Q Books

The pleasurable "Q Road" provides the reader with a genuine experience of rural Michigan coupled with characters who have grown from this place, whose lives are a reflection of their landscape.

The story, centered on an irascible, oft-cussing brute of a girl (Rachel) and her relationship with an ageing farmer (George), allows the reader to become engrossed in a landscape rife with contrast. The primary arc of the novel encompasses a few years from the late 1990's. Aside from the quirky and delightful love story between Rachel and George, as well as a few other minor arcs concerning the loveably flawed residents of Greenland Township in Kalamazoo County, the novel is a study on the friction between people with fundamentally different views on how their landscape should be shaped.

Rachel, along with her mother Margo, live off the land, hunting and skinning their meals with ease, as one with the natural environment as possible. George is caught in between. As a farmer he maintains an intimate relationship with the land while at the same time experiencing the near futility of his occupation with the constant pressures of money and labor. Then, with an assortment of characters, the rural/urban divide is examined through the clashes between wealthy developers, a middle class fleeing the city, and those who (like the Potawatomi in another arc of flashback skillfully threaded through the narrative) are forced to respond to the invasion.
A terrific, fast read. Highly recomended for anyone who loves the beautifully rugged ladscape of the nothern Mid-West.

This first novel begins with the image of wooly-bear caterpillars crossing a rural road. If this doesn't seem auspicious, read on. I found Q Road to be a generous surprise and I don't say this easily. The depiction of the extinquishing of a goldfinch's life is beautiful and perfect and right,though I fought it all the way. The depictions of the people and their sudden realizations are equally stunning. What it is to believe in God, what it is to love another person, to gasp even for air: all these are given to us by this young author. This is a monster, a wondrous, beautiful book.

Campbell's book revolves around a quirky cast of characters in rural Michigan: foul-mouthed, child-bride Rachel, her husband George, and her best friend, asthmatic, 12-year-old David, to name a few. The story itself is not particularly remarkable, but Campbell's writing makes you want to not miss a moment.

Rifle-toting Rachel, abandoned by her distant, fur-trapping mother, marries the much older George Harland, a down-on-his-luck farmer, because she wants his land. She grows to love him in her own weird, tacit way. She also loves David, who becomes even more devoted to the mysterious Rachel after his near-death experience in a burning barn. There are some more neighborhood characters thrown into the mix, but you get to know these three the best. There wasn't so much in the way of a plot, it was really just a simple story, beautifully written, about loving the place you live and the people who live there, about getting lost, even in familiar territory, and finding your way back with the help of family and friends.

Q Road is not for the faint of heart. Author Bonnie Jo Campbell takes you down a Michigan side-road to a rough-hewn world of brutally flawed characters. No sparkling wits, no dreamy introverts here; rather these misshapen and misfortuned people struggle through each and every day. Cantankerous and eccentric, they are driven to alienate kin and neighbors alike. Victims of violent acts of their past, broken marriages, rural recession and self-abuse, they gain pleasure from the misery of others.

Around them caterpillars are splattered under the wheels of cars, crows munch the remains of road-kill squirrels and cats devour birds, all in a landscape haunted by the death-march of the indigenous Potawatomi Indians. Out of this harsh reality, Campbell builds a story of grittiness, purpose and great humor that is suddenly jarred by a tragedy. An act of carelessness not malice, it threatens to overwhelm the community and break their spirit.

In Campbell's competent hands, there is no hysterical reaction and no desperation, just people digging deeper and accepting less. Q Road becomes a road to recovery. No giant steps, no minor miracles, just a poignant reminder that the human spirit needs just small kindnesses to prevail.

Bonnie Jo Campbell has, rightly, been described as a fresh new voice in American literature. This, her first novel, should be the launching point for a distinguished career.

As carefully stitched together as a patchwork quilt, with colorful squares made of quirky characters, the inhabitants of Greenland Township, Michigan, are bound by the commonality of their daily labor and innate love of their farmland. This is the heartland of America, land that has sustained generation after generation. But as much as a failing farm economy, suburbia encroaches upon this pastoral existence, and city people are willing to tolerate only so much discomfort in their newly constructed rural environment. Once sprawled across the countryside, secure from city confines, the old families are slowly replaced by pre-fab housing developments.

Q Road's three main protagonists are strikingly different people, each with particular idiosyncrasies, forming their own core family: father, child-bride, and son, love filling the solitary loneliness so long entrenched in their hearts. The spirited 17-year-old Rachel, a new bride who has married for the security of owning land, smashes through life with no guidance or socialization, save that of her own invention. George Harland, her middle-age-plus husband, is a sixth-generation farmer who knows only that his days are suddenly more bearable with Rachel sharing their backbreaking work and love-drenched nights. George cannot imagine life without Rachel.

When twelve-year-old David is drawn to the Harlands, it is for George's fatherly protection and Rachel's pure female strength, his own mother ever more distant and self-involved. On a clear day when trouble hovers in the air, David is the catalyst for catastrophe, his one breach of judgment forever changing the landscape of their future. For the three of them, life will never be the same again.

The Darwinian inevitability of nature vs. progress lurks around the perimeter of Greenland Township and Campbell skillfully portrays the hardships and realities of farming, as even the vigorous landscape becomes a vital player in the drama. Campbell's reality is hard-edged and she never shies away from its blunt and often brutal surfaces. Yet the eccentric characters of Q Road fit snugly into the environment, their own edges sharpened early by experience.

Q Road is like an Alice Hoffman novel with sharp teeth and a rapacious appetite. At the same time, the peculiar township inhabitants have many of the intransigent qualities of Carolyn Chute's Beans of Egypt, Maine. Sprinkled with quirky individuals, neighborhood malcontents and busybodies, Q Road is overflowing with the many faces of humanity, as they reach bravely toward their better selves. Luan Gaines/2003.

Buyer beware: I was expecting this item to be Billy Graham's full-length book of devotions. Instead, it was a spiral-bound calendar of daily devotions. It's still a wonderful source of short, thought-provoking and encouraging selections based on the book, but it doesn't have as much meat as the source. I was able to find a used copy of Dr. Graham's book (same title) on Amazon.

This is a wonderful devotional for daily reading. I have given it to many people as a gift & everyone has loved it. Billy Graham touches your heart in down to earth, easy to understand, Holy Spirit-inspired writings. You won't be disappointed.

I also use this in my daily devotional and have worn-out the tape that was holding it together,... I think anyone would enjoy this very practical and easy to comprehend devotional. Billy Graham is a gifted man.

I have read this book so much that it has fallen apart and I had to order a new book. This book is truely the best to understand what God does and what he is about. I recommend it very much to keep up your daily walk with God. Billy Graham writes great books about God and I can understand the books and enjoy starting my day reading them every morning.

Every days' lesson seems to be a gift from the Lord to help me deal through lifes' lessons. Billy Grahm puts the gospel into terms we can relate to.

Very helpful book with many "tips" and list of resources for dealing with a devastating illness that has a devastating impact on family members and friends. Helps to know what to expect and how to cope. Highly recommend for anyone (friend or family) dealing with a loved one with dementia.

After I read the book that I purchased for myself, I purchased copies for every other effected family member. It helps so much with understanding what is going on with this bizarre disease.

I wish I had found this book over a year ago. Statistically the largest portion of people diagnosed with dementia are diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. The sad truth is that many people diagnosed as having Alzheimer's are mis-diagnosed and don't have Alzheimer's but some other form of dementia. Dementia is not a disease itself but a symptom of something else going on. Just like pain is not a disease but caused by other things. Many things can and do cause dementia: brain tumors, metabolic conditons, trauma, fluid on the brain, nutritional issues, alzheimer's, frontotemporal lobe, lewy bodies and on.

This book talks about other causes of dementia besides Alzheimer's. It focuses more heavily on Frontotemporal Dementia or FTD. There is growing evidence that a large percentage of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's actually have had or do have FTD. This was the case with my mother. So what's the big deal? Both kinds of dementia are debilitating and have no cure right? Well the big deal is when someone has Alzheimer's they can give them medicine that helps maintain memory for about 12-18 longer than without the meds. With FTD if you give that person the Alzheimer's meds because of a mis-diagonosis it can cause severe behavior problems. There is nothing you can give for FTD. I personally witnessed this problem with my mother after being put on an anti-Alzheimer's med. She had to be taken off of it since it caused some severe psychotic behavior. Had I or the doctor at the time know more about FTD there would not have been a false diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Why? It really is not that hard to make a proper diagnosis of FTD if you know and the doctor know what to look for. FTD begins with behavior issues and then comes memory impairment where Alheimer's begins with memory impairment. Plus Alzheimer's tend to affect the Parietal and Temporal lobes of the brain first and FTD starts with the frontal and temporal lobes first. Over time however it is not easy to tell the difference. The best thing when in doubt is knowing the patients background and detailed history, neuropsych testing and a CT or MRI scan to look for where the shrinkage is taking place in the brain first.

Again this book is a great resource and help to anyone wanting more info on dementia and specifically if you wonder is it really Alzheimer's. It is the only book like it out there and it is not just fluff. It is also highly recommended by the Association of Frontotemporal Dementia out of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. All thumbs up on this one.

My sister is 39 had was diagnosed with FTD, probable Pick's Disease. My mother is her full-time caregiver and I gave this to her for Christmas. She said it's the most helpful, interesting book she could imagine on the subject. It's great to know you're not alone when there's such little information available!

I have found this book to be very helpful with alot of information regarding FTD.... It has been a great help

As a former editor of Doug Bottorff's and a friend, I began this book with a combination of fascination and concern. What if it wasn't as good as he thinks it is? My dread evaporated quickly within a few pages and from that point on my admiration soared. This is better than it has a right to be, I quipped to myself at one point.

This novel is a kind of Da Vinci Code meets Celestine Prophecy except it excels at everything the latter tries to do on every level, and it is deeper and more spiritual than the former. In fact the specter of expectation works against this book; we expect a kind of derivation and then are gleefully surprised by its freshness.

I am impressed by Bottorff's skillful descriptions that propel the action. I am pleased by his characterizations that are more than believable but compelling. And the sexual tension he introduces and sustains between Stuart and Niki is truly delicious. This book offers a feast on many levels, the beauty of the Greek islands, the excitement of adventure and romance, the stimulation of both spiritual and intellectual ideas that touch archetypal emotions within us.

The conclusion is also most gratifying as mythological themes and the plot elements come crashing together, and this satisfaction is no small feat. I like how Bottorff merely suggests that Stuart in a former life may have known Jesus himself but that this is not a major point of the novel. While I thought the survival of the scroll and of Capt.Thrasher was a bit incredulous, this is a minor quibble that no doubt would play well in a Hollywood movie, which by the way this book deserves. I loved it and I did not want it to end!

This well crafted story captured my attention with the opening sentence and I could hardly put the book down until, regretfully, the end. It is easy to read yet is a complex tale, woven with mystery and metaphysical message along with detailed characters, exotic locations, lots of action and intertwined relationships. This multi level depth kept me intrigued as the story flowed along and carried me through the gamut of emotion. I really enjoyed this thought provoking, good entertainment story and look forward to more works from this author.

Like many others, I, too, enjoyed this book for its fast-paced action, rich description and sympathetic characters. But while it provides a great ride on one level, I enjoyed even more the intellectual play, careful research, metaphorical frames, and the metaphysical dimensions of the book. Bottorff's hero is, indeed, an everyman, an Adam who must make his way back to the Garden after losing his way. That this contemporary Adam eventually discovers both his material Garden and his spiritual innocence through the journey, makes the story satisfying. The literary choices Bottorff makes to get him there give it a deeper artistic dimension than might be evident at first glance.

First, the labyrinth plays an important role in the novel. The ancient symbol that predates all modern religions and is used in most, can be seen as a spiritual exercise where the (silent) meditative journey is as important as the destination, a recurrent theme of the novel. It also symbolizes the spiraling karmic path of death and rebirth, significant in the novel. And it represents a great spiritual and physical paradox involving a frightening and chaotic maze within a great and complex cosmic plan which, in turn, reflects the twists and turns of the characters' travails within the wholeness of the plot. This use of symbolism made this novel richer for me than Mosse' labyrinth novel, for example, which like Brown's DaVinci Code, simply uses spiritual symbols to generate or further a plot rather than reflecting, exploring and enriching the wisdom imbued by those symbols.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the play on words in the title. Bottorff's fictional Pialigians seem very close in certain descriptions to the ancient culture of the Pelasgians--the pre-Greek civilization that in some interpretations of Plato's Critias were from the continent of Atlantis. Even more interesting, a similar homonym, (or slip of the keyboard in my case), offers "Pelagians", followers of Pelagius, a first century, C.E., Catholic monk and heretic who believed that Original Sin did not taint human nature because it, being created from God, was Divine (Wikipedia). While unexpected and perhaps coincidental, the similarity to the Three Measures of Wisdom in the novel is worth noting.

More archaeological sites of the book deserve excavation but for now, I'm hoping for both a film and a sequel. What does Adam do now that he's discovered spiritual truth? How does this new knowledge work for him and his bride? And what about the "sons of Adam" who grow up in an Eden without the mark of Original Sin? Do they still struggle? I have a hunch that this author has much more to impart about the implementation of wisdom; I know he has the artistic skills to do it in a way that makes it both accessible and richly rewarding. Wouldn't it be interesting if, like the scroll Adam finds, it is one day said about Bottoff's book:

"This unlikely source may indeed offer the world one of the clearest windows yet unopened into the mind of Jesus" (266)?

Having read two other books by this author, books I refer to often for their inspiration and simple truths, I was curious to see how he would take the leap from down-to-earth spirituality to the writing of fiction.

I agree with other reviewers who say that The Whisper of Pialigos is a fun story. Stuart Adams unwittingly embarks on a wild and harrowing journey in search of an ancient scroll, while at the same time searching his soul for understanding and meaning in his own life and relationships. What is love, anyway? Is something missing in his life? His better judgment tells him he should go back home to Marion and protect what he has. But, a mysterious memory, a whisper, propels him in another direction.

Vivid descriptions, beautifully crafted, give life and personality to the characters. The vibrant hues of the Greek islands remain painted in my mind. I feel as though I have journeyed there. They say it's fiction, but I'm not so sure. I'll never forget the feeling of standing on the beach of Kyropos, trapped in the fiery darkness of the awakening volcano as the earth trembled and the rising sea threatened to devour me.

Perhaps the writing of this story was not such a leap after all. Mr. Bottorff has artfully created a captivating story with beautiful locale and down-to-earth characters as a backdrop for his interwoven spiritual theme.

I found this book very engaging and difficult to put down. The story is very compelling, the characters are believable and Mr. Bottorff's scene descriptions are like being there in person. He has obviously done a lot of research on the Greek islands and his extensive spiritual training and awareness has allowed him to add that intriguing dimension to the book. While Mr. Bottorff's previous two books have focused solely on spirituality, this book intertwines spirituality and a great adventure / love story into one. I highly recommend this book.

As an internal consultant and leadership coach, I have often shared this book with leaders and leadership teams (at all levels). The profiles in the book are engaging and the development exercises are pragmatic. They are relevant for both men and women. Zichy uses Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as the book's primary frame of reference. The essence of MBTI theory boils down to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment. Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills. Zichy depicts 8 distinct leadership styles. As you journey through the book and read about the various leadership "neighborhoods", you will learn more about your own personal leadership style, optimal and least preferred working environment, approach to change, contributions to a team, decision-making style, potential blind spots, as well as, the strengths and differences of the other 7 styles.

I've not been able to really complete the reading and excercises in the book because the questions in the digital version of the book were scanned in and are unreadable on my IPaq. I would like to find out if this "problem" will ever be fixed so I can get some use out of the e-version of this book.

This book is insightful and fun. It punctures the usual stereotypes about the difference between male and female leaders. It quickly showed me that it was okay to be competitive and task driven. After all, one in every three women is. I wish I had read it 20 years ago. The test is incisive and Zichy's advice is right on target - become comfortable with yourself, play to your strengths and appreciate what others bring to the table. I also loved reading about the women she profiles - about their backgrounds, ambitions and views on leadership. This book is a unique toolkit. There is something in it for everyone.

To achieve power and influence, people have to know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should promote you, do business with you, or even VOTE FOR YOU! The authors give great tips on creating a leadership role for women, but creating a strategic 'personal' publicity plan needs to be part of the package.Visibility is part of leadership and to really take charge of your future - you have to create a significant image in the workplace, in the community - or on the political scene.

To achieve power and influence, people have to know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should promote you, do business with you, or even VOTE FOR YOU! The authors give great tips on creating a leadership role for women, but creating a strategic 'personal' publicity plan needs to be part of the package.Visibility is part of leadership and to really take charge of your future - you have to create a significant image in the workplace, in the community - or on the political scene.

My cousin from Atlanta sent me this book for my birthday. I like to read while I'm under the hair dryer. I loved this book and I could relate to the characters. Dirty Red was my favorite. She was tough for her age and she reminds me of myself. Black Jake is now at the top of my list of favorite books, right next to Coldest Winter Ever. I e-mailed the author and told him what I thought about the book. He e-mailed me back and thanked me. He seems so cool. Check out the book. You won't be disappointed. Peace.

I am in love! B.J. is my dream man. I loved his character, so smooth, so intense, so real. My book club is reading this next week. I can't wait for everybody to read it so we can talk about it. As long as they know B.J. is mine!

What's gangsta? Black Jake is gangsta! This book has something for everybody. I don't see how anybody could not like it. BJ is the truth, a major player. But I like the way he's down to earth. Kai was my favorite girl in the book. She was down for whatever. I can't wait for part 2. I hope there is one.

Aight, at first I was skeptical about this joint but it only took one chapter to get me feeling this. i liked the way black jake handles his business. cant nobody say this nigga aint the truth. his girls are nice to. mad loyalty. thats what niggaz need from our woman. you ladies could learn something from the chicks in this book. and us brothas out here better wake up or a nigga like jake is gonna be breaking off one of our ladies. peace.

Finally! A book that kept me interested from begining to end. this cannot be Q's first book. If it is I'm impressed. the main character is cool but i really dig his brother. i used to jack people up just like he did. and i loved the ladies like BJ.

In every BSC book I've read so far, Martin has always tended to write the main story with a secondary story that runs somewhat parallel and ties in at the end. This book doesn't seem to have that secondary story, which was too bad - I thought there were several chances for it, especially with Cathy, Claudia's hospital roommate. It didn't detract from the story, though.

When a call comes in to the BSC from a new client, the girls voice some suspicion - the Sobak's live in an area where people usually use other sitters - so Claudia, who has taken the job, asks around. Told by other sitters that Betsy's a handful, and a practical joker, Claudia believes she's prepared. She has no idea! A practical joke goes badly and Claudia ends up with a badly broken leg.

Missing a lot of school is not a good thing for a student like Claudia, who has to work hard just to keep up. With little to do, Claudia's mind dwells on her accident and she begins to wonder if babysitting is too dangerous. What if she had broken her arm or hand and couldn't do her art anymore? Prepared to quit the BSC if necessary, Claudia turns to her grandmother Mimi, who believes that her fear is really of not being in control.

The girls set out to teach Betsy that practical jokes are not always funny - and they go a few rounds with the girl before she finally gets it. Betsy does learn, and Claudia does heal but will Claudia really quit the BSC?

The practical jokes battles were amusing, and it was good that the girls were aware that they probably shouldn't be engaging Betsy in them. It was also nice that Stacey hasn't been forgotten. Martin always seems to do a very good job with those details.

Ann M. Martin brings together books that only a imaginitive person could. The book, CLAUDIA AND THE BAD JOKE, brings forth problems in everyday, human life. Practical jokes, babysitting, and the common teenager problem:study-or-fail are combined in this fabulous book. So read read read it!!!!!!

I liked this book. Claudia was my favorite of the original quartet, so naturally I enjoyed this book. I love the descriptions of Claudia's cleverly put together ensembles and her appreciation for art. That speaks to sensitivity and creativity.

Betsy Sobak, Claudia's young charge is a virtuoso in the fine art of practical jokes. Her jokes are hostile and are always at the expense of another person. During Claudia's first sitting stint with Betsy, she falls from a tire swing and breaks her leg. Luckily for Claudia, her trio of sitting pals come through like the Cavalry by out-joking Betsy (in a safe way, of course) to teach her an object lesson in how to treat people in a humane fashion. Lesson: It is only kidding or funny if all sides are enjoying it, but if one side is not having fun, it is no longer kidding, it is mean.

I liked Betsy. The description given of her sounds like a cute kid with a vivid imagination. Ann Martin has a real gift for descriptions, dialogs, character development and I like the way the charges have a parallel plot running to the central plot the sitters are contending with. Ms. Martin has a real gift for the voices and feelings of kids.

Claudia's not worried when she hears her newest baby-sitting charge, Betsy Sobak, is a great practical joker.After all, how much harm can one little girl do? Plenty. Claudia breaks her leg as a result of one of Betsy's mean jokes...and now she's talking about quitting the club. "Baby-Sitting," she says, "is too dangerous." Kristy thinks Betsy needs to be taught a lesson. She also thinks the Baby-Sitters are just the ones to do it. Wath out, Betsy Sobak! The joke war is on!

When Claudia has to baby sit for a practicaljoker nemed, Betsy, Claudia has nothing to worry about. Until it becomes bad...

This book is loaded with information on how to code JCL efficiently. We cut the run time for a 12 hour job to 3 hours using this book. I highly recommend the book for IT Professionals working with JCL.

This book is loaded with practical and valuable information. Excellent tool--even experienced IT professionals will benefit from the tips and techniques.

This JCL publication has all the parameters and statements most often used. The book also presents the most efficient and effective means to code the most common JCL parameters and statements. Olivia Carmandi hit the bullseye, writing a book that contains practical day to day answers in an easy to use format and size, an appealing tool to the busy IS professional.

This is an outstanding book that addresses and responds to the needs of its target audience in a very time efficient, practical, and helpful manner. Five stars.

A good little book for the most commonly used JCL and ideal for someone who does not have to deal with JCL on an everyday bases. The format is easy to follow and book size makes is easy to slip it into you pocket.

The focus of this book is on developing your survival skills quickly, helping you grasp and understand major concepts and terms so you can be productive in days; not weeks or months. JCL is an intense and complex computing skill and highly-valued in the industry. Traditionally, learning JCL takes years, learning small components at a time. Many programmers and operators eventually give up the chase. This book will help ensure that you don't. To paraphrase the line, "this is not your father's JCL manual." This book is not a thousand pages of prose, explaining every conceivable element that might appear in JCL. Instead, it focuses on what is actually being used in the computing world and packages it for easy consumption. I wish such a book had been available when I was learning JCL many years ago.

Happy Reading!! David Shelby Kirk

Although this book was written in 1950, the text is still critical. I used the section on direct-contact heat exchangers to design a contact condenser back in 2002. The text is still relevant, the examples current and useful, and some calculation methods still not covered properly in more advanced text. I should point out that although some of the equations are old, they are simplier to use than newer text and require fewer inputs. Besides, when are you going to need calculations accurate to beyond 90%?

If this review was helpful, please add your vote -- Thanks.

I used this book at college, 30 years ago. Now i'm dealing with heat condensation and heat exchangers using the Kern system for design. I hope the publisher could update the tables and make from the examples a "system" like a calculation sheets. My rating: its a must in the library of any process engineer.

just right book for its subject, rare to find one.
explained everything in right content and language....simple
and easy...just amazing!

I used this book as a text book in 1982 and consider it one of the key courses in my career. The principles and methods presented by Kern are still un-matched. Today, as a design professional it is a great tool while dealing with process heat transfer. Excellent handling of condensation in the presence of non-condensibles.

Its one of those books that will be with me during my entire engineering career. One of the tuffest subject explained in such a neat way for easy comprehension. Hard to find book, mostly out of print. If you do find one, dont miss.

Richard Quan's prose has a mesmerizing rhythmic quality which uses simple syntax to achieve lyrical and evocative effects.

"It is late summer. The wind is blowing and I am alone. What is happening with the weather is happening with me. Nature, too, can cry. Our moods are the same." (Quan 3)

These short sentences convey so much that is unspoken about loneliness, the environment, the narrator's voice, and portray the mood effortlessly in minimal verbs and nouns. The narrator's tone, sometimes cynical yet containing romantic overtones, captivates readers from the very beginning of the novel.

A mystery as well as a love story, "Siren's Silence" shows that literary fiction does not need long, extravagant strings of adjectives and metaphors. It also demonstrates how a well-written plot will keep readers turning pages until the end, and that images of memorable characters linger long after a first reading.

Good plot, sound language, engaging characters--definitely look forward to more books by Richard Quan in the future!

Written by a survivor of Cambodian genocide who made his way to the United States to study international human rights and refugee law, Siren's Silence is a haunting novel about an attorney who receives contact from a Ukrainian lover who disappeared from his life eleven years ago. A single telephone call draws him into a web of murder, obsession, and lust; Siren's Silence is a suspenseful odyssey through both the light and dark sides of human nature. Utterly compelling from cover to cover.

Siren's Silece is a great read. Once I started, I couln't put it down until the end. I definitely recommend reading it with a cup of Cappucino. It's a deliciously wonderful combination.

Siren's silence is a poignant tale of love and loss. The author of this novel has a unique voice and narrative style not to be missed!

Siren's Silence is a compelling story unlike any I've ever read. Victor's life is forever changed when he meets Siren. Their relationship unfolds through a series of events that takes the reader along for the journey. The author, Mr. Quan, gives the classic love story a poignant twist and a touch of mystery.