Texas Books

I was present during a year of the meetings and all I can say is that after more then 30+ years of disinformation by the media and other anti-war, anti-military I am tired of the facts not being generally available. Now all I can do is hope people may evaluate todays events in somewhat of a pragmatic knowledge of the real world. To my knowledge all of the principals at the WIEW's are deceased, my job in MACV Current Intelligence Indications branch was to present the intelligence.

This is an important historical work and a valuable reference that historians, biographers, and others writing about or studying the Vietnam War will want to consult. It is a remarkable record of the briefings and meetings attended by General Abrams, the U. S. commander in Vietnam, during four of the most critical years of the war.

Sorley spent a year in a secure vault, wearing earphones to listen to over 2,000 hours of highly classified 1968-72 audio tapes. He transcribed 835,000 words by hand and then edited them into this volume of about 450,000 words and over 900 pages. The U. S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency all had to give their clearance before publication.

As we all know, meetings can be deadly dull. However, Sorley has apparently cut any inconsequential chatter and mundane topics because what is left is intensely interesting. We can read the exact words of General Abrams and his subordinate commanders, staff, and visitors. They are amazingly frank and express strong opinions about the conduct of the war, their contemporaries, and the Vietnamese. I knew, or at least met, many of the participants in these conferences and their personalities come through in their recorded remarks. It was especially interesting to read what the most senior generals in Vietnam were hearing and saying about the 1972 Easter Offensive while I was fighting in it at one of the lower levels.

Sorley provides lists that identify the Americans and Vietnamese who participated--or were mentioned--in these meetings and 64 illustrations that show what many of them looked like. There is also a glossary of terms, acronyms and abbreviations, and a good general index.

We are fortunate that these sessions were recorded and that a historian of Lewis Sorley's ability expended the time and effort to transcribe and edit them into a usable form that will be preserved for future generations.

Vietnam is still an amazingly painful topic for many people. A huge number of regular folks read about the American Civil War (or whatever other name you want to give it), both World Wars, the Revolutionary War, and other important events in American history. Our Vietnam experience is very hard for the living generations to investigate for a number of reasons. One reason is that those of us who were alive during the 60s and 70s and at least teenagers all developed strongly held views and emotional commitments to a position on the war. Revisiting those years with the kind of open mind required by serious scholarship requires more strength than most of us mere mortals can muster.

However, I believe emphatically that it is time to do so. It seems clear to me that much of what was being fed to Americans via the media was couched to promote an anti-war view. Yes, it is true that the press, say, in WWII was more uniformly supported the war effort (but not as completely as is remembered today), but the point in both instances is that we reach a point in time when it is essential to go back, examine the evidence with fresh eyes and an open heart, and get as close to the truth as we can.

This book is one of those treasures that provides essential primary information that none of us had access to previously. This book provides edited transcripts of tapes made of various briefings and meetings of General Creighton Abrams when he was the commander of US forces in Vietnam from 1968-72. It makes surprisingly fascinating reading. You do have to get used to some of the military terminology, but the author does provide helps for the reader. There is some introductory material, and guide to all the participants in the back with their full names, titles, and the dates of their service. There is an essential guide to all the acronyms as well. And of course there is a useful index.

It is painful to read these accounts as they struggled to manage the war effort, getting the right forces in place, reacting to bad reporting back home, and their reactions events and politicians back home. There are a couple of quotes that I think that struck me especially forcefully.

The first is between Abrams and his boss, Admiral John McCain (father of our Senator John McCain) pg 573:

McCain: "I think when this d___ thing comes out in clear writing sometime, maybe 5 or 10 years from now, you're going to find out that we were a g__d___ sight closer to some sort of a successful conclusion to this d___ thing than the politicians and newspapers in the United States won't [sic] admit, and a few other things."
Abrams: "I thought we'd read that in your memoirs."
McCain: "I'm not going to write any g__d___ memoirs. I decided that a long time ago." "Sure going to be interesting to see what some other people say about me in their memoirs, though. I hope I'm around long enough to read some of them."
Abrams: (serious, not joking): "Well, I think on that score, Admiral, none of us can hope for any of that to be good."
McCain: "Memoirs won't be read if they're good. That's a fact. I can tell you that right now."

What have we done as a country to make such dedicated men who have sacrificed so much of their lives on our behalf to have to eat that much pain?

Then at the end of the book when Abrams is leaving, Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker provides these comments to him pg 877-8:

Abrams: "Mr. Ambassador?"
Bunker: "Yes, I'd like to say a word, General Abrams. When you and I came here, a little more than give years ago, I was hoping we could exit together. I just want to say that these five years I think have had the most rewarding of a fairly long career that began with the horse artillery in 1916. And they certainly have been fateful years, for the Republic of Vietnam and for our own country. I suppose, when the history of this war is written, it will be very clear that no country ever put as many restraints on itself as we did. And I think it's been probably the most difficult war that we've ever tried to fight. And it's been fateful for our country, because I think the question is whether we have the patience and the determination and the will to accept the responsibilities of power."

There is more to this statement, but that will do for my purposes.

We can learn from history, and we are now in a situation in Iraq where we are also being tested in much the same way by some on the home front. We will see if we "we have the patience and the determination and the will to accept the responsibilities of power." I pray we do.

A fabulous contribution to scholarship and can add a great deal to your own understanding of this middle period of the Vietnam War.

The first words I noticed about "The Abrams Tape" was its dedication by Lewis Sorley, "For the people of South Vietnam." A few pages later, a quote by the eldest of Gen. Creighton Abrams's three sons appears, "He [Gen. Abrams] thought the Vietnamese were worth it."

This book is an unfathomable work that captures the period in Vietnam from June 1968 through June 1972. Its main character is Abrams, whose approach to the second half of the Vietnam War greatly differs than that of William Westmoreland. Sorley transcribes and edits the recordings from the Weekly Intelligence Estimate Update (WIEU) sessions and other meetings attended by nearly all key American and South Vietnamese players of that time. No matter of one's opinion on the war, readers will uncover difficult decisions that were made about Vietnamization, pacification, the Cambodian incursion, the invasion of Laos (Lam Son 719) and the Easter Offensive. How important was gaining the release of American POWs? How much did that desire play into Kissinger's negotiations for a settled "peace with honor" and a unilateral U.S. withdrawal?

If you're looking for an exact history and not a journalist's analysis, a historian's rehash or a grunt's memoir, Sorley's "The Abrams Tape" and its predecessor "A Better War" are must-reads.

Vietnam Chronicles, The Abrams Tapes 1968-1972 is the product of Herculean efforts by Lewis Sorley, editor, annotator, and transcriber of excerpts from nearly 500 tape recordings of weekly command briefings at MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam) headquarters at Ton Son Nhut air base in Saigon, Vietnam. In these transcription excerpts of the tapes of the weekly and other special briefings for General Creighton W. Abrams, U.S. Commander in Vietnam, Sorley has put together significant portions from his voluminous notes on the still highly classified tapes held in a special collection at the U.S. Army Military History Institute. It took one year in the transcribing, and one year of mandatory declassification review to bring this collection to the general public. The result for the historian and general reader is a wealth of material regarding the nuance and persona of high command which makes for very interesting reading.

But what is more important it reinforces Sorley's basic thesis put forth in an earlier work, A Better War, that the modus operandi significantly changed when General Abrams took command in mid-1968; and by capitalizing on earlier efforts, our arms and those of the South Vietnamese were able to begin steering a course toward what might, just might have been a very successful outcome of the long Vietnam conflict.

The Blue Yonder Inn by Helen Campbell is a thoroughly "reader engaging" novel about a mother's struggle to keep her ill-tempered teenage niece out of trouble. Their gradual coming to terms with one another, amid the backdrop of the family business - a pay-by-the-hour roadside motel that depends upon airmen, prostitutes, and visitors to the state penitentiary for its clientele - evolves through the turbulence of an extended voyage of discovery and more, in this sometimes sardonic, sometimes heartwarming look at the effort it takes to forge true family ties. The Blue Yonder Inn is a deftly written and highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library contemporary fiction collections.

This book is highly entertaining and a very quick read. For a great view of life in West Texas in a different time in history, check this out!

Tired of the same old character cliches? Sick of the same old plots? Well, drive yourself over to the Blue Yonder Inn where you'll meet a memorable assortment of oddballs whose resumes aren't exactly worth a second call. Bonnie Blue, the down-and-out protagonist, leaves Blackie, her baby, in a wheelbarrow outside the Blue Yonder Inn and heads out on her own hero's journey. On the run from her good-for-nothing husband Gil, Bonnie meets up with more curious folk - some unsavory, some endearing. This story is sharp, fast paced, and has well drawn characters. Helen Campbell's biting wit makes even the most tragic of circumstances humorous. You'll find yourself laughing and sympathizing with people you might otherwise avoid completely.

Helen Campbell scores again! Just as Turnip Blues was too hilarious to put down, so the character development in The Blue Yonder Inn makes you not want to quit reading until the end. Though the central story of Bonnie Blue, Blackie, and Darnelle covers but a brief span of time, you are transported back and forth through the generations of their family and friendships resulting in a panoramic encounter that seems all so familiar. Campbell writes with such detail and clarity that the reader's emotions are continuously engaged. You want to hold Blackie in your arms, punch out Gil, and share a bourbon with Darnelle.

This is a wonderful novel, easy to read and hard to put down --staying in my mind ever since I did finally put it down, sad to finish it.
A surprising book, because the heroine, Bonnie Blue, is a [weak person] if ever there was one -- and yet there's something about the way Campbell describes this young woman that made me care about her, and the sad and difficult life she leads, and the people around her, particularly her wayward uncles and enterprising aunt. Authentic, funny, poignant, insightful -- Campbell's novel doesn't shy away from the ugly truth about the underside of American society -- as it was in the 60s in Texas -- but you'll end the book feeling joyous rather than depressed, trust me.

I finished "Breaking Even" by Alejandro Grattan Dominguez last night.
Rather than comment on the author's literary genius, which would take me a page or two, allow me to sum it up:

This book should be required reading in every High School in the USA. Too many kids have been abandoned. The book should at least be in every High School and Public Library

The one single message that screams out in this book, is this:
"YOU'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING IN LIFE BY NOT HAVING YOUR PARENT AROUND. HE OR SHE MISSED OUT ON YOUR LIFE!
YOU DID NOT LOSE. HE OR SHE DID!

I did not realize that myself, until 20 years after not seeing my father, I was talking to my Aunt one night. It dawned on me: I've had a hell of a ball, done some really fun and fascinating things, met great people all over the USA and Mexico and he didn't get a chance to share in that. So, who's the loser??? ha ha ha You snooze, you lose.
Now, I'm sitting here laughing!!
It is a great book Alejandro! Perfect for today's millions of abandoned kids, whatever their age.
This story should be made into a movie and given out free at all video rental stores in the USA. There are too many abandoned kids, in one form or the other, and NO ONE is helping them to understand the cure for their self loss. Alejandro does that. His book is a cure for an EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL CANCER OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.
Thank you!! Mr. Dominguez. I was crying....and now I am LAUGHING!!

In every boy's life there is a crucial point where he teeters on the brink of manhood. It's at this time, when the boy-man is most vulnerable that he needs a role model to guide him past the final pitfalls of adolescence into the responsibilities of adulthood.

Breaking Even, Alejandro Grattan's brilliantly crafted coming-of-age novel begins with 18-year-old Val leaving his small West Texas town in search of his role model, a father who left years before and who Val discovers is very much alive even though his mother, Lupe has always told him his father had died a hero's death.

Apart from the mystery of his father, Val has other issues. His mother is Mexican and Val's mixed racial heritage fixes him firmly near the bottom of the social pecking order in their small town and gives him an identity problem. He dislikes his life working in his mother's roadside diner and dreams of going to Hollywood to work in the movies. His confusion causes him to refuse advice from those who most care for him. To top it off his girlfriend Bonnie is pregnant. His immaturity ensures he only grapples with twinges of conscience, never with real issues.

Val's father Frank Cooper is a high stakes poker player in search of his own Holy Grail, the big pot that always seems to be in the next game. When he finds Cooper, Val is at first taken in by his charm and easy manner. However as each flaw is uncovered Val comes to see his father as he really is, an addicted gambler with no dream and no prospect of one. With this realization Val's own sense of responsibility to himself and to others begins to develop. This, in turn allows him to discern right from wrong, and to identify those who really do care for him.

The theme of this book is personal responsibility and Grattan has ensured authentic characters by coloring no one completely black or completely white. All are developed realistically including the minor characters of Floyd, his mother's short-order cook husband and Blue, a washed-up saloon singer and paid escort who travels with Cooper. Though everyone has personal flaws they are redeemed by the responsibilities they assume. Only Cooper is without redemption and therein is the brilliance of the novel. The message is conveyed without preaching.

This is a serious story dealing with serious issues and can be enjoyed at different levels. At one Val's search for his father is a metaphor for the real quest, his identity. On another level the book can be enjoyed as a great story with tightly defined characters who speak incredible lines such as, "The life of the party had gone home leaving Val and Cooper stranded out in the middle of a conversational wilderness."

The author's screen-writing and film directing background is clearly evident in the imagery and visual scenes painted throughout the book. Apart from being a darn good read this novel is noteworthy for the issues addressed, well-rounded characters, colorful images, and biting dialogue.

This heart-warming and enticing story grabbed my full attention. I could hardly put it down. I was captivated by the plot and Val's dedicated search for his father and the challenges that he faced on his journey. Each character contributed to the excitement and the intrigue. I highly recommend this book.

I'm fifteen-years-old. My parents got divorced when I was eleven. I come from three generations of divorced parents. I wondered what the problem was with me, that I couldn't be with my dad. Then I read Alejandro Grattan Dominguez's book "Breaking Even", which was great, and I looked at the situation a lot differently.
I related to Val through most of the book. It made me feel better that it's okay to live without my dad. My dad lives in Phoenix right now and he is giving my mom and I problems that I'm not living with him. I'm not losing anything at all by not having my dad around. I'm having a good life without him. He is the one missing out. So to me, he is a jerk like Frank Cooper in the book.
I really got into the book when Val just walked out on his dad, because that is similar to what I did, and when I did, I felt bad, but inside, I actually didn't.
Now that I have read this book, I feel a lot better and it taught me some things. For instance, how Val left Big Bend, Texas, I left Dover, Delaware. That is where I grew up until I was seven-years-old when we started traveling.
My family in Delaware thinks it's so bad that my brother and I travel. I have fun with my gymnastics, traveling everywhere and seeing interesting things outside of where I grew up. But instead, my family is back in Delaware thinking they're having fun in their toxic waste State.
My situation is similar to Val's family and friends. They didn't want him to go search for his dad or work at his goal to go to California, but it's a lot better than staying in one place all your life. Plus, it's educational to see all the States and different cultures.
My opinion is that "Breaking Even" should be read in all High Schools in the Country because about seventy percent of kids in the U.S. only have one parent. I'm telling all my friends to read it. We're all miserable because of our parent's selfishness. It will help them like it helped me.

This is a coming-of-age story set in the 1950s. Val, an 18-year-old Mexican-American, works in his Mexican mother's cafe, lives for the movies, and dreams about leaving the small West Texas town where he has lived all his life. Having grown up thinking that his Anglo father was dead, he is shocked to learn that he is alive,and there begins the real story.

It is Val's search not only for his father, Cooper (who looks to Val like a Hollywood movie star and is actually a professional high-stakes gambler), but also for his own identity and roots as a Mexican-American man. Team the father and son characters Cooper and Val with Ms. Blue Morgan, a kind-hearted, aging paid companion from Reno, and the story becomes even more deliciously colorful and complicated. A poker game brings these three together in El Paso for their initial meeting, and it leads to a bigger poker game in Reno and the adventure of their lives. They are all coincidentally at turning points and must decide on new courses for their lives. This is more than a coming-of-age story; it is one of coming to terms with one's life and taking responsibility for that life. It is a story of hard questions and decisions. Ultimately, it is a story of liberation from past circumstances and the pursuit of destiny.

Grattan-Dominguez is a fine storyteller with a good sense of dialogue. His portrayals of character and of the authentic Southwest are sure to earn him a growing reputation as a writer.

This is a fascinating book: it deals with moral and ethical issues within a storyline that keeps you turning the pages, even if you are losing sleep or missing your spanish lessons. It does not let the folks who work in the justice system on the Texas/Mexican border off the hook as they confront the realities and ambiguities of life in that region.
These folks were real, when they were cut they bled - both the story and the characters are compelling.
I really look forward to his next book, wouldn't mind a series.
Catherine Lewis
Hackensack, NJ

This is an excellent book and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a legal thriller. This book has constant twists and turns that keeps you enthralled though the ending. It also leaves you with some interesting thoughts about how the legal system operates and wheather it has any truth to the story line. I encourage anyone who has any ties to Brownsville, Texas to read this as you will enjoy the Valley scenery.

An excellent legal thriller with enough drama and twists to keep any reader engaged. Author Carlos Cisneros makes his writing debut with this novel and it becomes immediately evident that his potential is limitless. highly recommended for anyone who likes grisham novels or the like. cant wait for the next book!

I could not put this book down. I cannot wait to read more of the adventures of the attorney Alex. I would recommend it to everyone. It is "fiction" but also fairly true to life.

Alex del Fuerte trapped my attention from the beginning, only a special personality would care for an estrange at the street talking to himself.
Alex's unpredictable reasoning leaded the story to an uncertain state of mind since the moment when he took his first case before even opening his law office.
From that moment, every single chapter is an intense ride where it is required to keep seat belts on and "persignarse" because we do not know what will happen to Alex.
My favorite scene is when Alex finally broke the silence and talked to his grandfather. It was a trembling moment of realization;
Was he really doing it on principle or for money?, was he any different from the other guys running cases and why he was still on the case?....
Why did he choose to continue and risk even his own life rather than just leaving the case as it was?...
"I can't live my life wondering what if?... I am talking about taking a chance, going for it, putting everything on the line...I do not want to wait on the sidelines and see everybody go by".
Alex's personality is very well defined through the view of an expert of Mexican-American culture. The places, and food as well as the local characters are so vividly described that they seem to be inviting to experience the South of Texas and border towns from Mexico.
At the end of the story, there is an extraordinary feeling of wanting to know more and I wonder what will be next?...
Mr. Cisneros, please continue writing.

Love love love this book. As someone who has recently found her "home". Becky Cochrane nails the feeling perfectly. Coventry Christmas is truly a celebration of love, the love that exist between friends, between partners,the love between family members, a girl and her hampster and even between a place and the citizens that choose to be there. This book made it's way under the tree of my friends and family. I wanted to share a holiday blessing ... Can't wait to see what comes next!

Wonderful story. I fell in love with this charming and quirky little town, and with all the people in it. At first, Coventry and some of it's inhabitants seemed almost surreal...a fabled, Brigadoon-ish kind of place that only exists in some other plane of existence. But as the story unfolds it seems less fantastic, and more like the way things should be. We see this through the eyes of Keelie, the main character, who undergoes her own metamorphosis. She starts out as your typical Houston urban dweller...caught up in the daily routines of city life, and becoming more and more unsatisfied with it. Keelie first sees the town of Coventry as a visitor, but over time, and with the help of some very well written characters, she finds herself becoming a resident. I think this story serves as an entertaining and touching reminder that a busy, complicated life isn't always a happy one. Sometimes you have to leave some of the extra things behind and learn to find your happiness in simpler ways, and in simpler places. Definitely worth reading...you'll be glad you did.

I just finished Becky Cochrane's wonderful book A Coventry Christmas. I've enjoyed her other works as part of the group responsible for Timothy James Beck, but it's great to see something of her own.

I love the small town feel of the story, very much like Fannie Flagg. You get wonderful characters that you just can't help but love. She also does an amazing job with her setting. She knows Houston well, and you can feel her affection for it in every desription of the city!

This book is one of the most enjoyable Christmas stories I have read in a long time. This book was not stressful at all. Although most of the story happens around Christmas time. It is also about good friends, family and starting over in a new town. Of course, what is a good Christmas story without a good romance or two. I read to relax, so I am looking forward to the next book by this author.

Christmas is supposed to invoke feelings of goodwill to all men, and cause a person to break out into song and dance in the middle of store aisles as harried Christmas shoppers hustle and bustle around them. To make people carry a sprig of mistletoe in their pocket to use on unsuspecting victims. But for twenty-eight-year-old Keelie Cannon, the only thing Christmas brings her is a splitting headache.

Originally a Georgia peach, Keelie fled to Texas with an old boyfriend and took up a position at Buy the Book, hoping to use it as a transition job before she could locate a more stable position where she could actually put her English degree to good use. Now, years later, the boyfriend is no longer in her life, but Buy the Book still is. Unfortunately, ever since an obnoxious manager named Rodney took over the store, Keelie finds that she doesn't enjoy the position nearly as much as she once did, and the holidays are only working to make her mood even worse. Keelie finds herself craving for a change, and when an unexpected accident, in which she breaks her foot gets her put on workers comp, she realizes that now is the time to seize the day, and make a change. Hobbling around on crutches, and popping Vicodin, Keelie decides to step out of her Texas misery, and head to a quaint little town called Coventry with her best friends Ivy and Evan. Accompanying the three friends is Ted, a bigwig from Buy the Book's corporate office who has slowly wiggled his way into Keelie's good graces. Coventry is everything that Keelie needed. The people all know her name, and couldn't be friendlier; and, thanks to Granny's blog, nothing about Keelie or her friends is a secret. But, somehow, that's okay with her. But when Keelie's hamster, Hamlet, starts behaving strangely, she knows that something is wrong and has to rush Hamlet to the local veterinarian, who happens to be the handsome Dr. Boone. Dr. Boone makes Keelie's teeth sweat, and his presence makes her believe that Christmas miracles do come true, and that she has finally met the man of her dreams. Until she learns something about Dr. Boone that would make any woman with a conscience run for the hills.

While A COVENTRY CHRISTMAS is labeled a holiday story, only the first 150 pages are truly Christmas-related, leaving the rest of the book to take place during the rest of the year. Ordinarily, this would annoy me, and instantly make me put the book down; however, in this case, Becky Cochrane did such a wonderful job, that I couldn't help but stick around - even after the Christmas parts were over. Keelie is such a fun protagonist. She is bitter and negative, laced with a sweet heart, and a peculiar sense of humor. The interactions she engages in with her friends - Evan, Holly, and Ivy - are very SEX AND THE CITY-esque, and leave you laughing out loud; while Granny and her crazy "Sex" night, and blog, present a wacky addition to the tale that make her irresistible. Of course, I can't forget Hamlet, the feisty hamster who, in my mind, stole the show, or Rip, a scarred dog with stories to tell. Cochrane has penned a wonderful novel full of zany characters, and a quaint town that you'll want to relocate to. Warms you from head to toe!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

The atmosphere and setting is wonderful it kept me spellbound riveted to the story. Sid is a feisty broad with gumption that doesn't let life pass her by because her life has changed dramatically it gives all of us old broads hope.
I just can't imagine myself deviling deep into the mystery of murder and it helped to know Sid had her own doubts. The tenacity in her won't let her give up and it gives all women hope.
Ah, it would be wonderful to see a television series made of Sidra Smart PI and her adventures into solving murders most fowl.
Joan

DEADLY SINS DEADLY SECRETS, the second installment of Sylvia Dickey Smith's Sidra Smart series, is a tale of how small town secrets and small-minded attitudes seldom mix with pleasant results.

Sid is desperately trying to keep the private investigation business she inherited from her brother open while living in a ghost active house with her overly-involved aunt and her overly-indulged feline, as well as a dog Sid saved from going to the pound when his owner died. Sid's love life and her professional life seem to be at odds with one another and with her past as the wife of a Baptist minister. To add another helping onto her already full plate, Sid is hired by a "tobacco-spitting, chair-rocking old codger more interested in the shine on his shoes than the dust on his furniture" to clear his dead son's name after he was accused of a double murder. After all, just because he happened to have been spotted at the scene around the time of the crime and just because his fingerprints were on the murder weapon does not automatically mean he was guilty of the crime. But try convincing the local sheriff of that--especially when the prime suspect is no longer able to mount a defense to the charges.

Sid must trudge deep into the swamp and even deeper into the past in order to solve this case. As if that isn't bad enough, her preacher ex-husband shows up in the middle of her date with a new man and the ghost who haunts her aunt's house refuses to allow Sid a good night's rest. This ghost is a long dead relative of her new client and former owner of that same house. Scrappy Kate, as she was known in life, has vital information for Sid about the present, her new case and the people involved in it.

Sylvia Dickey Smith is a master storyteller who weaves a tale tighter than a hangman's noose. Her characters resonate with a down-home true feeling found in small towns all across America. They come alive on the page. This is a book I could not put down and highly recommend.

This second book is every way as good as the first. Sidra is growing in spirit as well as PI knowledge. She fumbles/mumbles/succeeds like any and all of us would if we were following a dream.

Good writing, good character, freeing spirit make for good books.

Keep up the good work.

Sid Smart seems to be winning the battle for an independent life when she's hired to clear the name of a young man suspected of murder.

Her simple exists is constantly being complicated by visits from ghosts trying to tell her something, a preacher and his straying wife, a canine, and of course her aunt. Its bad enough that Sid is forced to move in with her aunt in her haunted 19th century home when her apartment building is sold, but then someone burns down the offices of The Third Eye detective agency; her agency. The suspected arsonist is then found dead on Sid's back porch.

Will Kate, the ghost, help Sid solve the mystery? Third Eye Intuitive Investigations is hard at work.

Sylvia Dickey Smith has a very entertaining series in The Third Eye, and Sid Smart. Sid gets stronger in every book.

Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author Lost In The Mist release May 2008)

If being an expert on crawling in windows is a requirement for a detective, Sidra Smart meets that requirement. She is the owner of The 3rd Eye Detective Agency with one solved case under her belt. In her former life as a minister's wife, Sidra would not have been caught dead crawling in a window-but Sidra is not the same woman as she was then.

When Dempsey Durwood contacts Sidra about hiring her to clear his son's name, Sidra feels compelled to take the case. Ned Durwood was hit and killed while trying to cross the railroad tracks behind the home of Abe and Cherrie Collins. Abe and Cherrie were later found murdered and the murder weapon had Ned's fingerprints on the handle of the knife. Dempsey states that his son had gone to the Collins residence about some work that the Collins couple wanted him to do. Dempsey is ready to spend his savings to prove Ned's innocence. Sidra takes the case but is uncertain if she can prove Ned's innocence.

Sid has just moved in with her Aunt Annie in a house that has the reputation of being haunted. Soon Sid begins to believe that there really is a ghost that only she can see. Her inquiries regarding the Collins case are taking her no place and the ghost is keeping her awake at night.

A man that Sidra has questioned is found dead on the porch of Annie's home. The office of the detective agency suffers an arson fire. Sidra discovers a secret about the wife of the local pastor. The more events unfold, the more determined Sidra is to find out what has happened in her town in the past that is now having a very adverse effect.

Deadly Sins Deadly Secrets is an exciting book that is full of surprises. I look forward to reading more about Sidra Smart, a spunky lady. I also very much enjoyed Slider, the dog that Sidra rescued early in the book.

I haven't read Dance On His Grave, the first Sidra book, but I intend to do so soon.

Armchair Interviews says: Sylvia is also a columnist for Southern Life and Style Magazine

I'm not a huge fan of the true crime genre...much of it is too gruesome and sensational for me, but Kathryn Casey is one of two true crime writers whose books I always wait for impatiently to be published (the other is Ann Rule). Casey is a master at taking out the sensationalism of a brutal story and putting in the humanity. She draws out the true essence of each of the characters and makes it easy for the reader to see them as real human beings. In a way, Kathryn Casey is a hero to me for telling the story with such clarity and accuracy and compassion.
In this story, Sharon Cave and Jim Sedwick are heroes too......Sharon (the mother of the victim)because, despite experiencing the most intense and painful grief, knowing that her daughter was not only murdered but mutilated as well, is still able to feel the pain of others...still able to feel a great compassion and concern for the jury members and others who were exposed to the details of the crime. Jim, because of his resolute strength, after seeing the horrific damage inflicted on Jennifer by Colton and Laura. For being a the support system for Jennifer's family....putting them ahead of himself.

I couldn't sleep for a few nights after reading this story..It was so difficult to image that this can really happen...that there are people that really commit this kind of terrible act. I felt the pain of Jennifer's family. I cried for Jennifer and her gamily. Thank God that Kathryn Casey wrote this story instead of a less gifted author......I could not have read this one if it had been reduced to another brutal, sensational crime story.

IF YOU CAN'T READ THIS BOOK IN A DAY OR SO, THEN WAIT UNTIL YOU CAN. I ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. MOVE OVER, ANN RULE!!

As excellent as her previous books, Kathryn Casey has taken a horrific, heartbreaking story and written it with great sensitivity and insight. With "A Descent", she continues to emerge as one of America's leading true crime authors. A definite must read for TC buffs.

Kathyrn Casey delivers, yet again. This book brings to life not only the victim, Jennifer Cave, but her murderers; Colton Pityonak and Laura Hall. There is no justice in this book, only layers of tragedy upon more. Three bright, intelligent young people with the world at their feet and one is brutally murdered, the other two end up in jail, convicted of the crime. Casey brings to vivid life the players in this drama, makes us care, makes us cry. There is no justice, not in this crime. And the families of the three have paid the highest price.

I have never been in Austin, Texas, but I feel as if I know the routes, having read Kathryn Casey's amazing "A Descent Into Hell." Ms Casey takes us through Jennifer Cave's life slowly, without embellishment, and into the lives of those who touched her for good or ill, the latter, of course being Colton Pitonyak. Reading this book I felt as if I were by Jennifer's side up to the end. I understood her mother's anger, fears and anguish and finally, the frustration of seeing a child trying at last to really turn her life around. The world is demeaned by Jennifer's loss and by Colton's and Laura Hall's continuing to be in it. Despite the realism, Ms. Casey's compassion shines through as well.

The book is a difficult read because it is sad, and yet maddening at the same time....so many "woulda shoulda couldas" that make no difference to the sad end of Jennifer Cave and the widow's mite of justice obtained by her family when Colton and Laura were convicted and the Appeals Court upheld Colton's conviction.

Fight On!

This book was an asset. I used it instead of my assigned text when working to pass the TExES Principal exam. This book was much better and more reader friendly than anything else I had used. The special ed section is a Must Read as is the part on employee rights! I highly recomment this book!

The title doesn't sound overly interesting but it actually is an interesting book. Teaching is an important job but there are a lot of things that a teacher could do to get in trouble (such as breaking privacy laws). The book also covers the law regarding starting a job contract, which I found to be particularly enlightening. It also covers some of the changes to Texas law since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and laws regarding English language learners and illegal immigrants (they have the right to public education like anyone else). These are all important issues for the Texas teacher.

This book arrived quickly and has proved to be everything I needed it to be. Thank you very much

This book was used for a school law class. This is a great cheat sheet for educators in Texas, including teachers.

We have been using this text in our Texas Public School Law class in a chort of SFA in Mabank, and it has proven to be a wonderful resource book, sparking interesting discussion and debate.

It wasn't my choice to go into exile, my family moved to New England when I was a kid. I've lived here since, but Texas has always still held my heart. This book is a great tribute to the great Texan way of life. It's a fairly good illustration of Texas and Texans, and it does contain a few good chuckles, I wish there were more though.

I bought this book for my mom, a proud Texan who hasn't lived there since shortly after she got married, some 50 years ago. But she related to everything in this book and laughed so hard she couldn't talk. Over the years, I've bought my fussy mom countless presents, but this is the first one I felt she really liked.

Even as a non-Texan, I found the book to be hilarious (my mom called me up and read the whole thing to me over a few nights). I don't even like Texas (too hot and buggy for my taste), but after hearing this book, it kind of made me want to move there! This would be a GREAT present (or gift to yourself) for anyone who loves Texas, anyone from Texas, and anyone about to move there (fixin' to be Texan).

We are thinking about making a move to Texas from California, and I wanted to learn a little about the culture. This book teaches you everything you will need to know. I couldn't put it down. It was hilarious!

I am one on those people who is trying to get to TX as fast as I can, but I am stuck here in Tennessee until my son turns 18. This book offers a humorous look at life--Texas Style!! My favorite chapters are about food and pick-up trucks!! And there is a fun quiz at the end of the book!! It keeps thoughts of the LONESTAR state close to my heart and makes me want to head out West!! I recommend this book for anyone who loves the state of TEXAS!!

Helen Bryant has summed up everything you need to make the transition from being "from someplace else" to being a Texan, all in a compact and witty book. I lived in Houston and San Antonio for 17 years and I'm fixin to go back (from California) so I thought I'd better brush up. I feel ready, now.

After I finished the book I wrapped it up and gave it to friends, native Southern Californians who are soon to make Fort Worth their home. If you are bound for Texas, read this book first!

Enjoyed it very much, bogged down just a little in several places. The author really got me caught up in the first page.

This is the type of book that is hard to put down. It grabs you from the start and keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. It is not only a great story, it is also full of history of the Texas rangers and the Mexican border towns. I can't wait to read the sequel. I highly recommend this book.

Agree with others: hard to put down. A New Yorker married to a Texan, I had to take Texas history for teaching certification. It was extremely interesting, but this book beats all by drawing the reader in, so that you sort of live that slice of history along with the characters.

A great read. I was hooked at the first chapter. What a way to start a story! And the story continues with suprising twists and turns. You will enjoy the last chapter as much as you enjoyed the first chapter.

If you liked this tale about the Texas-Rio Grande region, then you will like Bart Skelton's monthly feature in Guns and Ammo magazine. And likewise, if you like Bart Shelton, then you will like this book.

Enjoy.

This is a captivating story with lovable characters. There is just the right amount of excitement, historical reference and Spanish language smattered throughout to make this book authentic and informative but easy and pleasant reading. I am anxious to see more from this author.