Elizabeth Berkley Books

This book is at the emotional level of a third grader. There is no concept of suspense, realistic events, or realistic characters. The plot moves like molasses and Peaches Dann speaks to us as if she has no faults (besides her cutesy memory problem). There is no emotion in this story whatsoever. Someone killed my aunt, and is trying to kill me? I'm not going to show any emotion or hide out. I'm going to be stupid and hang around investigating! My latest amazement comes from the fact that it ships in 24 hours from amazon - while reading it, I was somewhat amazed that it was ever published. To sum up, the bright spots of the book were a cat and uhh, the other cat.

I was saddened to read the above review about the late Elizabeth Squire's work. The person obviously doesn't like cozies. With her permission, I was happy to include a counter review that was posted on Dorothy L recently. This book begins the absent minded sleuth Peaches Dann series, which includes 6 other books, all of which were reviewed most favorably by numerous literary critics and fans. Why else would there be so many! I hope future readers will not be diswayed by the above review and keep the legacy of Peaches Dann and her author alive for many years to come. Just remember ... these are cozies! Enjoy the ride!

Peaches Dann is used to her father's paranoid outbursts, so she only goes out to check the pond to humor him. Much to her dismay, she finds that her father was right this time. Her Aunt Nancy's body is lying face down in the water. But who could have wanted to kill her aunt? Or was Peaches the intended victim, since she and the victim have similar dresses. Then another murder takes place, in a trap most likely meant for Peaches. What does it all mean? Peaches will have to use every memory trick she's learned over the years to figure this one out.

With a title like this book has, I went in expecting a cozy mystery and was not disappointed in that regard. The book could have been better overall, however. The plot moves along at a slow pace and I really struggled to get into it. While there are several likeable characters, I also found myself irritated by many of them. The references to Peaches' poor memory (which I didn't think was nearly as bad as it was made out to be) and excerpts from her "book" on memory techniques were also overdone.

Peaches is certainly a pleasant character. I'll probably give the author another try to see if she developed as a mystery writer. Not my favorite book read this year, but I've certainly read worse.

Elizabeth Fuller includes the research findings left out of the account provided in her husband's bestseller. The range of the phenomena illuminates how so-called paranormal or miraculous manifestations reveal an Organizing Superconsciousness or Oneness.

I suffered through this book looking for something of meaning and substance. The book starts off well enough with some 'background', but then keeps going on, an on, and on, and on with little focus on the subject at hand (ahem...ghost of flight 401, in case you forgot). The author is far more interested in detailing her own character and search for love than writing a compelling account of the search for the ghost. I wouldn't waste my $0.99 on it.

Don't waste any of your time with this "novel": an exercise in serial silliness by 14 indifferent "masters of suspense", who only provide a melange of malaprops and a collection of cliches.

Between the world wars, the aristocracy tries to return to what they once had. In Rutfordshire, Daisy the Dowager Duchess of Faughstrayne hosts a weekend party with an eclectic assortment of guests. Among the attendees are wealthy American Admiral Cornelius Brandon and his son Whitchell, and the Duchess? neighbor Sir Gerry. The latter finds the murdered corpse of the Admiral.

Sir Gerry considers himself an amateur sleuth so he decides to investigate the situation after notifying Chief Inspector Reggie Arbuthnot of the homicide. Reggie wants Sir Gerry to stay out of the case except as a witness because he is jealous that the amateur always solves cases before he can.

Sir Gerry finds the body of the next victim Consuella, the new Duchess of Faughstrayne. More deaths follow and soon Reggie realizes that several of the guests are not what they seem and also have motives, but which one would kill still remains unsolved.

THE SUNKEN SAILOR is a round robin work in which fourteen authors provide a chapter that leads to the next writer?s segment. This results in many unexpected twists and turns in a plot that showcases several different writing styles that somehow blends together into a fine cohesive storey line that is a treat for readers.

Harriet Klausner

This book should have been called "All you Ever Wanted to Know About Vegetarianism (But Were Afraid to Ask)". If you're a vegetarian trying to cope with well-meaning carnivores (e.g. "Are you getting enough protein, dear?"), this book will tell you what to do. After reading it, leave it in a conspicuous place so that a non-vegetarian can read it. Fears about dietary deficiencies will be allayed, and understanding will be gained as to why some people don't eat meat. It's written in a friendly, non-accusatory manner, so meat-eaters will be able to read it and learn without having a guilt trip laid on them.

I found this book a good introduction to the world of vegetarianism, but highly superficial. There are good quotes throughout the book from famous people who became vegetarian and some nice recipes in the back. Unfortunately, the book is more politically oriented with one-sided views of how delightful it is to be a vegetarian and different stand-up to a meat-eating society. The book fails to talk indepth about healthy issues and concerns that the vegetarian/vegan should be aware of and focuses too much on accounts given by people not in the health or dietary fields.

Elizabeth Mansfield is one of the best. Alas, My Lord Murdereer does not measure up to her usual standard. She has the regency nailed: the attitudes, the manners, the mood of the period. All that My Lord Murderer lacks is a convincing love story.

These are a collection of short stories from feminist author Elizabeth A. Lynn, author of numerous science fiction and fantasy novels.

I love Robert B. Parker's books, and was looking forward to this "complete guide"--the contents sounded great. What a disappointment it turned out to be! The "comprehensive biography" of Parker is only 2 pages long. That's not my idea of comprehensive. The "exclusive and insightful" interview is only 5 pages long--and not very insightful. The "cast of characters" is just a 116 page list of names. Here are 2 examples "Walker, Judy.(Potshot) Ex-wife of Dean Walker"; and "Fenton.(Perchance to Dream) A Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander." I didn't find it interesting or useful. The whole book is only 206 pages. In my opinion, the 116 pages wasted on the list would have been better used for detailed information on the main characters (Spenser, Hawk, Sunny, Jesse, etc). Another 31 pages are taken up with an alphabetcal list of places where things have occurred. For example,"Bow Lake, The Site of Evan Malone's cabin in Back Story." The plot summaries are not as informative as those you can get for free here on Amazon. The 2 page summary of "Spenser on film" was very superficial. Where are the titles, air dates, cast lists, etc??? Not here. I did like the 5 pages of quotes--but that's about it.

This is an excellent resource for avid fans of Parker. It outlines his books, gives information about his personal life, and is very readable. I recommend it.

Before you buy this Robert B. Parker Companion, my advice is to go into your local bookstore and find a copy on the shelf. Skim through the book and see if it's worth paying full price for.

This rather slim volume simply isn't worth the money, in my opinion. The biography/interview with Parker is brief (you can read the whole thing in less than a few minutes) and far inferior to what you can find on the internet for free. The outlines of the books and characters are pretty skimpy and uninteresting. If you're a hard-core fan, this book may be worth purchasing, but I think for the rest of us, it's just not a good investment. Again, there are fan websites that provide a lot of this information at no cost.

I'm a big fan of Robert B. Parker, but I was disappointed by this book, which looked like a rush job. Parker deserves a better book that surveys his body of work.

This is a pretty much run-of-the-mill American Regency with no distinguishing features. The premise is a little odd: Letty loves Lord Denham, so when he proposes, naturally she turns him down. There are a great many sillinesses, such as the adult and independent Denham letting his mother tell him what to do, Letty eloping with her sister's beau and Denham suddenly realising - without any indication of what brought him to that realisation - that he was in love with Letty.

What made the book even more disappointing is that the synopsis, as presented on this site and on the book's cover, is entirely misleading. The statement by Letty that 'I would rather be your mistress' does not form part of the book's plot at all; she only says it on the last page, by which time it is evident that the 'will-they-won't-they' is resolved.

Additionally, it is irritating to notice throughout the book examples of period inaccuracies; Mansfield is usually better than many American Regency! ! authors at avoiding these. Most obvious is the way in which the characters address each other; in the late 1700s it would have been completely unheard of for men and women not married to each other to address each other by their Christian names - and often unheard of even after marriage! When aristocrats wished to indicate a close friendship, they called each other by their titles or family names - so Lord Denham would have been Denham or Agneau (he is the Earl of Agneau) to his friends. But rarely would an unmarried woman friend have enjoyed such intimacy; it would have ruined her reputation. So Letty would never have called Denham 'Roger' as she did through much of the book.

So much of what's in this book has been proven untrue (Charles was virgin when he got married? The Queen Mum liked Diana?) that I regret wasting my time with this book. If you want to know the "authorized story of the royal family" and a whole lot of political background which has astonishingly little to do with the story of Elizabeth and Philip, this is a great book for you!

So much of what's in this book has been proven untrue (Charles was virgin when he got married? The Queen Mum liked Diana?) that I regret wasting my time with this book. If you want to know the "authorized story of the royal family" and a whole lot of political background which has astonishingly little to do with the story of Elizabeth and Philip, this is a great book for you!

The definition of "bawdy" is indecent, lewd or obscene... the stories in this book do not qualify as any of those. I was hopeful that this book would spice up our evenings , but quickly realized that I would get more spice from watching late night television than reading this book. The stories were dull, the romance and erotic scenes were lack luster, and it didn't hold my attention in the slightest. I found myself yawning about halfway through each story... and actually forced myself to read all of them just in case I might miss some jewel - which I didn't. There are much better erotic stories compilations out there - I would highly recommend you look elsewhere for the that which qualifies as "bawdy".