A Place of Safety: A Chief Inspector Barnaby Novel (Chief Inspector Barnaby Novels)

Book Description

Charlie Leathers was not the most popular man in the charming English village of Ferne Basset, but few people seemed to hate him enough to murder him. Still, that was his fate one night, and it brings Inspector Barnaby to the scene to investigate. What Barnaby doesn't know is that before his death, Charlie witnessed what might have been the suicide--or murder--of a young woman whose troubles with the law have landed her in the home of a local retired minister and his none-too-pleased wife. Now a man is dead, a girl is missing, and a town is in chaos as long-kept secrets begin to unravel, with deadly repercussions.

Customer Reviews:

Great Mystery.......2006-08-11

If you like classic mysteries with well drawn characters instead of gruesome details, a real plot with foreshadowing instead of serial murders, then Caroline Graham's CI Barnaby Mysteries are just the thing!

A Place of Safety.......2006-06-26

This is another of the CID Barney series that I truely enjoy reading. It is well written and solved after a lot of the village intrigues have come to light. I really enjoy the TV series based on the books and therefore enjoy the books also.

No place of safety, this........2003-12-23

Picture a rectory in a small English village, and you will probably call up associations of sanctuary, harmony, shelter and reverence. Read a few chapters of this excellent crime novel and you'll see a very different picture. The vicar, no longer holding office in the church, peoples the childless household with young offenders serving their time of rehabilitation. For his wife, who owns the house, the nightmare of living in such a loveless marriage and such a dysfunctional household seems to turn into reality when she believes she has been responsible for the death of one of the inmates. Blackmail attempts follow, then murder. The case becomes one for Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy to investigate.

Author Caroline Graham is one of the best living practitioners of detective fiction. Her books have literary merit, the characters are as well rounded as is feasible in a whodunit game, and the denouements are neither too melodramatic nor too predictable. I can always read to the end with comfort, well able to remember and distinguish all the characters. There is a particularly venomous character here, Terry Jackson, who is hard to forget. Then there is the always sharply presented depiction of the Barnaby household, to which a son-in-law has by now been added.

Caroline Graham's Midsomer Murder novels appear every two or three years. This one dates from 1999 and is one of the best.

Not My Personal Favourite........2003-03-18

This book was not my favourite Graham, but a good one nevertheless. Ms. Graham's characterizations make her stories exceptional and this book is no different. This book starts with the death of an unpleasant man, and we the readers really don't care who did it, but Ms. Graham develops the other members of the village, and we suddenly find ourselves caring very much about some of the chief characters. This book is also different in that there is no real doubt as to the killer - the only thing is to try to flesh out the details as to why that particular killer killed that man and harmed that woman. This makes it a bit different than many other of her books. I certainly hope that this not her last effort in the Barnaby/Troy series. This book was written in 1999 and there has been nothing since then.

Rewards and Irritations.......2000-04-01

Caroline Graham's earlier books have been serious or overtly humorous, the later books are a strange mixture of subtleties and caricature. Whether a book is enjoyable or not seems to depend on the balance between the endearingly or interestingly eccentric, the irritating and the obnoxious. I enjoyed `A Place of Safety' despite the presence of the forthright Cully, who can dominate a book even if she's supposed to be nowhere in the vicinity. (There seems to be a disproportionate number of fictional detectives with actress wives or daughters. I don't know whether authors use them in the interest of plot, as a way of introducing further elements of drama or because they think there are characteristics common to both professions.) I still find the author's use of product name-dropping excessive, almost enough to justify the addition of explanatory notes before the foreign and large print editions come out. The descriptions that don't use this device often seem much more interesting and inventive. It is difficult to classify all the books as a whole. Even in the main series different readers may find different books more or less congenial, but they may find it worthwhile to read more than one book before they decide what they do think of them.

Average customer rating:

Rich, vibrant colors from a remarkable author
Love the books about Peter...
Grew up with this book!
Goggles
Goggles!

Goggles (Picture Puffin)
Ezra Jack Keats
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140564403

Book Description

Generations of children have read, re-read, and loved Ezra Jack Keats's award-winning, classic stories about Peter and his neighborhood friends. Now, for the first time, Peter's Chair, A Letter to Amy, and Goggles! are available in paperback exclusively from Puffin. A well-loved character, a familiar childhood situation, and an urban setting are the components of this winning picture book, one of Keats's best. -- Booklist Ezra Jack Keats (19161983) was the beloved author and/or illustrator of over eighty-five books for children.

Customer Reviews:

Rich, vibrant colors from a remarkable author.......2006-04-20

This is the story of two boys who find a pair of motorcycle goggles. They wear them long enough for a group of older boys to try and take them. Fortunately the boys who found the goggles are wiley enough to escape. The last line of the story is cute..."Things look fine now!"

I gave this book a 5 because of the art work. Ezra Jack Keats is so talented! Rich vibrant colors mark the illustrations of two adventurers in the city. The illustrations by Keats are appealing because of their gritty realism and exciting colors. While the pictures will appeal to children, they also captivate the imaginations in all of us. Keats records part of our society and culture as children experience them.

Everybody should experience Ezra Jack Keats.

Love the books about Peter..........2006-01-06

I think this is a great book, along with the other books in the series. My two-year old daughter likes to read the books about Peter and in fact, will turn the pages and "read" the book herself, talking about the pictures which vividly tell the story. We live in the city and I like that these books are not set in the suburbs or countryside as many children's books only show that type of lifestyle. I would not characterize these books as being set in the ghetto or inner city as other reviewers have; I think it's just a portrayal of life in the city vs. the typical idyllic children's book setting.

Grew up with this book!.......2004-02-04

As a tyke in the 70's, I remember reading "Goggles!" many times and always finding myself emerced in the story. I now have twin boys that I can read it to and show them what their dad grew up with. Great book.

Goggles.......2002-12-16

This is a very good book. It is about two boys who live in the ghetto. When they were in a junkyard playing around, Henry stumbled upon a pair of motorcycle goggles. They looked great on him. One the walk home two bullies want to take the goggles. The punk pushes henry down and the goggles fall out. Everyone looks at them, Then the dog runs off with them. The boys split up and go to the secret hideout. The dog gos slowly after. They run though a pipe and give the goggles to henry.

Well hope you enjoy reading this book. It is written by Ezra Jack Keats. It is one of the many books she has written, hope you get a chance to read them all.

Goggles!.......2002-10-23

I enjoyed reading the book Rich Cat, Poor Cat! It was about these two cats one is a street cat and is poor, scubby, dirty, no one pays attention to him, and he has to find his own way to live, his own shelter, food, and the other cat is a indoor cat that lives with a very rich family that cleans, feeds, give shelter, and takes care of him! Yes, I think this book is great for kids because it makes you think about all the cats out there that don't have homes! I think children would like to read this book because it teaches you things about cats and you should take care of every pet you own!

Robert Young Pelton's the World's Most Dangerous Places

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Really several (long) books in one
Dangerous Places - Rated
Loved it
Mark Twain with attitude
The Worlds Most Dangerous Places.

Robert Young Pelton's the World's Most Dangerous Places
Robert Young Pelton
Manufacturer: HarperResource
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0062737384
Release Date: 2000-05-30

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The first thing you should know about Fielding's The World's Most Dangerous Places is that it is not a comforting book. Its pages bristle with tales of land mines, war zones, terrorists, mercenaries, mafiosi, massacres, kidnappers, drug smugglers, and all the other unpleasant travel disasters that are the stuff of nightmares. But then, as the editors point out in their foreword, "as travelers are kidnapped and executed in Cambodia, a recognized dangerous place, they also are hunted down and murdered in Los Angeles." In other words, the most dangerous thing in the world is ignorance.

The second thing you should know about The World's Most Dangerous Places is that it is not meant to be used as a guidebook. True, there will be some adrenaline junkies out there who, upon perusing the pages about the war in Chechnya, decide that that's the place they want to be. The most likely audience for this book, however, is comprised of people who either have to visit the perilous corners of the world--journalists, foreign-service employees, etc.--or have a desire to learn more about such places without necessarily visiting them. It's also a good compliment to more mainstream guidebooks for the growing legion of adventure travelers whose quests for higher mountains to climb, fiercer rivers to raft, and wilder trails to hike often take them to hazardous regions. Whether you're planning a trip to a dangerous place or just want to learn more about one, The World's Most Dangerous Places is the right book at the right time.

Book Description

Whether you are traveling to Afghanistan or within the U.S., Robert Young Pelton takes you where the timid fear to tread -- straight into the heart of the world's forbidden, lethal, and even criminal places -- giving you all you need to know to survive the experience.

Featuring more than 30 countries, The World's Most Dangerous Places reveals their hidden dangers, including everything from diseases, land mines, and kidnapping to mercenaries, mujahedin, and militias. With firsthand accounts of breathtaking adventure in these hazardous locations, Pelton provides indispensable information on contacts for rescue organizations, environmental groups, political activists (including rebel groups), training schools in outdoor survival, commando techniques, and other potentially life-saving advice.

Whether you're an armchair traveler or a die-hard explorer, The World's Most Dangerous Places is your ticket to the white-knuckle pursuit of adventure...wherever it may be.

Customer Reviews:

Really several (long) books in one.......2007-06-13

This really consists of three books. The first, and the most obvious part, t is an actual, honest-to-goodness travel guide to dangerous places. I can easily imagine reporters, security consultants, and others pulling this book off their shelf before going to an unfamiliar place.

Inevitably, there are places left out. Pelton includes the United States here, half-seriously and half tongue-in-cheek. This is all to the good, and gives readers a sense of perspective. Still, its inclusion raises all sorts of questions. What makes the US dangerous is gun crime in some areas, which rates it one star (consistently with other countries such as India). But . . . the rates of gun crime are higher in most of Latin America, and kidnaping is much more common. In other words, if you're going to include the US, then Brazil and especially Mexico should have been in the book, along with many of their neighbors. Clearly his rating of the US reflects a pose more than a serious rating.

The second "book" here is a quick-and-dirty summary of the politics and society of these dangerous places. These summaries have information but tend to have rather more attitude. Pelton tries to be cool, tries to assign blame for conflicts in a non-standard way, and likes to review who-did-what-to-whom facts more than underlying causes.

The third "book" is a summary of issues that make places dangerous, such as the drug trade. This is more informative than the country summaries, but also displays a lot of attitude.

Much of the attitude in this book makes it quite funny. The book looks like an almanac or encyclopedia, but you can actually read in through straight. Over a long period.

It's a great read despite its length. Bring it to a dangerous place and throw it at your enemies.

Disclaimer: the US aside, the only "dangerous place" I've been is the Balkans, and I wasn't in the dangerous parts, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the information on the ground.

Dangerous Places - Rated.......2007-05-08

You just do not know how lucky you have it until you read this book. I call it the places most likely not to be in my passport.

Great read. A must for the adventurer (armchair or real).

Loved it.......2007-03-11

The expanse and effort they took to writing this book is awesome, especially if one is dumb enough to actually wanna go to these places.

Mark Twain with attitude.......2007-02-04

I recently reread Twain's Innocents Abroad and followed it up with Pelton's TWMDP. Twain would approve. Pelton's prose is starkly cynical in all the right places and for the right reasons. Twain looked at the 19th century conviction that mankind was on an upward spiral of inevitable progress with a most jaundiced eye. He would read Pelton's missives as vindication of his darkest views. Pelton's book is a sober reminder that the world is a place of staggering complexity where tribalism, terrorism, and technology unite to mock any notion that history as progress is little more than a vapor. The book should be required reading for any student of history, world affairs, or politics.

The Worlds Most Dangerous Places........2007-01-28

This is my second edition of The Worlds Most Dangerous Places. My other one is a first edition. These books are not only an extremely concise snapshop of current world politics, they are funny and entertaining.

Average customer rating:

Another excellent addition to an addictive series.
Non Stop Action
great
Tomorrow When The War Began
The greatest war story/comming of age tail ever told

Burning for Revenge (Tomorrow Series)
John Marsden
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395960541

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Ellie has started to believe she won't survive the war. Their band of eight teenage guerrillas is down to five now--Robyn and Corrie and Chris are dead, and only she and Homer and Kevin and Lee and Fi are still trying to sabotage the enemy who has taken over their country. They're growing numb and soul sick from the violence, because they've been fighting for a long time--through four previous novels, actually: John Marsden's Tomorrow: When the War Began, The Dead of Night, A Killing Frost, and Darkness Be My Friend. At the same time, they are normal teens who kid around, fall in and out of love, and think long thoughts about the meaning of life.

It is this poignant human dimension that lifts Marsden's series above the run-of-the-mill spy action novel--that and the fact that nobody is better at writing about things blowing up. And his scenes leading up to the explosion create tension so powerful it is almost unbearable to keep on reading--but impossible not to. In Burning for Revenge, the five have been abandoned in enemy territory when the New Zealand general decides that they are not valuable enough to send a rescue helicopter. Without any definite plans, they sneak into the back of a truck, only to find themselves at the end of the ride deep within the enemy's airfield. How they battle out of the situation and leave the enemy's air power in ruins makes a breathlessly exciting story that will not disappoint the many teen fans of this excellent series. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Book Description

From Hell to Stratton isn't an easy trip, especially when the enemy's headquarters lies somewhere in between. And that's exactly where Ellie and her friends unwillingly find themselves — smack in the middle of the Wirrawee airfield. With only five of them against hundreds of armed soldiers, escape seems like a suicide mission. The odds aren't good, and Kevin's nervous
breakdown isn't helping matters.
Ellie and her compatriots are back, battling to stay alive and struggling to stay together in John Marsden's latest book in the TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN series. High-speed truck chases, unexpected river journeys, and treachery by one of their own are just a few of the problems these Australian teens face in this gritty tale of war and survival.

Customer Reviews:

Another excellent addition to an addictive series........2007-03-24

The Tomorrow series of books by John Marsden got me through High School (as a lucky New Zealander, I have had the books since the 1990's). I awaited every new instalment with excitement and trepidation. `Burning for Revenge' was no exception and it delivered everything I was hoping for and more. `Burning for Revenge' is a nice return to the action, gunfire and explosive situations after a more sober `Darkness Be My Friend'. One book from the Tomorrow series features a warning quote: "do not start at night". This is completely true in `Burning for Revenge' - the reader is urged on to continue reading until the last page is turned, and is left gasping for breath and reaching urgently for the next instalment.

If you have enjoyed the Tomorrow Series, be sure to catch the Ellie Chronicles ( While I Live (The Ellie Chronicles) )that continue the story of Elle after the peace settlement.

Non Stop Action.......2005-11-01

Burning For Revenge will keep you up all night, that's for sure. There is a lot of non-stop action packed in this book, more than any of the previous books. Marsden makes you visualize the fear felt by the characters while escaping constant pursuit. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

great.......2004-01-23

this is the best series i have ever read. i am currently reading the other side of dawn and i am sad that i am almost finished. i have not found any books that are as great as these so i might as well just read them over and over again. i just hope there are other books as mesmerizing as these out there...

Tomorrow When The War Began.......2003-03-28

The book was great! It had a lot of action. It really kept you in suspence. It didnt seem like the book was very long but probably because it was such a great book.

The greatest war story/comming of age tail ever told.......2002-06-30

I was first introduced to this serioes at school, we were assigned to read it for English, before this book all books assigned to us in school were all garbage and I expected the same, as did most the other students in my class, most wouldnt bother to read it, so the teacher read it aloud in class, for most of it upuntil the half way mark I ignored most of it, until it dawned on me that this book was actualy sounding o.k. When I got home i got my copy from the bookshelf and actualy started to read it, and I read at any chance I had, and when I finished I read the second and third and then had to wait while the rest were written and released
The amazing story starts off with a group of teenagers going camping, and when they return the find the Australia has been taken over by another country, they go to the bush again to hide, but can't just sit back and do nothing and decide to fight back in what ever way they can, although unconventional, when all is said and done and the series is over they made a huge impact on the war, sometimes planned, sometimes fluked, of coarse not all survive and with every loss you can not help but feel the emotional pain of the others, it is the best comming of age story I have read, and although it is listed as a young adult series, it will be unforgetable to all ages and you will develop a bond with Ellie, Homer, Kevin and the rest of the gang, I have never fell in love with any fictional charactors the way I did with these guys, not even in T.V series
A story like this comes along once in a life time, do not, and I mean do not missss this book

Average customer rating:

The Razor's Edge
an inspiration
Where's the beef?
A great achievement, a political novel of the first order
One of my favorite novels

A Place of Greater Safety: A Novel
Hilary Mantel
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312426399
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Amazon.com

As 19th-century novelists Alexandre Dumas and Charles Dickens both discovered, the French Revolution makes for great drama. This lesson has not been lost on Hilary Mantel, whose A Place of Greater Safety brings a 20th-century sensibility to the stirring events of 1789. Mantel's approach is nothing if not ambitious: her three main characters, Georges-Jacques Danton, Maximilien Robespierre, and Camille Desmoulins, happen to have been major players in the early days of the revolution--men whose mix of ambition, idealism, and ego helped unleash the Terror and brought them eventually to their own tragic ends. As Mantel points out in her forward, none of these men was famous before the revolution; thus not a great deal is known about their early lives. What would constrain the biographer, however, is an open invitation to the fiction writer to let the imagination run wild; thus Mantel freely extrapolates from what is known of her protagonists' personalities and relationships with each other to construct their pasts.

This is a huge, complex novel, but the author has done her homework. Though Danton, Robespierre, and Desmoulins are at the center of her story, they are by no means the only major characters who populate the novel. Mantel uses historical figures as well as fictional ones to provide different points of view on the story. As she moves from one to the next, her narrative voice changes back and forth from first to third person as she sometimes grants us access to her characters' deepest thoughts and feelings, and other times keeps us guessing. A Place of Greater Safety is a happy marriage of literary and historical fiction, and a bona fide page-turner, as well. --Margaret Prior

Book Description

It is 1789, and three young provincials have come to Paris to make their way. Georges-Jacques Danton, an ambitious young lawyer, is energetic, pragmatic, debt-ridden--and hugely but erotically ugly. Maximilien Robespierre, also a lawyer, is slight, diligent, and terrified of violence. His dearest friend, Camille Desmoulins, is a conspirator and pamphleteer of genius. A charming gadfly, erratic and untrustworthy, bisexual and beautiful, Camille is obsessed by one woman and engaged to marry another, her daughter. In the swells of revolution, they each taste the addictive delights of power, and the price that must be paid for it.

Customer Reviews:

The Razor's Edge.......2006-09-04

Everything about this book is huge- its length, its scope, its cast, and its research. Mantel takes us to the razor's edge- showing how those brilliant men who engineered and orchestrated the French Revolution and its ideals lost control of their creation and became victims themselves of the Terror. It is immensely readable, with engaging, complex characters. Mantel does an excellent job of portraying Robespierre, Desmoulins and Danton in a way which leads readers to be sympathetic towards them while also being horrified of what they were party to. An excellent read for anyone who finds the French Revolution fascinating, and a wonderful novel overall.

an inspiration.......2006-05-21

This novel is a benchmark in historical fiction---comparisons others have made here to Dickens and Tolstoy are not hyperbole. This is a stunning intellectual achievement in its depth of characterization and sheer narrative verve...and, to steal from one of the reviews on the paperback's back cover, all brought off with "Mantel's customary black sparkle."
There is a knowingness in this book about human nature which makes nearly everything else I've read lately taste of cardboard. Historicity aside---and it is very good history, if psychohistory of the Shakespearean stripe---the dialogue is so theatrically sharp, you wonder why no one has tried to film this. Short answer: it's probably [and thankfully] unfilmable.
There are gems [often drawn from sheer dint of research] any writer would be thrilled to have composed: the schoolboy Robespierre reciting a rote speech to Louis XV's closed carriage in the rain; the midnight meeting between Desmoulins and the Duc d'Orleans; Danton's slow circling of Lucile Desmoulins; the madness of the show trials, with the tumbrils already ordered, awaiting the walking dead.
Writers who look their art square in the eye know that they are called to write masterpieces: nothing else matters.
This, simply, is one. It will go down as one of the great fictional accomplishments of the 20th century.
And while you're at it, read Mantel's autobiography. It's terrifyingly real too: you'll understand where her eerily precise eye for human behaviour first saw practice.

Where's the beef?.......2006-04-28

I fear I must disagree with those readers who have given this one a thunderous ovation. What time in history could be more fascinating, full of action and suspense than the French Revolution? With this riveting background, how could this book fail to captivate and engross? Mantel shows us how. Getting through this overblown tome was an exercise in discipline and tedium. I kept waiting to be caught up in the action, but never was. Despite being populated by the proverbial cast of thousands, none of them seemed particularly interesting. These are the pivotal figures in a great historical movement, yet I found them lackluster, irksome and confusing in temperament. Most of the peak moments of the Revolution take place "off camera," as it were. We get one paragraph about the executions of Louis XVI and Marie-Antonette, the murder of Marat, and the storming of the Bastille. What was surely a fascinating and fast-moving time in history is bogged down here by endless colloquy between the principals. After 800 pages of listening to them blab, I still did not get much of a feel for who they were and what motivated them. Could these men have been as cynical, self-serving and puerile as they appear? Camille Desmoulins comes off as an obnoxious adolescent; all I felt I knew about Danton pertained to his scarred face and sexual appetites; and Robespierre - who must have been a powerful and charismatic person - seems no better than a bore and a prig. How could individuals such as these have galvanized the nation into a total overthrow of an ancient regime? This book would have been greatly improved by some incisive editing, for starters. I consider myself an educated and fairly savvy reader, but this one left me cold. Perhaps better suited to those who are already well-informed about the French Revolution than for those who are reading to be enlightened.

A great achievement, a political novel of the first order.......2006-01-16

This is an amazing historic novel; well written, well researched, and thorough. Mantel has a gift for dramatic dialogue and witty conversations. I always wanted to read about the early years of the French Revolution and Mantel's book certainly fits the bill.

The first strength of the work is the excellent character development for all the characters in the book, but especially for the three men at the center of the revolution. Danton and Robespierre were revealed, not only in all the complexity of their personalities, but also in regard to their political sensibilities. This is a rare treat in a novel. Not since Robert Graves' characters of Claudius and Herod Aggrippa in Claudius the God or President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward in Gore Vidal's Lincoln has an author been able to demonstrate the interactions of personality and political philosophy of the main characters of a historic novel. Danton reminded me so much of Lyndon Johnson or Bill Clinton in his over the top robust grasp of his own and other's humanity; his natural intuitive political sensibility; and his all too human appetites. Danton was a political animal as compared to Robespierre who was a political theorist and purist. About half-way through the novel, one of the characters remarks that women don't understand politics. Mantel's grasp of political processes, epecially in times of chaos and raw power, is fantastic. I loved the way she draws parallels between the terror in Paris under Robespierre and the terror in Rome under Tiberious.

The second strength of the book is that it is not only a historic novel, it is a political novel, and as such draws relationships between ideology and parties as well as personalities and affinities. Mantel is wonderful at painting a portrait of the times in regard to public opinion and sensibility. She captures the chaotic crowd mentality and the methodical chess-like plotting of the characters for advantage. She reveals some characters that revel in thier complete transparency, such as Danton, and others who tightly control what they reveal and what others may find out about them, such as Robespierre.

I needed to understand why the revolution in the United States forged a relatively solid nation and the revolution in France lead to chaos. I think Mantel points out the several issues to explain the difference. These would include the vast difference between the loyalist colonists in the Colonies as compared to the vast infrastructure that supported the aristocracy in France. The peasants in the Colonies were well fed and had far more opportunity than the peasants in France. Thus after the American revolution, the energy is directed outward and is expansive whereas in France the energy was directed inward and was implosive. In American, thousands moved into the Ohio valley to farm. In France, thousands invaded the churches, destroying centuries of art and culture. Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson never saw eye-to-eye but they never cut each other's heads off like you see in the struggle between Danton and Robespierre and Saint-Just.

At 750 pages, this book is quite a read. There are hundreds of characters and events. In the end, however, I thought it was a great achievement.

One of my favorite novels.......2006-01-05

Hilary Mantel's unique world-view, superb characterization, and witty prose (not to mention the subject matter!) make this one of my favorite novels of all time. Many of her techniques (such as writing dialogues in script format) were unconventional, and I doubt any other writer could have gotten away with them, but the repartee is so witty that she gets away with it. Considered only for its literary value, this book is by far the best novel I've ever read.

But while this is true as well for most of the characterizations, I find that Mantel tends to portray the women as manipulative and scheming (Eleonore and Elisabeth Duplay come to mind), which as far as historicity goes, I see no basis for. Additionally, I found the (relative) absence of noted historical characters to be somewhat bizarre. (Couthon, one of Robespierre's closest allies, is barely mentioned in the entire book.)

On the whole, however, this book blew me away. Even if it is not perfect, it is by far the best fictional representation of the French Revolution I have ever read (especially in the portrayal of Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins).

Willy Whitefeather's River Book for Kids (Willy Whitefeather's)

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Willy Whitefeather's River Book for Kids (Willy Whitefeather's)
Willy Whitefeather
Manufacturer: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0943173949

Book Description

A grandfather teaches a young Cherokee ijow to avoid the hard knocks of the river.

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Disappointingly, one of Barnard's lesser efforts

No Place of Safety: A Crime Novel
Robert Barnard
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684845032

Book Description

Fifteen-year-old Katy Bourne and sixteen-year-old Alan Coughlan are missing. Though they are students at the same school, they hardly know each other, so it's strange that they should disappear together. Katy's mother, self-centered and unloving, doesn't mind if her daughter never comes home. Alan's solid working-class parents are pained and puzzled by their son's departure.

There's not much the police can do about runaway teenagers, but Detective Constable Charlie Peace goes through the motions. He interviews the families, he visits the school. Alan had friends and had aspired to a good education. Katy had nothing, least of all self-esteem.

The two teens could be anywhere, even living dangerously on the streets of Leeds, so it's with relief that Charlie discovers them in a hostel for homeless young people. But are they safe? And who is Ben Marchant, the man who runs the shelter?

Whoever he is, he seems to be doing well. Young people beg or work as street musicians during the day, then eat and sleep at the hostel at night. They can remain there two weeks and then must leave for two weeks before beginning the cycle again. Only Katy and Alan stay longer. Only they have a special, mysterious understanding with Ben.

But all is not well at the shelter. Neighbors complain about strange goings-on. Residents too often display feelings of jealousy and suspicion. A young woman flees from a violent family member, perhaps bringing danger with her. Emotions run high, ranging from love and gratitude to fear and hate.

One person may even hate enough to murder. One person's hate may destroy this place that some regard as a haven of peace and safety and others fear as something more complex and diabolical.

No Place of Safety combines brilliant social commentary with a mesmerizing mystery plot that will once again enthrall Robert Barnard's legion of fans. Recognized as one of the best of all contemporary crime writers, Barnard is in top form.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointingly, one of Barnard's lesser efforts.......1999-03-24

I've thoroughly enjoyed past Barnard books, but this one left me flat. He's too skilled a writer not to have some effective passages, but the story and characters were underdeveloped. His social commentary regarding homeless kids is pointed, but I missed his dark, satiric humor. The mystery of the stabber is solved, but ironically, the resolution doesn't really contribute to any of the characters' development, leaving me curiously uninvolved with them. Only Midge stood out with any vividness. All this and a lack of psychological suspense makes this a readable but blah experience.

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Safe Place: Guidelines for Creating an Abuse-Free Environment

Manufacturer: Christian Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Manufacturer: Mercury Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Very young children are naturally curious and learn through experience. However, some places are too dangerous, too private, too busy or too secretive to experience first-hand. This playful book enables our child to explore these boundaries respectfully and in safety--by identifying key objects in the colorful illustrations. Each little discovery is reinforced through rhyme and repetition in lively verses.

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