Maryland Books

Hollis is dragooned into judging an Elvis impersonator contest by her no good godfather Albie Lydekker. Her ghostly ex-husband and most of the people she knows think it is a bad idea, so does she. But, Albie is in debt to Bang Bang Devine, mafioso and Elvis impersonator and he wants a contest. Then, Bang is discovered dead in Elvis drag at the seedy Lock and Load motel, and Albie is a suspect. Things get really involved between all of the different Elvii, the real E, Sam the ghost, Snow White the grunge rocker hooker, and all of the usual Eastern Shore characters. It is all alot of fun however. I really didn't even try to figure out who the murderer was, I wasn't surprised, but the characters were so much fun, I didn't really care.

Hollis is dragooned into judging an Elvis impersonator contest by her no good godfather Albie Lydekker. Her ghostly ex-husband and most of the people she knows think it is a bad idea, so does she. But, Albie is in debt to Bang Bang Devine, mafioso and Elvis impersonator and he wants a contest. Then, Bang is discovered dead in Elvis drag at the seedy Lock and Load motel, and Albie is a suspect. Things get really involved between all of the different Elvii, the real E, Sam the ghost, Snow White the grunge rocker hooker, and all of the usual Eastern Shore characters. It is all alot of fun however. I really didn't even try to figure out who the murderer was, I wasn't surprised, but the characters were so much fun, I didn't really care.

I like this series....but this book is not nearly as good or funny as the first two, or even the third, for that matter. Either way, I'm waiting for the next one. I hope the author takes her time on it.....I need somemore light and fluffy read on vacation books....

Helen really out did herself with this entry in the Hollis Ball/Sam Wescott mystery series. And she couldn't have selected a better subject to do it with. It is high time someone poked some honest fun at all the Elvis impersonations. But Helen is still slow in giving her readers the depth of characterization that both Hollis and Sam deserve. This isn't to say she isn't trying or that she isn't making progress. Somewhere along the line she just seems to be missing the boat.

It appears this could easilly be the last in the Hollis Ball/Sam Wescott series. Chappell stated in an interview she was having problems finding a publisher for entry number 5 in the series. Chould it be that even Hollis and Sam are giving up the ghost? I would be disappointed but I could easily get over it if Hollis doesnt' stop wallowing in the mud so much.

Or, "this Elvising is hard work."

Every small townprobably has a Lock and Load Motel on its outskirts. A haven forprostitution, drugs and unwary travelers who are looking for a cheap night's sleep. In Helen Chappell's mystery Giving Up the Ghost it also comes complete with the corpse of one minor mafioso, a superannuated doper ex-prom queen and a whole clutch of Elvis impersonators (or Elvii as Uncle Albie calls them).

Forget about the mystery it's not that important, just sit back and enjoy a great ride with Hollis Ball, her dead ex-husband, Sam, and all the other denizens of Watertown, living and dead.

C. X. Moreau wrote a very detailed war novel about the events leading to the Battle of Sharpsburg which was the bloodiest battle in the U.S. Civil War. In each chapter Moreau shows the veiws of the Confederate and Union generals and occasionally the soliders. Much of the book describes the hardships that the soliders had to endure to get from one battle to another. The had to walk through thick clouds of dust in the blistering sun and eat less than acceptable meals. I personally didn't like this book very much. There was too much discription and it took several chapters for the book to get into any battles, but it does discuss many war techniques and stratagies.
This book is very accurate to the facts of the Civil War. All of the generals mentioned in the book were real people who played major roles in the war. The Essential question I will be answering is What does it mean to be an American? In the book the men strive for glory for their faction. To be an American is to be proud of your country and your fellow countrymen. The men on both sides of the war fought for what they thought was right for their country.

Tom Parker's able reading of C. X. Moreau's terrific telling of the Antietam story works superbly on the one disc, 12-hour format. Parker maintains an authoritative, objective tone and recreates the individual voices--this novelization based on historical record depends on constant shifting points of view of all principals at Turner's Gap and Sharpsburg--with a non-histrionic authenticity. Indeed, his reading of Moreau's rendering of the thoughts and words of just about every major figure from Reno to A.P. Hill manages to sound genuine rather than offer the common stilted manner associated with so much of captured Civil War dialogue.

The novel itself gives needed attention to the preliminaries to Antietam, notably the actions at Turner's Gap from the shifting perspectives of D.H. Hill and General Reno, who died there. As one who has read a number of the major works on and accounts of the Antietam battle, and who has visited the site many times, including on last year's 140th anniversary, this novel really puts the flesh and blood into the historical event for me. As a historical novel should, Promise of Glory does not substitute for the analyses, anecdotes, and accounts. It simply provides them a dramatic narrative context which, at least for me, puts the real people into the hills and rills and cuts and corners of that hallowed piece of Maryland. I recommend the novel to readers and, with this valuable rendering, listeners alike. I read it last year and just finished the listening and am greatly improved by both encounters. I recommend it especially to those familiar with the battle already. I do not know how it would work as an introduction.

The MP3 format of this recording for those who have replay capacity for it on their CD players permits the handling of but one disc for the entire work. The studio work is very good--better than some other I have gotten from Blackstone--without the dropoffs, volume changes, echo chamber sensations, and telltale stop-and-restart pops lesser producers too often permit. The chapterization is a bit abrupt in the reading--I can't imagine there weren't a couple more seconds available to pause and go on more patiently--and the pitfalls of the CD versus tape system (the difficulty of replaying a missed or inattended section) remain, but the ten minute sectioning helps somewhat. None of these quibbles should dissuade anyone from getting this disc into his ear "as soon as practicable," as Lee himself might say.

Tom Parker's able reading of C. X. Moreau's terrific telling of the Antietam story works superbly on the one disc, 12-hour format. Parker maintains an authoritative, objective tone and recreates the individual voices--this novelization based on historical record depends on constant shifting points of view of all principals at Turner's Gap and Sharpsburg--with a non-histrionic authenticity. Indeed, his reading of Moreau's rendering of the thoughts and words of just about every major figure from Reno to A.P. Hill manages to sound genuine rather than offer the common stilted manner associated with so much of captured Civil War dialogue.

The novel itself gives needed attention to the preliminaries to Antietam, notably the actions at Turner's Gap from the shifting perspectives of D.H. Hill and General Reno, who died there. As one who has read a number of the major works on and accounts of the Antietam battle, and who has visited the site many times, including on last year's 140th anniversary, this novel really puts the flesh and blood into the historical event for me. As a historical novel should, Promise of Glory does not substitute for the analyses, anecdotes, and accounts. It simply provides them a dramatic narrative context which, at least for me, puts the real people into the hills and rills and cuts and corners of that hallowed piece of Maryland. I recommend the novel to readers and, with this valuable rendering, listeners alike. I read it last year and just finished the listening and am greatly improved by both encounters. I recommend it especially to those familiar with the battle already. I do not know how it would work as an introduction.

The MP3 format of this recording for those who have replay capacity for it on their CD players permits the handling of but one disc for the entire work. The studio work is very good--better than some other I have gotten from Blackstone--without the dropoffs, volume changes, echo chamber sensations, and telltale stop-and-restart pops lesser producers too often permit. The chapterization is a bit abrupt in the reading--I can't imagine there weren't a couple more seconds available to pause and go on more patiently--and the pitfalls of the CD versus tape system (the difficulty of replaying a missed or inattended section) remain, but the ten minute sectioning helps somewhat. None of these quibbles should dissuade anyone from getting this disc into his ear "as soon as practicable," as Lee himself might say.

Finally, I know there is another Moreau work out there, out of print, somewhere, and would welcome some assistance in obtaining it.

In the meanwhile, get this book and this recording.

If you are looking for a historical account of the Battle of Antietam this is not the book to read. If you are looking for a minute by minute, unit by unit account of this book, you are looking at the wrong book. This is a great novel on the men that fought the battle and the horrors of the battle. You see the battle through the eyes of many prominent civil war officers such as Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, Hood, McClellan Porter, Hooker, Burnsides and both the Hills. Moreau gives great descriptions of the battles and the men that fought in them. The nice thing is that this book isn't bias toward one side or the other. It's not another book written with the Lost Cause in mind, it shows the battle from both sides. There are similarities to the Killer Angels, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, which is fine because those are all great books too. This book can squeeze into the trilogy as a good account of the battle of Antietam. I recommend this book to civil war buffs and anyone who is looking for a good book to read.

"Promise of Glory" is a highly illustrative novel in many aspects. Moreau is particularily adept at character description and development and battle scene descriptions. It's almost as though he has battle experience himself. His accuracy and thoroughness are to be admired. Moreau's approach to describing the battle - the novel switches gears from one side to another and from one general to another - is particularily effective and keeps the reader turning the pages.

This isn't exactly a minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow description of the battle; it isn't meant to be. Rather it examines the vaious generals' thoughts and decisions - or lack thereof - all the while giving the reader what he needs to know about how and why the battle took place. For that alone it is worth the read. Moreau's dialogue - some fictional, some historically documented - is great and adds depth to the characters and battles.

A note to the tools who deride Moreau for his "similiarity" to Shaara: Instead of wasting your time writing hundreds of book reviews, of which at most *tens* of people will read, try and write a novel yourself and come up with a completely unique and new genre of writing style. Comparisions of Moreau's book to other Civil War writings are to be expected. But to more or less accuse Moreau of copying Shaara's writing style and characters shows you for what you really are: Trekkies who spend your time trashing others' work because you yourselves are more than likely failed authors.

This book is about as perfect as you can get! Mainly a true story of a lawsuit against Paladin Press for publishing the book HIT MAN, it is a very entertaining read for such a gruesome subject. Sweeping through law school discussions, 1st Amendment history, and the details of the US Court System, this is a real page turner. The details of the lawsuit, the personalities, the judges, including one whose elderly father was murdered in his own driveway just a few years before this case started, are all fascinating! So for a tour through the law and the truly horrific murders of 3 completely innocent people, and even the streets of LA and Motown records, and much more, this one is tough to beat!

Deliberate Intent is a personal account of a lawyer devoted to the idea of First Amendment. As a true believer in free expression, when he was approached to serve on the legal team that sued Paladin Press for the publication of Hit Man, a manual for the successful hired murderer, he was very reluctant. However, after some efforts he agreed and this book tells the story of his legal, intellectual and emotional involvement in the affair. The reader feels Smolla's commitment to free expression and, at the same time, also Smolla's conviction that this book exploits all that is right about free speech to inflict evil and thus it places itself outside the boundaries of the First Amendment. The account is very personal, sometimes TOO personal (a more stringnet editor would leave some parts of Smolla's diversions outside this fascinating book) but it is a very engaging book that I, personally, read cover to cover without a break. Now I teach it in my free speech classes.

This is a well written and structured book which takes what most people would consider a dull subject and makes it interesting and entertaining for any reader. The subject is the book Hit Man and whether it was protected by the First Amendment.

The author develops the case from beginning to end in a very readable way and uses his teaching class examples to educate non legal readers in the issues of law being debated.

I am a non lawyer and am not American but I have much better understanding of the issues and the First Amendment. The author wrote the book in such a way that I gained this understanding in an entertaining and very readable way.

The use of character development for each of the lawyers involved also gave the book life and relevance to non lawyers.

This is one of those few books that can be considered 5 star.

A publishing house turns a tidy profit on a "how to" book--about how to be a contract killer, that is. A man hires somebody to kill his wife and handicapped son for insurance. The murder is committed using the "how to" book as a blueprint. What is a First Amendment free speech absolutist to do?

That is the burden of this book and its author, Rod Smolla, a professor of law at William and Mary's law school. With every fiber of his being, Smolla believes in the First Amendment and unfettered free expression. Then, he takes on the case of the victims' next of kin against the publisher...and winds up doing battle against the assembled might of the First Amendment bar in federal court.

It's all here. Smolla is a good story teller and he has put together a good narrative of the thrust and parry, point and edge of the case. His character sketches of the lawyers involved and the defendant publisher are wickedly funny. He spares no one, friend or foe (at one point, he says that his co-counsel on the case suffers from "narcistic fibrosis.") The writing style is crisp and fluid. Smolla weaves into the book meditations on the clash of rights with obligations, the different schools of jurisprudential thought from the Natural Law to Legal Realism, the vicissitudes of judges and judging, and the tension-filled process of creating a legal theory and the record to back it up. I was so engrossed in the story I had no idea I was actually learning something!

As an aside to lawyers and law students, this could be the best basic book on legal process and legal practice since the "Buffalo Creek Disaster." If you like this book, check out Patrick Cleary's book on the R.A.V. cross-burning case before the Supreme Court.

The story (which, of course, was true) is very engaging; however, the book had several flaws that hindered my enjoyment:
- There was an excessive amount of typos--all were the kind spell checkers don't catch (e.g. "peels of laughter").
- Details were left out that caused confusion (e.g. how did the Department of Justice report become part of the record on appeal?).
- The law school scenes stretched credibility--all the students' answers were close to perfect analysis, which is not the norm. Clearly class dialogue was edited for the book, but it gave an erroneous impression of the law school class environment.
- The end of the book should have left out the "apology" for making money on the case, which came across sounding somewhat disingenuous. It appeared the author considered the apology obligatory; but if so, why did he throughout the book bring up how impecunious he was? The whole topic could have been left out with no loss, and some gain in focus. Or, the author could actually have been honest and admitted that of course he's human and the possibility of a large payout was a motivating factor. Even altruistic law professors-turned-plaintiff's-lawyers must eat, and it's nothing to be ashamed of (and comports with American values) to risk your time and effort on the possibility of a large reward.

This guide is not very good. We bought during our trip to Seneca rocks and quickly discovered that it was totaly useless. It only covers major areas and descriptions and directions are preety bad. If you are looking for good climbing guide for Maryland get 'Climb Maryland' by Indy Kochte

This is a comprehensive guidebook. It includes pretty much every major climbing area in WV, VA, and MD. Its got a good detailed chapter on Old Rag mountain in Shenandoah that other guides don't cover nearly as well. On the other hand, you should get the guidebooks for a specific area (like New River Gorge or Seneca Rocks) if you'll be doing a lot of climbing at a particular spot, because of its broad scope this guidebook won't include all routes for those areas, nor the smaller crags scattered around the region. There's a great guidebook called Climb Maryland! that treats all the central MD spots really well.

Eric's book is all encompassing for the DC metro area climber. It is well written and covers all of the popular climbs. I gave it 4 stars, because I would have liked to have seen just a hair more beta and info about individual climbs, but all-in-all this is a "must have."

This FalconGuide is one of the better ones available, and for the travelling climber, or the DC-centric climber, probably THE book to have (there are non-Falcon guides that specifically cover Virginia and Maryland in more detail, but are only really useful if you primarily climb in those specific states). Eric Horst worked long and hard, contacting a plethora of local climbers at the various crags noted within these pages to get route information, do photo shoots, and be given tours of the area to get a general feel of the land. He covers some of the more or most popular areas in Maryland/DC/Virginia (Sugarloaf, Rocks State Park, Great Falls, Crescent Rocks) as well as *the* two big weekend destinations in West Virginia (Seneca Rocks, New River Gorge), but interspersed are numerous "local" crags that you might never have known about otherwise (short of locating one of the state-specific or crag-specific books that might or might not exist). This serves to give you options to go elsewhere when you can't make it to one of the more popular climbing spots, or if the weather is entirely TOO nice and hordes of people have descended on the main crags, alternate places to go and get vertical. Also, the number of small climbing areas gives the travelling climber options for places to go when they simply cannot get out to, say, Seneca when on the road down around, say, Charlottesville. Crack open Eric's guide and see what's nearby!

The route descriptions are pretty good, and nicely supplemented with a mix of topo photos and drawings (if you're not an artist and you've tried to draw a topo to a crag, you can appreciate how difficult it can be to get it just right!).

Eric successfully treaded the fine balancing act to not reinvent the wheel for places that already havae extensive guidebooks (e.g., Great Falls, et al), but at the same time, adequately cover crags that have or had absolutely no guidebook at all.

More than just a simple guide, Eric's book also gives you a little bit of climbing history to many of the crags, details travel/trip information, has nice readable maps. He spends 18 pages on a general introduction, then devotes the next 380 pages to the various crags.

Even if you only climb in Virginia, Maryland, or West Virginia, and already have one of the state-specific or area-specific guides, this is still an excellent book to have for the day when you might want to step across the border. :-)

Very detailed, professionaly written, accurate. In fact provides more information on a given area than other publications. I climbed using this book as a guide.

Three for three, the Battle of "Antietam" just like "Manassas" and "Shiloh" were given space at the end of the story. This book's focus is on two of the brothers Will and Mac. However, there is an interesting romance with Titus and Polly. This is an easy and fun read. You will like it if you don't mind the way the author treats "Antietam." By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early SettlersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War

Antietam continues The Civil War Battle Series. As a long-time owner and rider of horses, I particularly enjoy the way Mr. Reasoner writes the relationship between Mac Brannon and the mysterious wild gray stallion which Mac has "captured". Man and horse have formed an incredible bond, almost thinking as one. For anyone who knows and loves horses, Mr. Reasoner has captured those feeling beautifully.

And, the war continues to disrupt the lives of the Brannon family, pulling them further and further apart. Combine well-written characters with well-researched and depicted battles, and you have a winning historical novel.

Amazon lists eighty-four titles under Antietam. Try any of the other eighty three, as this one is not worth reading. As two other reviewers note, scant attention is paid to the battle at Sharpsburg/Antietam. Rather, Reasoner uses this title as suberfuge to take the reader riding all over Virginia from March to September 1862. Even the dust cover is misleading. Twelve pages of over 350 have anything to do with this battle, which is grossly oversimplified and underdescribed.

Reasoner seems intent solely on telling one chapter of an eight-part life of the Bannon family, a cliched and boring Southern family if there ever was one. The plot is plodding, the characters are stereotypes. Even with an accurate title, there would be little here worth reading. The editor and publisher should be ashamed.

And one more thing: Although this is a novel, the reader deserves at least a map of Virginia with each of the numerous towns and battles mentioned in the book shown on the map. Unless you know Virginia geography intimately, you'll be more lost than some of the commanders who, as Reasoner notes, suffered from poor maps. He doesn't offer any assistance. Better yet, some of the larger engagements merit detailed battle plans. One map would be worth five thousand words.

My only consolation is that I borrowed this from the public library. And, in this case, my Amazon recommendations were way off the mark.

The main problem with James Reasoner's "Antietam," Book 3 in "The Civil War Battles Series," is the same as its companion volumes. The book is not ABOUT the Battle of Antietam, but rather it ENDS with the Battle of Antietam. Ironically, of all the battles covered in this volume--Stonewall Jackson's campaign in the Shenandoah, the Battles of the Seven Days during the Peninsula Campaign, the Second Battle of Manassas--Antietam probably receives the least amount of space. However, with the Civil War in full swing "Antietam" certainly offers more war and less soap opera than the first volume, "Bull Run." The happenings back on the Brannon family farm in Culpeper County, Virginia is fitting reduced to a minor subplot, although the romance between Titus Brannon and Polly Ebersole takes some surprising turns. More intriguing are the feeling of Cordelia's beau, Nathan Hatcher, who refuses to join the Confederate army and fight for a cause he cannot support. But the focus of Reasoner's novel are the two oldest Brannon brothers, Will and Mac.

Reasoner takes full advantage of these two siblings in terms of where he positions them to allow us to watch the war in 1862. Will is a Captain, commanding a company in the Stonewall Bridge, part of Jackson's fabled "foot cavalry." In "Antietam," Mac finally joins up with Jeb Stuart's cavalry, where he has the fortune of being the aide of Fitzhugh Lee. Consequently, the Brannons have a chance to witness many of the pivotal moments in the Eastern Theater of the War. These books do not have a lot of historical detail of the sort that would warm the hearts of Civil War reenacters, but Reasoner certainly provides a swiftly paced narrative. The soap opera elements that overwhelmed the first book in the series has been modified, although there is still a chance encounter on the battlefield and a hint of something extremely wrong between Polly and her father. This is not a great novel of the Civil War, but it is reasonably entertaining and certainly integrates the events of 1862. The section on Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign is probably the best in the book. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and wondering how many of the Brannons will make

Sorry, but I can't agree with other reviewers who say this is a "great" book. Of 358 pages, only 12 actually deal with the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War. I'm no historian, but I know something of that battle and think that, even for an historical novel, Reasoner treats Antietam with too little regard for what it meant to the whole of the war.

While the book is a good read, its title is misleading.

As someone who grew up as a "county boy" around the same period as this book there was a lot of things that I could relate to. I saw myself and my childhood and my relationship with my father at times when reading this book. Though my experiences were not quite the same I do share a lot of similarities with the author and how he was raised.

An excellent read as well as a great insight on growing up in a city that forced you to be hard even if you were not built for that.

Truly one of the most powerful, lyrical memoirs I've read. The reader aches with recognition and hope in witnessing the struggle of one young man with the force of his parents' absolute determination that he will not be lost to the streets and the dark allure of releasing his own grip and allowing the river of hopelessness, self-abandonment, and despair sweep him along and ultimately drown him. Coates' honesty is remarkable and his triumphs hard fought and hard won. The writing itself flows with the same power that is found in skillfully written poetry - it surges into the unconsciousness in almost wordless images that speak to the vulnerable and struggling part of all of us. HIGHLY recommended.

Some stories are petit fours perfectly placed on dessert doilies and chased with chamomile tea. This story is not. This is a heartfelt center cut penned in rhythmic motion to the beat of Mr. Coates own djembe. I savored every word, marked passages that gave me goosebumps, and feared missing the next course if I put it down. Though I would've liked to know a bit more about the mother figure in this struggle, it is an aptly named triumph for both reader and writer, and in the end I dipped my biscuit in the gravy and smiled. Score one for us Mr. Coates.

While the author is a talented writer -- and his blog is a must read daily -- his total lack of personal insight mars an interesting story. Much of his life with his father is not amusing, but abusive, and it is shocking how much Mr. Coates does not see this. It is to be appreciated that he does see the contradictions within his father (a man who is known in Baltimore to be a total rip-off artist for writers wishing to self-publish), but a reader is left wondering if he ever got the point. Instead, one could see his son repeating many of the father's mistakes. Isn't the point of a memoir to show personal growth?

You know, as one escalates in age, but in particularly, in maturity with a little dose of wisdom and a touch of discernment, you begin to look at your parents as multi dimensional people. You realize, no they were not put on this earth to make your life miserable and without even consciously realizing it, the life lessons they taught you, the pitfalls they tried to keep you from falling into, become your reality. Ta-Nehisi Coates has penned a memoir for the hip hop( the ORIGINAL hip hop) generation. What I appreciated about Mr. Coates recollection of his childhood and coming of age tale was the fact that he didn't try to explain, defend or deny his father. He simply opened the door to the portals of ones mind, so that we can see the trials and triumphs of an american family. I appreciate Mr. Coates forth rightness about his father's inability to me faithful to any one woman, and how that may or may not have affected him. One of the most humorous passages of the book is when the elder Coates has enlisted Ta-Nehisi to go through the labyrinth of books and pamphlets in the garage and he proceeds to write line by line what Ta-Nehisi did or didn't do even down to Ta-Nehisi playing with his younger brother! That was classic! A heart wrenching passage is when the younger Mr. Coates shares with the reader his fathers utter disappointment and advising him of how he has shamed the Coates name. I will never forget, Ta-Nehisi advising the reader that no matter what you have heard about black men/boys, they do not want to fail or be deemed as a failure. This to me is one of the best memoirs for our generation and generations to come. I look forward to hearing more from this man.

Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Allison Blake's The Chesapeake Bay Book is a comprehensive and thoroughly user friendly: guide to all the great getaway adventures to be found in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Maps, indexes to the best places for lodging and dining, recreation opportunities by locale, and much more, enhance this superbly presented travel guide which is ideal for anyone planning a local day trip or an extended vacation in the Chesapeake Bay environs.

Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Allison Blake's The Chesapeake Bay Book is a comprehensive and thoroughly "user friendly: guide to all the great getaway adventures to be found in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Maps, indexes to the best places for lodging and dining, recreation opportunities by locale, and much more, enhance this superbly presented travel guide which is ideal for anyone planning a local day trip or an extended vacation in the Chesapeake Bay environs.

This book, now very-dog-eared, is indespenible for our weekend and holiday sojourns to the Bay area. It is well thought out and organized in a manner that allows us to plan our getaway, and all the details - from finding the best crabcakes and quaint inns to the selection of our tranpsort of choice - the sailboat charter or kayak - with a minimum of fuss. The author is thorough in researching the details and finding the Bay's may hidden treasures, so all that we have to do is enjoy this gem!

a college friend invited me to spend a few weeks with her in annapolis, but, when she got a job she couldn't refuse just before i arrived, i had to fend for myself entertainment-wise. thank heavens i wandered into a local bookstore and picked up this book. i didn't know a thing about the area. nor did my friend really. (i'm from texas, and she just moved there from connecticut.) but, with the help of this guidebook and a rental car, i wandered happily throughout the back roads of the chesapeake region. i found great little towns to stop in with its help, deliciously fattening restaurants to eat in and cool things to see. if you're a newbie there, i highly recommend that you pick it up!

You know the author has actually been to a place when she offers details like that. And Blake does, on page after page - and topic after topic. The book's history sections are comprehensive, then - voila! - great info on recreation and right-on reviews of restaurants. It seems obvious that not only does she live in the region, but plays in it, studies it, embraces it. As a complete novice to the area, I used the book when exploring my Chesapeake roots, and found it was about all I needed.

I thought this book as with his last book started off slow and VERY detailed. Toward the middle of the book it picked up and started to become a good read as with his other book Sympathy for the devil. I thought the book could have been cut down by some chapters and less some of the details. One of the Chapters I had to go back and re-read to make sure I didn't miss something. Overall I will read another Angela Bivens novel by this author because I like mysteries.

I loved this novel. I liked the way the author went 180 degrees from the crime-suspense-sleuthing theme in Sympathy for the Devil, to this thriller. Formulas get tired, and I'm glad Chambers is switching up on us--with the same characters! Great for summer read by the pool.

I got about two chapters into this book before quitting in disgust. The writing is obvious and is a mix of cliches and 'product placements.' Too much detail for no purpose. Everyone is the best of everything or the worst. The characters are caricatures. This is blaxploitation writing.

In A Prayer for Deliverance, Christopher Chambers resumes where the debut novel, Sympathy For the Devil, ended. FBI agent, Angela Bivens, is back in action as an inspector called in to investigate the murders of prominent African American leaders. While her superiors think the murders are the work of a well-known hate group, we find Angela dallying in the supernatural to solve the murders and bring the true assassins to justice. Specifically, she is pulled into a dark underworld of Zulu "magick" to substantiate her theories and enlists the help of a rookie sidekick (and Wicca witch) to assist in the investigation. As in the first novel, she is both supported and hindered by the FBI staff and must deal with the political powers of the agency and the bureaucracy of the Washington elite. To complicate things further, she stumbles through a newfound romance while struggling to overcome the emotional scars from her last boyfriend, a psychotic sociopath who was the evil perpetrator of her last case.

As one can imagine, this book is multi-dimensional and filled with numerous plot twists and turns. There are so many characters with ulterior motives that this reviewer literally had to keep notes on who was who, their relationships to one another, and their relationships within the FBI hierarchy.

This novel is extremely well written and very well researched as evidenced in the passages about South African culture and politics. However, this reviewer felt that at times the plot tangents obscured the essence of the mystery. In an attempt to make this a well-rounded novel, the author repeatedly lost this reviewer in the minutia and the surreal, dreamlike episodes that were scattered throughout the book. Angela Bivens, earmarked as an FBI super sleuth, seemed bewildered and clueless at times which elongated the story and damaged her characterization as an ingenious, diehard super agent. There were some segments in which she appeared to be as much of a victim as the targets. Perhaps this was intentional, to show her vulnerabilities, however it came off as Angela being the luckiest detective alive instead of one of the sharpest. Nonetheless, this reviewer persevered to see how the novel would conclude and was not disappointed. Overall, this was a compelling mystery and proved to be entertaining.

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, Nubian Circle Book Club

After reading the first Angela Bivens book I had high hopes for this one. For the most part the book works but there is just too much in it. The story goes off in so many directions it's like looking at a pot of spaghetti thrown against the wall. The heroine is essentially Cleopatra Jones with serious emotional issues and some of the stuff she does makes not a lick of sense but if you give this book time you'll find a pretty good read for a rainy afternoon.

STINGER is a solid, satisfying read. It kept me pleasantly diverted during a long morning waiting for my car to be fixed.

Like many good thrillers, the plot and the characters are somewhat familiar but with a few unique elements of their own. The two key characters are Cavanaugh, an FBI agent who is a bit of a rogue and a closet idealist, and Melanie, a black female doctor. STINGER follows their search for the source of an epidemic of strokes among black people. They make an unlikely but ultimately effective pair of buddies.

STINGER is not great literature, nor even the best thriller I have ever read, but it is very good. If you want solid thrills and a plot that keeps you wondering until the very end, this is a good pick.

Maryland, USA. Are we dealing with an attempt to wipe out the black population by a biological weapon? Dr. Melanie Anderson of CDC thinks so. Malaria reading, named after Malcolm Peter Reading, a black Senator from Pennsylvania and a presidential hopeful, who died after suffering a stroke in the middle of his speech, continues to spread rapidly. What made Dr. Anderson so sure about the genocide attempt is that the disease seems to attack only t hose with sickle-cell trait, a predominantly black population.

Let me start by saying that I'm not a fan of medical thrillers; to me, they tend to fall into two categories--overly technical labyrinths that have Tom Clancy Excruciating Detail Syndrome, or they get carried away into panicky melodrama.

"Stinger," however, is a great read. It's well-plotted, with authentic characterizations, and a basic premise that is both plausible and engaging.

Ms. Kress is to be commended for maintaining a balance among three very different worlds: government bureaucracy, police procedure, and epidemiology. Her descriptions of each of these worlds has enough detail to lend authenticity, but she still manages to keep the story moving briskly along.

The story unfolds in a way that both entices and rewards; we quickly come to care about the lead characters, and can identify with their internal conflicts that arise from a situation that is at first alarming, then horrifying, then paranoia-inducing.

The resolution of the story is clever and satisfying; at no point did I find myself gagging on contrivances or oversimplifications. In fact, I found myself admiring her ability to resolve a tricky setup.

Most importantly, this book makes me want to read more works by Nancy Kress.

Ms. Kress turns out a competent work of mystery here. The story is good, and we don't find out "whodunit" until the very end. My only complaint is that the characters were a bit cliche. Dr. Melanie Anderson was just about the angriest character I have ever seen. In my own humble opinion, I don't see how she could possibly have risen to a position of responsibility within the CDC with some of the know-nothing convictions she holds. Agent Cavanaugh is the quintessential "man afraid of commitment"

Read this book and be entertained for a few hours.

Nancy Kress has taken a bold step. She's an award-winning science fiction writer who is universally recognized as one of the best in the genre. With `Oaths and Miracles' and now with `Stinger,' she has proven that she can stand toe-to-toe with the best of the thriller/suspense writers as well.

`Stinger' begins with Senator Malcolm Peter Reading, a presidential hopeful, collapsing during a speech. Reading, an African-American, dies in a matter of minutes. It is discovered that he had contracted malaria. Others quickly begin dying of malaria. Nearly all of them are African-American. Then the epidemic begins.

FBI agent Robert Cavanaugh and Dr. Melanie Anderson of the Centers for Disease Control quickly discover that the deaths are not accidents. Someone...or some country...has reintroduced malaria into America. The cards appear to be stacked against them: they have few clues and little time. To complicate matters, both Cavanaugh and Anderson are faced with personal and professional crises just as an answer is beginning to develop.

I have always appreciated two things about the writing of Nancy Kress: fascinating characters and scientific ideas a clod like me can understand. Cavanaugh acts exactly the way we think an FBI agent should - logical, methodical thinking, going through the proper steps at the proper time, etc, but Kress shows us that while the agent has everything together on the job, that doesn't necessarily mean every aspect of his life is in order. Melanie Anderson is an African-American woman who is mad as hell at what is happening. She's not perfect, yet we identify with her, hurt for her, and cheer for her. Two great characters.

`Stinger' is a great thrill-ride all the way to the very last page, but it is also chilling in another aspect. Although this book was published in 1998, it has some frightening parallels to the events surrounding Sept. 11. A real page-turner...and a real eye opener.

303 fast-moving pages

I live in Rockville and have always been both fascinated and confused by the location of the Fitzgeralds' graves. It's so utterly bizarre and incongruous, something that I shouldn't be stumbling upon on my way to pick up the laundry. What an interesting plot thread.

The Talking Heads' song ONCE IN A LIFETIME comes to mind while reading ROCKVILLE PIKE. Janie is not quite sure how she came to be living in a huge house, working at her husband's family store, and trying to connect with her increasingly distant husband. In addition to the humor and pathos in this tale, there's an odd sense of menace. Who is Delia underneath her makeup and flirty clothes? What is Tracy, the lawyer/scrapbooking consultant, really up to? Where did those old bones found under the store come from? Characters and conflicts come and go, many not really explored or resolved, which is a bit frustrating; there are actually about three potential novels that could come out of ROCKVILLE PIKE. Overall,however, Janie is quite likeable and you want to keep reading in the hope that everything will turn out for her.

This is a very nice book -- Except, WAIT -- I think it is about MY LIFE! Ha.

I guess I could really relate to the dismal, suburban setting and the odd suburban characters. I loved the Goth son and his rich friend. The husband was, well, in many ways, pretty typical! Janie manages to rally, but you can see why it wasn't easy for her.

If you are wondering how you ended up in suburbia you'll be able to relate to Janie too.

Rockville Pike is told from the perspective of a middle age suburban wife and mother who finds herself living a less than satisfactory life. She works at her husband's family's furniture store in Rockville, Maryland and is the mother of a teenage son recently turned Goth and vegan. This book chronicles her realization that her marriage is floundering, the furniture store is hemmoraging money, and none of this is even similar to the life she once planned to lead. This novel follows her comical and introspective search for answers and the decisions she is faced with regarding how to improve her lot in life.

Susan Coll does an excellent job of capturing the feelings of the disgruntled suburban soccer mom caught in a life that doesn't seem her own. The characters are very well developed and easy to relate to. It is not at all difficult to believe Jane Kramer, the narrator, and how she feels about her husband, job, and child. The downside is that this book drags at times and is occasionally boring. This disappointment is tempered with other sections of the book that are extremely entertaining and funny. Another reason this book is fun for some readers is the references to Rockville, MD and other localities related to this DC suburb.

Overall, this book is mediocre, but portions of the book save it and result in a novel worth reading.

Angst-ridden and unhappily married Jane Kramer helps her husband Leon run his family's discount furniture store on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. Coping is difficult for Jane as she tries at the same time to keep an eye on Delia (a store employee to whom she suspects her husband is attracted), supervise her 16-year-old Goth son who was just suspended from school, and assist fellow soccer-mom Tiffany in running a scrapbooking business.

At the same time, a mystery ensues. Money is disappearing from the store's funds. Who could possibly be taking it? It's not as simple as it sounds.

How Jane deals with all of these problems makes for one hilarious read. The author's hard-hitting, sarcastic humor is timed just right to provide a truly laugh-out loud reading experience.

I absolutely loved the Rockville setting since this city is my hometown. The author did a fantastic job of bringing some true-to-life local color into this story. She used not only the quirky character of the city but also references to F. Scott Fitzgerald who is buried here in Rockville.

Rockville Pike is a fun story with very interesting characters, many of whom you'll be sure not to forget. This is an excellent novel for everyone. No, you do not need to live near Rockville Pike to really enjoy it. I highly recommend it for everyone who likes to laugh.