A Fatal Lie: A True Story Of Betrayal And Murder In The New South (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

A Fatal Lie: A True Story Of Betrayal And Murder In The New South (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
Average customer rating:

This was good, but needed more depth and definition

An interesting story, needs editing, and writing

Totally Disenchanted and Disappointed

It was interesting..

It Was Just One Of Those Nights...

A Fatal Lie: A True Story Of Betrayal And Murder In The New South (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
Sally Chew
Manufacturer: St. Martin's True Crime
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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The Officer's Wife (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

ASIN: 0312970145
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Book Description

A lesbian love triangle explodes into bloody murder....Richmond, Virginia, July 1997. A brick row-house in the city's gay Carytown district, home of 18-year-old Kelley "Turtle" Tibbs, legendary ringleader of the teenage lesbian scene. Walk inside and you'd be likely to find Melissa Etheridge blasting on the stereo, lots of beer, a clutch of shaven-headed young women-- and Turtle's tall possessive girlfriend, Tracy Bitner.Enter 18-year-old Stacey Hanna, a new roommate who moved east from Lynchburg and, from the beginning, openly carried a torch for Turtle. Stacey's attempts to drive a wedge between Turtle and Tracy backfired-- badly. And one night, Turtle, Tracy and two friends literally dragged Stacey to a wooded area and kicked, slashed, and stabbed her to death in a scene straight out of a horror movie.Was this a crime of passion-- a frenzy of the heart? Was it calculated retribution for disrupting a bond between two lovers? Or was it, as one of the girls told a detective, "just one of those times....when somebody had to die?" Learn the fascinating truth in a riveting story of obsession, betrayal, and murder....

Customer Reviews:

This was good, but needed more depth and definition.......2005-08-19

I read true crime books regularly. This book was interesting and although written well, needed more depth and definition as to who was who and not just she said he said. IT needed more depth because I think the writer went into detail about the actual violent acts themselves, however skimmed over other subjects in the book. I was disappointed in the way the gossip way of writing took over towards the end of the book. It was a good story but tapered off towards the end, almost as if the writer became disenchanted with this topic.

An interesting story, needs editing, and writing.......2005-03-09

Probably a quickie true crime book that I would have passed over if it had not been for the Richmond connection to may home state.

I think the author did some decent reporting, but she more often than not presented the story in a rather flat fashion. She missed many opportunities for emotion and facts to give us background on the women involved in the story.

Also there were some glaring typos in the edition I had that should have been caught by the editor.

Totally Disenchanted and Disappointed.......2002-09-08

I only read true crime stories; I am still in the process of reading this book and have to force myself NOT to put it somewhere and go on to another one. I feel that the author did not tell the story as in the fashion of other good authors. There are incomplete sentences that make one have to reread the sentence to get the jist of that emotion. I, for one, feel that this book is not anywhere near or close to the other crime stories that I read. I would have to read another book by Miss Chew before giving a true explanation of her work. I have read the other reviews which tend to say the opposite of what I say but people are different. I would NOT recommend this book to anyone that I know.

It was interesting.........2002-01-11

It was a really interesting story... kind of haunting. It's amazing to know the truth behind stories like that.. it's almost unreal how evil people can really be. But the author covered it well, and it was a good book.

It Was Just One Of Those Nights..........2001-08-15

Stacey Hanna was eighteen when she moved to Virginia and into the young lesbian scene. She immediately picked up the torch for Kelley "Turtle" Tibbs, infuriating Turtle's close friends and her girlfriend Tracy. One night the triangle of love and obsession explodes into what can only be described as a "wilding" - hours of abduction, indecision, torture and eventual murder of one young woman by a gang of her female peers. The confessions, the court cases, and the subsequent "where are they now" sections of the book were probably the easiest to read - by the time you got to them, you had finally figured out who all the players were and how they related. The story is more than frightening. The introduction of each character and her eventual unraveling quickly becomes intertwined with another and then another. In a short time the reader has to keep checking back to the beginning to connect who is who, in love with which girl, dated which other girl, and which ones actually were there on the night in question. The book is, in some form, and excellent character study and a detailed description how quickly young love turns to hate. I was also intrigued by the detailing of the humiliation some of the girls took from lovers and each other and yet never seriously considered leaving the relationships. I just wished it had come with a score card so I could have kept it all straight.

Average customer rating:

A good Stark/Westlake book
Short, Enjoyable Caper Novel
Summer stock actor/part-time thief in a humdinger caper
Lemons never lie
Parker Isn't Actually in This 1971 Stark Classic, But it is Still Sensational!

Lemons Never Lie (Hard Case Crime)
Richard Stark
Manufacturer: Hard Crime Case
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0843955945

Customer Reviews:

A good Stark/Westlake book.......2007-09-21

I have read quite a few of Westlakes 'Stark' books over the years. They are always enjoyable. Westlake often takes the side of the crook and constructs a heist and then writes events surrounding the escapade. 'Lemons' is no different. If you haven't read one of the Stark books, mostly set around his professional 'Parker', this is just as good as any of these books to start with.

The story is about an actor, Alan Grofield, who supports a small theater in the middle of nowhere with his theiving. The book starts with him in Las Vegas where he goes to meet up with a crew led by a chap named 'Myers'. The plan laid out is so crazy that Grofield walks out. Myers, who sets up the plan, gets upset with Grofield and the rest of the story situates between the two.

Once again, if you have read enough of Westlakes work, nothing here really will jump out at you. This is just another one of his almost formulaic light thrillers. The joy of reading one of these are in encountering the 'hard-boiled' characters and in following the development of the undertaking.

Short, Enjoyable Caper Novel.......2007-09-08

LEMONS NEVER LIE is a crime novel written by Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake in 1971. It's a highly enjoyable read about a stage actor named Alan Grofield who commits crimes on the side to fund his theater projects. This book starts as a lighthearted caper story, but eventually turns into a rather grim story about retribution.

This novel is quite short (under 200 pages of text) and can literally be read in a few hours. Westlake is a legendary writer in American crime fiction, and the prose and dialogue in this book is absolutely first-rate. Based on LEMONS NEVER LIE, I can see why Westlake has often been described as the precursor to Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino. The only downside to this novel is the rather bland, subservient nature of the female characters.

I think it's great that Hard Case is republishing these titles and LEMONS NEVER LIE makes me interested in reading more of Westlake's other work. I recommend this story to anyone interested in reading classic noir fiction.

Summer stock actor/part-time thief in a humdinger caper.......2007-05-29

Alan Grofield, one of Parker's crew, has bought a summer stock theater (a renovated old barn) in Mead Grove, Indiana. Of course the only theater-goers are doctors wives and schoolteachers. Grofield is forced to work on the side as a thief to keep his enterprise afloat.

Himself an actor, Grofield deplores violence and death. Unfortunately the members of the criminal underclass don't share his mellow life view. Grofield teams up with Myers, an explosives nut job. They botch robbing the payroll at a plant in Monequois, New York, near the Canadian border.

Low-keyed but methodical and cunning, Grofield may not win your sympathy but he's a memorable crook. Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark) writes seamless, laconic dialogue. His descriptions of robbing an old Mosler safe or sealing a deal to buy the getaway truck for the heist are precise and vivid. The layering of these details builds the suspense. The humor is deadpan. This is a solid bet as a change of pace from the typical Westlake caper novels.

Lemons never lie.......2007-01-15

I thought that this was a new book but it was an older book that had been re printed. This was a dissapointment to me but I still enjoyed the story.

Parker Isn't Actually in This 1971 Stark Classic, But it is Still Sensational!.......2006-08-23

Although Parker is referred to on the back cover he is not actually in this novel, which may disappoint fans of that series who were purchasing the book to read one of his adventures. The absence of Parker however doesn't mean Lemons Never Lie isn't a superbly written and very enjoyable criminal adventure.

This novel centres around part time theatre operator, part time criminal Alan Grofield. Grofield flies to Vegas to join a plan to knock over a brewery. At the airport he put a penny in the arrival gate poker machine and it came up with three lemons. From that moment he knew he has used up his luck until he leaves Vegas and the ludicrously of the plan by a man named Myer highlighted this so he decided to walk away, his friend Dan joins him. Myer of course not to thrilled with this plans a payback of his own. This payback on them results in Dan tracking down Myer for his own vengeance which results in a vicious revenge circle which pulls Grofield away from his theatre with only one purpose. To find and kill Myer!

If this is your first Stark novel also check out the sensational Parker series. Also check out this author's work under his own name Donald E Westlake, especially his masterpiece The Ax!

Average customer rating:

Incredibly boring mystery
Mathmatical Mystery
Disappointing Plot & Reader
Case of Lies
A Disappointing Read

Case of Lies (Nina Reilly)
Perri O'Shaughnessy
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Unlucky in Law (Nina Reilly)
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ASIN: 0440241820
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

No one writes legal suspense like Perri O’Shaughnessy. Blending powerful human drama with legal thrills, mystery, humor, and unforgettable characters, the New York Times bestselling author has created a uniquely entertaining series of novels centered around lawyer and single mother Nina Reilly. Now, in a masterful new novel, Nina’s investigation into an unsolved murder takes her on a dark journey strewn with old crimes, bitter truths, and heart-stopping danger.

For Nina Reilly, the mountain town of Lake Tahoe is home. It’s where she forged a successful career as a tough, resourceful attorney–and raised her teenage son, Bob, alone. Back from a stint in Monterey, where her love life took a tumble, Nina has returned to her Tahoe law office with her old friends Sandy Whitefeather and Sandy’s son, Wish. It isn’t long before she has a new client whose wife was shot and killed during a casino-district robbery two years before. The police have no suspects, and the robbery victims, three students, lied about their identities and are hiding outside California and the reach of the court.Two of the witnesses have fled to a village not far from the home of Bob’s father, Kurt Scott, in Germany. As Nina tries to unravel the mystery of one violent Tahoe night, a harrowing journey begins–one that takes her from the dark underworld of Tahoe’s casinos to the halls of a prestigious East Coast university to Europe and an emotional reunion with Kurt.

As old feelings are rekindled, Nina’s case turns violent. Everyone has something to hide–the brilliant but unstable mathematics student who has made an astonishing discovery, the owner of a motel where the shooting took place, and the shooter, who has turned the whole case into a gigantic lie.

Filled with all the rich drama, stunning surprises, and ingenious twists we have come to expect from this incomparable storyteller, Case of Lies will grab you from the very first page and never let you go as it speeds to its incredible conclusion.

Download Description

Perri O’Shaughnessy is the pen name for two sisters, Pamela and Mary O’Shaughnessy, who live in Hawaii and California. Pamela, a Harvard Law School graduate, was a trial lawyer for sixteen years. Mary is a former editor and writer for multimedia projects. They are the authors of ten previous Nina Reilly novels: Unlucky in Law, Presumption of Death, Unfit to Practice, Writ of Execution, Move to Strike, Acts of Malice, Breach of Promise, Obstruction of Justice, Invasion of Privacy, and Motion to Suppress.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Incredibly boring mystery.......2007-09-09

I am a big mystery fan - mostly of the English variety. American mysteries are too action oriented , English mysteries are more interior. This book to my mind did not hang together, was improbable and really quite uninteresting except for increasing my understanding of prime numbers. I actually wound up skimming the last 4/5ths of it. I kept asking myself why I was bothering at all.

Mathmatical Mystery.......2007-09-03

If you enjoy a good mystery and mathmatics, specifically prime numbers, ADD this novel to your list. Attorney Nina Reilly's reluctant client witnessed the murder of his wife, an innocent bystander, and time is running out to file suit against the hotel owner where the robbery occurred. The mathmatical theme is centered around 3 college students who develop a method of winning at the casinos, and the obsession of one whose research in prime numbers puts their lives in jeopardy as well as that of Miss Reilly and her client. A surprise ending.

Disappointing Plot & Reader.......2007-07-26

I was terribly disappointed with this Audio book because of the plot and the reader. Laurel Merlington was a bad choice to read the book she can only do young American women accents. She butchered most of the male voices, the other older woman lawyer and all the foreign accents. It's clear she has never heard a German speak. The German girl's accent was annoyingly wrong.

As for the plot, from the pointless foray into mathematics to the unlikely happenings; e.g. where did this unsophisticated, rather stupid shooter get money from to go to Germany and find the witnesses? Why wasn't Nina Reilly shot at the masseuse's parlor? Why would the shooter hang around a Lake Tahoe?

Much of the book does not make sense. I am sorry I bought it.

Case of Lies.......2007-02-25

I love the Perri o'Shaughnessy series, but this was my least favorite.

A Disappointing Read.......2007-02-13

This latest installment in the Nina Reilly series was close to a complete disappointment to me. I've read all the previous novels, following Nina through two marriages and one prolonged affair, and have always enjoyed the tales, even the one which focused on the gambling casinos and seemed to go a bit too far off-tangent. But this one was nearly incomprehensible to the average reader. Other reviewers have criticized it for the same reason: the mathematical mumbo-jumbo was entirely too complex (and definitely off-tangent)to be enjoyable reading. If I'd wanted to study a math textbook, I'd have bought one. While a writer needs to introduce sub-plot and the sisters here have seemed to do a lot of research, it doesn't always make for a good read. I'm a fan of the TV show, Numb3rs, which easily makes math look interesting---this book does not. It was a disappointment and a real drag at times. Nina, too, is starting to get on my nerves---she cannot commit in any personal relationship, and she vacilates back and forth between being bright and being fairly stupid in her cases. Flawed heroines are all well and good, but growth is essential. Let's pick up the pace, or this series is going to languish.

Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death

Average customer rating:

Very readable
a manipulative murderess and her hapless hubby...
12 Years is An Outrage!
Read it.
Biased? Please

Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death
Ann Rule , and Ann Rule
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Bitter Harvest

ASIN: 0743202988

Book Description

Liysa and Chris Northon seemed the epitome of idyllic lovers when they married on a moonlit beach in Hawaii. Their friends admired the romantic couple: Chris -- tall, athletic, handsome with a thatch of blond hair, a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines -- and Liysa -- attractive, charismatic, seductive, an acclaimed surf photographer, with a tanned, perfect body. Their son, Bjorn, looked just like his dad, and they were raising Liysa's son by a previous marriage. They had beautiful homes on the mainland and in Hawaii.

But it wasn't long before Chris saw a side of Liysa that he hadn't glimpsed before. Nothing was quite enough for her -- she wanted more money, more property, and a future that included fame as a Hollywood screenwriter. She complained to her closest friends that her husband was a heavy drinker who beat her. The marriage seemed to be unraveling, but Chris struggled to hold it together, afraid he'd be separated from Bjorn and from Liysa's son, Papako. And then the worst happened.

On a sunny morning in October 2000, Chris Northon lay dead in a sleeping bag at a campsite beside a pristine river, while his wife drove four hours to a friend's house, sobbing inconsolably. She appeared to have been beaten, and had a black eye and bruises on her knee. Was Chris's death a tragic accident or a deliberate homicide? Was Liysa involved? Questions arose that made Oregon State detectives suspicious, yet her family and friends stood staunchly by her, incredulous that anybody would ask such questions.

Ann Rule became involved with the mystery of Chris's death when one of his fellow pilots at Hawaiian Airlines contacted her, and only later did she learn that the ranking Oregon State Police investigator had thought of her to tell this bizarre story. A book that leads the reader from Hawaii to the Northwest to Hollywood, Heart Full of Lies is an extraordinary character study as well as a brilliant investigative report that will keep you enthralled to the very last page.

Download Description

In perhaps the most profound character portrait she has ever drawn, America's bestselling true-crime writer, Ann Rule, asks, Can the female really be deadlier than the male? In Heart Full of Lies, she answers that question in one of her most intriguing tales ever--a riveting story of seduction, betrayal, and murder. Liysa and Chris Northon seemed the epitome of idyllic lovers when they married on a moonlit beach in Hawaii. Their friends admired the romantic couple: Chris--tall, athletic, handsome with a thatch of blond hair, a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines -- and Liysa -- attractive, charismatic, seductive, an acclaimed surf photographer, with a tanned, perfect body. Their son, Bjorn, looked just like his dad, and they were raising Liysa's son by a previous marriage. They had beautiful homes on the mainland and in Hawaii. But it wasn't long before Chris saw a side of Liysa that he hadn't glimpsed before. Nothing was quite enough for her -- she wanted more money, more property, and a future that included fame as a Hollywood screenwriter. She complained to her closest friends that her husband was a heavy drinker who beat her. The marriage seemed to be unraveling, but Chris struggled to hold it together, afraid he'd be separated from Bjorn and from Liysa's son, Papako. And then the worst happened. On a sunny morning in October 2000, Chris Northon lay dead in a sleeping bag at a campsite beside a pristine river, while his wife drove four hours to a friend's house, sobbing inconsolably. She appeared to have been beaten, and had a black eye and bruises on her knee. Was Chris's death a tragic accident or a deliberate homicide? Was Liysa involved? Questions arose that made Oregon State detectives suspicious, yet her family and friends stood staunchly by her, incredulous that anybody would ask such questions.

Customer Reviews:

Very readable.......2007-10-05

While I would agree its not one of Ann's best works, I still found it gripping and real page-turner. This sort of stroies almost enough to make you afraid of getting involved with anyone.

Also, while it's always good advice to keep an open mind and not blindly believe everything you read, I'd say the facts in Liysa's case pretty much speak for themselves. I could start telling everyone I know that my neighbor is stealing my underwear, but unless I have this little thing called 'evidence', I'm not going to get very far with my accusations. I'm terribly sympathetic to the plight of abused spouses, but this womans claims simply stretch credibility to the breaking point. Its only a shame the judge didn't give her a longer sentence.

a manipulative murderess and her hapless hubby..........2007-09-29

It is seemingly rare, and therefore perhaps most interesting, when it is a woman/wife is the "bad guy" of the story. So often men are portrayed of brutal, mean and uncaring. However in 'Heart Full of Lies' we see that sometimes men are complete suckers and women can manipulate, lie and even resort to physical violence when they don't get what they want. When such a story is told by Ann Rule it clearly becomes an engrossing read.

In 'Heart Full of Lies' we have a young, beautiful and talented woman who thinks she can convince the world her husband is monster. For years she spins a web of deceit, and is generally successful in her efforts. Quite remarkably, it seems that all this negative energy is spurned on by not one single motive (eg, greed, jealousy) but rather by spitefulness and, no doubt, mental illness. Her husband remained remarkably tolerant of his tormentor until the very end. An unconventional marriage to say the least!

Bottom line: Ann Rule worked hard to create a balanced view of a very complicated woman and her uncomplicated yet doomed husband. Recommended.

12 Years is An Outrage!.......2007-06-23

Ann Rule is the kind of writer that could liven up a telephone book if given the opportunity. She is one of my favorite authors around even though she is mostly non-fiction. This story of a very troubled woman, Liysa Dewitt Northon who married three times and was the mother of two sons. Sadly, nothing was ever enough for her. She yearned for more than just two homes in Oregon and Hawaii. She could make her high school friends cringe with envy but there is no happy ending here. She murdered Chris Northon, a pilot with Hawaiian Airlines who had a stellar record, and claimed that he was abusive which was unfounded. Aside, Liysa was quite a talker who believed her own lies after awhile. I don't know what personality disorder she has but she is still irritating and controlling even from behind an Oregon State Prison where she is serving a 12 year sentence on manslaughter for killing her husband who was drugged and shot in his sleeping bag. She claimed it was self-defense and the murder occurred in one of Oregon's isolated mountain areas perfect for those who can commit a crime without being caught. But she runs to a friend's house and tells a story full of inaccuracies and lies but she does know the difference between truth and fiction, obviously not. Rule makes the story which would not be that interesting overall into being there in the marriage and their troubled life. Liysa was a desperate woman who wanted more than any of her husbands could give her. She had this hunger for land but loved the ocean and loved Hawaii. She wanted two homes and got it. She wanted a good husband and got him. Then when it wasn't enough to fill her, she shot him rather than divorce him. I think 12 years of a sentence for manslaughter is to light especially in this case.

Read it........2007-06-04

I had read the reviews before reading this book and I admit, I was concerned that Ann was biased as I poured through the first half of this book. However, once I got towards the middle, end, and once I read the afterward, my concerns floundered. Liysa is a phsyco who should have gone to prison for the rest of her life for what she did to ruin and end her husband's life and how she subsequently affected the lives of everyone who knew both her and her husband. Ann says Liysa wants a new trial. I hope she gets one and this time is convicted of first degree murder and spends another 25 plus years in prison. If that doesn't happen, I sincerely hope she receives some sort of psychological help while behind bars for her mental problems, before she is among the free again. Anyone who believes her claims of domestic abuse needs to think about the fact that she had multiple opportunities to get help, if not from domestic violence shelters, from one of her many friends who believed her at the time, and she chose not to. Not only that, there are many, many more instances of women who really are abused who do not resort to drugging their abusers and killing them as they lie in a helpless, drug induced slumber. Ann reported that most all of Liysa's former friends and her exhusband admit that she was the one with the problems in the marraige, not her dead husband. It is a shame that people like Liysa get away with fabricating domestic violence claims. I hope her actions do not make it more difficult for women who really are abuse victims to be believed.

I recommend you to read it and make your own judgement. It is an absorbing, fast read.

Biased? Please.......2007-02-27

Anyone who thinks this book is biased is related to that nutjob Liysa. If it seemed biased it was because she was so obviously guilty. She hopped from one man to the next, using everyone she met. The portrait of an abuser does not fit her poor husband she killed and I don't buy it for a second. What a psycho!!

24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America

Average customer rating:

Read it and learn
Good read
Good Classical Journalism
How Investigative Journalism helps bring the downfall of Enron
On and On and On . . .

24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America
Rebecca Smith , and John R. Emshwiller
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060520744
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Book Description

This is the story of Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller, the two reporters who led the Wall Street Journal's reporting on Enron and uncovered the unorthodox partnerships at the heart of the scandal through skill, luck, and relentless determination.

It all started in August 2001when Emshwiller was assigned to write a supposedly simple article on the unexpected resignation of Enron CEO Jeff Skilling. During his research, Emshwiller uncovered a buried reference to an off–balance–sheet partnership called LJM. Little did he know, this was the start of a fast and furious ride through the remarkable downfall of a once highly–prized company.

Written in an intense, fast paced narrative style, 24 Days tells the gripping story of the colossal collapse of what would become the world's most notorious corporation. The reader follows along as Smith and Emshwiller continue to uncover new partnerships and self–dealing among the highest levels of Enron's management. As they publish articles detailing their findings in the Journal, Wall Street and individual investors have a crisis of confidence and start selling Enron stock at unprecedented levels of volume. In the end – 24 short days later – Enron had completely collapsed, erasing 16 years of growth and losing $19 billion in market value while watching the stock drop from $33.84 to $8.41. Not only was the company destroyed, but investors and retired employees were completely wiped out–all the while Enron executives were collecting millions of dollars.

Climaxing with this 24–day period, this book shows the reporterᲜ'97eye view of a David–and–Goliath battle between journalists and a giant corporation. Each day a new story uncovered another fact; each day the company issued denials. And when the investigative stories reached critical mass and momentum, the stock market cast its final vote of no confidence. In the tradition of Indecent Exposure and Barbarians at the Gate, two other gripping narratives that began as a series of Wall Street Journal stories and ended up as books that defined an era, 24 Days brings the importance of great investigative journalism to life.

Customer Reviews:

Read it and learn .......2007-04-20

In this fascinating study of white collar crime, reporters Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller describe in detail how they helped make the criminal excesses of the top executives at Enron the kind of front page news that brought the company crashing down. This is a story of how good journalism works, whether you like it or not --- and clearly a number of Enron executives, employees and stockholders would like to blame the media for what happened to them. Jeff Skilling, the ex-Enron CEO who is now serving time, tried that "run on the bank" defense when he testified before Congress. But Enron was a house of cards that was built to crash. For a time, before it was exposed, the energy company seemed to be a monster that was capable of bankrupting the state of California. Smith and Emshwiller didn't actually break the story on their own. But they had been working on it for months so that they were able to provide critical background details when the company came out with its duplicitous and disastrous third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 16, 2001. The average reader won't understand all of the details of the Enron scams. Neither did the reporters. But anyone who works through this book will come away with a sense of how modern accounting can hide a massive ponzi scheme. Read it and learn.

Good read.......2007-01-15

Before reading this book, I knew very little about Enron and it's downfall, having only vaguely followed the story in the media when the scandal broke.

The book seems to be well researched, with Smith and Emshwiller doing a good job explaining what happened and how. Although it gets a little confusing at times, this is probably due to the complexity of the off-balance-sheet partnerships. However, as another commenter said, this book appears to focus more on the how and when, than rather than who and why, with little focus on Andrew Fastow, who was at the heart of these partnerships.

For that reason, I'll also be reading 'Enron: the smartest guys in the room' which appears to focus more on the executives, though would still recommend reading this book. It's well written and is a gripping read. I couldn't put it down!

Good Classical Journalism.......2007-01-04

The book gives a good idea of what happened in Enron. It is based on thorough research and the story is developing in an exciting way.

Would be good to get a part II with reports of the court cases and maybe interviews with the key players - at least of those who are still alive.

How Investigative Journalism helps bring the downfall of Enron.......2006-05-20

21 Apr 06

I was thinking that this is the best Enron book to read - totally from the outside and based, I feel, on facts, until I read "Smartest Guys in the Room". Still, it is a very entertaining book because it brings the excitement of how the reporters uncover the hidden nuggets of information that Enron reports but tries to obscure from the public.

According to this book, Cliff Baxter appears to be the integrity guy who couldn't lived with the guilt. He apparently paid a team $1 million out of guilt. All in all, given that he decided to pay with his life, I feel the authors are quite remorse about how they have tried to dig information out of him and may have clouded their description of the person. Still, compared to Japan, where people who bring shame / problems to so many other people has only one honorable way out, this act is quite redeeming in some sense.

And, if it is true that he is the integrity guy, then it is sad that the only guy who felt guilty enough about this whole thing and took matters into his own hands in a very destructive way is the "integrity guy".

On and On and On . . ........2005-12-29

"24 Days" is both a story about what went on at Enron and how the Wall Street Journal reporters followed and wrote the story. The book is interesting at first, but after awhile the detail becomes overwhelming and pointless.

In addition, the book did not provide a clear understanding about CFO Fastow's side deals. To be fair, however, the deals were so complex that even with printed documentation in hand it was not possible to decipher what was going on, and other books on the topic have not clarified the matter either. What is clear, however, is that the side deals were kept under the radar as much as possible, and even deliberately hidden in some instances.

Another clear conclusion is that neither CEO Lay, former CEO Skilling, Enron's Board, nor numerous highly-paid stock analysts knew the full details or even tried. No evidence of their interest in any details was revealed. Incredible incompetence - at best

Average customer rating:

something for everyone
So many lessons in one book.... where to start?
Tells of a hobby gone wrong and packs in all the detail and excitement of a true adventure read
Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay
Good reading of the life of a small time white collar crimminal

Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay
Kenneth Walton
Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Dawn of the eBay Deadbeats: True Tales of Treachery, Lies, and Fraud from the Dark Recesses of the World's Largest Online Auction Marketplace
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False Impressions

ASIN: 1416907114

Book Description

It was the golden age of eBay. Optimistic bidders went online to the world's largest flea market in droves, ready to spend cash on everything from garden gnomes to Mercedes convertibles. Among them were art collectors willing to spend big money on unseen paintings, hoping to buy valuable pieces of art at below-market prices. EBay also attracted the occasional con artist unable to resist the temptation of abusing a system that prided itself on being "based on trust." Kenneth Walton -- once a lawyer bound by the ethics of his profession to uphold the law -- was seduced by just such a con artist and, eventually, became one himself.

Ripped from the headlines of the New York Times, the first newspaper to break the story, Fake describes Walton's innocent beginnings as an online art-trading hobbyist and details the downward spiral of greed that ultimately led to his federal felony conviction. What started out as a satisfying exercise in reselling thrift store paintings for a profit in order to pay back student loans and mounting credit card debt soon became a fierce addiction to the subtle deception of luring unsuspecting bidders into overpaying for paintings of questionable origins.

In a landscape peopled with colorful eccentrics hoping to score museum-quality paintings at bargain prices, Walton entered into a partnership with Ken Fetterman, an unslick (yet somehow very effective) con man. Over the course of eighteen months they managed to take in hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling forged paintings and bidding on their own auctions to drive up the prices. When their deception was discovered and made international headlines, Walton found himself stalked by reporters and federal agents while Fetterman went on the lam, sparking a nationwide FBI manhunt. His elaborate game of cat and mouse lasted nearly three years, until the feds caught up with him after a routine traffic violation and brought him to justice.

In this sensational story of the seductive power of greed, Kenneth Walton breaks his silence for the first time and, in his own words, details the international scandal that forever changed the way eBay does business.

Customer Reviews:

something for everyone.......2007-07-09

My son picked "Fake" for our mother/son book club. The boys are sixteen; the mothers work in a variety of professional fields. No one was bored. Everyone finished the book, which is unusual. Discussion was lively and wide-ranging, even with the author present. I asked and he came!

Part of the charm of the book, the story and the man derives from our inherent hope that people can grow by surviving adversity, even self-made, or perhaps, especially self-made. Walton gives readers an engaging look at the California art scene and ebay, while allowing us to watch him decide what he will do next.

If he writes another book, I'll definitely read it.

So many lessons in one book.... where to start?.......2006-10-27

I am a high end art collector at major auctions and have looked at ebay items up for sell. So many are obviously fakes that I have written to a couple of power sellers. They immediately threatened to sue me.

However, that is not why I am writing this review. This is a story of someone who knew nothing about art but was slowly engulfed in a new world where profit opportunity was high and old rules no longer applied. The individual involved acted like a major corporation in slowly bending the rules until they no longer believed the old rules or thought they could not possible be caught.

I think the story should be read by every corporate executive in America. It shows how easy it is to justify going 65 in a 55 zone and then occasionally speeding up to 85 when you think no one cares that you are going over the speed limit.

It is also an inspirational tale. I am very impressed with the author and how he changed his life around.

I would also recommend this book to anyone buying or selling on ebay. It is unbelievable how some of the items are marketed there. Ebay is not incented to police it to the degree they should. Buyer beware. At least for sure, I can tell you the art is not what you think it is!

This is a fast read .. get it.

Tells of a hobby gone wrong and packs in all the detail and excitement of a true adventure read.......2006-08-16

In the early heyday of ebay bidders flooded the site willing to buy nearly everything - among them art collectors who hoped to buy bargains and rarities from less educated listers. FAKE describes the actions of one Kenneth Walton, a lawyer who was not only seduced by an online con artist, but who become one himself. From his initial hobby as an online art-trading hobbyist to his entry into a world of fraud and selling fakes which would lead to a federal felony conviction, FAKE: HOW ONE MAN'S CON GAME CREATED AN INTERNATIONAL SCANDAL AND TRIGGERED A NATIONWIDE FBI HUNT tells of a hobby gone wrong and packs in all the detail and excitement of a true adventure read.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay.......2006-07-31

This is a must read.

Man! What a powerful, gripping tale of eBay manipulation in the early days. Walton shares an intimate, personal saga of eBay success and his resulting downfall.

I was reading Feinstein's Last Dance when I decided to read the first chapter of Walton's book. 4 1/2 hours later, I went back to Feinstein.

Kudos to Ken Walton!

JJ
Franklin, Tennessee

Good reading of the life of a small time white collar crimminal.......2006-07-08

8 July 2006:

Basically, I read this book in one day. It describes the exploits of Ken Walton, how he was able to sell art on eBay using dishonest means that were not policed by eBay. The addiction eventually lured him to forge one art work, and it is this piece that he did well to market it in the best possible light and resulted in a bidding war that caught the nation's attention. Therein lies his problems, because the winning bid was so much higher than other stuff he sold in the past, the media attention eventually shone the light on his other activities that he would have preferred to keep quite.

I am not a art person, so all the names and styles of art he wrote about in the book are a mystery to me. However, I do participate in eBay every once and a while, and that alone made the book an interesting read. The book casts FBI agents involved in better light than most other books, even though it is written from the point of view of a person who is being prosecuted, perhaps because the author was doing everything in his power to avoid jail time. Other impressions I get is how vindictive eBay can be, and how persistent reporters are in their quest to write a story. And, I am also impressed that he still manage to milk some non-trivial amount money out of his software company - but his software appeared to be a good one. The Internet Revolution does really support a lot of businesses.

Overall, this is a good book written from a personal first-person experience. Once read, though, I think I will forget most of it in a few years' time.

Club Fed: A True Story of Life, Lies, and Crime in the Federal Witness Protection Program (True Crime (Avon Books).)

Average customer rating:

THE LIARS COLONY
LIARS CLUB

Club Fed: A True Story of Life, Lies, and Crime in the Federal Witness Protection Program (True Crime (Avon Books).)
George E., Jr. Taylor , and Clifford L. Linedecker
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Witsec: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program
Witness Protection

ASIN: 0380795698

Book Description

As a reward for testimony that helped to convict over one hundred criminals, career felon George "Bud" Taylor was put into the Federal Witness Security Program (WITSEC). This is his shocking, fist-person account of a federally sanctioned bureaucratic monster running amok as it provides the scum of the earth with proection, privelege... and, sometimes, a new license to rob, rape, and kill.

Customer Reviews:

THE LIARS COLONY.......2003-11-01

I think you'll agree in this book that these "snitches" should have wound up in ditches!One who goes by the name "squeegie" (his picture is in the book)...BIG LIAR!He simply wanted to be in the fed protection program so he made up this elaborate story about a friend of mine and testified in court that got my friend "the chair".He is a MURDERER,if you ask me.People like this always wind up back stabbing when their heads are on the chopping board,as my now "sentenced to die" friend says.No telling how many innocent folks he has killed and will kill.Pretty good book though if you like fiction.

LIARS CLUB.......1999-01-11

Although the stories of other inmates were extremly interesting, I cannot help getting the impression that Mr. Taylor was lieing about his own accounts. He periodically put other inmates down saying they were not strong, cool, or street wise as he was, yet everyone else seem to have a better deal than he did. My oppinion of Taylor is, assuming all the stories are true in his book, that he is bitter and is putting down the system that probably saved his life. Even though no one knows for sure, I classify this book fiction. Sorry.

Truth, Power, and Lies: Irish Society and the Case of the Kerry Babies

Average customer rating:

Truth, Power, and Lies: Irish Society and the Case of the Kerry Babies
Tom Inglis
Manufacturer: University College Dublin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 190455802X

A Perversion of Justice: A Southern Tragedy of Murder, Lies and Innocence Betrayed

Average customer rating:

WOW, I couldn't put it down
these 2 lil punks deserve death!
I couldn't put it down
A Wake Up Call to America's Juvenile Injustice System
Excellent Book

A Perversion of Justice: A Southern Tragedy of Murder, Lies and Innocence Betrayed
Kathryn Medico , and Mollye Barrows
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060549297
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Book Description

A startling look inside one of the most fascinating cases of last year––the murder of Terry King, the conviction of his 12 and 13–year old sons, and the pedophile who was accused of being an accessory.

On November 26, 2001, Terry King was found dead in his recliner in his home in Pensacola, Florida. Though a fire had been set in an attempt to cover up the scene, the evidence was indisputable––he had been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Days later, King's two young sons, 12 and 13 and not even five feet tall each, were found hiding out in the mobile home of their close friend, Rick Chavis, a convicted pedophile who had recently become very close to 12–year old Alex. In parallel statements, Alex and Derek confessed to murdering their father, and soon, they became the two youngest people ever to stand on trial for murder in the state of Florida.

But in a startling twist, the prosecution decided to do the unprecedented––try the boys for murder in one trial and Rick Chavis for murder in another, despite the boys' confessions. And in a case that gripped the state of Florida and hit headlines across the nation, convictions came down and were soon overturned. But in the end, the case became a series of missed opportunities, stunning reversals, and one of the most riveting true crime stories of the last decade.

Customer Reviews:

WOW, I couldn't put it down.......2005-07-14

This book was very interesting, it sucked me in from the beginning. After reading the book and watching the documentary on A&E about the King brothers I'd have to say that I still don't think they did it. I think it was all Rick Chaves. I don't think the kids were in the right state of mind either. They were brain washed into thinking they're father (terry) didn't love them and was abusing them. I also dont think it was fair that Rick got off as lightly as he did. I know that were his sentence he wont be getting out anyway, but still I think there was enough evidence to convict him for murder.

these 2 lil punks deserve death!.......2005-01-21

NO WAY WAS JUSTICE DONE! THEY KILLED THEIR OWN FATHER BECAUSE THEY WANTED TOO.. NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS ABOUT IT!SAD THING IS I WORK IN THE CORRECTIONS SYSTEM AND WITH THESE KIDS, AND ONE DAY THEY WILL BE SET FREE TO KILL AGAIN! THEY CAN NOT BE REFORMED!

ENOUGH SAID....

I couldn't put it down.......2004-08-13

For three days every time I had a free moment i was reading this book trying to understand just how our justice sytem has sustained for so long when everything that is wrong with it is exposed through the Terry King murder trial. I remember hearing about this case on the news a few years ago and all I ever really got from the media was how distirubed these children must have been to have committed these crimes and what was wrong with the children in the world these days. Little did I know that all the faults in this case were do to people simply not doing their job and just trying to put this case to an end and get a convition the easiest way possible. But even though most of the media just portrayed these kids as uncaring terrible children, Mollye, a news reporter genuinely wanted to find the truth..........something my be our justice system should have been interested in as well. VERY VERY VERY good and thought-provoking book!

A Wake Up Call to America's Juvenile Injustice System.......2004-07-06

A Perversion of Justice hit the nail on the head. Great work Mollye and Kathryn! The book explains through a child's eye the horrors of today's juvenile injustice system. I hope the book is bought by every American family and read by every parent. The tough on juvenile crime political bandwagon parading in this country has been misinterpreted by parents who really have no concept of what they are voting for when they elect politicians with this stance.

This book is a definite wake up call. Parents only find out the terrible reality when their own child gets caught up in the barbed web of the system, and they learn the hard way that their children really aren't under their protection. When prosecutors are given the right to prosecute any age child as an adult, as is the case in Florida, in essence, no child is safe and all children belong to the state instead of their parents.

Ever since a "tough-on-juvenile-crime" political response to a media-hyped juvenile crime wave in the early 90s, the United States Juvenile Justice System has increasingly become a nightmare for America's children. Children caught up in the justice system are no longer recognized as children, yet aren't afforded the rights granted adults. Florida leads the nation in belief that children should be locked away for life.

Society should never respond to children who have committed crimes as though they are somehow equal to adults, fully formed in conscience and fully aware of their actions. Placing children in adult jails is a sign of failure, not a solution. In many instances, such terrible behavior points to societies own negligence in raising children with a respect for life, providing a nurturing and loving environment, or addressing serious mental or emotional illnesses.

Scientific studies have proven that the adolescent brain is not fully formed. Therefore, children should not be held equally culpable as adults. The Legislature needs to come out of the dark ages and listen to experts on child psychiatry and scientific data on human growth and development.

The draconian laws of the past two decades need to be re-evaluated and changed. An easy first step to juvenile justice reform in Florida would be for the Legislature to remove juveniles tried as adults from mandatory sentencing schemes and restore to juvenile judges discretion of deciding whether a child is to be tried in juvenile or adult court, instead of letting prosecutors decide.

There should be defined lines of age distinction drawn between child and adult. If visual difference isn't enough to convince, logic and common sense should recognize that children aren't allowed to drive, sign contracts or vote among other things, because society doesn't believe they are mentally mature enough to do these things competently. Therefore, why is it that if a child commits a crime they are suddenly classified by the courts as an adult?

Any competent adult should know better.

Children are this county's most precious commodity, because they are our future. If a society is judged by how well it treats its most vulnerable, the past two decades of America's juvenile justice system will be recorded as barbaric.

Read this book and you will want to change the juvenile justice system. Laws can be changed, one vote at a time.

Excellent Book.......2004-07-06

Leaving me shocked, disturbed, enraged and at times in tears over the brutal way Alex and Derek were treated, I really think we should all applaud the step Kathryn Medico and Mollye Barrows have taken in writing this book. There is no doubt in my mind that a Perversion of Justice occurred from the very beginning and I am personally horrified that we live in a society where a prosecutor can take a man to trial for murder and not even try to get a conviction and I'm further horrified that a young child can be forced to testify in open court and in handcuffs at the murder trial of a man accused of molesting him.

Regardless of who committed this crime, the fact is that the system failed these young boys miserably and it's only time someone take responsibility for fixing this broken system and Mollye and Kathryn's book is a good first start.

I strongly recommend anyone who cares about justice in America to read this book.

Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Missing Schoolhouse (Flatfoot Fox Series)
Average customer rating:
Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Missing Schoolhouse (Flatfoot Fox Series)
Eth Clifford
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Nosy Otter

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Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Missing Whoooo

ASIN: 0395814464

Book Description

When Principal Porcupine enlists Flatfoot Fox's help in solving the town's latest mystery, the great gumshoe is astonished. How could someone steal the Old Country Schoolhouse? Flatfoot Fox is the smartest detective in the world, but this is the first time anyone has asked him to find a missing building. It's up to Flatfoot Fox and his faithful assistant, Secretary Bird, to uncover the clues and find the missing schoolhouse. Once again Eth Clifford and Brian Lies collaborate on a successful Flatfoot Fox mystery.

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