Oregon Books

Gretchen Lowell is a beautiful serial killer that cons her victims into doing things for her or with her, followed by their demise in a slow. deliberate way. Archie Sheridan is an experienced cop who unknowingly falls under Gretchen's spell. Archie wakes up groggy with a body on the floor beside him in a place he did not recognize. How did he get here? Gretchen had placed her services as a psychiatrist to help Archie and the authorities find the many victims that were still missing. Gretchen "helped" Archie all right to the point of him being so drugged up that he could not think straight but he did recognize a beautiful woman that was controlling him and brutally attacking his body with various weapons including nails through his rib area.

Then when she got Archie to the edge of death, she changed her mind and decided to save him. She took him to the hospital and turned herself in to the authorities. She had a connection with Archie that she did not have with anyone else. Archie eventually recovers to the extent he could resume his detective duties but his body would always be wracked with pain thanks to Gretchen. While in prison, Gretchen would only talk to Archie during which time she would divulge the name or names of her victims and where they could be found. Archie was falling for Gretchen even though he was married and divorced from Debbie, who he still had feelings for, and he loved their children.

Susan Ward was a young, brash, and wild reporter for the Oregon Herald who wanted to go places fast but her young and wild appearance turned off many. But she did wrangle a chance to work with the task force that was working on finding Gretchen's victims. Archie did not really want this young whippersnapper working with him but when Susan showed some smarts he gave in and allowed her to work with him and the task force, sometimes sorry he made that decision.

This leads to a terrific story that I found hard to put down. Chelsea Cain is an author I never heard of before but I am very aware of her great work now. I was very fortunate to read her follow-up book, "Sweetheart" that picked up intensity right where "heartsick" ended. You will not be sorry you purchased this book but you will not be able to close your eyes and go to sleep!

This is one of the most riveting books I've read in a long time. As a fan of Patricia Cornwell's early work, I missed reading novels that had the same gripping power (a quality lacking in Cornwell's later writing). But HeartSick provides this. It consists of short, intriguing chapters that develop the plot but still leave enough mystery to keep one reading. Furthermore, the characters are developed rather interestingly, especially the main detective. This book definitely made me want to read more from Chelsea Cain.

Chelsea Cain uses her journalistic 3rd person narrative to introduce us to her two damaged storybook heroes - Archie Sheridan and Susan Ward. Archie and Susan are two fascinating individuals. Archie is a gifted Portland Metro cop still trying to recover from a living nightmare that may never end. Susan is a young, talented and tormented, Metro newspaper journalist in search of 'The Big Scoop.' By way of Susan's journalistic investigation of a series of horrific murders of young Portland high school girls, Chelsea Cain takes us on a roller coaster ride through the darkside world of evil and sadistic villiany. This story is a great read. Chelsea Cain provides us an excellent narrative. This story is as dark and foreboding as the Portland early Spring during which this story takes place. Waiting for us at the end of Chelsea's dark roller coaster ride is the well-anticipated return and sequel featuring Chelsea's greatest arch-villianess, fiction's greatest Femme Fatale' -- Gretchen Lowell.

Gretchen, a beautiful serial killer who gives new meaning to the word "wacko", has a hold over police officer Archie that is impossible to understand at the beginning of the book, but as it unfolds, along with the horrendous things Gretchen did to Archie and 199 other victims, the reader begins to comprehend the dependence they have on each other. The "After School Murders", which provides a secondary story line, ties in a little unbelievingly, but it provides an interesting contrast in serial killer psyches.

This book has frequent and vivid blood and guts descriptions and so is not for the squeamish, but if you like psychological thriller/police procedurals, I recommend you read this and its sequel, "SweetHeart". Ms. Cain has crafted characters that, while they may not always be likeable, are interesting and make you want to read more.

I got this book as part of a Vine member review for the sequel Sweetheart. I felt compelled to read the first book in order to properly review the sequel.

I really enjoyed this book. Cain has a great ability to describe characters in such a minimalistic way that it's amazing. Perhaps it was just me associating the characters with those on several TV shows, movies, and other books but I instantly got visions of every character in the book with her description of their mannerisms. I think the sign of a good author is giving the reader visions of the world inside the book, and if they can do that without rambling on ( Tom Clancy ) for pages and pages then it's all the more impressive. Oddly Gretchen is the one character I could never get a good picture of in my head. I stunningly beautiful serial killer is not a common thing, so while you're thinking Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in the descriptions you have to keep reminding yourself that this is a prom queen doing this.

It's hard not to compare the story with Silence of the Lambs as the two share many similarities. It's not a blatant copy but you can't help but think Cain was influenced by Harris' story. The story does get graphic at times, but that doesn't bother me. The descriptions of torture could set some back, but if you can handle must R rated movies then nothing here should be that disturbing.

All said, it's a good thriller with well thought out characters. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading the sequel now that I've finished this one.

Ann Rule is the most incredibly talented author. She can take thousands of facts and make the most compelling, riveting story. At the end, I always feel like I know all the people involved personally. When I sit down with one of her books, I know I am not going to get anything else done for awhile!

This was an interesting story about a psychopath (Liysa). I thought Ann Rule gave a good account of both Liysa and Chris, and I think the only real bias was because Liysa WAS guilty. I was left wanting to know if any of Liysa's stories were invested and found to be true. Some things were alluded to such as her first husband and a boyfriend being killed in car accidents, but was it true? Did she really graduate from college? Did she ever apply and train for the Navy Seals? So many other things. She was a lier, and lied when it suited her. I had a boyfriend much like her. He lied so much that he actually believed his lies. He would go to great lengths to make people believe his lies. I am so disappointed that she only got 10-12 years. I don't understand why the prosecution let her plea down when they had such good evidence. That seems negligent to me.
I didn't think the book was very well written for Rule, in that she repeated herself and certain phrases too much. Maybe she needs a proof reader who actually READS the book.

I do not agree with the other reviews at all. I thought this book was excellent. At times it made me sick to my stomach, as I could not believe someone could be as manipulative and selfish as Liysa. I feel horrible for the victim, Chris, his family, and his sons. I would highly recommend this book.

Liysa is innocent. Of course she is. Just ask her. Even when she eventually gets out of prison she will consider herself innocent. Psychology is pretty good when it comes to labelling people with different sorts of personality disorders but almost helpless when it comes to rehabilitating them. Certainly prison isn't the place to do it but, unfortunately, it is the only place that society currently has for housing people who commit criminal acts.

I was angry while reading this book and I still am. This woman did everything she could to destroy someone's reputation, someone who loved her. Chris even went on their last camping trip (where she murdered him) thinking and hoping that it might help their marriage. She murdered him largely because she believed that it was in her financial interests to do so. She had much more to gain as a widow than a divorcee. These are the actions of a truly wicked person.

A large part of my anger is reserved for Liysa's friends and family who listened and uncritically believed. Many tried to do the correct thing in protecting her from what they understood was a violent man. But when she continually refused their help didn't that make them just a little suspicious? Some went beyond reasonable assistance and provided her with poison, a firearm, stun gun, and strong sleeping pills. That almost crosses the line into making them an accomplice in my opinion.

How many of us come across a true psycho like Liysa in our lives? Not many for sure. How would Chris ever have known that Liysa would never be satisfied? How could he have known that, despite his many accomplishments in life, there was absolutely nothing that he could have done to help their marriage? The ONLY thing you can do when you are in a relationship with someone like Liysa is to get as far away from them as you can and stay away. Unfortunately Chris had a child by this woman and that made it much more difficult to follow that action. It caused him a lot of misery and eventually his life.

Liysa's family would do well to stop trying to defend her at this point. It isn't helping her get out of prison. Their only defence for her heinous actions is to impugn the integrity of a fine person who isn't here and cannot defend himself. It could also cause Chris and Liysa's son to believe these slanderous accusations when he gets older. A person with an emotional illness can be in terrible pain. What this person needs is love not justification. The worst thing that can be done for Liysa now is to keep rehashing the past and trying to justify her actions. More than anything, she just needs your love and acceptance.

While I would agree its not one of Ann's best works, I still found it gripping and a real page-turner. This sort of story is almost enough to make you afraid to even get into a relationship.

Also, while it's always good advice to keep an open mind and not blindly believe everything you read, I'd say the facts in Liysa's case pretty much speak for themselves. I could start telling everyone I know that my neighbor is stealing my underwear, but unless I have this little thing called 'evidence', It's not going to get very far.

I'm very sympathetic to the plight of abused spouses, but this womans claims simply stretched credibility to the breaking point. Its only a shame the judge didn't give her a longer sentence.

Not only the trip itself, but the journey of self discovery, holds the reader. Despite some needless repetition, the abscence of which, would have made the story move better, this was a great read. I would have named the bad guy, jailhouse justice could do him good.

The story of what happened to Jentz is horrible and makes for great drama. The aftermath -- her search for her still-unknown attacker, which is the main subject of the book -- could have made a decent story as well. Unfortunately the drama of it is oversold, and the story is wildly overwritten, both in length and in tone. Jentz's discovery of a prime suspect is unfortunately larded over with melodramatic writing -- those of you who've waded through the book know the title of this review is a reference to the dozens and dozens of "In Search of"-like rhetorical questions -- and a level of self-obsessiveness that, while understandable in a person's diary, should not have made it into the final version. Perhaps the editor wanted to provide an open window into how messed up Jentz became as a result of the attack; perhaps only the actual publication of far too much detail could provide her with the catharsis that she absolutely deserves. Anyone with a heart would wish Jentz peace after what she went through. But her story lost much of its power in the telling.

A lot of reviewers stated that this was too redundant, that the author tended to go on and on over the same territory, and that the story could have been completed in a lot fewer words. After reading this story, I have found that I was "hooked" and that this story lingers on long after the final page is turned. It is a haunting story made all the more engrossing by the fact that it is a totally truthful accounting of one woman's attempt to identify her attacker - to identify the person who hacked her and her friend up with a hatchet and left them both for dead. I understand completely her need to do so, as well as I understand completely her friend's need not to do so. This was a catharsis for the author, and a much needed one. I can identify with this. I believe had I been the one this happened to, I would also want to know the who and the why of this terrible crime. My hat is off to this very brave lady, and I feel that this book is well worth the read! You cannot truly be a critic of this manuscript unless you yourself have experienced the same as this author.

The random 1977 crime horrified all who heard about it, although the girls survived. I even read about it when I lived in Chicago. Yet after days, months & decades though the Cline Falls community knew who'd done it, authorities never prosecuted anyone. Why? In this extraordinarily eloquent & riveting memoir of the author's life & times before & after that innocent bicycle trip that ended a hair's breadth shy of murder, she records her emotional reality & her 20 year search for the man who devastated her young self. I thought it quite unsentimental & engagingly intense. Sit back & immerse yourself in this writer's record of her quest for the rest of her soul, of her return to Oregon & the leads to who knew & helped her back then, who investigated the crime & why it was closed. With her you'll meet all sorts of people who could connect the dots of the perpetrator's violent life before & after he attacked her &, incidentally, you'll be at her side when he is at last brought to some semblance of justice, although not for his crime against her. A haunting & satisfying read by someone who knows how to write well & has an astonishing tale to tell. Very well done.

Imagine being 20 years old, on the first real adventure of your young life, sleeping soundly after a strenuous bike journey...only to be awakened and find yourself under a truck, staring at the well-dressed torso of a cowboy yielding an ax. That is what Terri Jentz, the author of this amazing book, asks us to envision.

She and her friend, renamed Shayna, process the aftermath in two different ways. Shayna has selective amnesia based on her injuries, and is unable -- and unwilling -- to confront what has occurred. Terri, on the other hand, after several years of ennui and fear, decides to courageously confront the episode and to try to make some sense of it in order to fully heal.

This journey is what comprises this book. Interestingly, the individuals she meets again -- ranging from the teenage couple who helped save them to the nurses who were there when they reached the hospital -- were all permanently affected by this senseless act. Together again, they all help heal each other. The would-be murderer himself is larger than life and also so much smaller than life. One of the tragedies is that most of the town knew who did it, and yet, thanks to the bungling of three overlapping law enforcement agencies and overprotective parents, his act would never have been totally revealed were it not for Terri's perseverance.

This is a courageous book from a tenacious individual, and it spans 700 pages. I truly understand why Terri Jentz needed to write this book in its entirety, but I believe she needed a better editor. It lags in the middle pages, as Terri meets up with one after another lead (some true, some false); the momentum of the story begins to drag as a result. There is also very little reflection on her personal life -- the key focus is outward, not inward. We know that Terri is gay and she had an unrequited crush on Shayna. There is certain anger that Shayna is unwilling to be the "perfect listener" and to explore the ramifications of that June 22 night. I also wonder how Terri's sexual orientation played out in a conservative, cowboy town, when young women were blamed for their own independence. But these are minor points: all in all, I greatly admire Terri Jentz's courage and her larger observations on our society's passion for violence. She has important things to say.

The first book in this trilogy, Dies the Fire, was wonderfully written and chock full of inventive approaches to social organization and technology. Unfortunately the author seems to have run out of the novel ideas that drove the initial entry into the series by this point, and the characters, though still compelling, developed little. That said, though, the plot does move along at a decent pace, and I chewed through the book quite quickly - The action and the ending were reasonably satisfying.

If you read The Protector's War (which featured no war), then The Meeting at Corvallis (which features no meeting at Corvallis, but does feature a war) is certainly worth the read. If you're considering whether or not to finish the series after reading the stellar Dies the Fire, you might be better off investing your money in the other side of this story as well. The entire Island in the Sea of Time trilogy is very well written, and the characters and technologies in the series develop at a much more even and compelling pace.

This was a decent book. Given the ability, I'd have given it another half-star, but it doesn't warrant a full four-star rating.

A Meeting At Corvallis, the final volume of the Change trilogy that began with Dies The Fire, comes to a satisfying, rollicking, action backed end, and there's plenty there to satisfy anyone who became a fan of the first book and followed it all the way through.

After spending two volumes, stretching over nine years, building up to a confrontation between Norman Arminger's Portland Protective Association and the loose alliance between Clan Mackenzie, the Bearkillers, and the monks of Mt. Abbott, Stirling doesn't disappoint this time and gives his readers not one, but two epic confrontations that will decide the future of the characters that we've come to know, and perhaps the new post-Change world itself.

For the first time, he spends considerable time in the territory of the PPA where people are under the thumb of a man that they rallied behind when their lives seemed near an end, only to find themselves in a bondage unseen since serfdom ruled Russia. We also see the conflict about to come from the perspective of the people living in PPA and, while it doesn't really change the moral calculus of good vs. evil, it does paint a broader picture and give depth to characters who otherwise would've been little more than cardboard cutouts.

More importantly, though, this final volume of the trilogy shows why Stirling really is such a good writer. Not only does he take care to humanize his characters, he makes you feel like you're right there in their world with them, which makes the things that happen to them, both good and bad, all the more personal.

Stirling has started a new series based on the world of the Change. The Sunrise Lands takes place about ten years after the events of Corvallis and looks to introduce new characters, new challenges, and at some point perhaps an explanation for what happened to the world back on March 17, 1998. I look forward to continuing the adventure.

As with the original Dies the Fire, this entry carries on an excellent vision of a post-modern world where physical laws have been altered by an unknown source. Great characters, great fun!

A Meeting at Corvallis
A great Read. Am now reading the next book in the series.

Well, the first book was interesting, the second tolerable, but the final one is terrible. Heavily padded - we know the details of every meal eaten, and every journey has several long lists of local flora and fauna. The armor of nearly every important character is described again and again. Even small things are repeated endlessly - every time a character in armor hugs or is hugged we get a reminder of the armor (which generally was described a page or two back).
There continues to be no explanation of The Change, other than hints of a divine origin. Given that the basic laws of physics have been severely tampered with, this is not very satisfactory. And still, most characters seem relatively uninterested in the reasons for the Change. A bit of bad pseudo-physics is given but only annoys.
There are long, long battles and duels, described in painful detail which slows the action to a crawl.
The end is not bad, although the hints of things to come are painfully obvious.
Sigh...if you were intriged by the premise in the first, and slogged through the second, save yourself. Don't buy this book.

There's been a lot of comment here that this book copy is not the "Real" book. That it's some watered down version, not worthy of consideration. Well, I hate to tell ya...this is a reprint of the original 1926 version before it was revised and expanded in 1938. This is the "Real" book! Some people like this edition better because the language is more powerful.

I read this book and i was drawn to the words, a lot of this rings so true you could not ask for a better read. It talks about our preception of everything and the power of thaught.It is well written and is probably one of his best ones.

To read this book, is to be totally transformed. The world now makes perfect sense. If this book was added to our schools curriculum, there would be a transformation beyond words. Ernest Holmes passed the year that I was born (1960), but yet he will remain in my mind and heart forever.

I cannot emphasize the impact that the writings of Mr. Holmes has had on my life and affairs. His books get straight to the point. He helps us understand that we are each responsible for our lives and the happiness that we seek. But he does it without the guilt and blame that so many traditional religious books do. What sets this apart is that it is not a book about religion, it is a book about spirituality and it encompasses the True idea of the One Loving Power, God.

I found that every paragraph was inspirational. Some may find his prose a bit old fashioned (the original was written in the 1920's or 30's), but every word strikes a cord in the heart. This book does more than simply give you something new to think about, it redefines the very meaning of thought in the human experience and I guarantee that your outlook on life will change profoundly. The best part is that it does not contradict the Bible, and for this Christian, it provided clear answers to many difficult biblical passes that I thought were beyond my understanding.

I too have the original 600 page volume and would highly recommend that you search for a copy for yourself. I've had it for years and still read it on a regular basis for uplifting motivation (simply opening to a random page will almost always prove inspiring). But, if this is the only version you can find, please do not miss out on the words and wisdom of this wonderful man.

A true gem! I've ordered three so far -- one for my sister, niece and me. I spent more than I would have for the third one because vendor said it was a collector's item because the author had signed it. Upon receipt, the only signature found was the same printed signature that the previous two copies had. Don't be fooled like I was.

Like all his books, it is very hard to put down once you start to read it.
There is nothing like a good fast past book full of adventure for reading.
I an now just starting to reread his Dirk Pitt novels again and they are great this time as they were the first time I read them.

The plot moves quickly, keeping interest from beginning to end. I've been a Cussler reader for a very long time now and I wasn't disappointed.

Skelton Coast was an excellent book. This is the type of writting that made Clive Cussler one of my favorite authors.

I have read all of the Oregon Files and this is by far the best one yet. Although they explain plenty in the first three novels the main character is truly brought to life in this latest adventure. The authors get into gritty details as to why Jaun Cabrillo is the way he is and make him as close to home as his counter part, Dirk Pitt. If you are a Clive Cussler fan or just want a good read I reccomend this book!

Skeleton Coast is the second of Cussler's Oregon Files novels I've read, and while not as strong as Golden Buddha, it still delivers.

Skeleton Coast brings the reader back to Africa (setting for Sahara) and a rich background against which Cussler paints his tale of greed, hatred, and eco-terrorism.

Like his other Oregon Files novels, Skeleton Coast doesn't wallow in long, man-against-nature episodes, but instead moves the action from one setting to another across a huge variety of settings, plots, and characters. Cussler generally keeps the juggling act in tact, but it is clear that he's cutting corners and starts to drop a few plates by the end.

Not to worry, the finale wraps everything up in a neat tidy bundle with a devastating finish to the villains that you won't soon forget.

The Third Victim
The story starts out interestingly enough and then it all falls apart as the story unfolds. The Sheriff's son is involved in multiple murders at his school. The Sheriff is actively interfering with the investigation. The lead investigating officer is Rainey Conner. She works under the Sheriff. Conner has a long personal friendship with the Sheriff and enough personal baggage that normally would prevent her from ever being a cop in the first place. Holy comflict of interest Batman! State and Federal agents are called in but who is in charge, the admittedly unqualified, conflicted, unstable, Rainey Conner! Oh Please!!! If you removed the unqualified cop, had a realistic chain of command with the investagors,and put the Sheriff in jail for interfering this might be a good read.
My suspension of disbelief button was pushed too many times on this one.

I didn't like this book for several reasons. The school shooting theme is very disturbing to me and I honestly don't think that the author did a good job exploring or explaining that issue. Another reason I didn't like the book was because the Rainie character was severely irritating. I'm so sick of the "macho" woman in these suspense thrillers. Rainie needs to grow up and get over herself. Lastly, the villain in this book didn't make any sense. His motives and reasoning were stupid. This book had potential, but fell flat.

If the Amazon Star System allowed the possibility, I'd give this one four and a half stars, rather than four. But it doesn't. So, rounding off, I've given it four.

Let's get my very minor quibbles out of the way first: (1) There's no way a town small enough to need a law enforcement staff of only three people plus a volunteer is going to have a 'Dairy Queen.' They'd be 'lucky' to have a 'MacDonald's.' (2) The inhabitants of such a town would have to be insane to think they could hope to land a Wal-Mart. (3) There are no 'towering mountains' in the Oregon Coastal Range. I suppose an author from the east coast, which this one is, might be tricked into thinking that rolling foothills qualify as mountains, but they don't. (4) There is one small paragraph which violates the Point of View style set up in the rest of the book, and the exception is jarring, as it intrudes the book's 'omniscient' author into the mix-- always a big problem when editors don't catch it, which in this case they didn't.

But that is the sum extent of my quibbles. Other than that, this is a very good example of the type of book it is: the formulaic thriller slash mystery. Great Literature it isn't, but it makes no pretense to be, so there's no need to mark it down any for failing to be so. It's even character-based as opposed to plot-driven, which automatically elevates it several notches above the mid-ranks of the genre.

Lorraine Connor, a young deputy sheriff in a small coastal Oregon town who is tough but unsure of herself, and both vulnerable and quite capable of taking care of herself, is asked to be 'primary officer' at a bloody crime scene-- a school shooting in which two students and one teacher have been killed. The teacher-- the 3rd Victim of the title-- has been 'taken out' with a small caliber shot directly to the forhead, while the two students have been 'shot up' at much longer range. This discrepancy in methodology eventually causes the investigators to believe that there is more than one shooter involved. (A fact which the reader, but no one else, has been apprised of early on.)

The suspense comes in the form of delays and dead-ends in the process of finding out who the 'other' shooter is. One perpetrator, a kid, has already been caught, and has confessed, but refuses to talk about the crime, and for good reason: the other criminal is a serial killer with the ethics of a boa constrictor who knows how to scare kids into refusing to talk, sometimes permanently.

There are subplots galore: (1) Lorraine herself has something to hide concerning another shooting many years ago. Will she end up having to 'tell all' or won't she? (2) There's a nasty big-city investigator on scene, who is trying to undercut Lorraine and steal her case from her. Will he succeed? (3) An troubled FBI agent from Quantico finds Lorraine fascinating. Will they end up in bed? (4) One of the victims comes from a family with nasty secrets to hide. What lengths will other members of that family go to to 'protect' their past?

One of the most refreshing things about this book is that nothing is predictable. Not one of these subplots ends up being resolved in the way you think it's going to be. I can't begin to tell you how relieved I was by that!

I've avoided till now dealing with the true heart of the book, though, so the time has now come. On one level this books is 'mere' thriller, but on a deepler plane it's a fascinating glimpse into the world of disturbed psychology, particularly that of children. I'm not about to give anything away here, but just rest assured that this author has done tons of homework and has created characters who behave exactly the way that real people do. So much so that there is an air of realism to this fictional story that lifts it far beyond the bounds of most examples of its kind.

I highly recommend The 3rd Victim.

This is an entertaining thriller that kept me turning the pages. I have read a number of books by this author, and I have yet to be disappointed. Her characters are reasonably interesting, and the plot is well-thought out. Those who like easy reading suspense will definitely enjoy this author's books.

The plot centers around a school shooting that divides the small town of Bakersfield, Oregon. Three people were killed, two of them children. The townspeople are demanding justice. After all, a young boy has confessed to the shooting. It seems, however, that the evidence indicates that he may not have acted alone.

Officer Rainie Conner is the lead investigator in the shooting, but there are those in the town that feel that her past is impacting on her investigation, as controversy is brewing over her involvement. FBI profiler, Pierce Quincy, assists Officer Conner with the investigation, as he, too, is convinced that there is more to the shooting that meets the eye. They both want to see justice done and begin a deadly cat and mouse game with a shadowy character that lurks in the background and may, in fact, be the mastermind of all that has happened.

Those who enjoy the works of Mary Higgins Clark, Carlene Thompson, and Tami Hoag will be sure to enjoy this book, as will all those who enjoy suspense thrillers with a lot of twists and turns.

Lisa Gardner does it again. One of the few authors out there that can consistently turn out grab-you-by-the-throat thrillers.

In a small town of Oregan, a horrific school shooting takes place, leaving several dead, including a well loved teacher and 2 young girls. When the smoke settles, the mass murderer left holding the smoking gun is 13 year old Danny. Danny is the son of Sheriff O'Grady. Witnesses reported seeing a man dressed in black, roaming the halls of the school shortly before the shooting began. Did Danny have an accomplice? Is he just a pawn in a much larger game? Was it a random act of violence or were the victims hand picked?

Ms. Gardner answers these questions and much more in this taut thriller. What I enjoyed the most about this book was there were so many things taking place at the same time. The author keeps the storytelling tight and close to her chest, revealing bits and pieces at a pace that has the reader scrambling to turn the pages in a hope to discover what is truly going on.

The only complaint I have is the ending. The author seemed to want to wrap things up and have a great ending, but I felt it didn't make sense. The herione, in the end, is handled in a way that shouldn't have happened. If I explain it in any more detail, I will ruin the story for you, so I will just stop with that. The book is overall a great read and is well worth your time.

As THE SUNRISE LANDS opens it is twenty two years after the Change, the events described in DIES THE FIRE, when the whole world changed in a literal flash. Gunpowder does not fire, electricity and internal combustion engines do not work, throwing the post industrial world back to the pre industrial. The events described in A MEETING AT CORVALLIS have brought peace to the Willamette Valley and the Changelings, those born after the Change, are beginning to reach adulthood.

A stranger, has arrived, one who has traveled from the deep woods of Wisconsin, across the country to Nantucket Island, where perhaps the Change began and back across the country to Oregon. His traveler's tales, and those few others that have managed to filter in, that those who had survived were slowly beginning to rebuild this new world. The US has become fragmented into various factions and border wars were beginning to break out making travel extremely dangerous. So just what had driven this stranger, Ingolf Voegler to make this journey? He has been driven by a vision that he received in Nantucket, a vision about a young man in the far West who must be brought to Nantucket. Unknown to Voegler, twenty years earlier a young man had been born in Oregon amid prophecy about his fate to travel east, to the Sunrise Lands.

This is the fourth volume of the series that began with DIES THE FIRE and that occupies the same universe as ISLAND IN THE SEA OF TIME. Those who have read and enjoyed the earlier books will definitely want to read this one to find out what has happened to the characters and storylines from the earlier books. Also it is hinted that some answers about the Change itself will finally be revealed. Those who are new to these works or only familiar with THE ISLAND IN THE SEA OF TIME will want to begin with DIES THE FIRE. I recommend this to fans of alternate history stories, one that will give the reader much to think about long after the last page has been read.

I've read all four books in this series (so far). This is the least enjoyable. For me, it just dragged on. I found I had to force myself to finish it. That's an unusual experience for an S. M. Stirling book.

The fourth novel in the Change series is surprisingly refreshing. I just began reading the series last year and read most of it straight through. I was dismayed at the anti-climactic ending of the original Change series. But the Sunrise Lands breathes new life into the land by aging characters and introducing new protagnosits and antagonists that fit, and an actual quest that makes sense. Stirling did what many authors fail to do in a series, he was able to start again and create a new generation by building on, and not losing, what has already happened before. I cannot wait for The Surge of God to find out what happens next.

I began reading this series with Dies the Fire and was hooked from the first novel. However, I have found that as the series goes on that Stirling gets wrapped up more and more with details of some bogus Wiccan religion which I think the story can do without. In Sunrise Lands I feel as if there's going to be a test later.

Still, lots of alternate universe/sci-fi type action in this novel and the adventure tale it portrays is well worth reading. Fortunately this book also provides a map, which gives the reader a better idea of what is going on where.

I've read the print version and listened via Audible to this book. I thoroughly enjoyed both versions. If you have trouble getting into Stirling's long passages of exposition, detailed setting descriptions, and diversity of accents/languages among the many characters, I suggest you try the Audible version. The narrator nails the many accents of the characters and I felt myself immersed in Stirling's alternate history as I drifted across the verbal landscapes he creates. I will purchase the next chapter of this saga in Audible format, if they use the same narrator.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. We passed this book where I work and everyone loved it. The Characters become your friends and some like family. Can't wait to read "The Last Time I Was Me". I have it on order. I highly recommend this one.

Julia's Chocolates is the one book I have recommended to many of my friends and the one book I have given as a present to people over and over again. In return I have had nothing but great comments about it. Whether it was about the unique characters , the plot, the setting, or the humor, I have only heard good things. This book is so well written, so beautiful, it is the one book that really cheers me up with its humor. Don't get me wrong it is not all fun and games, it does contain some serious parts with abused children and an abusive fiance, but what caught my interest was definitly its comedic parts. This book has made me laugh aloud and that's what stood out to me. This book was wonderful, beautiful, hilarious, amazing, only great things can be said about this novel. Well done Cathy Lamb, beautiful.

A bit vulgar in places for me, but nonetheless an interesting book. I laughed out loud in places, cringed in others. The author described terrible abuse of many different kinds that had been inflicted on most of the main characters. Although those sections were so difficult to read, the characters' personal triumphs were uplifting.

I really wanted to like this book. I just could not get past the silliness. I cannot imagine a bunch of women sitting around looking at each others breasts and "other" areas. I did like some of the characters, but the silliness ruined it for me.

Julia Bennett is the central character in this book. She has lived with abuse all of her life with her alcoholic mother and her many boyfriends, and she is reliving it all over again with her fiancé Robert. Finally, one day after being abused she sees the light and decides to leave before her wedding and go to look for refuge with her Aunt Lydia, a woman who has tried to help her in the past.

In living with Lydia, Julia also gets to know a group of women who will help her find herself and heal her soul and her body in the process. Unfortunately, for me, a lot of these characters were just too out there in regards to the psychic nights and the ability to find strength in their private body parts! I mean, who does that?! It's fun to be quirky but this was just a little too bizarre and kind of killed the story for me.

Julia, of course manages to find love and her talent in the midst of some serious situations.

While this book is indeed filled with warmth and love, I just could not get into the characters lives, thankfully so I guess since most of them are dealing with some very serious issues. I wanted to like this book but in the end, I was just glad that it was over.

Pain Management is touching and inspirational. Out of one of the grimmest parts of society, goodness blossoms in an effort to save people from deadly pain. Burke is his endearing self, as always. I recommend the novel as heartily as Andrew Vachss' other books which are also excellent.

I think that _Blue Belle_ was the first Vachss novel that I tried, and after reading that I ripped through his subsequent novels with a sense of discovery and pleasure. To be honest, I lost that interest and amazement a number of books ago. While the first book set in Oregon gave me a glimmer of new hope, this book really isn't there either.

A lot of the problem is that what made Burke so interesting in the first few books was the very real tension between light and dark in the character. He was constantly in balance, and the nastiness made for a really refreshing read after all the weaker characters that you find in detective novels today. Unfortunately, Burke has been around too long, and he's just too much a defender to really believe in the Dark Knight anymore. He's taken on too many good causes and acted too much as protector of the helpless. Good thing in a person, less good if you want to keep the tension of someone strung between good and evil. I'm sure that the continuing novels serve Vachss' not-so-hidden agenda of educating his audience, but they just aren't as interesting to read at this point.

I'm a little troubled with myself for writing this kind of review, as I recognize that there are larger issues with these books than a good escapist read. I applaud Vacchs' determination in the work he does for children and I think he's chosen a nearly ideal vehicle for getting his messages out.

I just wish that I had the same compulsion to read Burke novels as I did with the first.

Anyways, this book (Burke tries to ignore his problematic relationship with Gem, while taking on the case of a 16-year old runaway) is well-written and will probably appeal. Still worth a read, in any case.

Let me tell you - when Burke first lit out for Oregon, I was kind of disappointed. NYC has become such a character in the previous novels, I incorrectly assumed Portland would be a snoozer (I know, I'm such an East Coast-er). Boy was I wrong!

In "Pain Management" Burke is hired to track down a missing 16-year-old. His always on-target instinct tells him that there is something not quite right with the girl's family, and things just go to town from there. Burke manages to come across all types of underbelly characters, and Vachss is able to portray his experiences without making them sound too spy-novel.

Add to the mix a pharmaceutical drug plotline, lots of violence, sex, and a healthy serving of blues and doo-wop, and you've got yet another Vachss masterpiece.

As good as this book is - I really miss Burke's family back in NYC. I've got the next book sitting right here waiting for me, and I can't get to it fast enough.

Andrew Vachss has to be an interesting individual. You get the idea that Burke, the main character in his novels, is a somewhat nastier version of himself. Burke is a shadowy figure, with only one name (only one was given when he was an orphan) and a mysterious, cloudy, bitter view of the world. He works around the edges of things, making money on the black market, specializing in being untraceable and invisible, or almost. He is almost completely uninterested in the fate of people he doesn't know, and for the most part he's pretty cold. He has a real hatred for criminals who exploit children.

In this outing, he's gone to ground in Portland Oregon. This is a departure for Vachss, who's set almost all of his books in New York City. He bounces around town, establishing a "rep" so that someone can hire him to do something. Eventually a troubled father contacts him, looking for his daughter. Burke agrees to look, and does so with his usual disregard for rules, animosity towards authority figures, and dark, mysterious methods. When he finds the girl, the answers are not at all what you were expecting, satisfying though they are. There's a whole interlude where Burke helps a woman who steals drugs for the chronically ill, and it's from this side-plot that the book gets its title.

I liked the story, about as much as I usually do with Vachss. Everything's very dark (I don't think I could read two of these in a row without contemplating suicide) and murky, and the structure of the book is strange, too. For those who aren't familiar, Vachss has veered between numbering his chapters and not bothering. They're anywhere between a couple of lines and a page or two of text, very short, very choppy. The author seems to just only write part of the story, several lines of dialog, and expect the reader to fill in the rest.

Given that, this is a good book.

Burke is laying low in Oregon. He's not in his element (New York), and this affects "Pain Management" as it affected "Down in The Zero." For me, a Burke story works best when the villain inspires a gut-deep flash of pure HATRED. I didn't get that fix this time. Also, just the words "New York" carry a seediness integral to the mood of Vachss' work.

Under an alias, Burke agrees to locate a well-heeled hippie's daughter. Things about her disappearance don't add up, and Burke encounters some locals who may or may not help him. They also may or may not be milking him for their own cause - getting pain meds to those in greatest need despite America's short-sighted treatment policies. These two plotlines never really merge. The daughter's family bears a secret that caused her to take off, but it's...well, a more "esoteric" reason than molestation. On the plus side, Vachss offers some intelligent, sympathetic young characters. He reminds us that everyone has the potential to be both Cain AND Abel.

Burke's usual anger and vigilance fall short of his melancholy. Things with Gem are decaying, and this almost becomes a distraction from the plot. His woman troubles don't end there; Ann O. Dyne is the most annoying girl Burke has dealt with since Fancy ("Down in The Zero") or Nadine ("Choice of Evil"). She's not stupid, just annoying. Flood, Blossom and Belle are still the top-tier Burkettes.

Vachss' effort to broaden the scope of issues in Burke novels is commendable. However, it doesn't play to Burke's strengths. Baby Boy Burke is a conman first and a killer first-and-a-half. "Pain Management," while thought-provoking, didn't hit me as hard as earlier works. Burke has the blues six feet deep, and the only effective remedy is to get back to New York and take it out on the lowest of the low. With "Only Child," I hope to see How Burke Got His Groove Back.