Book Description
Impoverished Philadelphia heiress Nora Blackbird has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jersey's most notorious mobster, leaving the city's bluebloods in shock. Then Nora and her sisters get some ominous news-Sweet Penny Devine, ex-Hollywood starlet and daughter of the Philadelphia Devines, has mysteriously disappeared. Even stranger, her family wants her declared dead pronto. Could someone have plotted her final act? Now it's up to the Blackbird sisters to snoop among the snooty-until they uncover the truth.
Customer Reviews:
Nancy Martin and the Blackbird Sisters.......2007-09-12
This book was a great book in this series. I loved reading it and can not wait for the next book.
Easy Read.......2007-08-14
I enjoy the Blackbird sister books - they're an easy, fast read when I don't want to think to hard about what I'm reading. I would recommend them to anyone, but would caution you to read them in order.
Always entertaining.......2007-06-27
Great writer, great story. The relationships are so interesting, always dynamic and intertwined. Love this author's point of view. The mystery was a good one too.
Fun.......2007-06-11
All of Nancy Martin's books are fun, fast and easy reads. They are entertaining, will make you laugh, and great summer books for relaxing. It is enjoyable to try to figure out Who Done It. Great characters.
Enjoy!
A Crazy Little Thing Called Death.......2007-06-08
Love all of Nancy Martin books and this one was great
Book Description
This brief, inexpensive text helps students think critically, using examples from the weird claims and beliefs that abound in our culture to demonstrate the sound evaluation of any claim. The authors focus on types of logical arguments and proofs, making How to Think about Weird Things a versatile supplement for logic, critical thinking, philosophy of science, or any other science appreciation courses.
Customer Reviews:
Don't waste your money.......2007-08-13
This book isn't so much about developing better thinking skills as it is a collection of the authors' opinions presented as science. It can help you practice your ability to locate logical fallacies in arguments, since almost every argument in the book contains at least one. My favorite is the voodoo-math that they use to explain apparent pre-cognition as the result of statistical probability. The first half of the formula that they present relies on the notion that the average person knows a very large number of people who are all, for some reason, dying off at a rate faster than one person every four days. The second half of the formula is omitted entirely, and they instead skip directly to their conclusion. I think that the authors were relying on the intimidation that some people feel when faced with a series of big numbers to keep anyone from analyzing their absurd argument.
The authors also frequently use straw man arguments and several variations of the argument from intimidation in an attempt to reinforce their opinions as facts. If you are really interested in developing your thinking skills, then checking out de Bono's books and The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools would be a good start. There are many great books on the topic, and there's also lots of good information for free online.
Quick Turnaround.......2007-06-12
Received product just over 24 hours from ordering. Was worried about overnight delivery accuracy, but was pleased to receive order on time, as promised.
Classic.......2007-02-04
This book is extraordinarily well-written. It covers much, and covers it well. Not only is it a good primer on skepticism and critical thinking, it should definately be required reading for all "postmodernists." Filled with endless examples and clever arguments, this book is a gold mine for anyone teaching a class on critical thinking or even general science.
Think About a Different Book on Critical Thinking.......2007-01-23
Several other reviewers have made comments to the effect that this book is a bit lame. I agree but instead of regurgitating their complaints I'll specify a few of my own.
Thomas Kuhn, which the authors talk about on pages 83-86, is listed as a hard-core relativist. Even if one limits oneself to reading Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions this claim about him cannot be supported. While it is true that Kuhn's work spawned consonance from many such people that shouldn't be too surprising since Kuhn's book is a work of philosophy/literature and not science. Literature, of any sort, is particularly ripe for such abuse. On page 86 the authors say, "We can even say that people with different conceptual schemes experience the world in different ways". That, in a nutshell, is Kuhn's main point - and to make him out to be an Absolutist Relativist is simply not useful.
In discussing the Availability Error (pp 140-144) in confirmation bias the authors use the example of Madey & Gilovich's study using the reading of a faked diary of prophetic dreams. "When subjects were asked to remember as many of the dreams as possible, they remembered many more of the dreams that were fulfilled than those that were not". What they failed to account for is the fact that dreams that 'came true' were in fact mentioned in the diary twice and the ones that did not 'come true' were mentioned only once. So that of course the students remembered 'true' dreams more often; since not only is there the "wow" factor involved in prophetic accounts coming 'true' but by repeating a story using different verbiage the effect on ones memory is more than twice as much. This mnemonic effect is why professional journal articles have an Abstract, Body and Conclusion.
The authors do a disservice to Intelligent Design by inserting it into the discussion on Creationism (pp 189-191) and then misunderstanding it to boot. There is no indication in the text that we've switched topics - in fact, it seems that instead of re-writing the chapter to deal with the new threat of ID the authors merely lumped in some opinions on the subject. This has the unfortunate effect of disrupting the flow of the text.
The authors also seem to misunderstand Michael Behe's contention (cf Darwin's Black Box) that certain biochemical processes are irreducibly complex. Most biologists, we are told, reject Behe's argument that "the parts of an irreducibly complex system could not have evolved independently of that system". The authors commit the logical fallacy of Equivocation (see p 300 in their book) because by definition any process that is irreducibly complex cannot be built up through time given functional Independence of it parts. If the authors really want to go head to head with the Intelligent Design ideas they should tear into Icons of Evolution - the book that does the most damage to Darwinians IMHO.
Really, almost any other book on logic/critical thinking is better than this one. Stick with Copi's _Introduction to Logic_ (if it's still in print) and you'll be able to think circles around any weirdness you might encounter.
Poor Critical Thinking Skills.......2006-01-07
This book can be savaged by the very critical thinking skills it proposes to teach. The authors insist that a proposition be accurately defined. But rarely attempt to accurately define the concepts they use as examples. They devote a great deal of space to explaining the weakness of individual perception and memory, then insist that reality can only be that which one percieves. One of my greatest criticisms is regular reference to the work of Hyman. Any good skeptic is skeptical of the work of a professional debunker. Hyman is well known for debunking any scientific effort for one might wish to discredit. Thus their regular dependence on Hyman damages their already questionable veracity.
I forced myself to the last chapter, a chapter the authors claim to be example applications of their proposals. I felt they did a poor job of debunking homeopathic medicine, but when they abrubtly dismissed "water witching" because the working hypothesis they defined was faulty, without any discussion of scientific studies or in fact any discussion of the past success or lack thereof, of "witching", I just closed the book and set it on the shelf. It will be in the next batch I trade at the used bookstore.
In conclusion, the authors are sloppy, prejudiced, deceitful, and not particularly good writers. Their position damages science by furthering the cause of those who would call science a "religion" and even worse, but promoting the ideology of the closed, bolted, and sealed mind.
Science has come a long way since Newton first published. The authors seem unaware of this fact.
Average customer rating:
- A different kind of fairy tale that will make you think.....
- Lose Yourself in The book of Lost Things
- A Creepy Adult Fairy Tale
- One of the best books ever.
- Faulted beginning and antagonist, but delightfully dark and twisted with meaningful themes. Hard to put down. Highly recommended
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The Book of Lost Things: A Novel
John Connolly
Manufacturer: Atria
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ASIN: 0743298853 |
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author John Connolly's unique imagination takes readers through the end of innocence into adulthood and beyond in this dark and triumphantly creative novel of grief and loss, loyalty and love, and the redemptive power of stories.
High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book... The Book of Lost Things.
An imaginative tribute to the journey we must all make through the loss of innocence into adulthood, John Connolly's latest novel is a book for every adult who can recall the moment when childhood began to fade, and for every adult about to face that moment. The Book of Lost Things is a story of hope for all who have lost, and for all who have yet to lose. It is an exhilarating tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.
Customer Reviews:
A different kind of fairy tale that will make you think............2007-10-03
This story grabbed me from the start and pulled me in to the fantasy world. Is it real, fantasy, or a figment of a boys imagination? The story makes you wonder throughout each page you read. The remaking of old fairy tales we have all grown up with puts a interesting twist to the world the boy travels through trying to get back home. Is it real, or just his imagination? An amazing story all the way to the end! I highly recommend this book, that you won't want to put down until your done!!
Lose Yourself in The book of Lost Things.......2007-09-30
David has been buried in his books since his mother's death. His father remarries and he and David move into the new wife's home. Typical story? Not this time. This story is written as a fairy tale, complete with a moral.
Feeling like a stranger in his new home, David eventually begins to hear his beloved books calling to him. One day, the Crooked Man, a sinister fiend with ghastly intentions appears in his room. The adventure begins!
One lonely night, David wanders into the backyard to the sunken garden, just as a World War II plane crashes nearby. Lured by his ddeceased mother's voice, he squeezes between the rocks in the garden, escaping his loneliness into a mythical land, one in which the stories in his treasured books intertwine. In order to escape this dangerous and frightening foreign land, David must learn the value of a selfless heart.
This is a tender story, with excellent and heart-warming characters and vivid settings. This book reminds me of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but it retains its own flavor, style, and identity.
A Creepy Adult Fairy Tale.......2007-09-21
Much like last year's cinematic masterpiece, "Pan's Labyrinth", John Connolly's novel is an eerie return to a fairy tale world that we all knew deep down as kids was meant to be much darker than the Disneyfication of these classics would lead us to believe. It revolves around the tale of David, who has recently lost his mother and finds his father remarried, a situation he is none too happy about. Soon, the young bibliophile immerses himself in the world of books, only to find that he can hear them speaking to him. More unsettling, however, is the appearance of the Crooked Man, who suddenly appears in David's room from another world. When shortly thereafter David finds himself trapped in this "Elsewhere", he must go on a Dorothy-like quest to see the king and seek out a Book of Lost Things, which he hopes to hold the key to his return home.
Some reviewers incorrectly accuse the author of "stealing" ideas or plots from "Wizard of Oz", Gregory Macguire, "Pan's Labyrinth", or the many tales that Connolly is playing around with, such as Rumplestiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Bambi, and Snow White. He is not stealing, however. The whole book is instead purposefully revisiting these tales and revealing their darker realities that lurk around inside them. Furthermore, the talented Macguire was not the first one to take an old tale and turn it on its ear.
The quest that David takes in the book is filled with encounters with strangely familiar characters and tales, yet Connolly's characters are not simply "fractured" versions of the ones we know. They are fully developed people whose motivations are realistic. The book's tone , while sometimes playful, is usually quite scary and we empathize with David as he must make his way through this frightening world towards adulthood. Most memorably in the novel is the Crooked Man, a villain in my mind that is equal to the likes of Hannibal Lecter, in his long-lasting and powerful effect he on the reader.
Although I have never read anything else by this author, |I can truly say that this is one of the best books I've had the pleasure to read this year.
One of the best books ever........2007-09-12
Beautiful, sad, suspenseful, perfect. I was so incredibly moved by the end that every time I think of it, my eyes well up with tears. I hope John Connolly will write more in this genre.
Faulted beginning and antagonist, but delightfully dark and twisted with meaningful themes. Hard to put down. Highly recommended.......2007-09-11
Not long before the start of World War II, a boy named David loses his mother. David has always been an avid reader, but now his books begin to speak; his father remarries, his step-brother is born, and the war begins. Suddenly, David is pulled into a new world--the world that lives in his fairy tales, only darker and more dangerous. With his way back to our world blocked by the Crooked Man, David must journey through this new world to find a way back home--and he must become a man. Although this book begins slowly and unsteadily, it soon builds up into a twisted story that is hard to put down. Thrilling, frightening, and imaginative, this is a fairy tale for adults and a unique coming of age story. Despite its faults, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
The Book of Lost Things begins slowly. The language is clunky, thick with adverbs and one-sentence leading paragraphs. The characters are predictable, especially that of the immature child David who, however realistic or compassionate, is neither admirable or interesting. However, as the book sweeps into the land of fantasy, the plot becomes richer and more exciting and the David's character becomes immediately more complex. From this point on, the book is both good and engrossing. Be prepared to stick through the slow beginning--it is worth it.
The other faults of the book are some failed attempt at satire and, perhaps most disappointing, an antagonist that is evil simply for the sake of being evil. However twisted (and often, detailed) the plans, malice, and sins of the Crooked Man, the lack of justification or complication to his evil nature makes him less interesting. It contrasts with the exceedingly complex nature of the rest of the fantasy world. The more you know about him, the less frightening he becomes. Thankfully, the book's climax is still skillful and scary, but the major antagonist is neither.
The fairy tale world of The Book of Lost Things is corrupted, twisted, and almost gratuitously violent, making this an fairy tale that is very much intended for adults despite the young protagonist. These themes also create the book's intense, dark atmosphere, and so make it a compelling, thrilling read. Connolly sustains tension throughout the book, and there are authentically frightening parts. In many ways the stories setting, themes, and atmosphere resemble that of the film Pan's Labyrinth: the fantasy world becomes a realm for David to tackle his own issues of jealousy, loneliness, and fear in the face of his changing family and changing world. The fantasy world, however, holds real consequences and often violence and death, and by the end of the book the reader is not sure how much of the world is real--and how much is David's own creation. This makes for a book that remains actively engrossing, and build a truly unique coming of age story. I may not agree with all of the conclusions on the themes, I don't much care for the antagonist, but this book is still wonderfully written. It is just twisted enough to give me shivers, the plot is steadily paced and the action makes it hard to put the book down, and David's own character growth brings the book to a complex and meaningful climax. This book is faulted, but nonetheless I greatly enjoyed it and I highly recommend it to all mature readers.
Book Description
Hank Thompson is living off the map in Mexico with a bagful of cash that the Russian mafia wants back and many, many secrets. So when a Russian backpacker shows up in town asking questions, Hank tries to play it cool. But he knows the jig is up when the backpacker mentions the money . . . and the family Hank left behind. Suddenly Hank’s in a desperate race to get to his parents in California before anyone can harm them. Along the way he’ll face Federales and Border Patrol, mafiosi and vigilantes, extortionists and drug dealers, and a couple of psychotic surf bums with an ax to grind. From the golden beaches of the Yucatán to the seedy strip clubs of Vegas, Charlie Huston opens a door to the squalid underworld of crime and corruption–and invites the reader to live it in the extreme.
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Part one
December 4–11, 2003
Four Regular Season Games Remaining
I’m sitting on the porch of a bungalow on the Yucatán Peninsula with lit cigarettes sticking out of both my ears.
I like to go swimming in the mornings. When I first came to Mexico I liked to go drinking in the mornings, but after I got over that I took up swimming and I discovered something. I have unusually narrow ear canals. Go figure. I discovered this while I was trying to sober up, paddling around in the lukewarm morning waters, and found that my ears were clogged. I tilted my head from side to side and banged on my skull, trying to dislodge the water, but no luck. I plugged my nose, clamped my mouth shut, and blew until it felt like my brain might pop out of my ass. No good. I crammed Q-tips up my ears, prodding at the blockage. That’s when things got really bad. For a few days I walked around half-deaf, feeling like my entire head was packed with waterlogged cotton. Then I went to a doctor. I have a habit of saving doctors for a last resort.
Dr. Sanchez looked in my ears and informed me of the tragic news: unusually narrow ear canals. The water was trapped deep inside and my irresponsible Q-tip use had sealed it in with earwax. He loaded a syringe the size of a beer can with warm mineral water and injected it into my ears until the pressure dislodged the massive clogs of wax and washed them into the small plastic basins I held just below my ears. He gave me drops. He told me never to stick anything in my ear other than my elbow, and laughed at his own joke. He nodded sagely and told me the solution to my problem was quite simple: When my ears became clogged, I must stick a cigarette into each one and light them. The cigarettes, that is. Then he handed me a pack of Benson & Hedges, told me they were his preferred brand for the task, and charged me a thousand pesos.
So. I am sitting on the porch of a bungalow on the Yucatán Peninsula with lit cigarettes sticking out of both my ears. The cigarettes burn and create a vacuum in my ears, sucking the moisture into the filters. I have a towel draped over each shoulder to catch the hot ash as it falls. I’ve been doing this a couple days a week for years and it always works. Of course, I do now smoke two packs of Benson & Hedges a day, but there’s a downside to everything in life.
The sun has dipped far in the sky behind my back and the reds of the sunset are reflected in the perfect blue sea before me. A soft breeze is caressing my skin and I adjust my sarong so that it can waft higher on my legs. The heat of the cigarettes has become intense. I reach up and pinch them out of my ears, careful not to squeeze so hard that the waxy fluid trapped in the filters leaks out. I dump them into an ashtray near my feet, slip the towels off my shoulders, stand up, and start walking toward the water. The beach is pretty much abandoned. A ways off to my right I can see a small group of local boys covered head to toe in sand, kicking a soccer ball around on their homemade field. In the opposite direction, the silhouette of a pair of lovers kissing. When my feet hit the wet strip of sand near the water’s edge I give my sarong a tug. It falls to the ground, leaving me naked, and I walk down into the gently lapping waves. The beach slopes away so shallowly that I can walk upright in the water for almost fifty yards before it will cover my head. I walk in the water with the sun sinking behind me, hearing the soft slap of the tiny waves quite clearly in my unclogged ears. I’ll probably have to do it all over again when I get out, twisting the cigarettes into my ears, lighting them, and waiting patiently while they burn down, but it will be worth it. I want to take one last swim today. I’m going home tomorrow and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to come back here.
Machine guns wake me up in the morning,
Customer Reviews:
Superb continuation of the Hank Thompson series.......2007-09-27
When last we saw Hank In Caught Stealing: A Novel, he was on the run from the Russian gangsters chasing him in a desperate search for $4+ million. Hank ends up in Mexico, and that's where we start this book.
One thing I can definitely say about the entire Hank Thompson trilogy(which ends with A Dangerous Man: A Novel) is that is incredibly violent at the same time that it is humorous. The action here is much as it is in the first book. Hank began the trilogy as a guy who pretty much had a crappy life but who hadn't really actively set out to cause damage to anyone else (although he was involved in an accident where his best friend was killed pretty horrifically); he became a killer extraordinaire. Of course, he became that kind of man because of the loss of people he loved in the course of the first novel, but regardless--he's a killer.
In this novel, the killing continues. Boy, does it continue. Hank's whole life is defined by violence. Violence he does to others. Violence done to him. No one escapes unscathed. It's a miracle that Hank's still standing at the end of this one; by rights, he should be long dead. He's got enough people hunting him down to be on VERY borrowed time.
Strengths of this installment in the trilogy:
1) Hank himself. He's deluded, removed, always one step away from exploding in a frenzy of violence and grief. He loves people (his mom and dad, his partner in a Mexican enterprise) and his cat; he trusts few people and when he feels he's been betrayed, he does explode in lethal ways. It's amazing to me that I can actually like him at the same time that he disgusts me with his violence, with his approach to things.
2) Other characters are equally strong (his friends, his pursuers).
3) The dialogue is witty and very real. Huston has a way of meting out the words that his characters use. Some of those characters speak in fragments, clearly showing the reader the level of frustration/confusion/doubt the character is experiencing. Huston just has a gift for this. Once I got used to the way he crafted his dialogues, I really enjoyed it. It's not for everyone though; I imagine some readers will struggle the first time they get to a dialogue separated only with dashes and not with any immediately-clear indication of who's speaking.
4) The incredibly quick and almost startling action and violence.
For me, there aren't any real weaknesses that don't have to do with the protagonist himself. Hank is flawed, a bit nuts, homicidal (what made him this way isn't much of an excuse, in the end), funny, exasperating, and clearly in need of a few decades worth of therapy.
Read this series; I think you'll really enjoy it.
Hard Core Noir.......2007-09-05
The quotes splashed all over the outside of this novel were dead on. What was missing was any mention of it being the second in a series, so be warned and read "Caught Stealing" first. I wish I had.
Hank Thompson has the worst luck ever. His involvement in a bloodbath in New York has him hiding out in the Yucatan with the $4 ½ million he stole from the Russian mob. Life is good, except for the nightmares and the fact that the Miami Dolphins suck. He spends his days chatting with his new partner Pedro at their bar on the beach, otherwise whiling away the time in his bungalow, smoking cigarettes, and swimming in the Caribbean Sea at night. Then one day, a backpacker with a Russian accent shows up and hangs around, eventually mentioning the stolen millions and threatening Hank's parents. Hank's idyll on the beach is over, and it's time to go back to the States and save his parents, who have already been through enough because of him.
Of course, absolutely nothing goes right and a few new enemies come popping out of the woodwork. Not only is Hank famous with a cult following, everyone who recognizes him wants a chunk of the money. Hank is hanging around some very bad people, and he himself is no choirboy, not afraid to kill the people who get in his way, though it's not always so easily done. Readers who dislike violence should stay away, as the last portion of the book gets pretty bloody. There isn't a lot of joy to be found between its pages, either, but nobody reads noir for the happy endings.
Despite the things he's done, Hank is a likeable guy who tries to protect the innocent. It just so happens his associates, friend and foe, are a volatile lot so anyone who gets too close to Hank gets pulled right into the fray. There is some subtle humor woven in among the violence. Hank's football rants are hilarious, and I don't even like football. The story that unfolds twists and turns, and kept me gripped in its bloody fist. I had to read this powerful book slowly so as not to let it devour me in its blackness. For some real gritty, dark noir, Charlie Huston is a sure bet.
Excellent Read!.......2007-06-29
Picks up where "Caught Stealing" left off. Charlie is still trying to get out of the trouble caused by the load of cash he "happened in to." I could definitely see this made into a movie...it's that captivating. The story never leaves you bored, disinterested, or hurrying up to finish. I savored the book, beginning to end. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because of the way it ends. The ending left me with a feeling of dread and hoping I'm wrong about the third and last installment about Charlie's life.
The Game Continues.......2007-05-24
This second novel in the saga of Hank Thompson is the best of the three. Of course, the entire book is about how some bad guys relentlessly pursue Thompson for his accidentally gotten millions, when all he wants to do is protect his parents. The author is incredibly adept at springing surprise after surprise and at developing his characters -- and what characters they are! Huston is one of the most clever and appealing popular authors out there today. Looking forward to his future books with great anticipation.
A good follow-up to Caught Stealing.......2007-04-11
A few weeks ago I read Charlie Huston's book Caught Stealing. It's a Hitchcockian romp through New York City, a cheerful little tale with a jumbo body count and loads of gory details, right down to a guy who tortures a house cat. At the end of that novel (plot spoiler ahead) the main character narrator, Hank Thompson, flees to Mexico with $4.5 million of the Russian mob's money. In Six Bad Things, Hank's living on a beach in Mexico, silent partner in a bar, whiling away the days swimming in the ocean, getting tattoos, and trying to forget everyone he killed in New York City. When a Russian tourist shows up, Hank finds out you can't run or hide forever, and the fun begins.
This is one of those roller-coaster novels that starts and never really stops. Dead people, shoot-outs, fights, killer dogs, drugged-out hookers, and locales from Mexico to upstate California to Las Vegas, all figure in the story line. If there's a flaw, it's that it's the second book in what apparently is a trilogy. You really should read Caught Stealing before you read this one. I would be in favor of them re-releasing this series in a single volume. The author's style, pacing, and narrative would probably work well in this format.
All of that being said, if you've read Caught Stealing, you want this book too. If you haven't read Caught Stealing yet, go and get it, and then afterwards read this. It's definitely worth it.
Book Description
Two little girls banished from a neighborhood birthday party take a wrong turn down an unfamiliar Baltimore street—and encounter an abandoned stroller with an infant inside. What happens next is shocking and terrible, and three families are irreparably destroyed.
Seven years later, Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller, now eighteen, are released from "kid prison" to begin their lives over again. But the secrets swirling around the original crime continue to haunt the parents, the lawyers, the police—all the adults in Alice and Ronnie's lives. And now another child has disappeared, under freakishly similar circumstances ...
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"
When two little girls find an abandoned baby, good intentions go awry and three families are ruined. Now, seven years later, another child is missing and rookie homicide detective Nancy Porter must uncover the truth in a world where no one is innocent -- not even the children.
Since her debut in 1997, Laura Lippman has won virtually every major prize in the mystery-writing field and earned the highest critical praise for her Tess Monaghan series, which has been called ""spectacular"" (New York Times), ""terrific fun"" (Washington Post), ""a delight"" (Baltimore Sun), and ""the best mystery writing around"" (Village Voice). Now Lippman steps outside her series to deliver her darkest, most troubling tale -- and vaults into the crime-fiction elite with a haunting story of murder, fate's accidents, and the stories we tell ourselves when we try to make sense of the unthinkable. On a July afternoon two little girls, banished from a birthday party, take a wrong turn onto an unfamiliar Baltimore street -- and encounter an abandoned stroller with a baby inside it. Dutiful Alice Manning and unpredictable Ronnie Fuller only want to be helpful, to be good. People like children who are good, Alice thinks. But whatever the girls' real intentions, things go horribly awry and three families are destroyed. Seven years later Alice and Ronnie are heading home again -- only separately this time, their fragile bond long shattered, their secrets still closely kept. Advised to avoid each other, they enter a world where they essentially have no past. In exchange, they are promised a fresh start, the chance to mold their own future. That promise is broken when a child disappears, under disturbingly similar circumstances. And the adults in Alice's and Ronnie's lives -- the parents, the lawyers, the police -- realize that they must now confront the shattering truths they couldn't face seven years earlier. Or another mother will lose her child.
Customer Reviews:
I could see it coming.......2007-09-30
I could see something wrong with the setup from the start of the novel so maybe that soured it a bit for me. There were a few twists with the Mom, but Alice was too good. Some good twists at the end, but the storyline wasn't that interesting to me with the racist thing going on, in your face, spelling out who's this color, who's that color, who's mixed, defining everyone rich, poor, shoving them into a socioeconomic class as if that makes the book more interesting. For me, it didn't. I was so disappointed because this author's mysteries were highly recommended. If I hadn't been in the emergency room waiting for someone and with nothing to do but read, I am not certain I'd have finished EVERY SECRET THING at all. But I am glad I did, just not delighted with the journey.
Great read.......2007-07-17
This was the first book I read by this author. I found it to be a very good read and read it quickly. Plot was good and characters were well defined. Some parts were a little slow. It did jump around a lot to all the different characters but author did a good job with that.
Overall I would recommend this book and will read more from this author
Very Well Done Psychological Drama.......2007-02-25
I read a lot of thrillers, and I thought EVERY SECRET THING was very well done. This is not a fast paced thriller, but is instead more of a psychological drama. There are a fair number of characters in this novel, and Lippman takes a lot of time exploring the psyche of each individual person. To her credit, Lippman is able to flesh out all the major characters and make them seem believable. If you like character-based crime novels in the vein of MYSTIC RIVER, this is a good choice.
This type of novel isn't for everybody though. EVERY SECRET THING has a very dark tone, and Lippman does not write about perfect, heroic characters. Nearly all the major players in this book are flawed and self-absorbed at some level. Some of them are downright annoying. Of course, you could say the same thing about most people in real life. Nevertheless, Lippman is able to make all of these flawed characters sympathetic for the most part, which kept me turning the pages.
My only quibble with EVERY SECRET THING is the ending. There is a big twist near the end of this book that struck me as rather forced and laborious. I can't say much more about it without giving away the storyline, but I felt the ending didn't live up to the high quality of what preceded it. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I don't think every thriller novel requires a huge twist at the end.
This novel got a lot of attention and won the Anthony and Barry awards for best novel. I think it deserved those awards. I have read only one other Lippman book, her debut BALTIMORE BLUES, and I must admit I found it pretty disappointing. My understanding is that Lippman has grown as a writer over the last ten years and her best books are her most recent. So if you've never read Lippman before, EVERY SECRET THING is probably a good place to start.
A Spine-Tingling, very different sort of Thriller.......2006-11-16
This is a super-entertaining, unorthodox crime thriller. Unafraid to pursue a plot line that a lot of people would object to (the murder of a three year old by two 11-year-old girls), Lippman not only starts out with a tantalyzing plot device, but keeps things moving well. The result is a novel that is both entertaining for its twists, but its characters as well, for the people that inhabit it are well-drawn. It's a thrill ride that offers a quick read because it's definitely a high-octane page-turner. Don't be fooled though; there's real substance here.
excellent.......2006-08-15
Very satisfied with my purchase. Will do business with this seller again. Thanks, Marilyn.
Book Description
It's a tough job separating truth from urban legend, but the MythBusters are here to serve. For example, is it true that if you step in quicksand , you'll be sucked down to your death? Only two men would be inventive - and adventurous - enough to try to find out: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the MythBusters. Each week, hosts Savage and Hyneman, both special effects experts, use modern science to put another three urban legends to the test on their popular TV show. In this book, you'll learn how they either "busted" or confirmed fifteen myths on their show, often with spectacular results. Here are just some of the urban legends in this book:
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Did a Ming Dynasty astronaut launch himself into space with a rocket?
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Can a swallowed octopus egg grow to full size inside a person's stomach?
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Is the daddy longlegs the world's most venomous spider?
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Will a sinking ship suck you down?
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How many balloons are needed to lift a small child off the ground?
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Does a duck's quack echo?
Mythbusters: Don't Try This at Home! gets to the bottom of these urban legends and more, and it lets you do your own mythbusting with fun experiments you can do safely at home.
Customer Reviews:
Not so good.......2007-06-10
I had ordered this book for a 17 year old. However, when I received it, I realized it was geared more for an 8 year old - very elementary.
Kids love it .......2007-05-24
My kids really love the show and the books.
I have two boys aged 10 and 14.
Meant for youngsters.......2007-02-16
I gave this to my rocket-scientist brother but it was my 4th grade nephew who ran off with the book. I would say that it is really designed for middle-school students? The nephew liked it.
Makes a great gift when enclosed with two dozen bottles of Diet Coke and six rolls of Mentos!
Nice gift item.......2007-01-16
I bought this for my husband who enjoys the show and loves to read. He has enjoyed it a great deal. Even our 6 year old likes to read the different myth busters.
Kids Love It!.......2007-01-09
I purchased this book for my 4 boys this Christmas and they really love it! We watch MythBusters every week on Discovery Channel and this book is a great in reviewing what was shown on TV. We have the first book that was released and this book is an excellent addition. Very easy to read and lots of pictures. Its perfect for all ages!
Average customer rating:
- A dark, hard hitting, yet thoughtful thriller
- This one will hook you.
- Dark and Grisly!!
- Hmmm....
- Chaotic and satisfying-- three-and-a-half stars
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Every Dead Thing
John Connolly
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ASIN: 067102731X |
Amazon.com
It's a good idea to avoid reading John Connolly's debut novel on a full stomach. His descriptions of mutilated murder victims give him honorary membership in the gore wars club. Every Dead Thing is a fast-paced piece of fiction from an author whose regular stomping ground is as a journalist for the Irish Times.
NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker was busy boozing at Tom's Oak Tavern when his wife Susan, and young daughter Jennifer were mutilated by a killer called the Traveling Man. Consumed by guilt and alcoholism, Charlie soon lost his job, and almost his sanity. Several months on he is sober and ready to get his life back in order. Charlie takes up private investigating. One of his first cases involves the disappearance of a woman called Catherine Demeter. At first this puzzle seems unrelated to the Traveling Man--but Charlie has a gut feeling that the slayer is pulling the strings. "I dreamed of Catherine Demeter surrounded by darkness and flames and the bones of dead children. And I knew then that some terrible blackness had descended upon her."
The search for Catherine takes Charlie on a whirlwind tour of the South. First to the small Virginian town of Haven, where, some 30 years before, Catherine's sister Amy was murdered, along with other local children. But the trail turns cold--until a tip from a psychic leads Charlie to the swamplands of Louisiana. The subplots of Catherine's disappearance, age-old child murders, and the slaying of the Parker family finally unite in the hot, humid terrain. A showdown with the Traveling Man is inevitable.
Every Dead Thing is classic American crime fiction, and it's hard to believe that John Connolly was born and raised on the Emerald Isle. --Naomi Gesinger
Book Description
Hailed internationally as a page-turner in a league with the fiction of Thomas Harris, this lyrical and terrifying bestseller is the stunning achievement of an "extravagantly gifted" (Kirkus Reviews) new novelist. John Connolly superbly taps into the tortured mind and gritty world of former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker, tormented by the brutal, unsolved murders of his wife and young daughter. Driven by visions of the dead, Parker tracks a serial killer from New York City to the American South, and finds his buried instincts -- for love, survival, and, ultimately, for killing -- awakening as he confronts a monster beyond imagining...
Customer Reviews:
A dark, hard hitting, yet thoughtful thriller.......2007-06-06
These days, it seems as if any book featuring a serial killer is inevitably compared to Thomas Harris's Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs. Indeed, this is exactly what has happened to John Connolly's Every Dead Thing. Kirkus Reviews says, "Irish journalist Connolly's first novel is an ambitious, grisly, monstrously overextended foray...deep into Hannibal Lecter territory." Publishing News ran an article called "In the Steps of Hannibal..." subtitled, "Lecter, that is." Although meant as compliments, I think comments like these unjustly pigeonhole this riveting novel. While Connolly certainly owes something to Harris, he also owes a considerable debt to other genre authors. Connolly adopts tropes and techniques from these authors, successfully blending these elements to create a unique, satisfying tale of his own.
Several months prior to the main action of Every Dead Thing, NYPD Detective Charlie "Bird" Parker makes a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Fresh from an argument with his wife, Susan, he storms out of the house and heads for a local bar, determined to tie one on. Returning home several hours later, Parker makes a grisly discovery -- Susan and his three-year-old daughter Jennifer have been murdered, their faces removed, their mutilated bodies arranged in a position that Parker later discovers is meant to mimic Estienne's Pieta. Grief stricken, Parker vows vengeance on their killer.
Parker leaves the force to investigate the murders full time. Months later, however, he is no closer to solving the crime. In fact, the only clue he has to the killer's identity is one provided by Tante Marie Aguillard, a New Orleans mystic who tells him the killer, whom she calls the Traveling Man, has struck before, and has buried a previous victim in the bayou near her home. Parker isn't quite sure why he believes her, but is certain she's telling the truth.
The frustrated Parker is thus almost grateful for the distraction provided by a missing person's case fed to him by old police friend Walter Cole. Parker's search for Catherine Demeter, the missing girlfriend of a wealthy Manhattan socialite, leads him to the ironically named small town of Haven, Virginia, where his outsider status and insistent questions open wounds long thought closed. Parker solves the case, but only at the cost of great damage to his person and his psyche. Unknown to him at the time, however, he indirectly moves closer to his ultimate goal -- although the connections between the two cases are tenuous, this seemingly unrelated investigation is only the beginning of a tortuous chain of events that will eventually lead him to the Traveling Man. Their final, brutal confrontation is surprising and terrifying -- Connolly keeps readers guessing until the very end, stretching nerves to their breaking point.
The first half of the novel evokes both Ross MacDonald and Andrew Vachss, as Parker uncovers secrets that lead to the discovery of a child killer thought dead for over three decades. The second half strays into territory mined successfully by James Lee Burke, as Parker travels to New Orleans for his final confrontation with the Traveling Man. Connolly pays homage to the genre in other ways as well. In the hard-boiled tradition, Parker is sullen, often depressed, but, even so, is always ready with a witty comeback. In a nod to Robert B. Parker, and maybe to Joe Lansdale, Parker's current flame is a criminal psychologist, his closest allies two tough, black gay men.
Connolly even goes so far as to name certain characters after genre authors. Of course, there's Charlie Parker, perhaps named for Robert B. Parker or Richard Stark's famous thief. There's also police officer Gerald Kersh, FBI agents Woolrich and Ross, and supporting characters Emo Ellison, Evan Baines, and Gunther Bloch.
It's been reported that Simon & Schuster paid a considerable sum for the U.S. rights to Every Dead Thing. To my mind, it's money well spent. Connolly has written a dark, hard-hitting, yet thoughtful thriller, one that advances the genre even as it nods respectfully to its predecessors. Well plotted and solidly crafted, Every Dead Thing is a powerful, often frightening piece of writing, an auspicious debut from a truly gifted storyteller.
This one will hook you........2007-06-05
It certainly hooked me. I picked it up AGAIN a few days ago to reread it, in fact.
I'd just finished The Unquiet: A Thriller, the most recent book in this Charlie Parker Series, and I felt the strong desire to read about Mr. Parker again from the beginning, so I went back to Every Dead Thing and was as enthralled as I was the first time I read it.
This is the one that introduces Parker, Angel, Louis, and Rachel to the reader, and it's perhaps the best start to a series that I've ever read.
Charlie "Bird" Parker, an ex-cop (he's left the force when we meet him), has recently "lost" his wife (with whom he'd just fought) and child, who were murdered in particularly horrific fashion by the Traveling Man. Parker was at a bar, drinking himself into oblivion (in fact, we find that he was pretty damaged before losing his wife and daughter), at the time of the murders. He came home to find that his family had been slaughtered in his absence, and the guilt and sorrow he feels over both their loss and what he sees almost as his complicity in their deaths are what drives him through much of this book (and through the series in its entirety).
This novel details not only his hunt for their killer but also his search for a missing person. He finds that the two searches intertwine, and the disaster that is his psyche is challenged at every turn as he finds himself constantly having to deal with his grief, anger, and sense of helplessness.
Mr. Connolly does not shy away from writing descriptions that help the reader "see" what Parker is seeing; as a result, some readers will find the details hard to take. I think that if we're to come to understand Parker, we have to see through his eyes, even when what we're seeing is almost impossible to stomach, and that happens frequently in this novel. I found myself closing the book and trying desperately to focus on other things around me--the neighborhoods we were passing through, the other people sitting around me at a coffee shop, etc.--else I found myself either crying or staring shell-shocked at the words on the page until someone called for security to come check on me. I'm serious, too. At one point, Parker staggers under the weight of what he's seeing and realizing, and I'd stagger too if I were standing somewhere.
Parker is mired in violence and death, and everyone in his circle becomes part of that violence and death, including Rachel, the woman with whom he begins to find some small measure of happiness. This, the idea that Parker carries that violence and death with him wherever he goes, is a large part of all the novels in this series. It's part of why I like these books; they're consistent as they develop Charlie, and he changes in believable and touching ways.
The supernatural is strong in this novel, as it is in most other Parker novels. From Tante, who is blind but can see so much, to Parker himself, who is more than a little in tune with things that most people can't see or sense--Connolly uses the supernatural to add to the layers of Parker's experience.
Lest you think there's no humor in this novel, rest assured--there's lots of it. In particular, Louis and Angel (Parker's criminal "backups") keep a certain level of humor going, as they do throughout the series. These two characters help Parker find humor and strength at times when he's hard-pressed to even keep breathing, I think. If they weren't there to back him up, he'd have no one around him with the same unbending, unshakeable desire to do whatever is necessary to uncover the truth.
Charlie himself is funny. He even cracks jokes at times when he ought to be (and IS) shaking in his shoes. Teamed with Angel and Louis, he's a riot.
An absolutely incredible start to a series. Read it and then try to stay away from the other parts of this series. I dare you. :-)
Dark and Grisly!!.......2007-05-06
I first read John Connolly when I read the Book of Lost Things. I had no idea after reading Every Dead Thing that it was one and the same author! In fact, it wasn't until I visited his website after reading his blog on Amazon that I made the connection. While there is some darkness in TBOLT, it's a total departure from Every Dead Thing. But I digress.
First, I acknowledge that I never saw the Hannibal Lector movies nor read the Harris' books from which they were derived. Nor do I read Patterson, both authors having been compared on the cover to Connolly. I love crime and thriller novels but I don't like gratuitous carnage and bloodshed. That being said, I still gave Connolly 4 stars because I believe that he is a spellbinding writer and has distinguished himself as a unique voice.
This thriller, for me, was a little overly long and was really two stories wrapped into one, with enough gore for a six-pack. I usually gobble mysteries down in 1 or 2 days, depending on my ability to schedule time to read. Every Dead Thing took me a week to work through and I hacked away at it every night, sometimes far into the night. Just when I thought Bird was due to wrap up his caper, there would be a twist that would take us off in another direction and location. I will say Connolly writes like an American and it's hard to believe he hasn't spent long periods of time in New York and New Orleans. He certainly knows how to inhabit his locations. The same goes for his characters, lo many they be.
I found this novel to be multi-layered and plot(s) driven and very well constructed. I believe Connolly writes brilliantly but darkly in this saga, and, unlike other readers, I did not guess the identity of the Traveling Man. Maybe it was because I was a little weary after plowing through all the twists, turns, plots, and subplots of the book. Whatever the reason, I do enjoy it when someone pulls out a rabbit in the end. It speaks to their ability to weave a taunting tale while realizing that most readers appreciate being surprised.
John's characters are definitely drawn with a multi-dimensional hand and I especially liked Louis and Angel. However, I did have to suspend my belief system with the morass of characters with which John had his protagonist Charlie (an ex-cop) entangled. It went a little over the top on a number of occasions, especially as Charlie bravely confronts mafia dons and wackos. Anyone in his or her right mind would not be so cavalier--except maybe Charlie Parker. So, while I prefer my heroes a little more common and while Bird certainly had his foibles, he was just a little tooooo larger than life and his penchant for violence though he's supposed to uphold the law was a little frightening.
However, I would recommend Connolly's books and I intend to continue the series. Kudos to a new Irish voice in American mystery!
Hmmm...........2007-02-05
Two thirds James Lee Burke, one third Robert Parker. Not as good as either, but a good read nonetheless.
Chaotic and satisfying-- three-and-a-half stars.......2006-05-14
I picked up Every Dead Thing on the strength of The White Road. I enjoyed that, and wanted to loop around and read the other Charlie "Bird" Parker books.
Like with The White Road, Every Dead Thing is a little bit all over the map. The novel, which introduces the Bird Parker character, is bloody and very violent-- sometimes so bloody that it verges on self-parody. Connolly is an engaging writer and I really enjoyed the book, despite feeling a little bit like he was asking too much from me in terms of suspension of disbelief. There are so many shocking twists and turns that I nearly stopped caring at a certain point. I actually found Angel and Louis better developed in later books and they were not as strong as they were in The White Road.
Probably obvious from all the reviews, but give this one a miss if you cannot stomach some ultra-violent scenes. I will give Connolly credit and say that I never feel as though he was exploiting the gore, but it is still pretty blood-drenched as a read.
Book Description
Elizabeth Nightingale found peace and tranquility on her nightly walks through the rich, dense forests surrounding Myfleet Manor. But the peace she treasured was shattered one night when she found death waiting in the woods. Chief Inspector Wexford and his colleague Inspector Burden find a most unsavory case on their hands -- and must use all their wit and wisdom to solve it . . .
Customer Reviews:
Good with a super ending.......2006-02-18
I don't think this is one of Rendell's best Wexford novels but it does have a good plot, a diverse cast of characters and some thought-provoking material. If you enjoy Wexford novels then you'll be missing out if you don't read this one eventually, but it isn't one of my favourites. The best part of the book was the ending, which I found to be very surprising and shocking.
This time Wexford is investigating the murder of Elizabeth Nightingale, living a dull, well-off life in the country with her husband Quentin. Their marriage is completely passionless and sexless, but someone reacts violently enough to Elizabeth to murder her on one of her evening walks in the forest. Then along come Detectives Wexford and Burden to crack the case and drag up the psychology behind the characters.
Perhaps one of the reasons why I'm not raving about this novel is because the type of characters shown in it are my least favourite - a wealthy upper class couple, their servants and wealthy, upper class friends. I much prefer a detective novel that focuses on normal people rather than the Master and Mistress of the house and their stereotypical rough and uneducated working class servants. This certainly isn't a side of England that I recognise anymore and Rendell's newer Wexford novels reflect this, tending to focus on all different kinds of people in the social scale without being stereotypical. One of my favourite characters was Sean Lovell, whose thwarted ambitions to become a singer were strangely touching, particularly when Wexford overhears him pretending to be a popstar in his shed (we've all done it, haven't we? :-) )
The novel also looks at what it means to be a woman in 1970s Britain. Unfortunately, the females in this novel are probably the weakest characters, such as a housewife who has given up her job to devote herself to her husband who doesn't really seem to like her anyway and a rather silly Swedish au pair. One of the themes of the book seems to be `what makes a good woman'. What strikes me is that in this book the men act pretty much as they like without anybody commenting on their behaviour, but every aspect of each woman is judged and examined. It made interesting, if frustrating, reading.
Overall, a good book with a brilliant ending. Due to the publication date of this novel (early 70s) it is rather old-fashioned, but the psychology is still relevant.
Enjoyable, but not Rendell's usual great work........2002-10-09
. . . . . . . .. .. . .~ - * * * - ~
~ - ~ This was not one of Ruth Rendell's best. Her strength is usually in creating believable characters in almost un-imaginable situations.
~ - ~ In this story, the Lady of the Manor, Elizabeth Nightingale, is murdered in the forest right near her home. Most of the characters seem like stereotypes. There is the wealthy husband who doesn't really understand his wife. Upstairs lives the Au Pair - a young Dutch woman apparently only interested in her sex life. The housekeeper and gardener speak nothing but praise of their employer. The young under-gardener worships the "Lady of the House", and believes she's promised him help in his wish for a career as a DJ and a singer. Her brother is a neurotic scholarly writer who dislikes his sister. Her sister-in-law may benefit from the will.
~ - ~The book is entertaining, but not nearly as absorbing as Rendell's usual. You may be able to guess the killer and motive. The ending was a surprise to me, but not nearly as powerfully surprising as Ruth Rendell's usual twists and turns. Inspector Wexford hardly did any inspecting, mostly listening to a narrative from a friend of the family. Even just listening to the tale of the family's history seemed to take an inordinately long time- 3 or 4 days of conversations.
~ - ~ This book is entertaining, and easy to get interested in. However, for a sample of the best of Inspectors Wexford and Burden- I suggest two much more absorbing books: "Road Rage" and "No More Dying Then"
A completely unexpected outcome.......2001-07-18
This was an enjoyable book because there were several possibilities presented, but the person who was responsible for murdering the victim was unexpected.
I had no idea of where the case was headed and was surprised at the end. An excellent read. Ins. Wexford is a favorite.
Excellent murder mystery.......1998-11-11
Terrific vintage Rendell, one of the best Chief Inspector Wexford mysteries. The wealthy and beautiful Elizabeth Nightingale is murdered one night in the woods, and it is up to the intelligent, cantankerous Wexford and his sidekick Burden to solve the crime. This appears at first to be a fairly ordinary mystery; the leisurely pace and sharp humor may fool the reader into thinking that this is a peaceful, quiet novel. The final revelation, however, is disturbing and shocking, one of the author's most gripping and powerful conclusions. Otherwise, a fairly light, literate, entertaining mystery, written in Rendell's irresistably readable prose style, filled with ingenious plot twists and numerous red herrings. A bravura performance; even this comparatively minor work shows that Rendell can easily outwrite the vast majority of her contemporaries.
Book Description
The Past Is Back
Ellen Jones’s hands are full after she begrudgingly brings her aging father to Seaport. Lawrence’s memory is failingâthough he can’t seem to forget what he’s been holding against Ellen for the past forty years. But when he’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Ellen realizes she never released her resentment and it’s too late for reconciliation. Then suddenlyâliterally overnightâher son, Owen, comes face-to-face with the consequences of his wilder days gone by. No one is prepared for the changes he, and the entire family, will have to make as a result. The past weighing heavily in the present, a clean start is out of the question for both Ellen and Owen. How can God heal their deepest wounds? Enter the least expected person of the bunchâ¦
Can secrets kill?
Ellen Jones gets a disturbing call from her elderly father’s neighbor and must face the fact that her father, Lawrence, is no longer safe living alone. Ellen resents that he forgets the simplest of details and yet remembers the one thing he’s held against her for the past forty years. Her being his caregiver is out of the question.
Ellen and her husband Guy pair up their fathers to share an apartment in a nearby retirement community. The setup seems ideal until Lawrence wanders off...right past the scene of a murder. Did he see something? He can’t quite remember...
but the killer doesn’t know that!
Just when Lawrence is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Ellen realizes there’s no chance they’ll ever be reconciled, a shocking secret surfaces from her son Owen’s past that drops her to her knees. Ellen is desperate for a miracle. Will God intervene and erase the consequences of past mistakesâor does He have an even better plan?
Story Behind the Book
âI was twenty-seven when I gave my heart to Jesus. And twenty-nine years later, I’m still realizing the long-term consequences of some of the choices I made during the years I was enslaved to sin. The words of Galatians 6:7, âDo not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,â are as true today as when the apostle Paul wrote them. In the writing of All Things Hidden, my goal was to create unforgettable characters caught in the throes of overwhelming consequences, and enable us to watch the response of a merciful God not to remove their struggle, but to walk with them through the pain and redeem it for His glory.â
âKathy Herman
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book.......2006-06-07
All Things Hidden is the third book in Kathy Herman's Seaport Suspense series. Ellen and Guy Jones (whom we first meet in Herman's five-book Baxter series) face one of their strongest challenges yet: caring for their aging fathers. They move the gentlemen into a local retirement community, and everything seems to be going along smoothly.
One day, Ellen's father wanders into town and becomes the unwitting witness to a murder in an alley. Unfortunately for Ellen and the local police, he is also exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's and can only remember a few sketchy details.
Meanwhile, Guy and Ellen's son Owen begins receiving some very strange and threatening phone calls. Are these two seemingly separate incidents linked? Are the three branches of the Jones family tree in danger?
Kathy Herman is a master of suspenseful stories that draw the reader into Seaport, searching for clues to help Ellen and Owen solve the mysteries they are faced with. Ellen must face her past to be able to embrace her future, and Owen must come to terms with his own wild past.
Without giving away the plot, I can safely say that it is neither boring nor predictable. I loved how Owen's past mistakes help his mother make her own peace, even though their paths are rocky and fraught with frustration.
I really enjoy Kathy Herman's writing. She makes her stories both contemporary and realistic without resorting to sensationalism and graphic details. I had a hard time putting this one down!
Armchair Interviews says: Don't let the fact that this is Book 3 of a series deter you from reading it. While reading the other books will give background into previous events, this book can stand on its own.
Book Description
A gripping tale of psychological suspense perfect for the readership of Minette Walters and Ruth Rendell,
Half Broken Things is a novel that peers into the lives of three dangerously lost people…and the ominous haven they find when they find each other.
Jean is a house sitter at the end of a dreary career. Steph is nine months pregnant and on the run. And Michael is a thief. Through a mixture of deceit, good luck, and misfortune, these three damaged loners have come together at a secluded country home called Walden Manor. Now all three have found what they needed most: a new beginning, a little kindness, a little love. Living off the manor’s riches, tending its grounds and gardens, they leave the outside world far behind and build a happiness so long denied them. That is, until the first unexpected visitor arrives...igniting a chain reaction that is at once spellbinding and disastrous.
A stunning, thought-provoking crime novel of chilling moral complexity,
Half Broken Things is a gripping, haunting exploration of love and our need for it, of the damage done when we go long without it, and the deeds we might be driven to in its name.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
January
Walden Manor August
This is not what it might look like. We’re quiet people. As a general rule extraordinary things do not happen to us, and we are not the type to go looking for them. But so much has happened since January, and I started it. Things began to happen, things I must have brought about somehow without quite foreseeing where they would lead. So I feel I must explain, late in the day though it is. I’m going to set out, as clearly as I can, in the order in which they occurred, the things that have happened here. And I shall find it difficult because I was brought up not to draw attention to myself and I’ve never been considered a forthcoming person, never being one to splurge out on anything, least of all great long explanations. Indeed, Mother always described me as secretive. But that was because, with her, I came to expect my reasons for things to be not so much misunderstood as overlooked or mislaid, and so early on I stopped giving them.
Father was usually quiet, too. When I think back to the sounds of the house in Oakfield Avenue where I grew up, I do not remember voices. I think we sighed or cleared our throats more often than we spoke words. I remember mainly the tick of Father’s longcase clock in the dining room we never ate in, and then after the clock had gone, a particular silence throughout the house that I thought of as a shade of grey. And much later when I was an adult, still there looking after Mother, the most regular sound was the microwave. It pinged a dozen times a day. In fact, until recently, whenever I heard a certain tone of ping, in a shop or somewhere like that, I would immediately smell boiling milk. But when I was a child there was just the clock, with silences in between.
Mother had few words herself. She often went about the house as if she were harbouring unsaid things at great personal cost, with a locked look on her mouth. That being so, I suppose Father and I felt unable to open our own mouths very much. What happens to all the things you might say or want to say, but don’t? Well, they don’t lie about in your head indefinitely, waiting to be let out. For a time they may stay there quite patiently, but then they shuffle off and fade until you can’t locate them any more, and you realise they’re not coming back. By then you’re past caring.
So I grew to think of myself as someone not in particular need of words. I did not acquire the habit of calling them up; not many at a time at least, not even to myself in my own head. Things in my head had been very quiet for a long time, before all this.
But I have been wrong about this aspect of myself, as about others. I find that there are words there after all. Now that I need them, my words have come crowding back, perhaps because I have a limited time in which to get them all down (today is the 20th, so only eleven more days). I am pleased that my hands remember the old touch-typing moves without seeming to involve me at all. The letters are hitting the paper in this old typewriter almost as if they were being shot out of my finger-ends. Which is just as well, because I’m busy enough dealing with all the clamouring words that are flinging themselves around in my head, fighting over which gets fired out first. I’m in a hurry to let them loose. I want to explain, because it is suddenly extremely urgent and important that, in the end, we are not misunderstood.
And I shall try to put down not just what, but why things have happened and why none of it could have turned out any differently. Until now I really haven’t thought about the why. Time’s the thing. I haven’t had time, not time of the right kind, to ask myself why things have gone the way they have. I’ve been too busy being happy; even now I’m happy, although t
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-10-02
I typically read crime thrillers (Preston & Child, Deaver ) - but I really enjoyed this book. It had a nice pace and it kept me guessing right to the last page. I loved the characters even though I was shocked at some of their actions. I'm looking forward to reading another one of her books. This should be an Oprah selection.
Half Broken Things.......2007-07-07
I've only just started to read and so far it's very good. I base my rating on this book being recommended to me by my sister, who is an avid reader and claims this to be one of the best.
Layer after disturbing layer.......2007-06-11
A very disturbing look into a set of troubled minds. Though it's classed with mystery/crime writing, it was a bit different from most of the things I've read from the genre. The author did a good job of making me want to continue with the story despite that there was nothing at all admirable about the main characters. They really never struck me as all that sympathetic and are, in fact, rather symptomatic of those who like to blame the world for their misfortunes. And yet I found it hard to turn away from them because Joss does such an excellent job of drawing her reader into her characters' twisted minds and I never ceased to be amazed at how skilled at rationalization they all were. One things for sure, this is a novel to make you think.
Reminded me of Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived In The Castle".......2007-01-21
Jackson's classic novel of isolation and murder and madness among those with few ties to reality came to mind as I read HALF BROKEN THINGS.
This is the type of book you "settle into" -- it doesn't sweep you away like much modern commerical fiction. But once you settle in, you're in for a great story with a perfect ending!
Be sure and visit Jackson's CASTLE...and Ruth Rendell's A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES if you liked this book!
Finding other peoples' happiness........2007-01-13
This is an eerily creepy book. Morag Joss has an uncanny ability to tickle the interface between the autonomic nervous system and higher cognitive functions. I couldn't decide whether I was on the side of the "loser" characters or the mainstream owners.
Books:
- A Day with a Perfect Stranger
- A Lady At Last (de Warenne Dynasty)
- A Restless Knight (The Dragons of Challon, Book 1)
- A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers, and the Extraordinary True Stories of History's Greatest Hoaxes, Fakes and Frauds
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- American Corrections (with InfoTrac )
- Back on Blossom Street (The Knitting Books #3)
- Bad Boy: A Memoir
- Blind Spots: Achieve Success by Seeing What You Can't See
- Buck Up, Suck Up . . . and Come Back When You Foul Up: 12 Winning Secrets from the War Room
Books Index
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