Warning!
When the book on your CD or cassette player is riveting,
don't blame the driver for missing an exit! The titles
in this audio book collection have caused unintentional
detours from Massachusetts to California!
The novels that
I enjoy the most weave fictional stories within
the confines of real places. In this new book by
Linda Fairstein, one of the settings is located
only about eight hundred yards from lower Manhattan,
but it's a place that very few people know much
about. Although I doubt that the dungeon under the
castle described in the book really exists, my sense
of the place has been irrevocably fashioned... [More]
(6/27/08)
This is the third
book by Patterson and Roughan in recent years, and
it looks to match their previous collaborative successes
with Honeymoon
and You've Been Warned. In this melodramatic
adventure, a dysfunctional family consisting of
a driven heart surgeon and her three children embark
on a sailing trip in a bid to draw the family closer
together... [More]
(6/20/08)
This is an outstanding
book, one of the best I have listened to this year!
The author succeeds in recreating the living conditions
in Stalinist Russia and weaving a terrifying novel
of suspense, intrigue and horror. The resolution
at the end of the book is beautifully set up by
the various turns of fate that befall the protagonist...
[More]
(6/20/08)
Born with the ability
to throw his voice and to read minds, Gypsy orphan
Yann Margoza earns his living by teaming with a
magician and a dwarf to perform magic acts in pre-revolutionary
Paris. After a particularly impressive theater performance,
Count Kalliovsky persuades them to appear at a private
party to entertain guests of the the Marquis de
Villeduval. Not even the ride in the elegant carriage
to the opulent chateau can erase Yann's premonition
that the evening would end in tragedy... [More]
(6/13/08)
Imaginary friends
are quite common among eight-year-olds, but the
same can't be said for adults. Jane had the perfect
imaginary friend, Michael, until her ninth birthday,
but then Michael told her that he had to go away
forever. He was funny, he was handsome, he made
Jane feel loved and accepted. As the chubby, clumsy
child of the beautiful, successful dragon-lady Broadway
producer, Vivian Margaux, Jane felt neither loved
nor accepted by her mother. Fast forward 23 years...
[More]
(6/6/08)
Unaccustomed
Earth is an apt title for this collection
of eight short stories dealing with first generation
Bengali immigrants to the United States. The author,
Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer-prize winner for her earlier
debut collection of stories, creates characters
and plots that engage the listener from the first
paragraph. When her newly widowed father plans a
visit to Ruma's new home in Seattle, she's jolted
into the realization that Bengali custom dictates
that she and her husband invite him to live with
them permanently... [More]
(6/6/08)
When is the
truth really the truth? After this story is
over, you'll be wondering if world situations are
what they seem or if they're fabrications that money
can be used to create. The Whole Truth is about
a billionaire using great sums of money to set up
situations that cause major conflicts to occur between
nations. Taking Russia and China to the brink of
war, of course, means that his arms company can
sell his products -- weapons of mass destruction
-- to all countries that fear attack. Billionaire
Nicholas Creel hires perception manager Dick Pender
to plant false information via the Internet and
create the impression that war is about to break
out... [More]
(5/30/08)
Mrs. Gentle…
what a perfect name for such a fine, genteel newcomer
to the bucolic town of Lochdubh, Scotland! Hamish
Macbeth, the town's constable, may be the only person
who suspects Mrs. Gentle is not the sweet, kind
old woman she pretends to be. Because he's still
a bachelor, and Lochdubh is relatively crime-free,
his supervisors decide to save money by closing
his station house and moving him to a police barracks
in a larger town... [More]
(5/9/08)
Do not let the
title fool you. This is a great story of the
LA Police Department. The title refers to a special
division, the community relations office, whose
members are called the CROWS by the police in other
divisions. They deal with calls like noisy neighbors,
domestic disturbances, parking problems and other
minor crimes... [More]
(5/2/08)
This entry in
Robert Ludlum's Covert One series gives
new meaning to the term "cold war." After
a research team on tiny Wednesday Island in the
Canadian Arctic discovers the frozen wreckage of
a vintage military airplane, embarrassed Russian
authorities admit the plane was theirs and that
it had been carrying 2 metric tons of anthrax when
it disappeared 50 years earlier... [More]
(4/25/08)
The Appeal
starts with a shocking verdict against Krane
Chemical Company in a small town in Mississippi.
The plant had been dumping waste into a ravine behind
the chemical building without any interference from
public or environmental agencies. After a number
of years the town water started to taste bad, but
the town officials said it was safe. Then people
started getting sick, and so many died with various
forms of cancer that the town of Bowmore was nicknamed
Cancer County... [More]
(4/18/08)
Maximum Ride, the heroine who
is part girl and part bird, not only has to
save herself and her flock of 'birdkids," but
now she's been assigned the responsibility of saving
the world. Just when it looks like she'll have some
normal vacation time with her newly discovered mother,
room service dinner turns out to be an exploding
pizza, and the flock is on the move again. The only
safe location appears to be a remote area of Antarctica,
in the midst of a science expedition... [More]
(4/4/08)
The Women's Murder Club is
pulling double duty in this latest installment
in the series. Not only are the ladies hoping to
solve the mystery of the disappearance and apparent
murder of Michael Campion, the Boy with the Broken
Heart and son of a prominent politician, but the
rate of arson-related homicides is escalating. While
Assistant DA Yuki Castellano conducts her prosecution
of Michael's killer, she discovers what she thought
would be a slam-dunk is really the most challenging
case of her career... [More]
(3/21/08)
This group of short stories
by Louis L'Amour is the fifth volume of the
Frontier Stories series, and each story is
filled with wild west excitement. The stories are
quite different from each other. Each one features
a different hero, unlike... [More]
(3/14/08)
What is the opposite of love?
Just when she thinks she knows the answer, Emily
Haxby discovers new possibilities. On the surface,
it would seem that she has the perfect life-a boyfriend
who is ready to propose, a promising career as a
young attorney with a top law firm, friends and
family who love her. Instead of enjoying her good
fortune, she sabotages her chance of happiness by
"breaking" her relationships with her
boyfriend and her employer, and she distances herself
from her family... [More]
(2/29/08)
Sometimes even good things
come in threes. In this case it's the first
three books in James Patterson's Women's Murder
Club series featuring San Francisco homicide
detective Lindsay Boxer and three of her crime-solving
friends. The first book, 1st to Die, finds
Lindsay reeling from the discovery that she has
a serious blood disease, but her health concerns
are quickly put on the back burner when... [More]
(2/22/08)
Once upon a time there
was a young Japanese girl who was born a commoner
but grew up to become the honored Empress of Japan…
but that's when the fairy tale ended. Although this
book is a fictional account, it is based so closely
on the real life happenings of the current Empress
of Japan that it seems more like a biography than
a novel... [More]
(2/15/08)
The author's favorite hero,
Spenser, a Boston private investigator, is back
in this story. Spenser accepts a job he normally
would reject when an FBI agent asks him to find
out if his wife is cheating on him. What appears
to be a simple case of a wife having an affair turns
into a complicated case involving murders and an
anti-government group that the FBI is seeking. Susan,
Spenser's girl friend... [More]
(2/8/08)
Am I my neighbor's keeper?
You are if you're Kinsey Millhone, private investigator,
and your neighbor is the cantankerous Gus Vronsky.
Although the simple background check she's hired
to run on Gus' caregiver, Solana Rojas, uncovers
no obvious problems, Kinsey has an unsettling feeling
that the caregiver is a dangerous woman. What she
learns much later is that the sociopath next door...
[More]
(2/1/08)
We all experience the fickle
finger of fate at some point in our lives, but
Peter Russell's universe seems to be ruled by a
god with both hands comprised entirely of fickle
fingers. The wistfully romantic Peter imagines that
one day he'll encounter the love of his life on
an airplane, and when bright and beautiful Holly
sits next to him on a cross-country flight, that
is exactly what happens. So far, so good. But wait,
here comes the first obstacle... [More]
(1/18/08)
Every little girl probably
dreams of being a princess at one time or another,
but for Mia Thermopolis the dream is a reality,
and it is more of a nightmare than a dream come
true. In this second book of The Princess Diaries,
Mia Thermopolis continues to adjust to her newly
discovered status as the heir to the throne of a
small European principality. Because she is to be
a queen someday, her Grand'Mere, the current Queen
of Genovia, is subjecting Mia to a crash course
of "princess lessons". It's tough enough
being a teenager without... [More]
(1/11/08)
Oliver Twist
and Tiny Tim weren't the only fictional characters
to find themselves in unfortunate circumstances
in the cool indifference of London. It's 21st
Century England, and the Greek gods and goddesses
of Olympus are living together in a house in London's
East End. Since their powers are waning and they
must save their reserves for truly important work,
they can't conjure up money for normal living
expenses. To earn money, each has taken a job
related to his or her former area of interest
or achievement on Olympus... [More]
(1/4/08)
Life is anything
but easy for Easy (Ezekiel) Rawlins, and he's
getting tired of the struggle. For years he's
been the "go to" man for friends, relatives
and business associates. Two of his friends have
mysteriously disappeared, forcing him to deal
with the situations and families they left behind.
Christmas Black, the former soldier who adopted
the only surviving child after his killing rampage
in a Vietnamese village, has left his cherished
daughter with Easy without an explanation. Easy's
other missing friend, Raymond "Mouse"
Alexander, is wanted for murder, and the only
way Easy can clear him is to prove that the supposed
murder victim is really just a runaway father
of 12... [More]
(12/21/07)
This is a unique
story featuring Alex Cross, the famous homicide
detective. In this book, Cross is out of police
work and has his own therapy practice. He is content
with his new life and the time he can spend with
his family. He is also dating a woman, Bree Stone,
a homicide detective who works with John Sampson,
Alex Cross's old partner and good friend. They
are now working on a case which is baffling them
and they seek Alex's help... [More]
(12/14/07)
This collection
of six short stories is a must not only for
Louis L'Amour fans but for anyone who likes exciting
tales of the old west. The dramatizations are
well played by actors and actresses, and the sound
effects are excellent. The lifelike sounds of
gun shots near and far, the hoof beats of the
horses, the loading of a rifle and all the other
sounds add to the enjoyment of the stories...
[More]
(12/7/07)
The
Overlook, by Michael Connelly
Detective Harry Bosch is awakened in the middle
of the night by a call to investigate a murder
at a scenic overlook. He's not thrilled about
working with a new partner, Ignatius Ferras and
can't bring himself to call him "Iggy"
as the younger man has requested. The murder victim,
a scientist who has access to radioactive material,
has apparently been killed for a container of
missing cesium... [More]
(11/23/07)
The
Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
If you like off-beat approaches to story telling,
this is one for the books. Suzy Salmon, a 14-year-old
girl who has been raped, killed and her body dismembered,
tells her story from heaven. It is not the heaven
one ordinarily thinks of -- with golden-winged
angels -- but just a regular place like earth.
As she watches her family and friends react to
her murder, she can see and hear everything that
it is taking place on earth... [More]
(11/23/07)
Playing
for Pizza, by John Grisham
Where does a third-string NFL quarterback go
when he loses the big game, antagonizes the fans
and humiliates himself by earning the title of
biggest "goat" in the history of football?
Would you believe Parma, Italy? A small group
of Italians, passionate about American football,
are thrilled that Rick Dockery agrees to play
for the Parma Panthers. Although Rick would much
rather play for an American team, his agent assures
him that Parma is his only option... [More]
(11/16/07)
The
Choice, by Nicholas Sparks
Life is full of choices, but some bear more
serious consequences than others. When they first
meet, Gabby Holland does not particularly like
Travis Parker, and since she assumes she'll become
engaged to her college sweetheart, Kevin, she
certainly does not have any romantic feelings
for Travis. When she accepts his invitation to
join him and his friends for a barbecue, some
boating, and a picnic she discovers that Travis
is a warm, sensitive family man and not the womanizing
cad she'd imagined... [More]
(11/9/07)
Junie
B., First Grader, by Barbara Park
That girl is something else I tell you! I
started to listen to this audio book very serious
and what do you know? It's a real fun collection
of books about a very funny little girl, so I
made a big smile and enjoyed getting to know Junie
B. Jones. Here's the thing, people. There are
eight complete books on these six CDs! [More]
(10/21/07)
Being a teenager
in love is hard enough without having to cope
with decisions about choosing immortality and
disturbing the natural order of the universe because
of the choices you might make. Isabella Swan,
know as Bella to her friends and family, is in
love with a vampire, Edward Cullen, and is best
friends with a werewolf, Jason Black. Werewolves
and vampires are sworn enemies but have agreed
to coexist peacefully in tiny Forks, Washington,
as long as boundaries are maintained and treaties
respected...[More]
(10/7/07)
The
Bourne Betrayal, by Eric Van Lustbader
This action-packed book does not slow down
until the final page. Jason Bourne is shocked
to hear his most trusted friend Martin Lindros
has been missing for a couple of months. When
he went to Ethiopia to locate a terrorist named
Fadi who supposedly had information about a group
planning a nuclear attack on a major city like
Los Angeles, New York or Washington and didn't
return, word was that his group was killed and
Martin taken prisoner. Jason is sent to find out
if Lindros is still alive and if he is, to rescue
him. Jason locates him and brings him back to
the Central Intelligence where no one doubts that
he is Lindros, even though he looks bad and his
voice sounds different... [More]
(10/7/07)
Jinx,
by Meg Cabot
What's in a name? Apparently everything for
Jean Honeychurch, AKA Jinx, because she truly
is cursed by a history of accidents, clumsiness
and messes. When a stalker refuses to leave her
alone, her parents send her from their rural Iowa
home to live with her wealthy, sophisticated New
York City relatives. There she attends private
school with her cousin Tory, Tory's friends, and
handsome neighbor Zach. Jinx adapts well to everything
in her new environment except the drugs, alcohol
and witchcraft that are the focus of Tory and
her friends' lives... [More]
(10/7/07)
Peony
In Love, by Lisa See
As her 16th birthday approaches, Peony can
hardly contain her excitement. Her father has
arranged to have the famous opera, The Peony
Pavilion, performed in their garden in her
honor. Unlike most of the women of the time, she
is well read and is obsessively familiar with
the tragic love story of The Peony Pavilion.
Although she has never been permitted to leave
the grounds of her 17th century Chinese home,
when she spots a handsome young man at her father's
performance, she slips outside to meet him...
[More]
(10/1/07)
The
Chicago Way, by Michael Harvey
Michael Kelly, private investigator and former
Chicago detective, is asked by his ex-partner,
now retired, to help him with a serious problem.
Years before he partnered with Kelly, Gibbons
was involved with a rape case where the victim
was stabbed so many times Gibbons thought she
would die before she got to the hospital. Now,
over 10 years later, Gibbons has received a letter
from a woman who claims to be that young girl
who was raped and stabbed... [More]
(9/23/07)
A
Time to Kill and The King of Torts, by
John Grisham
This is a two-book package by John Grisham,
and it would be difficult to say which book is
the better of the two. In A Time to Kill,
the main character, Jake, is a young, small-town
lawyer in a predominantly white Mississippi town.
He must defend a black man, the father of three
young boys and a 10-year-old daughter. The girl
was repeatedly raped and beaten and left for dead
in a marsh field.... [More]
(8/26/07)
Sisters,
by Danielle Steele
Everyone knows at least one-the seemingly golden
American family that has it all-successful,
happily married parents, beautiful, healthy, well-adjusted,
loving children and enough money to make anyone's
dreams come true. Danielle Steel introduces us
to one such family and lets us join them for a
joyous, traditional holiday gathering, before
she shatters their perfect world with a tragic
accident and exposes us to the reality of pain
and disappointment that all families suffer at
one time or another... [More]
(8/19/07)
The
Quickie, by James Patterson & Michael
Ledwidge
How can NYPD homicide detective Lauren Stilwell
keep from going out of her mind? One day she
is the loving, trusting wife of a wonderful man,
and the next she is a revenge-seeking woman involved
in a one-night stand. Her life becomes more complicated
when she witnesses a brutal murder, recognizes
her husband as the murderer and learns that she
has been assigned to head the investigation of
the crime... [More]
(8/12/07)
Deep
Storm, by Lincoln Child
What could be more terrifying than being shuttled
to an undersea city in the middle of the North
Atlantic? Dr. Peter Crane is about to find
out when his expertise as a disease specialist
causes him to be invited to investigate an unusual
medical situation on an oil rig. Once at the rig,
he's told that the real location of his patients
is many miles below the surface in a scientific
research facility know as "Deep Storm..."
[More]
(8/12/07)
READ
BY JIM DALE
Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K.
Rowling
Harry Potter, like all good things, must come
to an end. No, that's not a hint about Harry's
condition at the conclusion of the last of the
Harry Potter books; it's just a lament that the
fine series of books by J.K Rowling has finished.
