"Plum Spooky" is Plum good!
This Stephanie Plum rendition also brings a little change of pace because most of it takes place in a new location, the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, and we get to meet a whole new eccentric cast of characters. We're also reintroduced to the hunky Diesel, an international bounty hunter who passes through Trenton once in awhile. It adds a little interest to see Stephanie Plum paired with someone other than Ranger or Morelli-- and to have it be more of a sibling relationship (not that Diesel doesn't try for more.)
Basically, Stephanie is on the trail of a mad kid scientist, Martin Munch, and runs in to the guy Munch is working for, Wulf Grimwoire, a very scary man who also happens to be Diesel's cousin. Diesel is after Wulf, who is wanted for a string of murders among other international terror charges. Wulf's main interest in Stephanie is that Munch takes a liking to her and wants her to be his sex slave. Every change Stephanie gets she uses her famous kick routine in the unmentionables.
For once Stephanie's car is not torched by bad guys. It would have been torched by a fire farting hermit who lives in the Barrens, but Stephanie's new jeep had already been trashed by a family of raccoons when she ran out of gas in the piney woods of the Barrens. She's also looking after a monkey for an acquaintance, and runs into a whole bevy of monkeys on an animal preserve in the Barrens. See what I told you? Lots of new and different zany characters and action.
Anyway, like most of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, this is entertaining and totally effortless reading that will make you laugh out loud at regular intervals.
An idea-- Stephanie Plum and her pals would make such great characters in a film series. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has approached the author with an offer. I suppose the filming budget would be pretty big given the number of vehicles and buildings that explode or get torched in every episode...
Liz Nichols
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Dead Man's Puzzle by Parnell Hall
This is the first time I've run in to Hall's Puzzle Lady Mystery series. I have mixed feelings about it.
This is one mystery where it was not that easy to decipher the killer half way through the book, and I appreciate the complexity of the process that went in to constructing the book. I don't happen to be a puzzle addict, so I did not take the time to try to solve the puzzles myself. If I had the book would have taken me a lot longer. I'm also not that familiar with Soduku, which I realize is very popular right now. Soduku lovers will love this book.
What bothered me was the disjointedness of the dialogue. The sleuth, Cora Felton, a puzzle creator who can't solve her own puzzles to save her life, has a thought process that is akin to someone who is ADHD or possibly bipolar, and that makes her dialogue and her thoughts difficult to follow. It all hangs together in the end, but it is easy to get tangled up in the process. The short, choppy dialogue makes the book at the same time a fast read, and a confusing one.
The other thing that bothered me about the book is the book's design. I usually don't complain about this. I appreciate the work that publishers do to create the finished product. This time, the changes in typeface between headings, pagination and the body of the page make the work hard to read and detract from it to some extent. Perhaps this contributes to the sense of disjointedness in the work.
I can't say that I got involved with the main character the way I do with my favorite mystery writers, and so I will probably not go out of my way to read another or to go back in the series to read some of the earlier books in the series.
However, the subject and the writing style will appeal to many readers. I can understand why Parnell Hall has a following.
Liz Nichols
This is one mystery where it was not that easy to decipher the killer half way through the book, and I appreciate the complexity of the process that went in to constructing the book. I don't happen to be a puzzle addict, so I did not take the time to try to solve the puzzles myself. If I had the book would have taken me a lot longer. I'm also not that familiar with Soduku, which I realize is very popular right now. Soduku lovers will love this book.
What bothered me was the disjointedness of the dialogue. The sleuth, Cora Felton, a puzzle creator who can't solve her own puzzles to save her life, has a thought process that is akin to someone who is ADHD or possibly bipolar, and that makes her dialogue and her thoughts difficult to follow. It all hangs together in the end, but it is easy to get tangled up in the process. The short, choppy dialogue makes the book at the same time a fast read, and a confusing one.
The other thing that bothered me about the book is the book's design. I usually don't complain about this. I appreciate the work that publishers do to create the finished product. This time, the changes in typeface between headings, pagination and the body of the page make the work hard to read and detract from it to some extent. Perhaps this contributes to the sense of disjointedness in the work.
I can't say that I got involved with the main character the way I do with my favorite mystery writers, and so I will probably not go out of my way to read another or to go back in the series to read some of the earlier books in the series.
However, the subject and the writing style will appeal to many readers. I can understand why Parnell Hall has a following.
Liz Nichols
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Cat Playing Cupid by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
I am really not a fan of books with talking animals. I just have a lot of trouble with anthropomorthizing animals-- and that is the whole premise of Murphy's Joe Grey Mystery Series.
Joe Grey is a "speaking cat" who lives with several other like-gifted cats in the small town of Molena Point in coastal northern California. Only a few people in this community know about this cat family's rare gift, and they are dedicated to keep the cats' secret.
The secret is threatened by the discovery of a book about speaking cats buried with a dead body in the ancestral home of the family that first brought this cat family line from Wales. The cats with their current people have to come up with a plan to get the body discovered after they have dragged away the offensive volume and without revealing the unusual talents of this family of cats. Since no one in the police department is privy to the secret about the cats it is a matter of getting the police to find the body without becoming suspicious about the cats.
The other thread is the "love" story between a feral "speaking cat," Sage, and his half-feral litter mate, Kit. Kit ultimately decides to stay with her people rather than to go back to the hard life of a wild cat. I find this relationship too filled with sentimentality and anthropomorphic for my tastes.
There are sections of the book that are exciting and attention-grabbing, in particular the chase of the suspect (there's no surprise about who that is) and the clever way the animals and their people use to get the police to find the dead body in the Pamillion ruins.
This book will appeal to mystery lovers who enjoy animal characters and can suspend disbelief a bit in terms of what the animals think, say and do.
Liz Nichols
Joe Grey is a "speaking cat" who lives with several other like-gifted cats in the small town of Molena Point in coastal northern California. Only a few people in this community know about this cat family's rare gift, and they are dedicated to keep the cats' secret.
The secret is threatened by the discovery of a book about speaking cats buried with a dead body in the ancestral home of the family that first brought this cat family line from Wales. The cats with their current people have to come up with a plan to get the body discovered after they have dragged away the offensive volume and without revealing the unusual talents of this family of cats. Since no one in the police department is privy to the secret about the cats it is a matter of getting the police to find the body without becoming suspicious about the cats.
The other thread is the "love" story between a feral "speaking cat," Sage, and his half-feral litter mate, Kit. Kit ultimately decides to stay with her people rather than to go back to the hard life of a wild cat. I find this relationship too filled with sentimentality and anthropomorphic for my tastes.
There are sections of the book that are exciting and attention-grabbing, in particular the chase of the suspect (there's no surprise about who that is) and the clever way the animals and their people use to get the police to find the dead body in the Pamillion ruins.
This book will appeal to mystery lovers who enjoy animal characters and can suspend disbelief a bit in terms of what the animals think, say and do.
Liz Nichols
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Those who read my reviews regularly know that I don't review a lot of non-fiction. That doesn't mean that I don't read a lot of non-fiction. I get so much of my non-fiction reading from the research I do for my "day job" which is content management and freelance writing. I typically read two or three reports per day, several blogs and at least one newspaper. In addition, I will listen to one or two rebroadcasts of webinars or teleconferences per day as I get other things done. So, I certainly do spend the majority of my time absorbing information. When I kick back my reading is almost always fiction...
A few times per year, however, a non-fiction book comes to my attention as a "must read. Ferriss' book,"The 4 Hour Workweek," has been on the radar for a couple of years, and I finally picked it up last week at the behest of Nathan Jurewicz, the Short Sale Kid. He is an example of a twenty-something millionaire who took Ferriss' system to heart early on and now lives the 4 Hour Workweek lifestyle.
The heart of Ferriss' advice is to outsource. In my present situation I AM an outsourcer other entrepreneurs will turn to to get their article writing and blogging done. However, my partner and I are working diligently to turn our business into a turnkey system where we form writing and web development teams under managers to take care of our client's sites. We have been focusing on people who are already online, and that is one model--- supplying the people who are already successful with a way to get the content done for sites that can be projected out to strong sales as the traffic is built organically. The other model we are working to build up right now is one that is local-- helping successful local businesses become even more successful by capturing a log of the local traffic in niche areas. So, one of the things Ferriss' book does is to confirm the model we are developing. That's somewhat comforting to have someone like Timothy Ferriss confirm the appropriateness of the model.
Another aspect of the book is helping entrepreneurs make the most of the time that is freed up. Just because someone manages to replace himself in his work does not make someone happy. It is important to have a vision of what you want to do with your time and to do something that is socially and intellectually redeeming and challenging. Ferriss travels the world having new experiences and meeting new people. He also gives back through social service and charitable giving. Both are very important to having a fulfilling life.
The 4 Hour Workweek is neither the best written nor the most original book of its kind, but it certainly has had a wide impact on entrepreneurs around the world. It is therefore required reading for anyone who is an entrepreneur or wants to become a successful entrepreneur.
Liz Nichols
A few times per year, however, a non-fiction book comes to my attention as a "must read. Ferriss' book,"The 4 Hour Workweek," has been on the radar for a couple of years, and I finally picked it up last week at the behest of Nathan Jurewicz, the Short Sale Kid. He is an example of a twenty-something millionaire who took Ferriss' system to heart early on and now lives the 4 Hour Workweek lifestyle.
The heart of Ferriss' advice is to outsource. In my present situation I AM an outsourcer other entrepreneurs will turn to to get their article writing and blogging done. However, my partner and I are working diligently to turn our business into a turnkey system where we form writing and web development teams under managers to take care of our client's sites. We have been focusing on people who are already online, and that is one model--- supplying the people who are already successful with a way to get the content done for sites that can be projected out to strong sales as the traffic is built organically. The other model we are working to build up right now is one that is local-- helping successful local businesses become even more successful by capturing a log of the local traffic in niche areas. So, one of the things Ferriss' book does is to confirm the model we are developing. That's somewhat comforting to have someone like Timothy Ferriss confirm the appropriateness of the model.
Another aspect of the book is helping entrepreneurs make the most of the time that is freed up. Just because someone manages to replace himself in his work does not make someone happy. It is important to have a vision of what you want to do with your time and to do something that is socially and intellectually redeeming and challenging. Ferriss travels the world having new experiences and meeting new people. He also gives back through social service and charitable giving. Both are very important to having a fulfilling life.
The 4 Hour Workweek is neither the best written nor the most original book of its kind, but it certainly has had a wide impact on entrepreneurs around the world. It is therefore required reading for anyone who is an entrepreneur or wants to become a successful entrepreneur.
Liz Nichols
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
This is the first Chiaverini novel I have read, and I am pleased to make the acquaintance of her Quilter's Series. She is obviously an accomplished quilter and a quilt historian in her own right, and she very effectively sews together solid tales by using bits and pieces of historical fact and quilting lore to start off her works.
In this particular book Chiaverini uses historial tidbits from the Historic Charleston Foundation and the Edisto Island Museum to create a story around a slave woman who is sold south to South Carolina after being caught as a runaway along the Underground Railway in Pennsylvania in 1859. She fashions a Birds in the Air quilt out of scraps from her owners' castoff clothes and her own rags and hides in the stitching hints as to how to find the Elm Creek Farm again the next time she runs. She leaves a son, her offspring with her master, in the care of the Elm Creek Farm owners.
Before she is able to return she is sold by her master in Virginia to his relatives on Edisto Island near Charleston, SC and eventually is allowed to marry and have a baby daughter. The Civil War stops any plans that she and her spouse, Titus Chester, can make to run north, but does not slake the desire or the secret planning that goes on to regain freedom.
The book is well researched and manages to hold interest both for the historic details and the dramatic storyline. This is an effective way to personalize and humanize the atrocities of slavery so that we never forget what happened to those who were enslaved.
Liz Nichols
In this particular book Chiaverini uses historial tidbits from the Historic Charleston Foundation and the Edisto Island Museum to create a story around a slave woman who is sold south to South Carolina after being caught as a runaway along the Underground Railway in Pennsylvania in 1859. She fashions a Birds in the Air quilt out of scraps from her owners' castoff clothes and her own rags and hides in the stitching hints as to how to find the Elm Creek Farm again the next time she runs. She leaves a son, her offspring with her master, in the care of the Elm Creek Farm owners.
Before she is able to return she is sold by her master in Virginia to his relatives on Edisto Island near Charleston, SC and eventually is allowed to marry and have a baby daughter. The Civil War stops any plans that she and her spouse, Titus Chester, can make to run north, but does not slake the desire or the secret planning that goes on to regain freedom.
The book is well researched and manages to hold interest both for the historic details and the dramatic storyline. This is an effective way to personalize and humanize the atrocities of slavery so that we never forget what happened to those who were enslaved.
Liz Nichols
Death of a Witch by M.C. Beaton
British author, M.C. Beaton has spun another tale about Scottish bobby, Hamish Macbeth, and the small Highland village of Lochdubh. This tale is also appropriately read in the fall when we are thinking about the ghosts and goblins of Halloween.
The hero is called to investigate the murder of a woman considered by many to be a witch, Catronia Beldame. Beldame has been giving local men a potion that is supposed to enhance a certain part of the anatomy, but actually just creates an itchy rash. Hamish is about to investigate the potion complaints when Catronia turns up dead. Is she killed by a jealous wife, an angry client, or someone who knows something more about her past?
Vying for Hamish's attention and assisting in assessing the murder clues are Priscilla, the daughter of the local innkeeper, and Hamish's former girlfriend, Elspeth Grant, a journalist for one of the area newspapers.
It's fun as an American to read the Scottish dialect in this book and to try to beat Hamish at solving the case.
Liz Nichols
The hero is called to investigate the murder of a woman considered by many to be a witch, Catronia Beldame. Beldame has been giving local men a potion that is supposed to enhance a certain part of the anatomy, but actually just creates an itchy rash. Hamish is about to investigate the potion complaints when Catronia turns up dead. Is she killed by a jealous wife, an angry client, or someone who knows something more about her past?
Vying for Hamish's attention and assisting in assessing the murder clues are Priscilla, the daughter of the local innkeeper, and Hamish's former girlfriend, Elspeth Grant, a journalist for one of the area newspapers.
It's fun as an American to read the Scottish dialect in this book and to try to beat Hamish at solving the case.
Liz Nichols
Friday, October 9, 2009
Michael Gregorio's A Visible Darkness
This is one of the darkest tales I've read in a long time, probably since I read Gregorio's last mystery a year or so ago. Gregorio's protagonist, Magistrate Hanno Stiffeniis from a small city in Prussia, is ordered to investigate why Prussian women are being murdered along the Baltic coast while they are employed in mining for amber.
Gregorio weaves a psychological thriller mixed with Gothic mystery and the reader is left to decide whether the women are being killed for the amber they frequently smuggle to other communities in Prussia in 1808, or are there other reasons these women are being brutally murdered and mutilated? Are the French to blame? A mysterious Prussian doctor? A student at the Kantian school in Konigsburg? Stiffeniis has promised to solve the mystery within two weeks to be home in time to see the birth of his new child. He needs to figure out why the murder suspect knows so much about him and his family.
This book will take a strong stomach. It begins with a graphic description of a putrid cow dung problem in Stiffeniis' town, and continues with extremely graphic details in both sight and smells, about a mutilated body. The gore doesn't let up throughout the book.
Michael Gregorio, which is a pen name for a husband and wife team Michael G. Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio, are on top of the game in this taut and graphically written Gothic mystery.
Liz Nichols
Gregorio weaves a psychological thriller mixed with Gothic mystery and the reader is left to decide whether the women are being killed for the amber they frequently smuggle to other communities in Prussia in 1808, or are there other reasons these women are being brutally murdered and mutilated? Are the French to blame? A mysterious Prussian doctor? A student at the Kantian school in Konigsburg? Stiffeniis has promised to solve the mystery within two weeks to be home in time to see the birth of his new child. He needs to figure out why the murder suspect knows so much about him and his family.
This book will take a strong stomach. It begins with a graphic description of a putrid cow dung problem in Stiffeniis' town, and continues with extremely graphic details in both sight and smells, about a mutilated body. The gore doesn't let up throughout the book.
Michael Gregorio, which is a pen name for a husband and wife team Michael G. Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio, are on top of the game in this taut and graphically written Gothic mystery.
Liz Nichols
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