Rock Books

I can't remember where I first read a few excerpts from this book, but I remember being pretty irate I didn't have the full text in front of me at the time. Years later, after bad breakups, fires, towers falling down around me, I finally stumbled across Songs They Never Play On The Radio again, devoured it like a starved cannibal on the tundra. This book is so much wider in its scope than the blurbs on the back make it out to be, primarily in its oblique commentaries on European political history, and the valuation of Art.

The book is a biographical snippet of singer/songwriter Nico's last years and tours. At the beginning she is living in Manchester, England, addicted to heroin and passing her days getting high and drowsing in the shadows. A vaguely ambitious and obscure producer named Dr. Demetrius lines up a tour for her and pulls together a band to back her up. James Young, the author, is the keyboard player for this band.

The ensuing narrative is what they call in MFA programs "creative non-fiction." (Yes, MFA programs ARE annoying, but sometimes pull-out the useful term or two). Anyway, it reads like a novel, imitates actual events, and doesn't change the names like in a roman-a-clef. Fortunately, Young lets his camera jump cut from scene to scene, across time, countries and continents, to land right where the action demands. We get portraits of the band--Echo, a mixture of sullen, backsliding pater familia and post-punk rock bassist... oh, and throw in junkie to boot. We get a variety of drummers--from an industrial junk-percussion virtuoso to a totem-wearing pretty-boy tabla diva to a hair-metal sorta-be. We get a lead guitarist desperate to meet Bob Dylan. We get so many mini-music pros, the portrait of the desperation of professional pop music and the love of heroin might fool the reader into thinking it's the subject of the book.

But the real subject is the struggle for recognition and accomplishment of pop artist Nico, and what that means for all struggling artists, especially those who deal with all things truly dark. Nico just happens to write deeply shadowed, literary-style poetry for lyrics, whether she or anyone else likes it or not. The poems themselves, from You Forgot To Answer to Nibelungenland to Frozen Warnings to Mutterlein (to name a few), are not just personal blues songs (though some do deal with relationships). They are elegies for the German tragedy of World War II, and the tragic side of the long and rich history of the country in general. Throughout the book exists a painful irony where Nico responds to interviewers asking her about Berlin's pre- and post- war culture, by people who really don't care at all about the tragedy of racism and war and the hangover it left on the consciousness of a country and continent. Subtler still we get vestiges in the persona of Nico herself, of these old, Central-European cultural mores (and her own quandaries over its single-mindedness). We also get Nico's passing comments on Hassidic Jews and gypsies and thoughts that members the Velvet Underground were hostile due to her Germanness (though the author ascribes it to the possibility of being upstaged).

James Young handles his insights with a tenderness I rarely witness when it comes to themes of prejudice, loss and cultural kinetics. Throughout the band's world travels, the reader gets the sense that stereotypes like American battle-cry egotism, Pacific rim commercialism, Eastern European old-style communism are animals born from group mentality, group forces much more easily decried than deleted. No character or ideology is oversimplified here. I am reminded of an old episode of Maury Povich where he tries to get a neo-nazi to get over his prejudice and shake his hand. Not a bad thing, but come on, let's talk about why so many rural American kids are entranced by that crap in the first place. Instead, Mr. Young addresses the depression, the lack of options and the insanity of the materially and emotionally impoverished.

Personal emptiness, economic emptiness and artistic emptiness run parallel throughout the narrative. There is a scene where a female Japanese fan offers John Cale a rare bottle of sake as a gift. Well, by then it's later in the 1980's, Cale has gone from beer swilling, snow snorting studio genius to clean living performing genius. He turns her down. Young gives what's due with Cale, always underscoring his musical talent. But he also uses him as a somewhat abstracted symbol for a cultural shift in the music business (and perhaps international business in general). In the narrative, his figure symbolizes 1960's psychedelic, imagination-oriented, hedonism-rich art product, where one must at least pretend the artwork comes first and commerciality second, that then shifts to the mall-shopping fine threads wearing 1980's rich intellectual for whom the cash is not shameful in the least. (Ironically, with the advent of YouTube and so many free venues for every variety of artistic output, we may be entering a strange amalgam of the two eras--the complete shamelessness of wanting to make money with art, but such an abundance of supply that nobody cares to pay for it).

In the center stands Nico, her art and her lament (addiction is a by-product). No one really buys or plays her songs. The penny-pinching carnival goes on. At one point, late in the book, after enduring many painful episodes and adventures, Allen Ginsburg appears as a not-quite Deus ex Machina. Young and Nico accompany him to a poetry reading in Manchester. He heroically recites detailed images of gay sex to a horrified conservative crowd. It is one of the story's happier occasions. Nico seems in good spirits. We get the sense that any latent cultural cruelties on anybody's part were being rubbed out by a non-contrived shared interest in poetry and music. It recalls a time when both artists were looking forward with their art and perhaps hoping, consciously or not, to use it as building block for the improvement of late Twentieth-Century culture and life. At the end of the chapter, however, Nico ominously comments that Ginsburg did not take off his clothes as he used to...

...so I've listed some scenes in this review, but have not revealed even 1% of the beauty of this book. Buy and read it. If it is a gravemarker of a bygone era, I hope its stone fist points to a coming love of insight and imagination in humanity's cultural and artistic output. It rescues Nico's true beauty and function, an imperfect elegy writer, a singer for her native culture's, as well as pop culture's, death dirge and chance at rebirth. And to the dude who commented on another review here on Amazon.com and claimed Young is "milking" Nico's memory for even more money: Dude, whose clean cash pays your bills?

This book is a masterpiece of both style and content, and one of the very best rock biographies in existence. It explores the life of Nico after the Velvet Underground, covering her life in London and tours in Europe and the USA.

I found myself devouring the text in utter fascination. It includes descriptions of bizarre performances, wild parties, weird tour experiences, eccentric characters like her one-time manager Dr Demetrius, encounters with luminaries like John Cale, a visit to the motel where Tom Waits used to stay and much much more.

One of the funniest parts is the narrative of Nico's first experience with angel dust in Los Angeles. Underneath the humor there is a lot of sadness too but it is a strangely inspiring read. Songs They Never Play On The Radio certainly transcends the genre of rock writing. You don't have to be a fan of Velvet Underground to enjoy this classic work, as it stands on its own feet.

I became aware of this book through Young's appearance in the "Nico Icon" documentary. The book is well-written, dry and dark but not without compassion.

awesome book. buy it if you have sense. have a nice day.

If you are looking for a book that perfectly tabs out all of Nevermind for the guitar you have found your baby!

Please don't hesitate and do buy this book! It is one of the greatest albums ever and also the most famous happening in the nineties of the previous century.The tabs are strictly grunge and you'll be enjoying nirvana of your own playing these tablatures. The solos are also wonderfull and the notes are tabbed easiest way possible to be played in a harmonic ways with our own being. I think so or... Enjoy it yourself!

...however, this book will mainly appeal to those interested in the fields of publishing, and, to a lesser extent, songwriting. Extremely well written and researched, it provides the missing pieces to the Lennon/McCartney legacy, and bursts a couple of bubbles as well.

Even the youngest Beatle fans who have followed the recent financial travails of Michael Jackson know that John Lennon and Paul McCartney long ago lost the publishing rights to their own songs. Exactly how that happened is one of several important topics covered by Brian Southall's latest book on the greatest musical act the world has ever known.

The book provides, perhaps for the first time in one place, a detailed, understandable explanation of music publishing in general...and a history of the Beatles' Northern Songs publishing empire in particular. Specifically, it describes what music publishers do, how they make money, and to what extent, if any, publishing profits are shared with song composers.

Southall starts out by providing a quick history of music publishing practices and norms from its beginnings in the 18th century, followed by a vivid snapshot of the industry as it existed in the U.S. and Britain in the early 1960's when the Beatles sprang forth upon an unsuspecting world.

For John Lennon and Paul McCartney, a truly pivotal moment in their lives occurred on a cold morning in early 1963 when they were taken to an office to sign a contract...one which they apparently hadn't read, didn't understand, and didn't even ask questions about. What that document did was to give a guy named Dick James, a struggling London song publisher looking for a musical gold mine, a one-half ownership share in the future songs written by Lennon and McCartney.

Why he deserved to own half of their songwriting catalog is never satisfactorily explained, mainly because it cannot be explained, but the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein offered it to him, and he quickly accepted it. The remaining half was divided between Lennon, McCartney, and Epstein...so that the two main composers of the Beatles songs began their commercial song-writing careers with a minority interest in the ownership of their own songs.

Southall presents a lot of quotes from a lot of people who knew the players involved in this deal, many of whom seem to insist that Dick James and Brian Epstein truly believed they were looking out for the Beatles' best interests in this and subsequent deals affecting their song catalog.

The reader is of course free draw his or her own conclusions. It just seems terribly ironic that a musical group known for such astonishing musical innovations was utterly lacking in imagination from a business perspective.

If Epstein truly believed at the outset that the Beatles would be as successful as he claimed they would be, he might have obtained some expert advice and arranged for John and Paul to own 100% of their songs in their own publishing company...and to hire someone like Dick James to administer their song catalog in exchange for, say, 10% of the gross publishing profits, more than enough to make anyone rich given the prolific output of the Beatles' two main composers.

Instead, Brian Epstein did what he did, Lennon and McCartney signed off on it, and Dick James gleefully made more money from those great songs than John or Paul ever did until he eventually sold his interest to ATV in 1969 behind the backs of the Beatles.

That episode and many others that followed in subsequent years eventually resulted in Northern Songs being owned by Michael Jackson and Sony Corp. instead of Paul McCartney and the estate of John Lennon. All of it is covered in this fascinating and understandable account of an area of Beatles' history rarely discussed and little understood.

Highly recommended.

As a life-long Beatles fan and avid Beatles collector for the past 30 years, I have, like most serious fans, read all the major books on the Beatles over the years. Up until now, the best serious attempt at trying to explain the business side of the Beatles was Peter McCabe and Robert D. Schonfield's "Apple to the Core". Well-researched and decently written, it focused on how Apple's legal and financial mess tore the Beatles apart. But it was published in 1972 and thus covers only a small piece of the full history of the Lennon and McCartney songwriting legacy.

35 years after that book was published, we now have "Northern Songs: The True Story of the Beatles' Song Publishing Empire" by Brian Southall with Rupert Perry. This excellent book documents the full story behind the management (and mismanagement) of the Beatles song publishing rights over the past 40+ years. And what a fascinating story!

Northern Songs was the company set up in 1963 by Brian Epstein (the Beatles' manager) and Dick James, a fledgling London music publisher recommended by George Martin, to handle Lennon and McCartney's song publishing. The deal that Brian cut meant Dick James (and his partner) owned just over half of Northern Songs, with the remainder being split between Lennon, McCartney and NEMS (Brian Epstein's company).

Whether purposeful, or simply a byproduct of Epstein's lack of experience, the ownership design of Northern Songs kept Lennon and McCartney from having any controlling interest in the company that was formed to manage the rights to their own songs. By 1965, Northern Songs decided to go public - leaving John and Paul with even less control over the company -- minority stakeholders answerable to the thousands of other shareholders.

Probably the single greatest act of incompetence by Brian Epstein was the fact that he didn't even negotiate a "first right of refusal" agreement that would have required Dick James and his partner to give Lennon & McCartney the first rights to purchase their share of Northern Songs should Dick ever decide to sell out. And so, in 1969, when Dick James and his partner decided to sell their shares to Lew Grade's ATV, neither John nor Paul were notified of the impending deal.

In the midst of all of the financial turmoil at Apple and their weakening relationship, Lennon (who wants Allen Klein to manage the Beatles' affairs) and McCartney (who wants his brother-in-law, Lee Eastman, to run things) can't coordinate any strategy to try to gain ownership of their songs -- and they both end up selling out to ATV under some bad advice.

It's at this point (just 70 pages into the book) where the story really begins to shed a tremendous amount of new light as we follow Northern Songs through the Lew Grade/ATV ownership period and beyond. We see John and Paul going through the 1970s as they try to ensure they can at least control their own solo songs - while they continue to negotiate separately with ATV, now being run by Lew Grade, a very shrewd business person who is, at least, honest in his business dealings. When Lew Grade decides to sell ATV in 1982, he offers McCartney and Yoko a chance to buy ATV Music together. In recent years, McCartney has put the blame on Yoko for not wanting to pay Lew Grade's asking price. While true, the fact becomes clear that Paul could have likely pulled the deal off himself - and would have multiple opportunities to purchase the catalog over the years (though at increasingly higher prices).

The most eye-opening element of this excellent book is the 1982-1985 period when ATV was purchased/owned/run by a ruthless millionaire from Australia named Robert Holmes a Court. So little has been previously known of this period until now -- but it's Holmes a Court who tears the ATV empire apart and sells off its assets for a quick (and substantial) profit, leaving the entire staff of ATV Music out of work, and selling the ATV Music publishing catalogs (which includes Nothern Songs) to Michael Jackson (though forcing him to "gift" the rights to "Penny Lane" to his daugher - who still owns it today!).

The remaining years are an often-told story - where Jackson gets in financial stress and sells half his interest to Sony. But even then, the book sheds a tremendous amount of new light on the actual deal to form a new company, Sony ATV - half owned by Jackson. Seems Michael Jackson is quite a shrewd and aggressive dealmaker (though his personal issues are certainly well-known).

The author Brian Southall and his co-author, Rupert Perry, are both true record industry insiders - with decades of experience as executives at EMI and other record companies -- and are well-qualified to tell this story. But unlike so many other books by Beatles "insiders", they do not attempt to interject their own personal opinions or views, relying on the the first-hand accounts of the many lawyers, publishers, songwriters, and others involved in the many negotiations and business dealings. And this is what makes their effort so admirable -- and so much easier to read. We aren't subject to personal theories, hunches or interpretations that can frustrate the reader of so many other Beatles books. The authors let the story unravel naturally through the words and recollections of the people who where there (and the letters and memos of those where are no longer here to tell their story). And they assume the reader is smart enough to make their own interpretations and conclusions.

The bottom line is: this is a must-read for Beatles fans - or anyone wanting to better understand the complexities (and huge financial potential) involved in song publishing.

Star Sisterz has much to recommend it not only for girls, but for adults trying to understand the feelings and travails of the average teenager. It is well written and captures their insecure world with both humor and colorful examples of teenage angst. It shows true insight on the part of the author. I heartily recommend for both moms and daughters.

Fourteen-year-old Nova Darling can't seem to get out of a huge rut. Her mother is forcing her to stick with ballet, even though she wants nothing more than to rock out on her hidden guitar, Roxie; her older sister, Venus, is a certifiable genius, and now Nova's going crazy. I mean, she has to be. After all, it's not everyday that someone claims to have seen a secret message pop-up on the screen of the ATM machine, like Nova did. Her message? "Act like a rock star in front of a group of strangers." How would the ATM machine know that she loved the guitar, and that she truly wanted to be a rock star? Now, in between her daily duties as a library volunteer, ballet prima donna, and Joe Tsai gazer, Nova has to also play the part of detective to figure out what is truly going on.

From the very first page of NOVA ROCKS! I knew that STAR SISTERZ was bound to be a popular new series for middle readers. Nova is a fabulous character, who has the snottiness of a 14-year-old, accompanied by the need to be cool, and normal feelings of not being accepted. Her lingo is hip, and will draw readers in by the hundreds. Overall, this is a wonderful new book that will leave readers grappling for the next release in the series CARMEN DIVES IN.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

The Star Sisterz series has been the redemption of my daughter's reading habits. She refused to read for a long time until I gave her the first book Nova Rocks. She devoured the entire series in just under two weeks. This is nothing short of a miracle for the girl that hates to read. I've read the books too and found them to be filled with fun humor, interesting characters, and a nice little surprise at the end. Definately worth five stars.

You don't have to be a Canadian or even KNOW any of the bands in this book to enjoy the stories as told by the rockers themselves.

It's simply a great collection of road tales in the ever-entertaining realm of rock and roll touring. Of course, the fact that 2 gigs in the same province can be a day's drive apart, makes Bidini's collection ever the more fascinating.

I simply could not put the thing down. Plenty of laughs and funny stories, a couple of shockingly painful stories, and some priceless moments of insight into Canadian popular culture, human interaction, and the music business.

A great gift for your Rockin' and Rollin' friends!

Written during his band's cross-Canada tour, Bidini's stories as one of the founding members of the Rheostatics are interspersed with interviews he conducted with some of the biggest music legends of our time.

Some people start playing an instrument after they hear a great song. Bidini's book will make people want to start their own bands. Descriptions of first gigs, first band break-ups and first record deals offer amazing insight into an industry and a life that goes far beyond ghost-written rock and roll 'autobiographies' both emotionally and intellectually. Bidini is a gifted writer.

A fantastic book! If you are a fan of the band, or of Canadian music in general, you won't be able to put it down. I guarantee that after reading this book, you'll never think of the music industry in the same way again.

This book is really two books in one, blended together. First of all, it tells the story of Dave Bidini and the Canadian rock band "Rheostatics". Fans will relish all the interesting twists and turns of the band's career, while non-fans will be heading to their local music store as fast as possible to hear what these guys sound like.

Bidini's writing is intense and very personal. From the stinking tour bus to the bright lights up on the stage of Maple Leaf Gardens, you'll feel like you're right there with the band.

The second aspect of the book is a collection of interviews with Canadian musicians who led the way back in the 70's and 80's. These snapshots of life in the rock biz are the most the most honest you're likely to come across. Crazy, hilarious, heartbreaking, and sometimes disturbing, they are an invaluable historical resource for the Canadian music scene.

Buy this book, and once you've read it, go buy some Rheostatics CDs. You won't be disappointed!

I stumbled across this book on a friend's coffee table and was just idly leafing through, as I have no real interest in the 1960's or rock music. But the incredible glimpse into the life of a young person in a Britain still recovering from World War 2 was absolutely riveting. The writing is very much "at the moment" and real time. Married with never-before-published photos of the royal family and film stars (including Richard Burton and Liz Taylor during the filming of "Becket"), the result was a book I could not put down. Required reading for any Anglophile.

To me, this isn't really about the world of rick and roll as much of the story as a talented, intelligent boy born into relative adversity. Through his pen and camera we travel back to an imperial power on it's slow but unstoppable way down.

As more and more rock and pop stars are putting down their guitars and picking up their pens to write best selling autobiographies, renowned international photojournalist Ian Wright has just published "On The Brink OF Fame, Pop Stars In The Swinging 60s," an expose' on the era from a different perspective. Wright's stunning photographs animate his fascinating and amusing anecdotes about the celebrities, social scandals and the political/economic landscape which many have already come to regard as a social history, chronicling the Swinging 60s.-

In 1962, Wright was a sixteen year old junior photographer for "Teenage Special" a new supplement to a newspaper in the North East of England. Too young to drive, Ian strapped the heavy plate camera equipment to his bicycle, pedaling to local ballrooms, theaters and nightclubs, photographing emerging pop stars and celebrities. "Photograph everyone on the bill; you never know who's going to become famous and keep all your negatives," was the brief given by his editor, the now illustrious editor/publisher, Sir Harold Evans, who wrote the foreward for this book.

Consequently, teenage photographer Ian Wright was unwittingly on hand to photograph the creation of the Swinging 60s. From his first picture, for the Teenage Special, of Ella Fitzgerald in 1962 to his last of Elton John in 1971, Wright photographed everyone on the scene. His intimate back-stage portraits show eager, young performers unsure of whether they would flop or ascend to fame and fortune. Some fell into obscurity while others ascended to indescribable success. Five became Knights of the Realm and many died too young.

Wright's collection of historic negatives, thought lost for 45 years, have recently been discovered in his old darkroom, bringing to light countless unpublished photographs representing a veritable who's who of the 1960's including, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Ike & Tina Turner, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Moody Blues, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Dusty Springfield, Dave Clark Five, Manfred Mann, Engelbert Humperdink, The Animals, Jimi Hendrix, Peter & Gordon, Johnny Cash, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter O'Toole, Jayne Mansfield, Sophia Loren, Peter Ustinov, Rex Harrison, Michael Crawford, and members of the Royal family.

As you look through this amazing book, I'm sure you will think of the first time you heard the songs and films made famous by the faces in the photographs. You may think of your first date, your first dance, and your first kiss. These photographs and Mr. Wright's reminiscences allow us all to keep those memories forever.

Wright's pictures of the photographers and the crowd scenes in Beatlemania, show a nation rushing into a new era when nobody wanted to be left behind. His lens captured the youthful naiveté of Mick Jagger in 1965 and again the dynamic performer he had become, live on stage in 1971. Wright has managed to vividly capture on film and now in this book, the enormity of what was happening in the 60s.

As Sir Harold Evans says in the foreward, "This stunning collection of photographs by Ian Wright, many never published, affords us a rare pleasure. Here we are, face to face, with the artists who created what we now call the Swinging Sixties and we are intimately back-stage with them. They cannot know what awaits them when they go out to perform, still less could any of them guess whether they would flop or ascend to fame and fortune."

Mary Buckles develops a great relationship with life on the Sound and shares it so gracefully with the reader. There are so few books available about the Sound, and hers is one of the best.

I met Mary Parker Buckles 20 years ago and immediately fell for her. Articulate, witty and graced with the style of a native Southerner, she enthralled me. After reading her book on Long Island Sound, I just fell for her again. It's an articulate, witty and graceful look at all that grows along and in the sound.

This is a beautiful and enchanting book. Mary Parker Buckles initiates the reader into the teeming vitality, ceaseless creativity, and mesmerizing wonder that is Long Island Sound. The familiar, but oh so strange world of owls and ospreys, barnacles and crabs, bivalves and boats, are engagingly explored by Mary -- a true natural scientist, but with a poet's eye. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is superbly well written, and in her elegant, imaginative, playful, even rapturous style Mary helps the reader to discover the magic that lies hidden in plain sight throughout this natural habitat. Mary seems to pour her soul into the Sound, and what emerges is a lyrical voice that speaks of wonders too fair for words.

If you have ever been in a crisis as a teen and have felt rejected, unworthy and lost, this book is for you! Kimberly Freel writes with a sincere insight and dedication to her characters. This novel understands today's situations in the "real world" and provides a story of hope and love after many realistic struggles. What I found interesting were the stories within the story that portrayed heart wrentching situations and diverse characters. I felt like this novel covered much ground and offered help and suggestions while captivating it's readers with a great story line. I hope Kimberly Freel continues to write!

I have read more books than I can recall in my life, but "Painted Rocks" was the first book I have read that I did not put down once I began reading it. It is an inspirational story about a young girl's struggle to find not only herself, but her place in this world. The novel is wonderfully written and it keeps the reader intrigued about what will happen next to little Sunny Moss. There is never a dull moment and it keeps you on your toes. This is an eloquent and exciting novel that anyone would love. I can't wait to read it again, and I can't wait for Kimberly Freel's next novel. Buy the book, you won't put it down!

Being an avid reader, I can safely say that this was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. I actually stayed up past midnight on a Sunday evening when I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. the next day. Not quite being done by the time I went to bed, I actually got up and finished it before getting ready for work! This is a story of a young teen who just always seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time - and the consequences of the poor decisions she makes. Living in the same area, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about places that are familiar to me. Throughout the good and bad that happened in her life, I love the way it all ties together eventually, but that's all I better say. Anyway, it's a winner as far as I'm concerned!!

Rock painting is so fun and she guides you step by step on how to get the cute little creatures on your rocks.
Warning...It's addicting! :)

I love the book! I have many of her books. The new book has a beautiful cover and instructions are wonderful to follow, as usual for this artist. Great buy too!
Karen Aschenbrener

I'm very satisfied with the books i've bought.
They are very instructive and complete.
They teach the reader to paint rocks step by step, allowing consisting apprenticeship.

After hearing of the release of the Palace of Wisdom, I rushed out to buy it. I was excited when I began reading this novel and was thrilled at its conclusion. Not only was this a fascinating read, and a very quick read at that,it was very informative with all the rock and roll history that was hidden as clues in the novel. It took me a while, but when I uncoverd the names were anagrams, boy was it eye opening. It is a must read for any rock and roll fan!

I knew the author was an attorney when I read his Bio so I was pleased with the writing style. This book not only is a great story, it talks about one of my childhood legends (I'll leave the name out so I don't ruin it for you). It was well-written. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of classic rock or legal thrillers.

This book was referred to me by my friend, and I'm so glad he told me to read it. If you're the type of person who likes reading a novel to determine where the twists and turns are going to occur, this is your kind of story. If you like to try to figure out the end before you reach the last page, this is the book for you. Midway through the book, I knew I had figured out what was going on. 50 more pages and I didn't have a clue. When I finished, I was not only shocked but exhilarated by the turn of events. Excellent story!