killed and Wynant is suspected, Nick is dragged into the investigation.

All the players are here, Mimi Jorgenson, Wynat's ex-wife who is desperately in need of money; Chris Jorgenson, Mimi's current husband; Dorothy and Gilbert Wynant, Wynant's two grown-up children; John Guild, the police detective stuck with this baffling case; Herbert MacCaulay, Wynant's lawyer; Nick Morelli the gangster and speakeasy owner; and Arthur Nunheim, the police stool pigeon and blackmailer. The problem is that none of these characters are in the least bit likable which makes it hard to care about them or even care if Wynant is found. Unlike the movie, Dorothy is a floozy who drinks too much, Mimi beats her children, and Gilbert is beyond eccentric and is simply unbelievable. And the book drags on with side steps into discussions of cannibalism, for example, that really have no point nor do they move the story along.

But the main failure of the book is in failing to do what the movie does best... make a couple of Nick and Nora. There is no Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson feel in the book. Nora mostly hangs around comforting Dorothy and keeping Mimi from smacking poor Dorothy around. When the killer is revealed and the case solved, Nora isn't even around... she's back at the hotel. Rarely is a movie better than the book it is based on (Jaws come to mind) but this is one book that is poor compared to the movie. I should add that the book has a gratuitous use of the n-word and stereotypes lesbians as man-haters which made me like the book even less. Yes, I know the book was written in the 30's but still it grates on the modern reader and probably quite a few readers even back in the 30's.

Well written book makes excellent listen........2007-07-20

A 2007 Summer reading list mini review.

I just finished listening to Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man read by William Dufris. If I had actually read it, I would certainly call it a page turner. Hammett turns a phrase with the best of them, and Dufris does an excellent job embodying the narrator: sleuth sophisticate Nick Charles and the rest of the assundry characters that populate Hammet's world.

I think listening rather than reading helped me to catch the atmosphere of this detective novel. And what atmosphere there is! There's lies and there's sex on this audiotape. There is so much drinking in this book, that I will probably wake up with a hangover, and I never touch the stuff. But besides the whiskey, there is also the wry sensibility of Nick Charles. Hammett never lets Nick lose control of the caper and that makes for an enjoyable read or listen for the audience.

The Thin Man.......2006-10-26

The Thin Man is a mystery solving the case of Julia Wolf's murder. Nick Charles, a retired detective, and his wife Nora find clues while helping a young girl named Dorothy through problems with her abusive mother and crazy suspect of a dad. As the story unfolds the situation turns out to be more complex than a single murder. There are many twists involving many characters that make the murder hard to solve.
The characters are well-developed with depth and realistic personalities. Detective Charles sarcastic wit makes him a fun character through which to sift through all the information to solve the murder.
Nevertheless the detail of information sifted through in the book can also make parts of the book a slow read. The author goes on large tangents that seem to detract from the story. For example at a party at the beginning of the book Nick is asked about cannibalism in America by a suspects child, Nick hands him a book which is then quoted at great length. Perhaps the author includes this to keep the reader guessing as to its relevance or as a device to show what people may do under extreme circumstances. Either way these side stories make the book drag at parts.
Despite being slow in certain sections the character development and the way the author highlights the relevant pieces of information to solve the mystery is satisfying. If the mystery is like walking through a forest to identify which trees are needed to guide the reader through to the far side of the forest, the author describes in detail too many of the trees. Yet, at the end, it is fun when the detective highlights and connects the facts that are part of the mystery.

The Thin Man.......2006-10-26

The Circle Trilogy: Morrigan's Cross, Dance of the Gods, Valley of Silence (Set of 3 Vampire Romance Novels)

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The Circle Trilogy: Morrigan's Cross, Dance of the Gods, Valley of Silence (Set of 3 Vampire Romance Novels)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: B000LWJX2S

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A Haunting Story
A Wonderful Novel About Friendship and Love
A Purley Charming Tale
Gil and Val Take Manhattan! back in print after many years
Love This Book

The World of Henry Orient: A Novel
Nora Johnson
Manufacturer: Green Mansion Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0971461201

Book Description

Val and Marian, two teenage school girls growing up in New York City, are misfits. Val, virtually ignored by her wealthy parents, lives at a boarding house where she is watched over by an arty but childless couple. Marian lives with her divorced mother and her mother's friend and rarely sees her father. Marian spends her afternoons eating sundaes at a local drugstore; Val disappears mysteriously each afternoon before school is let out. They don't seem to have much in common with the other girls at their school nor even with each other. Yet together they find friendship and adventure in this poignant and witty novel, as they follow the life of one mediocre pianist, and learn what it means to grow up.

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Two Manhattan schoolgirls from NYC are fans of the famous pianist Henry Orient; when he comes to town they merrily stalk him. They learn that Orient is having an affair with the mother of one.

Customer Reviews:

A Haunting Story.......2007-07-23

I first read this book about forty years ago when I was a teenage girl and I never forgot it. Nora Johnson (who I later discovered was the daughter of famed screenwriter Nunnally Johnson) really knew how to get into the heads of teenage girls, what it was like to be a misfit, discovering the magic and the perfidy of the outside world for the first time and finding, and losing, a magical best friend.

The movie was great and it had some cast including Peter Sellers and Angela Lansbury although it wasn't as good as the book IMO.

Most of the adults appear to be more clueless than the kids and certainly more destructive although there are some shining exceptions like Marion's mother. We see the world through Marion's eyes and Johnson does a fine job of making it all real for us.

The backdrop of the story is New York City, almost like another major character. The city is magical and full of surprises, but can be devastating as well.

There are a lot of little inspired moments in the book. The girls really turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. At the time, I remember wishing I had friends like this or that I was like this myself even though the book doesn't have a "happily ever after" type ending.

A Wonderful Novel About Friendship and Love.......2005-06-22

This book is one of the most intriguing romance novels I have ever read. It is about two girls who become the best of friends, and roam through the crowded city of New York, trying to escape the hostility of a normal life. In this process, the two friends become enveloped in a life of their own, in which they discover an unexceptional concert pianist named Henry Orient. The two girls find something mischievous to do practically every day of their lives, until it all comes down to the escapade of meeting their true love.
In this charming tale, two girls named Val and Marian find each other after school one day. They both go to a private, Upper East Side girls' school called Norton (Brearley). They get to know each other better and better until they become best friends (even though they are the only friends each other have).
Val's parents are always traveling for business, so Val lives with a couple who never had any children. They enjoy Val's presence. Marian lives with her divorced mother and Boothy, her mother's friend. The two women love Val and Marian and are there as great sources of advice every step of the two girls' lives.
As the story progresses, Val and Marian find Henry Orient, who they both become interested in. Val especially loves him. They find everything they can about this pianist until it all comes down to one ghastly night, in which the girls' hopes are broken, their less-than-average teenage lives are torn, and Val's mother finds a terrible way to separate the two friends forever.
I highly recommend this book because it is funny, mysterious, and thrilling. If you read this book, you are bound to have your own wonderful adventures about growing up, love, and the delicate pleasure of friendship.

A Purley Charming Tale.......2004-04-17

The World of Henry Orient is an amazing stories, and what suprised me most after reading it was that the girls were actualy like preteen girls, they're emotions were dead on, their thought processes and the way marion handled val was exactly like a concerned girl would do. This is a charming tale about two girls learning what its like to grow up and i recomend it to anyone who's willing to experience that. This book incorporates charm, humor and even heartwrenching pain to make a great read.

Gil and Val Take Manhattan! back in print after many years.......2002-09-07

Nora Johnson's The World of Henry Orient, first published in 1958 and now happily back in print, is a warm and amusing look at the lives of two New York girls, Marian "Gil" Gilbert and Valerie "Val" Boyd. Their escapades transport them from being dull schoolgirls in uniforms to young adults taking control of Manhattan (or trying to).

Val and Gil become friends at an age when conforming is all important, and they are outside the magic circle until they find each other. They are just old enough to have some independence, to play at being grownups, with the city as their playground. At a Carnegie Hall concert, they see a pianist named Henry Orient, and they become fascinated with him. Henry Orient becomes the focus of their lives. They follow him around Manhattan, observing his routine, his "world," unaware at first that they are observing the pianist bound up in a snarl of romantic liaisons.

Val and Gil learn a lot about themselves in the course of their adventures, discovering a world that offers them much more than the activities of Henry Orient.

Love This Book.......2002-09-06

The World of Henry Orient is one of the best books I have ever read. Val and Marian, two misfits living in New York City, form a truly touching friendship with each other. The story is well written, and I like the characters, especially Boothy. I can relate well to the whole book, and I think it is wonderful. Preteens, teens, and adults alike will find it an amazing book, one that they will never forget. I reccommend it to all.

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Pearl Buck, a Woman in Conflict
Nora Stirling
Manufacturer: New Win Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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