Maine Books

but that doesn't necessarily mean they will comfort you, but that they will instead heap gossip and pressure upon your grief. This book tells of a man whose career, whose very purpose in life, is to heal and help. But when he is the person in crisis, there is no one to cover his duties or to help him find solace.

The author has a beautiful command of the English language.I found this a slow start but I rapidly became engrossed with the characters involved.I find myself thinking about the people and the quality of their lives. It is a powerful read addressing losses in peoples lives and how they cope. I will keep this book and reread it again. I will also reread certain passages in the book...I thought they were very wise and a personal challenge to look at my own life.
I liked her first book but this is a deeper study of people and the meaning of their lives. It stimulates great book club conversations.

This is a bittersweet novel of a pastor dealing with the death of his wife. His wife was not really "cut out" to be a pastor's wife, and she struggled with that role - and their marriage suffered because they didn't know how to look honestly at their struggles/challenges. And learning to look honestly at others and one's self is what the book captures best. It also conveys well the sense of life being puzzling.

It's a bit of the "academy award" winning, very deep kind of book - and has a significant focus on feelings. I tend to appreciate faster moving books - and ones where there is less sadness in the pages of things gone wrong. Nonetheless, there is hope in the book and winsome humour, nonetheless, and I'd definitely recommend it.

A novel that ponders some very deep questions -- One's relationship with God -- God's relationship with a community and the world. "That the world was now coming of age and needed a new understanding of God."

This novel sneaks in great advice such as "being fretful so often that joy seemed impossible". Much more than "a chick novel".

Midway through the novel, I knew this story would make my personal "best-loved books" list. Abide with Me is a lyrical, mesmerizing depiction of a small-town minister grieving the loss of his wife. Strout tells the story through several characters, threading together the experiences of grieving minister Tyler Caskey and his young daughter Katherine with the motivations and reactions of the people in their small town and church. We see five-year-old Katherine's confusion and anger at a God who would take away her mother, then shift perspectives to watch the reaction of the prim Sunday school teacher when little Katherine, at the end of the Lord's Prayer, announces, "I hate God." The story is lovely but deeply sad; as I grew to care more and more about the characters, I was so afraid their story would end tragically. Instead, it is lovely and surprising grace. Abide with Me: A Novel

Caroline B. Cooney, Fog (Scholastic, 1989)

Fog, the first of the Losing Christina trilogy of novels, is somehow my first exposure to mega-bestselling kidlit author Caroline B. Cooney. Probably not the best place I could have started, as the novel gets off slow, slow, slow. Since it' the first in a trilogy, though, I cut it some slack. This turned out to be a good move.

The story centers on Christina, a girl from Burning Fog Island, off the coast of Maine. The one-room schoolhouse on the island only goes up to sixth grade, so Christina is headed for school on the mainland at the end of the summer. All seems well and good-- Christina has been dreaming about getting off the island-- but when they get over there and move in with the principal and his wife, an English teacher, Christina finds that all is not nearly as well as she had imagined it would be. In fact, if she turns her head and squints just right, it seems quite like the couple are trying to drive Christina's friend Anya insane. And if Anya succumbs, might Christina be next?

A great deal of setup at the beginning for such a slim novel, but once it gets going, it gets going good. The characterization is a bit shallow, but I'm always willing to give a little leeway to series novels where this is concerned, as the author has a lot more room to build complex characters than we see in one book. Not a bad start; I'll certainly be reading the rest of the trilogy. ***

Christina has lived her entire life on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. She loves it there and is happy with her life. This year she is especially happy, as it is the first year she will be able to attend the junior high and senior high school on the mainland. She will travel there in September with eighteen-year-old Anya, sixteen-year-old Benj, and fourteen-year-old Michael, the only other island children old enough to need to go to the mainland school. All four will board at an inn that has recently been bought by the new principal of the school and his wife, the seventh-grade English teacher.

Things are bad right from the beginning. The principal and his wife seem needlessly cruel to the children, especially Christina who can't seem to do anything right and who argues with rules she thinks are unfair. Little by little she notices, though, that there is something truly sinister about the couple they are living with. They seem to take pleasure in humiliating children and breaking their spirits. Christina suspects that they are behind Anya's mental collapse, and she feels she may be next unless she can convince someone of how dangerous these people are.

I liked the strength of Christina's character. She said what was on her mind, stuck up for herself and for others, and was never afraid enough to give in. I didn't like that Christina's parents didn't believe anything that she said. It seemed as though they should have at least listened to her and thought about her point of view.

I almost had a hard time believing this could be possible. It's actually a good sense of horror as it shows the influence whether good, or bad adults have on children. Parents the fact that you're doing everything possible to have the best for you children doesn't necessarily mean that they will have the best. We as parents can only remember to look within ourselves, and make sure we're doing everything to let our children know we love them, and want to do right by them. This shows parents looking outside of themselves by sending Christina to school on the mainland of Maine, and entrusting the Shevvfords to care for her while she goes to school there on the mainland, but as soon as she gets there weird things begin to happen. Christina is with 3 other children, and they are 17 year old Avra, 16 year old Benj, 14 year old Michael, and Christina's 13. Avra's almost convinced the the sea wants to take one of them, and Christina's convinced that Shevvford's are up to no good, but due to New England stoicism, and the fact that the Shevvfords are that good at convincing the world that they have nothing but the best intentions for the children Christina has a hard time finding an audience, and for the most part not being able to fit in. It's not that they don't believe her it's just that they're so busy with thier own lives that they don't want the stress of finding out the truth, or if that was true about the dead bodies, and disappearance of 2 other students, and not to mention getting people to believe what's being said. I know that children getting to get parents to slow down, and realize that everything is not all black and white, but more complex, and children need to be believed when they speak the unbelievable, and etc. etc. I just look back on this, and can certainly feel the parents were in the wrong by not listening to their children. This is something that all parents can take n note of.

The book Fog, by Caroline B. Cooney, is about a group of kids, Christina, Anya, Ben, and Michael,that are taken up by a mainland principal to go to school. They are from an island on the coast called Burning Fog Island. The mainland kids don't like islanders very much. Everything seems to be going well until Anya starts to lose her mind. Christina knows that the principal and his wife are behind it. They try to force Christina towards the same fate but they fail. Christina also saves Anya from her mental and physical death. She convinces Anya, at the last second, to turn away from the principal and come towards her friends. This book was great because of its very suspenseful pages, perfect story, and very realistic characters.

This book was extremely suspenseful and seems to beg you to turn the page. Every word seems more grabbing than the last. For example, when Anya is about to jump off a bridge to "sacrifice" herself to the sea, which is also an example of how she almost physically died and how she is going insane, you couldn't wait to see what happened next. Another example, is when you actually discover that Anya is going insane. You are so interested that you want to read what her fate is.

This book, also, seems to have a perfect storyline. Everything molds together when you discover that the principal is behind all of this. It also leaves you wondering how they did it. This encourages you to read the next book. The storyline, also, is very interesting. Especially at intense parts, such as the bridge scene.

Lastly, I liked this book because of its very real characters. It almost seems like the characters are popping out at you because they do realistic things. Another thing, is that the setting blends with the characters' personalities. For example, the main characters are from an island, so they are very tough and stubborn. Some kids from the mainland seem to get everything they want so they are mean to those who don't. Even the kids that are teased are always depressed and don't talk to others.

My final reason for liking this book is because of its position in good versus evil. It shows this when Christina ruins the principal's plans and "defeats" them. It also shows this when Christina "handles" the bullies at her school. I would recommend this book to anyone. I liked this book because of its position in good versus evil, realistic characters, suspenseful pages, and almost perfect story.

C. Copeland

The book starts out confusing, uninteresting, and poorly written and remains that way throughout. Charachters are completely undeveloped and poorly executed. I would not reccommend this book to anyone.

This debut novel is so incredibly lyrical and poetic that I keep going back to it and just opening it up at a random page and reading a passage here and there. It's so evocative of Charlotte Bronte that I'm sure the author must have been influenced heavily by her, which would make sense anyway because Blake has a degree in Victorian literature. Indeed I believe her intent is to reinvent the classic Victorian novel in the tradition of Bronte or Radcliffe, and she really does an admirable job.

This story is set in 19th century America, on the wind-swept coast of Maine, as 17-year old Maisie Thomas and her parents return to Grange House for their usual summer holiday. Although Maisie has been coming with her parents to Grange House every year all of her life, this is the year that the secrets of Grange House and of her own family begin to emerge, and Maisie makes some truly earth-shaking discoveries about herself and her family. On top of all that she must struggle mightily with her own conflicting desires as she approaches womanhood and tries to find a balance between the intellectual stimulation and experiences she craves and the conventions of the times in which she lives.

The summer starts off inauspiciously when a pair of runaway lovers are found drowned in the sea nearby, one of them a serving girl from Grange House, and Maisie is drawn into the veiled, convoluted ramblings of Nell Grange, the woman to whose family the house once belonged and who still resides in the upper rooms of the house, roaming above the guests' heads like a restless shadow. A lone, sad grave in the woods hints at a history still untold, and Maisie soon learns that, willing or not, she will be the one to tell it.

Don't let the young age of the protagonist put you off. This is not a young adult novel, although it would be perfectly appropriate for teens (in fact, if teens want to get a taste of what true, talented writing is (I won't revisit my unkind thoughts on certain people in the YA market calling themselves `writers' *cough cough*), I highly recommend it. At any rate, it is definitely a mainstream adult novel and I would compare it most closely to a modernized Jane Eyre in style and feel. Blake certainly has the gothic Victorian atmosphere nailed, complete with fog, rambling old houses, secrets and muttering old ladies in attics, but without the more overwrought, eye-rolling dramatics. Maisie is a protagonist any woman can be proud of, too - and that's saying something coming from me, because I generally dislike more female protagonists than I like!

The sheer beauty of the language is more than worth the read, as well. It was like reading poetry in long form, or listening to a perfect melody. Blake spins out the story slowly, almost tortuously, and I was on tenterhooks until the very last page. Ask my husband! For the last 10 pages I literally had to get up and walk around the house, reading as I walked, because I was just so tensed up and tormented about how it was going to end! I'm such a sucker, but that only speaks to the talent of this new voice in fiction. I'm all over this Sarah Blake now and will be watching closely for her follow-up.

I cannot recommend GRANGE HOUSE enough! What a wonderful story, so well written. I savored every paragraph, and as someone else mentioned, I enjoyed reading it slowly, because of the style in which it was written. The most well written book I've read in ages, despite the fact that I almost put it away after the first 5 pages because it didn't grab me immediately. I'm so glad I stuck with it for one more page! So rewarding an experience would have been missed, indeed. This book is not a love story, not a ghost story, and certainly not your typical fare. It is many things; it is a story of growing up, of fear, of decisions, of loss, of joy, and discovery. I hope you enjoy it was much as I did.

I could not wait to pick up this book, a story of love and ghosts. Grange House sat forever on my shelf until the right moment... Wow. Not sure why I waited so long. My expectations were high. I was mildly disappointed.

Grange House was a little slow to get into. The beginning seemed to drag, in both content and writing. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of victorian writing; Grange House was written in the victorian writing style.

The parts of the book that I absolutely loved was the relationship between Maisie and Ms. Nell Grange. The setting, along the coast of Maine, was breath-taking in description. If you have ever been to the coast of ME, you too, will love this book for that alone. The mystery and ghost stories of visions is also enough to hold the interest. The story line picked up about 1/4 of the way into the reading, and it was enough to keep me wanting to find out what was on the next page, yet, still once completed I was not left with a feeling of "wanting to tell someone about this book". So...
I'd say 3.5 out of 5

This book has so many great plots and surprises! There wasn't a day that went by without me addicted to this book. It's about a girl named Maisie who every year travels to Grange House. She loves it there. This year is very different than any other. Maisie finds herself falling in love with two handsome young men. She discovers that the owner, Ms. Nell, is very ill. Ms. Nell is suddenly very interested into conversing with Maisie and sharing her secrets with her. Suddenly, a mystery comes into plot through Ms. Nell's diary and ghostly happenings at Grange House. Many people die and Maisie soon finds out that she's not who she thinks she is. I loved this book. It had everything, romance, adventure, horror, and a little history, though I don't know how true it is. I found this book looking for historical fiction, I got a little of that but so much more. I would definitely reccomend this book. Let me warn you though it has high vocabulary, and some mature subject matter. Yet, I still loved it greatly.

I picked up this novel to read during October, feeling in the mood for a little ghost tale. I didn't expect the fun bit of romance, the touching family story line, and good plot developement.

While I was hoping for a good ghost story, this isn't exactly that. It has 'ghosts' and other strange things which Maisie is 'gifted' enough to see, but it is not exactly scary. If you know this going in to it, you will make a better choice. Like I said earlier, it is touched with romance, eerie plot routes, sad deaths, and family issues as well, so it is much more then a simple 'spooky novel'.

Sarah Blake studied victorian literature, and to me this is the strong point of the book. Her writing is true to a style long forgotten, and she does it well. She takes you to the grange house, to the graveyard and hillsides, and weaves her story in a beautiful way. If you enjoy classic books this one is a modern version that will not let you down. If you like those coming of age tales where a young woman looks for love but really finds herself, with a twist of a haunting tale, this will be a great journey for you.

Murder mystery that is is done by an amateur. So many things in this book made me roll my eyes in disgust or disbelief. The narrative jumps from thoughts of one person, to another (including the murderer). The murders don't make any sense whatsoever. Many things are very far fetched, the deductions by the heroine are pathetic. Too many coincidences. You need to be a giant of a man to break a neck of a young woman? What?! Just stay away from this, I will never read anything else by this author. And the main mystery of a backstory was rather lame and poorly told.

This is a first class historical mystery. It's also a gorgeously written novel. Extremely atmospheric. I admired and respected the heroine. This book truly opened my eyes to the reality of the birth of America. It's a real stunner. Not for the weak-hearted. The sequels are quite good as well.

A really good book, but a few of the scenes were lifted staight out of the movie "Platoon." I hope this is a chance thing the author hasn't seen it.

I recently read Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence, on
the recommendations made by my book group. I enjoyed it as an historical mystery, but I do have one important problem with the novel as a whole. Much is made of Hannah and some of the other women characters as being patchwork quilters. The problem is, the time frame of this story is late 18th century America. Most textile authorities agree that patchwork as a quilting form did not begin in this country until around 1820, when printed fabrics were becoming available and affordable to the masses due to industrialization. Ordinarily, I'd regard this as a small flaw, but in
this book, it's a pretty important theme. The image of women in the
wilderness doing patchwork is a myth mistakenly disseminated during
the Colonial Revival era around the turn of the 20th century. A flaw of this magnitude serves unfortunately as a distraction and mars the quality of the reading experience.

The first couple chapters in I thought I was really going to enjoy this book. I thought it had some of the most beautiful writing I had ever come across. I thought the heroine had potential to be interesting, the side story of an adulterous affair, an illegitimate child, and the accused pining after the heroine, all seemed to point to a really good story.

Then somehow the beautiful prose began to overshadow the actual story. Half way through I had a hard time concentrating on what was actually going on and had to force myself to pick up the book to read it. I realized that I really didn't care "who done it", I just wanted to finish the book.

It may be that it just wasn't really a book for me but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad novel. However, since I rate books based on my enjoyment of them I had to give it only three stars. You may enjoy it more than I did though.

The story line was good but, I felt like I was reading a Junior High book.

Sorry I bought it.

The writing style I found is quite juvenile and unfortunately, I have to use the word *silly*. Aside from the minor sexual references, this book is definitely for teenagers.

I love this book. I can't wait to read the sequel. It may be difficult for some people to read. It is like reading two books at the same time. But both stories are really good. Excellent book.
The one thing that I did notice alot was there is alot of typing errors (?). Alot of spots in the book there were words either missing or in the wrong order. More the proofreader or editors fault than than the author.

As a big scifi fan, I love this book and cannot wait for the sequel.

A mystery, a secret, prophetic dreams, and a threat to the planet's existence. Sound like a good beginning? It is. But there's more, and it starts when young archeologists Alex (Alexandra) Logan and Mitch Carver stumble across an artifact while part of an excavation team working near the Great Sphinx. The pair don't know what they've discovered, but they suspect it's significant. They also know they can't trust the professor they report to. Meanwhile, 12,000 years earlier, a race of people called the Kierani are dealing with their own secrets, betrayals, and threat of destruction.

This all makes for a dynamic page-turner as the pressure mounts for both ancient and modern characters. There's a lot going on in this multi-faceted story as intrigue and tension mounts in gripping climaxes. Plot aside, what's especially appealing about Secret of the Sands is the way authors Rai Aren and Tavius E entwine both stories using multiple viewpoints and short, engaging chapters. Their simple writing style is also suitable for younger readers.

While I've certainly enjoyed my share of novels, few of them have left me wanting to rush out and by the sequel as much as this one does. The story leaves some big questions unanswered, and while that strategy might irritate some, it sure didn't hurt the Star Wars movies. Nor should it hurt this entertaining novel.

I enjoyed this book because of Jewett's turn-of-the-century language and simply accurate descriptions of the people living in a fishing town. Although some may wish for a more detailed plot (or any plot at all), "Pointed Firs" is an escape to a seemingly more innocent time. The characters struggle with many of the same issues we do: relationships, war, disease, and death. However, their sense of community, faith, and attitudes toward the sea form and strengthen their relationships with each other. Jewett is worth a read, merely for the beautiful way she creates a picture with the English language.

This book is full of timeless short stories that can either be read as a whole story or separately.

Sarah Orne Jewett's THE COUNTRY OF POINTED FIRS is a visitor's tale. Set in the fictional Maine coast town of Dunnet Landing where the author/narrator has settled for the summer to write. As a visitor, the narrator inevitably recounts only the pieces of history she comes in contact with through her landlady and the people she meets in the community. The stories are portraits, bits and pieces, of lives that exist outside the narrator's brief visit. As a result, the reader feels like a companion on this holiday. The novella moves at the pace of a quiet seacoast village, and is refreshing to read for that very reason. Like a vacation, outside cares fade while focusing on the lives, habits and landscape of this place. The writing is finely wrought. A real affection for a place and people one knows briefly shines through the work and makes one wish for a time and place when travel, life and writing unfolded at a the speed of a long walk.

Some editions incorporate other stories written about Dunnet Landing into the body of the novella. This can lead to a change in the narrator's voice that is incongruous with the rest of the work. Look for a version that preserves the order of one of the early publications with other short works in a separate section.

Jewett's Country of the Pointed Firs seemed like a good choice for reading while summering in Maine. Indeed her character who narrates the book is a woman author spending the summer in a small seaside Maine town.
Sara Orne Jewett gets a mention in American literature classes as a local color writer. This book demonstates her style with its descriptions of the Maine countryside, village life in the 1890s, and insight into the lives of island dwellers and retired fishermen and sea captains.
There's not much that would be considered a plot, just casual meetings with interesting characters in the area. To glimpse life in coastal Maine more than a centruy ago, this is the book for you.
I look forward to visiting the author's home in South Berwick. It's a national historic site.

This is a beautifully written story. The author provides the reader with words that one can sink his teeth into. The characters are so well described that I would know them if they walked in my door. A beautiful escape from everyday life !!

A very good read for anyone who dreams of ditching the rat race and living a more relaxed life that is in harmony with nature.

From what I've been able to piece together Helen and Scott must have been a couple of outcast university professors that were scorned for their anti-establishment (socialist?) teachings. I think they must have been what would later become beatniks (and later hippies).

Throughout their book (actually 2 books) they forecast the social disintegration of the US.

They believe people should only work 4 hours a day and play the rest of the day. To me they actually seem lazy.

They say that when they feel a cold coming on they do as the neighborhood dogs and cats do, they quit eating until they feel fit again. To me, that's a very silly way of treating a cold. When animals quit eating it's because they don't feel like eating. They don't say, "I must be sick so I shouldn't eat." Ridiculous.

They preach about not using animals for food or labor. They also refer to milk as a food not for adults but for baby animals and talk about being vegetarians. Then in one chapter they talk about 3 girls down the road that regularly deliver milk to their house (contrary to their teachings). There is also a photo of them using horses to plow a field and another photo of Helen driving a pair of horses (two more examples of them not following their own teachings) on a snow covered road while she's riding in the wagon or sled (can't tell which since the picture is taken from in front of the horses). ??? Were they hypocrites? Did they eat shrimp cocktail and prime rib on Sunday afternoons?

There is a lot of information that is repeated in the book.

This book is way overrated. It's more of a 'do as I say, not as I do' book. I got very annoyed at the often repeated refences to America's 'disintegrating society'. (Here were are fifty years after the first of the 2 books were written.)

I felt that they may have been frustrated by not being able to establish a large following (as prophets?) so they could create a large commune. Instead, people seemed to come and go from their homesteads.

It seems to be more of a treatise against capitalism and self motivation than for homesteading and self sufficiency. They simply wanted to barely get by. Were they lazy? (People that visited were talked out of working more than 4 hours a day.)

I'm reading it for the 3rd time in 25 years and it is enjoyable to read. There are much better books out there for those considering homesteading. If you are considering homesteading then read some books that are more up to date and don't have such political influences.

This is a fairly well written and somewhat entertaining book (actually 2 books in one) but it's worthless as a reference book for homesteaders.

I am profoundly grateful that the Nearings took the time and trouble to write this book. I am trying something similar in North Central Florida, and while their conditions in New England were quite different in some ways (a shorter growing season, and the availablity of stone are examples), their advice, enthusiasm and encouragement across the years are a great comfort, as well as a good read (by oil lamp!). This is an American Classic, and should never be forgotten.

They didnt fit in urban society and when they moved to the vermont woods the natives thought they were whacko's .Okay so they were communists/marxists but they were very interesting people,learned, avante guarde and diverse, helen was even into UFO research.In this book you will see there experiment was basicaly a failure even they admit it at one point.the mistake i believe they made was there constant building projects and basicaly what became makework in my view. they brought into the woods there modern urban assumptions such as the view of work for works sake ,they even buy a rock quarry and start mining so they can get more rocks.Hauling stones around and garden food did keep them in shape but they were terribly dependend on trucks ,draft horses and had constant maintanance work[something early on they vowed never to do}. Seems like alot of work for subsistance living,very engrossing read though.

These books have inspired me to start my own farm and live a life of simplicity and hard work. I share some of the strong principals that Scott and Helen Nearing had. I only wish I had their courage.

Once you have read their books do some research on Scott and Helen then you will learn why they were the way they were. Scott was a real Pain in the *** to a lot of folks prior to the great depression. His ideas on child labor were way ahead of his time. Helen was his soul mate and partner and a darn good writer in her own right.

They both lived long lives Scott 100, Helen 91 she was killed in an auto accident. With their strong beliefs and not always endearing manners they weren't always appreciated by their neighbors and friends.

However, they were right about so many things and inspired so many people they became cult heros during the sixties and beyond. These books are about them as much as about their farm.

Imagine a combination of "The Premature Burial," "Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Body Heat"..that's what you get in this incredibly good thriller. Michael Kimball weaves a complex plot of betrayal, seduction, incest, murder and blackmail, and does so with such finesse one can hardly believe what they're reading.
Bobby Swift and his deliciously gorgeous wife, Noel, have a perfect plan: fake his death, bury him, dig him up and off they go to the Cayman Islands to spend the two million dollars he extorted from one of his associates. Add a wizened and weasly mortician named Wicker and you have a seemingly perfect plan. Enter Sal Erickson, Bobby's best friend, who becomes embroiled in the plot in the most despicable of ways. He's an alcoholic, who has tried to reform, but alas, can't stay away from the bottle. Sal is so bad that on many occasions, he has gotten so drunk that he can't remember what he did...hint, hint. Add his wife's sex-crazed brother, Jerry Royal; a couple of cops and detectives; Sal's wife who harbors a dark secret; and all hell breaks loose. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, Kimball adds another twist that keeps you guessing.
A tense, compelling and quite enjoyable thriller.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Description from back of the book:

Late one night, Sal Erickson's best friend calls him outside for a walk by the river. "Who do you trust?" he asks Sal. "Who would you trust with your life?"

It is this fateful question that will send Sal's precariously balanced life spinning out of control--propelling him into a strangely irresistible arena of passion and violence. For Bobby Swift and his stunningly seductive wife Noel are planning the scam of the century. And Sal, against his will, is about to be entangled in their plans.

It is a meticulously crafted scheme, one that Bobby and Noel have pieced together for five long years. Now they are ready. Bobby will use ingenious techniques to fake his own death. The small town doctor will be fooled. The greedy undertaker has been paid off. Bobby will be eulogized and buried alive until Noel can come to dig him up and they can run away together forever. They've got two million dollars hidden away in a bank in the Cayman Islands, and if they pull off the scam, they'll spend the rest of their lives basking in the Caribbean sun.

But the plan contains hidden twists that are yet to be revealed, and lurking at its heart is a betrayal of monumental proportions. Before he knows it Sal Erickson will be drawn into a web of seduction, lies and deceit-the like of which the small town of Gravity, Maine, has never before seen. Soon Sal will be fighting for his very life.

* I absolutely hooked on this book & it was near impossible for me to put it down. There was so much suspense & action going on that makes you want to finish it in one day. My only negative about the book is that it left me with several questions unanswered. What name was on Nell's plane ticket? Why did Iris dislike her mother? What was up with Sal's parents? & What really happened to his brother? I would've liked some of these answers but it didn't take away from the excellent story. I highly recommend this book. I'm now off to find the other Michael Kimball books out there. He just may be one of my new favorites.

This book had me hooked from page 4 until the end....a page turner that is very tough to put down. First time I read from this Author I will look for other Books from this Guy...great job!!

Maine writer Kimball's dark and riveting second novel is pure noir.

Bobby Swift has come up with the perfect plan to get his hands on the millions he's scammed from the government. He'll fake his death, his wife will dig him up, and off they'll go to the Cayman's.

But Noel Swift has a different plan. Hers doesn't involve Bobby.

Enter Sal Erickson, Bobby's best friend, and an earnest family man with a demon - alcohol. Sal thinks he's beaten it, but Bobby's sudden death has unnerved him. With a little nudge from Noel he takes a plunge that costs him his job and his marriage - and gains him Noel.

But strange things are happening in this small Maine town. The undertaker who schemed with Bobby is found dead in the grave and Bobby's coffin is empty.

Did Bobby escape? Is he watching Noel and Sal, biding his time for revenge?
Kimball ratchets up the psychological tension with terse byplay between the characters, all nurturing their own agendas, except for the hapless Sal and the canny town constable whose contributions are dismissed by the Staties.

And when the tension threatens to flag, Kimball pours on the action, raising the stakes with the knowledge that some people will go to any lengths, no matter how horrific, to get what they want.

Kimball's writing is charged with atmosphere and tension and his pacing is electric, right up the to explosive ending. A winner.

Sal Erickson is awakened in the middle of the night by Bobby Swift, his lifelong friend. Bobby convinces Sal to take a walk by the river behind his house, where he begins to talk about their friendship. Bobby asks Sal who he trusts, completely, implicitly. Sal answers, "Myself." The conversation ends abruptly. Bobby dies suddenly the next day, leaving Sal to reflect on the strange conversation, little realizing that he will soon be forced to answer Bobby's question in order to save his own life.

You see, Bobby has been keeping secrets from Sal. Eight years ago, Bobby fraudulently obtained an illegal three million dollar business loan. A year later, he declared bankruptcy and defaulted on the loan. But Bobby didn't spend the money--he stashed it in a bank in the Cayman Islands. To get their hands on the money, he, his sultry wife, Noel, and the town undertaker, Elliot Wicker, concoct an elaborate scheme to fake his death. It seemed foolproof, if only he could trust his co-conspirators...

Undone is a solid tale of suspense, very much in the tradition of Double Indemnity or Body Heat. The reader, hip to most of what's going on, is forced to watch helplessly as Sal, a very likable protagonist, is sucked further into the vortex in each succeeding chapter. Kimball keeps the action intimate and unfurls his plot at a leisurely pace, increasing the reader's anxiety and frustration.

The novel contains a variety of pleasures, but the greatest is Kimball's rendering of the characters who inhabit the small town of Gravity, Maine. Like Stephen King (apparently a potent force in Kimball's career), Kimball really makes you care about the people who populate his novel. From Alston Bouchard, the Columbo-like town constable, to the less than savory Jerry Royal, Undone is full of memorable characters who threaten to take over the book at any given moment.

Once you read Murder with Puffins you'll want to read every "Meg Langslow" mystery Donna Andrews has ever written! I am a huge fan of this series that allows us to trail along with Meg, an independent gal who still needs her man (and he's a hunk, of course!)and her crazy family! You'll laugh, cry and you will be puzzled..Andrews weaves a great mystery with lots of fun, red herrings and ..well..birds. But this book isn't for the birds! It's a rare bird of mystery writing that never gets "formulaic". Donna Andrews takes us to Maine for this book..Murder with Puffins.. and gets us into the scenery, the local flavor and of course.. her confusing (or confused) family antics. A getaway with Michael turns to murder for Meg.. but she's always up to the task of sticking her nose in where others fear to tread! Love this book and the series. It's one of the few books I actually bought and keep. Enjoy!

I love mystery stories in general and when I spotted this book containing puffins - one of my favorite birds - I grabbed it immediately. However, it was apparent within a page or two that this was a sequel, and that I'd be quite lost if I didn't track down the first one to read before this. After a few months of watching my local bookstores for it and never seeing it, I finally just ordered Murder with Peacocks from Amazon so that I could get the book off my dresser and into my life!

Having read Peacocks and then Puffins pretty much back to back, I have to say that I appreciate greatly how Meg has "matured" between the two books. The Puffins story picks up pretty much exactly where Peacocks left off - Meg is still newly in love with Mike, and the big hullabalo over her "solving" of multiple murders has her hometown in a swirl. She spontaneously decides to run off with Mike to a relative's cottage on a quiet island in Maine for some time alone. Of course, in a plot twist that only a cozy mystery can try to pretend is plausible, her entire family has the same spontaneous idea - including bringing Mike's annoying dog - and now the cottage is chock-full of eclectic personalities. Oh yes, and there's a hurricane this exact weekend, too.

You have to just grin and bear it when these sorts of things happen. There's going to be MANY more coincidences springing up. It just happens to be the weekend that the local rich guy has brought in a buyer for his plan to turn the entire island into a resort. A local escaped prisoner just happens to be lurking around. You have to assume that all of these people live in some sort of alternative reality where coincidences are standard and always work to further the plot along.

My complaint with Meg in the first book is that she had been a perpetual doormat, and it was depressing if not frustrating to read about her just giving in to everyone. She has suddenly grown a backbone in this book, which is great. She finally stands up for herself and for her family. However, Mike seems to have suddenly lost HIS personality! Now he's like an anemic Dr. Watson, just tagging along gamely whereever Meg goes. I'm all for partners who can roll with the flow - but they should still have some intelligence and spark.

The book loves to make fun of birders as being boring and dumb, which is odd since you would think a book about puffins would appeal to birders. It's why I got the book :) I've been out to Machias Seal Island to see puffins, and I could relate easily to the landscapes and environments she described. I'm not quite sure why she was deliberately trying to ostracize one of her target audiences. It's one thing to gently poke fun at stereotypes, but she was rather heavy handed and repetitive here. In the first book she was targetting brides-to-be, but that portrayal was more cute than nasty.

Really, the overreaching problem here is that numerous characters and situations just didn't make sense. Some individuals were very one dimensional. The actions of the police and other characters in charge weren't logical in several situations. I was grateful that there weren't 80-trillion murders like in Book 1, but even so the reasons that things happened and how things wrap up are a bit tenuous.

It almost seems that the author got complaints about the first book - so she fixed up those issues but then in the process introduced some new issues. I really did enjoy reading both books in general, and have high hopes that future books will "settle down" and have well rounded characters with plausible plot lines that are fun.

Funny, upbeat and well-written mystery that's not predictable. I enjoyed Ms. Andrews sense of humor and recommend the book.

I really enjoy this series - I've read all that are in paperback and would recommend them to anyone who wants an amusing time with the only sane member of a wacky family. Not recommended for the serious minded.

Meg Lanslow's relationship with her boyfriend Michael is going strong, but they are having a hard time finding some private time together. Meg thinks she knows the perfect place for a romantic getaway - her Aunt Phoebe's cottage in Monhegan, Maine. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, the boat trip is rough because a hurricane is headed their way and once they reach the island, Meg and Michael realize it's been invaded by avid bird watchers. Even worse, once they get to the cottage they find that Meg's Aunt Phoebe, brother, and parents are already there! Due to the impending hurricane, Meg and Michael are stuck there and try to make the best they can out of the situation. But when a famous painter is found murdered on the island and Aunt Phoebe confesses to the murder and her father is a suspect, Meg is knee deep in murder once again.

"Murder With Puffins" is a nice cozy mystery. There's a nice sense of humor throughout the book, including the title of each chapter: "The Agony and the Puffin", "East of Puffin", and "A Cat Among the Puffins" are some examples. The book is full of eccentric characters, including everyone in Meg's family. Meg is a spunky heroine but Mike is a bit bland in this book. The mystery itself is well plotted with plenty of suspects and plenty of motives, although the way the murder itself is committed is a bit unbelievable. I liked the fact that, unlike in most cozy mysteries, Meg doesn't want to confront the murderer herself but wants to go for the police instead.

Nicely done.

I read the Strangler first and later saw Mission Flats on the shelf in the library so I picked it up. It was a great read. I enjoyed the characters and the feeling of Boston and Maine. As in the Strangler Landay has the ability to make you experience the locales. The characters like Officer Kelly and his daughter were wonderful. I loved the description of swinging the night stick.
I would give the book five stars, but then I read some of the other reviews on Amazon. The ending is a problem. Without giving anything away we only learn at the end that the narrator Ben Truman knows more than he had told us. It is unfair to the reader to withhold the information. I am not sure if that is right so I lowered my rating by a star, although I doubt anyone will really take my rating too seriously.

I await Mr. Landay's next effort. He is a star writer

What is up? Struck out again. A cop mystery. Ben is a small town cop who gets dragged into a 20-year-old mystery involving several Boston cops and a drug lord. Lots of violence and bad language. I did figure out who one of the top baddies was, though. This is one of the rare books I wish I had not read. Disturbing. (Side note: as some have complained, the narrator violated the contract with the reader; that is, he lies about his involvement in the case. We don't know if he is a reliable narrator, an honest story-teller. ...But this was a minor complaint of mine. Even without this strike against the book, it has plenty of other reasons I didn't enjoy it.)

I enjoyed MISSION FLATS, but I don't think it lives up to the largely ecstatic reviews it has received.

The first 100 pages of this novel are indeed superb. This novel begins by detailing the everyday life of a young, inexperienced police chief of a small town in Maine. A murder takes place, and the state police swoop in, quickly relegating the police chief to the sidelines. The first 100 pages are a brilliant character study about the police chief's life in this small town, and I really enjoyed them.

Unfortunately, after the first 100 pages, Landay takes MISSION FLATS into a very different direction. The small-town police chief travels to the big city of Boston, and begins investigating the murder on his own. At this point, the plot begins to spin out of control and loses all credibility. Our young hero suddenly becomes a brilliant cop, beds the DA on the case, runs into key witnesses by coincidence, exposes a long-dormant conspiracy, and so on. None of these events develop naturally or believably.

There is an effective twist at the end of MISSION FLATS, but it is based on the narrator deceiving the reader, which really isn't playing fair. The deception does leave something of a bad taste in the reader's mouth. Still, I found the ending a true shocker, and I admire Landay's courage in coming up with an unconventional resolution to the story.

Overall, MISSION FLATS is a good book, but I can't recommend it with enthusiasm, largely due to the plot weaknesses I outlined above.

This is an excellent book. Being that it's a debut novel makes it all the more impressive. Many people are comparing it to Mystic River but that's not really fair as Mission Flats is MUCH better. It's longer, more in depth, better researched, etc. I enjoyed Mystic River but this is just so much better.

It's also been called a "proceedural" which isn't correct either. Wamabugh was goiod in a way that he had a formula that worked - over and over and over again - but this author is totally original in his set up, delivery and style.

Again, I read the negative review on here and can't really beleive that he read the same book (oh wait, he only read part of it he says)that I did.

Mission Flats is engrossing, inteligent, and very tricky.

* The author's next novel is about the Boston Strangler - so played out and lame - so we may have to wait a while for another good story from him but Landay is DEFINITELY worth watching.

It's a murder mystery: the protagonist finds a dead body early on and spends the rest of the book solving the murder. The quest sends him to the seamier sides of Boston, wherein the hoods, the cops and the district attorneys are morally indistinguishable from each other. This behind-the-scenes look at how crimes "really" are solved is the book's strong point. It is a dirty, gritty process, and all the secrets are spilled here -- nicely done as a police procedural.

The problem for me comes is HOW the story is told. You see, our protagonist, the narrator Ben, is given to us as the epitome of integrity and reliability. He is smart, earnest and credible, a former history graduate student, now a small-town Maine police chief. His steady character and determination guide us through the swampland of questionable ethics that is the Boston crime scene.

Now please read closely the Publishers Weekly review presented above by Amazon.com. Please note the lines:

"Ben occasionally seems in danger of violating one of the rules of crime fiction-that the narrator shouldn't lie to us about his role in the story. But Landay's book is such a rich, harrowing and delightful read that few will complain."

Well, I'm complaining. Ben lied to me. More precisely, he did not reveal crucial information about the crime until the last scene of the book, where he gives it in a narrator's flashback. I don't see it as a case of the "unreliable narrator" (viz. Holden Caufield or Ishmeal) whose personal perspective colors his/her reportage. That can be an enjoyable ride in the narrator's world. This was a cheap theatrical trick generated by the author to create suspense where there otherwise would be none. He wants our narrator to be both reliable and unreliable at the same time. That violates the contract.

Constructively, this same plot told by an omnicient narrator would not have had the same pitfall. The same surprise ending in that case would be nicely ironic, rather than self-contradictory.

Nice, gritty story. Poor choices made in presenting it.