Payback Books

Sly Rogers invites his friend private investigator Billy Oliphant and daughter Kirsty to spend a pleasant wintry weekend at Forestcrag Moorland Holiday Village. The trek to the remote North England resort is not fun, but Bill expects a luxurious relaxing few days spent with his daughter. However, director David Morland wants to hire Billy to quietly investigate the recent poisoning of employees. Billy says no wanting to just R&R with Kirsty and not impact his work waiting for his return home.

A nasty storm strands the occupants of Forestcrag. When the corpse of payroll manager Eric Salkeld is found hanging, Billy calls the local police, who cannot easily get to the death scene. Though it appears a simple suicide, the locals ask Billy as a former cop to conduct a preliminary investigation and to contain the scene until they arrive. He also receives a warning from the police that someone he once arrested has escaped and is in the area. Meanwhile Billy notices marks on the body making him conclude the so-called suicide is a cover up of a murder.

Fans of suspense laden investigation thrillers will feel they gained much PAYBACK from Alan Dunn's novel that reads somewhat like a police procedural once the first of several murders occur. The story line is very exciting so much so that the well-written climax seems weak by comparison. Still, Billy is a delightful lead character and those close to him accentuate the audience's ability to understand the hero's preference of non-involvement. When all is said and done, readers will appreciate PAYBACK and look for more novels from this British author.

Harriet Klausner

This is Ms Leigh's best yet. She changes her style and it is exciting and
very professional. The storyline moves along smoothly and keeps the reader turning the page as quickly as possible. This suspense novel takes place in the current political situation. It has personality, love interest as well as a serial killer. Good read. Go for it fellow book lovers.

A very accomplished first novel which the author wrote while still at college. Four distinct narratives bound up with a murder in an area of New York full of racial, class, political and generation tense. Buy a copy wherever you can as it is out of print and will become a classic. watch this space. Nolan the Bookee

After reading and enjoying dozens of Johnstone's novels, this is the worst he has written. His horror and westerns are his finest and his action/adventure is second. He needs to focus more on character development and more realistic scenarios. Does the FBI and CIA really act like a bunch of amateurs? Where are their high-tech devices?

Code Name: Payback is an exciting new action series that will keep you glued to the pages all the way to the end. I'm very excited about this new series of books. A must for you action junkies out there.

This is the first of Johnstones books that I have read. The book kept me going from first to last. I will now have to try reading his Mountain Man series. My library has over 1000 books in it. (Yes, purists they are mostly paperback.)I am looking forward to the follow up to this series.

I'm happy with a new series by Johnstone. The plot was somewhat realistic, given this book was written well before the 9/11 event. Terrorists plot to kill the President, and many Americans in NYC, for the PLF (People's Liberation Front)'s cause. The new hero is John Barrone, along with other ex-Federal, State agents. They train together in West Texas and track the PLF from L.A., across country to NYC. They also must keep quiet about who they are to the FBI, CIA...etc. Lots of action, but little character development give this novel 3 stars. However, am impressed that Bill does not preach his philosophy every other chapter as in the Ashes series, and some of his more recent books like Breakdown. Although, I agree with most of that philosophy, we just want a good story. Looking forward to reading the next book.

A decent battle between a thrown together crew of former Law enforcement vs. a dangerous terrorist organization..The upside is a good story, the down is they (the good guys) seem to revolve around when they either get coffee or eat..

William Wallace must have been a stunningly charismatic and daring leader. That certainly comes across in this biography by Peter Reese. However, the book doesn't quite pull you along as such an incredible life should. Perhaps that is due to the very few facts we really know about Wallace.

Nevertheless, Reese gets the facts correct so far as I can tell and paints a good picture of the time in which Wallace lived. One does get a pretty good sense of Scotland itself, its people, culture, and society. England and its kings, particularly Edward I, are examined in detail as well.

The battles are explained in good detail and the reader can get a fairly good sense of how the main battles went. The maps, both of the battles and Scotland, are somewhat lacking, as others have noted.

The book, while correcting some facts about Wallace that the movie Braveheart missed, doesn't force one to reject the picture of Wallace in Braveheart. Certainly some events depicted in the movie were subject to creative license. The movie certainly doesn't show why Wallace won the battle of Stirling bridge, namely that the Scottish cut off and annihilated a large element of the English forces by taking and blocking the bridge. The book does verify his use of large wooden spears against the mounted knights, his poor relations with the Scottish nobility, and his rise from the common class. And the movie, of course, rightly portrays medieval warfare, perhaps too well! It would seem that Wallace certainly must've been the sort of passionate man envisioned in the movie.

All things considered, if you like Wallace, you'll probably enjoy the book. It's Wallace the man we would all like to know more about but perhaps the fine details are too sparse to enjoy a full picture.

We sat on a train out of Edinburg Scotland and took up a conversation with a charming lady across the table. We mentioned William Wallace and the Stirling Bridge Battle. She recommended we read her brother's book "William Wallace" by Peter Reese. We just ordered it through Amazon.com Salute to Haggis!

Peter Reese was a soldier and rightfully concentrates on the military career of William Wallace. As a responsible scholar he also acknowledges the dearth of contemporary records of what actually happened during the Scottish wars of independence. Although some may find it annoying or confusing, the author is understandably forced to cite his sources so that he may present the material in the most objective form as possible. In a sense, the book is more scholarly than biographic, building upon the writings of previous Wallace biographers who also must have been challenged by the lack of records from the period. Despite this, he deduces from common sense and the trends of the era to portray what Wallace's life may have been like. His honesty is proof that history should be learned from sources other than Hollywood.

There are a few weaknesses, however. The maps were helpful but somewhat incomplete. Major towns and fiefdoms mentioned throughout the book cannot be found in the maps of Scotland. The diagrams of Stirling and Falkirk are great but lack some important details (they might've sacrificed detail for greater area). Nonetheless these are minor points compared to the one factor I found very problematic. The author makes sweeping assumptions several times throughout his work, mostly concerning the character and essence of a certain people or race. Though cultures have strong mores or habits, that does not apply to entire peoples who may undergo several cultural transformations. In his assumptions the author stands dangerously close to stereotyping, however harmless his conclusions.

Overall the book is a well-researched and honest account of Scotland's famed freedom fighter. The bibliography at the end is interesting in and of itself. It certainly moves one to explore further the mystery of William Wallace, a true nationalist.

For a cut and paste biography, this book does an excellent job of conveying facts (or offering up what may be facts) and making it plain that certain things are under speculation. It offers different opinions from different sources, but lacks personal touch. It wasn't emotionally engaging in the least, unless you care more about dates than the man himself.

Peter Reese's book is highly recommended because:

a) It is divided into logical sections.

b) It covers both the life of Wallace and the aftermath right up to the date of publication (1996).

c) It is very strong on the military aspects of Wallace's life and campaigns.

d) It sets Wallace's life into the context of Scotland at that time.

e) It is very well written, avoids going into unnecessary detail, and makes the important points.

The epilogue is slightly out of date now as a lot has happened in Scotland since 1996 i.e. the devolution referendum in 1997 and the establishment of the new Scottish Parliament in 1999.

In summary, one of the best Wallace biographies - we recommend it very strongly. [MacBraveHeart May, 1999]

I strongly disagree with the reader from Kenosha, WI, who claims that this book is obvious and dated. When it was first published, nobody had ever attempted to take the oral tradition of black music seriously. Sidran's book was the first real go at such an approach, and for that alone, it's required reading for any musician with an interest in black music forms. It is true that his thoughts are everywhere today, and that some of his ideas have become canon-like, but why should that stop us from reading them? Like the reader from Kenosha, WI, we are all free to disagree with Mr.Sidran's line of thought. Personally, I find the book a lot more interesting than any of his recordings. It is well written, at at times even entertaining.

"Bad" is jazz argot for "great," which this book certainly isn't. Not that the book is misleading or unreadable. But in the post-Wynton era, the most constructive efforts have been toward taking jazz beyond the obvious, overly familiar, acceptance of its place in an oral cultural tradition. (Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were improvised, oral poems delivered in a culture that had no written alphabet, but where does this take us?). To get a keener understanding of why jazz is not simply a folk tradition but an art form, about what makes jazz different from rap and hip-hop, the reader should attend to the analyses of Gunther Schuller, Wynton Marsalis, Billy Taylor. For penetrating and provocative insights into the oral basis of the music, the reader should examine Leroi Jones' "Blues People." Or for an "oral history" of the music itself, the reader couldn't do better than Shapiro and Hentoff's "Hear Me Talking to Ya." Were it not for the author's reknown as a popular performer, it's doubtful this book would remain in print, at least not without substantial revision and expansion.

Mr. Sidran is a songwriter, singer and jazz pianist. He holds a doctorate in American Studies from Sussex University and has hosted a number of National Public Radio programs on jazz involving weekly interviews with Jazz musicians, the latter forming the basis for his work "Talking Jazz: An Oral History" [1992]. In this work, Mr. Sidran helps us understand that the basis for many of the unique Black contributions to the creation of Jazz music stem from the fact that these features were derived from the African oral cultural tradition. He goes on to explain that an oral culture is different from a literate culture [i.e.: European] since it is based on speech which is an improvisational and spontaneous act. In "Black Talk," Mr. Sidran discusses how singular elements of black music such as a "vocalized tone" and a "peculiarly black approach to rhythm" helped Jazz evolve into a unique American art form. One of the most, instructive, illuminating and unique books about Jazz ever written.

Obvious, redundant, dated. Those in search of the jazz tradition would be bettered served by earlier texts by Marshall Stearns or Martin Williams.

Dimple's aim is to get even with the boy who accidentally shot and killed her brother, according to the reports. The story goes through the process of Dimple finding out about the shooting, the funeral home, and the funeral. Dimple leaves the funeral to pay a visit to the boy who shot her brother, and has plans to "not delay the payback". She finds out the truth at his house just prior to a close call.
This book is for mature readers only because of gruff language, poor English and because Dimple exhibits language typical of the insensitive and rude character she is. Also, the subject matter is very mature.

I absolutely loved this book and would deffinently read it again.

Wow! A wonderful book! I am 13, and I find that the language is accurate. It reads easily because the language runs smoothly, convincing readers of Dimple's age, and adding an aura about her that captures her charecter's attidude perfectly. It is non-stop action, and I was fascinated by the way that the author deals so expertly with such a delicate subject.

I am an elementary school librarian. This book came with an Accelerated Reader set, and the cover tipped me off that I should read it, before giving it out. I am very glad I did.

I don't have a problem with the language; it is realistic. I don't have a problem with the subject matter, either. But this is NOT a book for 9-12 year olds, in my opinion. It is wrenching, and frightening, and very raw.

I would have no problem putting this on a middle-school shelf, and I think it would be wonderful on the high school shelf for high-interest low-ability reading...but for elementary school? Totally inappropriate.

I too am an elementary/junior high librarian. I purchased thisbook because I was looking for a sensitive portrayal. This book is awful! The language really gets in the way of the story. I could only conjur up prejudicial images of a hick town. I was also very shocked at the treatment of the ending. There were no real consequences. There were no adult characters that the children felt they could trust...I finished this book and threw it in the trash.

This is an odd story. If you took the surrealistic aspects of Chester Himes's Blindman With a Pistol and upped them you'd get some notion of what's in store here. The book is rough -- frankly, about another draft away from completion -- but there's a lot of good stuff bopping around inside. Recommended for fans of this sort of hardboiled fiction.

We constantly hear from conservatives, especially Rush Limbaugh, how liberals are "touchy", and overly "sensitive" to critisism. Limbaugh makes it a habit to point out that liberals can't handle opposing view points. Well, here we have Mr. J.P. Mauro, a conservative who apparently was so rattled and upset over a COMEDIAN'S book on the conservative icon Limbaugh, that he exposes the conservative side of "touchiness" by writing this weak, poorly thought out knockoff of Franken's humorous and interesting book. Obviously, conservatives consider any sort of investigation or analysis of Limbaugh to be "off limits" (how American!), and Mauro displays his lack of wit and integrity throughout this book. It's a perfect example of the conservative mindset of attack and discredit the messanger, even if the messanger has a valid point. So overall, this book actually helps the left by exposing the "overly sensitive" and desperately touchy attitude of the right.

...I might just purchase it!

(Before Obama deems it and other Conservative books "hate writing" and bans them...)

A surprisingly ineffective and unfunny attack on Franken. It's pretty clear that the author is unclear on the concept, sure, some of Al Franken's skits weren't that funny, but that isn't the way to attack a comedian, especially one with such a sharp satirical bent. The truth is, Mauro is just a humorless right wing sorehead, and that's the way he comes off. The cover is a good indicator of what is to come, Franken's cover is funny as it is a play on Limbaugh's, with goofy old Al aping Rush attempting to appear thoughtful, Mauro just takes Al's cover and tries to make him look buck toothed. Funny? No. Original? No. Pointless? Yep. The best comment ion the book, and the most revealing, is where Mauro admits republics don't care if their leaders are politically corrupt (i.e. taking brides) as long as they don't have sex scandals. That about says it all. The book is self parodying. A real dog.

I loved the cartoons and illustrations in this book. I especially liked the piece where he studies how Saturday Night Live's entertainment value was conversely effected by the involvement of Franken in the show. The guy is the kiss of death to any form of entertainment he touches. Why the only way HE could get his own radio show is if someone bought him a radio station...

Oh yeah. I forgot about Air America.

Mercifully I've never come across this bit of printed pulp in any store, but the cover says all you need to know. If you're going to attack someone as bucktoothed, at least the target ought to be bucktoothed. I know my expectations are high but come on now. If the whole premise of your title isn't even accurate, what's left to stand on? For the right it's usually name calling and that's there too.

I'll be honest, this was pretty hohum. The stories were unrelated, both previously published in ebook by the same author. The characters were not strongly developed and the plots were slim. The sex scenes [and the stories were mostly sex scenes] came across more as sexual calisthenics than sexual heat.

I'm sorry to say that I wasted more than a year waiting for this to come to print format, rarely will I buy a eformat book, so sadly I waited and wasted more than a year of anticipation. Bought the book for Payback and haven't even gotten to the first story in the book, my review is only for the second book. Let me say this, I feel cheated out of a good solid, leave u' in heat kind of story. When I found out about this book, I was under the miss conception that, it was about an alpha male and alpha female (Victoria) that were going to have an all out kind of thing, instead, I got a case of mistaken identities, on both parts. First, what was so wrong about the male lead, "he had connections not suitable for a lily white company" did not see it at all, to me he read more like an undergraduate student trying to get a decent job, he didn't even have a personality to go with the "I'm going to teach you not to mess with me" thing he plan, if he had gotten Victoria, I don't think he would have know what to do with her. Which brings me to my next point, what was the purpose of changing characters, instead of a strong, man eating female, I was now stuck with a character that I frankly didn't care for, she was Blah to me, not interested, I wanted fire, sizzle, power clashing, going to make you summit, love it and beg me for more. All of course in a very sensual and not forceful way, please. I guess I was expecting something that the author did not care to give, shame on me... maybe in a couple of days, I'll be up to reading the first story in this book, maybe I would find it worth the price of the book, but for now I'm putting it on a side and morn for my year of unfulfiled expectations.