K Books


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K Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

K
Ratha's Creature (Named)
Published in School & Library Binding by Margaret K. McElderry Books (1983-02)
Author: Clare Bell
List price: $12.95
Used price: $1.05
Collectible price: $49.95

Average review score:

Can't miss on this one
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-05
Ratha's creature opens up a whole new world of cats. Long before the Warrior cat series, lived Ratha and her tribe. This book is full of adventure and suspense for any age. I couldn't put it down. Make sure to buy this one first and while you are at it, order the other three so you won't have to stop in the middle of this great adventure. If you love the Warrior Series you will love Ratha's Creature!

If only cats had conquered fire...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-02
I am a cat person. I happen to believe that all cat people would enjoy this book, given they like a good infusion of adventure. Clare Bell brilliantly reimagines a prehistory where sentient cats are suggested as being the top species and a cat called Ratha dares to experiment fire. The writing here is top-notch and vivid with description that never gets too flowery. These are cats, but they are not cute and cuddly--think cousins of the saber-toothed cats. Bell gives their characters a wonderful blend of humanity and pure cat instinct. I don't know if I would consider this children's literature, but rather something anyone could read. Wonderful pick for any lover of fantasy adventure.

Magnificent
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-02
I have read many feline fantasies,but none of them touch this one.It is better than the Warriors books,and I think that older Warriors fans will love this book.The harsh landscape and the complicated,realistic characters are wonderful!A word of warning,though:this is not a cutsey kitty book.Ratha's Creature is a very deep,allegorical,and thought provoking book.Some of the raw,savage images(mating,wounding a cub,death by fire)may be too much for younger,sensitive readers.I would reccomend this book for mature teens who will be able to understand and enjoy this magnificent,powerful book.Well done,Clare Bell!!

Forever Remembered
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-01
The Named Series is a collection that has survived in the hearts of readers for decades, inspiring fanart, fanfiction, and more. Here is the book that started it all - Ratha's Creature, an epic, memorable tale of strife, forgiveness, and triumph. This novel resurrects an ancient world and delivers in full detail, the savage brutality endured by those of arcane laws, a code of claws and fangs - while thrusting into harsh, honest light, what it means to question and discover the meaning of 'Self Awareness'.
Lion King worshipers, Warriors devotees, Animal enthusiasts - you have not stalked the feline path, until you have unearthed these treasures.

For more information, copy and paste the following links:

Clare Bell's official domain:
www.rathascourage.com
For an exclusive look including fanart, fanfiction, and more visit Trails Of Conquest:
www.trailsofconquest.webs.com
For Named (Ratha) Series Cat Role Play (rp) stop by Into The Mist:
www.intothemistrp.webs.com

Fantastic story
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-11
I am a huge cat fan and I can't believe that this book has existed for so long without my knowledge! I loved it from the very beginning and the story drew me in. I quickly ordered the other books to read. Any adventure or cat fan should read this book. If you do not love cats or do not have a fasination with animals you will soon. The book, while fictional is very realisitic and the characters are very wild and "animal-like." I cannot wait to read more. I genuinely feel the loss of one character in particular...sigh. Read this book! It is a great escape. Welcome to Ratha's world.

K
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1984-04)
Author: Dorothy Gilman
List price: $9.95
Used price: $2.04

Average review score:

Mrs Pollifax renewed
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-08
I am an addict for the Pollifax spy novels. I bought this to replace a copy that has become damaged beyond use from constant rereadings.

You're never too old!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-05
Listening to this tape, I was surprised by how much of it really had a timeless quality. The book was set back a ways (there's a way to find out exactly when, having to do with a character's age and the print date of a book, but I've forgotten...) and there were clues to the fact that it was not a contemporary novel - the political setting and the level of technology - but the characters really could have been plucked out of any time period. And this made it very enjoyable to listen to because I could picture Mrs. Pollifax and it really was easy to like her and root for her. Though I figured out where the microfilm went about, oh, two tapes into the six, there was enough story around the central mystery to keep me interested. I would definitely recommend it as a wonderful book to listen to (or read, I'm sure). I believe I will try a few of the other Mrs. Pollifax books...

Mom liked it
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-22
I bought this for my mom, who lives in Yuma, Arizona and hasn't a lot to do in 110 degree heat in the summer. She loved it, said it was a great, fun read, and that's enough for me.

Her adventures are truly unexpected
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-07
Bored and in excellent health for a woman who is retired with nothing more to look forward to than her gardening meetings, Mrs. Pollifax decides that there are only two choices in her life. Take one giant step off the roof of her building in New Brunswick, New Jersey or pursue a dream that she has had since childhood. With the decision made she boards a bus for Langley, Virginia and decides to be a spy for the CIA. Taking place during the cold war, Emily Pollifax is sent to Mexico to retrieve important documents, that doesn't seem difficult until she is forced to outsmart Red Chinese military men with nothing more than a pocketknife and a Christmas tree. This woman could definitely give MacGyver and Forrest Gump a run for their money.

Unexpectedly Amazing!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-13
I thought this might be cheesy. It was fantastic! After having loved Ian Fleming, this was a great substitute. I look foward to reading the rest of the series.

K
Coping with sorrow on the loss of your pet
Published in Unknown Binding by Peregrine Press (1987)
Author: Moira K Anderson
List price:
Used price: $10.00

Average review score:

Loss of a Beloved Friend
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-30
I purchased this book a few weeks after the loss of my beloved black lab Java at 13 yrs of age. The pain I felt the morning I had to make the dreaded decision was visceral and made breathing difficult. It was beyond anything I had experienced and simply numbing. The book offered amazing insight into the grieving process and assured me the emotions were expected, natural and eventually the pain would lessen. It also addresses the guilt we feel and our questioning of "could I have done more" or "maybe I made a mistake" which are quite powerful.

This book is a must have guide for any pet owner. My prayers and thoughts are with all of us sharing the pain and loss of a beloved animal, both now and forever.

-bob

Finding Peace
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-02
After 6 weeks of being unbelievably depressed and being unable to figure out why I couldn't get over the loss of my little kitty, I purchased this book through amazon.com. Reading it brought me relief almost overnight and helped me know that I was not alone.

Coping With Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-17
This book was a beautiful source of comfort when Jim and I lost our beloved cat, Dori, to cancer. I had lost pets in the past, but it had been 15 years since my last pet passed away and I had forgotton how devasting the loss of a much loved pet like Dori could be. I received the book while I was trying to cope with the decision to let her go and it helped so much. I want to thank Moira for such an wonderful book! Debbie

Comfort and information for grieving pet owners
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-29
This is a hard book to read, especially when you have lost a pet or know you are going to lose a beloved pet soon, but it is very useful. Everything about it is kind and understanding, from the abstract cover that does not feature a happy dog or cat to the chapters loaded with advice about all those tough topics we'd rather not think about, including saying goodbye, euthanasia, what to do with the pet's remains, deciding whether to get another pet, providing for pet care in case you die or become disabled, and what to do if you're forced to give your pet away. We don't want to think about these things, but sometimes we need to know. Allen, a writer and pet lover with a master's degree in counseling, has produced a reference every pet owner should keep around, just in case.

Coping With Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-23
My best friend died 1.5 years ago and I still miss her terribly - she was my 15 year old cat. This book was very useful to me during my time of intense mourning. While I know that her loss was a significant and horrible event in my life, recognition of the death of animal companions is not common in our society. This book helped me to see that I was not alone in my grief and that it was okay and normal to feel such grief. I actually purchased several books on this topic and found this one to be the best.

K
The Predator (Animorphs)
Published in Paperback by Scholastic Hippo ()
Author: K.A. Applegate
List price:

Average review score:

Tense
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-19
This was a surprisingly emotional book that helped solidify my love for this series back in the day. Applegate was smart enough to take the classically funny guy with hidden pain and turn into a storyline that affects the main plot of the entire series. Great action sequences as well.

A cool book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-03
It was a fun book, the first one Marco, his jokes are just soo funny, another reason why I read these books, no matter how bad they get in trouble or how hurt someone is he can always make you laugh. I likes when he beat up those muggers with his gorilla morph.

Good, good, good
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-02
I like this book a lot. The best Animorphs book I've read. Right after I read it, I swore to myself that I would always read Marco books. (He's an Animorphs character.)

Review by a 9 year old Animorphs fan

What you see isn't always what you get...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-03
Marco never wanted to be an Animorph. He never wanted to risk his life saving the world with his animal-morphing powers. He knew that if he died, his father would go insane--since both his son and wife would be gone forever. Now, the two year anniversary of Marco's mother's death is coming, and Marco is nervous. And after a dangerous mission that almost got he, Jake, and Ax killed, Marco decides to quit.

But before he quits, Marco decides to go on one last mission to steal a Yeerk ship from Visser Three so Ax can use it to return to the Andalite planet. However, the kids' plan goes terribly wrong and they end up trapped. But while everyone else worries how to escape, Marco is shocked when learning a terrible secret. Now, he has a reason to fight the Yeerks. And no matter what it takes, he'll kick butt.

THE PREADTOR contains one of the most shocking secrets in the Animorphs series. And this is definitely one of the best Marco books. Although it was a great read, I had a problem with this book. The first half of the novel was about the Animorphs' adventure at the mall with Ax who keeps running away. Even though it was funny, I would've preferred more Marco dealing with the secret.

The Predator
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-06
In this fifth installment of the popular sci-fi series, Marco and the other Animorphs attempt to help their alien friend Ax return to his homeworld, only to make a shocking discovery that forever alters Marco's attitude toward their cause. For sequel see "The Capture."

K
Sew Fast Sew Easy : All You Need to Know When You Start to Sew
Published in Paperback by (2002-08-20)
Author: Elissa K. Meyrich
List price: $22.95
New price: $21.40
Used price: $20.76

Average review score:

Great book, Great price
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-22
I love my Sew Fast Sew Easy book. It was so easy to follow and helped me out a lot. The illustrations are done really well and have a lot of detail. This book does a good job covering basics that you wouldn't normally think about like making sure the straight grain is parrallel to the selvage when cutting out and that your fabric doesn't move and how to measure that. It's great, the information in this book. Plus the sewing patterns that it comes with are basic beginner patterns. Great for learning with. One anoying thing though, Amazon has this book listed under a BARGIN PRICE but it's not a bargin price at $19. I had to search "Sew Fast Sew Easy" to get the new book from Amazon at $16. Really weird. I wish Amazon didn't offer books like that, it's really deceiving. Enjoy your book, happy sewing!

I learned to sew with this book
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-08
I learned to sew with this book and have had great sucess. I just bought the new book "Sew On" to progress my sewing and the patterns and projects are amazing! I have learned even more techniques with the new book and I still use my Sew Fast Sew Easy book for reference. I'm really happy with these books from Amazon.

A little TOO basic
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-27
The book is probably best for true novices. I was never much of a sewer and it has been 30 years since I've sewn anything more than a button or hem. I thought I'd need to review the basics, but this book was too basic for me. i was hoping that it would refresh the basics, but lead me a few steps beyond. I can see where it would be helpful for those who are just starting out, so I can't find much fault with the book itself. It was just not what I need.

A good start, but not enough for me
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-21
I am completely new to sewing, so new that I had no idea how to cut out a pattern. I found a few videos on YouTube that explained how to pin the pattern to the fabric and then start cutting. Anyway, the good things about the book are that it's a very quick read because it's so small, and it does cover most of the basics like getting to know your sewing machine. However, I would recommend Sewing 101 in addition to or instead of this book, as it explains how to lay out the fabric and how to cut, etc. Sewing 101 and Home Decor Sewing 101 have better photos and illustrations of the different steps in making an item, i.e. a pillow or a shower curtain or whatever, and I appreciate the detailed step-by-step illustrations that these books provide.

wonderful book
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-10
This is a great learn how to sew book for first time sewers, very easy to understand.

K
The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Profitable Decision Making
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (1994-05)
Authors: Thomas T. Nagle and Reed K. Holden
List price: $39.00
New price: $5.26
Used price: $0.46
Collectible price: $39.00

Average review score:

Very hard to read - boring and not very concise
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-12
Very hard to read - boring and not very concise. I had to purchase this for my class. Would not recommend this to anyone

GRATE BOOK
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-04
If you are an enterpreneur and you want to know how to price your product, don't look any further this is the book you are looking for. The chapter about costs has an MBA level and it will give you a lot of good ideas of how to improve your busines operation.

Great reference on value-based. Wish it had more on setting initial price.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-16
I updated from the 2nd edition I bought years ago. I'm glad to see the focus on value-based pricing. I was a little disappointed that it gets a bit repetitive on calculating price changes and it would be useful to see more examples on calculating the initial price when you really don't have much data to go on.

good book, shipping too slow
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-18
This book is one of the best in pricing. It is used as a textbook in business schools and highly recommended by consultants.
Unfortunately, it took 10 days to arrive using standard shipping.

Best book on Pricing I have ever read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-18
I have spent over 30 years in computer software sales, pricing, and terms and conditions. This book resonates with me, specifically with it's emphasis on sustained company profitability rather than get rich quick pricing. It's comprehensive, not specialized to any specific product set or industry, and nothing I read failed to make sense to me, based on my experience.

If you are interested in this topic, there is no better work I know of to give you both practical and good theoretical advice.

K
Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)
Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1988-10)
Author: Harold Coyle
List price: $19.95
Used price: $1.39

Average review score:

One of the best war novels out there
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-12
Team Yankee is quite an interesting book. Harold Coyle describes a war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO in 1985 in great detail. But don't expect this to be like Red Storm Rising, this book focuses entirely on small unit tactics with zero politics. The action starts immediately at the beginning of the second chapter, and it never stops.

The battles are realistic and the tactics are described in great detail in the text as well as the maps that are in the book. The maps really help you figure what's going on and what platoons are moving where, etc.

The story focuses on Captain Sean Bannon of Team Yankee, a military unit deployed in Germany during the Cold War. When war breaks out in 1985, he must lead his unit to victory. There are several other main characters including several other tankers, and an infantry sergeant. This is definetly a book you don't want to miss.

Yamabushi's mini reviews pt. VII
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-03
Setting aside all the geo-political baggage of the day, Coyle finds his real strength with one tank platoons story in WW III. It's a shame he never went back to this style. A real shame, as this is terrific, exciting stuff you wont find else where.

If you want to know what armored battle is like, and not have to dodge shells, just read this book.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09
This book is, IMHO, the finest of the cold-war era military novels, and one of the finest military novels ever written, includng the writing of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester.

The only book that can compare is Clancy's "Hunt for Red October", and it does not give as good a feeling as being there as does Team Yankee.

If you like military novels, or just good writing, read this book.

A good read, but...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-24
This was the second Coyle book I read (the first being "God's Children") and once again I was compelled by his gripping battle scenes and poignant view of today's combat environment. The story flows well and was generally enjoyable and engaging.

However, by the end of the book I became disappointed because of the constant, repeated stupidity of the opposing forces. I felt cheated because it never seemed that the U.S. forces won due to good strategy & tactics as much as because the enemy used tactics a learned high school student would shun. Don't get me wrong, the book is a good read. I only wish Coyle would create an antagonist with some brains to serve as a challenging foil for our heroes.

Coyle makes impressive authorial debut with Team Yankee
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-23
Harold Coyle's Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III (Presidio Press, 1987) was published a year after Red Storm Rising's triumphant debut in hardcover, and although it is thematically similar (Soviet forces invade West Germany after a series of crises escalate into an all out conventional war), Coyle's approach is very different from Clancy's. Instead of creating his own possible scenario for a NATO vs. Warsaw Pact confrontation, he asked for, and received, permission from British author (and retired General) Sir John Hackett to set Team Yankee within the scenario created in Hackett's two
"speculative fiction" books The Third World War: August 1985 and The Third World War: The Untold Story.

Team Yankee takes place within a two-week period in an August in the late 1980s. Since late July, a series of crises precipitated by the Iran-Iraq war has morphed into a clash between U.S. and Soviet naval forces in the Persian Gulf region. By August 1, word comes that NATO is mobilizing and ordering their armed forces, including Bannon and Team Yankee, to their wartime positions. Soon, the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact "allies" cross the Inner German Border in force. Team Yankee and the rest of NATO's forces in West Germany must then fight the invaders and stop them before the Red Army reaches the Rhine River. After that, assuming the Soviet attack bogs down, the mission will change from merely defending territory to taking offensive operations and pushing the invaders back. The question Coyle poses is, can American soldiers, using their weapons and tactics against superior numbers of Soviet and Warsaw Pact soldiers, defeat Russian weapons and tactics?

Readers familiar with Hackett's macrocosmic World War III will know the big picture, but first-time readers will be turning the pages to see who wins, who loses, who dies...and who survives in this outstanding first novel by a true master of the military fiction genre.

The only flaw, and this is not Coyle's fault, is that reality -- in the shape of the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War -- has made the novel's setting extremely outdated. Some of the then-modern weapons, such as the M1 main battle tank, have been since updated to M1-A2 standard, older weapons have been retired, and obviously there's no more Warsaw Pact.


All in all, it's an entertaining read.

K
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 1)
Published in Paperback by G K Hall & Co (1998-10)
Author: M. C. Beaton
List price: $28.95
Used price: $28.54

Average review score:

Very Cozy...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-01
If you looking for a light hearted & easy read then Agatha Raisin is your girl.
I love the way she is written and can not wait to continue to read the series.
A cozy kind of mystery. Not to deep. No blood or gore. Just a cozy little mystery read.

Love Agatha Raisin mysteries!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-27
And Quiche was a great kick-off to start this series. Great characters, good mysteries, fun protag. Just a good read all the way 'round.

Agatha Raisin Breaks a Few Eggs with Her Store-Bought Quiche
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-24
As a devoted fan of M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series, I was intrigued to keep reading reviews of Hamish Macbeth books by people who claimed they liked the Agatha Raisin series better. But every time I contemplated the title, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, it just seemed too tongue in cheek to be possibly any good. Well, I was wrong. Although the book couldn't be any more satirical and much punnier than it is, the book works very well both as a straight story and as a satire. It's like getting two books for the price of one.

Since the Hamish Macbeth series started first, let me address Hamish Macbeth fans first: Think of Agatha Raisin as being one of the optimistic incomers to Lochdubh who hope for peace and tranquility without realizing what village life in Sutherland is really like. But Agatha has mostly good intentions (except towards the women in the area who drive her batty) instead of being an incipient homicidal maniac like the incomers in Sutherland. Agatha is also her own woman, and not about to take any prisoners she doesn't have to. Like Hamish, she has a crime-solving partner, Bill Wong (of the local detectives), who helps her in ways she doesn't always appreciate (like Priscilla Halburton-Smythe does for Hamish). Agatha is based, however, in the gentle Cotswolds so there won't be too many stories about brutal winter blizzards in this series. You won't miss hearing about Strathbane.

In this inaugural book, Agatha has just sold her PR firm in London (where she succeeded by being a blunt instrument in plying journalists with meals and drink and then shaking them down for stories) and decided to retire to a cottage in the Cotswolds, an area she had once visited as a child. Naturally, she has a romanticized view of what life there will be like. Having been a busy businesswoman, she now finds herself not quite sure how to fill her time. Although she had made no friends in London, she expects to make many in rural Carsely. People nod and are friendly, but it goes no further. Agatha soon makes an enemy of her next door neighbor by stealing her housekeeper. While catching up on her reading of Agatha Christie mysteries, Agatha decides she needs to get everyone's attention. Why not win a prize for baking?

Plotting her strategy, Agatha invites the quiche competition judge, Reginald Cummings-Browne, and his wife, Vera, to an expensive dinner (expecting to curry favor as it were in the quiche wars). Agatha instead ends up with a very large bill and a not very high opinion of the Cummings-Brownes. Agatha makes a quick foray to London to buy a wonderful spinach quiche that she enters as her own.

But her plot is soon foiled when the woman who always wins the quiche competition once again triumphs. Agatha leaves her quiche behind in disgust, and Vera Cummings-Browne takes it home as a snack for her husband. That night, he eats the quiche and dies of poison! Naturally, there's a police investigation and Agatha has to confess that she cheated.

Feeling like she will never make it in Carsely after such a large faux pas, Agatha begins to think she should move out and go back to London. Soon, she's between two islands of discord and not sure what to do.

The police decide that the poisoning was an accidental death, but Agatha's not so sure. Before long, she starts acting on her urge to detect . . . with consequences that definitely heat up the story.

Where most detective stories are mostly about a crime and the process of uncovering the criminal, that element retreats into the background in this book. Instead, Agatha's search for happiness is the main focus of the story. The crime and its solution are merely incidents along the way. I liked that element. In fact, this would have been a very entertaining story even if it hadn't contained a mystery.

Any time your attention threatens to flag, you can just sit there and chuckle over the outrageous satirical elements. Although you know they are overdone, you can't help but laugh . . . as you might at good burlesque sketches with imaginative pie throwing.

Although I haven't read past this book in the Agatha Raisin series, I would have to say that Agatha could displace Hamish as number one in my affections for M. C. Beaton characters.

Enjoy!

An Incomer from London Breaks a Few Eggs with Her Store-Bought Quiche
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-24
As a devoted fan of M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series, I was intrigued to keep reading reviews of Hamish Macbeth books by people who claimed they liked the Agatha Raisin series better. But every time I contemplated the title, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, it just seemed too tongue in cheek to be possibly any good. Well, I was wrong. Although the book couldn't be any more satirical and much punnier than it is, the book works very well both as a straight story and as a satire. It's like getting two books for the price of one.

Since the Hamish Macbeth series started first, let me address Hamish Macbeth fans first: Think of Agatha Raisin as being one of the optimistic incomers to Lochdubh who hope for peace and tranquility without realizing what village life in Sutherland is really like. But Agatha has mostly good intentions (except towards the women in the area who drive her batty) instead of being an incipient homicidal maniac like the incomers in Sutherland. Agatha is also her own woman, and not about to take any prisoners she doesn't have to. Like Hamish, she has a crime-solving partner, Bill Wong (of the local detectives), who helps her in ways she doesn't always appreciate (like Priscilla Halburton-Smythe does for Hamish). Agatha is based, however, in the gentle Cotswolds so there won't be too many stories about brutal winter blizzards in this series. You won't miss hearing about Strathbane.

In this inaugural book, Agatha has just sold her PR firm in London (where she succeeded by being a blunt instrument in plying journalists with meals and drink and then shaking them down for stories) and decided to retire to a cottage in the Cotswolds, an area she had once visited as a child. Naturally, she has a romanticized view of what life there will be like. Having been a busy businesswoman, she now finds herself not quite sure how to fill her time. Although she had made no friends in London, she expects to make many in rural Carsely. People nod and are friendly, but it goes no further. Agatha soon makes an enemy of her next door neighbor by stealing her housekeeper. While catching up on her reading of Agatha Christie mysteries, Agatha decides she needs to get everyone's attention. Why not win a prize for baking?

Plotting her strategy, Agatha invites the quiche competition judge, Reginald Cummings-Browne, and his wife, Vera, to an expensive dinner (expecting to curry favor as it were in the quiche wars). Agatha instead ends up with a very large bill and a not very high opinion of the Cummings-Brownes. Agatha makes a quick foray to London to buy a wonderful spinach quiche that she enters as her own.

But her plot is soon foiled when the woman who always wins the quiche competition once again triumphs. Agatha leaves her quiche behind in disgust, and Vera Cummings-Browne takes it home as a snack for her husband. That night, he eats the quiche and dies of poison! Naturally, there's a police investigation and Agatha has to confess that she cheated.

Feeling like she will never make it in Carsely after such a large faux pas, Agatha begins to think she should move out and go back to London. Soon, she's between two islands of discord and not sure what to do.

The police decide that the poisoning was an accidental death, but Agatha's not so sure. Before long, she starts acting on her urge to detect . . . with consequences that definitely heat up the story.

Where most detective stories are mostly about a crime and the process of uncovering the criminal, that element retreats into the background in this book. Instead, Agatha's search for happiness is the main focus of the story. The crime and its solution are merely incidents along the way. I liked that element. In fact, this would have been a very entertaining story even if it hadn't contained a mystery.

Any time your attention threatens to flag, you can just sit there and chuckle over the outrageous satirical elements. Although you know they are overdone, you can't help but laugh . . . as you might at good burlesque sketches with imaginative pie throwing.

Although I haven't read past this book in the Agatha Raisin series, I would have to say that Agatha could displace Hamish as number one in my affections for M. C. Beaton characters.

Enjoy!

British asocial Jessica Fletcher type.....
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-11
...And great fun to read! Agatha first comes across as hard to take, but pretty soon we begin to appreciate her vulnerability. Set in the Cotswold villages of Britain, Agatha's adventures are closely tied in with her inability to safely navigate normal social life amongst the village. The supporting cast is wonderfully diverse, and the humor that is liberally sprinkled throughout Agatha's observations and experiences kept me thoroughly entertained chapter to chapter. I don't much care for series, but look forward to reading more in this one. I appreciated that it was PG rated, and that the main emphasis was on characterization and solving the mystery. No blood and guts.

K
Don't Block the Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)
Published in Hardcover by Thorndike Press (1997-03)
Authors: Patti Labelle, Laura Randolph Lancaster, and Laura B. Randolph
List price: $26.95
Used price: $13.48

Average review score:

Great Read!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-07
Oh I love this book, couldn't put it down. Mrs. Patti puts her foot in it the good, the bad and the ugly.. but comes out still shining. I can't wait to get another one of her books..

Don't Block the Blessings
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-15
I have yet to read this book, but it is in good condition.

AWESOME BOOK
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-24
This book is one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. Not only is it filled with details of Patti's life, it also takes you to the lessons that she's learned from the time when she was a shy little girl, to life as a megastar. This book will truly touch your heart as you cheer on the diva that is Patti LaBelle.

Joy to read this book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-11
Congratulations, A reflective autobiography with some depth and truth. Before reading Patti's, I read Aretha's, which I ultimately felt like tossing in the middle of the street! Great job! I thought the book was very inviting to the personal side of Patti. I have always admired how forthcoming she has been with the public in relation to her late sisters. This book can truly encourage one to live life, as well as love and appreciate life.
However, there are a few things I would like to clear up, which I found inaccurate or inappropriate. The Jackie Wilson episode I found rather distasteful, particularly since he is not around to defend himself(it was o.k. to slander Al Green). Also, as I had to do with Gladys in her book, I need to clarify a few inaccurate points you raised in your book. In reading your relationship with Atlantic Records in the 1960's, one is left with the impression your group wasn't given a fair shot due to the success of Aretha. Well, that's not totally true, since you were with the label two years before she signed on. It just wasn't your time yet! Now is your time. You sound greater and look more beautiful than ever. You have a wonderful spirit in which people adore you far and near. You are truly a blessing. Wonderful job.

What a blessing to read!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-10
Patty LaBelle is amazing. She has an incredible voice, a career full of ups and downs, and can bring down the house in concert. This book is just another triumph for a lady who deserves all the accolades she receives. With absolute honesty, she reveals so much about her life--from sexual abuse to the fear of dying of cancer like her sisters and good friend--you feel that Ms. LaBelle has given you all that she can. Throughout her life, she has faced a good deal of challenges but has emerged with a positive attitude about life and can still entertain with the best of them. I have seen her in concert 3 times and she blew me away each time. This book does the same. After reading the dismal biography of Aretha Franklin (From the Roots), I realized what a gem this is. If you wanna read a really good book about an incredible entertainer, give this one a go. Its worth every penny!

K
Everworld #04: Realm Of The Reaper (Everworld)
Published in Paperback by Scholastic Paperbacks (1999-11-01)
Author: K.A. Applegate
List price: $4.99
New price: $8.36
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Fabulous!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-29
I would have to say that so far, this is my favorite book out of the Everworld series (I still have 8 more to go). April, Jalil, David and Christopher have escaped Loki only to be in a never ending forest with not much to eat or drink. They finally come to what looks like a town and the smell of baking bread drives them closer to it. They find that it is more a prison than a town. Mostly everyone in town in male and terrified of "she". Who is this she and why is everyone so scared of her?

The Vampires Assistant
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-01
I loved this book because of its extreme intesity. It made you excited and anxious to see what happens next. It is unpredictable and builds up tension while you read. I would reccomend this book for anyone between the ages of 12-and up.

Lit Log #5
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2001-09-19
WOAH, this book is the best book that you will ever read (unless the other books that you read are in the Everworld series). In this book you will be the character Jalil and will go through many different journeys and will encounter many different foes. Many people who you will think who and what they are, but really aren't. Overall this book will blow your mind with the amazing descriptions of friends and enemies. I hope that you will enjoy reading this book!!! :-)

W.T.H?! Welcome to Hel
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-25
Jalil, David, April, and Christopher have landed in one of the worst places yet. They are fed and well taken care, Until they find out about a cave that could take them home. But instead they have entered the realm of Hel. Loki's half dead daughter. She can get all mens attention (Mortal, Immortal, and Gods). She has a beauty to her that no one can resist. David, Christopher and Jalil do not have a will of their own. When Hel is about toss them to her snake, Jalil comes upon Senna. This reunion was not good at all. Better yet, all of them are about to fall to Hel's giant snake that is miles long! W.T.E

The Way of the Dead
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-04
A Review by Jonathan

The group Jalil, April, David, and Christopher are still searching for the witch Senna. They stumble upon a village of men. The need for food and rest drove them to an inn. They cannot leave this village unless a dredded "She" of which people speak, lets them. They learn of Loki's daughter Hel, and that she plans to torture them for the end of eternity. If they can't escape her clutches, they will certainly die.

I liked the feel of the environment of this book. It envelopes and immerses the reader. It creates an atmosphere that helps the reader along. It also creates a sense of emotion such as fear. Another point of liking is that it is very easy to get into. The book has a clean, crisp plot that is easily readable, yet enjoyable. One more point of interest is the problems that the characters face. This adds to the intensity of the book. I like the fact that most of their problems are god related. This makes it interesting because they also have to survive. They don't know what will happen to them in the real world if they die in Everworld. Sometimes the concept of their consciousness traveling between universes can be confusing, but I get it. This is a semi- easy book.

I recommend this book to people that take a liking to thrills and adventure. Also, there is a lot of action in this book. I think this book is excellent, I think the same about the entire series. This is a semi-easy book to read.


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