Maine Books

I thoroughly enjoyed this light, sweet book about the author's experiences in the 1970's as a thirteen-year-old at Camp Kin-A-Hurra, a Jewish sleep-away camp in Maine. The story was sparkling with nostalgia and humor. I especially liked Schneider's reminiscences of her trying to attract the attention of her crush, all the while being pursued by a guy in whom she had no interest. Didn't that always seem to happen at that age? The photographs and the song lyrics seemed very familiar. I may not have been at the author's camp when I was a kid, but I was in that same uncertain world that Mindy Schneider discovered at Camp Kin-A-Hurra. It was fun to revisit that time in Schneider's charming book.

This is an hilarious memoir of an adolescent's first summer at sleep-away camp. If you remember what it's like to play color wars, sing ridiculous songs which insult camp food, have your first crush, drink "bug" juice, well, then your experience is not even half as fun as Mindy's, whose camp's meals were salvaged from train wrecks, whose camp's truck was one that could only be ridden in for as long as you could hold your breath (against the fumes), and whose characters are 12 year old versions of Henny Youngman and Totie Fields.

This book is a humorous recollection of what many remember as bad days away at summer camp. The experiences had me wondering how she survived all of them and lived to tell the tale. Unlike most camps, the camp which Schneider attended had no solid rules making for some interesting experiences.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who has ever attended a summer camp, and for those who haven't, I will assure you that this does not happen at all camps.

I looked forward to reading this book each night. Although I'm about 15 years younger than Ms. Schneider, my memories of Jewish summer camp are similar. Ms. Schneider remembers the feelings of young adolescence so well and captures the funny small moments that are so true! This is a story that I want to share with my sister and friends.

Readers will find that enduring Mindy Schneider's entertaining memoir of summer camp life is much like her experience: a seemingly endless trudge through a benignly monotonous, routinely humorous and absolutely predictable right of passage. "Not a Happy Camper" faithfully recreates Schneider's thirteen-year-old awkwardness, and self-deprecatory voice is full of genuine Jewish angst and humor. Nevertheless, there is only so much you can say about a pathetically decrepit Maine summer camp and its stereotypical denizens. Schneider takes about 230 pages to recount what she could have told in 25.

Duped by the slick-talking owner of Camp Kin-A-Hura (Hebrew for "Are You Out of Mind for Sending Your Child Here?"), Mindy's parents succumb to a barrage of sweetened lies and sign their resigned daughter to a summer's worth of unsupervised, unstructured (unless you consider binge consumption of candy an organized event) and uninspiring activities. There, Mindy discovers the joy of listening to rain on the roof, eating institutional food whose origins and nutritional value are at best dubious and interacting with a group of disaffected, disinterested and disillusioned Jewish early adolescents.

Naturally enough, Mindy wrestles with the weighty issues of trying to navigate the entire summer unnoticed by the cool kids and getting a boyfriend. It doesn't require a genius to predict that the relatively plain Mindy will set her sights on the camp's hunk, only to be consistently rebuffed, all the while letting the gem (the dork who undoubtedly will grow up to be a real mensch) slip through her fingers. Parading with her in this laissez-faire fairyland is a group of characters right out of central casting: the overbuilt air-brained beauties, the sophisticate who believes in reincarnation, the sleepwalker, the recluse and the oversexed camp counselors, whose main advice is akin to "leave us alone."

Mindy is bright enough to understand that the camp divides itself into two: the "Legacies" and the "Losers." Naturally enough, the Legacies, the "children of former campers," are "rich kids destined to lead relatively easy and productive lives." The "Losers," unsurprisingly, are "paste-eaters...conned into coming to this place in spite of the unbridled self-doubt and absolute lack of social skills." Schneider attempts to depict a certain poignancy in the interaction of both groups; sadly, the results are flat and unsurprising.

After a delightful thirty pages or so, "Not a Happy Camper" descends quickly into a seemingly interminable monologue about summer camp. For those who have graduated from this so-called life-altering time away from home, the head-nodding recognition of pranks and pratfalls could dangerous veer into whiplash. For the uninitiated, this memoir will convince them that they really haven't missed much at all.

this book by a non-native is fun to read and it has wonderful pictures, but I don't trust the recipes. For example, her only recipe for blueberry muffins (a Maine basic) contains brown sugar. Mainers do not put brown sugar in their muffins! She also commonly mistakes "local" and "artisanal" with "authentic.

She's also under the impression that there are only "at least a couple dozen" lobster pounds restaurants left in Maine. (Her page on them is weirdly called "Hidden Treasures.") The lady needs to get back in her Volvo and drive a little more on Rte to know that she's off by at least a factor of 10.

My family visited Maine last summer and absolutely loved all the fresh seafood. Being that we live in Indiana, we don't get spoiled like all the Mainers with their fresh Halibut and lobsta!
Since we can't just pick up and move to Maine (we would love too!), we have to rely on bits and pieces of Maine. This is where this book comes in!
These are very "easy-to-follow" recipes that have ingredients you can find in any store.
We love the lobster rolls! And just can't pass up the chowder!
This really is my new favorite cookbook, and I love the first part of the book, "Why has Maine life become so irresistable?". It lists all the reasons why we (and any other sane person) would want to move to Maine.
Great job Ms. Dojny! I've already ordered your other "clam shack" cookbook!

There are plenty of unique recipes here that the home chef can easily (and should) try. We are seafood eaters and are always looking for new ideas. Useful, with imaginative presentation, at an affordable price. Highly recommended.

This book confirms Brooke Dojny's authentic place among cookbook authors who have tried to capture, create, and preserve regional cuisines. Her New England Cookbook, with it's totally reliable and delicious recipes, should be on everyone's shelf, regardless of where they live. This book should be too, but it's more interesting to those of us fascinated by the food renaissance taking place in Maine -- which is exciting. As always with Dojny, the recipes are impeccable. They also are true to their heritage, both old and new, and perfectly translated for the home cook.

Covers classic Maine foods: lobsters, mussels, blueberries, and baked beans with some old style recipes and modern variations.

More interesting are numerous sidebars touching on various aspects of the growing Maine "foodie" scene. New restaurants, growers, stores, and farms are highlighted.

A few maps would have been nice,and some of the recipes might be too far from convention for traditionalists.

A must have for any "Maine-o-phile"-native or those who wished they were. I found it simply "pleasant" to read. Do yourself a favor: get some mud from the seashore, throw some sea-salt in the air, turn your TV to "Scenes of the North Atlantic," and read this book.

I am almost to the end of the trail/book. I read a review of this book in our local Bend OR paper, I ordered a copy after noting the author was 60 at the time of the hike, and I had just turned 60. I took awhile to start to read it, but couldn't put it down after I started. The only problem or disappointment, I had, was no 'follow-up' on Amy and Jed, if that was his real name. Other wise, I enjoyed her journey.

A wonderful book for those of us over sixty. It is an insperation, very detailed. A fun book.

A wonderful and inspiring book for anyone, but especially for women over 50. While I don't plan anything so adventurous as Ms Mass, she does inspire me to keep walking.
I especially enjoyed her writing style and her shared insights into people and culture which make this book so much more than a walker's diary.

I've read 4 books on hiking the AT. This one I liked the least. Author complained a lot about how difficult it was. Left me almost depressed about the prospect of hiking the trail.

I enjoyed the book - its always been a dream of mine to go on such a journey. I'm not much of a reader but since I got the 1st book
written about the APT I have not missed many of the books. I also have
one of the tapes (Trek) & enjoyed that too. I'm 68 & wished I'd known
about the APT long before I got so elderly. It still excites me & I can't hardly stop reading when I get a new book, this one is very satifying & so full of hope. Thanks

The wonders of the world as seen from a child's perspective are rendered beautifully in this story. I long to visit this part of Maine to capture the same wonder as the two girls, from jumping off a rock into the bay, to the sounds heard through the fog, to an oncoming hurricane and the preparations for it. Everything is described in calm language and illustrated beautifully. Probably McCloskey's most exquisite, wonderous children's book. A child will love having this book read to them--it brings a time and place to life that all children should experience.

Being a fan of Make Way for Ducklings, I was in search of other books by Robert McCloskey when I found this gem of a book. It is gentle, lyrical and so beautiful in it's prose and artwork. My children like to listen to it at bedtime and it lulls them to sleep each time. It is a book that celebrates nature and it's beauty. It's hard for me to describe but it touches me deeply, evokes memories of my childhood camping trips in the mountains.

The reviewer who found this book "boring" must not have much in the way of imagination. This was one of my favorite books as a child and I still remember it fondly (I'm 38). It doesn't matter if you haven't had experiences exactly like those of the children in the book. The writing and the illustrations make you feel as if you are there. You can practically smell the sea, hear the wind and rain, and the laughter of the kids at the beach. While drawing a vivid picture of a concrete time and place, the book also invokes a sense of timelessness, as well as of "deep time" and the ancient rythyms of nature. I think my favorite moment is when one of the girls stands in a forested area on a misty morning, her eyes closed, and listens to nature awakening around her.

This is a book about taking a break from the fast-paced modern world and connecting with nature (and appreciating its power), with the past, and rediscovering your sense of wonder. Written in the mid-50's, it was ahead of its time in some ways and is definitely as relevant today as it was then, if not more so.

Great book, especially for those of us who love Maine. You can almost smell the sea air, feel the wind coming off the water and hear the gulls in the distance as you read this!

I read my children to sleep with this book every night. They call it their dream book since they drift off to sleep with thoughts of sand and sea in their heads. The words draw beautiful pictures.

I read a copy of this book from a library a while back and then was happy to find a new edition had come out. The Benoits are the best true deer hunters on the planet and Bryce Towsley is, far and away, one of the best writers in the business. I hunt in Wisconsin and Michigan and find this info very helpful.

If you're a deer hunter, buy this book!

This is a great book . I have all the Benoit books and dvds. I think this is the best of the Benoit books. There is so much info in these books it's not right out front , it's between the lines but be assured its there. Tracking is regional but the Whitetail info is not. I have learned more about mature Whitetails from the Benoit books and dvds than any other source. Larry's the man no doubt but Lanny Benoit may be the best pure deer hunter alive. Theres a little horn tooting in the book but as someone once said " If you can do it it ain't braggin ". I have Hal Bloods book too it is also very very good. If you buy just one book on tracking buy this one or Hals.

The book does a good job outlining the tracking methods that the Benoits use to consistently harvest large bucks. There are also several interesting stories of deer hunting adventures within the book.

These tracking methods are regional in nature and not very useful in the midwest where I primarily hunt. For anyone who hunts from a stand, this book will be a dissapointment.

I read the book from my local library rather than purchasing it and I am glad that I did.

Overall, it is a good read but not worth the money unless you hunt in the northeast like the Benoits.

This is one of the best and most unique whitetail hunting books I've read. The classic and now out-of-print "How to Bag the Biggest Buck of Your Life," did a great job of describing the Benoit tracking method. This newest book is even better.

"Big Bucks the Benoit Way" is an excellent presentation of how the Benoits hunt. The Benoits are almost exclusively trackers, and they base their techniques on what their vast experience has proven to work best: not on the theories of others. This independent thinking makes this a very refreshing book, and their dozens of 200-pound plus bucks prove that they know what they are doing.

This book is loaded with great photos of big bucks and the Benoits in their trademark green and black wool jackets. There's plenty of shots of sagging meat poles, the deep woods on snowy days, and the tracks and rubs of big bucks.

Most valuable though, is the great information on how the Benoits find, identify, and then follow the track of a heavy buck until they successfully bag him. While few of us will ever be so spectacularly successful using these methods, all of us can learn from this book. I've successfully used these same Benoit methods to track down and bag trophy bucks from Montana to Wisconsin.

Hunters who enjoy this book share a kinship in understanding the magic of the deep woods and a fresh tracking snow and the smoking hot track of a big buck. If you are that type of hunter, you will like this book.

Bruce L. Nelson, author of "Hunting Big Whitetails."

If you track or stalk deer then you can learn a lot from this book. The Benoit's are quite remarkable with their year over year successes. However, if you are a stand hunter or hunt in private land areas that don't allow tresspassers then this book is basically worthless other than the nice pictures in it.

Libby Pelletier has lived in Sheshuncook, Maine all of her life and has no intention of moving. She is taking care of her sick brother who was recently discharge from the Veteranýs Administration Hospital. Her brother has had problems with alcohol for many years and has not recuperated from his motherýs abandonment over fifty years ago. Libby is going to do what is necessary to take care of her brother. Their lives will be altered forever when a stranger comes into town.

During World War II this logging town has served as a POW camp for German soldiers. The prisoners are forced to work at Libbyýs fatherýs logging mill if they wanted to be fed. Mr. Pelletier treated the Germans well and the feelings were reciprocated. The only incident that occurred during the Germanýs incarceration involved an escaped prisoner. He was found a few days later drowned in a nearby lake. Nobody gave much thought to the incident until the Germanýs brother comes to town after all those years trying to find answers. At first Libby is apprehensive but then feels that if it were her brother she would like to know what happened. There are a group of people in town who do not want the truth to be revealed and they will do whatever it takes to keep it a secret. They threaten and hurt Libby and her family but her determination does not wane. She is going to investigate till the very end even if the truth might kill her.

White introduces the reader to a story where the wounds from the past can still linger in the present. His characters are real people facing real lives and tough choices. The past is what made Libby and we get to see that through her actions and some flashbacks. The author gives you a story that stays with you even after having finished the novel. A book that stays with you is one that others can savor.

I liked this novel although I don't give it great marks because I thought it was a little implausible and the working out of the plot was too mechanical. It didn't have the effortless flow of a great novel. But the atmosphere was excellent and the backwoods Maine characters (reminiscent of a kindler, gentler Deliverance) were well portrayed.

It is the time of the first Gulf War. "Saturday morning, early. The road up ahead is quiet and dark. The headlights slice through the darkness like a sharp filet knife cutting fish. But what spills out isn't the gleaming entrails of morning but only more darkness. In the rearview mirror it closes seamlessly together again and goes on forever."

The first few sentences are a metaphor of the theme of the novel, cutting open the past and exhuming the buried crime. In the first paragraph we discover the narrator is a woman and we get the feel of the strength of her character; we learn that she is not skittish, not prone to the fear of dangers real or imagined. She is not unaware of dangers around her, such as the bears she could hear, and smell them too, "a smell as hard as axle grease."

The rest of the first chapter is packed with good things: beautiful language, moody asides, foreshadowing and subtle revelations of character. The narrator is a 61 year old woman who runs a roadside cafe that caters to truckers, loggers, hunters, and tourists. We like her immediately.

There is a nice bit about the radio, loneliness, the cover of darkness. "I slam headlong into that darkness, hoping that if I go fast enough I'll shatter it like a piece of smoked glass. And on the other side? Maybe morning."

The glass symbol is reprised later in the chapter, when the red-faced man looks in her car window at her, startling her out of a sleep, "as if I'd fallen asleep during those war years and just woke up."

Sleep is a metaphor, as it is the lack of sleep, she says, "that finally begins to hit me--makes me feel my age like a heavy woolen coat that smells of rain."

And the red-faced man has parallel symbols in "the solemn red face of the alarm clock, waiting for first light." Then later the oil light in her car comes on, "a red demon eye staring back at me." Luckily, she finds a Shell service station open, and there is an interesting exchange with the young cat-eyed man who works there. Comments on war, the control of government, the lies, the play of masculinity and femininity. And this is all in the first chapter.

The chapter ends with a reflection on Time: "Time seems to have lost its texture, is able to expand or contract, to take on new shapes like a cloud on a windy day."

The panther, cat, wolf, bear and other hunter allusions intrigue me. But all men aren't predators. Leon, for instance, has rabbit eyes.

Back to that wonderfully multi-leveled and understated scene where Libby is driving in the snow and nearly runs out of oil. Her old car has a degenerative ailment, like cancer. She finds the yellow Shell station (not a Gulf station) in the fog and the young blond man comes out to help her in orange overalls. He has nocturnal eyes too, but he works "with the slow fussy movements of a raccoon."

He checks the oil and brings the dipstick back to show her, "pointing it at her the way a matador aims a sword at a bull." But he doesn't want to hurt her, just to warn her and not just about the cancer in her car. He wears the orange overalls of the oil company, but detests the ongoing Gulf War where men are asked to die for oil.

He tells her the story of his father who fought for them in the Viet Nam war and was sprayed with Agent Orange, and got cancer from it. He is angry about this, not so much about the dying as about the lies, "We're just looking for the bastards to tell us the truth."

This thread, the individual vs. the lies of the military-industrial complex, is mocked when Libby mentions that the souvenirs she sells tourists actually come from the Smokey Mountains. "What do they know?" And the question is reprised again when Libby discusses the newsreel propaganda pictures of goose-stepping blond giants wearing swastikas and jackboots. But it turns out that these German kids look like kids anywhere. "What do we know?"

A moody windswept cover adorns the Harper edition of the book (starkly beautiful too), and I like the easy-to-read print size.

I loved this story which centers on the many human connections that play an integral part in our lives. The relationship between Libby and Leon with flashbacks to their troubled childhood in rural WWII era Maine and were extremely well done.I felt like I really knew the characthers and felt the bond they shared. As the very interesting story unfolds we see what depth these people have and learn how people handle unpleasant facts about their past. It is a story of human courage and love and touches on a fascinating period and place in American history. It is a book to be read and an author to watch.

I read this after my local group had arranged for White to speak at an annual Breakfast with the Authors event. I was immediately drawn into the story and the characters--especially the woman who tells us the story. I did not grow up in Maine but in New England and have spent a little time in rural Maine. The characters seemed so real and true to me. In thinking about the characters after reading I was particularly struck by the quality of the relationship between the siblings. Not a 'Beaver Cleaver', easy family but to me a full telling of a difficult family history and its effects for many years after. Some of the discussion at the breakfast related to the differences between this book and 'The Blind Side of the Heart' and why readers may have found that book a bit more difficult--it does not have a 'simple', clear resolution--also an excellent book. This is a book to read and savor....

I really enjoy reading this series of books and I have yet to read one of Leslie Meier's books that I didn't like. I read this book years ago and recently reread it again. My only complaint about this book is the CONSTANT references to her breastfeeding her baby. And by constant, I mean every few pages is something about her breastfeeding Zoe. I am a mother of a toddler and I can't stomach women who are militant about breastfeeding, so maybe that's why this bugged me so much.

Other than that, I really liked this book and all of the other books in this series.

This book is an entertaining mystery. A crazy arsonist is detroying historical buildings. An innocent person dies in one of the houses. We have to find out who is doing it and why they are doing it.

I loved the Halloween setting that this book had. I enjoyed the pumpkin patch, the pumpkin carving, the orange cupcakes, the kids' costumes, the Halloween party, and the kids having Halloween fun.

I LOVED the family. The family was so cozy and warm. I loved the parents: Bill and Lucy; and also the children: Toby, Elizabeth, Sara, and Zoe. I loved the fact that Lucy had a newborn baby that she was nursing. I also loved her relationship with her other children and with her husband. She was a stay-at-home mom and wife and I absolutely loved her.

If you like mysteries, a Halloween setting, and a cozy old-fashioned family, then this book is for you.

This is the first book of this series that I have read. I will definitely come back for more. I want to visit this family again.

I read it a while back and lost the book. I searched high and low and finally found it on Amazon. It's one of my favorites, as it's lighthearted and what they consider a cozy mystery. I like the characters and the setting.

This novel was a real mystery. At first I thought I knew who did it. But then I had other suspects. All the while I was afraid for Lucy's home and family. I kept thinking her house would be next in line for arson. The ending was a real surprise.

Miss Tilley is an interesting character. Luckily things turned out well for her in spite of what happened to her.

I can't wait to read the next one in this series!

If you are looking fora suspensful book, I would pick this one. In Maine, Lucy Stone, the mother of three kids is preparing food for the town Halloween festival in Tinker Cove. She has a brand new baby, a little girl, and a 12-year-old son. There is a criminal loose. He is setting fires in buildings and burning them down. He sets a fire on the towns oldest home; everybody wants to know who the criminal is! Will they catch the criminal? Read Trick or Treat Murder, and believe me, you will be satisfied.

My two sisters and I throughly enjoyed this book. It is an easy read that kept our interest all the way through. Great love story.

"Hawke's Cove" is a treat to the senses and to the heart. Susan Wilson's lovely descriptions of the New England coastline are remarkable, but more remarkable still are the characters she's developed. Each chapter focuses on the point of view of a character. Everyone has seen the same events, but processes it differently. By exploring the events in this way, we get a full picture of the entire story.

This is a beautiful love story, an amazing look at New England coastal life, and a history lesson all rolled into one. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

This story describes the emotions of World War II from the vantage point on those who are waiting for their loved ones and from the point of view of the soldiers. I found it entertaining, emotional, and educational. The story line reminds me of Bridges Over Madison County, but with a happy ending.

This book is absolutely wonderful,it is so well written and so real to life that it stays with you for a very long time after finishing the book. I would read this book again and probably again.I think Susan Wilson is a 5 star author and I would read anything she writes. This book keeps you immersed and totally engrossed to where you can hardly put it down.

I finished this book a couple days ago, and I can't get over how the characters have stayed with me. This is such a well written book, that you almost feel as though it really happened.
This is the first book I have read by Susan Wilson, and now I plan to hunt down all her books and read every one.
Highly recommended!

Chris appealed to me on many different levels. He is the kind of hero who does seem just a little morally ambivalent. But you forgive him because he has just not met the *one*... (god, I'm channeling the Matrix.ha!) He is just a boy, out having a good time and it's all about the nookie. He does have the odd moment when he wants something more but I felt there was a hesitance to commit as no one had really touched him emotionally. So, he's out looking, alot. Chis is also beautiful which got me thinking about this post here and the beauty of men.

David is a cop and firmly in the closet at work. He makes a trip every now and then to Palm Springs to indulge the smexin, and is out to his family but his colleagues are still in the dark. This made him seem very alone and he has walls to keep people, like Chris, out. He is older, darker and more of a strong silent type. A perfect foil for our other hero, who is more of the shiney, bright variety.

The mystery was well paced and had surprising twists and turns that kept me going till the end. Which was cool, because I am a shocker for deciding who did it and wrapping the crime up by page 10. It does not pull any punches in the violence department and some of the material about the crime and the killer was pretty graphic but it did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

The sex is very brief and not at all explicit. Kind of a kiss at the door and fade to black affair. But I was so wrapped up in the story I did not care. A shock, I know! I do love the sex in my books! But what you did read was enough and you just know it was hot (over active imagination).

I seriously have my toes, eyes and fingers crossed AGAIN, that this wonderful author has some more books coming soon. This was a perfect rainy night thriller and kept me up waaaay past my bedtime.
Check out my live and in color version on my blog.

I'm assuming this is the same Pat from Archerland, which is why I'm buying the book despite delays. Just want you to know (because I can't find an email to tell you privately) I love your work, especially Witness, Slasher and the Lynx and look forward to reading a published book from what seems to be David's point of view.

You are one of my favourite authors and I'm glad to see you published but would prefer published versions of your web published stories, if that's okay.

Good Wishes,

Madeline.

I had enjoyed the main characters in several short stories and had wondered how the author envisioned their first meeting. I could not have imagined anything better than the tale of romance, suspense, serial murder, social commentary, and good old fashioned whodunit provided in LA Heat.
While not featuring the level of eroticism typical of the short stories featuring Chris and David, the depth of feeling was still there.
I'd recommend this novel to anyone that likes a great mystery full of suspense. It keeps you guessing until the end about the identity of the villain.
And for the author, please bring us more!

Too much murder mystery and not enough gay love. Although the cop is deep in the closet it is only towards the end of the book that he realizes it! Good story, good murder mystery but no heat. I am not a fan of murder mysteries, so it was hard to read because I did not feel that there was a balance between the gay love and the murders; although the murders were related to a gay person.

I like murder mysteries, but my tastes run more towards the "cozy" variety, you know the kind of who-done-it that Agatha Christie and Lillian Jackson Braun are famous for. I tend to avoid novels I perceive to be sadistic or gratuitously violent, where the murderer is a psychotic serial killer. I was going to pass on L.A. HEAT for this reason, but it came highly recommended by a friend and fellow reader whose opinion I greatly respect, so reluctantly I gave it a go. I am really glad I did.

LA's gay community is being stalked by one of the above mentioned monsters. Young, horribly mutilated male corpses are piling up, and it's the job of Police Detective David Laine and his partner, Martinez, to solve the case and stop the killer before any more murders occur.

David is a tall muscular bear of a man with a ruddy complexion and a big mustache, kind of an extra-large Tommy Lee Jones. He's gay, and not surprisingly, firmly buried in the closet.

Through the course of the investigation, David's attention becomes focused on Chris Bellamere. Chris is a sharp, expensively dressed, California golden boy, and absolutely the most beautiful man David has ever seen, but Chris's familiarity with more than one of the victims also makes him David's prime suspect. David's enamored of Chris, even though Chris might be a vicious killer, but he doesn't think he'd stand a romantic chance with the built blonde head-turner. Chris, however, finds David extremely sexy in an unexplainable way, and decides to make a move, igniting a passion that leaves both men weak in the knees.

P.A. Brown delivers a chilling, focused and incredibly satisfying thriller. Her fast pacing is top-notch, and her characters are well developed and believable. She provides enough red-herrings to keep even the most seasoned mystery reader guessing.

I'm not going to rush right out and buy every gay murder/thriller available. As good as this novel is my tastes are still pretty much in tact. But, I will be first in line to buy any sequels Ms. Brown cares to offer, because L.A. HEAT is one terrific book.

This book is awesome. We love Maine and this book has helped us explore it. I tell everyone I know to buy this book if they are going to Maine, whether it's their first or 30th time there.

This is the guidebook we include in each of our B&B rooms.
Guests frequently take it with them on their day trips and
I have found it to be full of very comprehensive information
on what the State of Maine has to offer.

My husband and I re-located to Maine in 1995. We have used this book extensively to plan day and weekend trips around the state. There are so many wonderful places to explore and this book always gives us some good tips and starting points. We currently have the 10th edition.

"Maine: An Explorer's Guide" was my first purchase in the series. Since then, I have used "Vermont..." and "Maryland...". While perhaps not ideal for novices in a region, they are excellent for one who has some familiarity with the state one is visiting. The descriptions of history, geography, cultural and recreational offerings; and the listings of inviting, independent restaurants, shops and accommodations have always been accurate, informative and insightful. If you are likely to visit more than once, or stay longer than a few days, this is the book for you. As a piece of advice, buy a good map to go with it.

This was just a so so book on Maine. It has some good stuff and some not so good stuff. I bought it because it was the only one in the store with an extensive section on the little town of Kittery which is near the border with New Hampshire. It was a good section and I got a lot of information and use out of it. However, when I started reading the rest of the book I kind of got a little lost. The sections on "where to eat" and "selective shopping" were confusing because they were organized differently. They've put phone numbers for places without an area code and directions like "North along Route 1" which doesn't make any sense to me not knowing where anything in Maine is. I suppose it would be a really good book for someone with some knowledge about Maine or someone who actually lives there and wants to get away for the weekend or something. On the plus side the maps were really good and the photos were nice (black and white, but nice). My copy had five pages in a row that were upside down. Not sure what that's all about. I wasn't able to make it to Maine on a trip I made to the area, but I plan to go one of these days and I will take this book with me when I do because it still has a lot of good information.