Oregon Books

Want a book that holds your interest? I recommend this entire series. I discovered Gunn on accident; really it was a blessing! I liked this entire series. Good wholesome values and interesting plots that intertwine with the other books.

If you have read the other books in this series, you won't want to miss Woodlands. It will not disappoint you! I have read through the complete series 4 times. This series is a "Must Have."

Robin Jones Gunn writes awsome books and brings her characters alive. I've read the whole series and this is one of the best. It is a wonderful romance amoung man and woman and woman and God! It's worth the money and the time.

All of the Glenbrooke series is awsome, but this one is tops on my list. You feel as if your taken into the book and go on the journey with Leah. I recommend all of Robin Jones Gunn books, she is an amazing author. This book, especially is worth your time and money.

I thought this was the best book in her series because Leah seemed so much like so many people I know. She was such a giving, loving person-beautiful inside and out, but did not feel like she was. So when she meets a wonderful man and he sees her beauty it is so sweet. She had so many negative voices from her childhood, especially the ones referring to her name, to overcome to accept love that it was an inspiration to me.

...this series is too dark and violent for me. I'll stick with Tinker.

A bit out there, I enjoy fantasy more then SF and the basis of this series is a bit difficult for me to believe, but the writer is so good, that I have read the entire series and found I could not put any of these books down... A Great Read..!

Bitter Waters, the third in the Ukiah Oregon series and sets up the story for the forth one. These books are better if read in order,otherwise you will end up confused. This is a good series, I liked every one of them and wish the author would write more of them. The relationships between the charactors is why I enjoyed this series as much as I did. Along with Hex there are knew protagonists in this book. I can't go into the story line w/o spoilers, so I will just tell you that the books are worth reading, and I liked them enough that I will get any other books that the author writes.

This was the first book by this author that I had read, and although I read it out of order for the series and was rather confused, I still enjoyed it immensely. One of the advertising blurbs said "Don't plan on getting anything else done if you start a Wen Spencer novel; they are exceedingly hard to put down!" So true. I read it in one day and then went scrambling to get the other three in the series. My only regret is that now I have read them all and wish there were more. Definitely a keeper. Alien invaders, kidnapped babies, government agents, plenty of action and mystery.

"Bitter Waters" picks up where "Tainted Trail" left off -- litterally, one day later. U. and his partner, M., are private detectives. They arrive home and are immediately drawn into investigating child kidnappings and a cult that has turned to crime. If you haven't read the previous books, U. is an alien pretending to be a human, and the detective work is greatly complicated by alien threats to Earth.

My problems with "Bitter Waters" were twofold. First, if you have read the previous novel, the beginning of this one goes really slowly. After the first 57 pages, there really isn't any reason to go back and read either "Tainted Trail" or the book before, because you've just read it. To be fair, I prefer stand alone books to sequels. Second, the main plot is that U.'s son is kidnapped, and I abhor kidnapped children plots, particularly when the main character's child is kidnapped. I'm a parent, and this just isn't a laughing matter for me.

I recommend this novel to people who don't mind kidnapped children plots and either haven't read Spencer's U. books before or adore sequels. All else is well done.

After hearing an NPR program about Oregon's National Guard soldiers fighting in Iraq, I couldn't resist buying a copy of John R. Bruning's "The Devil's Sandbox: With the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry in Iraq."

Bruning's gripping account makes the reader feel as if he is an embedded observer patrolling the alleyways and supply routes of Baghdad, Najaf, and Fallujah along with the fearless men and one woman of the Oregon National Guard.

The account begins with the Volunteers, as the battalion called itself, learning in July of 2003 of its subsequent posting to Iraq. Within weeks, as the unit's annual training came due, the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hendrickson, executive officer, Major Edward Tanguy, and its seasoned non commissioned officers, Al Ezelle, Pete Salerno, and Vinni Jacques, tailored their summer maneuvers to the kind of close-in fighting they'd be likely to experience in Iraq. The reader begins to know the soldiers, enlisted men and officers, by name, including the intrepid combat photographer, Staff Sergeant Rebekah-mae Bruns.

By October, when the battalion has been activated and shipped to Fort Hood Texas, the reader has even met the wives and children, family members and girlfriends left behind. At Fort Hood, the battalion morphed from ground-pounding light infantry into a unit of motorized infantry, training to ride into battle in gun-mounted Humvees. Then, at the end of January 2004, the Volunteers packed up and left for another month's training in Louisiana, at Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center, honing their skills and putting the finishing touches on their ability to fight a war in Iraq.

By March, the Oregonians were on the ground in Iraq, and on April 5, 2004, the members of Pete Salerno's Bravo Company, attached to a regular army cavalry unit, came under fire in an ambush. As Bruning dramatically puts it, they "had seen the elephant." It was not long before the rest of 2-162 was feeling the heat of battle, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and constant incoming fire from the insurgents' AK-47s and Soviet light machine guns, RPKs, peppering their positions on a daily basis.

The remainder of the book gives a day-by-day account of the bravery and heroism of the enlisted men and officers of the battalion, whose names are repeated in chapter after chapter, as they prowl alleyways, take up positions atop abandoned buildings, speed through "kill zones" in their Humvees, and endure the danger, fatigue, and frustrations of battle on a daily basis. Equipment malfunctions, Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles are disabled or blown to bits by IEDs. Soldiers are wounded or killed. And through it all, the men and one woman of the 2-162 endure and get the job done. Some soldiers, like Vinni Jacques came home early with wounds, and some companies began shipping for home in November, but it wasn't until early March 2005 that the rest of the battalion left Iraq for Kuwait and then flew home after a year's deployment on the battlefields of Iraq.

In a Postscript, Bruning covers the mobilization of the Oregon National Guard for service in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Again, Colonel Hendrickson and his men rise to the challenge, now patrolling the near-deserted streets of a devastated New Orleans, giving the reader an inside view of the storm's destruction and the lawless acts in its aftermath.

Bruning's account of the 2nd Battalion's war in Iraq impresses the reader with the harshness of battle on a daily basis, and one sees young men becoming hardened by the fighting and killing they engage in. War is a repetitious enterprise. Soldiers go out on patrol, receive incoming fire and return the fire until the enemy is killed or run off. It is a brutal and brutalizing business, and Bruning hammers this point home. The book has few flaws. Bruning's unending use of military acronyms and abbreviations sent me constantly to the book's glossary, and this was annoying. His referring to individual soldiers sometimes by rank and surname, sometimes by first name and last name, and sometimes by first name only was occasionally confusing. In the latter case, I sometimes had to thumb back through the pages to figure out who "Ken" or Wyatt" was. But, frustrations aside, "The Devil's Sandbox" rewards the reader with a factual, no-holds barred, eye-opening account of the fighting in Iraq, very much worth the read.

John Bruning has captured something special. This book brings to light the truth of what is happening in Iraq. Its dirty, inhumane, and ugly yet in contrast light-hearted and hopeful. The book brought many levels of consciousness out from within me. As a retired soldier, the warrior spirit. As a father, a protective nature. As a husband, the love of my wife. You can not read this book and not be touched by the characters of 2-162 Infantry. Corny as it sounds this books uses the War in Iraq to be a bridge to our lives no matter where you live. The experience of war helps to amplify the raw emotions we face daily but ignore. The members of 2-162 Infantry, through the pen of John, highlights the injustices as well as acts of rightousness we experience every day. This book is about life, living and dying well.

Do not think of this as another war story. While it does have action and drama of battles as well as noteworthy tactical lessons, I finished the book with a cry of relief and happiness for those who returned and sadness for those who gave all. In the end I cryed out of sorrow but later changed to joy realizing that all over this great country of ours, there are men and women of this caliber living and working for each other as well as for the ideals of justice, liberty and family. HOORAH 162 Infantry!!!!!

As an attachment to the 2-162 Infantry then, I witnessed many of those horrors first hand. Due to the emotional pain associated with the loss of so many, I was unable/unwilling to actually read this book. Now I can actually say that this is a beautiful tribute to the Commander and men of 2-162. As the Oregon National Guard was an attachement to an attachment and that there was really no real support in the Logistics and administration arena. Neither the Headquarters types of Arkansas nor the Oregon National Guard lifted a finger to help us endure our deployment in Iraq. Albeit, politics is the nature of war and the innocent die.

John R. Bruning's book reveals many things about both our National Guard, and the dynamics of the conflict in Iraq for both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve/National Guard. As a veteran myself virtually all of the stories were very real to my own experiences while deployed, and having known some of the individuals personally, this certainly matched the quality of character I had known of them. For those of you who did not know these incredible Soldiers and Officers, the book offers an in-depth perspective from citizen Soldiers who had "boots-on-the-ground" during one of the most critical moments in the conflict. Here are some points I'd make about this book:

1) It is a poignant look at the individual Solder level at the struggles and experiences that they, their families, and friends must endure before, during, and following a deployment. Unique in this book is the attention paid to additional challenges of the Guardsmen who weeks prior to leaving was the sheriff deputy, the mechanic, the college student, deliveryman, or anyone you may have seen walking the streets in your hometown.

2) Though the book centers on a particular unit, there are many intertwined individual stories of challenge and victory. Of people who found a way to define themselves, find meaning, and make a difference to each other and their country in ways they never had imagined.

3) Many people seem to forget that there is a state between California and Washington, but in this book you get an intimate look at the people who come from this mystery state. You'll see incredible acts of heroism, of goodwill to the Iraqi people, and resolve to achieve victory from people who are very real.

These aren't necessarily the most imporant points or all the major points of this work. I'd write my own book if I were to cover everything it offers. Do know that this book does not offer the "bird's eye view" of a work on strategic matters, theories, or politics. It is a view from the Soldier's eye...and as a veteran who tread much of the same ground as they, I attest that this certainly could be one of the most raw, and most rewarding reading experiences that is offered on the war in Iraq to the individual reader.

I have read several dozen books on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I have enjoyed all of these books immensely, they all concentrated on conventional military units or special operations forces. They almost never mentioned anything about the role of National Guard units in these conflicts. For this reason, I was shocked to find out that many of our National Guardsmen are the proverbial "tip of the spear". Due to the fact that these men and women are not full-time soldiers, and hold normal, everyday jobs/careers, I always assumed that they would be located in rear-echelon positions. Perhaps serving in support roles. The reality of their participation couldn't be farther from what I had imagined. Like the squad of Navy SEALs who come across the Oregon National Guardsmen during a major engagement in Iraq, I was very impressed by their fighting skills. These men are going in harm's way as much as the traditional military units like the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne, the 4th ID, and the Marines Expeditionary Units. It is hard to imagine being a working class joe one day, and the next day serving in scouting/direct action positions in Najaf or Fallujah. Thank you to John Bruning for bringing to light the brave, patriotic souls of the U.S. National Guard units. They should be receiving so much more publicity from the American media. It is a travesty that their sacrifice in service is not being acknowledged as much as their full-time military brethren. I am going to recommend this book to all my friends and family. Mr. Bruning is a great author and I can't wait to read his next book.

WHile this book seemed a bit tedious for me to get through...i did enjoy it for the most part, especially Petie and Eddie. I am anxious to read another Dianne Hammond book.

On page 160 I thought....well, when is something going to happen? This book went nowhere, and while it was fast reading to.. nowhere, I found it to be a waste of my time. I find it amazing that I am the only reviewer that found the book to be uneventful, and not even that exciting when trying to establish the bond between the two girls. How mundane, and how pathetic, that the most interesting thing about this book was the soup!!!

I enjoyed this book in general. The characters were interesting, and the story moved along at a nice pace. I enjoyed how the author went into the background of the characters and explained why they were the way they were. But, i do have a bone to pick with the author. I grew up on the Oregon Coast, in a small town, and have lived here for 39 years. I began reading the book and within two chapters i knew not only was this author not from here, but had some misconceptions of how the coast works. ( i read later that she is from the east coast and lives in newport or). I don't appreciate that the characters were not only all very uneducated, but they all lived in very bad mobile homes or shacks. The character from LA had to get bagels there because obviously the backward morons in this town did not know what a bagel was. Give me a break! The character from LA also stated that she had trouble conversing with the locals, that she had to resort to body language. I understand the book is fiction and not supposed to be an accurate picture of coastal life, but does everyone have to be involved in incest, unemployment, poverty, and child abuse? Overall it was a good book, but over and over I was offended by how the coastal residents were portrayed. Do your homework next time.

This is the story of 2 remarkable women who transcend their upbringing, circumstances, and environment. More remarkable, is how well written this first novel by Diane Hammond is. Her particular talent is to make even a series of ordinary events absolutely compelling. While the women have a marvelous friendship, it is real and nuanced. The secondary characters are naturally drawn.

What a wonderful debut novel. I could just eat it up with a spoon.
Encore, please! From the delightful coastal underbelly setting to the juxtaposition of characters, gritty and soothing, rebellious and sensitive, flirty and horrified, I was hooked from beginning to end.

This was a great read. I love reading trail journals and this book was no exception.

A hilarious romp through the wilds of North America. Anyone thinking about hiking the PCT should definitely buy this book!

Now I want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. The story is well told, a real page turner. Well written, very interesting, and an inspiration for getting myself on a trail.

This book was an easy read, but disappointing in its lack of photos and descriptions of life on the trail and destinations seen.

Although I commend the author for his courage and humor, some things about the book distracted from reading pleasure. This read like a self-published book (maybe it is) that had not been edited at all. There were no paragraph indents, and many sentences were run-on (strung together with commas when there sould have been a period). I'm not a stickler about grammar, but this was distracting and made it hard to read. There was also a problem with tense and scenes suddenly switching. For example, in a camping scene, the author would suddenly mention that he saw 3 bears while camping, but it turned out that this was referring to something that would happen several chapters later, so that during the present scene I would wonder, "Where are the bears?" Often I would hope for an interesting scene only to be disappointed by a blow by blow of each day and night on the trail (including the days where nothing really happened). If you can deal with the amateur style, you may enjoy this book.

These Gazetteer's are not your USGS maps but they are certainly better than any road map out there. So as long as you don't require back-country precision have one of these in your car as they are still better than any GPS once you get off the secondary's.

These Delorme Atlas & Gazetters are wondeful. They show you many features not available through GPS, maps or other atlases. It is a great feature to have the BLM lands marked as well as the back roads. Good resources are also included in each states atlas. A good addition to anyone's travel tools.

I have lived in Oregon for twenty years and gotten around with a road map, this is sooo much better, now I need a washington edition. great book. has paid for itsself in just two local trips across the maze of roads from Newberg to Gaston.

Has everything listed however not in a organized fashion, 3 insets related to 3 other pages are on one page just because they're within 4 miles of the coast. From N to S on a map it doesnt break in a logical way. There are no insets of large cities main roads such as portland, salem, eugene, corvallis. however, forest service roads are listed and named. which is a great help when highways are closed.

This atlas is much more detailed that ones like it, such as Benchmark's recreation atlas. With this being said, it not as detailed as one may need in the back country. I mainly use it to provide a general overview of the region I am exploring, and to locate common places.Main forest service roads are visible, yet no all are marked with a name or number. I use it in conjunction with USGS topo quad maps, forest service map, and GPS, and serves it purpose very well.

A good read. The book kept me guessing throughout, which for a suspense novel, I enjoy. I even bought a copy of The Oregon Project for my newphew.

This book rocks. Being an attorney, I do not do much pleasure reading, but THE OREGON PROJECT was nothing but pleasure---from beginning to end. Also, not being a gambler, I generally go with safe bets---purchasing THE OREGON PROJECT is the safest of bets---as demonstrated by the fact that 9 (now 10) out of 11 (now 12) reviewers concur---THE OREGON PROJECT IS A 5-STAR WORK.

The cover says she's an even better writer than a lawyer. Wow. That's really scary, if true.

Considering the tin ear she has for language - the paragraphs seem written by a high school student - I'd hate to rely on Ms. Roit for any legal advice. Besides the general lack of quality of prose, the book is full of outright errors in usage: "you guys have peaked my interest", "she took to her task with glutinous longing" just for two examples.

This looks like a vanity publishing job to me. She must have gotten all her friends to write glowing Amazon reviews.

I would stay away from this one.

If you missed the book signing, that's OK, but at least pick this one up, you will not regret it. Great job guys!

Andy

the book was not as long as I thought it would be. But it was good reading

Westward to Home is a great book to read about. Joshua, the boy in the story, and his family are going to Oregon in a wagon train.
Joshua writes about everything that happens in his diary.
I liked the part where Joshua and his family were fording down a river. Then his little sister almost drowned, but Joshua saved her.
One day his Grandpa took Joshua hunting and he shot a male buffalo.
The leader of the wagon train was cousin Daniel, who had no toes on one foot because of a frost bite.

I learned some interesting facts. Life on the Oregon Trail was hard, because of the bad wheather, not enough food and people got sick.
The migration to Oregon was 159 years ago.
The Indians respected the military.
I also learned that the author of this book is Patricia Hermes.

I would recommend this book for three reasons.
First, it's an interesting story. Second, it's suspenseful to read.
Finally, it's good to know, how life was over 150 years ago. It makes me
appreciate how good life is today.
Westward to Home is a great book!

Jessica Stedman, 3rd. Grade, Glenmeade Elementary School, Chino Hills, CA.

If you think you have it hard, wait until you read the book Westward to Home, Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary. Joshua has hard times all through the book. He tells you many things about his family, friends, and neighbors. This book gets sad in parts but gets better in other parts.
The book Westward to Home takes place in 1848. The people in the book are never really in one spot the whole time, but their journey should end up in Oregon. Will they make it?
I think people who like reading diaries would enjoy reading this book.

This is a story of a boy who is about to set out on the Oregon Trail. His grandpa gives him a journal to write about the journey westward, but instead his grandpa goes with him. It tells the story of a young boy traveling westward and the difficulties that take place. Many people die while they are on the Oregon Trail from illness and other things. It mostly takes place while they are on the Oregon Trail. I thought this was a pretty good story telling about the Oregon Trail.

I'm in 3rd grade and I read Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary (book 1.) When I read it, I just fell in love with it! I suggest this book to anyone who likes adventure, excitement, and realistic historical fiction.

The book Joshua's Diary is about a boy and his family who are traveling on the Oregon Trail. I enjoyed this book because it has so many wonderful details that make you feel as if you were with them. This is a very good book, but has very sad and frightening parts.

Actually, I give this 4 1/2 stars but another reviewer also gave it 4 1/2 stars but rated this book 4 stars, so my 5 stars should help even this out. Compulsive read. Finished this in two days, which is pretty fast considering I work a lot! A thriller with a sci-fi twist. Refreshing. Interesting character development. It doesn't get much better than this for casual entertainment.

The cradle robber is a person who kills children, because he thinks he's helping them. He stalks children who are unhappy and learns about them, then kills them. Many families just like yours suffer greatly. Kyle Sommers and his friend, Sherrie meet a time traveler and save all of these families and children. It turns out that the time traveler had came back to save his daughter from dying. So Sherrie and Kyle repay him by saving his daughter and send him back to the future. I recommend this book, because it shows how getting both of your legs amputated can change your life, how many ways children can die, and what can happen to you if you don't move on if your daughter dies.
One of the reasons why I recommended this book is because it shows how getting both of your legs amputated can change your life. Sherrie used to be very sweet and beautiful, especially her legs. She was engaged to someone and was very pleased with him. But she found out that after her legs amputated, he didn't love her anymore and he left her. Since then, she has never dated anyone until Kyle came along. She has many people staring at her and has a hard time going up the stairs. She did gain a lot of muscle in her arms though from walking with them so much around her house.
Another reason why I recommended this book is because it shows how many ways a child can die. Kyle's daughter died in a car wreck. That's the most common way a child can die. But the cradle robber strangled kids while they're sleeping. He put plastic bags over they're heads and would never look at them while they were dying, because he didn't want to see their distorted faces. Another way kids died is by a fire. He would light matches in their bedroom and would throw matches on them while they were sleeping.
Lastly, I recommend this book because it shows how your life can change if you don't move on after someone dies who was close to you. Kyle had his daughter die, like I said in the last paragraph. He never moved on and started having hallucinations about memories of his daughter. He would hallucinate over stuff like his daughter walking in and asking him to read her a book, because that was his favorite thing to do with his daughter. He was very depressed, until he met Sherrie, because he thought that it was is fault that he let his daughter die. When they were in the car upside down, his daughter kept crying for him to help her, but he too hurt, he couldn't reach back. He also got addicted to alcohol and lost his job as the head detective, because it was against the rules.
I recommend this book, because it shows how your life can change if you get both of your legs amputated, it shows how many terrible ways children can die, and it shows how you can get very depressed, hallucinate over stuff, and get addicted to alcohol if you don't move on after a loved one dies. In the end of this book, they end up saving the time-travelers daughter and send them both to the future with the promise from Kyle and Sherrie that in the future, they would be there to help with the wounded time-traveler.

This review is soley for the novel "Before the Cradle Falls." I happen to consider James F. David a superb suspense writer: "Footprints of Thunder," "Fragments," and "Ship of the Damned" were intriquing and engrossing. "Cradle" is, unfortunately, not.

Kyle Sommers is a police detective who, after the death of his daughter, hid within the bottle. Given a second chance, Sommers finds himself heading the investigation of Cradle Robber, a serial killer who murders random children in the night, thinking he is in fact doing them a favor.

But Sommers is not alone in his investigation. There is another man, who appears to have blue skin, and who knows when children are in danger. He has arrived from the future, intent on saving the children of Portland, Oregon...including his own child...

The plot is a bit ludicrous, but so were those of David's previous novels. What "Cradle" lacks is reality; while occasionally suspenseful, and at times frightening, the novel's characters rarely exceed their two-dimensional forms, and the plot is pretty predictable, not to mention cliche. Though for some it may be a brisk, even entertaining read, fans of David's previous works will find it lacking in quality. Every author writes a book of lesser quality at some point in their career; James F. David has done it with this one. While entertaining to a point, "Before the Cradle Falls" is proof that time travel and police procedural don't mix well.

I think I'm an addict. Once I start reading a James F. David novel, I can't put it down. After reading his first 3 novels (Footprints of Thunder, Fragments, Ship of the Damned), I knew this one would be edge-of-your-seat action mixed with creative plot twists, and I was right!

In my opionion, David has the perfect blend of paranormal/sci-fi and mystery/action/thriller down pat! As with his other novels, David takes a standard sci-fi theme (in this case time travel), and presents it in a way I have never read before, with interesting theories to back it up. I have no idea how scientific said theories are and don't really care. They're fun and unique.

One of the things I really enjoy about his books are the settings. Before the Cradle Falls is set in current day Portland, Oregon, my hometown. James F. David, who lives in nearby Tigard, is very familiar with Portland and uses real landmarks, Parks and businesses for much of the book. A few things are made-up (our real newpaper is the Oregonian, not the Oregon Chronicle), but for the most part, Portland is exactly as he describes it. It gives me the feeling that I could step out my door one day and see Kyle Sommers driving by in a police car...

What do you get when Sci-Fi meets Thriller? Another masterpiece by James F. David!

If you think that all police novels are the same, then you haven't read Before the Cradle Falls. David introduces a twist that will have you second-guessing all the others. Truly an original piece that has set the bar at a new level.

But be warned: clear your schedule before you start reading. You will get sucked in, and it will be difficult to put down!

Thank you James F. David once again for reminding me how exciting reading can be.

so I could stay home in my favorite jammies and keep reading. Laura's difficult choice recalled events in my life, consequences I've had to live with. The outcome of her decision and the turmoil that followed drew me into the pursuit of Laura's killer. Equally enticing is the determination of Detective Kierzek as he searches for the truth. This deception will make you want to stay home too.

I enjoyed this book very much. The plot keeps you guessing until the end. The characters are interesting and compelling. You can't help but feel for Jonathan. I would highly reccommend this book to any mystery lover; as I have to a number of my friends. The book is easy to read, but not simplistic. The only technique that I found somewhat distracting was the author's use of flashbacks. This is a personal preference as I do not like them in any book. The author made good use of flashbacks when he did used them. I found myself caught up in the story straight through to the end. I look forward to Mr. St. James' next book and plan to go back and read his first book. Please don't take my word for it; pick up the book and read it for yourself!

What more can I say about this very talented and gifted writer. As his first book, "Moonglade", it is a book to be read by all. The storyline and his characters can be identified with so much that one tends to feel they are part of the story and the character. A little anger, fear, suspense, sadness and mystery are sure to be felt by the reader. It grabs you on the first page and your hooked, once again by this writers wonderful talent. Thank you Mr. St. James for sharing your talent with us. I'm patiently waiting for your next page turner.

so I could stay home in my favorite jammies and keep reading. Laura's difficult choice recalled events in my life, consequences I've had to live with. The outcome of her decision and the turmoil that followed drew me into the pursuit of Laura's killer. Equally enticing is the determination of Detective Kierzek as he searches for the truth. This deception will make you want to stay home too.

BRILLIANT? Where did that come from? It honestly makes me wonder if all the reviews here were done by friends or the author himself. I have to say that I struggled through this book after having read a GREAT book, Jonathan Kellerman's BILLY STRAIGHT. To me, this book was a wrong turn down a reading DEAD END. Okay, to be fair, I must explain that 1) the characters were cardboard cutouts, 2) the suspense did not show up at all, and 3) the writer's mastery of good descriptive words is non-existent. I wish this book would have come with a warning label for amature writing.