Burton Books

Readers will find this a great source of nickle knowledge; celebs from all walks of life responded to the author's request to list some of their favorite things. Many chuckles here, along with some shameless self promotion... and half goes to charity! PS- read the dedication.

I loved the fact that all the celebrity entries were the actual hand written responses. It gave the words more character and personality while reading them.

I bought this book on an impulse, and what a wonderful surprise it turned out to be.

The book's concept--asking well-known figures to share "their favorite things" by jotting them down on their own stationary--reminds us that the things that make our lives special are usually very simple. It's also striking, reading the different lists, to recall how nice a hand-written note can be.

The book works on other levels as well. It's great fun, for example, to try and guess what sorts of things the celebrities will list--and more often than not, you'll find yourself surprised by what they say: from Mark McGuire to Robin Williams, from George W. Bush to Regis and Kathie Lee.

This book makes a terrific gift as well. Rest assured, if you give this book to someone else, it will spur great conversations about your favorite things--and in so doing, allow you to think about, and appreciate, those things yet again.

Kudos as well for supporting the Make-A-Wish foundation.

What a neat collection of celebrities, from so many different walks of life. The stationary of each celeb is really interesting and their desires are often suprising. What's even better is it is for a great cause. It seems like a pefect stocking stuffer/christmas present. Two thumbs up!

This book was a pleasure to read. It is fascinating to read all of the celebrity's "favorite things" from the most simplest to the ones on a grand scale. My favorite was to read about the kids from the Make-A-Wish foundation and what their wishes were. This book is a MUST for everyone!

Be Your Best to get the Best.

This book talks a lot about being your best, and that's very important. Whether it be looking your best with what you've got to work with, being a positive person, learning more about yourself, growing in your strengths, improving your weaknesses.

All of these things make us that much more attractive as individuals.

The author of this very helpful book has a great insight into what makes a person attractive; and he's right in that it's the entire package. It's not all about looks. It's about a person's entire persona. Being a great person, a fun person, a happy person and a confident person creates an attractive person.

Very good advice from a writer who knows his stuff. This book is somewhat of a blueprint as to how to be the most attractive person (in this case, woman) that you can be. I think it's definitely true that we all have the potential to be attractive - in many different ways.

Having already read a few books on this subject matter, I was a little skeptical when I decided to read this one. Would it be full of limp, commonsense advice I'd read so many times in the past? Or would it offer something new and fresh? In all honesty, it did both. Some of the advice was commonsense, such as grooming etc. Some of the tips I'd read before. But the thing that stood out to me with this book - something that sets it apart from all the others - is the invaluable insight offered by being written from a man's point of view. Let's be honest, girls. If we really want to know how to really attract and hook men, who better to tell us than men themselves? We girls think we know men. But do we really? Reading Mr. Burton's book certainly gives an added insight into the male mind. The writing is also surprisingly sympathetic and genuine. The author has something to say and comes across like he actually cares about the reader. This, more than anything (and there is some good advice in here), is what inspired me most to recommend this book.

I was given this book to read by a friend recently as I was having some trouble regaining my self-confidence (and faith in men) after a rather troublesome breakup.

I'm glad she did and I'm even more glad that I read it.

This book is filled with very good advice on how to increase your self-esteem, self-worth and confidence. Things I greatly needed. And it's worked. I realise again all the good things I have to offer, that I am attractive and that I deserve to be respected and treated well. I found this book to be very positive and uplifting and I recommend it to all women seeking to learn more about themselves, and those women looking to increase their dating skills and self-belief. I've actually recently met a man a quite like since reading this book.

I'm glad I bought this book. Although the catchy title and suggestive cover could lead one to think that the book is a little sleazy, it is anything but.

Turn Me On: How to Attract a Man contains some very pertinent and topical advice for today's woman hoping to attract and keep Mr. Right. I regularly read passages from the book to keep reminding myself that I deserve to meet decent guys and that I am truly an attractive woman.

Whether you are just starting out in the dating game, or you are a woman of experience, there is some great advice in this book for all of us women. As the book states and explains, we all have the potential to become the ultimate woman.

Two thumbs up from me.

Four and a half stars is how I would rate this book. If it was a little longer I would have given it 5 stars. However, it is definitely worth the money spent and the time taken to read it.

I personally gained quite a lot out of this book. If you want to learn how to be more attractive for your own self-esteem, or to attract quality men into your life, this dating advice guide really helps women to do just that. The "attraction factor", a clever ctach phrase the author uses quite regularly, is a combination of a number of things: Not just physical attraction, but also confidence, knowing oneself and awareness of one's good points and weaknesses. There are tips on flirting, dating, where and how to date, and improving yourself to be the best and most desirable woman you can be.

There is truly a lot to be gained from Mr. Burton's book. He writes with great insight, empathy and understanding; and the male perspective adds a new and positive slant on the dating game and how men think and react to women.

This book is definitely worth a read.

This book is a classic and a must-read for anyone interested in union history in America. The author is fair, too, which is a rarity in this genre: he tells of the union atrocities, as well as the ones committed by the companies and their goons. He's more interested in telling facts than pursuing a particular agenda. It was a time of evil and mean-spiritedness by both sides, which he reveals better than most. It explains the roots of the "us-against-them" culture in which the West Virginia economy has floundered for 80 years.

This is the incredible story of the decade of labour unrest(1912-1922) known as 'The Mine wars". The author is not a great writer or stilist, but he witnessed much of the events in a variety of capacities (State Attorney General, among others) and he has the good sense to let the facts speak for themselves. This part of American history is as shocking as it is fascinating and richly deserves the attention Lee has given to it.

This is the most unbiased telling of the struggles in West Virginia between the coal operators and the union. Mr. Lee offers an impartial insider's view of the birth (and or death) of the real West Virginia.

In plain, unvarnished style, Lee relates the history of greed and evil by the outside capital interests who came into West Virginia to rape and pillage. The miners wouldn't stand for it, and war broke out.

The president had to declare martial law - twice.

While Lee doesn't exactly have a beautiful, rolling style, he tells it like it was; he was there.

If you want to know about the true character of the Appalachian people, read this book.

This is the greatest book ever! I got mine on New Year's Eve and was addicted to it from the first page. It is the type of book that has everything that you want to know about him (Bob Feller) from growing up in Van Meter, Iwoa to WWII and what he learned in war . Everything like secrets to succes, pitching, life, it's even got humor in it! I met BOB FELLER at a baseball card show and he was pretty funny, friendly and very willing to talk about his incredible career. I recommend this book not only to Feller fans but baseball fans and those who just want a great book too. He tought me so much by reading his book, facts on him and alot of other player's too. This is the best book I ever read! Bob Feller is rated the greatest pitcher ever and if he didn't go in to serve his country during WWII, he could have won some 300+ games and struck out about 3,000+ batters! Thats what many people predicted he would have accomplished. He will surprize you and amaze you and you will never be bored again once you have the Bob Feller "Little Black Book" of Wisdom.

This page-turning book acts as a great guide on how to throw curve balls, change-ups, knuckle balls, and even sinker balls. The wonderful, 1930's pitcher, Bob Feller also teaches you on how to just have fun and a good attitude. He's always talking on how he got from a hard farm-working boy that grew up in Van Meter, Iowa to an All-Star pitcher. The book starts off fast and easy enough to catch on. It's very exciting to read about his adventures on becoming a pro baseball player and all his amazing accomplishments as an All-Star pro. Overall I would suggest this book to kids and teens that are interested in baseball and it's pastime!

If you have a sports fan in your family this is a book they would enjoy having in their collection. Small, but packed!

Bob Feller, one of the premier pitchers in the history of baseball, has never been one to sugarcoat his opinions. He is old-school: the good old days were the best. Today's players (and young people in general) don't appreciate how good they have it, or the sacrifices made by previous generations.

Such is the essence of his "Little Black Book of Baseball Wisdom," in which he opines on the trouble with today's kids (too much TV, not enough physical exertion, among other complaints). The wisdom does not come in the form of advice, but rather what he has learned as a baseball legend.

Feller also writes about several of his contemporaries. To read his comments, one would think him a Will Rogers in knickers; he never met a player during his career that he didn't think was a "great" guy.

"Little Black Book" IS refreshing, however, given the concentration on the current game, with its quest to entertain its fans with more than just the game on the field.

1876 Sacramento, California and Prosperity, Colorado

Rough and gruff mine owner, Ross McCain wanted the children of Prosperity to have something he didn't have despite his success of operating flourishing mines. That was knowing how to read and to have an education. Lonely and desperate Jessica Tierney wanted the freedom to choose her own lifestyle and the frantic Jessica didn't deter the misunderstanding that lead Ross to believe she was Prosperity's newly obtained school teacher. Ross didn't want Jessica to know his secret of being illiterate as well as lonely, so can these two mismatched individuals possibly provide what the other needs?

An enjoyable quick and easy read.

After reading A Bride for McCain, I have two questions for Mary Burton, when is your next novel coming out, and will there be sequel? This book is full of characters I want to know. The main characters are richly drawn and the minor characters are written to weave well within the story line. The women are strong and the men are sensitive, yet written to the time period. Jessica, the main character, is a modern day heroine with a big problem. McCain is full of condradictions, all good. I loved it!

This is a romance novellette with everything the romantic of heart could want. A cowboy, a heroine, a small town in the west, a needy child and a wonderful and warm love story. It is about love and trust and how it is sometimes hard to make the two go hand in hand. The hero is a hard man that needs softening and a desperate young woman that needs to learn how to have faith in people again. I really loved this book and read it in one sitting. It is the first and so far only book I have found by Mary Burton so I hope we will see more of her writing in the future.

Jessica Tierney has been forced to flee 1876 Sacramento, California and pose as a schoolteacher to avoid a marriage forced on her by her father's will. Ross McCain, Colorado mine owner is determined that the children in his town will have the opportunity to be educated. Ross talks Jessica into a marriage of convenience to keep her in town, not knowing that she is not who she seems to be. Mary Burton's first book is a very good story! Marilyn, The Regency Lover's Cafe

As always, another snuggle under the covers and don't put down the book until it's finished, story by Cheryl Saint John. The characters are warm and lovable and the story is so sweet. I really rooted for Sam Calhoun to sweep Rosalyne Emery off of her feet. It's the only time I can think of that a man has actually been right... Well done!

From the back cover:

Ring in the holiday season with this delightful Christmas collection from three of Harlequin Historical's favorite authors!

"Colorado Wife" by Cheryl St. John
Finding two orphans on her doorstep, Rosalyne Emery is determined to make local tycoon Sam Calhoun responsible for them. But the mismatched pair soon find themselves trapped in a pretend engagement that might just become a reality...

"Jubal's Gift" by Elizabeth Lane
Jubal Trask is out to kill Thomas Curry, the man who deserted him during the war. But finding Thomas's two children and their aunt Tess, the girl who has always loved Jubal, the scarred soldier struggles to learn the power of love and forgiveness before it's too late.

"Until Christmas" by Mary Burton
Laura Butler wants to sell her grandfather's silver mine, move back east and forget all about mining! Mine manager Roman Maddox has other plans, but he has only until Christmas to win Laura's hand in marriage.

And my review:

"Colorado Wife" was just okay. It started off really interesting, but then the excitement of the story seemed to just fizzle out to nothing. And once again, we had a man who's slept with everything in a skirt from one coast to the other with the virgin woman. When she brings him to her house to try to guilt him with the children, he automatically assumes she's going to sleep with him! Arrgh. I had to push myself to finish this one. Three stars.

"Jubal's Gift" was one I had higher hopes for, as I had enjoyed this author's previous book "MacKenna's Promise". I felt that this was a story that needed the length of a novel to really make it worthy. The squashed novella format just didn't allow the author enough room to work, and the story ended up feeling rushed, the characters flat. I ended up skimming the last chapter because I was starting to get bored - by the time I got near the end, I could see everything coming from a mile away. Two stars.

"Until Christmas" was a story that I couldn't even finish. Yet another falling-in-lust rather than a falling-in-love story. Yet another domineering male determined to get his way no matter what. This is supposed to be romantic? Sounds more like borderline abuse to me! If a woman tries to strong-arm a man into marriage, she'd be a shrew. But because a man tries to do it, it's romantic? Sorry, I don't buy it. If the author had made them strike some kind of deal, like he has a month to change her mind, but then he'll let her go, I would have enjoyed this story. As it was, I got as far as him saying, "the more I hear the word 'no' the more determined I am to turn it into a 'yes'". (Know what other kind of guys think the word 'no' coming from a woman doesn't mean anything? Rapists!) And another gem from this man: "I want you. I'm not going to apologize for it. And I'm not backing down." Funny, but I think that's what stalkers say! Yech! One star for this horrible story, only because I can't give no stars.

Usually, I love Christmas romance anthologies, but I wish I'd saved my money on this one.

Christmas Gold contains, Colorado Wife, by Cheryl St. John, Jubal's Gift, by Elizabeth Lane and Until Christmas by Mary Burton. All three stories will warm your heart as we move into the holiday season. This is a real treat!

"Colorado Wife" by Cheryl St. John. In 1875 Needle Point, Colorado, Rosalyne Emery decides that local businessman Sam Calhoun needs to take on the obligation of caring for the two preadolescent orphans she found freezing outside her restaurant. Instead Rosalyne and Sam end up in a pretend engagement that is heated by their true feelings for one another. Will the mogul realize how vacuous his vision for the town and himself is by accepting the Yuletide present of three people who dearly love him and want him to love them?

"Jubal's Gift" by Elizabeth Lane. It took Jubal Trask almost a decade to find Thomas Curry who deserted him at Sharpsburg during the great war. However, now in 1873 in the Arizona Territory trading post, Jubal has caught up with the man he wants to kill. Instead of finding his intended victim who is away obtaining supplies, Jubal meets Thomas' sister Tess, who he knew from before the war, and his enemy's two young children, Lucy and Beau. However, it is hard to kill even a man you despsie when you love his sister.

"Until Christmas" by Mary Burton. In 1882 Timberline, Colorado, a depressed owner Laura Butler wants to sell her silver mine following the tragic death of six workers as she knew each of the deceased personally and sewed alongside their wives. Laura jut wants to go east, but her mine manager Roman Maddox wants to comfort her forever, but has only a couple months to persuade his beloved to be his wife.

These three late nineteenth century Americana romances are well written, warm holiday treats that fans of the sub-genre will take immense pleasure form reading. The stories contain delightful lead couples and strong supporting players that enable the audience to enjoy the Christmas holidays in the old west.

Harriet Klausner

Middling collection of Chinese Buddhist poems; I didn't feel that there were any hidden gems here, not on the level of Han Shan.

The original Chinese text accompanies the translations, however, which is something that I find pleasing, and presumably you will too, if you are into the language.

this collection is an excellent introduction for people who get turned on by the idea of monks living in the mountains, writing poetry, sleeping, drinking wine, writing poetry, sleeping, drinking wine et al. i highly recommend it to people who love buddhism, poetry, or chinese culture. the added bonus is the chinese text. i've been so impressed with anything associated with bill porter a.k.a. red pine that i've bought all of his translations. the translations included here are better and in many cases vastly superior to anything else out there.

Wisdom Publications has done it again: another lovely book that brings out the best in an Eastern tradition. The tradition this time is the poetry of Chinese Buddhist monks, and in this volume there are a number of moving and sublime examples of their craft. The poems are presented with visual elegance and an unobtrusive scholarship that makes the volume even more noteworthy. My only objection stems from the organization of the book, wherein six different contributors each choose a poet or group of poets to translate and present. I am not knowledgable enough to know whether it is the fault of the original poets or that of the translators, but the poems in one section really fall flat, and another section is also somewhat below the high state of excellence achieved by the others. But really, this is a minor complaint. The vast majority of these poems will appeal greatly to those who are attracted to this sort of poetry, and the volume over all is very pleasing.

Red Pine, Mike O'Connor, and four other translators have opened for us the world of the literary descendants of Han-Shan, poet monks who are most at home in misty hills, wandering with the rivers, enjoying tea over a fire of leaves. Like Japanese haiku, Chinese Zen poetry evokes imagination and layers of depth with the sparest of poetic structures. The poets' Buddhism is not put on show or even obvious; it quietly underlies their love of nature, their deep connectedness, their insight into the human experience of being alive.

A ten page introduction by Andrew Schelling provides the historical, cultural, religious, and philosophical backdrops for these poets. Then you let your imagine meander through the poems of Chia Tao (779-843), Chi-chi (864-937), The Nine Monks and Chih Yuan (late 10th century), Han-shan Te-ch'ing (1546-1623), Shih-shu (late 17th century) and Ching An (1851-1912). Each section is comprised of an introduction to the poet and his context, the poems, and helpful notes. I appreciate the very helpful Index of First Lines provided at the end of the book, as well as the information about the contributors.

This is the first verse translation in decades of this important work of Medieval literature. The most widely accessible translation previously available is Hatto's enjoyable prose translation published by Penguin. Das Nibelunglied begins as the story of the adventures of the great warrior Sifried. After Sifried's violent and treacherous murder, it turns into a revenge tragedy whose main protagonists are Sifried's widow Krimhild and Sifried's murderer, Krimhild's brother's liegeman, the knight Hagen. Their antagonism culminates in the tremendously violent set piece that concludes the epic. A sense of nature of the concluding sections can be gleaned from two of the final chapter headings; How Hundreds of Warriors Died and How The Dead Were Thrown From The Hall.

Based on the statements of knowledgeable scholars, Raffel has done a good job of translating the Middle High German poetry of the original. There is a fair amount of interesting verse, though Raffel's use of modern catch phrases is sometimes a little disconcerting. In terms of overall quality, Das Nibelunglied is not as poetically powerful as Beowulf or as interesting in terms of story and characters as the best Icelandic sagas.

Recurrent themes are the importance of reputation and status, pursued to point of provoking warfare over apparently trivial issues, and the overwhelming nature of the personal bond as the basis for society. Das Nibelungenlied also reveals a remarkable preoccupation with luxury goods as status indicators and means of ensuring loyalty.

What a superbly crafted translation of this saga, capturing the metre of the Middle High German version surviving from, it is asserted, 12th century AD. The tale has frequent repetitions of key elements, presumeably for emphasis and continuity, with an excessive fixation on the custom of gifting gold, jewels, and fancy clothing. The translator is greatly mistaken that the lied's King of the Huns, Etzel, was Attila, who he identifies as a Moslem - completely impossible since Attila lived 2 centuries before the Prophet Mohammed. The attrocity of Etzel's warriors attempting to incinerate the invited Burgundian guests has no historical basis, although a similar attrocity was committed by the Teutonic Order in successfully immolating the Prussian Christian converts in the 12th century after inviting them to a peace conference. Nevertheless, this epic perpetuated the German concept of heroes and Gotterdamerung.

Burton Raffel's new translation of Das Nibelungenlied, the foremost epic of German literature, stands head and shoulders above every other translation available today. Fast-paced and clear, this English Nibelungenlied gives new life to the old Siegfried legend. One thing that immediately sets Raffel's translation apart from others is that he has chosen to translate the epic into poetry. As a result, his translation perfectly captures the flavor of the original.

Das Nibelungenlied is one of the underappreciated classics of western literature. An inspiration and source for everything from Wagner to Tolkien, the epic was first written in the 12th century, copied extensively throughout the High Middle Ages, and then virtually disappeared until the 1700s. Its popularity bloomed again during the romantic era, when poets keen on the medieval romance and scholars seeking a Germanic national literature found a common inspiration in the rediscovered epic.

None of this, of course, is apparent while reading the poem. But a foreword, introduction, and translator's notes--all wonderfully concise--give the reader all the information necessary to appreciating the poem's history with none of the pain found in dry, scholarly studies. Far from boring, the introduction and notes actually enhance the reader's enjoyment of the poem.

Raffel's translation is a thing of beauty. Comparison with the original Middle High German shows that he took great pains to balance a literal, accurate translation with poetic English verse. Raffel's endnotes to the translation give the reader some sense of his goals in translating the book--not only to match the simple, unadorned wording of the original, but also to render its quick-moving poetic style in English. His hard work paid off.

Whatever your interest in Das Nibelungenlied and whether or not you read the scholarly extras found in this book, Raffel's translation is exciting, brisk, and a joy to read.

Highly recommended.

The Nibelungenlied is a half-forgotten epic in the English-speaking world. Before picking up Raffel's edition, my library had several dusty old Songs of the Niebelungen, volumes dating back to Victorian times and probably unopened since Edwardian times, silently testifying to the last "discovery" of the work. Marred by association with Wagnerian excesses and ignored in favor of more riveting contemporary versions of the Anglo-Saxon and Middle English classics, the Nibelungenlied has been barely read by my generation.

This will change. Raffel has crafted an elegant work. Most of the time, his poetry rolls like the best prose while maintaining a subtle internal structure that gives us a good glimpse of the beauty of the old Germanic alliterative verse. The pace is not as fast as Sir Gawain and the story not as packed as Beowulf. But Raffel does justice to the tragic grandness of this epic and the slow acidic decay brought on by Sifried's and Gunter's youthful lies. He tells the story well, with the verse accentuating his telling.

There are points where Raffel struggles, and where maintaining the verse in modern English becomes obviously forced. His word choice also can be a bit breezy in places. But these are minor and isolated flaws; his overall treatment of the work is beautiful.

Collaboratively edited by D. L. Browne and Kevin Burton Smith, Down These Wicked Streets: Seven Tales Of Original Detective Fiction is an compelling anthology of unique private-eye stories from seven undeniably talented writers of the "Wicked Company Writers Community". The stories range from a woman who unexpectedly inherits her uncle's detective agency, to Doug McCool, good guy aided by the power of an ancient text. An outstanding collection, recommended for detective fiction buffs, Down These Wicked Streets features hard-boiled action, subtle intrigue, conflict, sultry agendas and more.

Now I have a proud new addition to slip among the honored anthologies in my collection: DOWN THESE WICKED STREETS, featuring fresh detective fiction stories from the online Wicked Company Writers Community.

Unlike similar offerings, WICKED STREETS is short on quantity, but long on quality. There's no flash fiction here, nothing that can be quickly skimmed during the commercial break in a TV show or dashed off during a five-minute wait in line at the bank.

Instead, each of the seven stories presented, ranging in length from 18 to 42 pages, demands your attention and concentration for an extended period of time. The rewards, however, are well worth the effort, because these are all well-developed and richly textured tales, with a wealth of detail, evocative prose, and glib patter.

The writing styles, the settings, the periods, the protagonists and antagonists may be all different, but the stories are all uniformly good, solid, entertaining pieces, well up to the standards of what you'd find in top mystery publications. Co-editors D.L. Browne (who moderates the Wicked Company online community) and Kevin Burton Smith (founder of The Thrilling Detective web site) have done an excellent job in selecting and presenting the seven tales in an attractive package.

It is to be hoped, by mystery and anthology fans alike, that DOWN THESE WICKED STREETS represents just the first entry in a long line of Wicked Company Books yet to come.

The best story of the bunch is Browne's own "Just One of Those Things," which introduces detective Mary Kelly. "Just One of Those Things" has all the ambiance and adventure of a solid BLACK MASK pulp detective story, but it is primarily a sad parable about beautiful high society and movie people who refuse to own up to their responsibilities. People who end up paying the ultimate price when, instead, they attempt to bury their mistakes. Browne's style is polished and confident, she has a knack for intriguing phrases (two examples: "I felt the brush of his charm in my bones" and "I may not always land on my feet, but the good thing about landing on your knees is you're in a perfect position to beg"), and she rarely forgets to color descriptions with fragrances. D.L. Browne is a writer worth watching and reading.

Coming in a close second is "The Art of War" by Miles Archer. I was happy to see his 1970s detective, Doug McCool, the hero of TOO MANY SPIES SPOIL THE CASE, back in this new story. In "The Art of War," McCool is hired to dissuade an Ohio mob gang from muscling in on a Butchertown-or South San Francisco, as the local Chamber of Commerce prefers-family's waste disposal business. Using Sun Tzu's classic treatise "The Art of War" as his guidebook, McCool proceeds to do just that, turning the tables on the gangsters in a series of violent mêlées that kick off in South San Francisco and conclude on the mob's own doorstep in Cleveland.

Archer as hip to 1970s San Francisco as Dashiell Hammett was to the Bay City in the 1920s. I only wish "The Art of War" was longer so Archer could have had imbued it with a greater sense of peril for his protagonist. Like TOO MANY SPIES SPOIL THE CASE, McCool is battling a ruthless, insidious, and all-pervading enemy; unlike TMSSTC, however, McCool has the upper hand in this dicey situation from the get-go and never relinquishes it. (It seems the wisdom of Sun Tzu is timeless!) In spite of this criticism, if you like your detectives to be good joes at heart who will go the mat for the little guy, or are just a fan of solid writing, you must read Miles Archer's "The Art of War." And if you haven't read TOO MANY SPIES SPOIL THE CASE, get that, too.

For a bit of South American daring-do there is Barry Evetts' "El Fraudito Chinto" (The Little Chinese Fraudster). Evetts' Chinese-American journalist, Luicinda Leung, returns from THE PANAMA AFFAIR (iUniverse, 2000), this time teaming up with Evetts' newest character, Domingo Muratti, troubleshooter and fixer-of-problems for international corporations.

The titular character is one Michelangelo Fang, patriarch of a malicious brood of offspring in Caracas, Venezuela, where Fang operates an illegal immigration service. There is plenty of local color (Evetts lives in Venezuela), and Leung and Muratti make a pleasant professional couple (Muratti is married). With his exotic looks, taste for fine clothes, food, and wine, and a nifty Alfa Romero Giuletta in the garage, Muratti is an undeniably fun character, as is Leung, although I would have liked to see her acting more like a journalist and less like a target in this story.

Colorado native Chris McKenzie introduces freelance researcher Jamie Landon and private investigator Sydney Blake in "Nothing To It."

There is not much mystery here, if you discount trying to deduce who set up Landon to be mugged while he is delivering an antique vase to an antique warehouse for "a friend of a friend." The story begins with Landon escaping his muggers only to run into Blake, who is fleeing a gang of thugs masquerading as the warehouse's security guards. There are more escapes along the way, and enough fighting and witty patter to fill a decent Monogram serial chapter. Not much is revealed about Landon or Blake's background or personalities in this brisk adventure, but they are affable characters and this first story is a pleasant divergence.

Katie de Koster knows how to feed wild birds, as will you if you read "Night Bird." You might be tempted to give up on this story about halfway through because of the volume of information it contains about feeding wild birds, but if you do you will miss out on some fine fiction in the best pulp detective tradition. The kind where an innocent person dies as a consequence of a guilty associate's crime, and it is only through the thickheaded determination of a private eye that the innocent's name is cleared and the guilty made to pay for their sins.

If you like Quentin Tarantino and Vertigo Comics, you will like "Secret Smile," a post-modernist detective story by Tribe. Tribe can write and he is a good stylist, which is to his benefit since, in post-modernism, style equals substance. Post-modernism also produces introspective paragraphs like this:

"Are things still secret if you can find them with little or no effort? Or are secrets only things you never know?"

If that sounds heavy to you, then go for it. If "Murmur not at the ways of providence" sounds better, then "Secret Smile" probably isn't your bag, kid.

"The Face of Iniquity" is by S.P. Pottoff, the authoress of THE TWISTED TRIANGLE (iUniverse, 2000). This story introduces Genevieve Lovisa, a likable but insecure detective. I would like to see Lovisa in a future story, but her promising premiere mystery is marred by an over-dependence on coincidences and clues whose answers should be immediately obvious to Lovisa because they certainly are the reader. Pottoff likewise attempts to create suspense by teasing instead of revealing facts a few times too many. Still, her skill as a wordsmith is obvious.

DOWN THE WICKED STREETS is a darn good box of chocolates with overall solid stories that introduce a handful of worth-watching-for authors. Here is hoping this anthology from Wicked Company is only the first of many.

Down These Wicked Streets, edited by D. L. Browne and Kevin Burton Smith (Wicked Company, tradepaper, 253 pages).

D. L. Browne, an author of many pen names, is the founder of Wicked Company, a mystery community particularly active in the iUniverse world. Kevin Burton Smith is the editor and founder of The Thrilling Detective Website and a member of Wicked Company--when he isn't otherwise boosting the causes of noir--and, often, feminism--across the Internet. Here, the two rapscallions have put together an anthology of seven short mysteries featuring PIs.

The stories vary from fun to compelling, and none is dull. D. L. Browne's own "Just One of Those Things," is very Raymond Chandler stylish, with an added soupcon of D. L.'s truly incomparable wit. Her PI in skirts, Mary Kelly, a detective agency operative, can be caught on most days reading Black Mask magazine while slouching around at her desk. But when the story opens, Kelly's given the assignment of helping a wealthy client buy back some letters from his Chinese femme fatale lover. Kelly fairly swoons when she meets the man she's to help make the drop, but she manages to hold onto her mental clarity to the bitter--and, yes, of course it's bitter--end.

Sharon Potthoff 's Genevieve Lovisa owns her own agency--now--in "The Face of Iniquity." She has been left the business by her beloved uncle Mitch, who died recently of a heart attack. And because of his death, she is too depressed to take a new client, Mrs. Crestwell, who wants the goods on her philandering husband. When Mr. Crestwell turns up late and not particularly lamented... well, you see, Lovisa is forced by curiosity, and the sweet allure of money, to take the case. Potthoff handles the contemporary story satisfyingly with nice skill, dropping clues hither and yon to end up smashingly with a very tied-together conclusion.

Yes, the anthology also has stories by male noirish and hardboiled types, including a Doug McCool tale by Miles Archer--who previously wrote about Doug in a novel from Clocktower Books. In this one, "The Art of War," McCool takes on a mild meatpacker's appeal for help in keeping the mob from taking over his business. The great enjoyment for the reader is seeing how Doug can fix a totally impossible situation, which he handles with tons of machismo and a little bit of old-fashioned `it's who you know...' Tension abounds in this well-paced piece with a 70s flavor. Nice writing.

Barry Evetts' story features journalist Lucinda Leung who starred in Barry's The Panama Affair and who simply had to return to Venezuela in "El Fraudito Chinito." Leung is here at the invitation of Uncle Fang--not really her uncle--who was murdered the day before she arrives. Evetts has a lot of hooks in this and manages to heighten the suspense and the drama while depicting the culture of Caracas, which, as a long-time resident there, he knows better than well. Good story.

"Night Bird" by Katie de Koster introduces Frank Grant, a PI who comes across a bird-in-need on his surveillance of a drug-dealing bad guy. Here, we have a Wicked Company female writing as a male PI and she does so boldly, not hesitating at any turn of the sexual agenda. Her Frank Grant is as macho--and as clever in outfoxing both the police and the bad guys--as a guy's gotta be and the story is thoroughly action packed. A big twist early in the story takes the remainder in an unexpected direction.

In "Nothing to It," author Chris McKenzie settles on a pair of investigators, a male freelance researcher moonlighting as a delivery man and female intrepid private eye Sydney Blake. The two become, in not fast friends, at least interdependent, as they try to flee from murderous thugs. In this, gender politics play a role, with Sydney being the more aggressive and fearless of the pair. Action-adventure is the keyword for this story.

"Secret Smile" a tale of Toledo by Tribe, the lead-off for the book, is probably the most noir of the bunch. Also, an action-dominated piece, this one is written in the present tense and features characters so hardboiled that should they fall from a high place and crack, nothing soft or gushy would be revealed.

The book, on the whole, is a good addition to the mystery-short reader's library.

I got this book to try to facilitate more communication with my fiance. He really liked the questions in the book and I did too. We just skipped over ones that didn't apply to him or to us and kept going! This book is good for EVERYONE though, I sat with my mom for a few hours reading through some of the questions and we had a great time! Definately worth getting!

I bought this book after reading some pretty enthusiastic reviews. I suppose if you WANT to sit around and play worst-case scenario games with your boyfriend this might be fun....Guys my age (over 50 ish) couldn't be bothered!

Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet: A New Way to Get Men Talking About Stuff That Matters
My husband is the considered, quiet type who I have to literally strangle to get anything meaningful out of. It's so frustrating. But I read a starred review of Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet in the American Library Journal. What caught my interest was that it claimed to be a series of icebreakers to help women get their men to reveal what made them tick. Well, that was good enough for me. It actually works! I'm getting conversation. And it's so easy. The scenario in the book that especially worked was Mean to Me. Hubby unearthed all sorts of things about himself. Like, I didn't know he really hated his birthday. And now I know why. The American Library Journal also said: 'Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet is clever, fun, hard to put down, and highly recommended.' Ditto from me.

This book is truly original and astonishingly effective. I've been in a loving, secure relationship now for three years but we just didn't seem to have much to say to each other any more. In other words, the magic seemed to have gone and it didn't feel like we were going anywhere. Not any more! Right from the very first scenario, this book lived up to its promise and had him telling me all kinds of things he hadn't thought to tell me before. It brought up lots of stuff that we'd never thought to discuss and it made for lots of laughter and a few tears too. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to reinvigorate a relationship.